Rough first outing for reserve linemen

The Steelers gave second-year guard Chris Hubbard a long look during the first two weeks of training camp and they did the same in the first preseason game against the Giants Saturday night. Hubbard saw 48 offensive snaps, including four with the first-team offense after starting left guard Ramon Foster left the game with an eye injury. Unfortunately for Hubbard, he didn’t make the most of his reps.

Hubbard was leaky in pass protection and not much better in the run game. What was apparent to the naked eye on the telecast was confirmed by Pro Football Focus, which blamed Hubbard for three quarterback hurries, two more than any other Steelers offensive lineman.

Hubbard had done much better against the Steelers defense in the first two weeks of camp. He took the first-team reps for the first few days of camp when Ramon Foster was away from the team because of his mother’s death. When Foster was injured last week Hubbard once again ran with the first-team offense. He played fairly well. The same can’t be said for his first preseason outing of 2014.

If Hubbard follows up with a bad practice or two this week we could see more of undrafted free agent guard/center Chris Elkins, a camp standout who played only nine snaps against the Giants.

Overall, it was not a good night for the players vying for reserve roles on the line.

First, the good news: the starters, except for Foster, took 14 reps and did not allow a sack while providing running lanes for Le’Veon Bell that helped the Steelers score the first points of the game.

The bad news: just about everyone that entered the game thereafter had some struggles against the Giants’ front. Second-team right guard Bryant Browning gave up a sack and a hurry. Reserve right tackle Guy Whimper allowed a hurry and a hit on the quarterback as did Cody Wallace.

The only reserve lineman with a clean sheet, according to PFF, was Mike Adams, who struggled for much of the first two weeks of camp. Adams played a team-high 53 snaps. It should be noted that Giants first-team defensive end Jason Pierre Paul went right around Adams and provided pressure on a pass play in the first quarter when the Giants first-team defense played against the Steelers’ second-team offense. The only thing that saved Adams was the fact that Hubbard’s man got pressure first and they gave the hurry to Hubbard on a play when Bruce Gradkowski was forced to throw the ball away.

The Steelers are likely to keep three reserve linemen. Adams, Wallace and Whimper are the frontrunners to earn those jobs. In week 1 of the preseason no one threatened to change those plans.

A few other notes:

*Among offensive skill position players, Justin Brown led all Steelers with 46 snaps while veteran Lance Moore got just three.

*Sixth-round pick Jordan Zumwalt didn’t have a chance to show the coaches much during the first two weeks of camp because of a groin injury, but the linebacker from UCLA was credited with six tackles in only 25 defensive snaps.

*Other defensive standouts included DE/NT Cam Thomas, who had three tackles and a QB hurry in 18 snaps; ILB Vince Williams, who had four tackles and a hit on the QB; and S Jordan Dangerfield, who had three tackles.

Of note:

*Rookie sixth-round pick Daniel McCullers played 22 snaps at nose tackle while Hebron Fangupo played only eight. McCullers was credited with a QB hurry.

*Chat today at 1:30.