What’s working, what isn’t for Pittsburgh

By Robert Rousseau  |   Monday, August 25, 2008  |  Comments( 7 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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NFL preseason games only give so much information. Starters don't tend to see a lot of time and veteran players may not take the exhibition contests as seriously, among other issues.

That said, two things were evident during the Pittsburgh Steelers' 12-10 preseason victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. First, the Steelers' offensive line -- which too often left quarterback Ben Roethlisberger running for his life last season -- did not protect well. The unit gave up three sacks and allowed the Vikings to get consistent pressure.

"When you play a front as talented as they are ... it's going to be tough sledding," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said afterward.

Of course, the Steelers are going to be playing a lot of tough defensive fronts this year, which means that issue will eventually have to be resolved if the team is going to be a Super Bowl contender.

On the flip side, the Steelers stuffed Minnesota's elite rushing attack. All told, star Adrian Peterson carried the ball 12 times for only 21 yards. The rest of the Vikings’ rushers combined for only 11 more yards on the ground.

Good news for a team that last season struggled to stop the run -- at times, at least.

The defense was buoyed by unheralded end Aaron Smith, who posted four tackles and a sack. Last season when Smith accrued significant playing time, the Steelers surrendered approximately 70 rushing yards per game. In the seven games that Smith didn't play much because of injury, they allowed a whopping 125 yards per contest.

While Saturday's game was ultimately meaningless, the Steelers' rushing defense seems to be taking positive steps. The pass protection, on the other hand, still needs some work.

Luckily for Pittsburgh, there's still time to repair its problems.

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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or ...
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