Offense continues false start to the season.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:J.P. Losman was not only awful he had the gall to say the offense needs to be opened up more. He was awful in this game, going 15 of 25 for 154 yards, most of those yards were in garbage time. His throws were very inaccurate all day long and he was timid and indecisive. Grade F-: He went back to his rookie year.
Running Backs:Marshawn Lynch was the only one doing anything on offense. He had 64 yards on 18 carries which isn't bad against such a great run defense. Anthony Thomas had no official carries. Jason Whittle was used as the H-back on the few occasions they used it. Grade B+: Not bad but not nearly enough.
Receivers:Lee Evans was only heard from once in the first half, when he was called for holding that wiped out a first down run. In the second half he was called for back to back penalties while catching just two passes. Peerless Price had three catches, all in garbage time. Roscoe Parrish was the leading receiver with six catches for 56 yards. Josh Reed did not play because of a thigh contusion. Ryan Neufeld had one catch for eight yards. Michael Gaines had a catch for 14 yards. Robert Royal had one catch for five yards. Grade F: Non existent again.
Offensive Line:The line did a nice job in pass protection for the most part but did give up four sacks, many of them were coverage sacks as Losman had time to throw most of the time. They averaged 4.6 yards on the ground which is solid against the Steelers but failed to get one yard on successive possessions in the first half. Grade C: They are average which is a step up from last year.
Defensive Line:Aaron Schobel had a sack but was very quiet most of the day. Chris Kelsay had four tackles. Jon McCargo had two stops in the backfield on two early Steeler drives. Larry Tripplett had a tackle for loss and was in on six tackles as he was more active than usual. Kyle Williams knocked down the first pass of the game. Tim Anderson was called for a holding penalty. Grade D: Gave up too many yards on the ground.
Linebackers:Paul Posluszny was in on a team high 12 tackles. John DiGiorgio got the start at weakside linebacker after not practicing there at all the last two years and was active and in on five tackles. Angelo Crowell was in on seven tackles. Grade C: Made a lot of plays but too many downfield.
Secondary:Terrence McGee was in on four tackles but was playing too soft. Ashton Youboty was active in run support and in on four tackles. Jim Leonhard had seven tackles, a pass defensed, and an interception. Donte Whitner was pretty quiet and got caught inside on a long outside run early in the game. Jabari Greer saw more action as the team played the dime a lot, he also replaced Youboty when he got hurt. Greer made two nice pass breakups in a row on the FG drive just before halftime. The 2nd breakup would have went for a touchdown if Greer could have held on to it. Kiwaukee Thomas was quiet but got some pressure on Rothleisberger during a blitz. Grade D: Didn't do enough to get off the field on third downs.
Special Teams:Brian Moorman punted four times with a 43.8 yard average including a 40.5 yard net. Terrence McGee was on fire averaging 28.3 yards on six returns including a 63 yarder. Rian Lindell hit his only kick, a 24 yard chip shot field goal. Roscoe Parrish didn't get a chance to return the only punt the Steelers had. Grade A: The only unit that shined. How many times have we said that over the past three years?
Coaching:Dick Jauron knew his team was outmanned by trying to run out the clock at the end of the first half instead of trying to drive for points. Of course an illegal shift still gave the Steelers time. Steve Fairchild is being called out by his quarterback, the players are losing faith in his offensive system. Grade F: Need to right the ship real quick. Impossible with the Patriots on deck.
Game Analysis and Review
NFL.com Gamebook
Steelers Game Preview
Gameday Homepage
