Steelers @ Broncos

-- Steelers 17 @ Broncos 34: Who needs offense, defense or special teams when you have penalties? The Steelers committed 11 for a grand total of 93 yards, which is a better showing than any running back on either team put up. The Broncos tried, but could only muster 8 penalties for a mere 67 yards. The fact that most of these penalties were for 'Unnecessary Roughness' and 'Roughing the passer' (technically one and the same, to a degree) is not surprising in a league where any contact is gradually being frowned upon more and more. Roethlisberger and Orton both did ok in their brief outings, but in keeping with the earlier established theme I want to focus on the back up spots. Naturally I have to start by laughing at Brady Quinn, who came into replace Orton after he took a knock and promptly got himself sacked. Quinn finished with a stunning 1/2 for a whole 2 yards. Tebow then was poised to become the man of the hour. But it started a little rocky. Taking the ball from under center he looked uncomfortable, but that's natural given his history. At least he kept his poise and still got his passes off. Then, looking to his right he wound up and launched a bolt... to Steelers rookie Crezdon Butler. At least he chased him back down the field and 'forced' him out of bounds 5 yards shy of the goal line. Not to be deterred, he came back and led a 5 play, 74 yard drive, capping it with TD pass to Eric Decker. And to be honest, I can't see why scouts were moaning so much before the draft. Yes the wind up is begging to be stripped, but other than that he looks like a steal for the 25th overall pick. His feet were quick, he anticipated his receivers breaks well (ahem, for the most part) and his ball placement on the throws was very good. Given that he's a rookie and will get to sit behind Orton for the season, developing himself (and his center/QB exchange) the future looks bright for Mr. Tebow. Perhaps less so for Pittsburgh fans (all together now; hahahahaha. Good). Dennis Dixon went 9/16 for 94 yards and two interceptions (and two sacks). The first INT was right down the sideline into the end zone... and into the waiting arms of rookie corner Perrish Cox (see the rookie watch list from the other day). The second went to old hand Andre Goodman who took it back 77 yards for the score (note to corners; I think it was Dre Bly who last year demonstrated the dangers of doing your stupid little dance before you get into the end zone. Dixon nearly had him). Byron Leftwich was poised then to have the day to himself. Of course he probably would have done, had he not thrown 4 passes and connected on precisely zero percent of them. It was left to Charlie Batch to come on and restore some sort of dignity by going 3/4 for 44 yards and a TD. He however, decided that things were going a little too well and thus decided instead to play his part in "The Great, let's make Chris look like he knows what he's talking about conspiracy" by throwing a pass way short to his right which was promptly picked off and returned 48 yards for a TD by rookie Syd'Quan Thompson (see again, rookie watch list). Thompson added the 'coup de grace' by returning a punt on the next Steelers possession for 62 yards. On the ground we finally got a good look at rookie Steelers RB Jonathan Dwyer, who showed quick feet and good vision to finish the game with 89 yards and a TD from 13 carries. Dennis Dixon was the next best Steelers rusher, scrambling three times for 33 yards. The Broncos also looked pretty good on the ground. LenDale White went for 34 yards and a TD off 12 carries, while 2nd year back Lance Ball led the Broncos with 75 yards from 10 carries (biggest run was 43 yards). So there we have it. Pre-season week 3 done. One more week to go and it's time for those rookies and fringe guys to bust out some big efforts. And of course I'll be previewing all the action and eventually recapping it, right here. Till then, Have a great day everyone.

Steelers @ Broncos

-- We begin today with some news and as teams start making roster cuts (they have to narrow their roster to 75 by the end of the month), the Bengals have finally ended the speculation and let go of WR Antonio Bryant. Bryant has struggled all through camp trying to recover from a knee injury and having already been paid something in the region of $7 million, the Bengals appear to be cutting their losses and running. The Bengals will now fall back on Terrell Owens and their excellent crop of rookie and reserve receivers to supplement Chad Ochocinco. Bryant will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent and interest could be quite high as teams look back on the pre-season and reflect on the state of their receiving corps. Now, game time. -- Steelers @ Broncos: The Battle of the Back Ups comes to Mile High stadium. Big Ben Roethlisberger will start for the Steelers. Kyle Orton will start for the Broncos. Of this much we can be pretty certain. Everything else is a little up in the air. The expectation is that Dennis Dixon will get a shot with the offensive starters after Roethlisberger has been pulled and that Brady Quinn will likely fill in for Kyle Orton, as Tebow still nurses his sore ribs. But there is still a game within the game to be played. Or rather two games within the game. Dixon vs. Leftwich. Tebow vs. Orton. Now as well as sounding like a WWE show, it should prove to be a promising football clash. Dixon has already piled the pressure on Leftwich with some good showings, in particular the use of his mobility and how this effects the defenses mentality. The question still remains though as to how Dixon will cope under pressure. When facing Baltimore in the regular season last year I thought Dixon did really well, but then Leftwich has been no slouch himself. Overall Leftwich is a slightly better pocket passer, which may not be a good thing in the Steelers offense, that seems tuned to to the skills of Big Ben (e.g. everyone fan out and wait for Ben to evade some pressure and make the play). As for Tebow/Orton, we may not even get a look at the player who has caused a huge amount of squabbles, arguments and controversy without even taking a regular season snap (no, I mean Tebow). Although the Broncos are playing it coy over his injury, you just get the feeling that both Head Coach and player want to see him out there at some point. Brady Quinn will hope not, but hoping is never a good substitute for going out there and winning the job yourself. The trouble with Quinn has always been the lack of any real big plays. He can do a lot of the dink and dunk stuff, but he rarely seems to be able to find those down field bombs that make the "Madden" crew at EA Sports salivate so much. On defense, the Steelers are the Steelers. Nothing less than hard hitting, run stuffing, pass deflecting brilliance will suffice, at least not in the eyes of Steeler fans. I'll accept the slightly less demanding goal of just not being terrible in the back end when Troy Polamalu isn't on the field. The Broncos D do need to step up though. With Dumervil out for the long haul there is talk of him going on injured reserve, which means the rest of that defense will have to discover their inner pass rusher pronto. So, it's all set. One more game and then pre-season week 3 is done. I'll be back later to recap and share my thoughts on the game. Then that leaves just one more week of "exhibition" games to go, in which the fringe players will be going all out to live the dream and win those last coveted roster spots on an NFL team. Then we'll finally be there, within touching distance of week one of the 2010 regular season. Have a great day everyone.