Good, Bad & Ugly – Steelers vs. Panthers Preseason Week 4
The third preseason game is all about dress rehearsal for the starters.
The fourth preseason game is about desperation. As Mike Tomlin said, “The fourth game is a last-shot for the guys on the outside looking in.”
It’s possible some guys earned their spot on the roster in that game, and are now on the inside looking out. Let’s look at the good, bad and ugly and see if anyone stands out.
Good
Justin Hunter
If Justin Hunter was on the bubble for a roster spot before this game, he may have popped it with a solid performance that included a 58-yard bomb from Josh Dobbs. However, you do have to take into account exactly who Hunter was playing against. This was not the Panther’s varsity group (and yes, even I am tired of using the term “varsity” for the starters).
Still, he did what he should have, dominated while he was in there. It may be enough to earn him a spot on the 53.
Joshua Dobbs
I haven’t hesitated to put Dobbs in the bad category when he was bad, and I won’t hesitate to put him in good when he deserves it, and he deserves it with the performance he put up last night. Dobbs ended the night 16 of 23 for 212 yards, 1 TD passing, 1 rushing and a QB rating of 113. That’s a good night.
Everyone will be talking about that 58-yard bomb to Justin Hunter, and there is no question that was a gorgeous pass and catch. It may have been the best ball Dobbs has thrown all preseason. But what I was more encouraged with was the way the young QB took the team down the field with 47 seconds left in the game to secure a come from behind victory for the Steelers. It showed growth. It showed poise, maturity, and leadership. With no timeouts left, Dobbs engineered the best drive of his young career, and I know that all of Steelers Nation would like me to say it proves that he can be the eventual replacement for Big Ben.
But c’mon now – you know I can’t say that. He beat a group of guys who will not have jobs in a day or so.
It may have been the best part of the game, but let’s be a little pragmatic about it.
Terrell Watson
The “Nightmare” also needed a strong performance to make his case as a guy who deserves a spot on the final 53, and he put up a really good night. 19 carries for 89 yards (4.7 average). Knile Davis got some reps late in the game against lesser competition and only managed 13 yards on 5 attempts (2.6 average).
In my opinion, Davis hasn’t been the player the Steelers hoped for when they signed him, and Watson has been exactly who he is, a downhill, one-cut runner with power and size. The only blemish on his night was getting stopped on fourth and one – but to be fair, he didn’t get much help from the offensive line on that play. Still, you need to make that play.
Was it enough? In my book, he has consistently out-performed Davis, but we will see.
Bud Dupree
Big Bud gets a call out for that nice sack early in the game against Derek Anderson. Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come, because Dupree didn’t do much beyond that, and he had a pretty short night.
Maybe because my Dupree jersey is on the way I just wanted a reason to give him a shout out.
It’s Over
The best thing about this game is that it signals the end of preseason. Bring on the real games!
Bad
Trey Williams
What you can’t do is fumble a punt return when your only path to making the team is as a punt returner.
Oops. Williams excited everyone with the TD punt return, but ball security is key, and you can’t make that kind of mistake and expect to earn a roster spot when you are a fringe player.
Notice who was out there fielding the very next punt…
Cam Sutton
Sutton didn’t actually play badly, but he was burned on that long pass from Joe Webb to Kaelin Clay. He got beat and wasn’t able to recover and it cost the Steelers a lot of yardage. At least he had the wherewithal to get a hand on Clay so that on replay the touchdown was overturned.
He also gets tagged on this list for suffering another hamstring injury, which is both bad for him and bad for the Steelers. It complicates the mix for corners as the final cuts need to be made, and if it’s severe enough could result in the Steelers being forced to put Sutton on IR if he is likely to miss extended time.
It’s also bad because Sutton needs to stay healthy. This is the second injury he’s suffered so far this postseason and the Steelers and their fans already have a taste for the “oft injured cornerback” in their mouth with a Senquez Golson flavor – they don’t need to try the Cam Sutton variety.
Let’s hope it’s nothing severe.
Rush Defense
123 yards given up to the Panthers might have me pulling my hair out if this were a regular season game with all the starters playing on defense. Still, Javon Hargrave and Tyson Alualu (a primary backup) played long into this game, and so there is some cause to wonder why it was so easy at times for the Panthers to find running room.
Something to watch moving forward, and obvious enough to get flagged on the “Bad” list.
Ugly
There was nothing so bad that it felt ugly in this game. I may be viewing it through a slightly skewed mirror because I know that most of these guys will be on the bricks come Saturday night. There were things that weren’t perfect, but you don’t set expectations too high in the fourth preseason game.
Conclusion
As I mentioned more than once, I’m just glad it’s over.
We’ll see what the final 53 looks like come Saturday and then it will be time to get to the real deal.
At least I didn’t have to talk about Bart Houston.
