Football is finally here.  It was a gorgeous day at the stadium....not too hot.  Nice cool breeze. 

 

My thoughts on the game:

 

1.  I thought Blake Bortles had a good game.  He showed good pocket presence, climbing the pocket nicely on a couple of throws.  He seemed to find open targets constantly, even some late.  He would have had a better game, but for some drops.

 

2.  I think one of the reasons Bortles had a good game is because we had a competent running game.  Throughout the first half, the team was in good second and third down yardage because the running game performed well even without Yeldon.  I thought Robinson, and Pierce had some good runs, and for all the flack Gerhart has received, I thought he looked decent, too.  I think this will bode well for the offense in the future if we can keep this going.  We;ll definitely need it because...

 

3.  Joeckel did not look good.  Joeckel has absolutely no business getting beaten that bad around the corner by a 37 year old.  It was embarrassing to see him get beaten like that. His sack surrendered stalled the drive down and made us settle for a field goal.

 

4.  It was good to see the CBs up in the receivers' faces and challenging them.  However, such a strategy often results in big plays if the corners do not do their jobs.  House was torched deep in camp by Arrelius Benn, and was torched tonight by a good receiver in Martavis Bryant.  While I am not panicking yet by any stretch, seeing him get burned deep twice in such a short time frame is troubling.  I also thought it was interesting that Colvin was named the starter opposite House.  Neither he nor McCray gave up any big plays.

 

5.  Clay Harbor showed the big play ability that makes him a good target, and makes his disappearance last year (supposedly in Fisch's doghouse) even more of a mystery.  But he has to catch the pass he dropped, even though he redeemed himself later with that TD from Henne.  That is the kind of play that can adversely change momentum.

 

6.  There has been a lot of discussion about the lack of depth at LB, but I thought the reserve LBs played pretty well.  Armbrister was in on several tackles.  Jeremiah George had a key stop and was in excellent position on a pass defense that somehow got completed.  Lotulelei sniffed out a screen nicely for a loss,

 

7.  Rookie Watch:  This was a disappointing aspect of the game.  Because three of the first four draft picks and four of the eight overall missed the game due to injuries, the kid at Christmas feel that comes with the first preseason game was muted.

 

     A.  Dante Fowler-DNP;  on IR

     B.  T.J. Yeldon-DNP

     C.  A.J. Cann-had kind of a weird game to me.  Despite his size and the perceived power he possesses, he did not get much movement in the running game at all.  However, he and Wisniewski combined to give Jaguars QBs completely clean pockets inside. When they were in the game, the only pressures came from the outside.

 

     D.  Sample-DNP

     E.  Rashad Greene-had a very nice punt return.  Did not dance like Sanders.  Just turned it up the field, getting kudos from teammates.

 

     F.  Michael Bennett-flashed twice, showing the ability that made most pundits declare him a steal.  On a running play to the left, he beat the guard cleanly, drawing a holding penalty and still managing to tackle the RB for a five yard loss.  He also defected a pass late in the game.

 

     G.  Sterling-DNP

     H.  Ben Koyack-IIRC, he had a short catch, but nothing particularly great.

     I.  Cap Capi-He is an unheralded star of the game.  he had two sacks, including the game clincher, and had another pressure where he hit the QB and forced an errant pass.  With Marks returning from injury and Clemons something of a mystery, we will need new guys to help generate pass rush.  I will say this:  I do not know if he will make this team.  But if he does and becomes a factor in the pass rush, with his name and undrafted lineage, he will certainly become a fan favorite.

 

     J.  Nick Marshall-Did not really stick out too much.  He missed a tackle in the flat,   and was beaten deep down the sideline on another play, but the pass eas errant and the receiver could not come down with the ball in bounds.  Seemed to look pretty decent otherwise.

 

    K.  Grant-had a couple of decent kick returns.

 

8.  Speaking of kick returns, Storm Johnson did not help himself with that fumble.

 

9.  One of the hot topics since the scrimmage was the talk of a serious kicking competition between Scobee and Myers.  If this is true it certainly seemed to wake Scobee up.  Scobee was crushing the ball on kickoffs today and made his FG.  Myers missed his FG, but also crushed a kickoff.  Scobee has to have the clear edge.  Redfern had a good night punting, too.

 

10.  Not big on criticizing play calling in the preseason, but I hated the 4th quarter play calling, particularly inside the 5 for the go ahead TD.  Stop being cute and run the ball.  You are a team trying to forge an identity as a team that can run the ball.  You do that in part by converting short yardage situations.  That sequence, plus the sequence in the subsequent possession where they passed on first and 20 with little time remaining kept the Steelers in the game needlessly at the end.

 

11.  I sure hope Thomas is okay.  When he caught that pass on the roll out early, I was glad to see it, but my heart skipped a beat when he got upended like that.

 

12;  Bottom line:  It was preseason, so we shouldn't pop the champagne.  Nevertheless, there was some reason for encouragement.  Bortles looked good.  The offense was able to generate a running game.  And even though it is just the preseason, it was good to get a win, especially against the Steelers.

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