Preseason Game 1 Storylines

We’re a day away from the first look at Steeler football in 2010 (excluding our week 17 matchup against the Dolphins on January 3rd, 2010, of course). Are you excited? If you aren’t, leave.

For the rest of you however, stick around for our preseason coverage. There won’t be a traditional play-by-play recap, but let’s be honest, you don’t care about every single play in a preseason game. I mean I didn’t even know who the Steelers were playing until this week. The reason for a different strategy from last season is that I myself will be attending the game at Heinz Field because an old friend offered me one of his tickets and I nearly exploded at the chance to go to do a little investigative journalism regarding Steeler fans’ live reaction to Ben Roethlisberger and the rest of the team, all to bring the best information to you.

Coming up, some storylines to keep an eye on tomorrow night.

The Starting QB: Tomlin has been very hush-hush about which QB will start the game (Not Dixon vs Leftwich, but Leftwich vs Ben Roethlisberger). If you ask me, I say Ben plays one series, and Lefty plays a series or two with the first-team offense. Eventually Tomlin will hand over the reins to Dixon, and when he does will give us a lot of insight into who he has faith in to lead the team. If Dixon gets the majority of the playing time, as I expect him to do with the second and third team, I think it’ll be a positive thing. Remember, Byron Leftwich doesn’t really have anything left to prove to the league. Dennis Dixon will make better use of live reps and Tomlin has to know that. The more snaps he takes in the preseason, the more chance he has to overtake Leftwich as the season’s starter. And I think we can all agree that would be in the best interest of the team.

Matt Spaeth: I’ll be blunt about this. If Matt Spaeth doesn’t impress, he’s gone. He’s been sitting around for a few years now, catching a TD in an early-season rout every year and then dropping off the face of the earth. For a third round draft pick at a playmaking position, you should at least have heard his name a few times by now. As it stands, Spaeth has to produce or he’s going to lose his job to David Johnson and Sean McHugh, which would be a shame considering neither of them catch passes. Not that the Steelers throw to the tight end enough anyway.

Kickoffs: If Jeff Reed is still kicking off to start the regular season, the coaching staff has failed. He’s the worst kickoff-man on the planet and there is another capable leg in Daniel Sepulveda prepared to relieve Reed of his duties. Anyone has to be better than Reed. Let Doug Legursky kick off if Sepulveda doesn’t. It can’t possibly be a downgrade.

Pouncey’s Position: The coaching staff is adamant about starting Pouncey at guard, and I have no problem with that decision. Might as well get him acclimated at a position at which there is really no depth without putting the burden of protection calls on him. I’m interested to see if they give him the second team reps at center. After all, if he is to be the next great Steeler center, perhaps we could get a glimpse of the future for this 21-year-old in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions. It isn’t much, but we’ll at least see if he can recognize a blitz at this stage. And if he can, that means his mental grasp on the game is already excellent for a rookie and he can only go up.

Which Preseason Favorite Will Get Cut?: Let’s be realistic. Some running back, be in Justin Vincent, Isaac Redman, or Frank Summers, is going to score some touchdowns in 4th quarters this preseason against defenders that will be working at the Fashion Bug next spring, and some fan will buy his jersey (I am still stunned by Stefan Logan jerseys) and then he’ll get put on the practice squad at the end of camp and someone will call for Bruce Arians to be fired.

Those are just a few things I’ll be keeping a special eye on tomorrow night. Feel free to mention any other points of interest you might have in the comments.