http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08252/910391-66.stm Steelers Report Card: Game One vs. Texans Gerry Dulac grades the Steelers' effort in the 38-17 win against the Texans yesterday at Heinz Field Monday, September 08, 2008 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette <!-- end story_image_box_size_1 --> Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was near-perfect, missing only one pass in 14 attempts and throwing for 137 yards and two touchdowns. His only mistake: fumbling on a blind-side sack by DE Mario Williams that led to a Texans field goal. Roethlisberger did a masterful job with play-action and even scrambled for 17 yards on a third-and-3 that led to the team's first touchdown. Running backs After rushing for two TDs last season, Willie Parker opened with three rushing touchdowns, finishing with 138 yards on 25 carries. What's more, after using a nice stiff-arm on the first touchdown run, he did a good job waiting for his blocks on the final two scoring runs. Probably the best news is that rookie Rashard Mendenhall, who had 28 yards on 10 carries, didn't fumble. Receivers Hines Ward began his 11th season like so many others -- this time with a team-high six catches and two touchdowns. He also had a 74-yard catch-and-run negated on a debatable offensive interference call. Santonio Holmes had only two catches for 19 yards, but the first was a tough catch on third down that led to the first touchdown. Offensive line It's always a good day when the running game piles up 183 yards and averages 4.7 yards per carry. LT Marvel Smith gave up one of the two sacks to DE Mario Williams, but he made outstanding blocks on two of Parker's touchdown runs and played very well in the biggest matchup of the game. G Chris Kemoeatu looked like Alan Faneca when he pulled on counter plays. Defensive line The Texans finished with 234 yards of offense -- 202 passing -- but 159 yards came in the second half with the outcome decided. What's more, some of their 75 rushing yards came against the nickel defense when the Steelers had NT Casey Hampton out. DE Aaron Smith looked fully recovered from his biceps injury. Backup DE Nick Eason had several big plays, including a half-sack. Linebackers James Harrison made it a tough game for rookie LT Duane Brown, getting three sacks, including a forced fumble. LaMarr Woodley had a hat trick in his debut as a starter, getting a sack, a fumble recovery and a one-handed interception that led to the third touchdown. James Farrior had a half-sack, but he let receiver Kevin Walter catch a 14-yard touchdown over him. Defensive backs The biggest priority for the secondary was keeping Andre Johnson from making big plays, and the Steelers did that, even though Johnson finished with 10 catches, seven of them in the second half. But S Ryan Clark had to tackle Johnson on a pass-interference call to prevent him from scoring a touchdown. S Troy Polamalu added an interception, his first in 18 games. Special teams K Jeff Reed did not give Andre Davis much of a chance to hurt the Steelers by mixing his kickoffs with pooch and squib kicks. He also got some help from rookie linebacker Donovan Woods, who made a nice tackle to hold Davis to 3 yards on one return, and from linebacker Lawrence Timmons on another. Keeping Davis under wraps was the top priority, and they did that to perfection. Coaching The Steelers were prepared to play in all aspects, especially special teams, and it showed in a game with few mistakes and no pre-snap penalties. Starting the second half with seven consecutive runs -- and 10 of the first 11 plays -- was the best thing the offense could have done after running up a 21-3 halftime lead. With a tough schedule, it was necessary to get off to a good start. <table style="font-size: 12px;" class="detailSummary" width="475" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" height="270"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(255, 204, 0); font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"> <td colspan="14">Steelers' grade point average</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(255, 204, 0); font-weight: bold;"> <td>Position</td> <td>A</td> <td>A-</td> <td>B+</td> <td>B</td> <td>B-</td> <td>C+</td> <td>C</td> <td>C-</td> <td>D+</td> <td>D</td> <td>D-</td> <td>F</td> <td>GPA</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Quarterbacks</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>4.00</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(226, 226, 226);"> <td>Running backs</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>4.00</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Receivers</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>3.00</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(226, 226, 226);"> <td>Offensive line</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>3.00</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special teams</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>4.00</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(226, 226, 226);"> <td>Defensive line</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>3.00</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Linebackers</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>4.00</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(226, 226, 226);"> <td>Defensive backs</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>3.00</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coaching</td> <td>1</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>--</td> <td>4.00</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(255, 204, 0); font-weight: bold;"> <td colspan="14"> Note: Steelers' cumulative grade point average through Week 1 is graded on a 4.0 scale </td></tr></tbody></table>
