The Pittsburgh Steelers finished their 2013 preseason winless Thursday night as they lost 25-10 to the Carolina Panthers. Here is my weekly list of winners and losers and make sure to add your own in the comments below.
WINNERS:
Derek Moye – Moye increased his chances of making the final 53 man roster Thursday night by catching two passes for 55 yards and tracking down Panthers cornerback Josh Norman following an interception. Moye never gave up on the play and he saved a touchdown as a result. That will not go unnoticed when the coaches look at the film. On his two catches, Moye did a great job of getting extra yardage and he’s had a solid preseason. If the Steelers keep five wide receivers, he should be the fifth.
Felix Jones – In just his second game with the Steelers, Jones rushed for 56 yards on 14 carries and he showed a little burst and good cutback ability on a few of those carries. After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin praised his efforts and said that the former first-round draft pick helped himself.
Chris Carter – While it wasn’t a perfect night for Carter, at least he showed up several times in the final preseason game after being virtually invisible in the first three games. The former fifth-round draft pick was credited with two sacks on the night as he played a lot of snaps on both the right and left side. We shall see if this performance was good enough to earn him a roster spot.
Alan Baxter – Baxter had a great preseason for an undrafted free agent and he always seemed to be pressuring the quarterback. In addition, he showed the ability to get to the sideline as well as chase from the backside. If Baxter does not make the final 53 man roster, he will most definitely end up on the practice squad.
Al Woods – Woods played some at nose tackle and left defensive end Thursday night and he recorded five total tackles in the game. While his performance wasn’t as good as the one a few weeks ago, he showed Thursday night that he can be counted on as a backup defensive lineman.
LOSERS:
Reggie Dunn – If Dunn had any shot at making the final 53 man roster heading into the game against the Panthers, that shot has now vaporized. Not only did the Utah speedster fail to field a few punts cleanly, his decision to field one deep in his own end that resulted in a safety simply cant be ignored even in the preseason. Dunn is now done.
Jonathan Dwyer – While he did rush for 28 yards on six carries, Dwyer left some yards on the field with his indecisiveness. In addition, he also fumbled again, but luckily the offense retained possession. If the Steelers wind up keeping Jones, who also can return kicks, then Dwyer might be sent packing unless the team keeps five running backs in total.
Curtis Brown – It’s hard to know for sure until we see a better shot of the two touchdowns, but Brown was victimized at least once if not twice by Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. for long touchdowns. If not for his play on special teams, Brown would be an easy cut, but being as the Steelers lack depth at the cornerback position, he might end up staying one more season. We will know soon.
DaMon Cromartie-Smith – Like Brown, we will not know for sure how much blame to place on Cromartie-Smith for the long touchdowns until we see better angles. All we know right now is that the Steelers safety wasn’t even close to being in the play. It sure looked like he was guilty of not giving help over the top on one of them.
Landry Jones – While the rookie quarterback did have a few good throws early in the game, he wasn’t overly impressive through four quarters. Two of his three interceptions were bad throws and he seems to be slow going through his progressions. At least he has a full game of tape to learn from and hopefully we have seen the last of him until next season.
