A Closer Look at the First Half from the Steelers Game

[TSO]

Alright guys, I figured I'd do this again since it seemed popular last time I studied the first half for the Ravens game and posted my thoughts here

Here are the observations I've made this time around:

1- Jason Campbell was a mixed bag. His play certainly wasn't as bad as the stat line makes it look, but it wasn't what we need to see from him. On the opening play he underthrew Kelly as has been repeated here ad nauseam, but that wasn't as big a deal as made out to be around here. Kelly is someone who has just recently got more playing time with the first team, and the chemistry between the two will get there with more snaps.

The very next play was a screen pass the Steelers sniffed out and he did the right thing by throwing it to the ground. The play after that was where he was totally at fault, and calling him out on it would actually be legitimate. On 3rd and 10 he overthrew a slightly open Moss when noone was in his face and he should've stepped into the throw a bit more. Good decision, very poor throw. Moss was running an in route across the middle against a Lber there, and had Campbell led him a bit more with a softer pass instead of bulleting it in there Moss would've been able to get further separation.

After the fake punt and two running plays from Portis, it was 3rd and 6 and Campbell made a quick read and got the ball out at the top of his drop for a first to Randle El. It was a great decision, the throw hit El right between the numbers, and was a missile. Good stuff, and exactly what the WCO is all about. Unfortunately, Samuels was lined up a bit too far back off center and got called for it. No worries, cuz on 3rd and 11 Campbell comes right back and hits Cooley for a first. Impressive, because we overcame a penalty, but even more because Campbell had to do some slight maneuvering in the pocket, and he looked fast and instinctive doing it. The ball was well thrown, a bit low and to the right so Cooley was the only one who could catch it, but not only that, it was thrown before Cooley came out of his break.

Both of those throws were beauties to say the least, no exaggerations.

On another play a couple of ones after that, Campbell almost gets sacked at the snap by a blitzing LBer up the middle, only to have Portis do what he always does. Campbell makes the smart decision and scrambles up the middle for about 5 yards since noone was open. Sliding is still an issue.

On the next series, Campbell looked deep to Moss on the first play, but threw outside while Moss ran to the inside. Poor communication there, and hopefully that gets ironed out. It shouldn't happen though, not between the no. 1 WR and the starting QB who've played in the same offense for two full Training Camps and a season. It's impossible to know who really was at fault there, but Zorn seemed to indicate that it wasn't Campbell there. He's been honest to the media for the most part, so I think we've got to accept that assessment.

The next play for Campbell was a screen pass set up for Betts. Betts got caught up in the trenches and was late getting out, but boy was that a good play call. It would've went for big yardage as there was a ton of space there to the right where the play was designed to go. Shame, really, but good decision on Campbell's part to get rid of the ball.

The final pass play for Campbell was at the start of the 2nd Quarter to Fred Davis on a 3rd and 3. Fred Davis was supposed to stop at the top of his route, but he continued to slide in towards the middle of the field so Campbell made the right decision and led him a bit, but right before Campbell released the ball Davis decided to stop... incomplete. That was totally on Davis.

Overall, I'd say Campbell actually did well, though much more needs to be seen.

2- Special Teams came out to play. Well, besides our coverage on punt returns and kickoffs, that is. Otherwise, you've got to love the blocking all around, not just on the fake punt. Cartwright was solid as was Dorsey. So glad to have Hunter Smith on the team. Guy is just solid.

3- Portis ran well. Besides the first running play he ran after the fake punt in which he was too impatient, he looked like the All Pro he is. Stephon Heyer made a good block leading his guy to the inside (well, the guy actually went to the inside anyway, but still, Heyer stuck to him) on that first play, and there was a huge opening to the right side, but Portis was too impatient and lowered his head right between Heyer and his guy for a couple instead. Nit picking, I know, but that could've been at the very least a first down run.

He showed great vision on his best run of the night where he saw space between Samuels and Dockery and got about 11 yards. On the very next play, he took a toss to the right and did well getting up field, though the Oline deserves the credit here more than anything. Heyer sealed the edge with a nice block and Portis went to the inside of that block... he tried to sidestep two guys at the end of the run but Ryan Clark lodged his helmet into the ball and popped it out. That wasn't really a mishandling of the ball, since it was more chance than anything that Clark hit the ball... he almost completely whiffed on the tackle.

4- Mike Sellers is still a beast. I'm not going to spend much time on this because all that needs to be looked at is the play right after Campbell hits Cooley for a first down on 3rd and 11.

Oh. My. God.

Sellers absolutely demolishes #94 Timmons... if you have the game saved or watch the clips TX so generously posted for us here (under Portis' runs I believe), please do yourself a favor and get yourself a nice big smile. Simply awesome. I busted out laughing when I saw it. Not cuz it was funny, but out of joy. Also because of Sellers "woooh's" afterwards. :hysterical:

That was Tayloresque to say the least.

5- Betts was solid, but a bit disappointing. He showed good vision at the goal line, but was too easy to bring down. The Steelers LBer made a great play on the 3rd down after Sellers got him down with a good block. Betts made the right decision to cut at that spot, but he just needs to be stronger there.

6- Our Dline is still sick. Still. The way Carter, Haynesworth, and Orakpo come off the snap is simply ridiculous. The Steelers on their first offensive play were going for a screen, but it didn't matter. Carter, Haynesworth and Daniels converged on Batch and Carter batted the ball down, after generating a holding call. On their second offensive play Orakpo came off the edge and the Steelers back sort of let him go (not sure what he was thinking, but he seemed to place priority on getting out in front of the LOS to be an option for Batch) but Batch couldn't do a thing once that decision was made. Running backs can not block Orakpo. He proved that again at the start of the 2nd Quarter, but couldn't bring Batch down unfortunately (great play by Batch, stayed upright while Orakpo and Golston had a chance at him).

On their third offensive play the Steelers Oline was 5 yards back off the LOS almost as soon as the ball was snapped, though they blocked our guys well, Batch didn't really have a passing lane to throw it to. He was at least 8 yards behind the LOS and had to move around just to be able to see downfield.

Our guys live in the backfield, and they sure have the Olineman opposite of them jumpy. False starts and holding calls are seemingly commonplace now. Great to see. Kedric Golston deserves an honorable mention as well. Montgomery was solid, but for some reason Golston penetrates much more consistently. Daniels looks better than ever, and is getting to the edge on his pass rushes, something which was rare previously. The best example would be the play on a 2nd down and 3 during the second offensive series for the Steelers... He and Carter converged on Batch forcing him to step up, which was when Haynesworth got a hold of him and then Griffin put a nice spin move on his guy to come off the block, leveling Batch who threw the ball at the last second and got called for intentional grounding. Yes, every one of our starting Dlineman did something sweet on that play, lol.

7- Landry is another mixed bag. I love his intensity, but he seems to be a split-second late to the ball too much of the time. The best example of this would be the 3rd down and 10 during the second offensive series for the Steelers in which Batch completes a 20 yard pass to Hines Ward over the middle for a first. Landry should've been there a step earlier, but bit a little when Hines Ward faked to the outside. Granted, Ward is an exceptional route runner, but those are the kind of plays elite Safeties make.

He's all over the place though, which is great to see. He's got to make faster decisions, and it may be the consequence he's paying for not participating with the team more in OTAs and putting in that extra bit of work. Hopefully he changes his attitude and gets it right before the start of the season. He could really be one of the best Safeties to have every played if he knows what the offense he's playing against is going to do a bit more.

On the play right after the intentional grounding by Batch, Landry blitzes off the left edge and runs himself out of the play. He should've went inside a bit earlier, as he was facing a RB that he could've easily overpowered. It gave Batch the time needed to deliver the ball to an open Holmes against an empty Secondary, which leads me to the next point.

Before I get to that though, I thought it'd be interesting to note that on the first TD for the Steelers, Landry is once again a step to late and takes a bad angle, allowing Parker to get to the edge and score.

8- Our all-out blitzes are still not up to par. Too many times have I seen for the last few years all out blitzes called by Williams/Blache that rarely get to the QB, and only end up leaving our exposed secondary to cover for too long. It sickens me to see a RB win the battle so many times against our Safety/LB. Landry should win more of those battles hopefully.

9- Rogers looked like a guy who hasn't been playing much. He was the one who got beat on that all-out blitz by Holmes, but it's a bit understandable considering he was out on an island with no safety help. His first priority was to not let Holmes get by him deep and he didn't, but he should've been able to time his jump better considering the defensive playcall was an all-out blitz where Batch has to get rid of the ball quickly. That one was more about timing and depth more than anything, and I have a good feeling it's due to the fact that he hasn't been able to practice as much. He just looked too hesitant in coverage. He did a good job on the very next play though, running stride for stride with Williams on a go route.

He was also way too hesitant on another play where Batch completed a pass to Heath Miller within his zone, giving up a 1st and Goal.

10- D Hall still looks good. Loved seeing him get involved in the running game and throwing his body around. He wasn't tested much, which is a good sign. He had a chance at an INT on a 2nd down and 10 during the second offensive series, but Batch showed his veteran skills and put the ball too low to the ground for anyone to have a chance on it. Hall was in position though.

11- Orakpo at SAM is still a work in progress. He was solid for the most part, but still has trouble in coverage. Nothing is more indicative of this fact than the goal line play right before the Steelers TD, in which he allows Heath Miller, the TE he's assigned to, to get behind him. He got caught looking in the backfield there, and Miller blew right past him. Had Miller turned a second earlier, Batch would've hit him for the score, but Miller took too long to get his head turned around and Batch hesitated until he did. Orakpo had to turn his whole body around to relocate Miller, but at least he got to him in time before the play could be made. He made a funny little jump with his hands in the air because he knew the ball was coming, so he did what he could to try to defend the pass... I guess that's something, lol.

12- Goodness, I'm still not out of the 1st Quarter yet. Yeesh.

13- Oline played good, if not great, football. They came off the snap strong, run blocked well and pass blocked well, and the Steelers Dline only managed to push them back once or twice. It was great to see Heyer run block well considering that's been his biggest weakness. He was connecting on blocks and seemed to know what his assignment was on every play. No whiffs, which has been common from him. Backups were solid as well. Great to see our depth guys are coming along.

14- HB Blades looked real good. He was solid in coverage and did great in run defense. Solid, solid tackler and he's got deceiving speed. First play he was in during the early part of the 2nd Quarter, he read the play as a run, got a great jump on the ball, got into the backfield quick and made the tackle slightly behind the LOS. Impressive.

15- Tryon looked much better. Got his hands inside Sweed to cause an incompletion on a Curl route that would've been a first down and was well thrown by Batch. He wasn't tested as much, which is a good sign.

16- Keith Eloi looked a bit slow on Punt returns. He just seemed way too lax and indecisive, though he gave good effort. Not much else to say about him other than that.

17- Mason was the Mason we remember as a RB. Showed good vision, made some great cuts and got up the field fast. Unfortunately, the same can not be said as a pass catcher. On a 3rd and 2 play during the first series Collins was in he caught a well placed ball by Collins right behind the first down marker in stride and kept running outside instead of cutting quickly to the inside and getting the first, only to get tackled by a CB. Bad decision, and he knew it was as he spiked the ball as soon as he got up in frustration, which was also a bad decision because the ref could've called an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty there. The ref actually says something to him afterwards, and I'd be shocked if it had nothing to do with the spike.

18- Devin Thomas didn't get much playing time. I'm not sure what that means for him, but we had Kelly and Mitchell in as the 1 and 2 WRs at times when Collins went in. He looked real good holding onto the ball while being hit on the one catch he made though. He caused an INT when he didn't come back to the ball on the only other throw that went to him at the end of the half. Hopefully he comes back strong against the Pats.

19- Honorable mention goes to Todd Collins, Reed Doughty, Kareem Moore and Byron Westbrook. All were solid, if unspectacular. Todd made a couple of nice throws, but nothing to write home about, except the incompletion he threw to Hackett on an out route right over the head of a DB. Hackett should've came down with both feet in bounds, but didn't. Still, that throw was a beauty. Moore should've been able to get a piece on the catch Sweed made that was reviewed by the refs. He was in position and had a chance at it but pulled up at the last second for some reason.

That took a lot longer than I anticipated. This game was much more interesting to analyze then the Ravens one, that's for sure. Hope I provided some good insight for you guys, and I look forward to your responses!

:helmet:

[Toe Jam]

This an excellent thread and I plea that you do it every week. I know it takes a lot of work but it's got some great insight for those of us that just don't have the time to go back and watch the whole thing again every week. More often than not, one can miss details when watching the game live.

It's a fair analysis and I don't see any attempt at spin. Amazing.

But enough gushing. I'm going to pick through this thing and see if there is something in particular I want to comment on.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Nice review! I think you should do this every week, as well.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Thanks for that great effort and write up :applause:...

The best example would be the play on a 2nd down and 3 during the second offensive series for the Steelers... He and Carter converged on Batch forcing him to step up, which was when Haynesworth got a hold of him and then Griffin put a nice spin move on his guy to come off the block, leveling Batch who threw the ball at the last second and got called for intentional grounding. Yes, every one of our starting Dlineman did something sweet on that play, lol.

This play had me smiling like an idiot lol ...it was as if every starter on our D-Line was just unstoppable. Did I just say that?

[TSO]

Thanks for that great effort and write up :applause:...

This play had me smiling like an idiot lol ...it was as if every starter on our D-Line was just unstoppable. Did I just say that?

I know... I had the same goofy grin on my face. We're ridiculously lame! :dunce:

[darrelgreenie]

The final pass play for Campbell was at the start of the 2nd Quarter to Fred Davis on a 3rd and 3. Fred Davis was supposed to stop at the top of his route, but he continued to slide in towards the middle of the field so Campbell made the right decision and led him a bit, but right before Campbell released the ball Davis decided to stop... incomplete. That was totally on Davis.

:helmet:

And people wonder why he sometimes has to wait on a receiver to come out of their break.

Nice breakdown-

Do you think the 1st team passing game is in rhythm?

[Mania]

Thanks for a great review, I third the motion that you should do it every week. I do disagree that Landry can be one of the best safety's ever, but he definitly can be a very good safety and yes, he does get to some plays just a tad bit late.

Fred Smoot said something interesting after the game and you can take it however you want. He mentioned that the secondary is playing very vanilla*(not his words).

The special teams will improve once the season begins and we weed out the players that aren't going to make the squad or have no business playing special teams. Although we did lose BOTH Thrash and K. Campbell. They were excellent special teams players. Don't count on Rock getting cut for either Dorsey, Mason or Aldridge.

[Silent Majority]

Great review. Thank you.

[Dirty#30]

I don't know....maybe I'm a Campbell homer or maybe I'm just optimistic about how we fare this season :fingersx:. I didn't get to watch the game till yesterday (Thank you DVR and NFL Network!!). What I saw of the first team offense and specifically Campbell wasn't all that bad as it's being made out to be here on this board. I paid specific attention to how he played and the how well our defense played. Jason, wasn't bad. Really!!! To start up the game with a fly route with no other pass under his belt to that point, you can't expect him to be dead on. After hearing that the two of them haven't practiced together on that route and that Jason didn't expect his speed, especially after coming off a rookie campaign where he had knee issues. I was still impressed they nearly pulled it off. Troy is a great Safety. I'm willing to bet that on any other safety other than Ed Reed it would have been completed. Yeah it was under thrown a bit but it would have been caught with any other safety. He scrapped plays that had no chance to be completed or able to gain positive yards which was smart! Had he completed the screen passes they would have been for a loss and some people on here would have been irate over it. The object is to progress up the field...right?!

Anyways I believe it has more to do with the Campbell haters than anything else. Defense played Great!! Orakpo was all over the place and I have to admit it's exciting to see him out there. He was definitely a steal at 13. Haven't been as excited about a player since Sean. I miss you dude....:halo:

:allhail:

Jarmon....he's gonna either start some games or he's gonna see significant playing time this season as a sub or as a situational player. The kid got a huge upside!!! The way he looks now against Pros....he would have been a beast next year in college. 1st or early 2nd rounder easy in the 2010 Draft! Marko...Marko....Marko....say hello to DC my friend....yeah he's gonna make the team! At least there is no reason why he shouldn't. I still love myself some Marcus Mason.....should have signed him last year, lightning struck twice with him being with us this year...no guarantees he'll be there this time next season. it will be hard to to choose between him and Aldridge, whom I believe is hurt? My votes for Mason, pull the trigger Vinny!!! :deal:

All in all...besides the lack of point thus far we look good, offense needs more polish but I think it will all come together. I just want a repeat of the first half of the season from last year to extend to the second half as well.

Just my :2cents:

HTTR

Dirty#30

[SIXX99]

This is a great thread, very interesting. I liked what you said about LaRon being a bit of a mixed bag. He was all over the field but he never made the plays.

[jweisk1]

7- Landry is another mixed bag. I love his intensity, but he seems to be a split-second late to the ball too much of the time. The best example of this would be the 3rd down and 10 during the second offensive series for the Steelers in which Batch completes a 20 yard pass to Hines Ward over the middle for a first. Landry should've been there a step earlier, but bit a little when Hines Ward faked to the outside. Granted, Ward is an exceptional route runner, but those are the kind of plays elite Safeties make.

I remember this play and it seemed to be that he was initially playing the tip in the event that it sailed over Ward's head and then at the last secod realized that Ward was going to make the play and then try to break it up.

[kingdaddy]

I enjoyed reading your write-up. One player you didn't mention was Chris Wilson. From what I could see, he seemed to have a solid game, especially pressuring the passer and being around the football. Is he going to make this team?

[DCranon21]

Nice breakdown of the game. I hope to see these for the rest of the season. We can have some good football talk, instead of the stuff we've seen for the past 2 weeks.

[Mark The Homer]

Excellent thread, thesubmittedone, and nice sticky, TK. I probably would have missed it otherwise ...

[bobzmuda]

I'd go a bit further and say Orakpo needs work on man coverage on play-action. In regular zone coverage he looked good. But when he's up on the line in man coverage on the TE he's struggled on biting on the run fake. He still needs some work in zone, but he looks much much better in zone than I thought he would.

[Skinz248]

This an excellent thread and I plea that you do it every week. I know it takes a lot of work but it's got some great insight for those of us that just don't have the time to go back and watch the whole thing again every week. More often than not, one can miss details when watching the game live.

It's a fair analysis and I don't see any attempt at spin. Amazing.

But enough gushing. I'm going to pick through this thing and see if there is something in particular I want to comment on.

+infinity

Awesome job on the "closer look." ES should sign you up! Keep up the good work!

[gortiz]

the only bad thing about this thread is I have to wait unitl after this Friday to hopefully get a similiar one ...

epic, epic write up that is appreciated by me and many others.

the attention to detail should serve notice to knuckleheads like me that only watch the ball ...

[Dirty#30]

yes sir, will spending a lot of time talking football in these threads....much appreciated.

[Zhouse]

Good stuff! Thanks for the recap/analysis

I like Dorsey and I'm rooting for him to supplant Rock (I wish we could keep both). We still haven't seen what Aldridge can do and from what I hear he's very explosive.

Marko will hopefully keep stepping up and take the 5th WR spot. Kelly should be our #2, he looks natural playing the position but Thomas will be in the mix also. I think Randle El will have a solid season, not many nickle corner can cover him in the league.

Orakpo is just a beast...can't wait to see him clock Brady on Friday. Wilson I thought was solid even though he was with the second unit, I wonder how he would do if he played SAM and Rak put his hand in the dirt:hungry:

Maybe we should ease up on sending the kitchen sink on the all out blitz, we know we can generate pressure with 4 maybe 5. Drop everyone back in coverage and make the QB make the throw. :whoknows:

[SonnyJ]

Great writeup, tso. Thanks for doing this.

My only quibble is that I think Moss was right on that long throw. He got inside position against a bigger corner without close safety support. I think if Campbell puts that throw inside he has a much bigger window and gives Moss a much better opportunity to make the play.

Campbell did a good job of moving around in the pocket and giving himself some room on his completion to Cooley. That was nice to see.

It would be really cool to actually be able to see the game film. On the Campbell scramble, for instance. On the end zone shot that Comcast had, it had ARE breaking free from his defender up the middle with nothing but green around him. Unfortunately, the rest was cut off, so I couldn't see if a safety was in the middle or not. Once Portis picked the blitz up, Campbell actually had some time to throw the ball - I thought he tucked it in kind of early without letting the play develop. Without seeing the film, though, it's impossible to say if that was the case or not.

[Dirty#30]

Good stuff! Thanks for the recap/analysis

Maybe we should ease up on sending the kitchen sink on the all out blitz, we know we can generate pressure with 4 maybe 5. Drop everyone back in coverage and make the QB make the throw. :whoknows:

I'm with ya on that....possibility for more turn overs that way

[theboomking]

Great writeup, tso. Thanks for doing this.

My only quibble is that I think Moss was right on that long throw. He got inside position against a bigger corner without close safety support. I think if Campbell puts that throw inside he has a much bigger window and gives Moss a much better opportunity to make the play.

Campbell did a good job of moving around in the pocket and giving himself some room on his completion to Cooley. That was nice to see.

It would be really cool to actually be able to see the game film. On the Campbell scramble, for instance. On the end zone shot that Comcast had, it had ARE breaking free from his defender up the middle with nothing but green around him. Unfortunately, the rest was cut off, so I couldn't see if a safety was in the middle or not. Once Portis picked the blitz up, Campbell actually had some time to throw the ball - I thought he tucked it in kind of early without letting the play develop. Without seeing the film, though, it's impossible to say if that was the case or not.

I agree about the angles. I wish you could buy a package from NFL.com where you could choose your camera angles, overhead, OL/DL etc.

To the OP, thanks for the breakdown.

Wilson has looked very good as a passrusher this preseason. He definitely makes the team, even if it is only as a pass rush specialist.

I've been much more impressed by Davis than kelly or DT as yet. Kelly may have a very good year, but given that DT is a JUCO guy, he may need one more year before we can expect him to break out. Mitchell Looked good, more ready than DT from what we've seen so far.

The O line play has been very encouraging. Since Samuels' knee has been a problem, I really hope Heyer can play well, and Montgomery can develop this year so that we are only looking for 1 tackle and 1 guard this offseason instead of two tackles, a guard, and a center. I'm most excited to see some running game out of the first team O against a top D like the steelers.

[KDawg]

I'm still a proponent of starting Blades at Sam and Orakpo at End. Not that I don't think Rak can do it, but I think he's going to benefit us much more at End. Blades has experience at OLB and I think he'd be a better option there for us right off the bat. The only reason to keep Rak at Sam would be because we're going to rely on him to play there for a very long time.

[Cruemans]

The only reason to keep Rak at Sam would be because we're going to rely on him to play there for a very long time.

I could be wrong, but I think that Blache wants to have Daniels on the field as much as possible to dominate the run. If Rak is at end, then Daniels will have to sit or Andre Carter would have to move to sam.

At least for this year, that appears to be the best we can do.

Maybe next year Rak and Jarmon start at end with Daniels retired and Carter traded.

HTTR

[TheLongshot]

I'm still a proponent of starting Blades at Sam and Orakpo at End. Not that I don't think Rak can do it, but I think he's going to benefit us much more at End. Blades has experience at OLB and I think he'd be a better option there for us right off the bat. The only reason to keep Rak at Sam would be because we're going to rely on him to play there for a very long time.

Part of the problem is that so far we haven't seen much of how he's going to be against the run at DE. To be honest, Daniels is much stronger in that department.

That being said, I did see a nice play from him from the LB position getting into the backfield and nailing the running back. I think he will be stronger against the run if he doesn't have to fight against tackles all day long.