Steelers lose to Redskins 17-13.
August 23, 2009
By Donald Starver
The Steelers came up short last night in a 17-13 loss to the Washington Redskins. However, we need to be careful not to read too much into the results.
Starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn’t play at all, due to an injury that he suffered on the last day of training camp. Offensive tackle Max Starks stepped on Big Ben’s foot, but the injury is not serious. Roethlisberger might have even played a series or two last night if the field weren’t soaking wet. Heavy rains made for a slick playing surface which posed too great a risk for further injury to Roethlisberger. So Charlie Batch started the game in place of Roethlisberger.
The outcome of these games really isn’t important. What matters is how the Steelers execute their assignments, and how they perform in what head coach Mike Tomlin calls “situational football”.
The first unit left the game with the Steelers leading. The 1st team defense had a nice stop within the Redskins 5 yard line that forced them to settle for a field goal. However, there were still several areas of concern.
The team finished the game with 13 penalties. That is far too many. Few teams can find a way to win when they give up that many penalties. Most concerning was the fact that the first unit was just as penalty-prone as the substitutes were.
Also concerning was the protection by the offensive line (sound familiar?). Though the Steelers’ quarterbacks were only sacked twice, they were under pressure quite often. I paid close attention to Max Starks’ battle with Redskins DE Andre Carter, and Carter owned Starks. If you look at the box score, it will show that Carter only had one tackle during the game. However, that is not an accurate reflection of what really happened.
On the positive side, Stefan Logans made the game his personal coming out party. Logans returned 4 punts for an average of 12 yards per return. Even more impressive, he returned 4 kickoffs for an average of 39.3 yards. No, that’s not a typo. He averaged almost 40 yards per kickoff return. He even had one 60 yard return.
Logans pretty much closed the door on his competition with Joe Burnett for return duties. Burnett fielded one punt and fumbled it after gaining only 4 yards. The Redskins scored on the next play. Burnett was also beaten for a touchdown while playing cornerback. When you combine that with the fact that Burnett also had a fumble in last week’s game, it becomes clear that Burnett is not having a good pre-season. Fortunately, Burnett had an interception last week, else he might have been cut immediately following the game.
Other notable performances:
Dan Sepulveda- Sepulveda punted 5 times for an average of 47.8 yards. His longest punt of the night traveled 58 yards.
Rashard Mendenhall- While he didn’t get many touches, Mendenhall averaged 5.2 yards on his 5 carries.
Tom Korte - Recorded an interception, and returned it 27 yards.
Ziggy Hood – Hood recorded both of the Steelers’ sacks.
Martin Nance – Nance made 2 catches for an average of 13 yards per catch.
Needs Improvement:
Tony Hills – Hills accounted for 2 of the Steelers’ 13 penalties. I can live with physical errors. Holding is a part of the game. Heck, if an offensive lineman isn’t holding, then is he really even trying? But what I can’t tolerate is mental errors. Both of Hills’ penalties were due to mental errors. On one he was called for a false start, and on another he was flagged for an illegal formation.
Joe Burnett – Hold onto the ball Joe.
Jeff Reed – Jeff Reed actually missed two field goal attempts in a row. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. After missing his first attempt, Reed was given another shot due to a penalty by the Redskins, and he missed again. It must be snowing in Hell.
Other news:
Back-up quarterback Dennis Dixon left the game with an unspecified shoulder injury.
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Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers, pre-season, results, score, Washington Redskins
Post-Game Reports | admin | 
August 23, 2009 1:26 am
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By Dawn Renee, August 23, 2009 @ 11:42 am
“Sepulveda punted 5 times for an average of 47.8 yards. His longest punt of the night traveled 58 yards.”- I have been very impressed with his performances so far..coming off his knee injury and seemingly not missing a beat. It is a Godsend having him back on the field again.
By admin, August 23, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
Dawn,
I am SOOOOO happy that Sepulveda is back. If I had to watch Paul Ernster and Mitch Berger boot 22 yard punts again this year, I think I would kill myself.
Steeler Nation loves you Dan Sepulveda!!!!!!!
By Erin, August 23, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
And in all fairness to Reed being put under “Needs Improvement”, he was trying to make TWO REALLY LONG kicks on a wet field. I’d be willing to say with absolute certainty that had the field NOT been wet that he would have made either of those kicks.
I was more concerned with Piotr Czech making that 40 some yard field goal when he missed a 36 yard one against Arizona in the first game.
By admin, August 23, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
Erin,
Fair comment. You noticed that I did say that “it must be snowing in Hell”. Jeff Reed is about as dependable as a kicker can be. I wouldn’t trade him for any kicker in the league.
By Josephine, August 23, 2009 @ 3:12 pm
Great and accurate article. Your blog has made it much easier for me to follow the game. I didn’t realize how detrimental penalities could be until I watched last night’s game. Thank you for making the game and the mechanics of it understandable; I look forward to reading future blogs.
By admin, August 23, 2009 @ 4:35 pm
Josephine,
Glad you enjoyed it. Also glad you joined the conversation last night on Facebook. It was great having you. Hope you’ll join us again in the future.
Or stop by here anytime and leave a comment.
By tony, August 24, 2009 @ 2:12 pm
donald,
i understand that we can’t make too much of the game. However, we do try to take things when we win.
We looked like a team that may have gone 9-7 last year not won a super bowl. We do have to consider that teams like NE are looking good on first team right now. Why? because they are good!
Our offense just seems to be very suspect right now. I know Ben was not in there. but ben didn’t move the ball much last week himself remember. We still cannot run the ball!
Our defence looks very soft, especially in the middle of the secondary (first team too).
Logan does look to be a breath of fresh air. Our special teams as a whole looks very sharp to me. And yes, thank God there will be no more berger! geez
On a more positive note, i do know that typically dick does not show all his defence this early. Very vanilla right now. He is a smart man. D will be just fine I’m sure
By admin, August 24, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
Tony,
I hear you, and we definitely had some areas that could use improvement. I’m still not convinced that the running game is going to be any better than it was last year. However, the one thing that gives me a little bit of confidence is the fact that the Steelers looked terrible last year in pre-season. Fans were predicting an 8-8 season (or worse). Ben was throwing interceptions, and Mendenhall kept fumbling the ball. But in the end, I think things turned out okay.
If looking terrible in pre-season is the formula that the Steelers use to win the Super Bowl, then I can live with that.
By Benny, August 24, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
Based on the Redskins game I think Mendenhall, in very limited action, looking pretty good, I’m feeling better about the return game, and Daniel “The Barbarian” Sepulveda being back is enough to make us better than last year even if the O-line stays exactly the same. What does everyone else think?
By tony, August 24, 2009 @ 8:44 pm
donald,
you have a point. lol