A few notes looking back on the Atlanta win:

-If you eliminate the final Steelers drive of the first half which was a hurry-up sequence (and featured 6 of 7 pass plays), for the game playcaller Bruce Arians dialed up 27 designed runs and 25 designed passes for his offense. Arians allowed Dixon to throw more in the second half, with 14 passes to 11 runs.

-On first downs throughout the game, Arians called 16 runs and just 8 passes

-Of QB Dennis Dixon's 18 completions, only 8 of those were of 10-yards or greater and just 4 were of 20-yards plus. 3 of those 4 "big plays" were to Hines Ward.

-Of Dixon's 18 completions, 4 came on designed rollouts. For the most part, Dixon stayed in the pocket.

-Dixon can be blamed for derailing 5 of the 6 drives in the first half and at possibly 2 of the 4 second half drives. In the first half, Dixon had a low throw on 3rd and 4, a low throw on 3rd and 8, a 4-yard completion on 3rd and 5, an interception, and a low throw on 3rd and 6 to stall drives. In the second half, Dixon ran only for 2 yards on 3rd and 3, and his near interception on 1st down on the subsequent drive was part of putting the team in 3rd-down and long and settling for a FG in the red zone.

-RB Rashard Mendenhall had just one negative run in the game, with 8 of his 21 carries in regulation going for 4-yards or more. His 50-yard TD run in overtime was the second longest run of his NFL career, only trailing his 60-yard run against Oakland last year. All told in 2009, Mendenhall had 6 runs over 25-yards with all of his TD runs coming from inside the 10-yard line.

-The Steelers starters on kick returns for the game were: Arnaz Battle, Larry Foote, Jason Worilds, Ryan Mundy, Keyaron Fox, Will Allen, Matt Spaeth, Ziggy Hood, David Johnson, Mewelde Moore, and Emmanuel Sanders.

-For kick coverage, the team consisted of: Ike Taylor, Anthony Madison, Keyaron Fox, Will Allen, Jason Worilds, Jeff Reed, Arnaz Battle, Ryan Mundy, Stevenson Sylvester, Emmanuel Sanders, and William Gay.

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A few notes heading into Atlanta Falcons week:

-The Steelers have won 7 straight season openers (last losing on opening weekend in 2002 in the first game in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass against the Patriots). 2 of those 7 wins have been squeakers, but 5 were blowouts (by 10 or more points). 6 of the 7 wins have come at Heinz Field.

-The Falcons have also been stout in openers of late, winning both Week 1 games under Head Coach Mike Smith. Atlanta has won 7 of their last 10 season openers, with 3 of the last 4 wins coming on the road.

-The last meeting between Atlanta and Pittsburgh was a 41-38 OT loss in Atlanta in Bill Cowher's final season of 2006. It was a contest that saw Charlie Batch enter in relief of an injured Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward score a 70-yard TD while losing a shoe, and a game where a false start by WR Nate Washington with 17 seconds left led to an automatic runoff preventing Pittsburgh from attempting a game-winning FG at the end of regulation. The defeat sent the Steelers record to 2-4 at the time, en route to a 2-6 start. Pittsburgh has only 3 of the same offensive starters from that game (Ward, Miller, and Starks) but 8 of the same defensive starters (Polamalu, Clark, Taylor, McFadden, Farrior, Hampton, Smith, and Keisel).

-Atlanta has never won a game in Pittsburgh, going 0-5-1 in their history. The tie came in 2002, a game in which Tommy Maddox threw for 473 yards passing and Mike Vick for 294. Plaxico Burress had 253 yards receiving. Cowher famously said after the game with emphasis, "We did not lose today." Ward, Farrior, Hampton, and Smith played in the 2002 meeting. Overall, the Steelers lead the series with Atlanta 11-2-1.

-The Falcons of 2009 allowed only 27 sacks of QB Matt Ryan, going 14 straight quarters without allowing a sack. They nearly set a franchise record for fewest sacks allowed per play (1 per every 21.1) and were 7th best in the NFL in limiting sacks per pass plays. -Atl DE John Abraham's 89.5 career QB sacks is 3rd among active NFL players (behind Joey Porter and Jason Taylor). He had only 5.5 last year, however, down from 16.5 in 2008. The Falcons were 6th worst in the NFL in getting to opposing QBs in 2009, part of the reason their 3rd-down percentage defense was dead last in the league.

-Atlanta WR Roddy White (85) and TE Tony Gonzalez (83) were one of only four pass catching duos in 2009 to each have over 82 grabs. The others were Welker and Moss (New England), Wayne and Clark (Indy), and Fitzgerald and Boldin (Arizona). White is the first Falcon ever to have three straight years of 80+ catches and 1,100+ yards. Gonzalez, the NFL's top catch, TD, and yardage receiving TE in NFL history, is a catch shy of 1000 for his career. Gonzalez was particularly effective on 3rd downs last year, ranking 6th in the league with 26 grabs on 3rd.

-Atlanta RB Michael Turner has 27 rushing TDs in 27 career games for the Falcons (17 in 2008). That number is second best in the league behind Minnesota's Adrian Peterson (28 TDs). Turner also missed 5-games with an ankle injury in 2009.

-The Steelers streak of not allowing 100-yard rushers is an epic one, giving up just 9 over the past 7 seasons. However, the Falcons have a nice 13-game streak going themselves. The only back to rack up 100-yards in a game last season against Atlanta was New England's Fred Taylor.

-The Falcons went from 55% of their plays called being runs in 2008 to 57% passes in 2009. Atlanta was the 15 best rushing offense and the 14th best passing offense in 2009, missing the playoffs with a 9-7 record.

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For perhaps the final time in NFL history, teams' respective 4th preseason games will be played Thursday evening across the league.

When the regular season schedule expands in the near future these last exhibitions will be a thing of the past. Who will miss preseason game #4? Only the handful of bubble players on each NFL squad's roster who are desperate for one final chance to make an impression and win a job.

For the Steelers, here are their bubble guys headed into Thursday night at Heinz Field:

RB Jonathan Dwyer - If Dwyer is kept on the 53-man roster, he'll be having what amounts to a red-shirt year. He would be a gameday inactive for the entire season, barring injury, protected as a future asset. After coming up injured late in preseason game #1 and not playing game #2, Dwyer's 13 carry, 89 yard performance in Denver gave him a stay of execution. 4th quarter runs of 17 and 40 yards, coupled with a TD scamper, illustrate his ability as a runner. However, Dwyer is not ready to play either special teams or complete enough as a back to be counted on for blitz pickup and assignment-related details. Expect him to get plenty of opportunity Thursday night to prove that last statement wrong.

Ultimately, is 2nd year RB Frank Summers a better roster choice than Dwyer to help the team in 2010? RB Frank Summers - The "Tank" played in two games for the Steelers varsity last year before being placed on IR with a back injury. To Frank's credit he's worked extremely hard in a year's time to return as a better football player. The real question becomes whether Summers is the team's best lead blocking option (i.e. as close to a fullback as the Arians' offense allows). TE David Johnson, as well as RB Issac Redman and even TE Heath Miller make the need for Summers a question. Expect Frank to get plenty of work early Thursday to show one more time his value.

KR/PR Stefan Logan - Logan was the Steelers return man for 16-games in 2009, breaking the team record for kickoff return yardage (Ernie Mills had the old mark from 1995). Kick returns of 38, 88, 36, 49, 51, 56, and 40 dotted his resume throughout the year, although he did not take one the distance. His 26.7 KR average was 6th best in the NFL, while his 10.0 PR average was 13th best. This summer, rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders have been given a shot to impress, with mixed results. Is Logan, the sure thing specialist, worthy of a roster spot?

WR Arnaz Battle - With Sanders and Brown seemingly locks to make the team, if Logan makes it a roster spot must be found elsewhere.

QB Charlie Batch is certainly a cut option, but so may be Battle. Arnaz is a solid veteran backup WR in a pinch, but the 4th WR rarely if ever sees the field for the Steelers as Heath Miller rarely comes out. So like Logan, Battle would really be kept as a specialist, in his case a core special teams coverage man. It certainly helps his old coach Al Everest is the new special teams coach here. And, Battle was guaranteed $975,000 when he signed. Chances are he makes the team, but good special teams work Thursday will go a long way towards securing it.

OT Tony Hills - A 4th round draft pick from Texas in 2008, Hills has been a two-year redshirt player. Finally, he's started to show a return on that investment this preseason as he's flashed in game action. 6'5, 304 pounders don't grow on trees, and he now should know the Steelers offense thoroughly. However, the free agent pickup of T Jonathan Scott makes it intriguing. Hills would never dress on gameday (Scott will), and in a pinch Ramon Foster can play tackle. So will they keep Hills around again? If the team does keep Hills, C Justin Hartwig is sure to get the axe. What's more important, a veteran backup pivot or a younger, 4th string OT? Probably, the young tackle.

DE Sunny Harris - The Steelers have drafted several depth defensive ends through the years (Ryan McBean, Orien Harris, Shaun Nua), but few have stuck around. It's a sheer numbers crunch on the defensive side, and Harris could be caught in that again. Last year, the team re-acquired Harris from Carolina (who pilfered him a year ago) when Aaron Smith was injured. But this year, Smith is healthy again, and Ziggy Hood and Nick Eason are solid backups already, so why keep Sunny? The answer is because in two years Smith, Brett Keisel, and Eason could be out of the league. However, keeping Harris means cutting an extra linebacker (Patrick Bailey) or cornerback (Anthony Madison) and I don't see it. Thursday is a big showcase game for Sunny to prove he's worth another redshirt. They'll try to get both Harris and rookie Doug Worthington on the PS.

LB Stevenson Sylvester - "Sly" has made plays all over the field through the preseason, on special teams and with the regular defense. His technique is not perfect, but his fearlessness and athleticism is tough to ignore. He's a 5th inside linebacker on a team with 4 good ones in front of him, so is he a fit here? Then again, Patrick Bailey has been kept as a core special teamer for 2 years without any plans for him to help the LeBeau 'D.' My hunch is Sly is taxi squad bound, but if Thursday he keeps flashing he could take Bailey's spot on the bomb squad.

CB Anthony Madison - Every year for about 5 years now, CB Anthony Madison hits the bubble watch in August and the debate ensues. Madison was a key part of the 08 Super Bowl season as a core special teams player, and his cut in 2009 (and eventual re-acquisition) was one of controversy. The Steelers missed him badly on kick coverage. This camp, he's also provided valuable depth at CB with the departure of Deshea Townsend. Madison has to beat out one of the younger guys, either Joe Burnett or rookie Crezdon Butler, not to mention prove more worth than either Sylvester or Harris, to make it. My guess is with a solid performance Thursday night, the Steelers don't make the same mistake twice and Madison stays.

Ken Laird's bubble ins and outs:

IN: Stefan Logan, Tony Hills, Frank Summers, Arnaz Battle, Patrick Bailey, Anthony Madison, Jason Worilds, Thaddeus Gibson OUT: Charlie Batch, Justin Hartwig

PRACTICE SQUAD (Attempted): RB Jonathan Dwyer, WR Tyler Grisham, WR Brandon London, CB Crezdon Butler, DE Sunny Harris, LB Stevenson Sylvester, DE Doug Worthington, TE Eugene Bright

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The Steelers are back to work here on Wednesday at their South Side facility, beginning a "mock" game week with the dress rehearsal preseason game coming up Sunday night in Denver.

While this is a game that will focus on the starters, likely well into the 3rd quarter, we are 10 days away from the 53-man roster chop date. Here's the way I see things shaping up at this point:

QUARTERBACK
LOCKS (3*): Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Dennis Dixon, Charlie Batch (Will count as 3 with Ben on suspension through at least Week 5)

-I do think the team will keep Batch. They could roll the dice with 2 QBs (Randle El as an emergency guy), but the risk of injury to Byron and Dixon is fairly significant given the offensive line and Dixon's style of play. They'll bite the bullet and pay Charlie his guaranteed veteran salary.

RUNNING BACK
LOCKS (2): Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore
LIKELY (2): Issac Redman, Frank Summers
QUESTION MARKS (1): Jonathan Dwyer
DOUBTFUL (2): Justin Vincent, Dewayne Wright

-Dwyer still has a chance, but he needs two nice weeks of practice and an impressive showing in the 4th preseason game. The team knows he can run, it's just the other facets of his game that are way behind (pass protection, special teams, etc). The thing is, the Steelers could use a nice complimentary back two years down the road, so is Tank Summers worth keeping in exchange for the risk of losing Dwyer to another NFL team?

WIDE RECEIVER
LOCKS (3): Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antwaan Randle El
LIKELY (1): Emmanuel Sanders
QUESTION MARKS (3): Antonio Brown, Arnaz Battle, Stefan Logan
DOUBTFUL (2): Tyler Grisham, Brandon London

-Our Steelers insider Ed Bouchette has reported that at least one prominent offensive coach isn't satisfied with Antonio's mental game (route running, playbook grasp). However, he's got talent, and don't the Steelers need Brown and Sanders to replace Ward and Randle El in a few years? My hunch is Brown will make it, with Battle and Logan dueling for the final roster spot. The team likes Logan as a return man, but is this luxury worth keeping in favor of a solid veteran backup WR? If Ward goes down, is Sanders ready to contribute without Arnaz around?

TIGHT END
LOCKS (2): Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth
LIKELY (1): David Johnson
DOUBTFUL (2): Sean McHugh, Eugene Bright

TACKLE
LOCKS (2): Max Starks, Flozell Adams
LIKELY (1): Jonathan Scott
QUESTION MARKS (1): Tony Hills
DOUBTFUL (2): Kyle Jolly, Adrian Jones

-Hills has impressed, albeit against backups, in his preseason action. It's about time in year #3. And while it seems unlikely the team would keep two backup tackle-only guys in Scott and Hills, the Flozell experiment has not produced convincing returns as of yet. It looks like Scott and Hills could very well make the squad, if the team can free up a spot by releasing center Justin Hartwig.

GUARD
LOCKS (3): Chris Kemoeatu, Trai Essex, Ramon Foster
LIKELY (1): Doug Legursky
QUESTION MARKS (1): Kraig Urbik
DOUBTFUL (1): Dorian Brooks

Urbik and Legursky can both play center as well, but only one will make the squad. Urbik seems practice squad likely.

CENTER
LOCKS (1): Maurkice Pouncey
LIKELY (1): Doug Legursky
QUESTION MARKS (2): Justin Hartwig, Kraig Urbik

-Hartwig is set to make $2 million this year, but with Pouncey coming hard releasing the veteran is a definite possibility. They could ask Hartwig to take reps at guard, but Justin last played there for only one week while with Carolina in the spring of 2008, and was then released. There were some rumblings from Carolina that Hartwig balked at making the position switch at that time, so would he move to guard here if the coaches asked him to do so now? It really comes down to Hartwig vs. Hills, and it likely depends on how solid Pouncey looks Sunday night in Denver.

NOSE TACKLE
LOCKS (1): Casey Hampton
LIKELY (1): Chris Hoke
DOUBTFUL (1): Scott Paxson

DEFENSIVE END
LOCKS (3): Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood
LIKELY (1): Nick Eason
QUESTION MARKS (3): Sunny Harris, Steve McLendon, Doug Worthington

-A roster spot on defense looks to be a fight between Harris, LBs Bailey and Sylvester, and CBs Butler and Madison. Harris is still a project, but he has great promise for a team where Smith, Keisel, and Eason are in their 30's. Plus, Eason is coming off a serious offseason health issue. My hunch is they keep Harris, and keep 7 defensive linemen.

INSIDE LINEBACKER
LOCKS (4): James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, Larry Foote, Keyaron Fox
QUESTION MARKS (1): Stevenson Sylvester
DOUBTFUL (1): Renauld Williams

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
LOCKS (2): James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley
LIKELY (2): Jason Worilds, Thaddeus Gibson
QUESTION MARKS (1): Patrick Bailey
DOUBTFUL (1): Brandon Renkart

--Sly has been impressive, but does he have a role on this team? He has to show he's a special teams demon in the 4th preseason game. Bailey knows the defense, and could play OLB with the main defense in a pinch. He also has been a core special teams guy for the last two seasons, but is that faint praise for a team that had major coverage issues last year? My hunch is both Sly and Bailey are cut, with Sylvester headed for the taxi squad. Both Worilds and Gibson are bordering on locks to make the team, the 2nd round pick more so than the 4th rounder of course. However, Bailey could edge Gibson to the squad, too.

CORNERBACK
LOCKS (4): Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, Keenan Lewis, William Gay
LIKELY (1): Joe Burnett
QUESTION MARKS (2): Anthony Madison, Crezdon Butler
DOUBTFUL (1): Dexter Pittman

-Madison makes it for special teams, Butler goes to the squad.

SAFETY
LOCKS (4): Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Will Allen, Ryan Mundy
DOUBTFUL (2): Justin Thornton, Da'mon Cromartie-Smith

SPECIALISTS
LOCKS (2): Daniel Sepulveda, Jeff Reed <
i>QUESTION MARKS (2): Greg Warren, Matt Stewart

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BREAKING CAMP, DAYS 16 THROUGH 18 IN LATROBE

The final three practices, Tuesday through Thursday, in Latrobe at St. Vincent College for the Steelers were heavy on team drills, light on individual skill contests. All told, the team switched its focus from evaluating individuals on their standalone abilities to evaluating within team concepts.

The squad gets ready to break camp Friday healthy, for the most part. Reserve DL Steve McLendon and OL Chris Scott remain on the sidelines and will not play in Saturday's second preseason game, and rookie RB Jonathan Dwyer was described by head coach Mike Tomlin as "doubtful." Tomlin also said bluntly in regards to Dwyer, "The reality is he's not on the field, so he's not helping himself." Dwyer missed a significant portion of early camp with a hamstring injury, and then suffered a stinger / shoulder injury in the first preseason game.

Also of note on the injury front has been the presence of Willie Colon at just about every practice, coupled with the absence of Limas Sweed all camp. Both Colon and Sweed have been placed on IR and cannot play in 2010, but Colon continues to show up and support his teammates. Keep that in mind when considering the return of either to the Steelers in 2011.

All told in Latrobe, here are the finals QB team drill snap numbers (scout team included): Dixon 270, Ben 260, Byron 239, and Batch 133. Dixon, however, took the vast majority of those reps with the "third team" offense, with Charlie's coming most in scout work. Roethlisberger took the majority of the first team work, but Leftwich worked in for a sizeable share, as well.

Dixon looked particularly sharp early in the week, coming off his solid performance against Detroit. However, in the last two days he's had two balls slip out of his hands while attempting to release the football, plus several batted balls at the line of scrimmage. His pocket QB skills remain a work in progress.

WR Antonio Brown will be featured on both kickoff and punt returns this weekend, according to the coaches. Special teams coach Al Everest hinted that Emmanuel Sanders would get his shot in preseason game #3. Tomlin said Brown is getting the "same opportunity that was given to [Stefan] Logan, if you remember, in the second preseason game last year in Washington. Last year Logan caught our attention, ran the opening punt back in [the fourth preseason game in] Carolina, won a spot. We're going to provide opportunities to young people."

Tomlin also declared that Justin Hartwig will start the game Saturday night at center, but that rookie Maurkice Pouncey will rotate in (those two have split reps about evenly at camp this week). In addition, Jonathan Scott will rotate in for Flozell Adams at RT, because "we just want to see Jonathan Scott. It's no secret that coming into the offseason Willie Colon was our right tackle. We've got some guys that are working." Adams has not looked consistent nor sharp at training camp, and the Scott first team reps are likely a sign the team is concerned about Flozell playing up to his previous Pro Bowl standard in his 13th year in the league.

It's been only an OK camp for Bryant McFadden at starting LCB as well, and Tomlin admitted at his press conference Thursday that 2nd year man Keenan Lewis has had "a really good camp, showing he's maybe prepared to take the next step. We will continue to give him exposure, and if he makes enough plays, we will consider playing him [at starting LCB]." Tomlin said "we like BMac," when asked about how well McFadden has played, but it's clear the team would like Lewis to push McFadden at some point this season. So far in camp, we've seen no sign of Lewis running with the first team defense, however.

Other observations from camp this week include several attempts to get Antwaan Randle El involved in some "trickeration" plays. El has thrown at least one pass a day, on reverses and variations of his famous pass to Hines Ward in Super Bowl 40. Antwaan admitted he has improved as the week has progressed; his spiral is there, but at time his distance and accuracy has not been.

The Steelers depart for New York tomorrow, wrapping up their Latrobe work with a closed walk-through type practice Friday morning.

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