Pittsburgh Steelers Thread

OOnegative · 15-02-2019 9:20pm

Foxtrol wrote: »

The Steelers organization are closer to carrying all the blame for the situation they find themselves in than they are blameless.

From a player acting out standpoint, they’ve given so much free rein to so many guys in that locker room that this was bound to happen eventually. Even looking at AB alone, the amount of stuff he has gotten up to that the organization let slide (with the help from the local media). From a cap space perspective, they wouldn’t have such large potential dead cap issues if they didn’t decide to try to strong arm Bell and chose to restructure AB’s contract as a tool to help do so. Finally, they were fine with using the media to try to pressure Bell into signing the franchise tag so what’s good for the goose is good for the gander when it comes to a player now using the media against them.

As I said not saying the Steelers are blameless in either case, AB wants to go, let him go. I know there’s business behind all of this and i’m naive in that subject. Bell was standing up for himself and other future RBs going forward, plain greedy is what he was doing. I know you understand the whole workings of an NFL organization a whole lot better than myself but that’s how I view the situations. Ridicule me if you like.

Foxtrol · 15-02-2019 9:31pm

OOnegative wrote: »

As I said not saying the Steelers are blameless in either case, AB wants to go, let him go. I know there’s business behind all of this and i’m naive in that subject. Bell was standing up for himself and other future RBs going forward, plain greedy is what he was doing. I know you understand the whole workings of an NFL organization a whole lot better than myself but that’s how I view the situations. Ridicule me if you like.

I'm not sure where you see the ridiculing from what I posted.

I continue to not understand why fans put most of the blame on players in these situations rather than taking a look at the Organization and their billionaire owners. Calling the players every name under the sun while just saying the Organization isn't 'blameless'.

OOnegative · 15-02-2019 9:44pm

Foxtrol wrote: »

I'm not sure where you see the ridiculing from what I posted.

I continue to not understand why fans put most of the blame on players in these situations rather than taking a look at the Organization and their billionaire owners. Calling the players every name under the sun while just saying the Organization isn't 'blameless'.

I said twice in my post the Steelers aren’t blameless in either situation, AB or Bell. Neither player is blameless either, Bell in my opinion is because he’s a money grabber & AB because he sees JuJu as a threat so he needs to jump ship to another team where he’s the centre of attention again. Me saying what I said about AB is frustration, 6 round risk by Steelers to best WR in the NFL, nobody else seemingly was willing to take a punt on him.......

The_Honeybadger · 16-02-2019 12:15am

Don’t claim to be an expert on contracts in the NFL myself but does anybody see this escalating in to an ugly sit out next season?

Given the Steelers hold all the leverage here what on earth is he doing with all this stuff on social media. He is killing his trade value, who is going to give up a good pick to bring that circus in to their organisation?

j8wk2feszrnpao · 16-02-2019 11:50am

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Don’t claim to be an expert on contracts in the NFL myself but does anybody see this escalating in to an ugly sit out next season?

Given the Steelers hold all the leverage here what on earth is he doing with all this stuff on social media. He is killing his trade value, who is going to give up a good pick to bring that circus in to their organisation?

The dead cap for the Steelers is an issue, unless they get at least a 1st, there isn’t much value in trading him. So I could def see a sit out occurring.

The_Honeybadger · 16-02-2019 3:26pm

munstermagic11 wrote: »

The dead cap for the Steelers is an issue, unless they get at least a 1st, there isn’t much value in trading him. So I could def see a sit out occurring.

Yeah I understand the dead cap was more referring to Foxtrols comment about the restructuring.

I think this could get very ugly, what a pity. That team had enough talent to win a SuperBowl. Chance is well gone now

OOnegative · 21-02-2019 9:26am

With Bell gone and Brown hopefully following suit soon enough what’s everyone’s opinion on the team now? See in a few places people are predicting it will be Tomlin’s first losing season as Steelers coach? Needs at LB, CB and WR in the draft anyway.

The_Honeybadger · 21-02-2019 9:49am

OOnegative wrote: »

With Bell gone and Brown hopefully following suit soon enough what’s everyone’s opinion on the team now? See in a few places people are predicting it will be Tomlin’s first losing season as Steelers coach? Needs at LB, CB and WR in the draft anyway.

Depends on the draft and free agency. They still have good players on both lines and a good QB. Most of Bens INTS last season were on attempts to Brown who threw a fit if he wasn’t targeted even in double coverage. Spread the ball around more and get a seasoned RB to rotate in with Connor and Samuels and draft or get a WR in FA. You can’t replace Brown but everyone else needs to step up. I really doubt they’ll have a losing season tbh.

The defence needs the most work, they haven’t replaced Shazier and Burns is a bust I think most people agree at this stage. At least they have some room in FA now and may get a high second for Brown depending on who they do a deal with.

Biggest question of all is around coaching, and specifically how the new defensive coach and OL coach settle in. Losing Munchak could have a huge impact yet.

OOnegative · 08-03-2019 7:40pm

Marcus Gilbert gone to the Cards for a 6th round pick. Good business signing Pouncey & Foster to new contracts.

OOnegative · 08-03-2019 8:37pm

On another note, what does it tell you about AB when the need-any kind of player Bills pull out of a potential trade for him? Has he killed any potential decent trade partners with his social media antics? Again i’ll say a fantastic player but absolute head-da-ball to boot.

Itssoeasy · 08-03-2019 10:18pm

OOnegative wrote: »

On another note, what does it tell you about AB when the need-any kind of player Bills pull out of a potential trade for him? Has he killed any potential decent trade partners with his social media antics? Again i’ll say a fantastic player but absolute head-da-ball to boot.

I don't know if he's been on about still wanting a new deal on social media but why would any team in the league trade and give away picks for a player unless he's fully happy with the deal and if not will just not show up ? I don't blame the bills tbh.

The_Honeybadger · 09-03-2019 12:27am

I wouldn’t blame any team for walking away after all that drama and the fact he wants a big new contract at 31.

They’ll probably get a cut price deal done with Oakland in the end but what a pity all around that it has to end this way in Pittsburgh for him.

The_Honeybadger · 10-03-2019 9:27am

AB gone to the Raiders for a third and a fifth in 2019 apparently. Brown is also getting his new guaranteed contract once he moves.

Not a great return for him is it? Hopefully the Steelers use the picks wisely.

The_Honeybadger · 12-03-2019 11:38pm

https://twitter.com/greggrosenthal/status/1105588457538117632?s=21

Well this would be embarrassing

Also Steelers have signed CB Steven Nelson for three years €25m should be an upgrade opposite Haden

OOnegative · 13-03-2019 12:17pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

https://twitter.com/greggrosenthal/status/1105588457538117632?s=21

Well this would be embarrassing

Also Steelers have signed CB Steven Nelson for three years €25m should be an upgrade opposite Haden

To sound like a bitter ex-fan, delighted for him, greed gets you nowhere!!

Nelson hopefully a big upgrade on Burns who’s been a bust.

The_Honeybadger · 13-03-2019 12:28pm

OOnegative wrote: »

To sound like a bitter ex-fan, delighted for him, greed gets you nowhere!!

Nelson hopefully a big upgrade on Burns who’s been a bust.

Yep and he’ll likely get battered to pieces behind that Swiss cheese oline. I’m strongly considering trying to make the @Jets game, this would make it even better

Now that corner is sorted presumably they’ll go ILB in round one and try to trade up in rd 2 maybe for a safety or WR? There isn’t really any money to replace Brown in FA

If they can sort out that defence (and kicker!) they can still be relevant in 2019 IMO

OOnegative · 14-03-2019 9:40am

Donte Moncrief inked a 2 year deal, will provide some experience at WR.

The_Honeybadger · 14-03-2019 1:44pm

OOnegative wrote: »

Donte Moncrief inked a 2 year deal, will provide some experience at WR.

No details yet. 700 yards last season in a pretty dysfunctional jags offence. If he can get 6-8 touchdowns and provide some of the deep threat that Brown did then happy days.

They are probably hoping that Washington will have a breakout year but can’t count on it I suppose.

OOnegative · 14-03-2019 7:34pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

https://twitter.com/greggrosenthal/status/1105588457538117632?s=21

Well this would be embarrassing

Also Steelers have signed CB Steven Nelson for three years €25m should be an upgrade opposite Haden

Figures quoted:

14.5 million year 1, 26 million through year 2, 39.5 million through year 3. Plus 8 million signing bonus and 25 million guaranteed.

The_Honeybadger · 14-03-2019 7:54pm

https://twitter.com/steeiernation/status/1106262170063552514?s=21

Houston would be awesome but hard to see how they can free up enough money

OOnegative · 14-03-2019 7:57pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

https://twitter.com/steeiernation/status/1106262170063552514?s=21

Houston would be awesome but hard to see how they can free up enough money

Can’t see either happening to be honest, say there FA work is done.

The_Honeybadger · 14-03-2019 8:03pm

OOnegative wrote: »

Can’t see either happening to be honest, say there FA work is done.

Yeah they don’t need Tate anyway but another linebacker would be nice rather than rolling the dice in the draft. They have work to do to clear enough for Moncrief and Nelson as it is.

The_Honeybadger · 17-03-2019 10:55pm

Steelers are reportedly about to sign LB Mark Barron. Good news if true, although he can be injury prone. LJ Fort is gone to the Eagles so they are desperately short there.

The_Honeybadger · 17-04-2019 11:47pm

Well folks the draft is about a week away what is the thoughts on what way the Steelers might go with their top picks? If Devin Bush falls to them at 20 I think they will take him but that’s unlikely. They will probably go CB or WR with that pick and maybe trade up in the second for Mack Wilson. They took out an insurance policy with Barron but ILB is still their biggest need.

They need a tight end and some depth on the O-Line as well but overall the roster is in good shape relatively speaking. Another running back would be a good pick too as I think they will be running the ball a lot more in 2019 with Brown gone. Conner and Samuels looked promising last year but another impact player would really help. They invited five RB’s to visit apparently.

The race for the Division should be cracking. Browns, Steelers and Ravens could all realistically win it. Bengals have holes all over the place and are I expect them to prop up the division but you never know of course. Ravens could go either way in Lamar Jackson’s second season. Can he stay healthy running as much as he does? Season can’t come soon enough.

The_Honeybadger · 28-04-2019 2:09am

Decent draft for the Steelers in the end. They got Devin Bush at great expense so hopefully he works out to be as good as advertised.

I think they made some great moves in FA bringing in Nelson, Barron and Moncrief to take the pressure of their rookies. No stars but all capable performers that will allow the new guys time to settle in to their surroundings.

Johnson was a surprising pick at 3a when the likes of Winovich and Hakeem Butler were still on play but they seem to be delighted to get him so they obviously saw something the media analysts didn’t.
After that they took Layne at CB and Benny Snell at RB, Layne probably won’t play much if at all and Snell will probably share the load with the brittle James Conner going forward.

Anything after that is a crapshoot and hardly worth mentioning. Gentry at TE stars do not convince at all but we’ll see I guess. Giving up that second round pick was a killer because they could have gotten a good TE there. You can’t have everything I guess.

OOnegative · 28-04-2019 8:32am

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Decent draft for the Steelers in the end. They got Devin Bush at great expense so hopefully he works out to be as good as advertised.

I think they made some great moves in FA bringing in Nelson, Barron and Moncrief to take the pressure of their rookies. No stars but all capable performers that will allow the new guys time to settle in to their surroundings.

Johnson was a surprising pick at 3a when the likes of Winovich and Hakeem Butler were still on play but they seem to be delighted to get him so they obviously saw something the media analysts didn’t.
After that they took Layne at CB and Benny Snell at RB, Layne probably won’t play much if at all and Snell will probably share the load with the brittle James Conner going forward.

Anything after that is a crapshoot and hardly worth mentioning. Gentry at TE stars do not convince at all but we’ll see I guess. Giving up that second round pick was a killer because they could have gotten a good TE there. You can’t have everything I guess.

Hopefully Bush is as good as all the so called experts reckon, not overly excited by the additions of Nelson and Barron. Both mediocre players at best, Moncrief has some upside just have to wait and see if Ben can get it out of him. The draft went as expected for me except the Bush move, we picked up players in positions of need. Johnson is an interesting pick, do the Steelers draft bad receivers!! Interesting season ahead.

The_Honeybadger · 28-04-2019 12:11pm

OOnegative wrote: »

Hopefully Bush is as good as all the so called experts reckon, not overly excited by the additions of Nelson and Barron. Both mediocre players at best, Moncrief has some upside just have to wait and see if Ben can get it out of him. The draft went as expected for me except the Bush move, we picked up players in positions of need. Johnson is an interesting pick, do the Steelers draft bad receivers!! Interesting season ahead.

Barron and Nelson at worst are an upgrade over Burnett and Burns. Edmunds might give them more in his second season too. They have a new assistant defensive coordinator who specialises in secondary coaching so I’d be hoping for improvement here. They might even get off the field on third down once in a while.

Moncrief is interesting, he has elite speed and size and has ok stats without ever having a settled QB throwing to him. They need him to work out because with Brown gone teams can in theory just stack the box and lock up JuJu to stop Ben moving the ball. Not expecting much from Washington or Johnson in the short term.

It will be an interesting season with lots of players and coaches having something to prove. I was hoping to make the @Jets game but the date is a disaster the weekend just before Xmas.

The_Honeybadger · 29-07-2019 1:10pm

Thought I’d resurrect the thread given training camp has started and Tomlin has been extended. Colbert also announced that he is taking things year to year from now on.

Tomlins deal runs to the end of Ben’s deal and I think he might go at that point because there will be a rebuild required and perhaps he will have had enough. Virtually the entire O-Line will probably follow Ben in to retirement as well as Heyward on D. Colbert might go around then too, why else would he be taking a year to year deal. Putting some pieces in place over the next couple of drafts to mitigate all these impending retirements is going to be very important.

For 2019 I’d be hopeful that the Steelers will still be competitive. They still have some of the best linemen in football and have shored up the ILB and CB positions that have absolutely killed them in recent seasons. If they are not significantly better on defence it will be a huge disappointment.

On offence Juju will hopefully continue to be very productive and they need one of Moncrief or Washington to step up and carry some of the load, ideally both. They will probably also run the ball a lot more and use Vance McDonald more. Hopefully James Conner can give a full season, the Steelers were flying in 2018 when he was playing well mid season. Boswell has better be back to his best as well, he kicked away at least two wins in 2018.

Depth at safety and tight end is the only big concern really, they have a pretty good roster overall but will be missing the star quality that they have had in recent years with AB and Bell. At least they can concentrate on football now though.

I think they will be somewhere between 8-8 and 11-5 depending on injuries and whether one of the receivers can offset some of the lost AB production. 11-5 will probably win a very tough division. Browns will be highly fancied but I’m not ready to crown them just yet.

OOnegative · 29-07-2019 2:27pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Thought I’d resurrect the thread given training camp has started and Tomlin has been extended. Colbert also announced that he is taking things year to year from now on.

Tomlins deal runs to the end of Ben’s deal and I think he might go at that point because there will be a rebuild required and perhaps he will have had enough. Virtually the entire O-Line will probably follow Ben in to retirement as well as Heyward on D. Colbert might go around then too, why else would he be taking a year to year deal. Putting some pieces in place over the next couple of drafts to mitigate all these impending retirements is going to be very important.

For 2019 I’d be hopeful that the Steelers will still be competitive. They still have some of the best linemen in football and have shored up the ILB and CB positions that have absolutely killed them in recent seasons. If they are not significantly better on defence it will be a huge disappointment.

On offence Juju will hopefully continue to be very productive and they need one of Moncrief or Washington to step up and carry some of the load, ideally both. They will probably also run the ball a lot more and use Vance McDonald more. Hopefully James Conner can give a full season, the Steelers were flying in 2018 when he was playing well mid season. Boswell has better be back to his best as well, he kicked away at least two wins in 2018.

Depth at safety and tight end is the only big concern really, they have a pretty good roster overall but will be missing the star quality that they have had in recent years with AB and Bell. At least they can concentrate on football now though.

I think they will be somewhere between 8-8 and 11-5 depending on injuries and whether one of the receivers can offset some of the lost AB production. 11-5 will probably win a very tough division. Browns will be highly fancied but I’m not ready to crown them just yet.

Say Tomlin has the job for as long as he likes unless things turn turk completely, the Rooney’s aren’t in the habit of firing head coaches, three since 1969!! If Ben keeps playing like he did last year he’ll stick around for another few seasons, his rating at 44 in NFL Top 100 this year is laughable coming off the season he had last year productivity wise. But when he calls it a day it will be a bleak few years for the organization, QB’s of his quality aren’t readily available in the draft as we all know. I reckon we’ll win the division and the Browns won’t live up to all the hype around them. OBJ and Baker will clash big time on who’s the star of the team!!

The_Honeybadger · 29-07-2019 3:07pm

OOnegative wrote: »

Say Tomlin has the job for as long as he likes unless things turn turk completely, the Rooney’s aren’t in the habit of firing head coaches, three since 1969!! If Ben keeps playing like he did last year he’ll stick around for another few seasons, his rating at 44 in NFL Top 100 this year is laughable coming off the season he had last year productivity wise. But when he calls it a day it will be a bleak few years for the organization, QB’s of his quality aren’t readily available in the draft as we all know. I reckon we’ll win the division and the Browns won’t live up to all the hype around them. OBJ and Baker will clash big time on who’s the star of the team!!

The reason I think Tomlin and Colbert might walk is to protect their legacy. They have a very good record but it will be difficult (if not impossible) to maintain that after Ben and that excellent O-Line are gone. With regards Tomlin having the job as long as he wants I’m not sure. They only gave him one year when a 2-3 year extension would be the norm. They won’t fire him but they can let his contract play out and not extend further, citing mutual agreement to save face.

I’m hopeful the Steelers will win the AFC North too. I think people see AB gone and strike a line through the Steelers for 2019 but they still have good players and can work around his absence imo. They need to be lucky with injuries though, if anything happens to Juju they will be in serious trouble moving the ball as there is nobody else in the team that can do what he does. You could say that about certain players on any team though.

Browns have huge potential and look great on paper, particularly in the skill positions but there are definitely questions around their O-Line and defensive secondary. OBJ is awesome but he has had a lot of injuries in recent seasons and I’m not sure I’d want to be depending on him to be healthy if I’m honest. Anyway you’d hope the Steelers can split with the Browns and Ravens and get two wins v the unfortunate Bengals who are a total mess with injuries. Interesting season in store.

OOnegative · 29-07-2019 3:13pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

The reason I think Tomlin and Colbert might walk is to protect their legacy. They have a very good record but it will be difficult (if not impossible) to maintain that after Ben and that excellent O-Line are gone. With regards Tomlin having the job as long as he wants I’m not sure. They only gave him one year when a 2-3 year extension would be the norm. They won’t fire him but they can let his contract play out and not extend further, citing mutual agreement to save face.

I’m hopeful the Steelers will win the AFC North too. I think people see AB gone and strike a line through the Steelers for 2019 but they still have good players and can work around his absence imo. They need to be lucky with injuries though, if anything happens to Juju they will be in serious trouble moving the ball as there is nobody else in the team that can do what he does. You could say that about certain players on any team though.

Browns have huge potential and look great on paper, particularly in the skill positions but there are definitely questions around their O-Line and defensive secondary. OBJ is awesome but he has had a lot of injuries in recent seasons and I’m not sure I’d want to be depending on him to be healthy if I’m honest. Anyway you’d hope the Steelers can split with the Browns and Ravens and get two wins v the unfortunate Bengals who are a total mess with injuries. Interesting season in store.

Ben or JuJu go down for any significant amount of time this season we’ll be in bother. Look AB was great and I hope in the future he’ll recognize that the Steelers helped make him the player he is but i’m glad he’s gone for drama situations alone. It’s going to be a very interesting season in the AFC North alright with 3 teams fighting it out for the chance to be called Division Champions.

dfx- · 11-08-2019 1:41pm

*glances over at the Raiders*

Ah, peace and quiet...

The_Honeybadger · 12-08-2019 12:19am

dfx- wrote: »

*glances over at the Raiders*

Ah, peace and quiet...

A lot of Steelers fans wanted to keep him and make him play out his deal. Can you just imagine that!

Washington, Juju and Moncrief reportedly all looking good at camp. Offence will probably struggle in September but I’m pretty sure they will figure it out after that.

The_Honeybadger · 01-09-2019 1:27am

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pennlive.com/steelers/2019/08/steelers-announce-final-cuts-53-man-roster.html%3FoutputType%3Damp

Final 53, no big surprises. Defensive depth is miles better than 2018 and they actually have guys that can cover the middle of the field now, and a capable outside corner opposite Haden. It would be very disappointing if the D is not significantly improved.

Only big worry is that they have no tight ends if Vance McDonald gets hurt, if Grimble is starting it’s bad! There are no other glaring holes in the roster, I’m actually quite hopeful for the season ahead.

As an aside Mason Rudolph has looked really good in the preseason, might actually be able to develop in to Ben’s successor in time.

dfx- · 03-09-2019 4:18pm

yeah, TE has been a problem for a number of years now since Miller left. Green didn't work out, Grimble is unreliable, MacDonald is excellent, but an injury worry.

I'm really surprised it hasn't been more of a priority in drafts and trades. Also who knows how the crop of WRs will do.

Strong point is the OL and the defense seem to have been getting a few INTs in pre-season for what it's worth.

NFC West and AFC East. So a fairly tough schedule.

@Patriots
vs. Seahawks
@49ers
vs. Bengals
vs. Ravens
@Chargers
Bye
vs. Dolphins
vs. Colts
vs. Rams
@Browns
@Bengals
vs. Browns
@Cardinals
vs. Bills
@Jets
@Ravens

Anyone hazard a guess of the record?

The_Honeybadger · 03-09-2019 4:33pm

@Patriots Loss
vs. Seahawks Win
@49ers Loss
vs. Bengals Win
vs. Ravens Win
@Chargers Win
Bye
vs. Dolphins Win
vs. Colts Win
vs. Rams Loss
@Browns Loss
@Bengals Win
vs. Browns Win
@Cardinals Win
vs. Bills Win
@Jets Win
@Ravens Loss

11-5 which I think will win a very tough division this year.

I would not be surprised if you have a wildcard team from the AFC North and maybe even two because the Steelers, Browns and Ravens are all potential playoff teams that will take wins from each other and end up somewhere between 8-8 and 11-5. Obviously injuries could derail one of them

dfx- · 04-09-2019 10:43am

a hard fixture list might be a good thing based on previous years with "Road Ben" peppered with infamous defeats at Oakland, Tampa, Miami and Chicago.

@Cardinals is the only obvious one sticking out for that, might be different when the season gets going. Seahawks might be a tough game and going to SF 0-2 would not be good.

It does look a tough division to win though and @Ravens final game...

@Patriots Loss
vs. Seahawks Win
@49ers Win
vs. Bengals Win
vs. Ravens Loss
@Chargers Win
Bye
vs. Dolphins Win
vs. Colts Win
vs. Rams Loss
@Browns Loss
@Bengals Win
vs. Browns Win
@Cardinals Win
vs. Bills Win
@Jets Loss
@Ravens Loss

10-6 for me

The_Honeybadger · 05-09-2019 1:13pm

What are the thoughts ahead of Sunday? Steelers have never beaten Brady in Foxborough they are 0-5 there since he came in to the league.

Pats have some issues on their O Line and have a new group there. Steelers should be able to get plenty of pressure up the middle. Pats will probably run a lot and dump short passes to White and Edelman. No Gronk which is a relief.

Steelers are a bit of an unknown quantity on offence, it always takes Ben a while to get going and without AB it could be rough for the first few games including this one.

It’s hard to make a case for the Steelers here given the record in Boston but I think it will be close and I wouldn’t be shocked if the Steelers stole it.

OOnegative · 05-09-2019 2:49pm

While pre-season appeared to go well I would take it with a pinch of salt, real football starts Sunday night. The Patriots are the Patriots, they always find a way to win, it’s the reason Brady & Bill are so good. But I think we can win in Foxboro for first time in a while, defense is on the up, one of the best O-Lines in football and still plenty of talent on the offense.

As always it depends which away Big Ben turns up, but he seems to raise his performance for the “better” teams on the road. Think we can win the AFC North, if Cleveland get off to a shaky start players might start pointing fingers in that dressing room with the amount of egos present, Ravens will be like ourselves always solid & depends a lot on how there QB performs. Bengals won’t do much, not with Dalton calling the shots.

dfx- · 05-09-2019 3:18pm

I think it's a free shot. Not as tense or "must win" as the last two games in Pittsburgh against them which were late in the year. And nobody is expecting the Patriots to lose. As long as they don't run away with it in the first quarter.

The last game there in the playoffs was a nightmare with Bell getting injured early on and blown coverages everywhere in defense.

I'd hope they keep it close and get off the field in defense, some 3-and-outs early on. They will try to double up on Juju, so who else in the WRs shows up. McDonald could be huge.

The_Honeybadger · 05-09-2019 4:44pm

dfx- wrote: »

I think it's a free shot. Not as tense or "must win" as the last two games in Pittsburgh against them which were late in the year. And nobody is expecting the Patriots to lose. As long as they don't run away with it in the first quarter.

The last game there in the playoffs was a nightmare with Bell getting injured early on and blown coverages everywhere in defense.

I'd hope they keep it close and get off the field in defense, some 3-and-outs early on. They will try to double up on Juju, so who else in the WRs shows up. McDonald could be huge.

Pats blew up Butlers zone coverage scheme entirely in that game, they play much more man coverage now and will try to get after Brady early and often like they did last season. Can the Steelers stop the run is the question as I think they will go very heavy with Michel and the others and they’re very creative.

I think you’ll see Connor and Samuels used as receivers a lot throughout the season and maybe that why they haven’t gone after a TE. Samuels played TE in college and Connor showed last year that he can be a very effective receiver. You then have Vance, Washington and Moncrief as well as Juju and Ryan Switzer. Ben has plenty of targets and should have no excuses. How long will it take for them to gel as a unit is the thing.

dfx- · 06-09-2019 11:36am

You can also say the year before - the Jesse James TD catch game - they also outplayed them, possibly better than last year. They do have in it them to beat them recently. Can this new side replicate that in Foxboro in week 1?

I'll go for a 28-17 defeat based on history..

The_Honeybadger · 06-09-2019 12:20pm

Defence is the key, and don’t give them turnovers. If the Pats make it a two score game at any stage Ben will start throwing it all over the place and we could get tonked.

If it was at Heinz I’d back the Steelers, but like yourself I don’t trust them at Foxborough

The_Honeybadger · 07-09-2019 5:23pm

Rooney, Tomlin, Colbert and Ben must be absolutely laughing their holes off right about now.

That third and fifth was a steal even though it didn’t feel like it at the time

OOnegative · 07-09-2019 5:46pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Rooney, Tomlin, Colbert and Ben must be absolutely laughing their holes off right about now.

That third and fifth was a steal even though it didn’t feel like it at the time

AB is barking & it’s sad to see, has to be underlying issues for his behaviour though. Steelers did the right thing as you said though and the 3rd&5th look like good business now.

The_Honeybadger · 09-09-2019 4:18am

Oh dear! Nothing on offence, defence couldn’t cover anybody. Just brutal. Hopefully this will act as a wake up call and they can get something going in the coming weeks, huge improvement required in every phase. Pats didn’t even have to play that well, we made it so easy for them.

I don’t even know what to say about Moncrief, I lost count of the drops. Crazy to do that in a game like this, not that it would have made a difference but it’s still inexcusable.

OOnegative · 09-09-2019 7:56am

Glad I didn’t wait up for the 2.20am kickoff here in Holland!! Sounds like a mess reading about it, Moncrief targeted 10 times and only managed to haul in 3!! No run game or defense either by looks of it, things need to get better fairly fast if they want to be in the mix come January.

Could be worse though, at least we’re not the Browns!!

The_Honeybadger · 09-09-2019 9:37am

OOnegative wrote: »

Glad I didn’t wait up for the 2.20am kickoff here in Holland!! Sounds like a mess reading about it, Moncrief targeted 10 times and only managed to haul in 3!! No run game or defense either by looks of it, things need to get better fairly fast if they want to be in the mix come January.

Could be worse though, at least we’re not the Browns!!

They didn’t really try to run and they hardly used McDonald at all. Ben was trying YOLO passes chasing the game and nothing worked, there was some funny play calling too. You’d have to wonder who is calling the plays on offence. Very sloppy performance all around but I think we had an idea that the offence might be very rusty at the start of the season.

Losing Davis on defence was a killer because that was not a good game for Kelly to get his first start and he got burned twice for scores.

It’s only week 1 and I think they will improve a lot as they go through the season but the difference in the two teams in terms of preparedness was stark.

dfx- · 09-09-2019 10:14am

Watched the first half and went to bed.

Some awful offense. Kings of the two yard sideways pass going nowhere, did it three times in a row on one set of downs. It look like Fichtner tried to do the same as last year and you don't fool them twice. And they kept doing it and kept failing on 3 and 1 and 4 and 1s.

It was as bad as the Ravens last year.

https://twitter.com/DavidMTodd/status/1170903822727864320

The_Honeybadger · 09-09-2019 9:43pm

Last night was a disaster in more ways than one. Haden and Watt are expected to be out for a few weeks while JuJu and Pouncey are also nursing injuries. FFS

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