The Steelers have cut veteran running back Kevan Barlow.  Barlow carried the football 22 times for 64 yards (2.9 ypc) with 1 TD run in the pre-season.  But that wasn’t good enough as the Steelers like undrafted rookie Gary Russell and Verron Haynes both better than Barlow.  Russell has carried the football 28 times for 129 yards (4.6 ypc) in the pre-season as he has been a big surprise for the Steelers so far.  Haynes has proved that he’s healthy after recovering from last seasons’ knee surgery.  Haynes has carried the ball 9 times for 38 yards (4.2 ypc) in the pre-season so far.

The Steelers displayed a solid offense and a bend but don’t break defense last night in their win over the Steelers.  Ben Roethlisberger looked pretty sharp in the first half of the game as he completed 13 of 25 passes for 247 yards with 1 interception.  Charlie Batch made a brief appearance last night and he completed all 3 of his pass attempts for 65 yards.  Brian St. Pierre finished up the game for the Steelers completing 2 of 3 passes for 10 yards with an interception.  Willie Parker was busy with 10 carries for 32 yards (3.2 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 40 yards.  Parker would have scored twice but he got jacked up and fumbled inside the Eagles’ 5-yard line which was recovered by the Eagles.  Kevan Barlow also ran hard carrying the football 4 times for 14 yards (3.5 ypc) with a TD run.  The Steelers finished up the ball game with 76 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.3 ypc).  But they threw the football well completing 18 of 32 passes for 322 yards.

The defense was in bend but don’t break mode as the Eagles were moving the football up and down the field.  The Eagles ran the ball 30 times for 125 yards (4.2 ypc) and they completed 31 of 48 passes for 279 yards.  2nd-year defensive back Jovon Johnson sealed the Steelers’ victory in the 4th quarter when he returned a Eagles’ fumble 78 yards for a TD.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270826023

The Pittsburgh Steelers played the dirty D last Saturday against the Redskins and that was why they won a pretty boring football game.  The offense didn’t score a TD but they did have 4 scoring drives.  Ben Roethlisberger was solid completing 8 of 12 passes for 87 yards and he carried the football 4 times for 17 yards (4.3 ypc).  Charlie Batch was also very efficient as he completed 8 of 9 passes for 76 yards.  Brian St. Pierre had his least productive game of the pre-season completing 2 of 4 passes for 26 yards.  Verron Haynes led the way for the Steelers with 30 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.3 ypc).  Undrafted rookie Gary Russell continued to impress with 7 carries for 24 yards (3.4 ypc).  Santonio Holmes was getting deep on Saturday as he caught 2 passes for 51 yards (25.5 avg).  Nate Washington (3 rec, 44 yards) and Hines Ward (4 rec, 20 yards) were both busy.  The Steelers finished up the game with 101 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.2 ypc) and they completed 18 of 25 passes for 187 yards.

The Steelers defense was rough on Saturday as they held the Redskins to 43 yards rushing on 22 carries (2.0 ypc).  The Redskins also completed 21 of 33 passes for 183 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270818028

The Steelers have a nice crew of TEs but they rarely use them in the passing game.  Heath Miller has outstanding hands and he’s pretty fast but the Steelers don’t look his way too often when throwing the football.   He played in 16 games (all starts) last season and he caught 34 passes for 393 yards (11.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He could be a Pro Bowler if the Steelers’ used him more because he’s that good.   He has now played in 32 games (31 starts) in his career and he has caught 73 passes for 852 yards (11.7 avg) with 11 TD grabs.

Jerame Tuman is back with the Steelers for another season.  He is a good blocker but he’s also an underrated receiver in the passing game but the Steelers never throw him the football.  He played in 15 games (4 starts) last season for the Steelers and he caught 7 passes for 73 yards (10.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 114 games (56 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 42 passes for 491 yards (11.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

Rookie Matt Spaeth is a solid all-around TE but most of his work this season will probably be on special teams.  He will eventually replace Tuman as the Steelers’ backup TE but he might have to wait at least a year.

The Steelers appear to be in good shape for the 2007 season at WR.  Hines Ward remains a tough possession receiver who also is a nasty run blocker.  He played in 14 games (all starts) last season and he caught 74 passes for 975 yards (13.2 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 2 times for 30 yards (15.0 ypc).  Ward has been one of the greatest receivers in Steelers’ history and he will likely pad his career numbers with another solid season.  He has now played in 141 games (122 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 648 passes for 8,005 yards (12.4 avg) with 58 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 52 times for 415 yards (8.0 avg) with 1 TD run.

Santonio Holmes was a busy guy as a rookie and he seemed to get better as the season progressed.  He has the deep speed that the Steelers’ had been lacking at WR the last couple of seasons.  He played in all 16 games (4 starts) last season and he caught 49 passes for 824 yards (16.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 1 time for 13 yards.  Holmes returned 18 kickoffs for 436 yards (24.2 avg) and he also returned 26 punts for 264 yards (10.2 avg) with 1 TD return.  The Steelers would like Willie Reid to stay healthy this season so that Holmes can concentrate on his offense.

Cedric Wilson was a bit of a disappointment since he has put on the Black & Gold.  Last season he played in 15 games (12 starts) and he caught 37 passes for 504 yards (13.6 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also carried the ball two times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc).  Wilson also returned 1 kickoff for 11 yards and 2 punts for 4 yards (2.0 avg).  Wilson also completed his only pass attempt for 21 yards for the Steelers last season.  Wilson seems more comfortable as a #3 wideout and that’s likely what the Steelers will use him as this season.  He has now played in 84 games (32 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 160 passes for 2,158 yards (13.5 avg) with 7 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 5 times for 16 yards (3.2 ypc).  Wilson also has returned 67 kickoffs for 1,418 yards (21.2 avg) with 1 TD return and he also has returned 15 punts for 100 yards (6.7 avg).  Wilson can toss the ball when needed on a gimic play as he is 2 for 2 passing for 27 yards in his career.

Nate Washington could battle Cedric Wilson for the #3 WR job after he had an impressive 2nd season in the NFL.  In 2005 he played in 1 game for the Steelers and he did nothing.  But last season he woke up as he played in 16 games (2 starts) and he caught 35 passes for 624 yards (17.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 3 times for 8 yards (2.7 ypc).  Washington is a player on the rise.

Little Willie Reid was supposed to be the Steelers’ main return man last season but he broke down in his first game of the season.  He returned 1 kickoff for 19 yards and 1 punt for 11 yards.  He has too many WRs in front of him to make an impact on offense but he could help the Steelers on special teams if he can stay healthy in 2007.