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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liam Coen assesses play of Jaguars' starting defense vs. Steelers
Following the Jacksonville Jaguars' preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Liam Coen shared his thoughts on the play of the first-team defense, which was on the field for the opening possession. In short, there is room for improvement. "I think there's a little bit of concern with--I think we were playing a little loose in some of our coverage systems," Coen said. "I was a little disappointed with the early 3rd-and-2, I think it was, where we're playing a tight 3-deep in that situation, we got off-coverage to give them an easy Omaha away. That was frustrating to see." Led by quarterback Mason Rudolph--not Aaron Rodgers--the Steelers orchestrated a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession. On that drive, there was a lot of room for Rudolph and his pass catchers to operate, resulting in some chunk plays surrendered by the Jaguars. Rudolph would complete two separate passes for 19 yards and another for 15 yards. That 3rd-and-2 that Coen referenced came on the fourth play of the drive and could have gotten the Jaguars' defense off the field. With there only being two yards to gain, Coen wanted to see the cornerbacks closer to the line of scrimmage. Like Coen mentioned, there are going to be expected miscues to work out as the Jaguars implement a new defensive scheme--one that is very different than what Jacksonville operated under a year ago. Beyond tightening up the coverage, like Coen mentioned, I'll also venture to guess that improved communication could help reduce the number of explosive plays. As Anthony Campanile has discussed, that element is crucial to strong play in the secondary, but with it can come a learning curve as everyone adjusts to their new roles and the responsibilities of the defenders around them. "Those are the things when you're playing a new system, they've been playing a lot of man coverage over the last year here, and we're playing a lot more zone coverage. Oftentimes, you almost start to do too much the other way, where we're giving up a lot of grass and a little bit of room. So I imagine we're going to want to ask these guys to get a little bit stickier." This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars vs. Steelers: Liam Coen evaluates play of starting defense
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
6 Steelers standouts from preseason win over Jaguars
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-25 in their preseason opener — with several standout performances on both sides of the ball. From outstanding quarterback play to once-injured players making their triumphant returns, to undrafted rookies forging their own path, here are the six best Steelers performers from the preseason opener vs. the Jaguars. QB Mason Rudolph With Aaron Rodgers a healthy scratch in the preseason opener, Rudolph was tasked with leading the offensive charge on the first two drives of the contest — and he did not disappoint. Completing 9-of-10 passes for 84 yards and an opening-drive touchdown pass, Rudolph looked like his 2023 self against the Jaguars. TE Darnell Washington As Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth were dominating the headlines this offseason, one massive Steelers tight end continued to be overlooked: Darnell Washington. The huge 6'7", 265 lb pass catcher has been a red-zone favorite throughout training camp — and it translated to an impressive 19-yard touchdown on the Steelers' opening drive. WR Scotty Miller Similar to Washington, Miller was also turning heads in training camp — but his preseason performance was outstanding in its own right: four catches for 47 yards. If Miller can continue his success throughout the remaining two preseason games, he may be in line for plenty of work with the first-team offense. WR Ke'Shawn Williams The undrafted rookie exploded onto the scene in his NFL preseason debut, catching two passes for 55 yards — the most of any wideout in the contest. Not to mention his viral touchdown taking social media by storm, one in which he all but mossed a Jaguars defender on his way to six points. If Williams' production continues this sky-high trajectory, he could push to make the 53-man roster this upcoming season. LB Cole Holcomb Almost a year and a half removed from a season-ending knee injury, Holcomb reminded everyone watching the preseason opener why he is still one of the most underrated linebackers in the league. His best play of the night was, without a doubt, breaking up a third-down pass intended for RB Tank Bigsby — where he silenced concerns over his explosiveness and speed following his injury. QB Skylar Thompson There was zero chance we could leave Thompson off the list — as the former Dolphins-turned-Steelers QB gave an absolute preseason master class: completing 20-of-28 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. If there were any Player of the Week awards given out in the preseason, Thompson would receive it hands down — as he all but carried Pittsburgh to their 31-25 victory. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like. This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers QB Skylar Thompson leads six standouts in preseason win
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson shine for Steelers in preseason opener
Aaron Rodgers recently said "preseason football is not necessarily real football." And he's right. Still, in August, preseason football is the closest thing we have to real football. And, on Saturday night, the two Steelers quarterbacks who played against the Jaguars did a pretty good job playing not necessarily real football. With Mason Rudolph taking only 15 snaps and Skylar Thompson handling 51, both performed very well. Rudolph, who got the start, completed nine of 10 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Passer rating? 135.0. With rookie Will Howard injured, Thompson handled the rest of the game. He completed 20 of 28 passes, generating 233 yards and three touchdown passes. Rating? 132.0. "Good to be back in the black and gold, man," Rudolph said after the game in a one-question press conference. (It was one more question than coach Mike Tomlin got.) Ideally, neither Rudolph nor Thompson (nor Howard) will handle anything more than garbage time this season. But maybe, if one or more of them are needed to play, the cause won't already be lost.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
6 Steelers standouts from preseason win over Jaguars
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-25 in their preseason opener — with several standout performances on both sides of the ball. From outstanding quarterback play to once-injured players making their triumphant returns, to undrafted rookies forging their own path, here are the six best Steelers performers from the preseason opener vs. the Jaguars. QB Mason Rudolph With Aaron Rodgers a healthy scratch in the preseason opener, Rudolph was tasked with leading the offensive charge on the first two drives of the contest — and he did not disappoint. Completing 9-of-10 passes for 84 yards and an opening-drive touchdown pass, Rudolph looked like his 2023 self against the Jaguars. TE Darnell Washington As Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth were dominating the headlines this offseason, one massive Steelers tight end continued to be overlooked: Darnell Washington. The huge 6'7", 265 lb pass catcher has been a red-zone favorite throughout training camp — and it translated to an impressive 19-yard touchdown on the Steelers' opening drive. WR Scotty Miller Similar to Washington, Miller was also turning heads in training camp — but his preseason performance was outstanding in its own right: four catches for 47 yards. If Miller can continue his success throughout the remaining two preseason games, he may be in line for plenty of work with the first-team offense. WR Ke'Shawn Williams The undrafted rookie exploded onto the scene in his NFL preseason debut, catching two passes for 55 yards — the most of any wideout in the contest. Not to mention his viral touchdown taking social media by storm, one in which he all but mossed a Jaguars defender on his way to six points. If Williams' production continues this sky-high trajectory, he could push to make the 53-man roster this upcoming season. LB Cole Holcomb Almost a year and a half removed from a season-ending knee injury, Holcomb reminded everyone watching the preseason opener why he is still one of the most underrated linebackers in the league. His best play of the night was, without a doubt, breaking up a third-down pass intended for RB Tank Bigsby — where he silenced concerns over his explosiveness and speed following his injury. QB Skylar Thompson There was zero chance we could leave Thompson off the list — as the former Dolphins-turned-Steelers QB gave an absolute preseason master class: completing 20-of-28 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. If there were any Player of the Week awards given out in the preseason, Thompson would receive it hands down — as he all but carried Pittsburgh to their 31-25 victory. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like. This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers QB Skylar Thompson leads six standouts in preseason win
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steelers QB Mason Rudolph masterful in Arthur Smith's offense
The Pittsburgh Steelers have put in a lot of work this offseason to rebuild the offense. And despite most of those new faces not being in uniform Saturday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the passing game was highly efficient with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson running the show. Rudolph started the game, and he was almost surgical, going 9-for-10 for 80 yards and a beautiful touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington. Thompson followed him, playing all of the second half and around half of the second quarter and the offense didn't miss a beat. Thompson finished with 233 passing yards on 20-of-28 passing and three more passing touchdowns. Neither quarterback threw an interception. What really stood out was how Rudolph and Thompson went about it. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has clearly opened things up compared to last season and this was no more evident than in the team's willingness to throw to the middle of the field. Last season, Smith basically cut off half the field in the passing game by refusing to scheme plays between the hashes. This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers QB Mason Rudolph masterful in Arthur Smith's offense
