Eagles @ Steelers, Pre-season Game 2 Notes:
KDKA had the telecast; unsurprisingly, they had far fewer cameras than the networks commonly use.� For that reason, the re-plays generally were worthless and any reverse angle absent.� So, it was tough to really see what was going on but a couple things did stick out.
When the Eagle regulars had the ball:
The Eagles went 3 and out on their first two possessions.� Of 6 plays, 5 were passes (1/5, 3 yards).� The PS were in their base in the first series, heavy nickel in the second.� James Farrior was the star in the early going with effective TE-coverage in the 3rd and 4th plays plus a big hit on Corny Buckhalter on the Eagles� sole run..�����
That all changed; Philly opened their 3rd possession with a hitch to WR Todd Pinkston, converted from 1st and 20 off 2 slants to WR James Thrash, moved into 1st and goal on another slant to TE Chad Lewis.� The players victimized were Dewayne Washington and Mike Logan.� Giving his standard 7-yard cushion, Washington had no chance on those first 3; on the last, Logan seemed to lose all contact with Lewis.� In the next series, ML failed to wrap up in run support (Reno Mahe, 8-yard) too.� That Washington struggled is no surprise but Logan�s effort was very disappointing.� If Brent Alexander played, he was invisible.
On the plus side, Casey Hampton collapsed the pocket on 3 consecutive pass plays, drawing two holding penalties.� This suggests that the Steelers actually could play some press, that they aren�t absolutely blitz-reliant.� AS it played out though, Big�s effort was wasted by the D-back�s soft coverage and further on the downside, McNabb, flushed on 1 play, easily eluded Kendrell Bell in the open field.� Really, Bell had no chance, looking very stiff and slow.
The Eagles scored again on their 4th possess, with AJ Freeley directing them 87 yards in 15 plays with 5:47 TOP.� Mainly, this was off Chad Scott�s twin pass interference penalties although the Eagles passed underneath at will.�� Farrior and Logan were split at the GL for the Eagles 2nd score by Kori Dickerson, #3 TE.
Of note:
- At 3-14, the Eagles had a 15:46 to 6:47 Top advantage.
- Philly had converted 7/9 3rd down opportunities including (3) by run (QB sneak), (3) pass and (1) penalty.� Not good.� After the opening two possessions, the Eagles were 7/7 on 3rd down.
When the Steeler regulars had the ball:
T-Max was just awful.� He never had his feet set to throw, consequently, the deep ball was short and the underneath stuff scattered.� Maddox took two big hits early, both courtesy of the left side where Ike Reese came free between Faneca and Okobi on a delay and, later, Marvel Smith turned Darwin Walker over to Faneca, who was otherwise engaged.
Other notes:
- Spike had 1 straight-up drop on possession 1 and, on possession 3, didn�t come down with a ball on a must-have play.� Really not good.
- Todd Fordham must start at ROT; Fordham is competent while Ross doesn�t seem to have a clue.� IMO, Nkwenti looked better than Ross and Nkwenti did not look great.��
- Amoz started but did little.� Later, Jerome Bettis scored, virtually untouched, on a 4-yard sweep; however, on two prior line plunges, he looked slow-to-glacial off the snap and crumbled on impact.��
- Kendrell Simmons played in possession 4 that featured Maddox in the hurry-up.� Simmons held up in protection but on two right side runs cited above, the Steelers got push zero.���
Later:
Directly after the PS 2nd score, Eagle Freddie Milons brought a gut return back 87 yards, setting up an easy TD. �Jeez, that seemed familiar.
Charlie Batch looked good in the 1st half, got off well in the 3rd quarter but cooled off considerably following the lightning delay. However, it�s worth noting though that the Eagle 1st secondary was done following the Steelers 3rd possession; Batch entered the game in possession 5.� Otherwise:
- Chris Doering was the go-to guy on the 2nd unit.� Doering was okay although, late in the 1st half, he dropped an EZ pass that Batch had threaded through very sound coverage.�
- Khori Ivy had a couple grabs but really didn�t impress.�
- Lee Mays appeared to be the 3rd option on the 2nd unit; off his role last night, it is impossible to project him as the #4 WR.
Batch did okay against the Eagle 2nd unit but his final play was a near disaster, a botched screen where he threw the ball to a back who was bracketed under and over.� This play could easily have come back.� Speaking of the RB:
- Fu is a cut; he blew a hamstring on the opening KO and is out at least 2 weeks.� The Steelers just can�t afford two RB with health issues.
- Verron Haynes looked very good.� Had a nice blitz pick-up on possession 4; ran with authority and caught the ball well too.� Runs low with some shake and power; all in all, showed me far more than I�d expected.
- Dante
Brown runs with authority, can catch the ball, had a blitz pickup and
showed energy on ST.� On the
downside, he did cough it up late.�
However, he�s a keeper IMO; at this date for sure, Walls is more
likely to make it through waivers than Brown.
- Wes
Ours has no chance although, on his single carry, he hit the hole
about as hard as the Bus had earlier.
2nd unit defenders:
- James Harrison, David Upchurch and Terence Robinson stood out late as the Steelers scrubs repeatedly stoned the Eagle scrubs.� Harrison should make the team, Upchurch has a chance but Robinson does not.
- For the 2nd straight week, Chidi Iwuoma got out-muscled in the EZ.
- Jabari Issa repeatedly vacated his rush lane, so did Brett Keisel.� Zo Jackson has a long way to go, about as far as his repeated outside rushes take him from the QB.� Off this game, I see little prospect that Zo will contribute.
- Clint Kriewaldt plays with good energy.��
- Troy Polamalu is obviously a great athlete but you can just about see him leafing thru his playbook before reacting.� At the moment, Troy is not a difference-maker but that could change any time.
Bad stupidity:
- In
possession 4, Maddox had the Steelers in hurry-up mode.� After 3 completions (his first of the
game), they had to call TO, as the play was late coming in.� Ultimately, the PS scored anyway,
though aided by several Eagle penalties.�
Shortly thereafter came Milons� KO return.�� We�ve seen all that before; bad
communication, bad ST and so on.�
- At the end of the 1st half, Batch had the Steelers at the Eagle 2 or so with 3 seconds on the clock, a situation custom made for a goal-line drill, especially now when, per Coach Cowher, the mission is get rhythm, evaluate players and win, in that order.� Why then, a FG try?� I think we understand Jeff Reed can get it home from 19 yards; in fact, had the PS scored, they�d have had the opportunity to practice that set anyway.���
- Chukky Okobi went nearly all the way at OC; Jimond Pugh, who has no chance to make the final 53, finished up.� The Hartings� situation strongly suggests that the PS #3 OC has a chance to play this season.� That 3rd guy won�t be Pugh; the PS ought to be working Collins and/or Simmons at the spot.
- Chad Scott took two PI, Chidi Iwuoma one.� In the second half, an Eagle scrub CB pretty much mugged Doering but drew no flag.� Why?� Well, maybe because that CB was looking for the ball; now, he had no more chance for a pick than anyone in Section 530G but the �attempt� did get him some rhythm.� Willie Robinson has got to train his CB likewise.
Summary:
The offense is completely out of synch; the same structural problems that the defense had last season in dealing with the West Coast are unaltered; timidity and slop obtained on the sidelines.� Here we go, here we go�