Steelers Preseason Opener: What to Watch For
Five things I’ll be watching for tonight as the Steelers open preseason play in Tampa:
5) Pickett-to-Pickens
If Mike Tomlin is going to insist on playing these two – which he shouldn’t be doing – I’m gonna need to see at least one deep ball or red zone hook-up between the two. If it doesn’t happen in the first series, I’ll survive. It’d feel a lot better to see it sooner rather than later, though.
4) Broderick Jones vs. Dan Moore, Jr.
Let’s be clear: Omar Khan didn’t trade up to draft an apprentice.
So what is Tomlin waiting for?
Short of Moore serving up more pancakes than IHOP and Jones forgetting how to play football, Jones should be starting at left tackle Week One. It would be nice to see that progression start tonight.
3) Are these inside linebackers enough?
Can Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander, Elandon Roberts, and Mark Robinson prove a better group than Myles Jack, Devin Bush, Robert Spillane, and Robinson? I’d imagine we’ll see most if not all of them against Tampa, and we should start to see if they can provide the underneath pass coverage their predecessors couldn’t with the ability to avoid getting steamrolled in the run game.
2) How physical is Joey Porter, Jr.?
Porter has a reputation for mugging receivers at the line. That’s a good thing if he can avoid getting flagged for it, but also belies his less-than-stellar tackling fundamentals, at least as they looked in practice this past week.
1) How long does Mike Tomlin make his veteran starters play?
Again, there shouldn’t be a veteran starter who sees the field tonight. It’s foolish and only serves to expose important players to injury under meaningless circumstances. If Tomlin is going to insist they play, it should be no more than one series.
Big Bucs Comeback
The Pirates, after coming back against the best team in the National League (possibly in all of baseball) on Thursday afternoon, ended up just a David Bednar blown save on Tuesday night and a misplayed pop-up on Wednesday night shy of sweeping the Atlanta Braves.
Perhaps the good luck charm was WWE Color Commentator and Pittsburgh native Corey Graves guest PA-announcing the third inning, during which the Bucs scored three times, and after which the Braves didn’t score again.
Or, more likely, it was the continued production at the plate of Ke’Bryan Hayes (a third consecutive 3-RBI game) and Liover Peguero (now 6-for-12 with seven RBIs with runners in scoring position), highlight reel plays in the field by Alika Williams, Josh Palacios, and yes, Henry Davis, as well as four scoreless innings of relief from Thomas Hatch a week after being DFA’d by the Blue Jays.
Don’t look now, but since July 19, the Young Bucs are 10-9. Not lighting the world fire – and still with a -6 run differential – but better than the 21-46 stretch from the end of April through the first week following the All Star Break.
Cruz Inches Closer
With his recovery from a broken leg hopefully nearly complete, the Pirates got a good sign regarding Oneil Cruz today, as he began running, which could foreshadow a rehab stint in the not-too-distant future.
Jason Mackey told Cook & Joe that barring any possible setbacks, Pirates fans should expect to get at least the month of September out of Cruz.
Skenes Debut
More good news for Bucco fans: 2023 first overall draft pick Paul Skenes made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast League Pirates, and did so emphatically.
With Skenes officially in the pipeline now, the Pirates possess more MLB Top 100 Prospects (six) than any other organization other than the Orioles.
They also have an appropriately famous couple to replace the recently departed Cole Tucker & Vanessa Hudgens.
Quip Makes History
For the first time in at least four decades, an Aliquippa football player isn’t just going to be at a high level on the field, he’ll be at an even higher level in the class room.
The Quips' star cornerback Brandon Banks announced a week ago that he’ll officially head to Yale this fall.
For a school widely known for it’s Pro Football Hall of Fame pedigree – Darrelle Revis’s induction last weekend made Aliquippa the only high school with three Hall of Famers – it’s a point of pride for Banks that he prove their reputation extends beyond the field.
As he told Brad Everett of the Pittsburgh Union Progress, “It just shows that Aliquippa isn’t just athletes. It’s student-athletes.”