Amid the celebration of the induction of Jerome Bettis in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend in Canton, the Pittsburgh Steelers will open their preseason on Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings with kickoff slated for 8 p.m.
Though the recurrent theme of putting in quality work without players getting injured during the preseason rarely changes, it does not mean there won’t be plenty of things to keep an eye on Sunday night.
Add the laundry list of injuries and players working through a variety of bumps and bruises and it’s fair to assume many of the players that will get the bulk of the playing time will be players you may have never heard of, or ones that will face an uphill climb to make their way onto the 53-man roster.
Regardless, there will plenty of story lines to focus on. Here’s four suggestions to help keep things interesting:
The battle for remaining linebacker spots is going to be worth a long look:
The Steelers will likely keep 11 linebackers on their 53-man roster. Of those spots, we can safely assume Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Moats, Ryan Shazier, James Harrison, Bud Dupree, Jarvis Jones, Vince Williams, and Sean Spence will make that list. That leaves three more spots available with a number of talented young linebackers looking to prove they are ready make an impact.
It’s the next tier of linebackers that will be worth keeping tabs on. After making the team as a rookie, Jordan Zumwalt will have his hands full keeping his roster spot. Zumwalt has streaked together some quality practices of late after a slow start. Zumwalt still has a lot to prove, but his ability to play special teams will help.
Arguably the most intriguing battle of camp is at outside linebacker. Howard Jones, Shayon Green and Anthony Chickillo have looked good at camp and will get ample opportunities to prove they can get the job done in game action. Jones is a player the Steelers thought enough of to put on their practice squad last season, and former college teammates Green and Chickillo have earned praise from the coaching staff early.
Add Dupree into the mix and this will be something to keep your attention for four quarters Sunday.
Has Dri Archer taken a step forward in his development in year two?
You could make the argument that no rookie was more disappointing last season than Dri Archer. Expected to be an immediate contributor in the return game and to develop into a third down back, Archer lost the confidence of his coaches early and never gained it back.
Archer will get every opportunity to prove his doubters wrong on Sunday, especially in the return game, which will be vital to his ability to thrive as an NFL player. If he falters this preseason, don’t be surprised if he is cut despite of the lack of running back depth and the Steelers using a valuable third round pick on him last year.
Will the backup offensive tackles prove to be reliable options this preseason?
Mike Adams and Alejandro Villanueva were listed as the backups at left and right tackle after the first depth chart was released earlier this week. Each player has some question marks, and both are worth keeping an eye on Sunday.
Adams has been largely a disappointment after being a second round pick in 2012, and if the Steelers had more depth at the position, I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe his job would be in jeopardy. The lack of lateral quickness has exposed Adams at times protecting Ben Roethlisberger’s blind side and that is an obvious issue. This might be Adams last chance to prove he’s worthy of a roster spot before the Steelers consider rooting the waiver wire for a veteran to replace him.
Villanueva is certainly a feel good story after his long road to the NFL after three tours of duty in Afghanistan. With only a year of experience playing tackle at the professional level, some question whether or not Villanueva can handle being a play away from starting. All accounts are that he’s played well and is in position to backup Marcus Gilbert at right tackle as long as he can get the job done in game action.
Has Landry Jones improved enough to make the Steelers comfortable keeping him in year three?
When Landry Jones was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, it raised a few eyebrows. After all, Jones came from a spread offense at Oklahoma and had no pro-style experience before becoming a Steeler. Jones inexperience showed immediately, and his lack of pocket presence and passing accuracy has bordered on alarming for the past two seasons. In fact, a strong case was made by some that Jones did not deserve a roster spot last year after a flat out dismal camp.
So far early in year three, reports have been positive regarding Jones. However, few players have more to prove than Jones in a game setting, and you can expect to see plenty of him Sunday night with Roethlisberger likely to play a series at the most and Bruce Gradkowski out with a shoulder injury.
It’s time for Jones to prove he’s worthy of a roster spot, otherwise, it might be time to consider other options for depth at quarterback.
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