The Steelers played their first preseason game, and all the sports talk shows and social media commentary have been well thought out after calm and rational reflection.

Haahaahaahaahaa. Whew, let me catch my breath.

I do not consider myself an expert in breaking down film or dissecting play design. There are certainly people here at SCN that excel at those activities. Kevin Smith can break down a play and explain details of it that I never would have recognized. If you haven’t clicked on the video links in his articles, you are missing some great information and getting a better understanding of the game. There’s not a player name you can throw at Jeremy Betz or Andrew Wilbar that they won’t immediately come back with a list of strengths and weaknesses. I’m not talking about household names either. These are names that even immediate family members might not be aware that they play football. If I were asked about said names, my answer would be a blank stare, followed by a frantic google search.

Because of the talent here, my ego is grateful for all the unbelievable overreactions that are flying around after the Steelers performance in their opening preseason game against the Texans. It really helps with the imposter syndrome of not being a “real” sports writer.

The first preseason contest isn’t game planned. Starting lineups are not what will be on the field come opening day. Play calling is generic on purpose. Fans and sports commentators are geared to look at team results, but coaches are still evaluating at the individual level in this game. Players are mixed and matched at certain positions to have tape to evaluate when they are put in situations that present challenges. First string starters that can change a game with one play are not dressed and watching from the sidelines.

The tv commentators are all over Justin Fields, asking if he is in trouble and not performing up to expectations. For those of us that pay attention, we know the first few drives were exactly what to expect…some good throws, some late reads, a few instances of holding the ball too long, and a few instances of not being able to hold onto the ball at all. Fields is a player in development having to learn a new system and unlearn some bad habits that Chicago either could not or did not correct. That’s why he’s been the back-up since his signing, no matter how much the media wanted to push him to the starting spot.

I have to remember that these are the same people that will declare panic and dire straits for every team that loses week one. That will be half of the teams if my math is correct. Remember how they all declared that the Chiefs were in trouble after losing their first game to Detroit last year? How’d that end up working out again?

Social media was even more unbelievable. The amount of “Fire Arthur Smith” comments I saw stunned me. Again, there is no game planning, and personnel groupings are not necessarily the starting lineups. Was Arthur Smith responsible for the center-QB fumbles that killed drives? I doubt that was part of the play design. What I did see was formations that worked. There were two man route plays where both guys were open. Imagine that…route concepts designed to get George Pickens and Van Jefferson open instead of just hoping they outplay their man. There were more true play action calls than I think happened in half of a season under Canada.

Payton Wilson was also criticized heavily online, probably by the same people that once declared Troy Polamalu a bust in his first year. They said he looked lost and gave up some passing plays. I saw a rookie in his first ever in-stadium action flying around the field sticking his nose in everything. Sure, he made some misreads. He also made some great plays. For his first time with several key all-star defenders on the sidelines, I thought he did remarkably well. I would also suggest to the critics to consider his post-game comments. Payton did not talk about the plays he made. He wanted to go break down film right away to learn from his mistakes and vowed to improve. That’s the attitude of a guy that will exceed in this league.

There are things that an educated viewer can take from the first preseason game. On a positive note, the play design was much better than we have seen in Pittsburgh in years. Route concepts were effective and done with intent instead of just running the same pattern over and over. The offensive line seemed to settle down and start getting a push once Zack Frazier entered the game. The defensive line depth may be much better than I thought heading into camp. Payton Wilson showed his speed is for real.

On the not so positive side, Troy Fautanu suffered a minor knee injury that could hamper his development this preseason. Joey Porter Jr had a blatant PI that hints he still has work to do in the “grabby hands” department if he wants to repeat the success of last season. There was nothing special about special teams. For all the talk of firing Arthur Smith I saw flying around, I saw no one bringing up Danny Smith. Of all the groups that had a bad performance, special teams wins hands down. That unit has plenty of teaching tape to go over, and the next outing needs to be much, much better.

If you suffer from the preseason hot takes, instead of watching the next game as you would a regular season game, take a different approach. Don’t follow the ball. Pick out a certain position or player and watch only them and how they do in individual matchups. When they rotate out, see how the next guy does in the same position. Focus on positions where there are not set-in-stone starters. You will learn more about the team that way than focusing on the entire unit or the score. What we see as a team will not be what we see once the season starts, nor will it be what they are playing against. Remembering that will help keep the overreactions to a minimum.

No one gets excited about the sparring sessions leading up to the big fight. Pre-season is just that, light sparring where the team works on specific weak spots. Once the bell rings for real in September, that’s when it’s time to take stock in results. And if they happen to lose in week one, it will be ok. If my math is right, that won’t eliminate them from playoff contention, no matter what the sports shows will say.