Well, I had to jinx Maurkice Pouncey. I had to talk about how he's the best guy on the line and how he gives the line some much-needed stability. Then, last night, he goes out and hurts his ankle. His injury didn't seem as severe as the knee injury sustained by Keenan Lewis or Byron Leftwich's broken arm, but it's still significant. If it's a high ankle sprain or a break, Pouncey probably won't be able to make it for the start of the regular season.
That's really the only bad news that came out of last night's game. The defense gave up a lot of yards and seemed to be in full-on retreat mode for most of the first half, but they were able to (mostly) hold things together in the red zone. The score could've gotten way more out of hand if they hadn't held the Falcons to field goals inside the 20.
It looks like Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Roddy White are all worth grabbing for Fantasy purposes. White had eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown on ten targets in just the first half. Jones would've had a much more productive night if he had been able to hang onto that 48-yard bomb from Ryan in the second quarter. It also looks like Michael Turner will not have a productive season. I know it's only the preseason and it's no time to panic, but he just looked slow to the hole and finished with 19 yards on seven carries. He got 11 of those yards on one run. With great blocking and a big hole, he wasn't able to explode into that hole the way he used to. The old Michael Turner probably would've gained 30 yards or so when given that kind of opportunity.
Ultimately, I think this game came down to the fact that the Steelers made big plays when they had the opportunity and Atlanta did not. If Jones hangs on to that touchdown, the game is very different. If Antonio Brown isn't able to get his feet under him and split the safeties, he gets tackled before he can scamper off for a 77-yard touchdown. I'm not discounting any of those plays. The Steelers still had to make those plays and you can't look at this game without putting them in there. But, the Falcons ran 86 plays to the Steelers' 51. Atlanta had 25 first downs, the Steelers had 15. I understand that the goal is to score in as few plays as possible, but this defense isn't going to hold together -- for an entire game or for the balance of the season -- if they have to face 86 plays every week. On average, you give up a lot more than 16 points when you face 86 plays.
The Falcons were 10-for-20 on third downs. That means that, not only did they convert on half of their opportunities, they also faced third down a full 20 times in this game. That's a lot of chances for the Steelers to get off the field, but it's also way too many chances for the other team to stay on it. If the first team played both halves on both sides, I have a feeling that the defense would have eventually caved in. They actually did a good job of containing Ryan -- he completed only 52 percent of his passes, threw an interception, and his quarterback rating was 65.6 -- but they also let him throw 42 passes in the first half. He had 42 attempts in one half of football. Yes, Lewis went down in the first half and McFadden and Taylor didn't suit up for the game, but that's a ridiculously high number. Teams are going to focus on spreading the Steelers out and throwing the ball all season, so I guess we had better get used to it.
I thought the offensive line played well in pass protection, especially considering that the Falcons were blitzing like crazy. I also think that, after the last two weeks, the teams on the Steelers schedule this season realize that blitzing Ben Roethlisberger is a bad idea. That's unfortunate, because most of the big plays he's made thus far came against the blitz. I also think that the Atlanta coaches called that insane, jail break, Cover 0 blitz in the second quarter just to see what would happen. I think the whole team came on that thing, with Mike Smith sprinting in from the sidelines. I doubt we'll see that in their playbook once the 2011 season kicks off.
The bad news on the offensive line is that the same issue that has plagued the team since 2008 is still there: I doubt that we'll be able to run for one yard when we absolutely, positively need to. Mendenhall didn't have a lot of room to run and his stats were padded by that touchdown on the first series (yes, I'm aware that it was a one-yard score, but I stick by what I said). None of the running backs saw a lot of daylight, which means that this could be a passing offense that struggles in the red zone... kinda like how the Falcons looked last night.
On defense, I think the front seven is ready for the season to start. Lewis -- if healthy -- and Gay have gained some valuable experience and the Steelers are going to need four quality cornerbacks if last night is any indication (and it is). The secondary should be fine, provided Troy and Ryan Clark stay healthy, since they seem to be able to cover up for a lot of the shortcomings of the cornerbacks.
Of course, Antonio Brown is awesome. He played an outstanding game and was running with the first team. But, I think everyone needs to temper their optimism and realize that this is the preseason. Yes, Brown had 246 total yards and two touchdowns last night, but Crezdon Butler also led the team in tackles and had a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown. I believe that Brown has locked down the third receiver job and I think he's going to be very involved in the offense this season.
I also heard that, in a recent Fantasy Football draft, someone took Brown in the fourth round. That is more than a little crazy. The plays that Brown scored on last night both looked really familiar and I couldn't figure out why at first. I eventually realized that they were kinds of plays usually called with Mike Wallace in mind. I think that the Steelers coaches were testing Brown to see what he could do in those situations and they were very pleased with the results. But, being pleased with the results and giving Wallace's touches to Brown are two different things entirely. Ward and Wallace will still be the main guys in this group and they'll get most of the targets in the passing game. It's good to know that Brown will be able to do a lot with the opportunities he gets when he gets them.
With one game left to go, I have to say they look pretty solid. Let's just hope they escape next week without any major injuries.
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