Pittsburgh Steelers Thread

The_Honeybadger

Quite the few days in free agency, Mitch Trubisky, James Damiels, Myles Jack, Mason Cole, Levi Wallace, bringing back Chuks too. And I doubt they are done somehow. We are so used to them doing nothing this time of year.

Being this active in free agency is usually not a good thing but it’s intriguing to see how these guys pan out and how the team comes together.

They have pretty much filled most of the glaring holes on the team now so they have flexibility in the draft. By all accounts this is not a vintage QB class. A CB in round 1 and a WR in round 2 would be ideal but it depends on how things fall I guess

Dufflecoat Fanny

https://steelersdepot.com/2022/04/breaking-steelers-qb-dwayne-haskins-dies-in-car-accident-saturday/

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118903868#Comment_118903868

What a tragedy, seems he was trying to cross a highway in traffic, very strange set of circumstances going by one of the reports I read.

He was only down there to practice with the other Steelers QB’s WR’s and RB’s, they will all be devastated. Heart goes out to his family,

Dufflecoat Fanny

ya its awful and odd. i saw a tv clip of the location earlier it was the same as crossing the M50

Dufflecoat Fanny

Mother of God what a game 32-20 Steelers beat Bengals in OT. Mental game. Hope the injuries aren't serious there was a lot of them.

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119605338#Comment_119605338

TJ Watt has a torn pec if early reports are correct, that’s a season ender, and it’s the same injury that his brother JJ has struggled with later in his career. Devastating if confirmed, he was immense again today and is the heartbeat of the team. Najee was on the sideline towards the end, might be a good sign.

Game itself was completely bonkers. Very lucky to hold on

The_Honeybadger

Not exactly a classic this evening. With TJ out Jones had all day to throw but what really hurt them was that special teams f**k up. That just can’t happen when your margin for error is as thin as it is with this Steelers offence.

It’s hard to see where the next win is coming from with Watt missing a couple of games and Mitch T at QB. You’d have to think Pickett will be in pretty soon.

Dufflecoat Fanny

All AFC north lost at least. Pass play calling is poor too. Too much dink and dunk stuff, not playing to our WR strengths. Dumping Mitch T now would look bad on the coaches I think.

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119637922#Comment_119637922

They don’t / can’t trust the protection to let plays develop down the field, if they take a sack or any negative play the drive will be dead with this offence. That said, Mitch had time yesterday against a mediocre pass rush and there were guys open but he kept taking the check down anyway. It’s a hard watch and I’d have little confidence in it getting much better tbh.

They didn’t really invest that much in Mitch, they will put Pickett in when he is ready hopefully. If things don’t get better soon they’ll be under fierce pressure from fans.

dfx-

The defense has to do the scoring and keeping them out and it worked just in week 1. Not so much week 2.

A dropped INT before the punt muffed....but that can't be the sole decider of games. Expecting no mistakes on defense and fearing mistakes or taking any risk on offense is not viable.

Dufflecoat Fanny

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119639704#Comment_119639704

Kenny looked zippy and relaxed in preseason. Mitch T has in 2 games become what all the experts said. He never stood a chance in fairness. When will Tomlin pull the trigger is the question

Tom Mann Centuria

Going to be a tough watch this year.

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119653387#Comment_119653387

Highest paid defence in the league is average without TJ Watt, they are getting no pressure without him and the offence is dreadful. As poor as Ben was in recent years he was able to win some squeakers in the fourth quarter a lot of the time.

Tomlin has never had a losing season, it would be a near miracle if he can keep that going this season

Tom Mann Centuria

Stop, stop we're already dead.

The_Honeybadger

Brutal, just totally outmatched all over the field.

The_Honeybadger

The whole secondary has been ruled out for Sunday against the Bucs, as well as Leal who was actually pretty good in place of Watt last week. It’ll be practice squad players playing at corner vs Evans and Godwin. Could be another really ugly one

The one bright spot for me is that I have Brady on my fantasy team

Dufflecoat Fanny

SS: Terrell Edmunds

FS: Tre Norwood

NCB: Arthur Maulet

LCB: James Pierre

RCB: Josh Jackson

Dufflecoat Fanny

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119746111#Comment_119746111

Run defence will look fantastic at least

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119746430#Comment_119746430

Thought Edmunds was out as well, not that he is the second coming of Troy or anything.

I hadn’t even heard of Jackson until he was on the field last week, and I’d follow the team fairly closely. It’s been a nightmare year for injuries on the defence so far.

Season is a write off anyway, they are looking at 5-12 or thereabouts and a top 10 pick which may be no harm in the long run I suppose.

Dufflecoat Fanny

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119746863#Comment_119746863

God I'd say top 3 easy. They may draft the best left tackle or corner available. both positions are in dire need of quality and leadership. Feel sorry for Cam Heyward the man deserved a ring, not looking likely now.

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119749659#Comment_119749659

Theyll probably win a few after the bye when they get everyone back.

Yeah Cam is such a great player. I think if one of the contenders calls about him before the trade deadline they could even let him go. He is a possible cap casualty in the offseason anyway, and will be retired or washed up by the time they are relevant again if he stays around.

Tom Mann Centuria

That must be time mustn't it? Not bothering with the rest of the game, just going to presume Steelers hold on......

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119752849#Comment_119752849

If only

Great opening drive by Kenny and the offence, let’s hope for some more of the same

The_Honeybadger

What a brilliant gutsy win. There was no expectation whatsoever that they’d even be competitive with the crazy injury list and missing both of their best players.

Still lots of issues of course but very encouraging performance, Claypool was absolutely phenomenal in the second half

Dufflecoat Fanny

Wow didn't think we could pull that off.

Tom Mann Centuria

Did very well there to only be down by 6 at half-time. Not confident about the 2nd half though.

Edit: Finished that way. Ah well.

The_Honeybadger

Just watched game in 40 back, couldn’t stay up last night because of work.

Some growing pains for Pickett but he looks like he could be a keeper at times as well.

Different game if they catch even 2 of those possible interceptions that went through the DB’s hands. Defence is playing much better than it was a few weeks ago. They’ll be in most games once they get TJ Watt back

Dufflecoat Fanny

atrocious 3rd down conversion rate just before the end of the half. harris is 0 for 4 attempts good god

The_Honeybadger

Very poor overall earlier, not many positives to take from it. Eagles are a good team and I kind of expected a sound beating but it really does highlight how poor this roster is vs the better teams in the NFL.

Dufflecoat Fanny

Chase Claypool traded to the Bears for a 2nd round pick and getting William Jackson III CB from Washington for a low draft pick prob a 7th. Great trade to get rid of Claypool he looks like Tarzan but plays like Jane and he can be a muppet on social media too.

The_Honeybadger

Bears have overpaid big time there, it’s their own second round pick rather than the one they acquired from the Ravens so it’ll likely be in the top 50. Claypool has been much better in recent games and could do very well eventually but based on what we’ve seen from him I’m very happy with the trade.

Tomlin wanted Jackson in the 2016 draft before the Bengals nabbed him just ahead of their pick.

Huge draft coming up in 2023 now with likely three picks inside the top 50

Dufflecoat Fanny

Joey Porter Jr. is considered the top CB prospect this year by a lot of draftniks. You can be sure the Steelers are watching him closely.

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Joey-PorterJr-CB-PennState

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821806#Comment_119821806

Yes I don't follow college ball but I have read about him

They need everything really but if they end up with a top 10 pick I think the priority has to be a Left Tackle. It was crazy putting Moore in there as a rookie and he really doesn’t appear to have improved much. Cornerback and Defensive Tackle also big needs after Haden and Tuitt retired.

When you look at their drafts over the past five years they’ve invested a lot of high selections in positions that aren’t as important as some others, safety, linebacker, running back etc, and they bizarrely ignored the OLine completely for years. For all the praise Colbert got on his way out the door he did not leave the roster in the best shape. I think he is kind of getting a pass because his retirement coincided with Bens but the last four drafts really haven’t been great. Let’s hope Khan and his new front office know what they are doing.

Tom Mann Centuria

Good win for Pittsburgh, so many very, very average teams this year.

The_Honeybadger

Very good win for sure, running the ball well finally. Hopefully they can carry that momentum forward. Redzone offence is putrid however, that was a blowout today if they could get the ball in the endzone.

Dufflecoat Fanny

I enjoyed that game I have to say. Great to see TJ back he transforms the D. I think the pass game opened up the run game on this occasion even if Kenny was shaky at times but I'd forgive him as the line can't protect him long enough at all, he must been sack 6 or 7 times. Throwing on 1st down for medium gains stretched the field for us. Passing heatmap was completely different from the last game. I think they will have to look for another kicker though after the mandatory 4 weeks expires.

Bengals at home next Sunday it should be a belter. We've no chance of making the playoffs but spoiling our division rivals chances is just as good.

Tom Mann Centuria

Gotta love beating the Ravens.

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120054686#Comment_120054686

Great effort to get to 8-8 after such a disastrous start to the season as well.

dfx-

I'm not as concerned about getting a play off spot moreso than 9-8 from where they were and in the context of the schedule would be a remarkable achievement.

The_Honeybadger

Yes they’d just end up going to arrowhead or orchard park and getting walloped if they make it in to the postseason. Not sure that’ll do them any good.

Winning is a nice habit however and this momentum will hopefully carry in to 2023 with Kenny another year on and some good draft picks added. That second they got from Chicago for Claypool looks like a late first, that trade worked out really well for the steelers I think.

They also have good cap flexibility going in to the offseason, albeit with a lot of issues to fix

Dufflecoat Fanny

James Washington a free agent again

The_Honeybadger

This is some of the worst officiating I’ve seen in a while but at least it’s equally bad for both teams

That RTP call on Heyward was a joke and effectively gifted the Browns a TD

Tom Mann Centuria

Dolphins sneak last slot. Disappointing but winning season after the start they had is quite an achievement really.

The_Honeybadger

Amazing finish to the season. I really thought they were going 5-12 or 6-11 earlier on. Defence was really good late in the season once they got all the injured players back.

A lot of work to do on the offence, Matt Canada will be luck to be back

Dufflecoat Fanny

I was resigned to a top 5 pick before the amazing winning streak I'm delighted how things progressed for the offence though they really showed signs of gelling despite the uninspiring play calling. Calvin Austin III the other WR drafted will be like a bonus rookie this year seeing he was on IR all season.

Dufflecoat Fanny

Pat Freiermuth injury an MCL sprain and not a tear this is great news

dfx-

Considering they were on the road to four playoff teams early on without Watt...Cincinatti, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Miami as well as Baltimore.

It's only the Eagles and Bills where they were blasted away.

The_Honeybadger

Given that Matt Canada was not fired yesterday I take it we will be enduring another year of his tepid, predictable offence? I really think they could do better

Flores will be moving on to better things by all accounts, he may get HC interviews but I’d expect he’ll get a DC position somewhere at a minimum

Dufflecoat Fanny

Some nice signings in free agency so far. Oline will be in great shape next season all they need now is a stud at LT.

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120377271#Comment_120377271

Yes they seem to have strengthened the interior oline considerably, they may stick with Moore at LT? He got much better as 2022 wore on and getting an experienced LG next to him should help further. Dotson is done as the starter there thank god. If a LT doesn’t fall their way in the early rounds it won’t be the end of the world.

Their entire offence is back for 2023 and I think improvement there will need to be driven more by the OLine getting better and KP taking a step forward in his second year rather than by additions from the draft.

The defence is getting old and they lost a lot of depth there in free agency. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of their early picks are spent on that side of the ball.