Rashard Mendenhall: To Fumble or Not to Fumble? That Is the Question

Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin made it a point in his press conference this week to point out that he had re-configured his depth chart vis-a-vis running back. Call it blowing smoke or sending a message; view it as speaking through the media to his players or sheer egotism. But however you see it, Tomlin made it clear that (for the time being) Jonathan Dwyer was the starting running back, with Isaac Redman the 3rd down guy and Rashard Mendenhall in a lesser role.

It's a heckuva role for a former first round draft pick to be in.

Preseason Postmortem Week 3: Goodbye Justin

After a crappy, penalty filled night in Denver, I'd surmise that collectively, the Steelers are happy to get out of Mile High. Whose stock rose? Whose fell?

Stock Up: Jonathan Dwyer, RB. First, he showed a really nice burst and vision taking in this 5 yard touchdown scamper. Then, he moved a mass of humanity about 17 yards when it looked like he would get nothing. Actually, you couldn't even see his jersey number, just a huge pile of huge people moving inexorably downfield. Immediately after that, he bounced off/over a would-be tackler and took off on this 40 yard run. It may not be enough for Dwyer to make the final cuts. He's battled some injuries during camp which have put him at a serious disadvantage and he has a long way to go to be a complete back - his blitz pick-up has been pitiful - but what we saw in Denver was awfully promising. I expect to see a huge serving of Dwyer in Thursday night's game.

Stock Down: Justin Hartwig, C. The handwriting was on the wall the moment the Steelers drafted Maurkice Pouncey, but there was no way to know it was speed-writing on the wall. Center is a tough position to play mentally and generally it takes a college guy a season or two or three to get comfortable in there in the pros. But Pouncey is a prodigy. Still, the thought heading into camp was that even if Pouncey was ready ahead of expectations, they'd still need Hartwig around as an insurance policy. If they keep Hartwig on the roster, the only person who might need a beefed up insurance policy is Byron Leftwich. Justin the Putrid's blocking could not have been worse had he snapped the ball, then immediately sat down on the field and dealt himself a hand of solitaire on his iPhone. He's always been one of the lesser centers in the league, but last night, he proved to be completely expendable. According to the always reliable Ed Bouchette at the PG, Hartwig is scheduled to make $2,080,000 this year, money that could be better spent elsewhere.

Stock Down: Dennis Dixon, QB. I scream, you scream, we all scream for Double D. But then, really, um, not so much, no. I still think that Tomlin & Co. were right to take a longer look at Dixon, but now that we've seen him with the first unit, he looked like a third string quarterback, or, depending on how well situated your team is, a second string quarterback, or even a first-string guy who still needs a lot of work. The kid is talented, but the offense clunked along with him in leading the way. Worse, his first interception was inexcusable. I know he was trying to make something happen, I know he was trying to make an impression on the coaches, but it turns out it was the wrong impression. That pass was a bad idea the second it left Double D's hand. He should have known better than to throw that. The second one, the DB jumped the route and the pass was imminently interceptable. I'm not sure how the Steelers are going to fare without Pig Ben for four games, but I do know this - what they cannot afford are pick sixes by whichever QB starts for them. And thus endeth the Great Dennis Dixon versus Byron Leftwich debate.

Stock Up: Charlie Batch, QB. Yeah, I know Charlie threw a pick-six, too, but on his interception, it looked like either Tyler Grisham or Emmanuel Sanders was supposed to break off or run a different route. For that play to work, the QB has to make the throw on faith that the wide out will be there. Other than that, Charlie looked good. Very good. There clearly isn't room for him on Pittsburgh's roster when Pig Ben comes back, but Charlie looks better than both Derek Anderson and Matt Leinart in Arizona. When the axe falls here, and it will, Chaz should get himself on the first plane to Phoenix. I'm sure Whizzer will be glad to see him.






Stock Up: William Gay, DB. Oh, it almost pains me to admit it, but as a nickel back, the guy's not bad. Just as a starting corner, well, not so much. His interception of Tim Tebow was a thing of beauty last night -- he made a great read on the play, baited Tebow into the throw and then, most importantly, actually held on to the ball for the interception. Well done, Mr. Gay. Well done.

While we're in the defensive backfield,




Stock Down: Keenan Lewis, DB. Lewis, starting in place of Bryant McFadden (who has a pectoral injury) gave up an eight-yard catch to Brandon Lloyd. Then he proceeded to knee Lloyd and appropriately enough, got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag. This AFTER he was flagged earlier in the game for a late hit. Two unsportsmanlike in one game? C'mon. Lewis was starting due to McFadden's injury, but B-Mac has been less than awesome and the rumbling around camp was that Lewis actually had a shot to win the starting job. Epic fail. Although I have to admit, I enjoyed coach Tomlin's turn as coach Cowher. He grabbed Lewis by the collar and got all up in his face when he came off the field. Vintage Bill Cowher move. And I loved it. Then this, from the Trib - apparently Lewis, The Stupider, punched some glass thing and it shattered all over the joint. He has just taken himself from second or third on the corner depth chart and put himself in a battle for the sixth and last spot. The Stupider, indeed.

Stock Down: Dan Sepulveda, in this instance, K or more precisely, kick off specialist. Riddle me this: Why is it that the Steelers kickers are unable to put the ball in the endzone on kick offs? Even in Denver! Sepulveda's first kick went out of bounds. (Shaking head.) His second kick went to the 12 yard line. Third? Well, the Steelers didn't get so many chances at kick offs, what with all the stalled drives and interceptions and such, and Reed handled the two kick offs in the second half. It should be noted that Skippy's kicks were nothing to write home about, but were a bit better, coming down at the 8 and the 3 yard lines, respectively.




Need I even say it, Stock Up: Maurkice Pouncey, C. The kid went up against Jamal Williams, one of the best nose tackles in the league without question, and held his own. Williams gives wily veterans complete fits, but Pouncey looked good in his best test of the preseason. He will certainly have some mis-steps and missed assignments along the way, but there is no question Pouncey should be the starter on opening day and has the capacity to become an elite center at some point. And while we're here again ...

Stock Down: Bruce Arians playcall on 4th and 1. Love him or hate him, you have to admit, BA gets his brains all in a twist in short yardage situations. He must think he's the cleverest guy in the room. Nobody would expect Double D rolling out on a 4th and 1. Except that they would. And do you know why? First, they don't have to stay at home, because you really don't need five big bodies clogging the middle to stop the diminutive Mewelde Moore. And second, the Steelers almost never run between the tackles anymore in short yardage situations. I have a novel idea. How about run the ball with Issac Redman. Behind your burgeoning superstar at center. You know what? If it doesn't work, you don't have to try it again. The thing is, the play that he called would work if the defense was thinking a run between the tackles was coming. If the defense is thinking that way, it creates an opportunity for Dixon on the edge. But Denver wasn't fooled. Not by a long shot. And in fact, nobody's been fooled by BA's, er, creative play-calls in short yardage situations in a long time. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Except that they do. All the time.

Stock Down: Everybody who contributed a stupid penalty. Sepulveda for kicking out of bounds; Keenan Lewis, unnecessary roughness TWICE; Lawrence Timmons for roughing Kyle Orton; James Harrison for unnecessary roughness; Flozell Adams for consecutive false start penalties; and Stefan Logan for unsportsmanlike conduct. Man.

Steelers Preseason. The Turk Cometh

Right after the Steelers get home from Denver, they will cut the roster down to 75 men and less than a week later, make the final cuts down to 53 players. When I was a kid, I remember two things that seemed different. It seemed like they were at camp at St. V’s longer and I distinctly remember three cut dates. But memory is a funny thing. It was probably exactly the same, but my conception of time was way, way different.

As to the here and now, here’s a handy guide to watching the last two games, who is on the bubble, who is a lock and who may be destined for the waiver wire:

QUARTERBACKS:

They’re gonna keep Pig Ben, Double D and Leftwich. What they do with Double D and Leftwich in Pig Ben’s absence is another matter altogether, but I for one will be sad to see the Charlie Batch era end for the Steelers. For the team, it’s the right thing to do. And Chaz should find work - there are at least a dozen teams who could use a good, smart back-up. When his playing days are over, I hope he comes back to his hometown for good. We’ll miss you Chaz. Hurry back.

OFFENSIVE LINE:

Last year, the Steelers kept nine linemen and assuming they do the same but there are a dozen lineman on the roster at the moment. At the moment, there are five absolute locks (Max Starks, Chris Kemoeatu, Maurkice Pouncey, Trai Essex and Hotel Flozell [more for his run blocking than his glacial pass blocking]) which leaves Justin Hartwig, Doug Legursky, Adrian Jones, Kraig Urbik, Ramon Foster, Tony Hills and Jonathan Scott battling it out for the remaining four spots. I get the sense (based on nothing at all) that Tony Hills and Ramon Foster have a really good chance of locking up some of those spots, so I’m going to try to keep one eye on the line the whole night. Beyond which, I believe it’s time to let Hartwig go and just start Pouncey. If you see a lot of Doug Legursky on Sunday, it may mean the coaches are leaning that way, too.

RUNNING BACK:

Again, last year, they kept five spots for running back. Suspect Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore are givens, which means there are six guys trying to make a push for the last three spots. They list Stefan Logan as a running back, even though he’s really just a return guy. If they go with Antonio Brown as the return specialist, I don’t think Logan’s a factor at all in the running back race. Issac Redman is sure to make the team this year (isn’t he?), which means there are spots left for only two guys. Frank the Tank has been on the field as a lead blocker a ton, plus he’s a beast on kick and punt return coverage, so that’s four. So that means that Dwayne Wright (listed officially as a fullback), sixth round draft pick Jonathan Dwyer and Justin Vincent are duking it out for that last spot.

TIGHT ENDS:
I don’t expect a change from last year’s three of Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth and David Johnson. Has anybody even see Sean McHugh on the field in the first two games? Eugene Bright? He’s probably been out there, but not so as anybody noticed.

WIDE OUTS:

Five is the magic number here. By my count it looks like this: Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antwan Randal El and the coaches love Emmanual Sanders. The question is, if they keep only five, what do they do about Arnaz Battle v. Antonio Brown? Of course, if they keep Brown as the kick return specialist, they’ll have six wide outs and perhaps only carry four running backs, since Stef Logan was a running back in name only last year.

It gets really interesting on the defensive side off the ball, particularly when you get beyond the line of scrimmage.

DEFENSIVE LINE:

Coach John Mitchell has spoken about how much he loves using the six man rotation of Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith, Ziggy Hood, Nick Eason and Chris Hoke. Last year, they kept seven, so keep an eye on these guys on Sunday night to battle for the final spot: Ra’Shon Harris, Steve McLendon, Doug Worthington and Scott Paxson.

LINEBACKERS:

The Steelers seem to always have a surplus of linebackers and some of the fiercest battles for spots are going on here. The mortal locks are (1) James Harrison, (2) LaMarr Woodley, (3) Lawrence Timmons, (4) James Farrior, (5) Jason Worilds and, it seems to me (6) Keyaron Fox. They probably didn’t bring back Larry Foote just to cut him, although that’s possible. But the battle for the last spot seems to be shaping up between Thaddeus Gibson and Stevenson Sylvester, both of whom have looked very, very good in the action they’ve seen thusfar. Oh, Patrick Bailey’s still hanging around, plus there are a bunch of other guys who will probably be cut sooner rather than later.

SAFETIES:

Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark are givens. Will Allen's going to start in place of Clark on Sunday (altitude issues), so I think he may be the third man on the roster at safety. So Ryan Mundy (who knows the system and has looked good), Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, and Justin Thorton are battling for that last spot. I’m thinking Mundy, but it bears watching on Sunday night.

CORNERBACKS:

Again, six is the number we’re looking at. Ike The Stupid is their #1 guy, and they brought Bryan McFadden back with the thought he would start on the other side. Joe Burnett made the squad last year and he looks pretty good so far this pre-season. That’s three. As to the remaining three:
They took Crezdon Butler in the 5th round this year, so short of a complete flame out, he’s got a good shot at the #4 spot.
Is it just me, or does Keenan Lewis look better than William Gay? Anybody? That’s five.
So William Gay, by virtue of experience, has a serious edge on David Pitman. I guess so, as I can't even recall seeing #30 on the field at all.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Skippy, Dan Sepulveda and Greg Warren.