To Be Expected

[AROS]

Oh don't get me wrong, I was pretty upset that first quarter. Our defense looked like dog doo wrapped in road kill. They made Trubiski look like Tom Brady. The missed tackles through much of the game was beyond frustrating. The mistakes were prevalent, on both sides of the ball. But then, as is often the case in the preseason, things turned around. The defense became more stout. Making some plays. Same with the offense. Suddenly the game is tied.

I kept hearing throughout the broadcast how these are young but very talented players and is the FIRST real NFL tackling action they have had as a team. Mike Rob said flat out, the film study they have tomorrow will be the single most invaluable thing to come out of this game for every single player. He also went on to say watch the difference between the play of this first preseason game to the second preseason game.

While I was disappointed Lock took that blind side sack and caused the turnover when we had a chance to win the game, ultimately I found a lot of positives overall. Sure, a lot of our rooks took their lumps tonight but you are supposed to when it's your first ever NFL action. Not worried.

The Steelers had better energy in the beginning which is typical when you are at home, and it's the first game to kick off a new season, preseason or not.

I won't go into player-by-player analysis. I will leave that up to those of you more football astute than myself. But at the end of the day, it was your typical first preseason game. Full of bad plays, mixed in with a fair amount of good stuff too. Never get too high or too low in the preseason. For instance, DJ Dallas looked like Marshawn Lynch tonight. He's a typical preseason MVP-type player. Regular season he always looks rather average. That goes for a lot of players across the league.

In the end, the game was just about what I expected. The win would have felt good but it's ultimately meaningless in August. All that matters is for the young bucks to look at the game film, see what they need to improve on, and do it.

 

[QuahHawk]

I liked what I saw from #2 #9 #25 #39 #50 #8 #52 #67

Despite similar stats Lock looks like the better QB.

 

[nanomoz]

He didn't finish the sack, but how quick did Taylor look on the near-sack on Pitt's (I think) second drive. It was nuts. It's like he's going full speed in about two-and-a-half steps.

 

[Appyhawk]

Twice in a row now the Steelers beat us via having an unblocked rusher blindside our QB late in the game to create a turnover. When will we ever learn?
I was impressed that our guys came back to gain a tie and a chance to win. But I was discouraged that we came in playing camp ball where we don't actually tackle a ball carrier. I expect that will be a priority issue on the practice days before Thursday.

FWIW, all things considered I thought Lock once again outplayed Geno, but both made some good plays and some duds. Our interior O Line...did they come to the game for the first half?

 

[Maelstrom787]

DeeJay Dallas stood out as a guy who may have improved since last year. Hard to say as he was playing late - but good vision and balance for sure. Looked a little quicker and more decisive.

 

[olyfan63]

DeeJay Dallas stood out as a guy who may have improved since last year. Hard to say as he was playing late - but good vision and balance for sure. Looked a little quicker and more decisive.

I saw DeeJay Dallas as an *improved* player as well, more than a preseason wonder. To me it felt like he had watched Penny's improvement, and soaked in everything he could from AP's mentorship like Penny did, and set out to prove he could do a lot of the same things Penny did. Dallas read the blocking and holes better, cut sharper, and ran harder. He just looked like a legit NFL back. He knows the OL guys better this year. It was great to see him get fed and respond like he did.

 

[DanejaHawk]

I came away from the game feeling much more zen than I normally would over the last few years. There was a lot to like and a lot to dislike in this game. Yet every time something bad happened I was really overcome with a sense that "they'll learn from that" as opposed to immediately feeling "they should be better than that."

I was encouraged by and large with the OLine and the run game. I think Andy Dickerson is doing a phenomenal job thus far integrating their zone blocking principles. These backs should be able to move the ball in this system.

I was encouraged to see some more of the McVay-esque play action/play fake and multiple misdirection wrinkles coming out in the Waldron offense.

The open field tackling was kind of butt cheeks tonight, yet I imagine that should improve with all the starters being out there. I was very encouraged by the pass rush as the game wore on. All three of Taylor, Nwosu, and Mafe leapt off the screen at some point. The poise and resilience of both of the rookie CB's, and really the depth of the defensive backfield in general was a point of encouragement as well.

I dunno man, I guess I just can't help but feel as though it will take time for this whole team to gel. But once it clicks for these guys, they're gonna start surprising teams on a weekly basis.

 

[keasley45]

It was a sloppy first preseason game for a lot of rookies on D, they were geeked up and not thinking as quickly as they were playing... over pursuit, poor tacking.

It's the tackling part that got me. Surprised that for a Hawks D it was that bad, but less concerned overall because that, and the rest of the above are easy to fix.

And honestly, I doubt we are going to show remotely close to what we are going to roll out on the field week1. They're likely gonna go with vanilla packages on D and not mix things up much.

Would expect significantly better play in the next game.

Great experience for Woolen and Bryant. Nothing like getting roughed up a bit to get you to focus even more.

They'll all grow from being able to evaluate the game film.

 

[RiverDog]

Lock might have looked a little better than Geno, but then again, he was playing against lesser competition. Sort of apples and oranges. OL looked pretty bad going up against the Steeler's #1. We didn't convert on a 3rd down until late in the 2nd half. On defense, the DB's were in position but couldn't make plays on the ball. Lots of missed tackles, couldn't get home on a decent pass rush. Not sure if Barton is the answer at ILB. Harris might be a keeper. Taylor looked OK.

All in all pretty much what one would expect out of a preseason game. Next week should be a little more telling as it will be the 2nd to last preseason game and the starters should get more work, although I doubt that we see Penny.

 

[Rosco]

Lock might have looked a little better than Geno, but then again, he was playing against lesser competition. Sort of apples and oranges. OL looked pretty bad going up against the Steeler's #1. We didn't convert on a 3rd down until late in the 2nd half. On defense, the DB's were in position but couldn't make plays on the ball. Lots of missed tackles, couldn't get home on a decent pass rush. Not sure if Barton is the answer at ILB. Harris might be a keeper. Taylor looked OK.

All in all pretty much what one would expect out of a preseason game. Next week should be a little more telling as it will be the 2nd to last preseason game and the starters should get more work, although I doubt that we see Penny.

Drew Lock has been the better QB through TC and in preseason. It isn’t like it’s based on this one game.

 

[FrodosFinger]

Yeah I liked what I saw especially out of Cross, Walker, Mafe, Fant and our rookie wideouts. Lock has a nice arm

 

[Aircrew]

Agreed. The first quarter was hot garbage all around, but the game finished alot better despite giving up the late TD for the loss. Mafe looks like a future star and Cross was solid as well. What I wanted to see most was how Lock looked compared to Geno and it went as I expected it would. Lock isn't the future here, but he should be the starter week 1. The offense just looks to be in a better rhythm with Drew under center. Geno wasn't bad, necessarily, but there's just no "pop" to the offense when he's on the field. Not picking up the open blitzer and giving up the fumble by Lock wasn't good, but I think that'll get worked out when he sees more reps with the 1's and the o-line starts to gel.

 

[Fade]

It's the first Pre-season game, but there was one thing I didn't want to see, and I saw it. It was all on display in that 1st qtr. The excuses for the coaching staff need to stop. "It's the pre-season"! "Rookie DC"! "New Scheme"! "They didn't have all of their starters"!

They went up against a bad QB, and once again made him look like a HoFer. I am sick of it and you should be too.

The Hawks had D-Line starters playing well into the 2nd qtr. Thank God none of them were injured.

Ken Walker looked tiny, Travis Homer looked liked Adrian Peterson in comparison and Homer is a small back.

Outside of running between the tackles Homer does everything well. He is an amazing special teams player, and it was fun to watch him 2nite.

The full Drew Lock experience was on display for better or worse. Pete isn't a QB whisperer and is incapable of fixing him. Just have to play him and hope he figures it out, but knowing Pete and recognizing how he thinks, he's going with Geno, due to turnovers.

 

[keasley45]

Geno would have looked better if not for two incompletions - the throw to Fant that he failed to stay in bounds on was a dime. Then he had the crosser for a first that I forget who dropped.

 

[FrodosFinger]

It's the first Pre-season game, but there was one thing I didn't want to see, and I saw it. It was all on display in that 1st qtr. The excuses for the coaching staff need to stop. "It's the pre-season"! "Rookie DC"! "New Scheme"! "They didn't have all of their starters"!

They went up against a bad QB, and once again made him look like a HoFer. I am sick of it and you should be too.

The Hawks had D-Line starters playing well into the 2nd qtr. Thank God none of them were injured.

Ken Walker looked tiny, Travis Homer looked liked Adrian Peterson in comparison and Homer is a small back.

Outside of running between the tackles Homer does everything well. He is an amazing special teams player, and it was fun to watch him 2nite.

The full Drew Lock experience was on display for better or worse. Pete isn't a QB whisperer and is incapable of fixing him. Just have to play him and hope he figures it out, but knowing Pete and recognizing how he thinks, he's going with Geno, due to turnovers.

Walker looked great. Jealousy is normal

 

[FrodosFinger]

Geno would have looked better if not for two incompletions - the throw to Fant that he failed to stay in bounds on was a dime. Then he had the crosser for a first that I forget who dropped.

That was an absolute dime

 

[King Dog]

I feel like I've been duped by our beat reporters regarding our rookie corners. They're pretty much the opposite of all the glowing reports I've read lol

 

[FrodosFinger]

Dareke Young and Bo Melton look decent. Young caught a bullet over the middle from Lock he showed some nice jumping ability and athleticism. Dude is a baller

 

[RiverDog]

Drew Lock has been the better QB through TC and in preseason. It isn’t like it’s based on this one game.

That may or may not be true, but I was talking about this one game.

 

[QuahHawk]

Walker is not a bruiser, so maybe not the best back for Goal line or 4th and 1 plays but he did great between the tackles made subtle cuts and got positive 4 yards on almost every run. Get him 10+ carries and he is going to pop a few big runs and he had that HR speed to take it to the house. Did you see his juke of the CB on his catch, single CBs and Safetys will have a hard time stopping him in the open field. He looks to have great vision and great feet.

I think the DL front looked the worst. Mone, Ford, and Harris did not dominate the line and it looked like Jordan Brooks was our only missing front 7. Could it be talent deficiency or is this getting used to new roles.