Impressions From Preseason Opener

The Steelers had their preseason opener on Saturday evening. Not having access to the local feed, I had to wait on NFL Network for the taped broadcast on Sunday morning. With it being the preseason, I wasn't in a huge rush to lay out my loosely connected thoughts on what transpired. So, not the most timely recap ever, but here it is nonetheless.

- Really liked the idea of Sepulveda handling kickoff duties. This has never been a strength for Jeff Reed. It's hard not to attribute some of the problems with coverage last year to him booting short liners to waiting returners. Skippy was visibly frustrated when he sent the opening kick of the second half to the 12 after a few respectable attempts in the first. Still, this is never going to be a forte for him.

SteelersDepot put together a reel of his kickoffs from the game.


- Rashard Mendenhall is still having problems holding the ball away from his body. This has to be a huge point of emphasis of the running backs coaches. Any opponent this year has to be keyed on going for the strip with him. If someone like me could frequently spot it in live action in games last year, you know rival coaches are all over it. On Saturday, he had a huge gain turn into an essential no-gain after the tackler was able to punch the ball out making even a glancing shot on him.

- Leftwich didn't look very good, but then pass blocking was a huge and distressing problem. Flozell Adams had the most visible miscue, allowing Cliff Avril to blow around him for a sack almost completely untouched. I'm not going to let one dismal performance in the opening preseason game to go into full-on panic mode, but unless the pass blocking improves in the next two preseason games, Mike Tomlin might have to give real consideration to starting Dennis Dixon, if only because of his ability to elude rushers.

- Leftwich did get to take one shot down the field. Spotting Mike Wallace streaking deep along the right sideline, Leftwich slightly underthrew Wallace, who made an effort to get back to the ball, but was interfered with by the Lions corner, though it ended up being a bizarre non-call. Leftwich did miss Battle high on what might have been another touchdown opportunity, but the pressure being what it was, it's hard to fault Byron too much for that mistake.

- That said, I wasn't as blown away as others were by Dennis Dixon either. Benefiting from better blocking and playing against reserve defenders, Dixon only had maybe a handful of good throws. Sure, he was able to pick up the longest gain on the night by scrambling to the left and finding Battle on the sideline for a nice catch-and-run, though there were also a number of other fairly routine reads that it Dixon misplayed. While I agree it would be nice to get him reps with the first-team offense during the preseason, you also have to remember that Leftwich has to get fully reacquainted with the starters before Week 1, not to mention that Ben is going to need to get some snaps in so he won't be coming in completely cold once he's reinstated, whether that's in the fifth of seventh game of the year.

-Mewelde Moore made a nasty block on Zach Follett on Dixon's TD run. Of course, if Hines makes that hit, people are whining about it for days.

- Someone who does need a few earlier looks is Issac Redman. The guy has been a preseason standout for two years running. Last year, a lot of fans were aghast when he didn't make it past final cuts. With less depth on the roster this season, he seems like he might be a lock to make it, but it would be nice to know how he's fare against stronger competition before bringing him up the big time.

-Redman's long screen run was welcome, not only because it was well executed, but because the Steelers didn't run anywhere nearly enough screens last year. Hopefully that's a sign of the more conservative gameplan Bruce Arians plans to implement for the early part of the year, which if successful, could have a place for after Roethlisberger returns.

- The first team defense was impressive. The Lions got their only score on a long drive in the first half, but it was after several of the Steelers starters had already been pulled.

- WHAT HO! A Ryan Clark interception! Yes, I'm still rattled by the paucity of forced turnovers from last year.

- Ben looked deeply fazed by the scrutiny of his sideline plodding. Perhaps not fazed enough? MIKE FLORIO SAYS HE NEEDS TO BE PHYSICALLY SHAKING FROM CONTRITION! HE CLEARLY HASN'T LEARNED HIS LESSON!