Steelers Final 53-man Roster Prediction

With the Steelers set to make their final cuts this weekend, here are our projections for the final 53-man roster:

QB: Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon
RB: Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, Mewelde Moore, Jonathan Dwyer
WR: Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, Jerricho Cotchery, Arnaz Battle
TE: Heath Miller, David Johnson, Weslye Saunders
T: Willie Colon, Jonathan Scott, Marcus Gilbert, Tony Hills
G: Chris Kemoeatu, Doug Legursky, Ramon Foster, Trai Essex
C: Maurkice Pouncey

DE: Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, Cameron Heyward
NT: Casey Hampton, Chris Hoke
OLB: James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Jason Worlids, Chris Carter
ILB: James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, Larry Foote, Stevenson Sylvester
CB: Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, William Gay, Keenan Lewis, Crezdon Butler, Curtis Brown, Cortez Allen
SS: Troy Polamalu, Ryan Mundy
FS: Ryan Clark, Will Allen

K: Shaun Suisham
P: Daniel Sepulveda
LS: Greg Warren

IR: Baron Batch (RB), Byron Leftwich (QB)

Practice Squad: Chris Scott (G), Donovan Warren (CB), Steve McLendon (NT), Tyler Grisham (WR), John Clay (RB), Keith Williams (G)

Soft Kitty: Steelers Win

 33

 17

The first thing we notice is that the Steelers are wearing their home blacks on a steamy night in Carolina. Not really sure what the reasoning was for Carolina to opt to wear whites at home...maybe they realized that wearing teal makes them look like they're covered in baby poop?

The Steelers win the toss and elect to receive.

Jeff Verszyla drops the word "tertiary" in his pregame sideline report, proving once again why he's the best of KDKA's announcing crew. He should do the play-by-play and color commentary.

Mendenhall joins Ben in the "You're too valuable to risk injury so you get to sit on the bench for this one," so it's the Isaac Redman show to start things off. Redman bounces a screen pass away from danger by using a Mendenhall-esque spin move. Manny Sanders gets his first catch of the preseason on the Arians patented WR screen. Aranz Battle makes a big grab on 3rd down to move the sticks and keep things alive. After Redman plows for another first down, Homestead Charlie keeps gunslinging, hitting David Johnson to get inside the 30. After Redman grinds out another first down, Batch hits Wallace on a crossing route and he tries to split two defenders at the goal line but the ball gets knocked out. David Johnson is Johnny-on-the-spot and falls on the ball in the end zone for the touchdown.

7-0

What a drive by Homestead Charlie. His only incompletion was a deep ball to Wallace that he overthrew.

The Panthers get a boost on their first drive after Ziggy gets flagged for a personal foul, but KDKA's broadcast sucks so they don't have a shot of what happened. Larry Foote almost comes up with a sack of Cam Newton but he just gets a pass away before his knee hits the turf. On the next play, Cam uses his legs and picks up a 3rd and 10 on the scramble. He barely looked downfield before he took off. A few plays later, Newton hits Jeramy Shockey inside the 5. Ryan Mundy falls down and Shockey is able to scoot into the end zone easily.

7-7

The Steelers next drive stalls out after a 3rd down hold on Trai Essex. Crezdon Butler lays a huge lick on the punt return. Good to see Crezdon stepping up on Special Teams. We're going to need him there this year.

Derek "One Hit Wonder" Anderson comes in to replace Newton. Anderson goes to work hitting Armanti Edwards twice to get across midfield, but the Steelers defense locks it down, forcing a 4th and 3. Rather than letting the quarter run out, Anderson snaps the ball with 8 seconds left and his pass bounces off Edwards' chest.

Second Quarter

Dennis Dixon comes out to start the second quarter. Arians sticks with the passing game and Dixon overthrows Brown, underthrows Brown, then overthrows Battle. Kapinos booms a punt that is bobbled inside the 5 and the returner barely makes it out of the end zone as the coverage swarms him.

Carolina keeps it on the ground and is able to run their way out from under their own goalposts against the Steelers 3rd team defense. They finally force a 3rd down and Donovan Warren comes up with a big-time pass breakup to force the punt. Warren has had a really good preseason so far. He'd definitely been one of the most impressive guys in the secondary. Sadly the roster math probably won't work in his favor.

After calling 11 passes and 5 runs, Arians goes to the ground and Jonathan Dwyer picks up a first down. Two plays later, Dwyer busts through a huge hole on the right side, makes a move and takes it to the HOUSE.

14-7

On the first play, DA hits Mike Goodson on a screen and he rumbles downfield before being brought down by Curtis Brown. Three plays later DA goes downtown on 3rd and long and hits some clown who blew past Crezdon Butler on a fly route. Wait, the guy's name was actually Clowney? Okay...

14-14

Mewelde Moore catches a seam on a short kickoff and takes it all the way back to the 40. Dixon completes his first pass of the game, hitting Manny Sanders on a slant route to move the sticks. Dixon can't muster much more and Suisham comes out and absolutely drills a 52-yarder. 

17-14

Carolina's offense is pretty much Mike Goodson and no one else. Jason Worlids gets his first sack of the preseason. Good to seem him getting on track.

Dixon comes out to run the two minute drill and hits Battle twice to get close to midfield. After a timeout, Dixon hits Manny Sanders on the sideline who makes a move and darts down the sideline to get all the way inside the 20 before he is horse-collar tackled, but no flag is thrown. Another completion to Battle gets us into a short-yardage situation, but Dwyer is swallowed up and Suisham hits a short field goal.

20-14

Third Quarter

Curtis Brown sets the tone, getting his hand in and breaking up a pass then making a tackle on a cut-back run. Derek Anderson decides to test Brown deep and throws one up. Brandon LaFell out-jumps Brown and comes up with the grab inside the 5. Brown makes up for it, breaking up a slant route on 2nd and goal then Donovan Warren makes a big tackle on a short pass to hold the Panthers ot 3.

20-17

Jonathan Dwyer goes back to work, picking up a first down and getting horse-collar tackled (which is called this time) which tacks 15 more on top. Dixon looks a lot more poised in the pocket, hitting Tyler Grisham on a crossing route to convert a 3rd and 5 at midfield. After a holding penalty puts us in 3rd and 17, Dixon goes downtown for Wes Lyons in double coverage who makes a great over-the-shoulder catch against two defenders. What a grab by the kid from Woodland Hills and WVU. The Steelers stall out inside the 10.

Swayze

Waters

23-17

Jimmy "Santa" Clausen comes in and on his first pass tries to test rookie Cortez Allen, who is playing in his first game. Allen tips the ball away and right into the hands of safety Will Allen, who returns it across midfield. 

Jonathan Dwyer has definitely improved over last year. He makes another good looking run to get close to 90 yards on the night. Dixon looks better and better as the game goes on, standing in under pressure and completing passes. He hits Weslye Saunders, who I would rather see as the #3 TE than John Gilmore (who has really shown me nothing this preseason), for a first down.

Fourth Quarter

KDKA channels their inner ROOT Sports and miss the first play of the quarter. Dixon threw it away, forcing a long field goal.

Swayze

Waters

FROM 53!!!!!

26-17

That's a 52 and 53-yarder Steelers kickers hit tonight. WOW.

Santa Clausen gives us another gift as McLendon gets pressure and Da'mon Cromartie-Smith rings up the sack. The gifts just keep on coming as the Panthers center fumbles a shotgun snap and the Steelers fall on it.

Dixon comes out going deeper into the playbook, going play action and hitting Weslye Saunders across the middle off a bootleg.

Please put Weslye on the team. He deserves to make it at this point.

33-17

Saunders comes out and makes the tackle on special teams, making his case for a roster spot even better. Coaches love to see these fringe roster guys show up on Special Teams, that's how you play your way onto the team. 

After a holding penalty, Clausen finally completes a pass. However, he's still in the giving mood and Steve McLendon rings up a big sack after blowing through the O-line. On 3rd down, Santa throws it right to Cortez Allen, but he can't make the diving pick.

The Steelers go to the ground-and-pound game to run out the clock and John Clay, a practice squad candidate, rips off some solid runs. Dixon can't hit Grisham on 3rd down and the Steelers punt. Jonathan Dwyer makes a tackle. Go re-read what I said 2 paragraphs ago about Saunders. Same thing applies. Dwyer is making the team.

The Panthers get a gift on a "QB contact" call when Santa's shirt gets brushed, which is pretty much a preview of how every game will go once James Harrison starts playing full time. The Panthers get down inside the 20, but Clausen throws a pass to no one on 3rd down and gets sacked by Mortty Ivy on fourth down turning the ball over once again.

John Clay shows some Bettis-esque moves with some quick feet for a big guy, but a holding penalty sets things back. Dixon gets sacked on 3rd down, bringing out the punt team.

For anyone who questioned why the Panthers took Cam Newton with the #1 pick, I think watching Jimmy Clausen play should pretty much end the discussion. He looked flat out terrible. The Panthers rode a few penalties into the red zone again and went for it on 4th down, with Donovan Warren breaking up a pass in the end zone.

Victory formation.

Game.

Players of the Game

Offensive Game Ball: Jonathan Dwyer

Defensive Game Ball: Steve McLendon

Honorable Mentions:

Dennis Dixon

Ryan Mundy

Curtis Brown

Donovan Warren

Weslye Saunders

Emmanuel Sanders

David Johnson

Will Allen

Cortez Allen

Mortty Ivy

Preseason MVPs:

Offensive MVP: Antonio Brown

Defensive MVP: Ryan Mundy

Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game

Having to cut players

There were a lot of guys that looked really good tonight, and it's a shame we're going to have to cut some of them. By my best calculations, there were 6 guys fighting for 2 roster spots tonight. Jonathan Dwyer clearly played his way onto the team tonight (and Weslye Saunders may have too, at the expense of John Gilmore). However, the last spot still might be up for grabs and will depend on what the Steelers decide to do with Byron Leftwich. 

Final Thoughts

• Good to get out of this game with no injuries. First and foremost, that was the most important.
• After a bad first drive, Dixon really came on and played a good game.
• Great game for Jonathan Dwyer, probably the best of his career. He's getting a helmet on Sundays.
• Weslye Saunders has looked a LOT better than John Gilmore this preseason. Saunders deserves a spot on the team as the #3 TE.
• Good to see Jason Worlids get over the hump and get a sack tonight. We're going to need him to spell Harrison if James needs a breather.
• Curtis Brown is going to be a hell of a defensive back. He's shown some flashes so far in preseason and you can tell. He has a quick jump on the ball in tight coverage.
• Cortez Allen looked decent in the limited time he saw. He'll make the roster and get plenty of time to get healthy.
• Steve McLendon had a really good preseason. It's going to be tough to pick between him and Chris Hoke for the backup NT. My gut says they'll take Hoke and hope McLendon can be picked up for the practice squad.
• We got out of the preseason mostly healthy, with Leftwich's injury clearly the worst, as Ike will be back for the start of the season. Hopefully Pouncey's ankle is in shape in 10 days when we hit Baltimore.
• 10 days until Baltimore. Get your head on straight. Here we go.

Gameday: Carolina Panthers

8:00pm

Cameron Outdoor Stadium

TV: KDKA.

Radio: 102.5 WDVE and other affiliates

What To Watch For

1. Roster Battles

There are still some open roster spots heading into the last week of the preseason. By our best calculations, there are 33 guys that are a lock to make the team. Behind that, there are 14 more that should make the team, but depending on injuries (such as Chris Carter's hamstring) some of them might not be on the 53-man roster. This leaves 2 open roster spots for guys like Jonathan Dwyer, Arnaz Battle, Tyler Grisham, Chris Scott, Keith Williams, Steve McLendon, and Donovan Warren to battle over.

2. Secondary Shootout

William Gay has looked good so far this preseason after being forced into the #1 corner role. Behind that, Keenan Lewis had a great game against Philly then was injured against Atlanta, the extent of which we're still not sure of. Crezdon Butler played his way into the conversation with his pick-6 against Atlanta. Third round pick Curtis Brown has looked solid and is still in the race to start the year as the dime corner. We'll see rookie Cortez Allen for the first time tonight after he was injured in camp. Donovan Warren has played well and is on the fringe of a roster spot, but it's hard to see the Steelers keeping 8 corners on their 53-man roster. Warren seems destined for the practice squad unless Lewis' injury is worse than it appears.

3. Homestead Charlie

Coach Tomlin announced this week that Ben would not play in tonight's preseason finale and that Charlie Batch would start. To be honest, this is a good move. With Leftwich going down, it is imperative that Ben is healthy for the start of the season, so it's pointless to risk him being injured in a meaningless game against the Carolina Panthers. Batch will get the start and hopefully all he has to do is feed the rock to Redman and Dwyer (who should see a lot of playing time tonight since he's fighting for a roster spot).

4. Emmanuel Sanders

After coming on strong at the end of last season, Sanders broke his foot in the Super Bowl. After months of surgeries and setbacks, Sanders seems ready to go. He should be the #3 receiver once the season starts, though with Antonio Brown's huge preseason, it will be tough to keep him off the field. It will be good to see Sanders get back out there and make some cuts, just so we know he's ready to go in Baltimore.

5. Offensive Line

In the latest move, Doug Legursky gets his shot at RG after Chris Scott and Tony Hills got their days. Scott seems like a forgotten afterthought now, and if Legursky winds up winning the job, the Steelers will need to make sure they have a contingent plan for a backup center, should Legursky get injured. Trai Essex figures to see some time in the middle tonight to prime him for that role. On the outside, rookie Marcus Gilbert looked decent against the Falcons and should see some more time at left tackle and right tackle tonight against Carolina.

Of course, seeing as this is the final preseason game, the cut deadline is this weekend. The Steelers will have to pare their roster from 80 down to 53 for opening day. For some guys, this is their last chance to make an impression on the coaches and win a roster spot. The starters don't figure to see too much time tonight, probably not more than a series if they play at all, to ensure we have a healthy team heading into the September 11 showdown in Baltimore.

No Behind Enemy Lines segment this week, we had some trouble finding a Panthers blogger that didn't slit their wrists after the 2-14 season last year.

Let's get out of this one injury-free and rest up for Baltimore.

Go Steelers!

Touchdooooown Brown: Steelers Win

 16

 34

What a game by Antonio Brown. Man, I really can't say enough about how he played tonight. I really don't care that he got flagged for taunting. It's preseason, better to get it out of the system now. He's easily been the MVP of the preseason so far.

First Quarter

The Steelers won the toss and elected to receive. Touchdown Brown catches a seam and bounces it to the outside...

...and almost goes all the way but is taken down by a horse-collar tackle by the kicker at midfield, adding on another 15.

The Steelers offense goes to work and runs the same play-action pass to David Johnson twice, getting down to the 1 where Mendenhall punches it in untouched.

7-0

3 plays, 35 yards, 7 points. Can't complain about that.

The Falcons come out trying to work the 9-yard comeback routes and sideline routes. The Steelers first team defense is up to the challenge and locks it down.

The Steelers next drive was a disaster from start to finish, with a holding penalty, a sack, and Keenan Lewis getting flagged for running out of bounds on punt coverage (which by the way is a 15-yard penalty now? When did that happen?) had Sepulveda punting out of his own end zone.

The Falcons tried their hand at the ground game but it leaves them in a 3rd and 10. The Diesel gets pressure around the outside and forces a bad throw, which bounces off the helmet of a lineman and into the air. 

The Law Dog goes up and snags the pick in front of Harry Douglas and takes off for the end zone.

He has a clear path but Douglas is able to run him down from behind at the 5.

Yeah, there is that.

The WR screen makes its first appearance of the game but doesn't get much and the offense can't find the end zone. More importantly, Pouncey went down with an ankle injury in this sequence. Not sure how serious it is. Suisham converts.

10-0

Ryan comes out hitting those same curl routes and sideline routes, working the short passing game down the field. The Falcons go to the no huddle and it seems to work, and leads them across midfield. The Falcons catch a break when Keenan Lewis is wildly out of position against Roddy White and Ryan finds him, getting them all the way down to the 5. Lewis atones for the mistake by breaking up a pass for White in the end zone, but injures himself in the process.

The defense locks it down and forces a field goal.

10-3

The Steelers respond with some no-huddle of their own, and 007 picks apart the Falcons defense, leading the troops up to midfield as the quarter ends.

Second Quarter

Ben gets sacked to start the quarter and just misses Hines, who is in his own zip code running down the middle of the field.

In Hines' defense, Ben was under pressure and really just chucked it up. Sepulveda booms a punt, but Eric Weems takes it all the way back to the Steelers 38, setting the Falcons up in great position. 

Matt Ryan takes full advantage of the great field position and converts two third downs, getting the Falcons down to the 10. Two plays later he hits White on a slant route with Troy in coverage for the score.

10-10

The Steelers next drive looks poised to stall out after two Mendenhall runs net little, but Ben finds Antonio Brown down the seam who makes a leaping grab behind a diving defender.

He blows between two defensive backs, turns on the afterburners and tears off for the end zone.

At around the 5 he turns around and taunts the defensive back, which draws a flag, and Brown celebrates by jumping into the stands.

What a play. What speed by Brown to break away.

Probably going to have to start calling him "Touchdown Brown" from now on.

17-10

The Falcons come back and put together another long drive with their no huddle offense. Ryan converted 3rd downs of 4 and 12 yards with passes to Julio Jones. Ryan took a shot deep for Jones, but he couldn't hang on. Ryan keeps working the short passes and is able to scramble away from some pressure to keep plays alive. I was really impressed with Ryan's escapability tonight. He showed some good quickness with his feet. The Falcons get it down to the 2, but an offensive pass interference call on Tony Gonzalez nullifies a touchdown and keeps them out of the end zone.

17-13

The starters come back out to run an extended 2-minute drill. Ben gets things rolling with a pass to Battle then a quick run by Moore to pick up the first down. Tomlin makes a questionable clock management decision and calls a timeout with a few ticks over 2 minutes on the clock. Hines makes up for it by making a leaping grab in front of a corner to get across midfield. 

Two plays after the two minute warning, facing a 3rd and 10, Ben does his Ben thing and steps up away from pressure and guns one downfield for Touchdown Brown who makes a leaping grap over two defenders in the end zone for the score.

Touchdoooooown Brown throws down some Dancing With the Stars-esque moves in the end zone.

24-13

With 1:41 left on the clock, the Falcons run their 2 minute offense, which isn't much different from the no huddle they were running previously. It was pretty obvious that Ryan still really only trusts Roddy White in the passing game, he tried to force at least 3 passes tonight into double coverage for White, and seemed to target him almost exclusively in big situations. White converted 3rd downs of 10 and 7, moving the Falcons into field goal range.

24-16

Halftime

At the half I find out Ryan had 42 pass attempts in the first half. That's just unreal. The Falcons had about an 80-20 pass-to-run ratio. That's just insane. Drew Bledsoe has the NFL record for pass attempts in a game with 70. If Ryan is going to throw 42 times in a half in a preseason game, is it really out of the question to think Ryan might take a run at that record this year? If the Saints jump out to a 2 TD lead against the Falcons, you really don't think Atlanta might throw 70 times in a game?

Third Quarter

The Falcons second string offense comes out and pick up a few first downs against the Steelers starting defense, but the D locks it down once the Falcons cross midfield, forcing a punt.

Leftwich comes in to pretty much just hand off to Isaac Redman. Byron converts one 3rd down with a pass to Battle, then later on the drive tries to scramble for a 3rd down. He dives forward and falls awkwardly and you can tell he's hurt. He gets up just dangling his left arm. It was bad. He couldn't even move it...it was just hanging there. Word is its a broken arm in the upper half. Yikes.

Jaquizz Rodgers shows some elusiveness on the Falcons next drive. He may be small, but he's got short-range quickness and he is shifty. A few guys had him lined up in the crosshairs and just missed him. The Falcons move down to the edge of the red zone as the quarter expires. 

For as long as the first half took, the third quarter went incredibly fast.

Fourth Quarter

Chris Redman tries to take a shot to get the ball inside the 5 on another typical out-route, but the receiver slips and Crezdon Butler steps up and snags the interception, taking off down the sideline. He puts a move on a guy at midfield and is off to the races. Cam Heyward chugs downfield and gets a chip on Quizz Rodgers that enables Butler to have a free path to the end zone for a 95-yard return for the score.

31-16

The reward for a pick-6? Come back out and play more defense. The Steelers seem to have a 3-and-out forced, but an offsides on the punt keeps the drive alive but Redman can't complete a pass. 

Dixon comes out to answer the question of who steps in now that Leftwich is down. Motif offense city. Run-run-pass. Punt.

The Falcons are still gunning and not running, obviously having no interest in running out the clock. They convert 3rd and 1 and 3rd and 11 on a well-designed screen pass. Steve McLendon gets the Steelers only sack of the game and finally puts an end to the Falcons threat.

The Jonathan Dwyer show takes over and he cuts one back and rumbles down the sideline for a big 28-yard gain to get us into field goal range. John Clay gets some totes and runs some people over. Dixon completed one pass this quarter, and it was to Woodland Hills and WVU alum Wes Lyons to get down inside the 10. An incompletion on 3rd and 2 brought out...

Swayze

Waters

27-yarder right down the pipe. 

34-16

Atlanta fumbles on the first play. Baraka Atkins makes his second fumble recovery of the preseason.

Victory Formation. 

Game.

Players of the Game

Offensive Game Ball: Antonio "Touchdown" Brown

Defensive Game Ball: Crezdon Butler

Honorable Mentions:

Ben Roethlisberger

Lawrence Timmons

Brett Keisel

Cameron Heyward

Stevenson Sylvester

Steve McLendon

David Johnson

Marcus Gilbert

Doug Legursky

Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game

Injuries

Leftwich's injury was bad. It looked bad. It's never good to see a guy's arm just dangling there. Hopefully Pouncey is okay. He's definitely the most important of the bunch here. He probably wasn't going to play more than a drive next week anyways, but he needs to be healthy come September 11 in Baltimore.

Final Thoughts

• Can't say enough about how good of a preseason Antonio Brown is having. Wow. He's definitely taken his game to the next level, and with Manny Sanders out he's getting these reps with the first team against first team defenses.
• Really hope Pouncey's injury isn't serious.
• Leftwich's injury was really ugly, but thankfully we have the QB depth in Dixon and Batch to be okay entering the season.
• Great game from Crezdon Butler. Team high 9 tackles plus that pick-6. Great stuff. That should get him on the team.
• The Steelers have looked very good in the last 2 games. Looks like we should be in good shape entering the season, particularly once Ike and B-Mac get back on the field.
• With the win, the Steelers secure a .500 record in the preseason. Since 1999, every year the Steelers have had a .500 or better record in the preseason they have had a winning record in the regular season. Conversely, every year they have had a losing record in the preseason they have had a .500 or worse record in the regular season. We're looking forward to some big things next year.
• The Steelers have to make their first cuts this week, cutting their roster down from 90 to 75.

Gameday: Atlanta Falcons

7:30pm

Heinz Field

TV: KDKA.

Radio: 102.5 WDVE and other affiliates

What To Watch For

1. Atlanta Receivers vs Steelers Corners

Last year, the Falcons attacked the Steelers by doing everything they could to get Roddy White matched up with Bryant McFadden and not Ike Taylor. The Falcons traded away almost their entire draft to move up into the top 10 and take Alabama WR Julio Jones. With Ike out of the lineup recovering from his broken thumb, the young corners will get another test this week. Will Gay and Keenan Lewis, who had the best game of his career against Philly, will see a lot of playing time tonight against Atlanta's top guys. It should be a good test for our young corners tonight.

2. Marcus Gilbert

With Jonathan Scott suffering a knee injury last week, it remains to be seen if he will play this week. If not, rookie Marcus Gilbert figures to see significant time at LT tonight. The Falcons have a good set of defensive ends in John Abraham and former Viking Ray Edwards. 

3. Tony Hills

Due to the injury to Scott in last week's game, Hills didn't get as many reps at RG as some would have liked to see. Hills is entering his 3rd season in the league and he's shown marked improvement this year in the preseason. Hopefully he gets plenty of snaps at RG tonight so we can see if he's ready to roll against Baltimore.

4. Significant first-team snaps

The starters on offense and defense should play the whole first half tonight and snaps will be at a premium for the middle-of-the-depth-chart guys. Last week, the guys who are on the cut line for roster spots like Jonathn Dwyer, Tyler Grisham and Donovan Warren all saw time with the first team units. We thought this was a great roster move to see how these guys would perform against top-tier NFL talent. Hopefully they get some more playing time with the first team guys again tonight so we get another look at them.

5. No injuries

When talking about the preseason, this is always the biggest issue that comes up. The starters won't play much next week against Carolina, so this is the last significant playing time they will see before Baltimore - and the last big chance for them to get injured. Hopefully we can come out of this game without any injuries and be healthy heading into Week 1.

Behind Enemy Lines

This week's Behind Enemy Lines guest is our friend Scott from ScarDraft.com. You can find him on Twitter @scar988

1. With half the preseason under our belts, we're starting to see a little bit of what teams are capable of and how the starters are gelling. Besides avoiding injuries, what do you want to see from the Falcons for this game to be considered a "success"?

I'd like to see how Ray Edwards does. He was the big FA signing and made that trade up for Julio Jones look brilliant. This is going to be an explosive team and Ray Edwards bringing in another pass rush element can only help. I'd also like to see the battle for nickel corner. It's ongoing and should be a fun one.

2. One of the biggest stories of the draft was the Falcons trading away almost everything to move up to take Julio Jones. The Steelers have had some injury issues in the secondary this preseason and wound up starting their #3 and #4 guys against Philadelphia. We're excited to see how the Steelers corners match up with one of the best receivers in the league (Roddy White) and one of the top talents of the draft (Jones). Are there any matchups you're looking forward to watching?

White, Jones and Douglas vs. that secondary should be fun. I'd like to see how Cortez Allen does myself since I used to live 2 doors down from him at school. He's a hell of a guy and looks like he could be a hell of a player for you. I'd like to see how he handles the 3 amigos here in Atlanta.

3. Which Falcons players are you looking for the most improvement out of during this preseason?

Thanks for an easy one. Like I said before, nickel corner. Franks and Owens need to improve. I'd also like to see Peria Jerry return to his collegiate form. Also would love to see who between the defensive ends stick.

4. Any players lower on the depth chart that might be surprises in the later stages of this game?

Kroy Biermann, Lawrence Sidbury and Cliff Matthews aren't slouches. I can't wait to see what goes down in Atlanta at the defensive end and defensive tackle spots this season.

5. Any other final thoughts?

This should be a fun one to watch. Will really get to see how the Falcons hit the blitz protections needed against a truly blitz heavy defense.

Go Steelers!!

All Nightmare Long: Steelers Win

 1424

After being gone for almost 7 months, it was good to finally be back in Heinz Field. The offense got the nod for pre-game intros. Antonio Brown gets announced first and why not, he was definitely the star of the first game.

Coach Tomlin is in midseason form.

Some 11-year old rocks the national anthem. Crazy good performance.

The Steelers win the toss and take the ball.

Mendenhall dances for a few on the first play, but the bigger news was that Jonathan Scott went down. He was able to walk off the field, but was later carted into the locker room. Ben goes to the air on 3rd and 1 on a play-action and hits Heath across the middle to keep the drive rolling. Ben tries to get greedy and go down the seam for Johnson, but the pass is broken up. The wheels look like they're going to fall off after a holding penalty on Tyler Grisham and a dropped WR screen by Brown bring up a 3rd and 20, but we catch a break when Ben gets his facemask grabbed on a sack. The refs shockingly call it and we have new life. Isaac Redman gets some work and moves us across midfield. Ben keeps things rolling converting a 3rd and 8 with all kinds of time in the pocket, hitting Arnaz Battle across the middle. Battle made a nice finger-tip catch to atone for his drops last week.

After a holding penalty, the offense gets creative with Ben taking the snap and darting up the middle for 7 yards, showing once again he's the best running quarterback in Pennsylvania. A screen to Mendenhall gets us to 3rd and manageable. Ben goes to the air and hits Antonio Brown wiiiide open behind Asante Samuel for the touchdown.

7-0

Weren't the Eagles supposed to have some kind of "Dream Team" Secondary?

Philly comes out and tries to go deep to test the Steelers lack of corner depth, but Keenan Lewis is there in coverage. Shady McCoy is able to move the chains, but the drive stalls out when Timmons tips a 3rd down pass. The Eagles get a lucky bounce on the punt and pin the Steelers inside the 5.

Mendenhall really doesn't care, spinning his way out through the hole and picking up 9 on first down. Ben does his Ben thing, rolling out and hitting Mendenhall who makes a 1-handed grab and gets us out across the 30. Isaac Redman gashes the Eagles defense for another first down. Redman and Mendenhall trade carries to get into 3rd and 1 as the quarter expires.

One of the things I liked from the Steelers in the first quarter was that they put in guys who are battling for fringe roster spots like Jonathan Dwyer and Tyler Grisham with the first team offense to see how they would perform. Also, we dominated Time of Possession 12 minutes to 3 minutes.

Second Quarter

Redman moves the sticks out of the Pony backfield to keep things going. The Eagles try to bring a blitz on Ben on the next 3rd down, but he hits Moore on a swing pass out of the backfield. Moore is wide open behind the blitz and takes it all the way down to the 11. Ben gets sacked on 2nd down to push us back to the 20. On 3rd and forever Ben does his Ben thing again, rolling out of the pocket to buy time and guns one to Hines on the back line of the end zone.

Hines shows off his Mirror Ball-winning dance moves after the score.

14-0

Vick tries to go over the top again and Ryan Clark makes a leaping interception along the sidelines, bringing it back to the 30.

Leftwich came in and took a few big shots and wasn't able to complete anything. Swayze Waters came in to try a field goal, but the Eagles were quick off the edge and Asante Samuel blocked it.

Shady bounces one outside and gets some solid yardage. Harrison gets Vick in the crosshairs and Vick tries to throw it away and almost throws it right to Polamalu. On the next play, Keenan Lewis steps in front of a pass for his first splash play ever. I've been really critical of Keenan in the past, but he had a really good game tonight and is starting to make a believer out of me.

Arians tries to get cute and goes with a reverse pass by Antonio Brown, who overthrows Battle. Honestly, there's no reason to show that play in the preseason. A holding penalty pushes us back into 3rd and 20. On a simple 3-vertical route, Leftwich nails Cotchery down the seam to pick up the improbable 3rd down. Arnaz Battle comes through again, picking up another 3rd down to keep the drive alive. The Steelers waste a timeout before the next 3rd down and Leftwich gets sacked anyways.

Shady takes it out across the 30 as the clock hits 2 minutes. Vick gets smothered by Harrison and Donovan Warren, who has had a great preseason so far. On 3rd down, Vick scampers around in the backfield and chucks it downfield. Woodley leaps up and tips the ball up, falling into the waiting hands of Troy Polamalu who brings it all the way back into Eagles territory before Vick throws a dirty, dirty hit, going low on Polamalu, seemingly aiming for his knees. Luckily, Vick catches him in the hip and Troy is okay.

Welcome back, Troy.

Jonathan Dwyer moves us into field goal range on a draw play, then Lord Byron scrambles up the middle for 9, giving him more rushing yards than Vick. Take a minute and consider that. Byron Leftwich ran for more yards on 1 carry than Vick did all game. Moore moves the chains and the Steelers burn their last timeout with 18 seconds to play. We come out and go 5-wide. Leftwich winds up and delivers a bullet from his hip to Cotchery on a deep in at the goal line for the score.

21-0

Halftime

What a first half. Definitely makes up for the turd we dropped last week in Washington.

Maurkice Pouncey is awarded the Joe Greene Rookie of the Year award for last season.

Youth squads from Jeanette and Morningside scrimmage. Good times. Neither team could stop a sweep to the right.

Steelers led 23 to 7 in time of possession. 9/12 on 3rd downs. Vick had 5 completions and 3 interceptions.

Third Quarter

Vince Young comes out, hoping to avoid getting suplexed again, and starts marching the Eagles down the field with the help of a 4th down conversion. Then Ryan Mundy just takes over. He shoots the gap on 3rd and 1 and stones Ronnie Brown in the hole. Then on 4th down he sticks his nose in the pile again and makes another stop. Mundy has had a great preseason so far.

Dennis Dixon comes in and takes advantage of a few penalties to move the offense into Philly territory, but the drive fails after an incompletion on 4th and 2.

Ronnie Brown shows a little spark, and the Eagles are able to move into Steelers territory. But Vince Young is, after all, Vince Young. He throws one right to Larry Foote across the middle for the Steelers 4th, yes FOURTH, pick of the game.

Anyone have any other thoughts?

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Dixon comes back in and looks a bit better than his first drive. The biggest thing that happened here was he completed a pass to Weslye Saunders. Some guy sitting behind me asked "Who's he?" so I proceeded to drop some knowledge on him that Saunders played at South Carolina but didn't play last year because of improper contact with an agent. The guy just looked at me and said "How do you know so much?" 

Fourth Quarter

Dixon hits Grisham who comes up just short of the sticks.

Swayze

Waters

BOOM.

24-0

The Eagles send out their 3rd string with former Pitt RB Dion Lewis getting some carries. He looked shifty and quick until Will Allen stood him up and ripped the ball out. Fifth turnover of the game for the Steelers. Wow. What a complete turnaround from last week.

Dwyer and Clay shouldered the load and carried us all the way down the field inside the 10. Former Woodland Hills and WVU product Wes Lyons seemingly scores a touchdown, but it's nullified on a holding penalty. Dixon can't cash it in and Swayze shanks a 27-yarder. Ouch. That's not the way to inspire confidence.

Philly's offense undergoes a metamorphosis with Kafka under center. Dion Lewis picks up a big chunk on a dump off that gets the Eagles down into the red zone. 3 plays later, some guy who won't make the team catches a touchdown.

24-7

The Steelers recover an onside kick are in run-out-the-clock mode. They're almost able to do it but come up just short on 3rd down. Sepulveda pins them deep.

Gregor Samsa comes back and is able to run the 2-minute offense with surprising efficiency, driving the Eagles down the field for another touchdown that didn't really mean anything.

24-14

Grisham recovers the onside kick and it's Victory Formation time.

Players of the Game

Offensive Game Ball: Jerricho Cotchery

Defensive Game Ball: Troy Polamalu

Honorable Mentions:

Antonio Brown

Hines Ward

Ben Roethlisberger

Arnaz Battle

Jonathan Dwyer

Ryan Clark

LaMarr Woodley

Keenan Lewis

Larry Foote

Ryan Mundy

Donovan Warren

Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game

Vick's hit on Polamalu

You can say what you want about it. It looked like a dirty play to me. Sure, he actually contacted Troy's hip, but Vick went low, leading with his helmet towards Troy's knees. I understand that Vick is pissed he threw the INT, but going after a guy's knees is dirty. 

Final Thoughts

• Dream team? Really? Where were all their all stars in the secondary?
• Fact: When Asante Samuel went into the locker room at halftime he set off the fire alarms because he was still smoking from being scorched by Antonio Brown.
• This was exactly the kind of game we needed to see after the Redskins game. It's preseason, so there's still some time to work out the kinks, but this looked like the Steelers that were AFC Champs.
• How many good things can we say about Antonio Brown? He's been the MVP of the preseason so far. He's certainly making the case for more playing time right now.
• Jerricho Cotchery looked really good in his black and gold debut. 2 catches for a touchdown at the end of the half and a 3rd and 20 conversion. He did a great job catching the ball in traffic and holding on when he knew he was going to take a shot.
• Arnaz Battle had some nice grabs to atone for his drops last week.
• If I was a Philly fan, the thing I'd be the most concerned about is how the Steelers were able to run the ball all over my defense. They might have a great secondary, but their run defense has to be better.
• Donovan Warren continues to impress. He's earned at least a spot on the practice squad as of right now.
• As I said earlier, I've been a big detractor of Keenan Lewis in his career, but his big plays tonight and solid coverage have started to win me over. Keep up the good work Keenan.
• Jonatthan Dwyer did a lot to raise his stock tonight. He looked good once he got into the rhythm of the game. 
• Tony Hills looked okay at RG, but he had to move to LT with the injuries to Scott and Gilbert, so I didn't get to see as much of him at RG as I'd like. All in all the first-string O-line wasn't bad.
• If they're the Dream Team, I guess we were their nightmare. 3 passing TDs against their secondary. Wow.