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- WoodsonOfSteel
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If you didn't get to watch the game...
by WoodsonOfSteel » Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:44 pm
Below you will find nothing more than a collective series of observations by myself throughout the game as it went on. I'd edit it to where it's more organized but frankly, it's good enough. I've already typed it once... 
I hope this helps paint a little better picture for those that weren't fortunate enough to witness the season opener first-hand!
First Quarter
Season started off good. Coverage held inside the 20. Let’s hope that stays consistent.
Polamalu showed right away he still has his closing speed.
Run defense showing to be stifling as always.
Good stop on 3rd and short midfield. Couldn’t hold on 4th. Lucky spot said otherwise. Challenge? Our ball going the other
way.
Wide open field to let Ben scramble for the 1st and then some. 17 or so yard gain.
Willie off to a slow start. Little to no gain on all 3 runs.
Santonio made a tough grab on 3rd down for the 1st.
Willie turned the corner and put down his shoulder for a tough TD. He’s as quick as I remember. 3+ yards average on first drive.
Second kickoff rolled out the back of the end zone. I’m diggin’ the squib kick. Can’t get a TD return with that.
What was with Polamalu sliding and getting up shaky?
Going to be a long day if they don’t stay on Andre Johnson. Wide open on a good play action from Schaub.
Welcome to a starting role, Mr. Woodley. Matt Schaub shaken on the sack.
The pressure is coming. 2 sacks in one series. Questionable hold on Harrison. No-call. Would have been 1st to the QB otherwise.
First punt return of the year : Fair catch. Go figure.
Long ball to Ward. Quack quack. Still caught it with a good RAC inside the 5. Offsetting penalties still ends up in a “F the
Steelers†phantom penalty causing a replay of down instead of 1st and goal from the 3.
Heath is a BIG weapon in this offense. Good catch and run for a 1st down.
Pocket keeps collapsing. Fears of OLine starting to surface.
Nice quick slant to Ward for a big gain. Pressure on Ben. Not liking that.
Second Quarter
Keep moving the chains with Miller up the middle. Unstoppable.
Willie keeps going for little to no gains. Due to break one for 20-30 yards.
Santonio with a catch for the 1st down. Fumbled on contact. Out of bounds. Lucky break.
Poor exchange between Hartwig and Ben in the red zone. Let’s hope this is only a fluke.
Willie runs in for another TD on a nice delayed run up the middle. He followed his blocks (Sprung by Kemo) with a little
B-button action before walking into the end zone.
Offense is moving the ball at will. A lot of runs being stuffed at the line but the passing game is allowing Willie to be
effective in bursts.
Kick coverage looks good again on another stop around the 20.
Harrison tried to take the RBs head off. Foote stepped up to lay the wood on a short gain.
Harrison is getting to the ball often in the run game. Looks like the rookie LT is having problems containing him.
Woodley with a NICE INT knocking the ball down with one hand and bringing it in. BEAUTIFUL catch. Maybe he needs to
school Ike on how to catch the ball?
Rashard ran hard around the corner and HELD ON TO THE BALL! Facemask gave some more yards.
Play action TD straight to Ward. They’re making it look TOO easy, it’s SCARY!
Kickoff coverage holds again. Likin’ the kickoff game thus far. Another stop around the 20. Fox on the stop.
Nick Eason covered some ground from behind to stop the screen for a short loss.
Polamalu with the INT on Houston’s 33. This just isn’t fair...
Mario Williams came around the backside to cause Ben to fumble. Returned for a BIG gain.
Fat Casey pushed his man into the backfield into Green to start a chain reaction of a big loss. Woodley and Kierske there for the stop.
Defense looks mean. Houston can’t run the ball for anything.
Lawrence Timmons with a great open-field tackle to stop on 3rd and long.
Got out of a bad spot giving up only a field goal.
Decent return by Rashard to the 31. Didn’t fumble.
Weaver blew through for a sack on 3rd and short.
William Gay for a GREAT coverage stop on ST punt return. No gain.
Ryan Clark with a good open field stick. Tackling on the defense is not a concern.
Harrison beat his man then gets tackled by the tackle. No hold call.
Deshea with good coverage on 3rd down. Almost had a pick.
Ben wincing going into the half. Looks like he hurt his leg. Doesn’t look to be severe.
Third Quarter
Willie with a nice spin move up the gut for a 1st down gain.
Mendenhall running hard AND holding on to the ball.
Mendenhall bounced along the sideline for a 1st. Nice feet staying in bounds.
Nice play action pass to Davis for the first. Looks like everyone’s getting to touch the ball today.
Santonio is non-existent. So is Baker. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve even seen Baker on the field. Hopefully we’ll see
at least one of them become more active in the offense this half. With a lead like this, not likely due to Steeler past
tendencies with leads.
Parker in for his 3rd TD around the left side with ease. Good contact block by Santonio. Nooo problem.
Woods with a nice shoe-string grab to stop the returner dead in his tracks. Special teams is giving NOTHING.
Houston’s offense is doing nothing to this point.
Piss-poor coverage on the punt return. Stopped for a short loss. Should have probably called for a fair catch. No damage
done.
Matt Spaeth put his shoulder down on another bootleg play action to get extra yards. Love this physicality.
Willie getting the tough yards for another 1st down. About a 5 yard gain. Averaging right at 4.0 a carry right now. Good to
see.
Willie giving fits to the defense. Ben selling the play-action fake well. Willie’s over 100 yards.
Willie for a big gain for 32 yards along the right sideline.
Ben to Hines up the gut for a Touchdown. Hines was WIDE open.
Kickoff coverage is looking great. It’s just one game, but I don’t feel as bad about this element of the game as I did going
into the season.
Silverback finally got his 1st sack. Got it the hard way leveraging around the tackle with sheer Silverbackness.
Ryan Clark with a good tackle to stop the run. Got shaken up. Walked off on his own. Looks like he’ll be back in if needed.
Fourth Quarter
Looks like some second stringers are in on offense.
Leftwich can hand it off with the best of ‘em.
Leftwich threw WAY high above Santonio’s reach, almost getting picked off by the corner.
Punt coverage still looking good. Side note : Berger has 2 punts averaging 45 yards. I can dig it. Not bad for an old-and-
busted leg. That said, we’ve only had to punt TWICE going into the 2nd minute of the 4th. I like that.
Farrior got turned around and probably should have been in position to make a play.
Still showing we’re suspect to the pass up the middle . Maybe due to the score and conservative play in the secondary.
Nick Eason is quietly making plays. He’s slowly selling himself.
Ryan Clark with another solid stick. I’m loving this tackling. Was a big issue last season. Not so much this game.
Ryan Clark with a desperation penalty to prevent what would have been an easy TD. Got turned and grabbed the receiver’s
leg to stop him. Can they hold to a field goal?
Keisel and Farrior covered the flat very well. Good pressure by Harrison. Stopped for no gain.
Defense is still playing physical. A couple of missed tackles on a screen by Smith and Woodley but still stopped for a short
gain.
Larry Foote beat in coverage for a TD by Walter. I have a feeling Timmons would have covered that better. Moot assumption.
Turtle-ball is in full effect. So much for going for the jugular. Silver-lining : Mendenhall has touched the ball 11 times; 9 runs 2 returns and hasn’t fumbled.
Leftwich deep to Nate. Good coverage. Almost had it. Not horseshoes or hand grenades though.
39 yard punt out of bounds by Berger – Still 43 yard average
Polamalu with a solid tackle
Harrison around the corner like a MAD man for another forced fumble. Threw Shaub down with AUTHORITY. Woodley recovers the fumble. Being challenged. Might be ruled a forward pass. Damn you, tuck rule! DAMN YOOOU! Not over-ruled. 1st down, Steelers.
Rashard with some quick feet turning nothing into a 3 yard gain.
Davis got anxious trying to turn and run before securing the ball. Incomplete.
Leftwich throws a rocket to Nate. Should have caught it.
Reed is money from 44 yards for the FG.
Ryan Clark is a tackling machine this game. Good stop on the kickoff at the 25 ½
Defense definitely in conservative mode right now.
Harrison and Woodley on a sack together. Meet you at the QB is back ala Kevin Greene/Greg Lloyd
STUPID pass interference on Foote.
Good stick by Clark on a high pass to Daniels. To his credit, he held on to the ball. Shaken up though.
Ike over-pursued his man. Caught for a 1st down.
Getting beat repeatedly by the pass up the middle. Nothing new here. Up by 4 scores with less than 2 minutes left? No big
deal. Stuck in conservative mode.
Schaub bootleg around the right side for the score. Fox almost got to him. Got tripped up in the process too. Houston kicks off. Moore takes a knee at the 18. Pittsburgh runs out the clock.
1-0 Good Guys.
Here's to football!
I hope this helps paint a little better picture for those that weren't fortunate enough to witness the season opener first-hand!
First Quarter
Season started off good. Coverage held inside the 20. Let’s hope that stays consistent.
Polamalu showed right away he still has his closing speed.
Run defense showing to be stifling as always.
Good stop on 3rd and short midfield. Couldn’t hold on 4th. Lucky spot said otherwise. Challenge? Our ball going the other
way.
Wide open field to let Ben scramble for the 1st and then some. 17 or so yard gain.
Willie off to a slow start. Little to no gain on all 3 runs.
Santonio made a tough grab on 3rd down for the 1st.
Willie turned the corner and put down his shoulder for a tough TD. He’s as quick as I remember. 3+ yards average on first drive.
Second kickoff rolled out the back of the end zone. I’m diggin’ the squib kick. Can’t get a TD return with that.
What was with Polamalu sliding and getting up shaky?
Going to be a long day if they don’t stay on Andre Johnson. Wide open on a good play action from Schaub.
Welcome to a starting role, Mr. Woodley. Matt Schaub shaken on the sack.
The pressure is coming. 2 sacks in one series. Questionable hold on Harrison. No-call. Would have been 1st to the QB otherwise.
First punt return of the year : Fair catch. Go figure.
Long ball to Ward. Quack quack. Still caught it with a good RAC inside the 5. Offsetting penalties still ends up in a “F the
Steelers†phantom penalty causing a replay of down instead of 1st and goal from the 3.
Heath is a BIG weapon in this offense. Good catch and run for a 1st down.
Pocket keeps collapsing. Fears of OLine starting to surface.
Nice quick slant to Ward for a big gain. Pressure on Ben. Not liking that.
Second Quarter
Keep moving the chains with Miller up the middle. Unstoppable.
Willie keeps going for little to no gains. Due to break one for 20-30 yards.
Santonio with a catch for the 1st down. Fumbled on contact. Out of bounds. Lucky break.
Poor exchange between Hartwig and Ben in the red zone. Let’s hope this is only a fluke.
Willie runs in for another TD on a nice delayed run up the middle. He followed his blocks (Sprung by Kemo) with a little
B-button action before walking into the end zone.
Offense is moving the ball at will. A lot of runs being stuffed at the line but the passing game is allowing Willie to be
effective in bursts.
Kick coverage looks good again on another stop around the 20.
Harrison tried to take the RBs head off. Foote stepped up to lay the wood on a short gain.
Harrison is getting to the ball often in the run game. Looks like the rookie LT is having problems containing him.
Woodley with a NICE INT knocking the ball down with one hand and bringing it in. BEAUTIFUL catch. Maybe he needs to
school Ike on how to catch the ball?
Rashard ran hard around the corner and HELD ON TO THE BALL! Facemask gave some more yards.
Play action TD straight to Ward. They’re making it look TOO easy, it’s SCARY!
Kickoff coverage holds again. Likin’ the kickoff game thus far. Another stop around the 20. Fox on the stop.
Nick Eason covered some ground from behind to stop the screen for a short loss.
Polamalu with the INT on Houston’s 33. This just isn’t fair...
Mario Williams came around the backside to cause Ben to fumble. Returned for a BIG gain.
Fat Casey pushed his man into the backfield into Green to start a chain reaction of a big loss. Woodley and Kierske there for the stop.
Defense looks mean. Houston can’t run the ball for anything.
Lawrence Timmons with a great open-field tackle to stop on 3rd and long.
Got out of a bad spot giving up only a field goal.
Decent return by Rashard to the 31. Didn’t fumble.
Weaver blew through for a sack on 3rd and short.
William Gay for a GREAT coverage stop on ST punt return. No gain.
Ryan Clark with a good open field stick. Tackling on the defense is not a concern.
Harrison beat his man then gets tackled by the tackle. No hold call.
Deshea with good coverage on 3rd down. Almost had a pick.
Ben wincing going into the half. Looks like he hurt his leg. Doesn’t look to be severe.
Third Quarter
Willie with a nice spin move up the gut for a 1st down gain.
Mendenhall running hard AND holding on to the ball.
Mendenhall bounced along the sideline for a 1st. Nice feet staying in bounds.
Nice play action pass to Davis for the first. Looks like everyone’s getting to touch the ball today.
Santonio is non-existent. So is Baker. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve even seen Baker on the field. Hopefully we’ll see
at least one of them become more active in the offense this half. With a lead like this, not likely due to Steeler past
tendencies with leads.
Parker in for his 3rd TD around the left side with ease. Good contact block by Santonio. Nooo problem.
Woods with a nice shoe-string grab to stop the returner dead in his tracks. Special teams is giving NOTHING.
Houston’s offense is doing nothing to this point.
Piss-poor coverage on the punt return. Stopped for a short loss. Should have probably called for a fair catch. No damage
done.
Matt Spaeth put his shoulder down on another bootleg play action to get extra yards. Love this physicality.
Willie getting the tough yards for another 1st down. About a 5 yard gain. Averaging right at 4.0 a carry right now. Good to
see.
Willie giving fits to the defense. Ben selling the play-action fake well. Willie’s over 100 yards.
Willie for a big gain for 32 yards along the right sideline.
Ben to Hines up the gut for a Touchdown. Hines was WIDE open.
Kickoff coverage is looking great. It’s just one game, but I don’t feel as bad about this element of the game as I did going
into the season.
Silverback finally got his 1st sack. Got it the hard way leveraging around the tackle with sheer Silverbackness.
Ryan Clark with a good tackle to stop the run. Got shaken up. Walked off on his own. Looks like he’ll be back in if needed.
Fourth Quarter
Looks like some second stringers are in on offense.
Leftwich can hand it off with the best of ‘em.
Leftwich threw WAY high above Santonio’s reach, almost getting picked off by the corner.
Punt coverage still looking good. Side note : Berger has 2 punts averaging 45 yards. I can dig it. Not bad for an old-and-
busted leg. That said, we’ve only had to punt TWICE going into the 2nd minute of the 4th. I like that.
Farrior got turned around and probably should have been in position to make a play.
Still showing we’re suspect to the pass up the middle . Maybe due to the score and conservative play in the secondary.
Nick Eason is quietly making plays. He’s slowly selling himself.
Ryan Clark with another solid stick. I’m loving this tackling. Was a big issue last season. Not so much this game.
Ryan Clark with a desperation penalty to prevent what would have been an easy TD. Got turned and grabbed the receiver’s
leg to stop him. Can they hold to a field goal?
Keisel and Farrior covered the flat very well. Good pressure by Harrison. Stopped for no gain.
Defense is still playing physical. A couple of missed tackles on a screen by Smith and Woodley but still stopped for a short
gain.
Larry Foote beat in coverage for a TD by Walter. I have a feeling Timmons would have covered that better. Moot assumption.
Turtle-ball is in full effect. So much for going for the jugular. Silver-lining : Mendenhall has touched the ball 11 times; 9 runs 2 returns and hasn’t fumbled.
Leftwich deep to Nate. Good coverage. Almost had it. Not horseshoes or hand grenades though.
39 yard punt out of bounds by Berger – Still 43 yard average
Polamalu with a solid tackle
Harrison around the corner like a MAD man for another forced fumble. Threw Shaub down with AUTHORITY. Woodley recovers the fumble. Being challenged. Might be ruled a forward pass. Damn you, tuck rule! DAMN YOOOU! Not over-ruled. 1st down, Steelers.
Rashard with some quick feet turning nothing into a 3 yard gain.
Davis got anxious trying to turn and run before securing the ball. Incomplete.
Leftwich throws a rocket to Nate. Should have caught it.
Reed is money from 44 yards for the FG.
Ryan Clark is a tackling machine this game. Good stop on the kickoff at the 25 ½
Defense definitely in conservative mode right now.
Harrison and Woodley on a sack together. Meet you at the QB is back ala Kevin Greene/Greg Lloyd
STUPID pass interference on Foote.
Good stick by Clark on a high pass to Daniels. To his credit, he held on to the ball. Shaken up though.
Ike over-pursued his man. Caught for a 1st down.
Getting beat repeatedly by the pass up the middle. Nothing new here. Up by 4 scores with less than 2 minutes left? No big
deal. Stuck in conservative mode.
Schaub bootleg around the right side for the score. Fox almost got to him. Got tripped up in the process too. Houston kicks off. Moore takes a knee at the 18. Pittsburgh runs out the clock.
1-0 Good Guys.
Here's to football!
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