The Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants square off this Saturday. It will be a game in which over 100 players will see extensive playing time. This game is key for backups and those trying to keep their starting positions.
Steelers Offense vs The Giants Defense:
The first team most likely will play 2 drives. The Steelers offense has potential for high-scoring games this year with Le’Veon Bell, LeGarrette Blount, Dri Archer, Antonio Brown, Heath Miller and Markus Wheaton. This game will be crucial for Markus Wheaton as he aims to prove why he is projected to start at receiver opposite Brown, especially against the New York Giants secondary. Another key matchup will be Dri Archer vs the New York Giants’ front seven. Archer possess great speed but must show the toughness and awareness against the first NFL defense he goes up against. It will be interesting to see the match-up between left tackle Kelvin Beachum and the Giants’ Jason Pierre Paul, one of the most athletic and premier pass-rushers in the league.
Giants Offense vs The Steelers Defense:
The Giants’ first team will likely play one to two drives. Eli Manning will be looking to improve from his first pre- season game. With David Wilson‘s career over due to a serious neck injury, the Giants will be trying multiple running backs, including Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams. Steelers rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier will be starting his first career game and will be tested to show his sideline-to-sideline ability. The Steelers’ second team defense will see a lot of quarterback Ryan Nassib as he aims to prove he is the top backup behind Manning. The Steelers are intrigued by young defensive tackle Daniel Mccullers. The 6’6″, 352 pound defensive tackle has had an impressive training camp with the Steelers so far and will be looking to build on that momentum.
Steelers’ Bobby Layne runs against the New York Giants’ Sam Huff in 1962 (Source: Wikimedia)
Giants Special Teams vs Steelers Special Teams:
All Pittsburgh Steelers fans are eager to see what Archer will do vs the New York Giants’ kickoff and special teams defenders. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive special teams will be tested by speedy and proven returner Trindon Holiday. For the rookies on both teams, special teams is where they will earn their paychecks and perhaps a final roster spot.
Prediction:
This game comes down to which team’s second and third teams perform the best. In the end, I believe the play of Steelers backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski on the second team offense will be enough to lift the Pittsburgh Steelers to victory.
Final score: Pittsburgh Steelers 17, New York Giants 14.
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
Show Your Team Spirit
Get Your Steelers Tickets
Steelers Gab Newsletter
Sign up to receive our Steelers Gab newsletter, and keep up to date with all the latest Pittsburgh Steelers news.
DrGeorge
August 6, 2014 at 6:58 pm
The Giants have already played one preseason game and looked good doing it. The Steelers are still putting pieces of the puzzle together. Neither team will let key starters play more than three series. Given that, the final score, win or lose, won’t mean much to either team. Coaches on both sides are looking more closely at execution than the final score.
The one meaningful thing fans can watch for in this game — and it may be significant for the Steelers — is how well the Steelers D-line holds up against the Giants O-line. If the Giants O-line makes holes and their RBs tear off 10 yard gains consistently against our D(as they did against the Jets), it will not bode well for our season. Conversely, if LeBeau’s front seven can handle an O-line as good as the one the Giants have, it will signify a major improvement over last year’s team. The hype is over. Just how good are Shazier, McCullers, McLendon, Jarvis Jones, Tuitt, Cam Thomas, Arnfelt, Fangupo, Spence, Blake, and the other young turks on this defense? We and LeBeau are about to find out.