NFL
On Thursday, August 9th, the Pittsburgh Steelers will collide with the Philadelphia Eagles in their first preseason game of the year. Although almost every big name will be inactive for their respective teams, this game gives a chance for backup players and new acquisitions to show their worth to their coaches and the football world.
Here are the inactive players for each team on Friday.
Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, TJ Watt, Vance McDonald, Brad Dupree, JuJu Smith-Schuster
Eagles
Nick Foles, Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffrey, Nelson Agholor, Mike Wallace, Brandon Graham, Ian Park, Markus Wheaton, Richard Rodgers, Tim Jernigan.
What To Expect From The Steelers
Quarterback Situation
Mike Tomlin still hasn’t named a starting quarterback for the upcoming game. However, he intends to use the trio of Josh Dobbs, Mason Rudolph, and Landry Jones against the Eagles. It will be interesting to see how the quarterback situation plays out in Pittsburgh.
Rookie Mason Rudolph will look to cement a backup role while Dobbs and Jones continue to fight for the second-string position. Tomlin has stated that he is holding back on actual evaluation of QB’s until they’ve played a preseason game.
Many will be eager to see how the rookie QB out of Oklahoma State will perform in his first professional outing. The Thursday game against the reigning champs should be a good test. All eyes will be on Mason Rudolph, and it will be up to him whether to show out or not.
Defense
With Keith Butler as their new defensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see what defensive scheme Pittsburgh runs. If they test his new “dollar” defense, we will see which backs take the role of the pseudo-ILB position as well in the box. When newly acquired SS Morgan Burnett is on the field, he will be the man to take this role certainly.
In a recent interview, Butler talked about what he needed out of the 9th year safety in his defense.
“Versatility, more than anything else. Not just playing on 1st and 2nd downs, but maybe playing in the box on 3rd downs, and stuff like that. We have to see if our guys can do that.”
Pittsburgh has had an iffy linebacker situation since the injury of Ryan Shazier, and it is still up in the clouds. Inside linebackers, Tyler Matakevich and Jon Bostic will be fighting for a starting spot across from Vince Williams in their 3-4 base defense.
The main things to look for is how the defense will uphold against the Eagles’ high-powered offense. Even though it won’t be against the starters, it will give fans a look to see if the Steelers’ treacherous defense has improved.
Will the defense be able to finally contain the run and limit the blown coverages that occurred in abundance each game last year? And will the new defensive coordinator and DB’s coach have a positive impact right off the bat? Only time will tell.
Offense
Sophomore RB James Conner will get a bunch of touches as Le’Veon Bell will be held out of this preseason game. The situation between the Steelers and Bell continues to sour, oddly enough. Tomlin has made it clear that Conner will certainly be Bell’s replacement if he decides to leave.
With 11 WR’s on the roster and only one guaranteed starting spot so far, the receivers will be looking to make their mark this preseason. Justin Hunter will start in place of Antonio Brown, and the other two are up for grabs this upcoming Thursday. However, every receiver will get some snaps.
Darrius Heyward-Bey and James Washington look to impress and possibly earn the WR3 nod for the regular season. Receivers Damoun Patterson, Tevin Jones, and Justin Thomas will try and continue to make waves as they have done so far in camp.
Tomlin has stated over and over that these games will be a sort of “try-out” for the new players, so don’t expect to see too much, if any, of your favorite player this Thursday. However, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th stringers will be going full force, trying to solidify their spot on the team.
What To Expect From The Eagles
Quarterback Situation
With Wentz and Foles out for Thursday’s game, Nate Sudfeld will be the preseason starter at QB. The former Indiana Hoosier has been practicing with the first team the past three days to prepare for his role. This is his time to prove himself as a worthy replacement for Foles once that ship has sailed.
As a restricted free agent after this season, this is also his opportunity to boost his value across the NFL. Sudfeld will be in commandment of the Eagles offense this preseason, given that Foles and Wentz see limited reps if any.
Defense
The main news for this defense is the comeback of Eagles LB Jordan Hicks. He will be making a return to the field Thursday for the first time in almost a year after tearing his Achilles tendon last October. The main question is who will complement Hicks as the other LB this season.
After the departure of Mychal Kendricks, the Eagles need to fill a vacancy at the weak-side linebacker position. Expect Nate Gerry and Kamu Grugier-Hill to both get sufficient playing time at the position. Free-agent acquisition Corey Nelson is also in the mix at weak-side LB. Whoever plays better in the preseason will most likely get the starting nod to replace Kendricks.
3x Pro-Bowl DE Michael Bennett signed a three-year, $30.5 million deal with Philly this offseason. He will take the field for the first time in an Eagles uniform this Thursday. Although he won’t get too many reps in, Bennett will certainly be active. It will be interesting to see how he compliments an already stacked defensive line.
The Eagles will use this preseason to determine their starting slot cornerback for the season as well. Sidney Jones and De’Vante Bausby are currently the frontrunners, but this could change. They will be trying out a plethora of combinations at the CB position, so watch for that as well.
Offense
With the QB and WR situation already set, the only guys on offense really fighting for a spot are the running backs. The Eagles’ top three RB’s have already been announced: Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles. However, Philly likes to hold onto four during the regular season.
Wendell Smallwood, Donnel Pumphrey, Matt Jones, and Josh Adams will be fighting for that one remaining RB spot. They will all probably get a sufficient amount of repetitions in Thursday’s preseason game. Philadelphia will take an RB by committee approach in order to give these guys an equal chance to secure a roster spot by the start of the regular season.
The offense is pretty much set, but the competition for those extra spots at running back will be fierce. Expect a strong and plentiful running game by the Eagles in Thursday’s matchup.
