Thoughts on the Steelers first Preseason game.

Steeler Nation, the first preseason game of 2011 is now in the books . It was not pretty but remember it was only the preseason . The Steelers lost 16-7 . Washington played their starters the whole first half ,while the Steelers played most of their starters the first series and that was about it. I think a lot of this has to do with the mindset of the two teams .


Washington and Shanahan played like a team with their backs against the wall, looking for a positive start and that's exactly what they are. Shanahan is on the hot seat. The Steelers and Tomlin are a stable veteran team just looking to knock some rust off and take a look at a lot of  the young players.

The Steelers defense looked bad at the beginning but you have to remember they were without  key starters Troy Polamalu , James Harrison , Bryant McFadden and Ike Taylor broke his thumb a few plays into the game.

The Steelers offensive starters played the first series of the game and that was about it. Ben Roethlisberger was 2 of 3 for 22 yards. Not much you can gauge from what you saw in that first series. Hines Ward did not play at all. The offensive line was a revolving door most of the night with many different line up looks .

In the end I think both teams got what they came for. Washington got the positives that they hoped for and the Steelers knocked some rust off and got a good look at some young players.

So Steeler Nation don't put to much weight into what we saw and believe me, the sky is not falling. It's only the first preseason game. Now for a look at the Good, Bad and Ugly of the game.

The Good :

Wide receiver Antonio Brown continues to grow by leaps and bounds and continued the stellar play he has shown thus far in training camp. Brown looked good having 4 catches for 64 yards in limited action.Steeler Nation this is a great sign of things to come.

 The Steelers look like they struck gold in the first round once again. DE Cameron  Heyward had three tackles and played with  great athleticism and tenacity, showing flashes of the greatness that the Steelers hoped for when they drafted him . His future looks very promising .

Running back Isaac Redman looked very good ,running hard and with surprising quickness for his size. Redman is ready to become a viable option at running back for the Steelers. He had a great 22 yard touchdown run. He had 5 carries for 42 yards and a TD.

The punters for the Steelers both had good games . Dan Sepulveda looks to be fine after last year's ACL tear. Sepulveda had 4 punts for a 46.3 yard average. A long of 62  and 3 punts inside the 20. Jeremy Kapinos  had 4 punts and a 45 yard average . A long of 58 and 2 punts inside the 20.


The Bad :  The Steelers secondary was already thin with Troy Polamalu , Bryant McFadden, Will Allen , Rookies defensive backs Curtis Brown, and Cortez Allen all unavailable because of injuries. During the first defensive series starting defensive back  Ike Taylor broke his thumb .

Keenan Lewis failed to really step up and show anything and later was injured and could not return. Crezdon Butler did little more and also could not finish because of injury . Washington's passers continued to pass successfully  against this makeshift secondary. With all the injuries that was no surprise, but the fact that no young players stepped up and took advantage of the opportunity is a little concerning . One of these young defensive backs must step up.


The Ugly : The Steeler's sloppy tackling and lack of defensive intensity. Even though it may be expected with the lock out and the new practice limits, it was ugly much of the game. The Steeler's defense gave up 452 yards in total offense to Washington.

I don't know about you, but the new kick off rule promoting more touch backs is pretty ugly also and takes away from the game. I hope the NFL brass sees the error of their ways and changes it back soon.


OK Steeler Nation, I hope you enjoyed the post. Feel free to leave comments and spread the word about this blog .  You can also follow me and the blog on twitter @STEELERSNSTUFF .  Thanks for reading!

Later Steeler Nation !                   Go Steelers!           Steeler Nation  4  Life !

Link to Highlights of the game
Highlights of the game