Pittsburgh Steelers Thread

Kirk Van Houten · 27-04-2020 12:01am

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Draft is done, they had very little ammo this year so hopefully they chose well.

Round 2: Chase Claypool WR
Round 3: Alex Highsmith OLB
Round 4: Anthony McFarland Jr RB
Round 4: Kevin Dotson G
Round 6: Antoine Brooks S
Round 7: Carlos David NT

I think the addition of Claypool may spell the end for Juju in Pittsburgh after 2020. They can’t pay him as well as TJ Watt from that 2017 class, they’ll probably want to keep Cam Sutton around too.

Don’t know much about the others apart from what I have read in the scouting reports. Doubtful any of them see significant playing time in 2020 outside special teams barring injuries.

Roster is in pretty good shape assuming they return to a normal level of injuries after the catastrophe that was 2019. Worrying lack of depth at safety and particularly inside linebacker which they will address in FA I am sure but they are fairly well set up everywhere else imo. Hopefully Ben can still play and stay on the field when he gets back out there.

Loving the clips I'm seeing of Dotson. A long term investment to help the run.
Agree on Claypool and Enron helping the red zone offence hugely.
Is Highsmith a long term Vince Williams replacement?

Hard to see the rest of the guys making much of an impact.

OOnegative · 27-04-2020 12:08am

Kirk Van Houten wrote: »

Loving the clips I'm seeing of Dotson. A long term investment to help the run.
Agree on Claypool and Enron helping the red zone offence hugely.
Is Highsmith a long term Vince Williams replacement?

Hard to see the rest of the guys making much of an impact.

Remember Antonio Brown was a 6th rounder not so long ago(forget his recent idiocy).

Claypool I’m very excited about, big bodied and decent speed. Dotson is a Steelers man all his life, what could go wrong for the lad.

Decent draft with what we had to play with.

The_Honeybadger · 27-04-2020 12:23am

Kirk Van Houten wrote: »

Loving the clips I'm seeing of Dotson. A long term investment to help the run.
Agree on Claypool and Enron helping the red zone offence hugely.
Is Highsmith a long term Vince Williams replacement?

Hard to see the rest of the guys making much of an impact.

Highsmith will probably play special teams and back up TJ and Bud in 2020. If he works out he’ll replace Bud at OLB from 2021. No way they can pay Bud Dupree and TJ Watt and we all know who they’ll keep.

dfx- · 27-04-2020 1:24pm

When is Minkah's contract up? He's still on his original deal isn't he, 2 years at Miami/Pittsburgh, so the summer of 2022?

Juju, Watt, Fitzpatrick, big deals or decisions in the coming years

Dufflecoat Fanny · 27-04-2020 2:25pm

dfx- wrote: »

When is Minkah's contract up? He's still on his original deal isn't he, 2 years at Miami/Pittsburgh, so the summer of 2022?

Juju, Watt, Fitzpatrick, big deals or decisions in the coming years

If Ben retires before that it will clear up a huge chunk of money. He's due 41 million next year so either he rerires or they restructure again.

Pouncey could be gone after next year aswell.

The_Honeybadger · 27-04-2020 3:58pm

Yeah 2022 for Minkah, Devin Bush then the following year. That’s assuming they don’t use the fifth year option on either.

Next off season they’ll have decisions to make on TJ Watt, Bud Dupree, Juju, Cam Sutton, Matt Feiler, James Conner and Villanueva, they are all unrestricted free agents except TJ, they could make TJ play on the fifth year option but doubtful as he deserves to be paid, ideally they’d extend him now but they simply can’t. That deal will be a whopper. I’m assuming Cam Heyward gets a new deal soon.

Educated guess they keep Watt, Sutton and Feiler and maybe Juju depending on what happens this upcoming season. If this season goes badly and they are out of contention they may trade him before the deadline If they get the right offer. The others will be gone for cap reasons I’d say.

They will probably restructure Ben after the season and add a throwaway year in 2022 to get that $40m cap hit down. Pouncey will go when Ben goes. That contract they gave Ben could turn out to be a complete disaster altogether if he gets hurt again.

The_Honeybadger · 18-05-2020 8:24pm

https://twitter.com/_bigben7/status/1262427467907727365?s=21

Great to see Ben throwing a ball again and looking fit, season (assuming there is one) is a wash again if he can’t go

dfx- · 27-05-2020 8:39pm

You would have to hope they break with normalcy and make him play more than a quarter in the preseason games. You can't judge it until then.

The_Honeybadger · 28-05-2020 1:11am

dfx- wrote: »

You would have to hope they break with normalcy and make him play more than a quarter in the preseason games. You can't judge it until then.

He will probably play more snaps than normal in preseason but yeah, in September it will be on the defence to win games as it was in 2019, it could be ugly as Ben gets back in to it and even at that he might never be the same. Bens return and the overall level of injuries across the roster will define the season, they have good / excellent starters everywhere but some very questionable depth, particularly on defence. Best case is probably 11-5, worst 8-8. Ravens will be hot favourites for the division but I would not be surprised if they regress a little from last year tbh, so it may be up for grabs.

bdonohoe · 28-05-2020 12:17pm

Garco wrote: »

After the BYE is some schedule.. handy game, 6 whoppers, handy game!

What you think of Ben so far? Seemed to be getting his groove back against Ravens

DL: Heyward, Tuitt, Hargrave, Walton, Alualu, McCullers
LB: Shazier, Harrison, Watt, Moats, Dupree, Chickillo, Williams, Fort, Matakevich
DB: Burns, Haden, Gay, Davis, Mitchell, Golden, Allen, Hilton, Sensabaugh
ST: Boswell, Berry, Canaday

bdonohoe · 28-05-2020 12:17pm

DL: Heyward, Tuitt, Hargrave, Walton, Alualu, McCullers
LB: Shazier, Harrison, Watt, Moats, Dupree, Chickillo, Williams, Fort, Matakevich
DB: Burns, Haden, Gay, Davis, Mitchell, Golden, Allen, Hilton, Sensabaugh
ST: Boswell, Berry, Canaday

The_Honeybadger · 28-08-2020 8:50am

https://youtu.be/sekz2ptPY2A

Part 1 of a short documentary series on Bens return from injury for anybody that hasn’t seen it, nicely put together. He is supposedly throwing and feeling very well in camp which is good.

Not sure about the Steelers going in to this season. I can see a realistic scenario where everyone stays relatively healthy including Ben, the defence continues where it left off in 2019 and the offence takes a step forward. They are a playoff team in that scenario, possibly even a championship contender if a few things fall their way.

Equally things could come off the rails entirely if they have a bad injury meltdown like last year and / or Ben comes back and is clearly no longer at a high level. I’d be very cautious about making any type of win / loss prediction this year.

Either way I am looking forward to seeing some football at this stage. It looks like a season is going to start in any case.

Kirk Van Houten · 28-08-2020 12:57pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

https://youtu.be/sekz2ptPY2A

Part 1 of a short documentary series on Bens return from injury for anybody that hasn’t seen it, nicely put together. He is supposedly throwing and feeling very well in camp which is good.

Not sure about the Steelers going in to this season. I can see a realistic scenario where everyone stays relatively healthy including Ben, the defence continues where it left off in 2019 and the offence takes a step forward. They are a playoff team in that scenario, possibly even a championship contender if a few things fall their way.

Equally things could come off the rails entirely if they have a bad injury meltdown like last year and / or Ben comes back and is clearly no longer at a high level. I’d be very cautious about making any type of win / loss prediction this year.

Either way I am looking forward to seeing some football at this stage. It looks like a season is going to start in any case.

If the season goes ahead, is played out and they don't have any major injuries like last season they are in the mix for a ring.

Think they are under the radar a bit because they are in with the Ravens but the Steelers defense was one of the best at containing Jackson last year.

For the Steelers this could be the last year they have a lot of the big names around and they haven't lost anyone to Covid for the season.

It could well be their best chance for a ring for a good few years.

The_Honeybadger · 28-08-2020 1:21pm

Kirk Van Houten wrote: »

If the season goes ahead, is played out and they don't have any major injuries like last season they are in the mix for a ring.

Think they are under the radar a bit because they are in with the Ravens but the Steelers defense was one of the best at containing Jackson last year.

For the Steelers this could be the last year they have a lot of the big names around and they haven't lost anyone to Covid for the season.

It could well be their best chance for a ring for a good few years.

Yeah the list of free agents for 2021 is frightening, depending on what happens with the cap they could lose 6-8 starters.

Defence will be fine for this season. They’ve only really lost Hargrave but considering Tuitt is coming back fully healthy that is not a massive issue.

Offence is the big question. Their young WR room has huge potential but they are a bit unproven. They brought in a bit of a wildcard in Ebron and they need James Conner to stay healthy. I think the OLine will be ok, not dominant as they were a few years ago, but above average. Like every other team injuries and luck will play a part.

All else being equal I think the Ravens will win the division but they might not run away with it like they did last year. Browns are interesting, their talent on offence is absolutely out of this world but they have had a lot of turnover including a new HC and I think they lack leadership in the locker room. Bengals should improve a lot but rookie QB’s rarely light up the league, Burrow might need a year or so and their OLine is still very suspect so I don’t see them getting more than 5-6 wins.

Kirk Van Houten · 28-08-2020 1:38pm

Even just having Ben on the field should improve the run game from last season as defenses will have to pay him more respect.

I think they have added to the redzone with Ebron and Claypool and Snell has another year under his belt. Think this is the last year of JuJu with the Steelers and hopefully he can led the young guys before getting himself a payday he deserves but I don't think the Steelers will be able to afford.

The_Honeybadger · 28-08-2020 1:49pm

Yeah juju is definitely gone after this year, so are Conner, Hilton and Villanueva at a minimum and they may need to waive some veteran guys like Haden. I’m hoping they can hold on to Cam Heyward, Matt Feiler and Cam Sutton but it depends on the cap.

Having Ben back improves everything on offence, teams won’t be able to bring their safeties down to stuff the run game and blitz on every down. Mason and especially Duck were just lost running the offence last year. I saw a crazy stat on Duck, less than 30% of his passes went beyond the line of scrimmage, LOL. It really cannot be understated how bad the QB play was last year. Their Redzone offence was appalling. I’m surprised the team didn’t pick up a veteran backup as there were some good ones available for reasonable money.

dfx- · 04-09-2020 9:59pm

I think the OL isn't as good as it used to be, but hopefully having Ben back will minimise the issues. Pouncey's snaps was a big problem last year.

The defense looks fine again and Ebron hopefully makes himself a target for Ben and helps out at TE which was a long term problem.

The weakest spots are WR and RB. Washington has to show up as the deep threat for Ben. Juju needs to step up as WR1 and then at RB especially, it doesn't seem to be very nailed down beyond an injured Conner...

Oh and punt/kick returning..

The_Honeybadger · 05-09-2020 12:19am

Wouldn’t be overly concerned about the receivers. They have plenty of young talent and if Ben can still go then at least one of them will step up. Not sure about Washington as a deep threat, he has done all his best work to date in the slot, I think that’s his level in the NFL, they drafted Claypool to be the deep threat.

Running back is definitely a concern if Conner gets hurt, as he inevitably will. Benny Snell is supposedly looking good and has lost weight but he is nowhere near as talented.

Big area of weakness for me is ILB. Bush is their only three down off ball linebacker, if anything happens to him they are fooked. They might try to pick somebody up over the next few days.

The_Honeybadger · 05-09-2020 11:50pm

Steelers 53 after final cuts, biggest surprises are Pierre, Carlos Davis and Hassenauer. Marcus Allen was a lock after a really strong camp but was far from a certainty before it.

QB (3): Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, Devlin Hodges

RB (4): James Conner, Benny Snell Jr., Anthony McFarland, Jaylen Samuels

FB (1): Derek Watt

OL (9): Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Matt Feiler, Stefen Wisniewski, Kevin Dotson, J.C. Hassenauer, Alejandro Villanueva, Chuks Okorafor, Zach Banner

TE (3): Vance McDonald, Eric Ebron, Zach Gentry

WR (5): JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Ray-Ray McCloud

DL (6): Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Stephon Tuitt, Carlos Davis, Chris Wormley, Isaiah Buggs

OLB (4): T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, Alex Highsmith, Ola Adeniyi

ILB (5): Vince Williams, Devin Bush, Ulyees Gilbert III, Robert Spillane, Marcus Allen

S (4): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Curtis Riley, Jordan Dangerfield

CB (6): Joe Haden, Steve Nelson, Mike Hilton, Cam Sutton, Justin Layne, James Pierre

Specialists (3): Chris Boswell (PK), Jordan Berry (P), Kameron Canaday (LS)

Kirk Van Houten · 06-09-2020 6:59pm

Sean Davis and Josh Dobbs back with the Steelers. Duck Hodges let go.

The_Honeybadger · 07-09-2020 12:21am

Kirk Van Houten wrote: »

Sean Davis and Josh Dobbs back with the Steelers. Duck Hodges let go.

Davis improves the depth at safety, they really had nothing behind Fitzpatrick and Edmonds. Davis has started at both strong and free safety, this is a solid signing. He is not great but you could trust him for a few games if needed.

Dobbs probably won’t see the field but if they get down to the third string again in 2020 I’d much rather it be Dobbs than Hodges. Duck has surely thrown his last NFL pass.

OOnegative · 09-09-2020 4:30pm

No 50 has officially retired, loss of a huge talent but says a lot about the man the way he’s battled back from his injury. Best of luck to him in the future.

dfx- · 09-09-2020 10:33pm

Still feels a long way off for MNF. Could be 21-0 up or down in the first quarter...predictions for the season?

Report that they were trying out ex-Chiefs punter Colquitt. They really have been trying out a lot of punters/kickers over the last two years. I wouold've had that as the least problematic part of STs.

The_Honeybadger · 09-09-2020 11:05pm

I think they have already signed Colquitt and Berry has been cut? Problem with Berry is consistency, he will be very good for a while but will then let you down with a series of howlers. Ultimately I think it was a cap move though, as they are saving €1m and Colquitt is at least as good. Boswell’s job as kicker is safe, he was excellent last year after a terrible 2018 where he cost them a place in the playoffs, kicked at least two games away if not three with dreadful misses.

In other news Zach Banner has won the Right Tackle job unexpectedly over Okarofar, some turnaround for a guy that looked like he was on his way out of the league not long ago.

Very hard to predict anything about the season really with Ben on the way back. A lot of people have the Steelers as their sleeper team, Chris Collinsworth is tipping them to make the Superbowl. Defence is Superbowl caliber, not sure about the offence.

dfx- · 15-09-2020 1:43am

Special Teams...missed PAT, fumble the first punt onto Steelers 3 yard line and Colquitt punts are 30 net yards.

16-10 though despite that.

The_Honeybadger · 15-09-2020 3:15am

Happy enough, Ben looked rusty and there was some very dodgy ST play but they come away with the win. Receiving corp really stood up, they have so much potential. Conner injured again after just two quarters, my heart goes out to the guy but you’d really have to wonder about his future at this stage.

OLine has to be a concern, Banner gone with a potentially serious looking injury, DeCastro missed tonight and most of camp and Wisniewski took a knock as well. They can’t afford any more injuries there.

dfx- · 15-09-2020 3:33am

Snell impressed second half. Other than the 19 play possession of the Giants with the Heyward INT, it was comfortable second half. Great fumble recovery from Juju stopped the defense coming back out straight away.

Special Teams is my main worry from the game and has been a long time. Fumbles, OOB kicks, missed XP, poor coverages, no returns. Could cost them games.

Ben rumbling and sliding for the first down touching his knee and Rudolph stretching was a scary sight

More rushing yards than Barkley...

The_Honeybadger · 15-09-2020 3:45am

Snell was very good, probably won the Rb1 job tonight or at least a bigger role, they need to limit Conners touches if nothing else.

Defence did a real job on Barkley, Ben out-rushed him! It opened up the passing game for the Giants but it was comfortable enough in the end. Danny Dimes looked quite good at times, I think he will be a proper franchise QB

Special teams is a disaster and has been for a few years, perhaps they can improve as the year goes on. Is there anything more annoying that a game changing special teams f**k up

Kirk Van Houten · 15-09-2020 12:22pm

Happy enough with that. A win on the road is nice even if it is expected.
Steelers gameplan seemed to be stop the Giants main threat on the ground and then force them into a contest in the air which the Steelers were ready for.
Ben was rusty but got better as the game went on.
Connors injury doesn't seem to be long term but great that Snell stepped up and overall the Steelers were able to have an effective ground game.
Claypool only had two catches but they were good. Hopefully that earns him more trust and sees him get more snaps and receptions as the season goes on.
Injuries to the O line is now the biggest concern. Both Banner and Wisniewskis injuries look to be long term so we're going to see how good Dotson really is. Hopefully De Castro can make it back.

The_Honeybadger · 15-09-2020 11:30pm

Banner confirmed ACL tear, gone for season. Wisniewski has a suspected pectoral tear, that will also be a season ender if confirmed.

They can probably manage if they have no more significant injuries but there’s a serious lack of depth on that OLine now.

dfx- · 20-09-2020 9:50pm

Almost the archetypal Steelers defeat there. 17-3 up and cruising against a second string QB to fumbles, INT and a late 4th down stop to rescue it.

That's the struggling game you fear the offense having..

Dufflecoat Fanny · 20-09-2020 9:52pm

Have they used derek watt at all yet? I havent noticed him at all

The_Honeybadger · 20-09-2020 9:59pm

Lucky to get away with that. A win is a win but it was sloppy and generally unimpressive against a team that is killed with injuries. They really need to tidy up those penalties on defence, they kept extending the Broncos drives with stupid DPI calls, albeit some of them were very questionable.

Ben still looks very rusty, hopefully the offence will improve as the season progresses, you won’t beat the better teams playing like they did this evening.

The_Honeybadger · 20-09-2020 10:02pm

Dufflecoat Fanny wrote: »

Have they used derek watt at all yet? I havent noticed him at all

He played a few snaps at the end when they were trying to close it out, but yeah, if they don’t start using him more you’d really have to ask she they bothered with that signing. I know he is good on special teams but you can get somebody to do that for a lot less than what they are paying Watt

Dufflecoat Fanny · 20-09-2020 10:03pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

He played a few snaps at the end when they were trying to close it out, but yeah, if they don’t start using him more you’d really have to ask she they bothered with that signing. I know he is good on special teams but you can get somebody to do that for a lot less than what they are paying Watt

He's a high character guy I read and he probably gives TJ a boost.

The_Honeybadger · 27-09-2020 11:08am

Game day! Texans coming off a brutal 0-2 having played the two best teams in the league. They will be desperate to win this one to stay in the race.

I’m hoping Ben takes another step forward this week, he has been a bit spotty so far, that turnover last week was really bad and opened the door for the Broncos to come back at them. I think the Steelers at home have enough to see it through but I wouldn’t write off the Texans by any means. Steelers by a score hopefully.

OOnegative · 27-09-2020 6:49pm

FFS!!!

The_Honeybadger · 27-09-2020 7:30pm

OOnegative wrote: »

FFS!!!

Secondary getting completely and utterly shredded, they can’t cover anybody, way too easy for Watson.

TJ is getting blatantly held on every single play and no call.

OOnegative · 27-09-2020 7:35pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Secondary getting completely and utterly shredded, they can’t cover anybody, way too easy for Watson.

TJ is getting blatantly held on every single play and no call.

Secondary is absolutely shocking this evening!! Luckily Texans don’t have Nuke anymore.

The_Honeybadger · 27-09-2020 7:43pm

OOnegative wrote: »

Secondary is absolutely shocking this evening!! Luckily Texans don’t have Nuke anymore.

Yep, guys running free everywhere. Was happening to a lesser extent past two weeks but The guys up front were getting better pressure. That’s not happening today.

OOnegative · 27-09-2020 8:02pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Yep, guys running free everywhere. Was happening to a lesser extent past two weeks but The guys up front were getting better pressure. That’s not happening today.

It’s going to be a tight game, your prediction is looking spot on.

The_Honeybadger · 27-09-2020 8:13pm

OOnegative wrote: »

It’s going to be a tight game, your prediction is looking spot on.

They need a turnover and preferably a defensive score. They won’t beat Watson in a shootout

The_Honeybadger · 27-09-2020 8:43pm

Great drive and 2 point conversion there

Let’s go defence

Kirk Van Houten · 27-09-2020 8:45pm

Lovely drive there to take the lead. Connor finally getting some success on the ground. 2pt conversion to take a 7 point lead.

Kirk Van Houten · 27-09-2020 9:00pm

3-0 is all you can ask for.

OOnegative · 27-09-2020 9:06pm

Kirk Van Houten wrote: »

3-0 is all you can ask for.

True enough, proper challenges lay ahead though. A win is a win.

The_Honeybadger · 27-09-2020 9:06pm

Dominated that second half really after a very worrying first two quarters. Ben really go going and the defence adjusted well to what the Texans were doing.

Great to be 3-0 heading to Tennessee next week

OOnegative · 27-09-2020 9:20pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Dominated that second half really after a very worrying first two quarters. Ben really go going and the defence adjusted well to what the Texans were doing.

Great to be 3-0 heading to Tennessee next week

Defensive front with 5 sacks tonight, Ben looked calmness personified when it came to waxing the game. It’s a great start to the season and plenty of positives to be fair, but.....

The_Honeybadger · 27-09-2020 9:30pm

OOnegative wrote: »

Defensive front with 5 sacks tonight, Ben looked calmness personified when it came to waxing the game. It’s a great start to the season and plenty of positives to be fair, but.....

Yeah once they got that lead they really got after Watson. It looked like a light came on with Ben in that second half, looked way more comfortable than weeks 1 & 2. Hopefully that continues in to next week

OOnegative · 27-09-2020 10:33pm

Defense was 2nd on sacks for the week up until the late games with 5. Pressure coming from the Defensive front, secondary maybe lacking at the moment.

Pittsburgh Steelers Thread

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