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T.J. Watt and J.J. Watt would make a Steelers Dream Team

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Chicoman

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What a great team win today by our Steelers on the road in Jacksonville, which has a history of being a stadium we've had our fair share of problems at. The Defense really stepped up today against the Jaguars and their rookie QB Jake Luton. This is exactly what I expect when the Steelers roll into town against a bad team....you shut them down and beat them up and that's exactly what our Defense did today. I've got to give credit to Tomlin for keeping this team focused against an opponent that could have made for a classic trap game against the 1-8 Jaguars. BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....Excuse me while I LOL @ Ratbirds for letting Derrick Henry run for the Game Winning TD! Let's make that a 4 game lead over the Ratbirds.....I think the Clowns are in sole possession of 2nd place now! OK so back to our Steelers game. The Defense really stepped up today.....in particular Minkah Fitzpatrick & Terrell Edmunds with 2 INT's each for the game.....Edmunds showed nice catching ability on his 2nd INT tipping the ball up in the air and making a nice catch. Are we finally seeing some more progression from Edmunds in his 3rd season? Saw some improvement today from our running game and James Conner had a few nice runs for some big gains as he was able to get around the edges. Was refreshing to not see any Jet Sweeps in the first half as I absolutely hate those playcalls but Fitchner tossed in 3 or 4 of them in the 2nd half to keep it close. I love Dionte Johnson but I hate his hands.....he has average ability catching the football but my god is he exciting to watch when he does catch it. His ability to create YAC makes him enjoyable to watch. I didn't see Zach Gentry's injury but Tomlin has said it's a significant knee injury......possibly season ending. Will Vance McDonald be ready to go for Thursday night or will the Steelers need to bring in a TE to backup Ebron. I certainly saw a difference in the run game out there with Ebron as the only TE available. Might have to activate Kevin Radar from the Practice Squad if McDonald is still unavailable due to CoVid-19. A few other thoughts today I'd like to see the Steelers get James Washington a little more involved in the offense.....I think Washington deserves a few more targets out there....he has great hands. The O-line did a good job of keeping Ben upright all game and did a better job in run blocking today for Conner. Such a short week this week and it's Ratbird Week......I'm excited that our Steelers could literally ROAST the Ravens on Thankgiving Night with a Crushing Defeat that would all but elminiate their playoff chances this season as a loss will drop them to 6-5 with 5 games to go.


And for your enjoyment.....The Ratbirds Game Thread vs the Titans might be some of the best laughs you've had all year! https://forum.russellstreetreport.com/showthread.php?203531-Game-Thread-Titans-Ravens-11-22

Injuries
Juju - Toe could have gone back in but it was a safety precaution to keep him out
Zach Gentry - Significant Knee injury in game.....Tomlin will update more tomorrow
Joe Haden - Knee but was able to go back into the game


Game Balls:
Dionte Johnson - I asolutely love seeing him with the football in his hand....he's exciting to watch. 2nd 100yd receiving game today....12 rec 111yds
James Conner - 89 yds rushing on 13 carries and 10 yds receiving
Ben Roethlisberger - 32 for 46 267 yds 2 TD's 1-INT......despite the bad desperation toss to end the first half he played a nice game and made some good throws to Claypool, Johnson and Ebron
Terrell Edmunds - much maligned for most of his career he had a nice game today.....2 INT's
Minkah Fitzpatrick - 2 more INT's to add to his season totals......if you were worried about Minkah don't worry he's just fine


Game Goats:
No Goats today!

FU's:
FU to Myles Jack - I saw him lead with the crown of his helmet 3 times when tackling our Steelers ball carries.....he was penalized once against Juju for spearing him but he was doing it all game. ******* JACKOFF! I hope the NFL fines this *******!
 
DJ's problem isn't his hand positioning. It's getting his hands in ready position on breaks. WRs are supposed to have their hands at chest height when they turn and face the QB. He's lazy with that, and they are usually at his hips, so he has to bring his hands up to catch the ball. It makes for bad drops. WR Coach needs to correct this.
 
Game Balls: Minkah, Terrell, Dionte and Ben
Goats: Whoever had Ben throw the ball 46 times today
FU: None that come to mind right now

Papillon
 
While Johnson is good, the Steelers rely on him too much.

12 Targets for Johnson and just 12 combined targets for Claypool, Ju-Ju, and Ebron?

Claypool yards per target is greater easily when you add in the flags.

Sooner or later, CB's are going to gamble as to where Ben is throwing it before Johnson cuts ( Usually to the sidelines ) and a pick is can happen.
 
Coach said:
While Johnson is good, the Steelers rely on him too much.

12 Targets for Johnson and just 12 combined targets for Claypool, Ju-Ju, and Ebron?

Claypool yards per target is greater easily when you add in the flags.

Sooner or later, CB's are going to gamble as to where Ben is throwing it before Johnson cuts ( Usually to the sidelines ) and a pick is can happen.
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nfl.com shows 16 targets for DJ, 8 for Claypool, 7 for Ebron and 5 for JuJu....not sure where you get your stats from
 
The one thing that I absolutely have to knock about the Steelers is the offense. The Jags secondary was basically a collection of scrubs when the game started, and did not improve during the game as injuries mounted and the Steelers absolutely refused to exploit that and take advantage. If you ask me, what we saw from Rudolph and Duck last year is basically the same offense Ben is running this year. The stupid little short throws, jet sweeps and dink and dunk all game long. Looks an awful lot like last year's offense. I expected when Ben came back that it would look different, but it hasn't. It's the same bullshit. Ben just executes it better I guess.

There is absolutely no reason not to take advantage of a defense that is missing multiple starters, especially in the secondary. Yeah, a win is a win and in the end, this game wasn't close, but to bullshit around for a quarter and a half is not a recipe for success. Fortunately, the Steelers keep getting away with it, so I'm happy about that. Eventually, it is going to bite them in the ***. I just hope it's in a throw away game leading up to the playoffs rather than the AFCC or SB.

It's just frustrating because this team is better than this. At 10-0, it's funny to say that, but damn. This offense has an extra gear they refuse to engage for whatever reason. It's mind boggling.
 
Sarge said:
The one thing that I absolutely have to knock about the Steelers is the offense. The Jags secondary was basically a collection of scrubs when the game started, and did not improve during the game as injuries mounted and the Steelers absolutely refused to exploit that and take advantage. If you ask me, what we saw from Rudolph and Duck last year is basically the same offense Ben is running this year. The stupid little short throws, jet sweeps and dink and dunk all game long. Looks an awful lot like last year's offense. I expected when Ben came back that it would look different, but it hasn't. It's the same bullshit. Ben just executes it better I guess.

There is absolutely no reason not to take advantage of a defense that is missing multiple starters, especially in the secondary. Yeah, a win is a win and in the end, this game wasn't close, but to bullshit around for a quarter and a half is not a recipe for success. Fortunately, the Steelers keep getting away with it, so I'm happy about that. Eventually, it is going to bite them in the ***. I just hope it's in a throw away game leading up to the playoffs rather than the AFCC or SB.

It's just frustrating because this team is better than this. At 10-0, it's funny to say that, but damn. This offense has an extra gear they refuse to engage for whatever reason. It's mind boggling.
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I hate all the 3rd down passes well short of the sticks
 
Agree 1000% about getting Washington more involved.
 
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How about the OL in pass protection? I know Ben's getting rid of the ball faster than anyone in the league on average, but to not be sacked once on approx 150 dropbacks is pretty damn impressive. As for the run blocking, I'm just gonna enjoy 10-0 for now.
 
Sarge said:
The one thing that I absolutely have to knock about the Steelers is the offense. The Jags secondary was basically a collection of scrubs when the game started, and did not improve during the game as injuries mounted and the Steelers absolutely refused to exploit that and take advantage. If you ask me, what we saw from Rudolph and Duck last year is basically the same offense Ben is running this year. The stupid little short throws, jet sweeps and dink and dunk all game long. Looks an awful lot like last year's offense. I expected when Ben came back that it would look different, but it hasn't. It's the same bullshit. Ben just executes it better I guess.

There is absolutely no reason not to take advantage of a defense that is missing multiple starters, especially in the secondary. Yeah, a win is a win and in the end, this game wasn't close, but to bullshit around for a quarter and a half is not a recipe for success. Fortunately, the Steelers keep getting away with it, so I'm happy about that. Eventually, it is going to bite them in the ***. I just hope it's in a throw away game leading up to the playoffs rather than the AFCC or SB.

It's just frustrating because this team is better than this. At 10-0, it's funny to say that, but damn. This offense has an extra gear they refuse to engage for whatever reason. It's mind boggling.
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There’s plenty of short throws, but some very excellent long throws too. The TD to Chase and Ebron were nice. The throw that Johnson juggled and caught at the goal, plus one dropped that hit Chase in the grill and a couple that drew DPI. I think there were enough shots taken today.
 
Chicoman, you do a GREAT job on these post(s), thank you


I have to give a attA boY to special teams play, they covered the onside kick brilliantly. The LONG SNAPPER Canada needs serious competition next season. his snap is what caused BOZ to miss. Still overall a good day for them, maybe Bubbles keeps his job another week...........




Salute the nation
 
Sarge, to add onto your post, I could swear sometimes the Steelers simply do what it takes on offense to win. Part of that is because Ben has that gunslinger mentality and will look to make plays that are sometimes there, sometimes not. They're playing it pretty conservative for the most part and its getting the job done, albeit sometimes very stressful to watch.
 
The Steelers have lost trap games to inferior opponents like this in the past. Now guys are finding **** to complain about when they win by 24 points. I've never cared for Tomlin, but I give him credit for turning that infuriating trend around this season. He (and his players) are making far fewer mistakes.

One thing I have noticed is that the Steelers seem to be benefitting from some timely penalties, some correct and some more questionable, than I can recall in recent years. Especially in the Dallas game, and then again today with the interference call involving Claypool, and a phantom holding call on Watt's guy which negated a first down and set up a 3rd-and-19.

Yes, the team itself is far from perfect, but their record is. It's hard to find much fault with 10-0. Feels good.
 
6Lombardis said:
There’s plenty of short throws, but some very excellent long throws too. The TD to Chase and Ebron were nice. The throw that Johnson juggled and caught at the goal, plus one dropped that hit Chase in the grill and a couple that drew DPI. I think there were enough shots taken today.
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The routes that seem to be missing, Ben doesn't see them, they're covered or not in the game plan are the intermediate routes, the passing offense seems like its feast or famine.

Papillon
 
i don't think there are complaints about this particular game. It's a concern about weaknesses for the playoffs. I am very concerned that this team can't run the ball up the middle at all. This OL gets pushed back so easily. Even subpar run defenses are able to easily stop any rush attempts up the middle.

They have to come up with something to run the ball. I don't want to hear the horseshit about the short passes being the running game. It's true that a good short passing game can be similar to a run game but there are also situations, IE running out the clock and short yardage where you absolutely need to be able to run the ball. Without gimmicks, without some jet sweep action or some complex blocking scheme to get outside. I mean being able to get 2 yards when you need it.
 
JAgs defender pushed Washington like 10 feet away from him on that interception, lol. Not the best decision, but definitely should've been called back.
 
tapeANaspirin2it said:
i don't think there are complaints about this particular game. It's a concern about weaknesses for the playoffs. I am very concerned that this team can't run the ball up the middle at all. This OL gets pushed back so easily. Even subpar run defenses are able to easily stop any rush attempts up the middle.

They have to come up with something to run the ball. I don't want to hear the horseshit about the short passes being the running game. It's true that a good short passing game can be similar to a run game but there are also situations, IE running out the clock and short yardage where you absolutely need to be able to run the ball. Without gimmicks, without some jet sweep action or some complex blocking scheme to get outside. I mean being able to get 2 yards when you need it.
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Unpopular as the thought may be, but DeCastro seems (to my untrained eye) to be the weak link here. He's getting little to no push, missing blocks and is not being asked to pull as much as in the past. Pouncey has never been a mauler. But DeCastro has been so good for so long that it allowed them to focus on getting Pouncey to the second level and seal block. He's not doing that as well this year either. Funny (not ha ha funny), but the running game worked better when Dotson was in in place of DeCastro. Maybe DeCastro isn't as healthy as they say he is. And maybe they're going with the vet out of deference (as they have done in the past at other positions).
 
Zack_of_Steel said:
JAgs defender pushed Washington like 10 feet away from him on that interception, lol. Not the best decision, but definitely should've been called back.
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It was the end of the half, while leading, and due to get the ball back after halftime. It meant less than NOTHING.
 
papillon said:
The routes that seem to be missing, Ben doesn't see them, they're covered or not in the game plan are the intermediate routes, the passing offense seems like its feast or famine.

Papillon
Click to expand...
My only, complaint, if you will, was with Ben forcing the ball into the end zone for the unnecessary INT. Go back - watch the play and pan left - there's a WIDE OPEN Steeler on the left sideline who would have walked into the end zone.

Oh well...

Sent from my SM-N960U using Steeler Nation mobile app
 
bermudasteel said:
My only, complaint, if you will, was with Ben forcing the ball into the end zone for the unnecessary INT. Go back - watch the play and pan left - there's a WIDE OPEN Steeler on the left sideline who would have walked into the end zone.

Oh well...

Sent from my SM-N960U using Steeler Nation mobile app
Click to expand...

Thing is we don't know what the result would have been if Washington didn't get bumped off the route. We know Ben likes to go for the kill shot sometimes as sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. We just happened to witness two times recently it didn't.

In hindsight you would like those field goals.
 
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