We don’t know yet how good the Steelers will be. There are concerns about whether Flozell Adams will get Byron Leftwich killed and a Troy Polamalu injury could take the season from promising to frustrating very quickly.
But two weeks into the preseason, it is pretty clear that the Steelers’ backups are better than the Lions’ and Giants’ backups. Watching and rewatching the Steelers’ second- and third-team offensive line gash the Giants defense helps to wipe away any of the heartburn that came from watching Adams’ struggles in pass blocking.
I want to credit Todd in Syracuse (a regular here and on the Steel City Insider message board) for the idea of listing my log for each and every play for a lineman (instead of trying to do a plus-minus system). It takes a little longer writing down notes on each player for each snap, but it does seem to give a better feel for how a lineman performs and hopefully allows those who want to dig a little deeper to read the notes or even compare them to your own observations.
You may notice that I didn’t log the play of Max Starks, Chris Kemoeatu and Trai Essex. Those three have virtually guaranteed starting jobs to begin the season, which means that there isn’t that much to be learned by logging each of Starks’ snaps for instance. Even if Kemoeatu is struggling (which he has been at times), he’s going to start the first and the last game of the season if he’s healthy. If I had unlimited time, I’d add them to the list, but it’s time move on and to start looking at the defense.
If you’re looking for the logs on Flozell Adams and Jonathan Scott, the breakdown of how well they did ran on Sunday.
For each play, I tried to give an answer to whether the block was successful or not, as you can see in the chart below. Don’t think of this as the grades that coaches give out — they are grading in much more detail than this and with a whole lot more information. I’m not grading on proper technique or anything like that, I’m just looking for results as best they can be determined. And making a play pass/fail isn’t always easy to do — so think of these stats as helpful but don’t view them as hard and fast rules.
It’s time for me to mention a disclaimer. When watching we can’t always know the play call or the linemen’s assignments (although often it’s quite clear), so there can be some inaccuracies here, although I believe that those inaccuracies are few in number.
| Justin Hartwig | 17 of 19 | 89.5 |
| Tony Hills | 26 of 30 | 86.7 |
| Kraig Urbik | 18 of 21 | 85.7 |
| Doug Legursky | 32 of 39 | 82.1 |
| Maurkice Pouncey | 26 of 32 | 81.3 |
| Adrian Jones | 7 of 9 | 77.8 |
| Jonathan Scott | 30 of 39 | 77 |
| Ramon Foster | 23 of 30 | 76.7 |
| Flozell Adams | 13 of 21 | 61.9 |
If you want the thumbnail sketch of what happened, Kraig Urbik and Tony Hills were the two backup linemen who impressed the most. Both of them are fighting for roster spots and both of them did everything they could to help their chances on Saturday night. Among the backups no one had an awful game.
Kraig Urbik: Just when it seemed Urbik would slip onto the waiver wire without any notice, he did everything he could short of setting himself on fire to get noticed against the Giants. There are two more weeks before the final cuts, and if nothing else Urbik has made sure that the coaching staff will take a second look at keeping him around.
This is the guy we heard about at draft time last year. Urbik may not be the quickest guard in camp, but he did show plenty of power as he blew defensive tackles off the ball play after play.
Urbik didn’t play center on Saturday, but he did snap against the Lions, so he has some versatility. And unlike Adams’ struggles to learn how to switch sides of the line, Urbik showed little problem bouncing between left and right guard.
| Kraig Urbik | |||
| Play No. | Result | Good Block? | Position |
| 1 | Drives #93 3 yards back, excellent block | Yes | LG |
| 2 | Double-teams #93 with Pouncey, creates massive hole | Yes | LG |
| 3 | Uncovered, so he helps Pouncey block #93 | Yes | LG |
| 4 | Uncovered. With four-man rush has nothing to do | Yes | LG |
| 5 | Drives #93 back, but eventually loses him on run other way. So he puts block on LB too | Yes | LG |
| 6 | Screen other way, hustles but no one to block | Yes | LG |
| 7 | Loses #98 to outside, but run other way means it doesn’t matter | No | LG |
| 8 | Handles MLB easily, helps create hole | Yes | LG |
| 9 | Stalemates #97, which is good enough on run up middle | Yes | LG |
| 10 | Fumbled snap. Solid, but short-lived lock on DT | Yes | RG |
| 11 | Very good block on DT, moves him back several yards | Yes | RG |
| 12 | Poor block on LB. One punch but doesn’t stick. | No | RG |
| 13 | Drives his man two yards off LOS | Yes | RG |
| 14 | Quick pass adequate block | Yes | RG |
| 15 | Uncovered and really unchallenged but does help out Legursky | Yes | RG |
| 16 | With help from Legursky creates nice hole on run up gut | Yes | RG |
| 17 | Is destroying his man snap after snap. Again drives him three yards off LOS | Yes | RG |
| 18 | #75 (Collins) is no match for Urbik. Play-after-play he is being blown off the ball, as he is here. | Yes | RG |
| 19 | Finds a LB to block, but loses him because he’s inside of LB and play is run outside | No | RG |
| 20 | Stalemate at line, but maintains block until RB has nice gain | Yes | RG |
| 21 | Had fun on this one. Finds LB and drives him off the screen. | Yes | RG |
Justin Hartwig: Maurkice Pouncey’s development may earn Hartwig a trip to the waiver wire, but he isn’t going out without a valiant effort. He was nearly flawless against the Giants. That’s impressive but not overwhelming, as on a number of his 19 snaps, he did not have any one lined up over him on most plays (the Giants run a 4-3) and on several plays all he had to do was help out the guards.
| Justin Hartwig | ||
| Play No. | Result | Good Block? |
| 1 | Finds OLB drives him back on run up middle. | Yes |
| 2 | Misdirection boot leaves Hartwig little to do. | Yes |
| 3 | Stuffs DT (#96) eventually puts him on ground. | Yes |
| 4 | Doubles DT with Essex, but they don’t get much push | No |
| 5 | Reverse. Doesn’t have much to do. | Yes |
| 6 | Solid job of helping out on pass blocking. | Yes |
| 7 | Help block with Kemo then quickly locks up MLB on solid run by Redman | Yes |
| 8 | Decent job blocking Canty on backside as Steelers’ run outside | Yes |
| 9 | Combins with Kemoeatu to block Canty | Yes |
| 10 | Solid job on Canty again. Stalemate at line on run to right. | Yes |
| 11 | Is the reason Mendenhall gets almost 10 yards on run up the middle. Picks up MLB to create hole. | Yes |
| 12 | OK job blocking OLB, but loses block late | Yes |
| 13 | Adequate block on backside of run right | Yes |
| 14 | Good job in pass blocking. Handles DT | Yes |
| 15 | Not much to do, but helps out Kemo in pass blocking | Yes |
| 16 | Blitz up middle, picks up LB nicely and stops him. | Yes |
| 17 | Gets initial block but loses LB (#52) too quickly | No |
| 18 | Not much to do again. No one lined up over him and no one rushes his way on pass play | Yes |
| 19 | Good job of blocking DT, then handing him off to pick up blitzer. | Yes |
Maurkice Pouncey: When I was rewatching the game with a focus on Adams and Scott, I’d occasionally notice a nice block by Pouncey. So I was very excited to rewatch the game with a complete focus on the rookie center.
What I found was a center with great energy and an excellent ability to help out on a defensive tackle before picking up a linebacker — his agility is excellent for a man of his size and strength. But what you didn’t see was a center who was heads and shoulder above his teammate. At his best, Pouncey played a key role in Isaac Redman’s third-quarter touchdown. But he also was the player who was stuffed on Mewelde Moore’s unsuccessful goal line run on the final play of the second quarter.
| Maurkice Pouncey | ||
| Play No. | Result | Good Block? |
| 1 | Pulls, puts LB (#54) on the ground | Yes |
| 2 | Helps out in pass protection, solid work | Yes |
| 3 | Helps out G, then slides off and picks up LB | Yes |
| 4 | Just so aggressive. Fires out for quick block on DT, then turns LB to create hole. | Yes |
| 5 | Keeps head up, picks up DE coming inside on loop | Yes |
| 6 | Doesn’t get much movement, but does stay locked onto DT | Yes |
| 7 | Mass of bodies in the middle on pass play. Decent job of locking up a DT | Yes |
| 8 | His worst block up to now. Sees and picks up Kiwanuka looping inside, but Kiwanuka gets pressure and a QB hit | No |
| 9 | Double teams DT with Legursky. Solid block on Wallace TD bomb. | Yes |
| 10 | Goes way downfield to block S on long run by Moore | Yes |
| 11 | Not great pass blocking, but keeps looking for people to hit. Eventually lights up DE downfield. | Yes |
| 12 | Solid job of pass blocking on quick pass | Yes |
| 13 | Doesn’t get any push on fake spike/QB sneak | No |
| 14 | OK block on quick pass to outside | Yes |
| 15 | Blame him for lack of TD. Pouncey stood up at line, Moore runs into his back and is stuffed. | No |
| 16 | Blocks DT then LB again, but eventually loses block of LB who gets assist | No |
| 17 | Gets solid push on DT as Redman gets solid run | Yes |
| 18 | Combines with Urbik to stuff DT’s pass rush | Yes |
| 19 | DT gets free, but Justin Vincent helps out to stop him | No |
| 20 | Puts his man on the ground. Unfortunately his man gets up to help make tackle | No |
| 21 | Solid job on quick pass outside | Yes |
| 22 | Handles Joseph’s pass rush with no problem | Yes |
| 23 | Puts DT on the ground for pancake block | Yes |
| 24 | Excellent job to create hole up middle on Redman TD run. Again blocks two players. | Yes |
| 25 | Gets ridden into backfield, but that helps create running lane | Yes |
| 26 | Fake screen to right leaves nothing to do. | Yes |
| 27 | Locks up safety on big run up the middle | Yes |
| 28 | Keeps his man well occupied on draw up middle | Yes |
| 29 | Solid job in stopping DT to give Dixon plenty of time | Yes |
| 30 | OK block on running play outside | Yes |
| 31 | Creates massive hole with some help on run up middle. Steelers turn Dts to outside to open canyon | Yes |
| 32 | Puts DT into end zone on touchdown run up middle | Yes |
Doug Legursky: If I expected to be blown away by Pouncey’s work and was disappointed that it was just good, not great, the reverse was true with Legursky. I went into watching him expecting to be disappointed because I remembered seeing a block or two that didn’t go well. But Legursky actually was pretty reliable. Like Pouncey, he gave up one quarterback pressure, but he also was the man who created the hole on Redman’s touchdown run. In fact, he had as many excellent blocks as bad ones. And as he showed again on Saturday he has plenty of versatility with the ability to play guard and center.
Legursky doesn’t make it look pretty. There was a play where his pass blocking made it look like he was going to be knocked on his butt, but he hung on to handle his man.
| Doug Legursky | |||
| Play No. | Result | Good Block? | Position |
| 1 | Good double team, chips DT then picks up LB and pouts him on the ground on run his way | Yes | RG |
| 2 | Stops DT with help from RT Scott | Yes | RG |
| 3 | Doesn’t have perfect form, but drives DT outside on pass play | Yes | RG |
| 4 | Uncovered, so does good job by helping out Pouncey then sliding out to help out Scott | Yes | RG |
| 5 | Slides down line on run other way. OK block. | Yes | RG |
| 6 | Pierre-Paul loops inside, beats Legursky to inside, gets QB pressure which forces Leftwich to run | No | RG |
| 7 | Gives ground on bull rush, but stays in front of his man. | Yes | RG |
| 8 | All kind of confusion on surprise sneak | No | RG |
| 9 | Quick pass, little to do. | Yes | RG |
| 10 | Does a pretty solid job. Initial block on DT, then picks up LB. | Yes | RG |
| 11 | Joseph gets penetration to stop Redman’s momentum | No | RG |
| 12 | Does good job turning #97 | Yes | RG |
| 13 | Plays too high, gets driven back, but manages to stop DT anyway | Yes | RG |
| 14 | Solid pass blocking against DT | Yes | RG |
| 15 | Solid job on #95 early, but doesn’t maintain block so DT crawls along ground to make tackle | No | RG |
| 16 | Screen other way, hustles but no one to block | Yes | RG |
| 17 | Adequate block on DT on run outside | Yes | RG |
| 18 | Puts shoulder into DT, then helps out Pouncey on “0″ technique NT. Adequate, but doesn’t maintain. | Yes | RG |
| 19 | His best block of the night. DT’s #95 with Pouncey. Seals inside edge as Redman runs through hole created for TD | Yes | RG |
| 20 | Decent block, controls his man on run up middle | Yes | RG |
| 21 | Fake screen throwback means not much to do but run. | Yes | RG |
| 22 | Another excellent block. Drives DT out of hole, which helps Vincent go for 10+ | Yes | RG |
| 23 | Again, not getting too much push, but drives his feet and does a good job of sticking to his man. | Yes | RG |
| 24 | Stuffs DT on pass play. Doesn’t give up any ground at all. | Yes | RG |
| 25 | Good job of reading blitz. Switches block at last second to stop blitzing MLB. | Yes | RG |
| 26 | Excellent push, drives his man back three yards | Yes | RG |
| 27 | Double teams DT with Pouncey. They put him in the end zone. | Yes | RG |
| 28 | OK job of sliding off DT to block LB, but fumbled snap. | Yes | C |
| 29 | Outstanding job on MLB. Seals him off to help create solid run | Yes | C |
| 30 | Struggles to move DT this time | No | C |
| 31 | Not a great block, but gets initial shot then looks around for guys to hit | Yes | C |
| 32 | Quick pass adequate block | Yes | C |
| 33 | Quick shot to DT slows him down in pass blocking | Yes | C |
| 34 | Is still chugging. Teams with Urbik to create big hole up middle | Yes | C |
| 35 | One of his worst blocks of the night. Gets tossed aside as Wright is stuffed up middle | No | C |
| 36 | DT lined up in 1 technique, drives him back, then finds a LB too | Yes | C |
| 37 | Gets tossed aside by #75 | No | C |
| 38 | Drives #74 off the ball | Yes | C |
| 39 | Bootleg. OK block. | Yes | C |
Ramon Foster: With all the competition for the Steelers’ backup line jobs, Foster hasn’t gotten a whole lot of attention, which is somewhat surprising because he’s as versatile as any of the backups. Foster can play both guard spots and right tackle (in a pinch). Against the Giants Foster wasn’t spectacular, but he was solid. He showed a little more mobility than I remember seeing last year and when he got a good grip on a guy, he usually manhandled him.
| Ramon Foster | ||
| Play | Result | Good Block |
| 1 | Good block on Gerris Wilkerson. Shows mobility to reach Wilkerson and handle him | Yes |
| 2 | Teams with Pouncey to block DT on pass play | Yes |
| 3 | Handles #97 on pass play | Yes |
| 4 | Excellent block on #97′s bull rush on bomb to Wallace | Yes |
| 5 | Hard to say if this was play call or not. Turns at snap, finds DT and blocks him, but allows DE to fly through his gap. Since it was a misdirection will give benefit of the doubt. | Yes |
| 6 | Blows #97 almost off screen on pass that turns into scramble | Yes |
| 7 | Keeps his head up. Doesn’t block anyone but makes sure LB threatening with blitz doesn’t | Yes |
| 8 | Like everyone else, no push on surprise QB sneak | No |
| 9 | Quick pass leaves little to do | Yes |
| 10 | Driven back a step by LB, although doesn’t affect the run up middle | No |
| 11 | Pulls and tries unsuccessfully to cut a LB | No |
| 12 | Misdirection with fake screen left and throw back to the right, just slides and blocks air as designed | Yes |
| 13 | DT fires out low, so Foster takes step back, then falls on him. | Yes |
| 14 | Excellent job blocking an OLB | Yes |
| 15 | Pancakes DT (#93) | Yes |
| 16 | His best block? Finds LB (#98) puts him on ground and lays on top of him | Yes |
| 17 | Turns #49 and puts him on ground on run up middle | Yes |
| 18 | Excellent block on #74 on run up middle (TD for Wright) | Yes |
| 19 | Gets a stalemate on fumbled snap | Yes |
| 20 | Not pretty, but gets enough of #73 to allow Vincent to turn corner | Yes |
| 21 | Doesn’t really block anyone | No |
| 22 | Again really doesn’t block anyone on run other way | No |
| 23 | Hustles to get outside on stop route, but cut block fails to slow DE | No |
| 24 | Solid block on pass play | Yes |
| 25 | Turns and handles #74 | Yes |
| 26 | Worst block of night. Misses #98 on blitz (too slow), who knifes into backfield | No |
| 27 | Drives #74 back several yards | Yes |
| 28 | Run other way. Little to do | Yes |
| 29 | With help from Legursky gets good push on #74 | Yes |
| 30 | Pretty much carbon copy of previous play | Yes |
Tony Hills: As Ted mentioned Sunday, Hills was the surprise star of Saturday night. In previous preseasons (which has been Hills’ only real game action–he’s played in one regular season game), he’s looked overmatched and sluggish. On Saturday he showed good feet in pass blocking and a willingness to hustle in run blocking. It’s unlikely he’ll ever be a dominating run blocker, but he showed enough on Saturday to make sure the coaches take a closer look over the next two weeks before deciding whether to keep or cut him.
| Tony Hills | ||
| Play No. | Result | Good Block? |
| 1 | Blocks down on DE, stays with his man to whistle | Yes |
| 2 | Handles bull rush of #94. Joseph does slide to outside, but Hills keeps hands on him and pushes him past Leftwich. | Yes |
| 3 | Hills picks up LB coming off edge. Plays a little high and gets caught lunging, but keeps hands on LB enough to control him | Yes |
| 4 | Pittsburgh going deep. Hills gets leverage on #94 forces him to buckle. Completely stuffs him, great block. | Yes |
| 5 | Hills dekes #94 into slanting inside on draw. Leaves him to lead Moore on outside run. Finds a CB and buries him. | Yes |
| 6 | #94 tries speed rush. Hills slides feet well, drives him past Leftwich to outside. | Yes |
| 7 | #94 tries swim move on Hills. Hills swats it away then puts him on the ground. Great block. | Yes |
| 8 | Surprise sneak. Slow off ball, doesn’t do much. | No |
| 9 | Quick pass, so not much do to, but keeps #94′s hands down. | Yes |
| 10 | Stones Kiwaunuka, drives him outside on run from one. | Yes |
| 11 | As 2H starts, Hills now facing Tollefson. Drives him back with DT help from David Johnson. | Yes |
| 12 | Gives Tollefson a relatively ineffective arm throw (to try to get Tollefson to flow outside on run to Hills inside shoulder). But the block does work. | Yes |
| 13 | Tollefson goes low, so Hills just lays on top of him. Tollefson does get free to crawl at Dixon late, but no pressure. | Yes |
| 14 | Doesn’t do a good job with his hands. Tollefson wins battle to get leverage, starts to break free to outside, but Hills hangs on for effective block. | Yes |
| 15 | Makes one hit on OLB, but doesn’t stick block. That LB doesn’t make tackle but is able to flow over to help out. | No |
| 16 | Quick pass. Cuts Tollefson to ensure pass gets over DE’s hands. | Yes |
| 17 | Shows some power with his hands. Quick right hand shot knocks Tollefson off balance. | Yes |
| 18 | Controls Tollefson, walls him off on run inside. Blocks til whistle. | Yes |
| 19 | Excellent block on OLB Wilkerson, handles him as Redman runs inside for touchdown. | Yes |
| 20 | Asked to block down on run right. Misses his block. | No |
| 21 | Quick pass other way. Not much to do. | Yes |
| 22 | Rocks safety backwards on run up middle. | Yes |
| 23 | Blocks Tollefson well til whistle on run up middle. | Yes |
| 24 | Good job on Tollefson (who doesn’t give much effort). | Yes |
| 25 | New DE (#70), drives him outside on run the other way | Yes |
| 26 | Decent block on #70, but loses him late so #70 jumps on pile. | No |
| 27 | Turns OLB outside as Wright runs bhind him for touchdown. | Yes |
| 28 | Fumbled snap, but Hills handles Tollefson | Yes |
| 29 | Hills gets good push on Tollefson to create hole outside. When Vincent gets past Hills, Hills does lose his block (would have been hold otherwise) and Tollefson makes tackle after gain of 8 yards | Yes |
| 30 | Shoves his man backward on run the other way. | Yes |
Adrian Jones: At this point unless there are injuries Jones is playing for the game tape. It’s extremely unlikely that he’ll make the Steelers, and nine plays don’t really give much chance to get a feel for what he can do. But during those nine plays, Jones didn’t show anything that would make you think that he should be getting a lot more playing time.
| Adrian Jones | ||
| Play No. | Result | Good Block? |
| 1 | Loses his man after good intial block. DE helps make tackle. | No |
| 2 | Quick pass. Not much to do. | Yes |
| 3 | Handles his man on bull rush | Yes |
| 4 | Doesn’t really block anyone on run inside. | No |
| 5 | Stuffs his man #70 on run inside. | Yes |
| 6 | Locks up OLB. Gets good push, but OLB twists inside to fill hole and make tackle. Only needed 1 yard for first down. | Yes |
| 7 | So-so block on run other way. | Yes |
| 8 | Shoves with one arm on run the other way. | Yes |
| 9 | Run the other way, stands up his man. | Yes |
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