There are no surprises on the cut list, though I do wish there was room for a few more players. Swayze Waters (what a great name, by the way) came around but he was bound to be cut. He ought to be picked up by somebody sooner or later. Crezdon Butler had to have been a tough call, he played very well this preseason, but the Steelers are pretty set at cornerback (even if I disagree about the skill level of the corners they kept). He also should land somewhere else. The last “big” name is Jeremy Kapinos, and he will get another job. There’s no doubt in my mind. But Sepulveda is entrenched there and they can’t carry two punters.
Byron Leftwich is out for the season, like I figured he would be. Batch gets another year. I think he would have been cut had Leftwich not been hurt.
I’m surprised they kept Jonathan Dwyer. he came into camp out of shape and didn’t do anything in the first two preseason games but apparently did enough to get out of Tomlin’s doghouse. They have Mendenhall, Redman, and Moore, so I don’t see too many touches in Dwyer’s future barring injuries. If Baron Batch hadn’t been knocked out for the season he was history too, so he can thank his lucky stars and learn a lesson from this.
Anyway, there was nothing unexpected. It’s about what a Steelers fan would have predicted before camp opened with the exception of Cotchery, who should be a solid 3 or 4 receiver and should see some good time because Ward is getting up in years.
My concerns, however, have not been allayed. it’s still the O-line and the secondary that will make or break the season. Pouncey and Polamalu can’t do everything, so they need to step up.
So now it’s on to play the hated Ratbirds. Why the NFL had them open with Baltimore is beyond me as it’s a marquee game for the league and would probably have been better later in the season when the teams had fully gotten into the swing of things. Anyway, Pittsburgh beats Baltimore by a touchdown, which represents the biggest win in the series in a long time. Flacco does a decent job but fails once more to make it to the elite level when he chokes up with the game on the line. Ben gets knocked around for as many as 5 sacks and numerous hits, but he gets the job done as usual, maybe even drawing a roughing the passer penalty.
Yeah, I thought it was funny too. He’s one of the only quarterbacks in the league that cannot get a roughing the passer penalty to save his life, no matter how hard or late he gets hit. Tom Brady would miss half the season every year if he took the punishment Ben does, and he gets a gazillion roughing calls.
