Preseason Game 2: Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers

All things preseason Game 2 here.

Atlanta just marched down the field 90 yards. Very little resistance from the defense.

I missed the first Steelers drive. Anything worth noting?

Poor tackling.

Poor tackling and secondary being shredded. Same story for 2nd drive.

jak341 wrote:

Poor tackling and secondary being shredded. Same story for 2nd drive.

Playing a vanilla defense, I don't get too concerned about poor secondary play, especially against a good qb like ryan. But I expect veteran players to know how to tackle.

Hargrave out and being evaluated for a concussion.

Everything looks bad lol

Injuries piling up.

Kick coverage looks good. That's about it.

Secondary looks really bad. We're getting solid pressure and they are still picking it apart.

James Conner is a bright spot, so thats good

So Dobbs goes 10 for 19 for 70YDS and 1 INT, 0TD's. Looks indecisive and like a rookie 3rd string QB. IMO, Houston actually looks more comfortable in the pocket, but he is playing against the 3rd team mostly.

What I am confused about is why all the support for a rookie 4th round pick QB this season, but the last QB the Steelers chose in the 4th round, he was instantly labelled a bust and wasted pick?

the Steelers hybrid 1st string 2nd string team didn't look that bad against the Falcons 1st string team 3rd team against 3rd team the Steelers have better players.

against a team that was in the Superbowl the win goes to the Steelers.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

So Dobbs goes 10 for 19 for 70YDS and 1 INT, 0TD's.  Looks indecisive and like a rookie 3rd string QB.  IMO, Houston actually looks more comfortable in the pocket, but he is playing against the 3rd team mostly.

What I am confused about is why all the support for a rookie 4th round pick QB this season, but the last QB the Steelers chose in the 4th round, he was instantly labelled a bust and wasted pick?

there was definetly a lot more hype about dobbs from the media and the talking heads than there was about landry jones. in fact most people had jones going in the 6th rd.

ESPN calls Joshua Dobbs the Steelers best draft pick
http://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2017/05/04/espn-calls-joshua-dobbs-the-steelers-best-draft-pick/

NFL Draft 2017: Steelers steal QB Josh Dobbs, this year's Dak Prescott, at same spot
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/nfl-draft-2017-josh-dobbs-steelers-fourth-round-pick-tennessee-ben-roethlsiberger-dak-prescott/rslukpm2lknq1cgmrly4a22zm

Josh Dobbs: The Rocket Scientist QB Who Could Be the Next NFL Draft Steal
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2702761-josh-dobbs-the-rocket-scientist-qb-who-could-be-the-next-nfl-draft-steal

OK, at a glance while watching the game today, here are my observations:

RB- Toussaint had great quickness and jump cut ability, he looks to be leading as the guy to beat out Davis on the depth chart. Conner showed good burst and cutback, plus is a tough guy to bring down. His drops were nothing to be too concerned about as he isn't noted as a receiver.

WR- Bryant was rusty, but that to be expected. Hunter and Coates both showed some good flashes, but the football wasn't coming their way often.

O line- We pretty much know who is going to make the team, so not that important, but I liked the look of Hawkins in the run game collapsing the edge and springing some big runs.

D-line. AluAlu just drives guys upfield at times. Great addition to the rotation. Maxey stands out as active and is a handful. I think he makes the 53. McCullers is getting 3rd team snaps and hasn't shown much, so I believe its down to him and Walton who makes the roster and Walton edges him out I think.

LB-Watt is just a good football player and quick. He is progressing faster than a rookie with limited experience normally does. Matakevich shows his lack of quickness and I actually think LJ Fort is a better ILB than him. Chickillo is just depth, motor and strength, but doesn't show the ability to bend around the edge to be impactful in the pass rush. Vinny Williams didn't get many reps, but didn't exactly shine either.

Secondary. Will Gay looked slow, this is the year that time catches up with him, but he should make the 53 opening day because we haven't seen Sutton play yet. Hilton wearing #40 reminds me of Myron Bell blitzing and tackling. He should make the final roster so far and Brian Allen in the first 2 games shows promise, but is inefficient in his turn and striding with WR's on the boundary. Dangerfield picks and being around the football makes a case that he makes the roster again as a reserve safety and special teamer.

Knile Davis is a guy that I want to succeed and be the kick returner, but given the way the kickoff is minimized, I think he gets beat out by JC and Fitz.

Tousaint is way better as a KR than rotation back, he runs like knile davis..straight into the line whether a hole is there or not.

Dobbs works on his accuracy and ball placement he could be the heir apparent, but hes a gamer

Hilton takes Golsons spot if there is any common sense on the Coaching staff...dude makes plays period

Its over for Gay...he's to slow to cover the slot or outside

I like the Depth at LB and both Lines

i would say get rid of that damn zone...but Burns is the only capable man corner at the moment everyone else seems more suited to zone...they need to do a better job scouting press man cb's or Brady is going to shred them again

If Connor proves durable...we have a deadly 1, 2 punch for the next 3 years at least..dude is the real deal

What I didn't like: After Ryan had his way with our D Shaub picked right up where Ryan left off.

Then came Sims and nothing changed for almost the first half.

Gay and Cockrell (got burned on the one throw and if the WR doesn't drop the ball in the endzone he is beat again) both look like liabilities.
Davis and Golden were not much better. I know there is a talent drop on both sides in the second half but our backups played better against theirs.
Standouts were Chikillo,Fort and Dangerfield ( his second INT showed he is not just covering but tracking the ball) on D.

On offense Dobbs was disappointing to say the least. The Int left me shaking my head. For such a smart kid that was really dumb.
I thought Houston looked more ready to play than Dobbs.
Bryant looked unsure on the end around and like was mentioned,rusty.
Touss looked better than last year.
Jake Mcgee blocks pretty good on the edge.
Conner has speed and power but not "suddenness and glide".
I liked what I saw him do.
We seem to be improved on ST coverage with guys like Nix (partial block on that punt) and Malik Golden had a couple of nice tackles.
Dixon's TD return was a nice surprise.
The second half was more fun to watch than the first.

solardave wrote:

I thought Houston looked more ready to play than Dobbs.

*************************************
Conner has speed and power but not "suddenness and glide".

The 2 best single observations of game 2.

Very few people evaluate "Suddeness and Glide", so that is a great pickup by you!

Special teams looked decent, that's it.

Defense not happy with play against Falcons

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers were missing four defensive starters in Sunday night’s 17-13 preseason victory over the Atlanta Falcons, but they aren’t taking any solace in that when it comes to that unit’s performance.

Atlanta’s first-team offense – minus star running back Devonta Freeman and wide receiver Julio Jones – made things look easy against the Steelers in the first half.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/20170821/defense_not_happy_with_play_against_falcons

Cons:
Poor tackling
Defense not getting off the field
Allowing 3rd stringers to toss the ball around like there's no one on the field against them
Lack of significant running game

Pros:
Dobbs is getting plenty of snaps, and seems to be improving (albeit slowly)
Conner looked decent in his game, but needs to improve on catching
Special Teams already looks better than last year

The bright spot of this game was James Conner, I think we have ourselves a good young compliment to Le'Veon Bell. Someone that can take, and deliver punishment and help keep Bell a little fresher.

Was not impressed with Dobbs. Hesitant at times, and in others he looked jittery and nervous. To be expected of a rookie, we shouldn't expect much more from a guy that was noted as a project coming out of college.

The defense looked pretty bad against the Falcons 1st Team, but it's the preseason, and the Falcons offense is pretty damned good even without Freeman and Jones. Still would like to see them tighten up for the next preseason game. The third game is usually the dress rehearsal for the regular season so time to shake off some rust before Week 1 against the Brownies.

When Bell gets back that's going to be a spark for this team as well. Right now I just want us to be healthy going into Week 1.

Unfortunately, Dobbs is exactly what I thought he was. At best, a back-up in 2 years time, but I believe he will have a hard time to reach the level of Landry Jones to be honest. I still don't understand why they didn't take Jake Butt or an ILB or S instead.

Stella Nation wrote:

Unfortunately, Dobbs is exactly what I thought he was. At best, a back-up in 2 years time, but I believe he will have a hard time to reach the level of Landry Jones to be honest. I still don't understand why they didn't take Jake Butt or an ILB or S instead.

It was probably one of Tomlin "Character" picks.