Preseason Week 1- Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings

[Wild Bill]

nice containment on the goal line blocks.. big hole ..Banyard got in easy ...

The Vikings look good ................

That was a BIG hole nice !!!!

[Wild Bill]

Our D line is killing their OL ... SKOL line

I like what the defense is doing on 1st down. We were horrible last year. I think 28th for yards per play on 1st down runs.
Starting series like that just kill a defense

[Wild Bill]

Pittsburgh is going after Waynes on every pass. Go get 'em, rook.

Baptism of fire !!! He has a lot to learn speed CAN help a lot. We have 4 more games to see but Newman may be the starter week 1

[Wild Bill]

I don't see many Sunday Night Games. Does this broadcast team always talk about everything BUT the game?? Maybe its the Hall of fame angle and preseason but wow they frustrated me.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Baptism of fire !!! He has a lot to learn speed CAN help a lot. We have 4 more games to see but Newman may be the starter week 1

Yeah, thats what happened to Rhodes, and look at him now. I hope Waynes has the same outcome.

[DK Sweets]

I don't see many Sunday Night Games. Does this broadcast team always talk about everything BUT the game?? Maybe its the Hall of fame angle and preseason but wow they frustrated me.

They do it a lot in the preseason once the starters leave the field and it's much worse for the HOF game because the starters barely play and they have a big event to discuss.

[Jordysghost]

OMG! Football is back! I didnt even realize till i saw this thread. Thank you!

Couple hours late but #### it.

[Jordysghost]

So im watchin the HOF game right now, what stood out to you guys about your team?

[Kidfozzy]

So im watch the HOF game right now, what stood out to you guys about your team?

Stefon Diggs is a savage and may be our new punt returner.

CP84 is still a work in progress.

Teddy Bridgewater is due for a breakout season.

MyCole Pruitt is nice.

[Boon]

So im watchin the HOF game right now, what stood out to you guys about your team?

Kendricks can blitz. He's a freaking torpedo.
Kalil didn't let a dude even get past waist stripe.
Patterson wears funny hats.
Diggs is pretty fast. Waynes needs to stop grabbing like rhodes did as a rookie, that stuff isn't gonna fly.
And this message board flip flops faster than a coin toss on players. It's like a pirates cove

[PurpleMustReign]

Kendricks can blitz. He's a freaking torpedo.
Kalil didn't let a dude even get past waist stripe.
Patterson wears funny hats.
Diggs is pretty fast. Waynes needs to stop grabbing like rhodes did as a rookie, that stuff isn't gonna fly.
And this message board flip flops faster than a coin toss on players. It's like a pirates cove

Dont read this board for thought on how Waynes did. He did fine. He's a damn rookoe and people are already calling him a bust. That kind of BS should result in a ban, imo.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Pseudo Everything]

Overall I thought we were reasonably sharp for the first preseason game. Not as many penalties as you'd expect for the HoF game. Perhaps the best thing was that we had no significant injuries.

Regarding the backups:

OL
No Yankey or Berger. After the starters came out we had Bykowski - Thompson - Kerin - Shepard - Clemmings. Sort of surprised that Shepard was the first sub at RG with Thompson at LG (thought Thompson was supposed to be challenging Harris for the RG position). Of this group I thought Kerin and Clemmings looked good, Shepard and Bykowski were okay and Thompson was just plain bad. Perhaps Thompson didn't have his legs after a week of TC or maybe he wasn't comfortable on the left side after getting most of his reps in camp on the right side. Whatever it was ... he did not play very well. Kerin also got some reps at RG when Shepard moved to RT. Kerin might be a dark horse type player that emerges from this group. Babs did not get a single snap. There's no way to put a positive spin on this. I'd say his chances of making the PS are less than 50-50.

DE
Justin Trattou was by far the best DE of the backups (Crichton and Dubose were out). Hunter was unimpressive especially his pass rush. Then again Hunter won't turn 21 until the end of October so it's no big deal. Rayford and Mackey are camp fodder.

DT
Johnson and Stephen feasted on the Steelers subs. Johnson was consistently getting a good push up the middle. We have a nice rotation at DT.

LB
Thought Cole and Hodges looked very good. Kendricks, Watts and Peters also had good games. Looks like we have a nice battle between Cole and Kendricks at MLB in the base. I could see us starting the year with Cole in the base and Kendricks in the nickel (wouldn't be a bad way to ease Kendricks in). If we keep 6 LBs ... looks like the last spot will be between Watts and Peters. Peters impressed me with his speed. Mauti is going to have a hard time making the roster. Suddenly the LB position looks like a possible strength instead of a perennial weakness (hinges on Barr's knees).

CB
Jabari Price had a strong game. Too bad he's got that 2 game suspension to start the year. I think Waynes played almost the entire game. He's on a learning curve; I'm not concerned about his penalties. That's what preseason is for ... to clean up that stuff. I was hoping to get a read on DeMarcus Van Dyke and Justin Coleman but nothing stood out (good or bad). Our depth at corner hasn't been this good in quite some time.

QB
Both Kafka and Heinicke were 7/10 but almost all of their completions were of the 10 yard (or less) variety. I guess the Turners like Kafka ... not sure why. I liked Heinicke's mobility but he plays like an undrafted rookie and has a long way to go. I think we should consider going with two QBs, put Heinicke on the PS and say goodbye to Kafka. If something went awry we could always re-sign Kafka as I seriously doubt anyone is going to sign him if we waive him at the last cutdown.

[halfgiz]

I don't see many Sunday Night Games. Does this broadcast team always talk about everything BUT the game?? Maybe its the Hall of fame angle and preseason but wow they frustrated me.

Usually just mute the TV and watch the game.
I think Wayne's got a little bit of an eye opener tonight. He has the tools Zimmer just has to teach him how to use them.
Good to see our draft picks out there making plays.
Overall a good first game....we have any injuries?

[Texas Vike]

Usually just mute the TV and watch the game.
I think Wayne's got a little bit of an eye opener tonight. He has the tools Zimmer just has to teach him how to use them.
Good to see our draft picks out there making plays.
Overall a good first game....we have any injuries?

When they DID comment on the game, they had some useful observations. Collinsworth talked about how Zimmer would actually LIKE that Trae Waynes got beat and that he would be sure to turn it into a teachable moment. (Collinsworth later spewed a pre-programmed talk about the importance of Gerald Hodges to the LB corps, when it had been Watts who made the tackle, so he wasn't always dialed in).

Waynes looks like he needs some NFL snaps to make the transition. I'm not terribly worried yet. Rhodes had a break-in period too.

My favorite things: 1) seeing how smooth Teddy looks. 2) Diggs' return was a thing of beauty. I don't know if it was his first play, but it seemed like his opening statement and I like what I see. 3) McKinnon had some nice runs. 4) Overall, the D looked deeper and pretty polished. Granted, it was against Landry Jones.
5. Kalill didn't look horribly overwhelmed. Hopefully he gets some confidence going.

[IIsweet]

What I liked was the team speed out there. Guys were flying to the ball on defense and the offense is fast.... Everywhere!
Teddy looked poised, I really liked his run for 5 or 7 yards. You saw his eyes scanning the field and not looking at the pocket.
Diggs is better than advertised. SOD, but we have a couple of those.
Can see how the WR speed opened up underneath for the TE.
Lots of good things but really a pretty boring game.