Pittsburgh Steelers Preseason: Week 5 Stock Report
There is but one preseason game left for the Pittsburgh Steelers before the team has to reduce the roster to 53 players. With the roster already cut down to 75 on Tuesday, this final week is a make-or-break one for those players who are on the roster bubble.
After four preseason games, whose stock is on the rise, and who could find themselves on the outside of the roster looking in? Let's take a look at the risers and fallers on the Steelers roster this week.
Stock Up: WRs Darrius Heyward-Bey, Sammie Coates
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Martavis Bryant has been one of the Steelers' most productive skill-position players since taking the field in the middle of the 2014 season. Last year, he pulled down 26 passes for 549 yards and eight touchdowns and is also the preseason's leader in receiving yards with 205.
But the Steelers will be without Bryant for the first four games of the regular season, with his suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy being upheld on Monday. Though that's bad news for Bryant, it doesn't have to be for the Steelers.
Taking Bryant's place through those four games will be veteran Darrius Heyward-Bey and rookie Sammie Coates. Heyward-Bey, in his second season with the Steelers, caught only four passes for 39 yards last year. But head coach Mike Tomlin likes what he's seen thus far, telling Steelers.com: "He's really done a nice job. ... I have a lot of confidence in him."
Coates has caught eight of 19 passes thrown his way for 124 yards so far in the preseason. He seemed primed to take a similar path as Bryant did last year, being eased into the offense and then seeing increased playing time as he gets more comfortable. But Bryant's suspension will have to speed up this process.
Tomlin is confident that can happen, per the team's website: "I've liked the work that he has done to this point. In general, his arrow is pointing up. And I expect that to continue to be the case as we look at this final opportunity to state a case for his role in 2015."
While this doesn't mean that Heyward-Bey and Coates will replace Bryant for the entire year, it does give the former a chance to make a new impression as a receiver and the latter an opportunity to be a bigger part of Pittsburgh's plans in the future.
Stock Down: Steelers Defense
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The growing pains continued for the Steelers defense in their fourth preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. The Steelers gave up a total of 542 yards of offense to the Bills—386 passing and 156 rushing. Buffalo's four quarterbacks went a combined 30-of-33 in their passing attempts, and the offense converted 11 of 14 third downs.
A period of transition was to be expected for the Steelers, who have a number of new starters on the defensive side of the ball as well as a new coordinator, Keith Butler. But the struggles on Saturday were not good signs for the regular season.
Part of the problem is that the starters have worked sparingly together. On Saturday, inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons (toe), defensive end Stephon Tuitt (ankle) and safety Mike Mitchell (ankle/hamstring) were all sidelined. And according to Pro Football Focus, starting defensive end Cameron Heyward and nose tackle Steve McLendon only played 12 snaps apiece against Buffalo.
These absences, along with safety Shamarko Thomas' ongoing shoulder issue, could easily have contributed to Saturday's beating. Having all the starters on the field at the same time could produce much better results come the regular season.
But, because of these numerous injuries, the starters have had little time to work together, both in practices and in preseason games. That means these growing pains should continue until the team can establish chemistry within this new-look defense. This might not be the last time we see an offense light up Pittsburgh's defense.
Stock Up: OT Alejandro Villanueva
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Steelers backup offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva's odds to make the team's 53-man roster went way up on Tuesday, after Pittsburgh announced its first round of roster cuts to reduce the ranks to 75 men.
The Steelers placed Mike Adams on the physically unable to perform list, which means he won't be available to join the 53-man roster until Week 6 at the earliest. They also released Kevin Whimpey. That means, aside from Villanueva and starters Marcus Gilbert and Kelvin Beachum, the Steelers only have Kelvin Palmer and Mitchell Van Dyk as the other two reserve tackles headed into Thursday's final preseason game.
Villanueva has played the most preseason snaps of any Steelers offensive tackle—184, according to Pro Football Focus. He's been a right tackle in two games and a left tackle in two, and though his overall grade through those four games has been negative, he did get a plus mark in pass protection. He has yet to give up a sack and has allowed just one quarterback hit and three hurries.
Given that Villanueva has been getting the most playing time of the backup tackles and has played both on the right and the left, it's clear that the Steelers have wanted to take a close look at him during the summer. And with Adams on the PUP list and Whimpey cut, Villanueva's stock is rising rapidly. He could be on the 53-man roster come Saturday.
Stock Down: TE Heath Miller
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Starting Steelers tight end Heath Miller is in no danger of losing his job. The only other tight end on the roster capable of playing consistently during the regular season is blocker Matt Spaeth. Rookie Jesse James, while promising, still has a ways to go before taking over for Miller, and Cameron Clear was waived-injured on Monday.
But that doesn't deny that Miller is having a rough preseason in his limited snaps played. He's caught only one pass on three targets this summer and had an obvious—and uncharacteristic—dropped pass in Saturday's game against Buffalo.
The Steelers cannot afford to have Miller slow down in any significant way this year. So hopefully, his preseason struggles are just a matter of a veteran working at half-speed in games that do not matter rather than a sign that he may not be as reliable as in years past.
Stock Up: P Jordan Berry
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The Steelers won't be making their final decision on their punter for the 2015 regular season until after Thursday's final preseason game, but Jordan Berry is making a strong case for why the Steelers should select him over the incumbent, Brad Wing.
Berry was one of the clear standouts of the Steelers' loss to the Bills on Saturday. His punts—of 55, 66, 34 and 78 yards—averaged 50 yards apiece. His 66-yard punt came from within the Steelers' end zone. And Berry also handled kickoff duties in place of the injured Garrett Hartley. The performance earned him Steelers Digest Player of the Week honors.
Berry has the better punt distance and hang time than Wing and can step in to kick when necessary. The Steelers' blowout loss to the Bills may have just secured Berry a job for 2015.
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