Let’s begin, because it is important to remain firmly grounded: Its only preseason.
It IS only preseason, and the first game at that, which, in our current era of NFL football, means that the players who take vast majority of snaps will be lucky if they spend a day on an NFL practice squad. But of all of the statistics taken from the Steelers preseason win over the Giants, one sticks out:
- Pittsburgh Steelers defenders sacked New York Giants quarterbacks 7 times.
TJ Watt drops Giants Josh Johnson for his second preseasons sack. Photo Credit: Getty Images via Tribune Review
Sure, “It’s only preseason,” but that IS part of the point. Consider this:
- In the ‘14, ‘15, and ‘16 exhibition openers, Pittsburgh never registered more than one sack
- 6 sacks – represented the Steelers cumulative sack totals in both ’14 and ’16 preseason campaigns
- In 7 of 13 preseason games since ’14, the Steelers have either been held to one or zero sacks
These numbers only go back three years, because beyond that it gets hard to find preseason statistics. But it is a safe bet to say that the Steelers lack of pressure on the quarterback on those games was met with the ‘its only preseason’ mantra. But no matter how much you try to ratchet down the enthusiasm, the Steelers pass rush and an impressive evening.
Perhaps Steelers first round draft pick TJ Watt’s efforts are the most indicative of why. Here’s a look at Watt’s first sack:
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/896148169368543234
And now a look at his second:
The O-Line is now scared of TJ Watt! His 2nd sack in 2 drives! CRAZY pic.twitter.com/uuzNpqLppZ
— Sports World (@OurSportsWorld) August 11, 2017
Mike Tomlin, never one know to praise rookies, threw out some cold water on the way into the locker room at half time reminding everyone that “Those were probably the two easiest sacks of his career.” Fair enough.
That’s why you need to consider why they came so easily. Consider the analysis of “Heinzsight” who commented on Jim Wexell’s Steel City Insider site:
First sack, I thought was a picture perfect four man rush by all…. Heyward was the one that really made it go, collapsing a double team right into the QBs lap. But Watt also did a great job squeezing the OT back on a speed/power rush (which sounds like what Harrison was riding him to do last week). All 4 really squeezed the pocket, but you still have to work free to make the sack, and Watt did. Nothing heroic or mind blowing, but a very good rush by all.
One of Kevin Butler’s credos since replacing Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator has been “Get there with four.” And while the Steelers defense has improved its pass rush since Dick LeBeau “resigned,” they haven’t been “getting their with four.”
- TJ Watt didn’t do anything special to get to the quarterback on either play.
And that’s the beauty of it. TJ Watt was able to get to the quarterback because Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave were doing theirs. Arthur Moats also notched 3 sacks, and while Mike Tomlin likened that to an 11th grader playing JV, Moats dominated when he was supposed to. That’s good and its characteristic of championship football.
Another notable sack came from training camp stand out Mike Hilton, who looks to be delivering the bang that his roommate from Ole Miss, Senquez Golson hasn’t been able to:
Another look at the Mike Hilton sack pic.twitter.com/9TmwjmGZ7n
— OMRebelNation (@OMRebelNation) August 12, 2017
For the record, the Steelers 7th sack of the night came from Farrington Huguenin .
Yes, “Its only preseason.” But seven sacks on a night when neither James Harrison nor Bud Dupree nor Anthony Chickillo nor Ben Roethlisberger (ok, he doesn’t play defense) suited up is a statistic that demands respect now, even if the number will be long forgotten by the times the games count for real.
