No player on the Steelers has been more impressive than 23-year old WR Antonio Brown in the preseason.  In his first three games, Brown has caught 9 passes for 230 yards (25.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also returned 4 kickoffs for 109 yards (27.3 avg) so far.  Brown made a lot of big catches in the playoffs for the Steelers last year and they have big plans for him.  He will likely be the #3 WR for the Steelers this year and he will likely eventually replace Hines Ward in the starting lineup in a couple of years.

26-year old QB Dennis Dixon requested a trade right as training camp was starting.  The Steelers now need him to shut his pie hole and do his job, which just became more important due to Byron Leftwich’s injury.  Dixon has played in all 3 preseason games for the Steelers so far and he has completed 10 of 24 passes (41.7%) for 132 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (59.7 QB Rating).  Dixon has also carried the ball 7 times for 25 yards (3.6 ypc) so far in the preseason.  Dixon has moved back up the depth chart a little bit as he will battle Charlie Batch for the #2 QB job in 2011.  With that in mind, he needs to step up and start acting his age again.

#2 QB Byron Leftwich has a broken upper left arm that will cause him to miss most if not all of the 2011 season.  For most teams, losing their #2 QB would really hurt, but the Steelers have a lot of depth.  Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon filled in for Ben Roethlisberger while he was suspended last year and they should be able to handle the QB spot if the need arises in 2011.  The Steelers have taken Dennis Dixon off the trading block.

The Steelers made big plays on both sides of the ball and on special teams to dominate on the scoreboard last night.  Ben Roethlisberger looked pretty sharp last night as he completed 11 of 16 passes for 214 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Byron Leftwich completed 1 of 2 passes for 11 yards without a TD or interception last night.  Dennis Dixon finished up this game by completing 1 of 3 passes for 13 yards with 0 TD passes or interceptions.  Jonathan Dwyer (6 carries, 36 yards), Isaac Redman (5 carries, 20 yards) and Rashard Mendenhall (7 carries, 8 yards, 1 TD run) led the way on the ground for the Steelers in this game.  Antonio Brown led the way for the Steelers in the passing game last night with 4 grabs for 137 yards (34.3 avg) with 2 long TD returns.  Hines Ward pitched in with 3 grabs for 29 yards (9.7 avg) last night.  The Steelers finished up with 96 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 21 passes (61.9%) for 224 yards in this game despite only having the ball for 24:38 last night.

The Steelers gave up a lot of yards last night but they also made big plays to set up short fields for the offense.  CB Crezdon Butler led the way for the Steelers last night with 9 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a interception that he returned 95 yards for a TD.  LB Lawrence Timmons also had a big game with 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception (he returned it 44 yards) last night.  OLB Baraka Atkins pitched in with a fumble recovery in this game for the Steelers.  The Falcons finished up with 106 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 60 passes (50%) for 299 yards last night.  The Steelers are now 2-1 on the preseason.

24-year old Rashard Mendenhall is going to be the main man in the running game for the Steelers once again in 2011.  Mendenhall played in 16 games (all starts) for the Steelers last year and he carried the ball 324 times for 1,273 yards (3.9 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 167 yards (7.3 avg) last year.  The Steelers will likely look to run the ball at least as much as they did last season and that’s good news for Mendenhall.  He has now played in 36 games (29 starts) in his first three years with the Steelers and he has carried the ball 585 times for 2,439 yards (4.2 ypc) with 20 TD runs.  Mendenhall has also caught 50 passes for 445 yards (8.9 avg) with 1 TD grab in his NFL career so far.

As a rookie in 2009, 26-year old Isaac Redman only played in 1 game for the Steelers and he didn’t touch the ball.  He moved up the depth chart in 2010 and he played in all 16 games for the Steelers in which he carried the ball 53 times for 247 yards (4.7 ypc) with 0 TD carries.  He also caught 9 passes for 72 yards (8.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  Redman will likely get more carries in 2011 as the Steelers will be watching Mendenhall’s workload a tad more this year.

29-year old Mewelde Moore is a very solid #3 RB for the Steelers.  He played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Steelers last year and he carried the ball 33 times for 99 yards (3.0 ypc).  He also caught 26 passes for 205 yards (7.9 avg) last year.  Moore should get a little more P.T. in 2011 just like Redman.  Moore has played in 101 games (15 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 472 times for 2,090 yards (4.4 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 203 passes for 1,771 yards (8.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career so far.

22-year old Jonathan Dwyer played in 1 game (0 starts) as a rookie for the Steelers last season and he carried the ball 9 times for 28 yards (3.1 ypc).  Dwyer is going to have a hard time moving up the depth chart unless the Steelers suffer some injuries at RB.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STEELERS RBS IN 2011:  B

The Steelers raced out to a 24-0 lead last night before the backups gave up a couple of  TDs in the fourth quarter.  Ben Roethlisberger looked sharp last night as he completed 8 of 12 passes for 125 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards last night.  Byron Leftwich was also sharp as he completed 4 of 7 passes for 67 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards last night.  Dennis Dixon finished up the game by completing 8 of 11 passes for 90 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Jonathan Dwyer led the way on the ground for the Steelers last night with 44 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.4 ypc).  Rashard Mendenhall (6 carries, 28 yards, 4.7 ypc) and Isaac Redman (8 carries, 26 yards, 3.3 ypc) also pitched in for the Steelers last night.  WRs Jerricho Cotchery (2 rec, 49 yards, TD), Arnaz Battle (3 rec, 47 yards), Antonio Brown (1 rec, 29 yards, TD) and Hines Ward (1 rec, 20 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Steelers last night.  The Steelers would have had more points last night but kicker Swayze Waters only made 1 of 3 field goal attempts last night as he was filling in for a injured Shaun Suisham.  The Steelers rushed for 144 yards on 39 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 31 passes (64.5%) for 259 yards as they had possession of the ball for 38:51.

The defense was very solid for the Steelers last evening.  CB Donovan Warren led the way for the Steelers’ D last night with 6 tackles, 1 QB hit and 1/2 sack.  Safety Troy Polamalu, safety Ryan Clark, LB Larry Foote and CB Keenan Lewis each picked off a pass last night.  The Eagles finished up with 98 yards on 18 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 39 passes (61.5%) for 237 yards last night.  The Steelers are now 1-1 on the pre-season as they looked sharp last night.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have inked 25-year old CB/S Macho Harris.  Harris played in 3 games for the Redskins last year and he had 3 tackles.  He has now played in 18 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 44 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  Harris should be able to help the depth of the secondary in 2011 as he can handle playing either safety or cornerback.

The Steelers have signed 27-year old cornerback Kevin Dockery.  Dockery played in 10 games for the Rams last year and he had 22 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 interception and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 61 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 171 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 29 passes defensed and 4 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  This was a good signing for the Steelers who needed to add some depth to the defensive backfield for 2011.

UPDATE:  (8/29/2011) – The Steelers have released Kevin Dockery.

The Steelers have waived 26-year old WR Limas Sweed.  Sweed was a second round pick back in the 2008 NFL Draft and he has been a complete bust.  Sweed didn’t play at all last year.  He played in 20 games (0 starts) in his three years with the Steelers and he caught 7 passes for 69 yards (9.9 avg).  He also returned 1 punt for zero yards.  The Steelers won’t miss Sweed at all in 2011 or down the road.

The Steelers looked pretty awful last night in the pre-season opener.  Ben Roethlisberger started at QB and he didn’t last too long.  He completed 2 of 3 passes for 22 yards last night.  He was running for his life most of the night as the O-Line looked crappy in this game.  Byron Leftwich was the only QB that looked pretty good for the Steelers last night as he completed 6 of 10 passes for 70 yards.  Charlie Batch made a brief appearance as he only completed 2 of 4 passes for 16 yards last night.  Dennis Dixon only   completed 1 of 10 passes for 29 yards and he ran the ball 2 times for 17 yards (8.5 ypc) last night.  He looked pathetic last night.  RB Isaac Redman led the way on the ground for the Steelers last night with 42 yards on 5 carries (8.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  WR Antonio Brown led the way in the passing game last night with 4 grabs for 64 yards (16.0 avg) last night.  The offense was pretty brutal for the Steelers in Washington last night.  They rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries (4.6 ypc) and they completed 11 of 27 passes (40.7%) for 103 yards as they only had possession of the football for 20:35 last night. 

The Steelers’ D also sucked last night for the most part.  Safety Ryan Mundy led the way for the Steelers on D last night with 8 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  LB Mortty Ivy (6 tackles) and CB Keenan Lewis (5 tackles and 1 QB hit) also were busy against the Redskins in this game.  The Redskins rushed for 140 yards on 35 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 43 passes (65.1%) for 312 yards last night.  As bad as the Steelers played last night…..it was just a pre-season game.