Steelers beat Lions in preseason game
The Steelers now have one preseason game under their belts. They also have one win, as they defeated the Detroit Lions 23-7.
The question that most fans were asking going into the game was “who will play quarterback?” The answer was a bit of a surprise. Ben Roethlisberger didn’t play at all. He was dressed for the game, but the coaches decided not to play him. Byron Leftwich started the game. And just like he has in training camp, he looked a bit rusty and inaccurate. Dennis Dixon came in to replace Leftwich, and it is fair to say that it was Dixon who led the Steelers to victory. And just like in training camp, Charlie Batch was left with a handful of meaningless snaps.
There were high points and low points in the game. One of the low points was the running game. This was particularly disturbing because it was obvious that the Steelers were trying to emphasize the run. There’s nothing more frustrating than making a concerted effort to do something, and failing at it.
The Steelers running backs seemed to be stuffed each time they tried to run the ball. Rashard Mendenhall rushed 5 times for 2 yards. Mewelde Moore rushed 1 time for 3 yards. Justin Vincent rushed 1 time for 5 yards. Jonathan Dwyer rushed 6 times for 8 yards. The lone bright spot seemed to be Isaac Redman, who rushed 15 times for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Isaac Redman runs hard
But before you get too excited about Redman’s performance, just remember that Redman was the rushing star of last year’s preseason too. He earned the nickname “Red Zone” because of his ability to get the ball in the endzone. Yet, despite his effectiveness in the preseason, Frank Summers made the Steelers’ final 53-man roster, and Redman was placed on the practice squad. So I’ve learned to temper my excitement about players who perform well in the preseason. Apparently, the Steelers coaches see things that we don’t. Or perhaps it’s actually the other way around. Perhaps they don’t see what we do. 
The game was marred by a 1 hour and 13 minute delay due to rain and lightning.
But when the rain let up, it was Dennis Dixon who shined the brightest. Dixon completed long passes to Arnaz Battle (51 yards) and Antonio Brown (68 yards). The pass to Brown resulted in a Brown’s first NFL touchdown. Perhaps the connection to Brown was to be expected, since anyone who has been at Steelers Training Camp has probably noticed that Brown has emerged as Dennis Dixon’s favorite target.
One disappointment was Flozell Adams. Flozell has looked very good at training camp. However, he looked a bit slow during last night’s game. He gave up an obvious sack on Byron Leftwich. Adams was looking right at the rushing defender, and he even got his hands on him, but he still ran right past Adams as though he weren’t even there. Adams is going to have to do a lot better than that. But overall, the Steelers quarterbacks were only sacked twice, so that’s not so bad for a first outing.
Byron Leftwich gets sacked.
Other bright spots included Rookie linebacker Stevenson Sylvester and Ryan Clark. Sylvester seemed to be all over the field. He led the team with 4 tackles and 3 assists. Clark picked up an interception, something that the Steelers seemed unable to do last season.
Based on this game, I can already hear some Steelers fans calling for Dennis Dixon to be named the starter when the regular season starts. I would caution them to temper their excitement. There are still 3 more preseason games remaining. Just as he played well this game, he could play terribly next game. It is probably best to judge every player based on their body of work over all 4 preseason games, rather than rushing to judgment after only one game.
It’s obvious that there are still things that the Steelers need to work on. Despite the interception by Ryan Clark, the secondary got sliced to pieces by Matthew Stafford. None of the cornerbacks looked like playmakers. That is exactly what we saw last season. So fans are going to want to see that change before the regular season starts.
The bottom line is that the Steelers got the win, and that is what really counts. But the coaches are going to have some things to work on once they look at the film of the game. But of course, that’s exactly what the preseason is for. Personally, I’m just ecstatic to see the Steelers on the field again.
Here we go Steelers, here we go!
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I think overall we looked good for the first pre-season game. We have to hold on to the ball better, Ike Redman is a keeper! He should have made the team last year. The defense with time will be back to top form and we need them till Ben comes back. I give them a 7.5 out of 10.
1I’m glad we have addressed the running game this offseason because if we hadn’t we might not have been in positive yardage last last against the LIONS!
Is it only me? Why has Charlie been left out of the loop? He has been more than capable for us in the past winning tough games when called upon. Honestly I don’t even know why Byron was signed. But I do agree that jury is still out on Dixson starting this year.
Special Teams look like they are getting ready to give up a big return soon. And what happened to Sepulveda kicking off some? Tomlin said he would get some during the first game. Guess we still can’t believe what he says.
I disagree that win is what matters. In preseason everything but the win matters and we are showing we have a long way to go. By the way, we won it with the 3rd and 4th stringers against the 3rd and 4th stringers. We won a scrimage. Whooptie Do.
I think Pouncey showed a lot of promise! More than Flozell.
Young WRs showed some promise as well.will be interesting to see who gets on the field this year. However, it doesn’t help us that we have 2 speedy WRs when we don’t have a QB on the roster (including Ben) who can lead them on the long ball. Always under throwing.
I agree it was good to see a football field with Steeler Jerseys on after a long offseason.
2Pouncey needs to be on the first team; he has already shown more ability than Essex will ever have. There were a few instances where the interior OL just fell apart. That can’t happen if we want to run.
Also, Leftwich won’t last long behind an OL like that. He needs protection with his lack of mobility and slow wind-up. I’ve been rooting for Dixon since before training camp. I hope he continues to improve. As for Batch, I love what he’s done for the Steelers, but he is simply too injury prone now.
The RBs need to stop this fumbling immediately. Mendenhall is a good back, but needs to hold the ball closer to his body. Redman looked good yet again. I say the RBs will be Mendy, Moore, and Redman with Tank at FB (a.k.a. the position that has been unfortunately forgotten.)
WRs look good. Antonio Brown looked great! The WR corps will probably be Ward, Wallace, Randle-El, Sanders, Brown, and Battle.
Stafford shredded our defense…’s back-ups. I was actually impressed how Burnett and Lewis stopped Calvin Johnson in the endzone a couple of times. Stopping Megatron is no easy feat. Still, we need improvement at the CB position to go far.
3Oline continues to be the weak link. The Hotel is a at least two steps down from Colon, Hartwig is terrible, and I’m not sure how Essex is still on the team. Kemo is the only solid guy on the first team. I don’t think Starks would start on most other teams. Time to let Pouncey play at center, Foster at the other guard spot. Right tackle could be ugly.
4Tony,
Charlie Batch is one of the oldest players on the Steelers (I think he’ll be 63 in October). he is also probably the most injury prone. Charlie is ALWAYS hurt. When was the last time that you remember seeing him actually perform for the Steelers? I’ll bet he was backing up Terry Bradshaw at the time. Also, the Steelers are being very consistent to what they have done at training camp. Charlie has been the odd man out at training camp, and the Lions game was no different.
I do agree with all of your other points, though. Particularly that wins don’t really matter that much in the preseason.
5Dan,
Yeah, Mendenhall really does need to do a better job of securing the ball. But this has been a problem with him since he joined the Steelers.
I think the jury is still out on the cornerbacks. But I certainly hope that Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett step up this year.
6TO,
7The offensive line is definitely a work in progress. But that’s been the case for at least 5 years, so Steelers fans should be used to it by now.
Donald,
Ok, he is collecting Social Security. I agree. Just thought he could make it four games surely. But now that I’m thinking of that QB protection I am probably wrong about that. LOL
8Tony,
9When was the last time you’ve seen Charlie Batch make it through 4 games without getting hurt? Heck, I’d like to see him make it through 4 minutes without getting hurt.