Another week closer to kickoff brings us another preseason matchup. This time the Steelers welcome the Philadelphia Eagles into Heinz field.

As we’ve already discussed, the Steelers played their first preseason game last week against the Lions. Well… maybe it’s more accurate to say that players in Steelers uniforms showed up, and were on the field last week against the Lions. Either way, a game occurred, and it wasn’t the prettiest thing to watch.

One thing it did give us is a foundation for comparison, so here are a couple of general things that should be worth paying attention to during this game against Philly.

Offensive Production

As we all know, last week was filled with, as Coach Tomlin stated, “big-time negligence.”

The offense, in its first three possessions managed 1 yard. That’s approximately 1/3 of a yard per possession. It was, disconcerting at best. (Yes, there was no Ben, no AB, no Bell, Williams or Pouncey.)

This week I was hoping that these guys get at least a couple of snaps, but I just got done listening to Mike Tomlin’s press conference, and he named Ben, AB, Bell and D.Williams as being held out, however, Pouncey will play.

That being said, what I am going to be looking for here is improvement; improvement in the areas that were clearly “negligent” last week (without getting into specific players at this point.) I just expect the offense to move the ball, regardless of who is in. Make some plays, and clean up the mental mistakes.

3rd Down Defense

I discussed how bad this was in the post-game thoughts for the Lions game. There were too many 3rd down conversions for the Lions, and two few stops for the Steelers last week. I want to see them get off the field on 3rd down.

Again, what I’m looking for is improvement: make some stops… there are factors in the Steelers favor here.

The Eagles rookie QB (Carson Wentz) cracked some ribs last week; the Steelers won’t be seeing him this week. That means we are looking at Sam Bradford (maybe), Chase Daniel and McLeod Bethel-Thompson.  (Who you ask? Think Dustin Vaughan.)

Another factor in the Steelers favor is that the Eagles o-line is, let’s just say, suspect. They played the Buccaneers last week, and won, but from what I saw/heard, there was pressure on the QB’s pretty consistently. I would think that we should expect more pressure from the outside linebackers, and from the interior line, hopefully equating to more stops.

Tackling

Too many – way too many missed tackles, for a team that does live tackling drills for a portion of most practices. This needs to be cleaned up and cleaned up fast.

The one thing this group cannot afford to do is miss tackles. Even Shazier missed a couple of tackles that he had opportunities to make last week.

I really hope this will get cleaned up.

Penalties

There were too many penalties in that first game, and as is often the case, they came in bad situations. I would hope to see more discipline, and less mental errors.

Like last week, there are players on both sides of the ball that should get opportunities to shine, and it’s worth paying attention to see how they perform given these opportunities.

Sammie Coates

Sammie was on the list last week, and may end up on the list every week. I’m pointing him out this week because frankly he screwed the pooch last week: two fumbles, dropped balls, and really just a less than quality performance.

This is a week where we really need to see Sammie bounce back. As is a common theme now, I want to see improvement, and if he is running with the first team, I want to see if that changes how he performs.

No fumbles – that’s a must. I can live with a drop or two, but he needs to show that he’s learned to protect the ball. On one of those fumbles, he had the ball just hanging out there, away from his body and dangerously held with one hand. Those fundamentals need to change and improve.

Alejandro Villanueva

Again, improvement. Big Al made a lot of mistakes last week. He gave up back-to-back sacks, and he got beaten badly a couple of times.

I want to see him make adjustments, and improve. Don’t make the same mistakes a second game in a row. Let’s see if he can again take the opportunity that’s in front of him, and lay claim to that left tackle position.

Maurkice Pouncey

He can be the best center in the game. What I’ll be looking for is to see if the statement he made early in camp, that he was “pissed off” for missing last year, and wanted to hit things, translates.

I want to see a nasty Pouncey, or at least an aggressive one (although maybe not too aggressive, since it was the second preseason game last year where we lost him!). If he gets out of the game healthy, and looks like his former self, I’ll be thrilled.

Fitzgerald Toussaint

Fitz got a wakeup call last week when Richardson stole the show at running back. Richardson showed some burst, and was really one of the only catalysts on the offensive side of the ball last week.

I want to see if the competition lights a fire under Fitz, and how he responds.

Markus Wheaton

In another competition, Markus might be getting ever so slightly pushed by Sammie Coates, and maybe Eli Rogers. I want to see Wheat come out, be crisp, be sharp, and make plays.

He didn’t get to play last week because of injury, but he wasn’t listed as being ineligible this week, so let’s see if he does what I’d like Big Al to do: make a claim on his position.

Artie Burns

Tomlin didn’t rule out Burns playing this week, but it will depend on how he practices. I’m hoping that he gets some live snaps this week. It would be nice to see how he handles covering someone other than Antonio Brown.

Sean Davis

Davis had a mixed performance last week. I rated it as “meh.” He had some ups, and some downs, so I want to see how he bounces back, how he adjusts, and whether he makes the same mistakes.

McCullers/Hargrave

Not much has changed except that last week Big Dan was “meh” at best, and under the line at worse.

Hargrave showed that he could be a player. I am going to watch these guys every week, but this week, it’s about watching how they adjust and improve. (Common theme here!)

McCullers still has to find his nasty space, but I think Hargrave showed some scary quickness, and push on a couple plays.

I want to see more of both.

Ricardo Mathews

Mathews was one of the most pleasant surprises last week: I want to see him build on that, and this will be the week to make that happen.

If he can keep this up, it will remove that nasty “Cam Thomas” taste that still lingers in the back of our collective senses.

Dupree, Moats, Harrison, Jones, Chickillo, Zumwalt, Heyward, Tuitt

As I mentioned above, the Eagles o-line is suspect at best, and this is a game where I would expect the outside linebackers and our two starting ends, to have good games.

This is Heyward and Tuitt’s first time to get some action, and I want them to show some fire.

I want to see the outside guys get pressure of the edge, collapse the pocket, and make the QB’s for the Eagles just about as unhappy as they can be! (I want them to be really unhappy thinking about that game coming up in week 2!)

This is a chance to put some little lingering thoughts in the back of their minds.

Ryan Shazier

The Eagles have some good tight ends, and Shazier had a good game, with a lot of playing time last week. I want to see another performance that builds off of that.

I don’t know that he’ll get the TE’s in coverage, but if he does, I want to see him cover them. I want to see Shazier become the defensive force I think he can be. Lining up against a veteran like Brett Celek, or Zach Ertz (who saw extended time the two’s in Philly’s game last week) will give us a bigger picture of Shazier’s growth.

Everyone else

That’s a lot of guys, and things, and it leaves off a lot of other guys, and things, I want to watch.

• I still want to see Tyler “Dirty Red” Matakevich get some more snaps.
• I’d like to see how L.J. Fort plays, after a solid game last week.
• Can Hey-Bey keep improving and making plays?
• Will Doran Grant follow up what was a solid effort with another one?

There is a lot to be excited about, even after what was a pretty ugly game against the Lions. Remember Nation – it’s the preseason. The games do not count in the standings, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have value.

The value isn’t always the final score, so relax, and let’s see how these guys respond!