Due to the franchise’s pressing need for a 0-Technique solution in the short and long terms, the Steelers drafted massive Alameda Ta’amu in the 4th Round of April’s Draft.  And while Ta’amu figures to be the Nose Tackle of the future for this Defense, he is not projected to be the starter when the regular season begins.  Why you may ask?  Well that is because the Steelers already appear to have a short-term answer at the position: Steve McLendon, the former 2009 UDFA from Troy.

McLendon records his Sack vs. Philadelphia from Thursday night's game. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

McLendon & The 2012 Preseason

Now bulked up (6’4″ 325 lbs. from 280 lbs.), McLendon has his best chance to make the most of his opportunity for extended playing time with the 2010 1st and 2nd stringers unable to play.  And if McLendon’s continued development from 2009-2011 and his performance against the Eagles were any indication, the Steelers might have found themselves a terrific stop-gap at the position, and at the very worst, a terrific backup at the 0-Technique for years to come.

In Thursday’s game versus Philadelphia, McLendon had himself a fine 1st Half with the 1st-Team Defensive unit, and was arguably the most impressive Steelers player that night.  Overall, McLendon made 3 Tackles, 1 For Loss, and 1.0 Sack on Michael Vick as the Steelers took a 13-0 lead into Half Time.  For his efforts, McLendon was named the Steelers Digest Player of the Week according to Bob Labriola on the Steelers’ team website.

As I alluded to before, this will be a big season for McLendon as his only competition for playing time early on will be the Rookie Ta’amu.  Coming off of a season where he racked up 13 Tackles and 1.0 Sack in limited reps behind Hampton and Hoke, the stage will be set for McLendon to have a career season at the 0-Technique.  In addition, a fine performance in 2012 could really help McLendon as he will be a Restricted Free Agent after the season, and any indication that he will be a fixture on the 53-man roster for years to come should boost his RFA tender heading into 2013.

Final Thoughts

I will be rooting for McLendon this season as he has a golden opportunity to become yet another UDFA “diamond in the rough” found by the Steelers scouting department, developed by the Coaching Staff (most notably D-Line Coach John Mitchell), and succeeding due to his own hard work.  Because “Snack” is shelved and likely has only a year or two tops “left in the tank,” and Ta’amu likely to go through a year or two development process, the starting job is now McLendon’s to lose for the time being.  Thus, a strong preseason showing will make him a fixture in Pittsburgh (or elsewhere in the N.F.L.) for years to come.

While it was only one preseason game, it was at least nice to see one of the Steelers’ players take advantage of his extended work with the 1st team unit.  There are three more games left to go, and three more chances are left for McLendon to nail down a starting job and continue his solid development from raw and unheralded UDFA, to solid starting professional.

Stats Courtesy of: ESPN.com

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Even Tomlin had some things to smile about last night. Either that or his dinner was still stuck in his teeth. Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

There was some good, some bad and one big ugly to the Steelers preseason opener against the Eagles on Thursday night.  If you thought after last night’s comeback by the Eagles that the season is already at a loss – you need to get your head examined.  There was much to take away from a game like that – many things were learned and the coaches are sure to know where the focus needs to be for the next several weeks.  And let’s face it, it’s not like Todd Haley was going to show his full bag o’ tricks to a team that he will see later in the regular season.  Even Roethlisberger said that offense was a bit ‘vanilla.’

The best play of the night by far came from future rookie sensation, Chris Rainey.  His 57-yard touchdown from a swing pass was a great catch and run.  His returns were promising too.  This kid is going to go places while with the Steelers and it will be fun to watch.  The offense seemed effective but still needs to shake off the Red Zone blues – how about that 1st and Goal that resulted in 3 points? – and the defense showed some glimpses of what it might be capable of – especially Steve McLendon’s progression during the offseason.

There were some bad and ugly associated with the game to, as is to be expected in the preseason.  The Steelers’ rookie lineman had a bit of a rough night.  DeCastro was fairly quiet for most of the night, but Mike Adams got the brunt of the bad night blues.  Letting up 2.5 sacks – two of which were sack fumbles – Adams was slow to the edge and was beaten more than those two times.  He injured his right knee in the process of recovering a fumble, but reports say that it isn’t very serious.  Seems bad to me if a rookie lineman that’s expected to start can’t practice when he needs to.  The second and third team defenses allowed a comeback from a second and third team offense.  So, the older and slower and more done guys did better than the young’ins.

The ugly occurred when David Johnson suffered a major knee injury when Marcus Gilbert rolled up on his leg.  Ouch.  It looked bad and early reports are he could be done for the season.  So much for having a fullback.  Johnson looked promising as the 2011 season came to a close, and there have been bright spots early in the preseason training sessions – which is one reason why I think Tomlin may have announced that Johnson could be playing his dual role at TE/FB prior to the injury.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and depending on how things shake out after Wesley Saunder’s suspension, this could be Johnson’s final game in a Steelers uniform.

Well Steeler Nation, you’ve read numerous articles.  You’ve watched the news.  You’ve gone back and perhaps looked at some replays of the game.  What are your opinions of Thursday’s game?  Is the offense starving for a Mike Wallace return?  Is Chris Rainey going to be the newest sensation on the Steelers?  What’s the over/under on Roethlisberger’s sack total for the season?  I wanna hear it from you.