It’s the day after Nation! The day after the final preseason game.

In this edition of “Good, Bad and the Ugly,”  as it relates to yesterday’s epic contest between the Steelers and Carolina, I’m going to reverse the process, and go with “The Ugly, Bad and Good.”

Without any further pre-amble, let’s get to it.

The Ugly

The First Three Quarters

Let’s start with the offense. In the first 3 quarters, the offense had 6 possessions. Here is the breakdown:

• 1^st Possession – 3 plays, -1 total yards, punt
• 2^nd Possession – 6 plays, 20 total yards, punt
• 3^rd Possession – 3 plays, 8 total yards, punt
• 4^th Possession – 6 plays, 15 total yards, punt
• 5^th Possession – 3 plays, -2 Total Yards, punt
• 6^th Possession – 3 plays, -15 Total Yards, punt

Wow. 

I mean just wow. Of course, you know, it’s our 2^nd and 3^rd string guys playing against Carolina’s starters so… wait, what? Oh you mean we were playing against Carolina’s 2^nd and 3^rd string guys?

Well shake my head: that’s some pretty bad football.

To sum it up, in the first three quarters we managed a whopping 2 first downs, and a total of 25 yards.

On average, that means, per series, we averaged 4.17 yards.

Staggering…

Not surprisingly, that amounted to a total of 0 points for those three quarters. I’m not sure we sniffed a point, unless we got a whiff of the ones Carolina scored.

Maybe our defense kept them from scoring too? Surely the defense did better?

In those same 3 quarters, Carolina had 8 series:

• On only one of them did they fail to get at least 1 first down.
• They managed 258 yards of total offense (or 32.25 yards per series.)
• They attempted 6 field goals out of those drives, made 5 of them, so managed 15 points.
• They punted twice.
• Our run defense was porous, giving up 58 yards to Artis-Payne on 12 carries (4.83 per carry) and 30 yards on 6 carries to Wegher (5.0 per carry.)

The Panthers moved the ball at will, especially on the ground, but luckily we did enough to hold them out of the end zone. The defense did slightly better than the offense, but the first three quarters was some of the hardest football, to watch, that I’ve ever sat through.

I was kind of glad, when NFL Game Pass bombed out late in the second quarter, that I had to listen to the game on my laptop until the second half.

Bryn Renner

To be fair, he was playing with a lot of guys who won’t be on the team much longer… neither will he.

Maybe he gets tucked into the practice squad, but that’s a stretch. He was bad: 5 of 11 for 39 yards, and a QB rating of 54.7.

That’s not just bad, it’s fugly.

Yes, he’s only been here a few weeks, and yes he probably is operating on a limited playbook… and yes he wasn’t being allowed to work with the top guys… but if the Nation is going to torture Landry Jones for performing badly, with the second and third teams, then they better be willing to accept that Renner is no better… and by all accounts… worse.

Fitzgerald Toussaint

I hate putting Fitz in this category but you know, when you put ugly on tape, you get to be in the ugly category.

• 7 attempts for 11 yards.
• 1.6 yards per carry.

All this in a game where you had to know that you were playing for a roster spot, and were competing against a guy who has performed well.

I can’t prove Fitz is destined for the practice squad after this game: I know he is.

DeMarcus Ayers

While it’s true that the muffed punt went off the leg of Steven Johnson, rather than Ayers, he was the returner: I’m putting the blame on him.

Steven Johnson should know where he is, but Ayers has to communicate to him too, and make sure he knows he’s close. He had signaled for a fair catch, so get your butt in there, and make the catch!

Ayers hasn’t shown a lot, and I know he has been banged up, but I don’t see him making the team: I think they will tuck him away on the practice squad for development.

The 2^nd and 3^rd String Offensive Line.

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s really difficult to assess o-line play watching a game on broadcast TV. What I can say is that our second and third string O-line made the Panthers second and third string D-Line look like All-Pro’s.

We couldn’t pass, because we had constant pressure.

We couldn’t run, because we had penetration all over the place.

I tried to isolate and watch specific players on a few plays, and B.J. Finney didn’t look like he was getting beaten much, but everyone else looked like they were having problems. I think Finney has a chance to make the team, as a backup, but he’s right on the cusp, and could lose out and end up on the practice squad. (I’d like the kid to make the team, even if he doesn’t get a helmet on most game days.)

The rest of this crew (Feiler, Everett and Hansen) are all gone: thanks for playing!

The Bad

L.J. Fort

There are some people who are saying Fort had a good game. He had 10 tackles (3 solo, 7 assists.)

Honestly straight up tackle numbers don’t tell the whole tale.

• How many of those tackles were for loss? (0.)
• How many of those tackles stopped someone short of a first down? (1.)

Throw assists out of the equation, and he had 3 tackles on his own.

Those tackles are all in the backfield, and he missed a good number of tackles again (but that wasn’t just him, as appears to be usual, by the visual evidence of the last three games.)

I think there is a good chance that Fort ends up on the practice squad, and not the team. I like the guy – he has good energy, and is around the ball (those 7 assists speak to that) but he’s looked mediocre at best in my opinion.

Injuries

Chickillo and Mathews both left the game with what Mike Tomlin called “minor” injuries. Chickillo has a foot issue and Mathews did something to his neck. I hope that turns out to be the case, because Mathews is going to be needed if Cam can’t go next Monday night.

While these may turn out to be nothing, I’m listing this as a bad thing, because of the potential for a real issue if these guys are unavailable on Monday night.

Caushaud Lyons

He’s getting a call out for no better reason than that penalty, which turned a stop on third down into a Carolina first down.

It’s possible that his somewhat high hit on Joe Webb is what caused the incompletion, but he still has to know that he’s going to get flagged for roughing on any hit that comes close to a QB’s head.

The play ended up giving the Panthers a first down on the Steelers 33, and lead to an eventual field goal, to make the game 6-0 in favor of the Panthers.

The Good

Let me just say this – there isn’t much good that can be taken away from this game.

Arthur Moats had 2 sacks, which is nice, but those sacks were clearly coverage sacks; so I don’t want to call Moats out as a good.

Hargrave had half a sack, and was maybe the most consistent D-lineman who played. Still not enough for a full call out.

There is one player who I’m going to single out, and then a couple of more things.

Artie Burns

Burns played well (albeit against lesser competition.)

He had some nice plays, and he didn’t seem lost. He broke up two goal line passes, had 4 tackles (3 solo, 1 assisted.) He had a shot at an interception, and even though he didn’t get it, it was a nice play.

The most important thing here is exactly what I indicated in the preview to this game: he looked like he belonged.

For that he gets to be listed in the very limited group of good things that came out of this game.

The Numbers

The numbers I’m referring to are these – 7, 11, 22, 23, 26, 34, 48, 50, 53, 66, 73,77, 84, 91, 92, 94, 95 and 97.

Those are the numbers worn by players who are normally in our starting lineup, and who never saw the field as anything but a spectator in last night’s game.

That is a good thing.

The starters all looked sharp and ready to go last week, and there was absolutely no reason to risk them in this meaningless game.

The End

The best thing that can be taken away from this preseason game is this:

It’s the last one!

Thank goodness! No more preseason.

The next time these guys take the field, all those numbers I listed will take their places on the field (hopefully Cam and Gilbert as well.)

I understand that preseason is important for the coaches to evaluate the players, but I feel bad for anyone who paid good hard cash to sit in that stadium, wet and cold, and watching what passed for a game.

The best thing that happened last night is that the game, and the preseason, came to an end.

Conclusion

I don’t want to think about the preseason anymore. I’m so glad it’s over. (I know the Nation is as well.)

There are going to be cuts that have to be made this week, and I’m sure they’ll start today or tomorrow. Don’t be surprised if someone (maybe a CB) gets cut somewhere and ends up on the team. We know the players who are going to be here, and who we need to be here to compete and succeed; these cuts won’t come close to any of those guys.

I hope Tyler Matakevich, who had 4 tackles, and 1 TFL (tackle for loss) last night, did enough to make the team. While I don’t think he’ll get claimed off waivers, and should be able to be tucked away on the practice squad, there are teams (like the Eagles) who need inside linebackers, so I hope he isn’t exposed. (Plus I’ve finally been able to consistently spell his name correctly without checking it!)

It’s going to be a busy week, and a long one until next Monday night.

That’s right Nation – the path up the Stairway to Seven begins Monday Night, September 12^th at 7:10 PM. Steelers vs. Redskins.

The foreplay is over and its time for the main event to begin!

Until next time Nation!