Each week this football season, Pittsburgh Sporting News will take a look at the positives and negatives from that week’s Pittsburgh Steelers contest in Three up and Three down. Let’s start with last night’s season-opening 28-21 defeat against the New England Patriots.
Three up:
•For starters, did DeAngelo Williams find the fountain of youth, or what? Any concerns about Williams being able bridge the two-game gap until suspended All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell can return were put to rest last night after rushing for 127 yards on 21 carries. The 32-year old Williams looked 10 years younger with his decisive cuts and burst. A healthy Williams moving forward could give the Steelers an outstanding backup to Bell the rest of the way.
Let’s not forget about the offensive line either. Though they gave up three sacks for the night, Williams had massive holes to utilize thanks to the efforts of the Steelers OL.
•Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown picked up where they left off last season. Roethlisberger would finish the night with a line that read 26 for 38, 351 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Only a miscue on a certain touchdown catch by Darrius Heyward-Bey cost Roethlisberger a second TD pass that would have pushed his passing total towards the 400-yard range.
Brown once again proved why he’s developed into the best receiver in the NFL. His first quarter catch was definitive Brown: even with Patriots corner Malcolm Brown draped all over him, he still made a highlight-reel catch. Brown would catch a late TD with the game’s outcome already set and would finish with nine catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.
•Lastly, despite of every reason under the sun both before and during the game for the Steelers to lose, the Steelers were still in striking distance for a win. Missed field goals, defensive gaffes, poor play calls and penalties, and of course, issues with communications for the Steelers coaching staff, yet the Steelers still came close to the upset.
This bodes well moving forward. With key players on offense coming back like Bell and Martavis Bryant, this offense should be even more explosive. The Steelers got a tough game out of the way and were not taken to the woodshed like many thought.
Three down:
•Oh, Josh Scobee. It wasn’t exactly the kind of debut Steeler fans were expecting when the Steelers acquired the veteran kicker last week. Scobee missed two kicks and both misses were absolutely deflating (see what I did there?) Though both attempts were over 40 yards in distance, the Steelers acquired Scobee to make those kicks with regularity. His shaky debut cost the Steelers dearly and has many questioning if he’ll be able to fill the shoes of Shaun Suisham.
Don’t expect a change yet. The Steelers traded picks for Scobee and he’s a proven kicker over his long career. However, it’s fair to say the leash won’t be long if he continues to struggle.
•Not a great night for the Steelers coaching staff as a whole. Keith Butler did not exactly have a memorable debut as the Steelers defensive coordinator. The merry go round of safeties and Terrence Garvin inexplicably being left on an island with Rob Gronkowski were just a couple of the lowlights. Tom Brady spent the entire game throwing underneath routes and finding Gronkowski uncovered. Where were the adjustments?
It might not have helped that the Steelers coaching staff claims to have spent much of the first half listening the home radio broadcast of the game instead of being able to communicate with one another. That could that explain the Steelers secondary looking completely lost throughout. Considering Cortez Allen and Shamarko Thomas were exposed or replaced much of the night, the secondary has a lot of work ahead.
What in the world was Todd Haley thinking on that play call for the wide receiver pass on the first drive? Awful. God awful.
•Finally, a big thumbs down to the NFL and the Patriots for the communications issues that clearly had the Steelers coaching staff heated both during and after the game. Funny, claims of sour grapes seem to be coming from Patriot Nation, but it seems to me of all teams and situations, they’d have radio communications in order for this one.
Did the radio issues, where Steelers coaches were unable to communicate have anything to do with the Steelers defense not knowing where to position themselves? We can’t know for sure; it was the Steelers opening game with a new defensive coordinator and a lot of new players.
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