I already posted by first half thoughts on the Pittsburgh Steelers 38-7 win against the Buffalo Bills this past Saturday, but forgot to post my second half notes which you can read below.
- Both Steve McLendon and Ziggy Hood had easy pressures on the first interception of Vince Young and the pass was poorly floated to Dorin Dickerson and thus picked off easily by Troy Polamalu.
- On the second touchdown pass to Brown, Jonathan Dwyer had a nice cut block on a free rusher and Mike Adams made sure his man stayed wide. Byron Leftwich put a pretty pass right in the hands of Brown over the top of two Bill defenders.
- Vince Young is still Vince Young in case you missed it.
- Corbin Bryant cleanly beat his man with a nice move for the first sack of the game.
- Cortez Allen really uses his body well against defenders and is effective at squeezing them out of space down the sideline.
- Nice back shoulder throw from Leftwich to Brown on the Steelers second drive of the second half and Brown had his man turned around for an easy catch. On the next play Ramon Foster had his arms swatted away and thus was on his heels for an easy pressure. Leftwich avoided it to his right and found Dwyer in a soft area for a nice gain.
- Sean Spence missed an easy sack of Young on the Bills next drive, but solid hustle from Al Woods prevented a big scramble. The play ended up being called back on a hold. Chris Carter just got enough of the ankle of Young for the Steelers second sack.
- Will Allen came up for a nice run stop on an early play in the 4th quarter.
- On the interception by Robert Golden, Young stared down his receiver and it made for an easy pick. Shame on Golden for letting Young tackle him.
- On the slip screen touchdown to Derrick Williams, both Weslye Saunders and Mike Adams had great blocks out in space to make it an easy score.
- Young remains a very bad quarterback with a nice wounded duck to the left.
- Adrian Robinson and Woods almost combined for a sack/safety. Woods stunted inside while Robinson had pressure on the outside.
- Score a pancake for Adams on a nice run by Baron Batch. Also a Jamie McCoy sighting on the play.
- A few plays later another great back throw by Leftwich to Williams while the defender had his back turned. Leftwich would fumble the next snap and that play busted. The drop a few plays later by Marquis Maze was inexcusable.
- Brandon Hicks had an easy run stuff after the pulling guard was late getting to him. Robinson followed with another pressure that forced a throw away. On the next play Marshall McFadden sniffed out a screen pass for a third down stop.
- McCoy and David Paulson with nice blocks on a big run by Batch.
- Three tight ends right side on the touchdown run by Rainey. Paulson had key block and Rainey did the rest by beating his two men. Watch the head fake if you get a chance.
In summation, the second string offensive line played much better in this game, particularly Adams and Trai Essex. Leftwich looks ready for the season and his arm has never looked better. Dwyer continues to silently have a solid camp and preseason. Paulson is also showing some tiny bit of improvement as a blocker. The Rainey run is fun to watch over and over again.
On defense, Allen is long, physical and glides. He looked like it was a flag football game in the park. The Bryant versus Woods battle is too close to call. Golden and Robinson continue to make plays and keep pushing towards the 53 man roster. The Mortty Ivy hamstring injury certainly was unfortunate for him in the second half.
