Preseason schedule

Friday, August 12 - at Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 18 - Philadelphia, 8 p.m. (Fox)
Saturday, August 27 - Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 1 - at Carolina, 8 p.m.


What to watch for?

The Steelers kick off their preseason tonight against the Washington Redskins. It's their first of what will hopefully be 23 or 24 games, from today until early February.

It's a long difficult road ahead. No Super Bowl runner-up has returned to the big game the following year since the Buffalo Bills' run of four straight appearances ended following the 1993 season. But the Steelers return with a veteran group. Their most significant loss may have been backup tight end Matt Spaeth.

Beginning with tonight's game, the Steelers primary focus during the preseason will be avoiding injuries from the starters, along with finding depth and up-and-coming talent.

GOALS:

1. No one who matters gets hurt.

2. Back-up races get settled.

3. No one who matters gets hurt.

Date: Friday, Aug. 12
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Site: FedEx Field
TV: KDKA-TV (live), NFL Network at 4 p.m. on Aug. 13 (tape delay)


Position-by-position breakdown


QB

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the starters will go for 10 plays or less in the preseason opener with starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger expected to play only one series.

Byron Leftwich is expected to replace Roethlisberger after the first series, with Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch splitting time in the second half. Dixon and Batch are battling for the No. 3 spot.


RB

Promising rookie Baron Batch suffered a serious knee injury late in practice on Wednesday. He was one of the early standouts in training camp. The Steelers top three running back spots are set with Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore, but Batch's injury creates an intriguing preseason competition between second-year man Jonathan Dwyer and undrafted free agent John Clay.


WR

The signing of Jerricho Cotchery should complete the Steelers receiving corps with Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Hines Ward and Cotchery.

But there are several other players competing for possibly a sixth spot, the practice squad or auditioning for a job with another team. The list includes special teams standout Arnaz Battle, Tyler Grisham and Limas Sweed. Eric Greenwood, a 6-foot-6 receiver from Idaho, Wes Lyons, 6-8 from West Virginia, and Terrence McCrae, 6-3 from Ohio University, have each had their moments in training camp.


TE

Heath Miller returns as the starting tight end with David Johnson serving as the team's fullback/H-back. There is a competition for the third tight end spot between veteran free agent John Gilmore and undrafted rookie Weslye Saunders. The Steelers considered signing former Bengals tight end Reggie Kelly, but Kelly decided to retire rather than sign for the veteran minimum.


OL

At the start of training camp, the expectation was that Doug Legursky and Ramon Foster would compete for the starting right guard spot. Another player appears to be joining the mix. That is Chris Scott, who the Steelers drafted in 2010 out of Tennessee. Legursky figures to start at left guard tonight with Chris Kemoeatu out.


DL

Aaron Smith has returned to the starting spot at DE, despite having his third season in four years cut short by injury in 2010. As long as the 12-year veteran stays healthy, he'll be the starter but the Steelers now have Ziggy Hood and first-round draft pick Cameron Heyward as insurance.


LB

The three players to watch during the preseason are Jason Worilds, Chris Carter and Stevenson Sylvester. Carter has had a strong showing so far in camp with his quickness of the edge. Sylvester was a special teams standout as a rookie and should get more of a look defensively in year two.


Secondary


The cornerback position enters the season as one of the major question mark areas following their performance in Super Bowl XLV. Bryant McFadden and William Gay, the two players who were exposed the most during that game, still figure to be the top two cornerbacks opposite Ike Taylor.

The Steelers drafted two cornerbacks -- Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen -- but both have been slowed by injuries in training camp.

The preseason will be another opportunity for Keenan Lewis and/or Crezdon Butler to make a move up the depth chart.

I'm excited for the game. Can't wait to see the rookies and new guys in action.

Anyone got a live feed? Not on TV here.

No live feed here either. Would love to see Redman's 22 yard td run.

Back to work. Not a good showing even for a first preseason game.

Redskins had 27 first downs and the Steelers only 11.

Yardage was 452-186.

Steelers had a tough time sustaining any drives because of poor offensive line play.

Defensively, they were giving up a lot of rushing yards I think because of a lot of inexperienced players going against the Redskins, who have that Denver-style blocking scheme.

The cornerbacks also had a tough night. Most notably Keenan Lewis.

Bright spots include:

- Isaac Redman 5 carries, 42 yards and a nice 22-yard TD run
- Antonio Brown 4 rec, 64 yards. It looks like he's put himself in position to take a big step in his second year. He gets open with relative ease. He got behind the defense for a potential long TD but the pass was overthrown by Leftwich.
- Cameron Heyward represented himself well in his preseason debut. He looked powerful.
- Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith is a backup safety out of UTEP. He was on the practice squad last year and could be again this year. He was out there a lot because the defense was on the field often and ended up being involved in a lot of tackles. Also made a few plays on special teams.
- Mortty Ivy a linebacker from West Virginia had six tackles and brought the wood a couple times.

Yeah, not a good night at all. You can't read too much into it but I'd like to see a better performance against Philly.

Ike Taylor broke a finger. Not sure if it will require surgery and he could miss the opener vs. Baltimore.

Ugh.

From what I've read, they think Taylor should be back by the opener vs. the Ravens.

Can't panic too much over this. The Steelers starters mainly played just one series while Washington's starters pretty much played a half. Also that lineup was without Harrison, Polamalu, Ward, etc.

I thought Hayward looked great. The kid is going to be a beast.

GoPens;861056 wrote:From what I've read, they think Taylor should be back by the opener vs. the Ravens.

Can't panic too much over this. The Steelers starters mainly played just one series while Washington's starters pretty much played a half. Also that lineup was without Harrison, Polamalu, Ward, etc.

I thought Hayward looked great. The kid is going to be a beast.

I like what you heard better. Ha.

Oh yes. Heyward was tough last night. Look for him to see a lot of PT this year since OSU ran a similar scheme to what the Steelers do on the D-line.

Man's game, Cam. Man's game.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-08-12/pittsburgh-steelers-training-camp-ike-taylor-possibly-out-for-several-weeks

Date: Thursday, Aug. 18
Time: 8 p.m.
Site: Heinz Field
TV: FOX


Though only the second week of the preseason, the Steelers will look rebound with a better overall effort when they host the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night at Heinz Field.

In week one, the Steelers fell to the Washington Redskins, 16-7. The offense struggled to sustain drives, while the defense gave up significant yardage, primarily in pass defense.

Coach Mike Tomlin appropriately summed it up.

“That’s not the kind of performance we were looking for. Quite frankly, we got outplayed in just about all areas: blocking, tackling, running, throwing, kicking. That team was better prepared tonight than us. They showed it. We accept that, and I look forward to this group responding to what we put out there tonight. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

One of the few bright spots for the Steelers was the play of second-year receiver Antonio Brown, who finished with 64 yards on four catches. Brown has had a strong training camp, taking advantage of the extra reps as fellow second-year wideout Emmanuel Sanders recovers from a foot injury.

The Steelers have some injury concerns entering tonight's game. Four cornerbacks -- Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, Crezdon Butler and rookie Cortez Allen -- will not play.

Defensive stars Troy Polamalu and James Harrison are expected to see their first action of the preseason.

The starters are expected to go 20 to 25 plays.

Projecting 53

Anyone listed above the line at that specific position should be a lock.


QB
Ben Roethlisberger (1)
Bryon Leftwich (2)
-------------------------
Charlie Batch
Dennis Dixon


RB
Rashard Mendenhall (3)
Isaac Redman (4)
Mewelde Moore (5)
-------------------------
Jonathan Dwyer
John Clay
James Johnson


WR
Mike Wallace (6)
Hines Ward (7)
Antonio Brown (8)
Emmanuel Sanders (9)
Jerrico Cotchery (10)
-------------------------
Arnaz Battle
Tyler Grisham
Eric Greenwood
Wes Lyons
Terrence McCrae
Kenny Moore


TE
Heath Miller (11)
David Johnson (12)
-------------------------
John Gilmore
Weslye Saunders
Jamie McCoy
Miguel Chavis


OL
Jonathan Scott (13)
Chris Kemoeatu (14)
Maurkice Pouncey (15)
Ramon Foster (16)
Willie Colon (17)
Doug Legursky (18)
Chris Scott (19)
Marcus Gilbert (20)
-------------------------
Tony Hills
Keith Williams
Kyle Jolly
John Malecki


DL
Aaron Smith (21)
Casey Hampton (22)
Brett Keisel (23)
Ziggy Hood (24)
Cameron Heyward (25)
Chris Hoke (26)
-------------------------
Steve McLendon
Corbin Bryant
Anthony Gray


LB
James Harrison (27)
Lawrence Timmons (28)
James Farrior (29)
LaMarr Woodley (30)
Larry Foote (31)
Stevenson Sylvester (32)
Jason Worilds (33)
Chris Carter (34)
-------------------------
Mortty Ivy
Mario Harvey
Baraka Atkins
Chris Ellis


CB
Ike Taylor (35)
Bryant McFadden (36)
William Gay (37)
Curtis Brown (38)
Cortez Allen (39)
-------------------------
Crezdon Butler
Keenan Lewis
Donovan Warren
Macho Harris
Kevin Dockery


S
Troy Polamalu (40)
Ryan Clark (41)
Ryan Mundy (42)
-------------------------
Will Allen
Da'Mon Cromartie Smith
Brett Greenwood


LS
Greg Warren (43)


K
Shaun Suisham (44)
-------------------------
Swayze Waters


P
Daniel Sepulveda (45)
-------------------------
Jeremy Kapinos


remaining 8 spots
No. 3 QB - Batch or Dixon (46)
No. 3 TE - Gilmore or Saunders or Chavis (47)
Jonathan Dwyer (48)
Will Allen (49)
Crezdon Butler (50)
Keenan Lewis (51)
Keith Williams (52)
sixth receiver - probably Arnaz Battle for special teams (53)


on the bubble:
Tyler Grisham...He will have to prove himself on special teams coverage to beat out Battle.
Tony Hills...Appears to be in a battle with rookie Keith Williams for a reserve line spot.
Mortty Ivy...Numbers game at linebacker. He'll be out unless there is an injury.
Da'Mon Cromartie Smith...Unless he can beat out Will Allen he'll probably be on the practice squad again.

Bradshaw is in the booth with Buck and Aikman. That's new.

Steelers fans should be embarrassed of that kid who just sung the national anthem in a Steelers jersey haha

Hb31187;866841 wrote:Steelers fans should be embarrassed of that kid who just sung the national anthem in a Steelers jersey haha

Come on, man. LOL. He's in a choir so that's how he's going to perform it. I think he did it justice. Ya' know, without all of Christina Aguilera jazzin' it up shit at the end.

I was looking at my phone that entire national anthem and thought it was a chick until.the very end when Buck said well done young man lol

Jonathan Scott hurt on the first play of the game. Geez.

Nice play action there.

Gotta be a penalty on that hit on roeth

Joe Buck is surprised that the refs didn't call a late hit at Ben's knees on Philly there.

Sadly, I'm not surprised.

SportsAndLady;866848 wrote:Gotta be a penalty on that hit on roeth

You'd think.

Thanks, Cullen.

Right knee injury for Scott. Hope it's not serious.

killer_ewok;866842 wrote:Come on, man. LOL. He's in a choir so that's how he's going to perform it. I think he did it justice. Ya' know, without all of Christina Aguilera jazzin' it up **** at the end.

Haha ok ok ill cut em a break. Safe to say thats the only time in his life he'll be wearing a football jersey tho lol

Bradshaw is brutal in the booth