Currently in Hamburg, Germany. Madrid was sweet. Trip is going by too quickly. Germany keyboard is annoying. Quick Steeler recap via Gavin. I missing the games but we are looking nice.



Don't let the score fool you, folks in Steeler nation have a lot more
to be excited about after handling the red hot Redskins starting team last
night. Despite injuries to both Kordell Stewart and Charlie Batch, the
Steelers ran out to leads of 20 - 0 and 34 -14 before a largely ineffective
Tee Martin and the soft third team defense allowed the Skins to put up 21
unanswered in the fourth quarter. The story was the return of the old
Steeler D, creating five turnovers and allowing very few fireworks to the fun
and gun of Steve Spurrier. Standing out was Casey Hampton plugging up the
middle, as well as Joey Porter who had a sack and forced fumble in addition
to some other nice tackles. The secondary was a little better, as Chad Scott
made a couple good plays and former Panther Hank Poteat and free agent rookie
Nijrell Eason added interceptions as well, along with Central Catholic's own
Justin Kurpeikis. Kendrick Clancy returned a fumble for a touchdown,
solidifying the backup nose tackle spot. The only bad news on D was the high
ankle sprain to last year's defensive rookie of the year, phenom Kendrell
Bell who may not be ready for opening day.
The offense looked real sharp, especially Batch before he exited after
a dirty hit by some Skin lineman opened up a nice gash under his chin.
Plexico and Hines were awesome as per usual, but the real story was again
Antwaan Randle-El who scored from 35 on a sweet reverse and then caught an 18
yard score later in the ballgame. His ability to stop on a dime and make
people miss, along with his speed in the open field gives the black and gold
an added dimension that has been lacking since Louis Lipps. Bettis looked
better, more decisive but the O-line was very inconsistent despite excellent
work from Faneca and Hartings once again. Fu had a nice gain on a screen
pass and ran very well while he was in there, while Amos left with an ankle
sprain but neither his injury, nor Kordell's mild concussion seem too
serious.
And lastly, the special teams was solid all day. The kick coverage
was good and the return game as well, with some standout returns from rookie
wideout Lee Mays. If Mays improves his hands a little, his speed is very
enticing and could get him a roster spot. Josh Miller was his typical
excellent self with solid directional punting and Peterson made his only
field goal attempt with relative ease. Although the subs were atrocious,
especially the young defensive backs and defensive line who got no pressure
on the quarterback, the game was well out of hand early on. An impressive
effort and a good step in the right direction, assuming none of the injuries
are too serious.