The preseason didn't go exactly how Steelers' second-year left tackle Dan Moore would have liked.
In 77 snaps, Moore allowed three sacks. He was penalized for holding three times and allowed seven pressures and four hurries.
So, why is Moore feeling confident heading into the 2022 season, which begins Sunday in Cincinnati?
It all comes down to how the Steelers finished -- not how he started.
"It started a little slow. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to," Moore said Monday as the Steelers resumed practicing for their regular-season opener. "I think the way I finished off the last game, just built a little confidence going into this week."
Some might cringe at that statement. After all, Moore was twice penalized for holding in the Steelers' preseason finale, a 19-9 victory over the Lions. He also allowed a sack in the game.
But the Steelers' first-team offense finished off its playing time in that game with a six-play, 92-yard touchdown drive in just 1:20, with the line providing a consistent pocket for Mitch Trubisky to throw the ball down the field.
And Moore, a fourth-round pick last season who started 16 of 17 games at left tackle last season, was certainly better than he had been the previous week against the Jaguars when he had a holding penalty while allowing a sack, three hurries and four pressures.
The sack Moore allowed -- which was more of a coverage sack than anything -- and both holding penalties against the Lions came early. After that, he didn't let things snowball on him and played cleanly the rest of the game.
"I thought we showed a lot more poise," Moore said of the line as a whole. "Even in that drive with the holding penalties, the offsides, I thought we responded really well after that. We didn’t let it affect us. We knew that it was us against us. There was nothing they could do to stop us. We showed that the rest of the game for sure."
The coaching staff felt that way, as well. Mike Tomlin challenged his line after a subpar performance by the entire group -- highlighted by Moore's struggles -- against the Jaguars.
It wasn't perfect against Detroit, but it was better.
"I’m comfortable with them," Matt Canada said. "We’re going to continue to get better and continue to work to put them in a good position to make plays. That falls on me. There always will be things that will happen that we’re not going to like that everyone’s going to talk about, but I’m never going to talk about those things in here. It’s going to be about getting better and working better."
The general feeling is that right side of the line, with center Mason Cole, guard James Daniels and right tackle Chuks Okorafor, will be fine. But the left side, with Moore and guard Kevin Dotson, who have a combined 30 career starts, might be where the Steelers struggle the most.
Moore's preseason did little to dispel those concerns.
He was OK on the left side a year ago -- for a fourth-round pick. But the expectation is that he'll take the second-year leap.
Moore very much believes he can do that after having been through a full season. He'll get a chance to show how much he's improved for real this week when he lines up opposite Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson has 27.5 sacks the past two seasons, including 14 in 2021.
Moore did not allow a sack in two meetings with the Bengals last season.
They key, he said, is the regular season allows him to zero in on just one or two players who might be rushing from his side. The Steelers played the Seahawks, Jaguars and Lions in the preseason, three teams not regularly on the schedule who also are breaking in some young pass rushers.
"I’ve got to know my guy," Moore told me. "I’ve got to know who I’m playing against and just think in my head that I’m in a one-on-one matchup throughout the game."
And that helps?
"Definitely," Moore said. "(He’s) obviously a guy that I’ve played before, so I know a little bit more about him, his tendencies. He didn’t play this preseason. It’s just knowing what kind of player he is. He’s not a very young player. I kind of know what I’m going against this week."
• The worst-kept secret in Pittsburgh since the 1980 Triple Six Fix -- look it up younger readers -- has been that Trubisky will be the Steelers' starting quarterback, even though both Trubisky and Tomlin have continued to be coy about it.
Trubisky's naming as a team captain guarantees that. It also shows how Tomlin will handle his quarterback situation this season.
Tomlin's unlikely to bench a team captain. And to be clear, Tomlin didn't have to name Trubisky a captain. Players vote on team captains, but the head coach always has veto power over that.
The idea that Tomlin is interested in playing musical quarterbacks this season is laughable. He's going to name Trubisky the starter and stick with him through thick and thin.
• Now, does that mean Kenny Pickett won't start at some point this season? No.
But the idea that remains out there that Trubisky will be out and Pickett in by the Week 9 bye seems completely wrong -- barring injury.
There's little chance the Steelers will be completely out of the playoff race eight weeks into the season. And Tomlin and his coaching staff haven't devoted the amount of time they have preparing Trubisky to be the starter only to pull the plug midway through the year.
And the team released its first depth chart Monday, with Trubisky listed as the starter, Mason Rudolph No. 2 and Pickett No. 3.
That's exactly what I thought it would be at the beginning of this whole process. Rudolph gives the team the best chance to get out of a game if Trubisky is injured. Pickett is the long-term solution. Nothing has changed there.
• Remember, the Steelers signed Trubisky in free agency before they selected Pickett in the first round of the draft.
The still like Pickett's long-term future, but they believe Trubisky gives them the best chance to win right now. And the Steelers are always going to be about trying to win right away, as opposed to playing for the future.
• There was a lot of teeth gnashing that went on last week when the Steelers had only signed eight players to their practice squad by Thursday, a day after they were able to begin signing players.
By Monday morning, that total was at 16, giving them a full complement of practice squad players.
The final three signings came Monday in the form of linebacker Delontae Scott, cornerback Josh Jackson and safety Andrew Adams.
Both Jackson and Adams are veteran players. In fact, Adams has appeared in 86 career games, starting 35 of them, while Jackson, a former second-round pick of the Packers, has appeared in 44 games, making 15 career starts.
That's why the team took its time filling out the practice squad. Veterans such as Adams and Jackson likely were holding out hope they would be signed to a 53-man roster. When that didn't happen, they took the opportunity to sign on a practice squad.
The NFL allows six vested veterans on the practice squad. It would be foolish to not take advantage of that.
