Often there is not a whole lot to see in the traditional Pittsburgh-Carolina pre-season finale when the starters don’t even dress and even almost all of the back-up jobs are already decided. This time, however, it’s different.
The Steelers will rest most of their regulars but Panthers coach Matt Ruhle plans to play his first stringers the entire first half. This is convenient because it will give Mike Tomlin and his coaches – and us - a chance to evaluate some players who will be important this season against the “varsity,” as Tomlin likes to put it.
So this is not the typical last pre-season game. It is actually worth paying attention. With that in mind, here is a tasty 6-pack of things to watch.
Dwayne Haskins Finally, we get an in-game look at Haskins against opposing starters. He won’t have all of the Steelers best players but he will have some of them. Then again, Haskins has been used to getting reps with the likes of Anthony Johnson, Cody White, Matthew Sexton and Rico Bussey so there is some familiarity there.
Benny Snell Football This may be Snell’s last chance to stay with the Steelers. Tomlin indicated that Snell will start and he expects Snell to “do some things that featured runners do to prove his health and things of that nature.” Even if Snell does do things that featured runners do, it could still be his final game with Pittsburgh if the Steelers can trade him for a draft pick.
Offensive Line Acknowledging that the line needs to establish cohesion, Tomlin said “many of them” will start in Carolina. Take that to mean that Trai Turner won’t play at all and Zach Banner may leave after two or three series. Still, this should provide a referendum on Chuks Okorafor and Kendrick Green. Plus, an early exit by Banner will mean more Moore and Dan Moore, Jr. may slide over to left tackle when the starters call it a night.
Squirrelling Nuts Joe Haden won’t play and Cam Sutton probably won’t either. So Tomlin’s squirrels will be James Pierre and Justin Layne at outside corner with rookie Tre Norwood the latest candidate for slot corner.
Norwood had worked exclusively at safety until this week which isn’t a ton of time to prepare for a game but both Tomlin and Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler say Norwood has the acumen to pull it off. This will also put a pressure on both Pierre and Layne, who has finally looked like an NFL-capable corner this pre-season.
Outside Linebackers This is similar to cornerback. TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith and Melvin Ingram won’t play and the second back-up spot is still up for grabs. Free agent Jamir Jones has looked the best of the lot so far but Quincy Roche is a draft pick and Cassius Marsh has experience plus all those tattoos. One of those guys could win a job in this game.
Specialists Rookie Pressley Harvin III has probably nailed down the punting job but Jordan Berry has performed well enough to win a job, if not in Pittsburgh then someplace else. Char Valley/Duquesne product Christian Kuntz has also looked capable but he’s unlikely to unseat Kam Canaday; not sure if he can parlay his improvement into a job elsewhere. There is an outside chance that Matthew Sexton could overtake Ray Ray McCloud as the returner but McCloud has a greater role in the offense.