The Pittsburgh Steelers got off to a slow start during Sunday’s 14-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the Hall of Fame Game.
The score doesn’t matter at all, neither does the result. What does matter is the things that we can take away from the Steelers first performance.
With that being said, here’s five takeaways from the Steelers first preseason game.
1. The Steelers defense shows off its speed
Gone are the veterans and in their place are a bunch of youngsters with speed. That is going to be the Steelers identity on the defensive side of the ball and it was on display Sunday night.
The front seven looked pretty good as a lot of starters on the defensive side saw a good bit of playing time. The inside linebacker trio of Lawrence Timmons, Sean Spence and Ryan Shazier looked especially good as they showed off their speed and were all over the field.
That is a great sign this early.
2. Ryan Shazier looks healthy
Speaking of Shazier, he looked very good and more importantly healthy.
Shazier is coming off a disappointing rookie campaign that saw him get injured early and then saw him struggle to find a rhythm later in the season.
He was all over the field making plays both against the run and the pass, finishing with four tackles and also nearly made a diving interception as well.
The Steelers need Shazier to be healthy and he is off to a good start so far.
3. Brandon Boykin could end up starting
Boykin was acquired by the Steelers during camp and early indications are it was a great move.
He was the No. 21 corner in the league last year according to Pro Football Focus and the Steelers badly need a playmaker in the secondary.
Boykin was flying around, breaking up a short pass at the line of scrimmage and shooting into the zone to clean up a screen pass.
He played mostly in the slot but made it clear he wants to play on the outside.
That could end up being a possibility as Boykin made a great first impression.
4. Jesse James offers a poor first impression
Speaking of impressions that brings me to a guy who didn’t make a good first one.
I didn’t like the pick of James and while I feel the Steelers need another tight end, James isn’t going to be much of an answer.
He’s struggled in camp so far and the book on him coming out of Penn State has proven true to this point. James isn’t much of a run blocker and despite great size, lacks focus when it comes to catching the football.
James caught two passes for nine yards, but also had a pair of big drops that turned the tide of the game. One would have been a sure touchdown and the other ended up right in a Vikings players hands. That play was actually ruled a fumble, but came as a result of James not securing the football.
I laughed when people said James would be the Steelers replacement for Heath Miller. Nothing could be further from the truth.
5. Landry Jones is playing his way out of town
Jones is on his third go around with the Steelers and continues to look poor in preseason play.
He played the entire game and finished just 16-for-32 with 135 yards.
The numbers don’t mean as much as the fact that Jones was inaccurate and inconsistent all night long.
Jones won’t move up to No. 2 on the depth chart anytime soon and on most teams would have likely been gone by now.
But the Steelers don’t have many realistic options to replace him so Jones may be safe. But if he doesn’t show signs of improvement, I wouldn’t put it past Kevin Colbert to look outside the organization for a better No. 3 option.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
