We’ve been so obsessed with the Eagles depth chart during training camp that we may have overlooked what the Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing to us Thursday night in the first preseason game of 2012…
Offensive linemen David DeCastro and Mike Adams will start at right guard and left tackle respectively…
Guard Willie Colon will NOT play Thursday night as he continues to recover from his ankle injury. Defensive end Cameron Heyward will also sit this one out (sore back)…
All eyes will be on the boys up front during the preseason opener Thursday evening in Philadelphia. At his Tuesday morning press conference, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced that guard Willie Colon will miss the game against the Eagles. Colon, trying to make the transition from right tackle to left guard after missing the past two seasons due to injury, had his ankle rolled up on Friday when Ramon Foster chucked a defender into the back of his leg, and will be replaced by Foster at left guard.
QB Ben Roethlisberger is expected to start, but will only play two series…
Chris Rainey will get his first shot ever in the NFL at returning punts…
4th string QB Jerrodd Johnson will be getting an extended look during the second half, according to coach Mike Tomlin…
Don’t expect to see Nose Tackle Casey Hampton in this one… he may be starting the season on the PUP list…
That rules out two of the three parties in last Friday’s Steeler camp scrap that began when Heyward got pancaked by rookie second round pick Mike Adams. Heyward went after Adams and Colon stepped in to break it up, but then was inspired to plant his own fist in Heyward’s face mask.
Speaking of Adams, he’s half of a pair of rookie offensive linemen that will be starting – first round pick David DeCastro will get Foster’s spot at right guard, and Adams will start at left tackle after consistently getting reps ahead of Trai Essex during practices. However, it’s notable that Essex was still listed ahead of Adams on the first official team depth chart that was released Monday…
At Steelers camp at St. Vincent’s College, one of the few areas where there is sustained competition this summer among top players is between the wide receivers and defensive backs. The headliners are Antonio Brown vs Ike Taylor. Each player has won their share of rounds, but what stood out on Monday was a pass to the corner of the end zone. Taylor had great position and it seemed that he would either knock the ball away or intercept it. Well, this being Ike, maybe not, but somehow the pass got through, Brown made a great catch. Ike went ballistic. He ranted, he snatched off his chin strap, he interrupted the rant to congratulate Antonio, and then continued to rant. Seems most folks in Pittsburgh really like Ike, though.
On the other side Manny Sanders and Keenan Lewis were going at it. With all the talk about Brown and Mike Wallace it is easy to overlook Sanders. Lewis did well, but Sanders was better, and gave away nothing to Brown. In the undercard Jerricho Cotchery abuses a bunch of people and once again turned Will Allen into burnt toast…. Extremely impressive for the second day in a row was David Gilreath. It’s still early but I would say that this guy can play in this league— whether it is with Pittsburgh remains to be seen.
The running backs continued to impress. All of them scored in one drill or another. But the most impressive was Chris Rainey who demonstrated that he could be just as lethal in the relatively close quarters of the red zone as he is in the more open spaces.
He hadn’t shown much previously, but toward the end of Monday’s practice cornerback Curtis Brown had a nice interception that would have been certainly a touchdown in a game situation. Safety Robert Golden also had a quality interception during a seven on seven drill. At the opposite end of the spectrum Tony Clemons did have a drop on a pass from Byron Leftwich during the short yardage segment.
The most interesting aspect of Monday’s practice was the eleven on elevens. The reports that I had heard up to this point would seem to indicate offensive dominance. If so, then a sense of balance has been restored in Pittsburgh. The defense won the short yardage and goal line drills. The offense did better in situations when there was more room, such as red zone passing formations.
Perhaps the most impressive offensive play was a pass play where Ben dropped back, bought time by scrambling right and then hit Manny Sanders crossing to the left in the end zone covered by Ike Taylor. This seemed slightly uncharacteristic given the fact that the quarterbacks have been more prone to throwing the ball away if the player was not open initially.
Many of the top line Steelers’ players haven’t done much, and that is pretty much by design. They need a certain amount of reps for timing and conditioning purposes, but they don’t have much to prove unless they are in a position battle. Consequently, players such as Polamalu and Woodley have been essentially invisible over the past two days
Eagles coach Andy Reid will return to the sideline Thursday for the preseason opener against the Steelers two days after the funeral for his eldest son, Garrett Reid, held in Broomall, PA. on Tuesday…
Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie, commissioner Roger Goodell, Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Saints interim head coach Joe Vitt, Browns vice president Mike Holmgren, Browns general manager Tom Heckert, Browns head coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress, former 49ers and Lions head coach Steve Mariucci, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, and several former and current Eagles players attended the funeral along with approximately 900 others.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
