A Letter From the Editor: Can you really learn anything from a Steelers preseason game?
Ahhh yes, the NFL preseason.
Is there anything better?
Actually, yes, there are a lot of things which are football-related that are better. How about actual regular season games? But since we won’t have those for just under a month, we focus our attention on the exhibition season.
There are some people who feel the preseason is unwatchable and essentially a waste of time. I get it, but I also feel there is something which can be gleaned from these performances. As I call this preseason, it is the “grain of salt” season. In other words, take all results, both good and bad, with a grain of salt.
I always think back to that perfect preseason in 2023 when it looked like the Steelers had a high powered, top tier offense orchestrated by Kenny Pickett and George Pickens. That Kool-Aid tasted great, but we all know what happened in Week 1 when the San Francisco 49ers came to town, and what happened almost weekly every week after.
Who can forget the Tuzar Skippers of the world who have crazy performances in the preseason, only to be a fringe player bouncing from team-to-team in hopes of finding a landing spot they can truly call home.
All of this makes you think the preseason is worthless, but in reality there are aspects of these games you can take to heart. Let’s take a look at some of those things from the Steelers Week 1 preseason victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Health
Probably the most important facet of any preseason game, the Steelers were able to walk out of the stadium without any injuries. When I talk about players being injured, it isn’t just the high profile players, but also includes the overall depth of the team. When the worst injury was a minor hamstring injury to a back-up defensive back, it was a good day in that regard.
Specific Individual Performances
When you’re talking about an offensive line as a collective, it is difficult to gauge considering the team has their starters only playing a specific number of drives, if at all. But that doesn’t mean you can’t look at Broderick Jones, as an example, and see how he performed individually during his time in the game.
However, the aforementioned facts can also could the individual performances of others. Kaleb Johnson didn’t look great, but he was also running behind the 2nd, 3rd and 4th string offensive lines. Context is important in every aspect of the evaluation process.
Play Calling
Whether a play is executed or not, how a play caller or coordinator is orchestrating a game is noteworthy. Against the Jaguars Arthur Smith called a great game which included a lot of play-action passes, longer developing pass plays, and even some successful screens. It was a nice change from what we saw at time last season.
On the flip side, the defense was as vanilla as possible as there were hardly any starters on the field for the defense. In this regard, you have to withhold judgement.
Situational Football
It was great to see the Steelers offense orchestrate a successful two-minute drive which ended in a touchdown. It was also great to see the back-up defense stand tall in the red-zone on more than one occasion and force a field goal. These are the situations you want to see the Steelers be a superior team during games, and it starts in the preseason. I’d also throw the technical aspect of football into this category as well. Good tackling, blocking, and hustle are great indicators of players who could have a spot on the team, and those who are just collecting a check before hitting the unemployment line.
Penalties / Clean Brand of Football
Last, but certainly not least, you want to see the Steelers not suffer from those horrid pre-snap penalties and idiotic penalties which can crop up with less experienced players. In Preseason Week 1 the Steelers only had one pre-snap penalty, and were penalized six times for 60 yards. A good step in the right direction.
Ultimately, it always comes back to the preseason being the “Grain of Salt” season. The Steelers offense put up 31 points in Week 1 of the Preseason, but that doesn’t mean they’ll do that in the regular season or even Week 2 of the exhibition season. But that doesn’t mean these performances are worthless and can be overlooked.
You just have to look a little closer to find the answers you may be seeking.
We sat a ton of guys this week, and got a great look at some players I really like who are right around the 53 spot. I’d hate to see any of them put at risk of being snatched off the practice squad by another team.
We need the Allegheny Co. DA to start assigning players like Skowronek, Hull, Hulrleman, Jamison, Robinson, Thompson, and Waitman to a witness protection program.
A few guys I didn’t know were on the roster played surprisingly well in Jacksonville. RB Lew Nichols wound up as the leading rusher for the Steelers and WR Ke’Shawn Williams was the leading receiver. On defense, Carson Bruener was a standout.
Skylar Thompson got the most playing time but he looked even better than Rudolph.
I disagree with him looking better than Rudolph, but Thompson did look really good. Mason was also exceptional for a much shorter stint. The sack he took was on him though. But he was at least as good as Skylar for sure. 135.0 passer rating to 132.0 passer rating.