PSR Press RoomPSR's Tomlin Report - Pre-Season EditionPittsburgh Steelers 9-7 in 2009 2010 Preseason, Week 1 By Kenneth Torgent PRESEASON OPENER Saturday, August 14 – 7:30 PM on KDKA NEW FACES AT CAMP The Steelers currently boast a number of new (and old) additions to their 80-man training camp roster. Pittsburgh will need to cut its roster down to 53 players with an additional eight assigned to the practice squad. Here are the new bodies trying to make the cut: · 2010 Draft Class: C Maurkice Pouncey, LB Jason Worilds, WR Emmanuel Sanders, LB Thaddeus Gibson, G/T Chris Scott, CB Crezdon Butler, LB Stevenson Sylvester, RB Jonathan Dwyer, WR Antonio Brown, DE Doug Worthington · 2010 Undrafted Free Agents: G Dorrian Brooks, S Justin Thornton, CB/S Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, OT Kyle Jolly · Free Agents: OT Flozell Adams, S Will Allen, WR Arnaz Battle, OT Adrian Jones, WR Brandon London, CB David Pittman, LB Brandon Renkart, OT Jonathan Scott, WR Isaiah Williams, LB Renauld Williams, FB Dwayne Wright · Steelers returning from free agency: LB Larry Foote, WR Antwaan Randle El · Steelers returning through trades: CB Bryant McFadden, QB Byron Leftwich · Returning practice squad players: TE Eugene Bright, DT Steve McLendon, DT Scott Paxson, RB Isaac Redman, RB Justin Vincent, WR Tyler Grisham BEHIND ENEMY LINES A Look Around the AFC North Cleveland (5-11) made a number of changes after a disappointing season, none bigger than the hiring of former Seahawks Head Coach Mike Holmgren as Team President. Eric Mangini returns to coach the Browns, who will show off a few new faces in the backfield. RB Jamal Lewis is gone with late-season star Jerome Harrison taking his place. The Browns also selected RB Montario Hardesty in the second round to share the workload. Also gone is the disappointing quarterback tandem of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. Cleveland signed QBs Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace to compete for the starting job, though the future is most likely in the hands of 2010 third-round pick Colt McCoy. On defense, the Browns received a shot-in-the-arm with the drafting of CB Joe Haden with the seventh-overall pick. Haden may not start immediately, but he should be able to contribute and help out Cleveland’s 29th-ranked pass defense. Baltimore (9-7) made a number of moves to bolster a team that made it into the second-round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual AFC-champion Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens went defense-defense with their first two picks in the draft, nabbing a steal with athletic OLB Sergio Kindle and then picking up mammoth NT Terrence Cody. Kindle, however, was unable to attend training camp due to a skull fracture suffered from a fall down two flights of stairs. Cody, who checks in at 6’4” and over 365 lbs, figures to team with Haloti Ngata to make one of the league’s best run defenses even better. The biggest move of the offseason, however, was on the offensive side of the ball. The Ravens traded a third and fourth-round draft pick for WR Anquan Boldin, who will pair with the ageless Derrick Mason to give Baltimore perhaps its best starting pair of receivers since their inception. Cincinnati (10-6) also brought in a former Pro Bowl receiver, Terrell Owens, a high-risk high-reward player on the downside of his career. However, that move, coupled with additional pickups in Antonio Bryant and Jordan Shipley, will give Carson Palmer more weapons to make use of on offense. Speaking of weapons, the Bengals also managed to add TE Jermaine Gresham with their first-round pick in the draft, addressing their biggest hole on the roster. MIKE LIKED… The chance to see positional battles play out in the preseason. “It’s the unknown,” said Tomlin. “It’s the thing that keeps you coming back. It’s the thing that’s exciting about preseason football. I’m a lover of preseason football.” MAIN STORYLINE FOR SATURDAY How will the offensive line look in their first live-game action under new offensive line coach Sean Kugler? ACCORDING TO TOMLIN “We’re looking at anywhere from 8-12 snaps or so. That’s generally the range you approach when you’re talking about getting started the first time out.” – When asked how long the starters will stay in for the first preseason game. “Guys like Jonathan Dwyer- they get an extended look whether they want it or not. That’s the nature of the preseason games, particularly in game one and in game four, because of the limited exposure that the starters get. And when you’re talking about an 80-man roster and removing 22-25 of them twelve snaps in, the remainder of snaps will go to guys like Jonathan Dwyer and Thaddeus Gibson and guys like that. There are gonna be 35+ snaps for guys in the position that those men are in.” – Discussing which players figure to see extended action in the first preseason game once the starters exhaust their snap count. “This is a guy that has a unique skill set in terms of his ability to break down people in the open grass.” – On the talents of all-purpose threat Stefan Logan, who has lined up at both running back and wide receiver during camp. Regardless of his fit on offense, coach Tomlin said that he will make or miss the roster based on his work in the return game. “He’s gonna get some opportunities [as a lead-blocker]. Need a little bit more clarity there, and the clarity that you’re looking for at a position like that is provided on nights like Saturday night; the live action kinda defines who’s in the driver’s seat in roles such as that.” – Discussing the opportunities facing RB Isaac Redman, who was one of the stars of last year’s preseason campaign. “I expect them to get extremely tired, extremely quickly; that’s what happens to all rookies. They cover the first kick and can’t believe how fast it is and how intense it is.” – When asked what he expects from his latest crop of rookie players. LOOK FOR… First-round pick Maurkice Pouncey to play both center and guard during the first preseason game. Pouncey played center at Florida and will likely start there in the future, but is slated to start his career playing at one of the guard spots until he is comfortable making protection calls. SPLASH TALK “We’re going to make you come to the stadium to check that out” – When asked which quarterback (Ben, Leftwich, or Dixon) would be starting on Saturday. “When you talk about personalities and things, Flozell [Adams] is one of the interesting ones- you know, how he’s interacting with his teammates. He’s been stretching in Dennis Dixon’s spot since he’s been here, but Dennis hasn’t asked him to move yet.” – Talking about free agent acquisition Flozell Adams, who was picked up to replace the injured Willie Colon at right tackle after spending 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Dixon may not have asked him to leave because Flozell is quite the intimidating figure, standing 6’7” and weighing almost 340 lbs. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMM… The Steelers better hope Troy Polamalu returns to the field at 100 percent and stays healthy for the entire season. His greatest talent is covering up and minimizing the weaknesses of his defensive teammates. He may have his work cut out for him this year, though. According to Football Outsiders’ charting numbers, all three of Pittsburgh’s projected top-three cornerbacks finished in the top-5 for first downs and touchdowns allowed in coverage last season. Ike Taylor finished second (40 combined first downs & touchdowns) behind only Jacksonville rookie Derek Cox (45). Reacquired starter Bryant McFadden finished third (37) and William Gay finished in a tie for fourth (36). This was a big drop in production for McFadden and Gay, who were both great players for the 2008 Super Bowl champs the year before, but was more of the same for Ike Taylor, who finished in the top-20 (or bottom-20 if you prefer) that same year.
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Aug 13 2010 by Tony DeFazio
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