Steel City Blitz
Preseason Game number two kicks off tonight at Acrisure Stadium and once again we will not see the bulk of the starters. Pittsburgh Steelers’ Head Coach Mike Tomlin made that clear earlier this week. That’s OK though… Because that gives us the opportunity to evaluate a lot of other guys. Let’s get to it.
Last week’s win Jacksonville saw a number of positive performances. Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu were two of those. Both guys took solid steps forward especially when you consider they were facing the Jaguars’ starters.
For Fautanu, it was about getting back on the field after missing almost all of last season. While he admittedly said afterward he still has work to do, he looked solid. But he honestly wasn’t the focus. After a so-so Training Camp, the pressure was on Jones to perform and he did.
Jones held his own in pass protection and looked competent in the run. I say “competent” because I didn’t think any of the starters were overly inspiring in this area. The former first round pick continued his strong play this week in practice. I’m watching both he and Fautanu tonight for continued improvement.
After a really surprising performance last week, I’m very excited to see what Hurleman can do in the second game. To be clear, he was also playing against a lot of Jags’ backup players so perspective is needed. That said, Hurleman showed some better than expected receiving skills.
On one play he caught a ball down the seam in traffic, took a hit and hung on. His touchdown reception was also an impressive individual play as well. While I fully expect to see him on the Practice Squad when the season begins, if he can show some ball carrying skills that will help his overall case.
The rookie OLB played a ton of snaps in week one. The best way I can describe his performance is “steady.” Setting the edge against the run was never going to be an issue and it wasn’t. His ability to get to the quarterback is where concerns start. He did have one QB hit where he should have sacked the QB but didn’t.
I have no expectations that Sawyer is going to flip a switch in a matter of a week and suddenly look like T.J. Watt. He does however have to show he can more consistently pressure the passer. I’m confident he can do this but it will take time. The next step starts tonight.
The second year defensive back from West Virginia is facing a tough battle to remain on the roster with a lot of other DBs stepping up their play. Last week, Bishop played a lot of snaps with very mixed results.
There were times when he looked really good in coverage and in run support. But there were also moments where he missed tackles and looked a bit lost in terms...
