Where the Cleats Meet the Gridiron: Pittsburgh Steelers Preseason Game 1

(Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Have you ever heard the Firestone Tire shibboleth, ”Where The Rubber Meets The Road”? Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers pretty much fit that bill, except it is more like, “Where The Cleats Meet The Gridiron.” Trust me, the Steelers will defend every blade of grass in 2009 with their cleats meeting the gridiron.

Just like I promised, here is the new segment I'll be writing for the season. Mind you I will not be a stat freak, Just write as I see things.

Analysis

The Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 20–10, with some promising performances from their rookies and second year players. It wasn't a Super Bowl rematch of sorts as others were making it to be. The game was merely used to evaluate the depth of players to help determine which of them will comprise the 53-man roster for 2009.

The first team offense was playing to the cord of staying injury-free, playing two series. So, you knew nothing spectacular was going to happen. Though the first team held their ground. The first team defense held the cardinals first team offense scoreless, that is what is expected of them.

Limas Sweed looked pretty confident out there catching an 11-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger and a 42-yarder from Charlie Batch, even though he dropped one from Dennis Dixon in the third quarter that could have been a first down. Limas Sweed looks night and day compared to last year.

Charlie Batch looked great out there connecting with Limas to bring the ball down field for Jeff Reed to kick a 50-yard field goal. Jeff Reed looked like he was in mid-season form. Yes, I know it was the heart of summer when he kicked that field goal, now it's time to see if that continues during the regular season in the wind and cold.

Lamarr Woodley, Ziggy Hood, and Sonny Harris all took part in sacking the Quarterback twice. I look forward to the defense being ranked No. 1 across the board.

Piotr Czech looked okay even though one of is field goals sailed wide left. I still don't think he'll unseat Jeff Reed.

Boy, wasn't it great to see Daniel Sepulveda boom those punts for a near 50 average in yards? It was doggone awful seeing Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster rotate in punting duties last year.

Mike Wallace handled himself well connecting on a 35-yard pass from Dixon, and returning a kickoff for 35 yards also. He looked very fluid with his route running and adjustment to the ball.

Joe Burnett did well on punt returning duty, fair catching one at the nine yard line and blocking to let one go for a touchback. He also ran one back for several yards.

I like how he intercepted Brian St. Pierre for 49 yards to set Issac Redman up for a three yard touchdown. Redman also had a nice five-yard touchdown.

Final Thoughts

I thought the Steelers played a great game, and are headed in the right direction. Some players were more noticeable than others and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Sometimes it is great not to be noticed, especially along the defensive and offensive lines. There is still a lot of work to be done before a 53 man roster is pieced together.

Notes and Quotes:

HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN

Coach Mike Tomlin: That was a good start for us on a lot of fronts. This is going to be a good take for our football team to make corrections. Of course we are far from perfection. That is why we go through this process.

We saw some things that we don’t like (12 men in the huddle and delays of game), things of that nature that are a part of August football. Those are things that we need to put behind us to get to 200-level problems, if you will.

We saw some positive things and some young men who distinguished themselves. We had some guys who made plays inside stadiums for us, and it was enough for us to win.

From that standpoint it was good, but by no means are we going to wear our hands out patting ourselves on the back. We have a lot of work here in front of us, and we will continue to work our football team to build for the ’09 season.

Did Limas Sweed carry his strong play into the game?

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