This week’s NFL preseason schedule has the Atlanta Falcons visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers. Over the years there have been some excellent games between these two teams that have gone down to the wire. Despite being a preseason game, Sunday night should be no exception. With most starters likely to see some action, we’ll get our first real glimpse of Steelers football since January. Once the starters exit, there are still plenty of reasons to keep watching and things to look for. In this week’s edition of Pittsburgh Steelers Things To Watch, you’ll get all you need to enjoy the game.
Preseason Week 2 Pittsburgh Steelers Things To Watch
One of the more compelling story lines surrounding this game is the return of wide receiver Martavis Bryant. Recently reinstated for full preseason participation, Bryant is ready to put his checkered past behind him. For most of training camp, Bryant has been working out by himself, running routes and catching passes. According to witnesses, he looked physically amazing upon his return, adding 18 pounds of muscle. At one point during his suspension, Bryant ran a 40 yard dash that was timed at 4.29 seconds. With added bulk and speed, Bryant’s return has been eagerly anticipated to see just how much better he’ll be.
Assuming he plays, there is a chance that Bryant could see quite a bit of action Sunday due to his time away from team activities. It will be interesting to see how smooth his route running is in a game situation, and how he will be utilized. Will the Steelers work him in slowly? Will Ben Roethlisberger send him deep early? It depends how well his first full week of practice goes, and how quickly he can knock off the rust. The timing between Roethlisberger and Bryant should return rather quickly, and the playbook hasn’t changed, so expect him to be ready.
Steelers Things To Watch In The Secondary
The secondary did a good job last week, but this time around they will be facing a much better offense. Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and the rest of the Falcons offense will provide the Steelers a much stiffer test. Both Jones and Sanu are big, physical receivers who are hard to maneuver at the line of scrimmage. The Steelers will counter them with cornerbacks Artie Burns and Ross Cockrell, who have the ability to minimize the Falcons damage. It will be interesting to see if defensive coordinator Keith Butler allows Burns to follow Jones. While Burns may regularly practice against the games best receiver, Antonio Brown, Jones is a whole different beast. Although Jones is much bigger, he is not nearly as quick as Brown, which could swing things in Burns’ favor.
Safety Jacob Hagen and cornerback Brian Allen are two young players who get it. They appreciate the opportunity they have been given and are making the most of it. Hagen is coming off a game where he recorded three tackles and a forced fumble. Allen registered a tackle and broke up a couple of passes, including a deep ball near the goal line. Look for both to make a few more plays this Sunday afternoon. Allen and Hagen both know how to use their size to make things happen.
Look For The Offensive Line To Feed On Home Cooking
When members of one of the NFL’s best offensive lines play below standards, they tend to get angry about it. The following week they take that anger and use it to dominate the poor guys across from them. This fate awaits the Atlanta defenders whom line up across from Ramon Foster and Jerald Hawkins. Foster generally looked slow off the snap and couldn’t seem to find much leverage while run or pass blocking. Preseason game or not, Foster is the best in the business at what he does, and takes pride in it. He is going to steamroll somebody next Sunday afternoon.
Hawkins was playing very well before going down with a season ending shoulder injury last year. Some people predicted that when he got back, Hawkins could even challenge Alejandro Villanueva for a starting job. His top shelf imitation of a turnstile last week should put that notion to bed. Despite his less than stellar performance, Hawkins has loads of potential and will clean up his technique this week. Look for him to bounce back against the Falcons and throw some bodies around. Like Foster, Hawkins has never played two bad games in a row on any level, and it won’t happen now.
Look For Different Looks Out Of Base 3-4
Falcons versus Steelers has become quite the entertaining matchup since their 34-34 tie in 2002. While big plays have been commonplace, the defense is looking to limit the Falcons ability to execute. The last item on the list of things to watch deals with Keith Butler’s latest project. The Steelers did a good job of confusing the Giants with multiple looks out of the base 3-4 defense. By keeping the extra defensive lineman on the field, they were able to pressure the quarterback without blitzing. They had success in stopping the run as well. Expect Butler to expand his new system, because it meshes perfectly with the talent he has available to him.
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