Move it along people, Nothing to see here

William Gay would have trouble covering this woman right now

For those who prefer to live their life immersed in drama, you might want to stop reading now.  The Steelers lost their initial pre-season game (oh the humanity!) to the Washington Redskins on Friday night.  For some, it is the end of the Steeler empire.  For those of us living in reality, it was a pre-season game. 

There were a few things that I thought were interesting.  Yes, Big Ben overthrew Mike Wallace and Byron Leftwich overthrew Antonio Brown (who is looking better every day).  This is what happens when guys haven't played together for 6 months.  This was a recurring theme throughout the game.  There were episodes where the timing was off and that affected the defense, blocking schemes and pass patterns.  Am I concerned?  Only about injuries.  The pre-season is conducted to work out the kinks so that the regular season showcases the true abilities of the NFL's athletes.  Practice heals most wounds, especially with a veteran team where they know the playbook but just need to fine-tune the timing.  There were some other observations and here they are:

I said last year that Rashard Mendenhall had more spin moves than The Four Tops.  It appears that Isaac Redman is following in his (spinning) footsteps.  Add Hines Ward (and his DWTS moves) to the mix and we are a lead singer away from having the best 60's R&B group in the league.

Speaking of Isaac Redman, if you are going to try to tackle him, you better bring your crew because he sees the first tackler as a mild nuisance.

The more I watch William Gay in coverage, the more I need to drink while watching the game.  Right now, he couldn't cover the woman in the picture.  It just seems like WR's are always open when the ball is thrown in his direction.

In the long run (the 2011 season), I think the lockout will benefit the Steelers due to our advanced age on defense.  In the last 3 years, this veteran team has played more games than any other team in the league.  Our guys needed rest this spring, not more minicamp or OTA reps.  Be patient Steeler fans and don't panic unless we don't see any progress by the end of the 3rd preseason game.



Plaxico Redux?

Maybe they think we will only remember the good times. Maybe they think you can go home again. Maybe they believe this time will be different. What I recall about the Plaxico era in the Burgh was a guy who had some spectacular catches and games (I was at the tie game vs Atlanta in 2002), and some seriously bad screwups (spiking the ball 2 separate times before being called down by the referees). We know that Ben would love to have him back, but at what cost? Are we forced to cut Randle El who is a dual threat at receiver and punt returner? Does this mean that we have to cut somewhere else to save money (we are still $10million over the salary cap). I just don't see where this helps the Steelers. We have Ward, Wallace, Sanders and Brown that are the core receiving group (and don't forget Heeeeeeeath). How many catches would Plax have in that rotation anyway? Plax isn't a necessity and I just don't see him being a priority right now. I say pass ON Plax, not pass TO Plax.