Alliance... » The Pittsburgh Steelers will face off against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Friday night Vince Williams Jersey , and it will be a good first test for the black-and-gold." Latest News2019 Preseason Week 1: Steelers vs. BuccaneersThe Buccaneers are a good first test for Devin Bush, Mark Barron and the success of the 2019 SteelersNew,33commentsThe Pittsburgh Steelers will face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Friday night, and it will be a good first test for the black-and-gold.EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:The Buccaneers are a good first test for Devin Bush, Mark Barron and the success of the 2019 SteelersTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesOne of the Steelers biggest defensive weaknesses last year was being attacked over the middle of the field. Vince Williams and Jon Bostic were both limited defenders in coverage and opposing offenses had success attacking both LBs and rookie Safety Terrell Edmunds with TEs.As Terrell Edmunds improved and L.J. Fort started taking more snaps from the ILBs and Morgan Burnett the targets to TEs decreased.In the first 5 games opposing TEs were targeted 56 times for 524 yards, over 11 times per game.The rest of the season TEs would be targeted 55 times for 444 yards. The Steelers gave up 90+ yards to the opposing teams TEs 4 times, going 1-3 in those games. The only win was in Tampa Bay, when the defense gave up 106 yards and a TD to OJ Howard and Cameron Brate Zach Gentry Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey , but also intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick 3 times and scored a defensive TD in a 3-point win.But as the defense slowed down the TE yardage by taking out run stopping LBs, teams started running on the Steelers more. The last 7 games of the year show really well that the Steelers couldn’t stop both TEs and the run game. From Week 10 on, the Steelers gave up 666 yards on the ground to any team not named the Raiders. That’s 111 yards per game. The other 10 games the Steelers gave up an average of 87.2 yards per game. At the same time, they held TEs to 116 yards total in those 6 games, less that 20 yards per game. And that includes Rob Gronkowski. In Oakland they ran for only 55 yards, but TE Jared Cook had 116 yards.Over the entire season the defense proved it could not defend the run and TEs at the same time. No small wonder then the Steelers signed Mark Barron and drafted Devin Bush. Two fast LBs that are much better in coverage than Jon Bostic, while being able to play the run better than the Safeties used in place of the LBs to try to improve coverage.Why does all this matter for Preseason Week 1?Enter the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, OJ Howard and Cameron Brate Zach Gentry Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey , who combined for 106 yards and a TD against the Steelers last season, and who now are coached by Bruce Arians and his offense that OJ Howard described as being very TE friendly.Even better is the vanilla defense used in preseason games, which should give us some very clear examples of how well Devin Bush and Mark Barron can improve the defense’s ability to run defend and cover TEs in the same game. That is a very important thing. Because last season the Steelers were 1-3 when opposing TE’s gained 90+ yards, and were 2-2-1 when opposing teams ran for over 100 yards. The Chiefs were the only game where both happened, which means the team went 3-4-1 when giving up 90+ yards to TEs or 100+ on the ground. When neither happened, when the defense held TEs to reasonable yards and didn’t give up 100 yards rushing, the Steelers were 6-2. Still disappointed, and still thinking.My father Zach Gentry Jersey 2019 , who along with my mother, was at Forbes Field for game 7 in 1960, used to say he lost interest in baseball while watching Rennie Stennett “dribble” a baseball, on his way out to 2nd base, on the artificial turf at Three Rivers. There is only one thing I can imagine that could kill my interest in the NFL- the Steelers moving. Based on early responses to my most recent piece arguing that the sky isn’t falling, I may be alone. I was quite surprised to see so much waning interest.I think the NFL has done an outstanding job creating just the right amount of parody. Coach-speak is pretty funny. The self-absorbed wide-receiver trope, the out of shape kicker cliche (I’m looking at you Janikowski). And don’t get me started on owners who know just enough football to destroy the hopes of their respective cities.One moment. Am being told the NFL seeks parity, not parody. Truth be told Black Zach Gentry Jersey , they do well here too. Very few perennial bottom dwellers, very few consistently upper echelon (and hooray for us that we fit in this category) and a great deal of rising and falling in between.Off the field I wish every Steeler visited hospitals (on time), gave back to hometown athletic programs, volunteered in soup kitchens. But I’d be satisfied if they’d just stay off the police blotters and off social media.On the field I want them all to have the cold, black heart of Jack Lambert. But with the smile of Joe Haden.I will check out the Alliance of American Football. Of course the skill level will be a downgrade. But that doesn’t stop most of us from watching college, or even high school football. It’s football, and they’ll be playing when no one else is. That is the sum of their allure, and it’s enough to get me to take a look. I wish I had a Mauler’s jersey.Mark my words- a very Brady retirement is coming one day. I just hope he doesn’t ride off into the sunset with one for each of his thumbs.My beautiful wife not only patiently listens to me read these columns before they are posted Rod Woodson Jersey , but listens to me explain the finer points, like who the Maulers were and what “one for each of his thumbs” means.I’m not enough of a draftnik to have watched any of the all-star games. That said, I am the proud owner of a genuine, game worn 2006 Hula Bowl jersey. I was there. I even participated in a golf outing with a passel of prior Heisman winners including Tony Dorsett. The highlight of that trip though was watching, in the morning Hawaii time, the Steelers maul the Broncos to earn a trip to Super Bowl XL.Maybe the Rams could sign Eli.