I’m not a coach and I don’t even pretend to be one online. But I’m pretty confident that Mike Tomlin and his staff are penciling in tonight’s game against Buffalo as the most important matchup of the preseason.
Obviously, the starters are actually going to get the majority of the playing time and this is the closest thing to a real game we’ll see until the regular season.
But as I’ve said before, I don’t really care how the starters do. We already know how good 95% of them are. They really don’t have anything to prove in the preseason.
The backups are another story though. After the jump, I lay out a few guys who need to have stellar games tonight or they’ll be in in hot water…
The fourth and final preseason game should be easy to get up and play hard for.
The last game is the last impression that a player makes on the coaching staff and everybody typically goes all out then. It’s easier to.
Players have had a couple games to get their feet wet and the excuses should be running short.
Here’s some some guys who are one bad performance away from seeing their name on the cut list or at least seeing a highly reduced role with the team:
Tony Hills – Other than his pre-injury career at Texas, he’s done virtually nothing to look like an NFL tackle. I don’t think the Steelers are willing to keep him around for another year unless he shows something. That roster spot would be better held by somebody else.
Limas Sweed – Sweed is definitely on the team. And he’s looked better this year. But another poor drop like we saw last week could end up putting him as the 4th or 5th receiver with the emergence of Shaun McDonald and Mike Wallace.
Frank Summers/Carey Davis – Only one of these guys makes the opening game roster. Summers has been hurt almost the entire preseason and is questionable for tonight. Time is running out for him to make an impression.
Rashard Mendenhall – He’ll get the lions share of carries tonight and I’m looking forward to watching him run more than anybody else in the game. If he sucks out there, both Willie Parker and Mewelede Moore are going to steal most of his carries away in the regular season. Book it.
Joe Burnett – I think he’s made the team as a CB, but his strongest impression has been his fumbling hands on kickoff returns.
Keiwan Ratliff – He’s also probably on the team, but in what role? Ratliff is very versatile and the Steelers could use him in a lot of ways in the defensive backfield.
Who will you be watching closely tonight and why?
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