Steelers Brass Faced with Some Tough Decisions as Steelers end their Pre-Season (3-1)

Last night the Pittsburgh Steelers played a pretty sound game in defeating the Carolina Panthers with a last second 43 yard field goal to take the game 19-16. It was the second straight game that kicker Jeff Reed sealed the game with a game winning kick. The win gave the Steelers a 3-1 record for this pre-season. None of the Carolina Panthers starters played in this affair. Now the coaching staff is faced with making the final cuts.

 

The biggest competition left to be decided is between wide receivers Dallas Baker and Willie Reid. Baker had a real good game in leading the receiving core in making two catches for a total of 35 yards. The previous game saw Willie Reid have a strong game and thus forcing the coaching staff into a tough decision. I tend to believe the nod will go to Reid, since he’s been the 4^th receiver the past few seasons and is also able to field returns.

 

Keyaron Fox continued his strong play and has people thinking he could be the steal of the off season. Fox has made tackle after tackle and has shown himself to be a special teams juggernaut. Fox also had an interception in last nights game. The defence had two takeaways in the game, with Bryant McFadden picking off a pass and taking it back 33 yards. In fact the defence didn’t yield much to the Panthers until the 4^th quarter where they yielded there only touchdown.

 

Rookie Rashard Mendenhall had yet another fumble this game, which would usually cause concern to the coaching staff, but he actually ran really well and showed the banging running game the Steelers owned when the Bus was here. This kid is learning at the right time and should right the ship in time to start the season. Mendenhall finished with 79 yards rushing on 21 attempts. Gary Russell also had a strong game in coming in off the bench and totalled 43 yards on 14 carries. Willie Parker was very effective in his short stint and finished with 34 yards on just 4 carries. The running game looks to be in full effect for the Steelers entering the regular season. Parker had this to say after the game

 

“We’re ready,” proclaimed halfback Willie Parker, who had a 26-yard run in the first half. “I know that I feel good, and I can speak for the team. We’ve been practicing, gone through the preseason, and it’s time to put what we’ve been practicing to work.”

 

Another rookie who continues to show promise and poise is QB Dennis Dixon. Despite a slow start in coming in for relief to Byron Leftwich (6/14 82 yards); engineered the final drive with 1:54 remaining on the clock and got the Steelers into field goal position with just 4 ticks on the clock. This will force the Steelers to make another tough decision when Charlie Batch returns. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see Batch bow out of the season and take on a different role with this team, but then there’s the question of morals and class. The Steelers are a very loyal and class act organization. I wouldn’t be surprised to the Batch, also a class act, make the decision for the better of the team and step aside. It will certainly be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next 6 to 8 weeks.

 

I will be back later next week to update you all on the cuts and moves the Steelers make. I’m sure we’re all getting excited for opening day…I know I am.

 

TV Note: For those of you who missed the game, because of the convention, the NFL Network will be replaying all the games from this week starting at 7 a.m. and running throughout the day. This is a perfect opportunity to get your own pre-season going for the regular one.

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