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<strong>By Thomas Cooper
www.SteelerNation.com</strong>
The Steelers played a sloppy brand of football riddled with a disjointed offense, a secondary that lacked some communication, and a whole team that decided to get a season’s worth of penalties in one game. The Vikings appeared in mid-season form clicking on offense, defense, and special teams. Will the Steelers take the bad film against the Browns and use it as a teaching tool to make a drastic improvement or will they continue the sloppy play? Will the Vikings believe that the performance they showed on Monday night be the consistent level of play they expect to have throughout the season or will they tumble back to earth? In the openers, both teams played a little out of character, the Vikings being better and the Steelers making Cleveland look like a contender. Did we see the true character of both teams?
<strong>Steelers Defense VS Vikings Offense</strong>
The Vikings’ offense looked to have an excellent blend of run and pass against the Saints’ defense. Rookie <strong>Dalvin Cook</strong> was everything the Vikings hoped he would be when they drafted him in the second round. He has solid hands and can be a threat out of the backfield as a receiver, but he also showed good power and vision in the run game. The Vikings rebuilt their offensive line in the offseason with the key acquisition being left tackle <strong>Riley Reiff</strong> from the Lions. They also added veteran <strong>Mike Remmers</strong> on the right side and drafted <strong>Pat Elflein</strong> to play center. <strong>Joe Berger</strong> is the grizzled and consistent veteran at right guard and the line is rounded out by second year man <strong>Nick Easton</strong> at left guard. In the season opener, they did a masterful job opening holes in the Saints run defense and kept <strong>Sam Bradford</strong> clean enough for him to slice apart the Saints secondary. <strong>Kyle Rudolph</strong> is coming off his best season as a pro and is steady and consistent. Rudolph isn’t that seam splitting deep threat that often gives the Steelers defense trouble, but he is able to find spots underneath to keep the chains moving. At wide receiver, the Saints have two true threats in <strong>Stefon Diggs</strong> and <strong>Adam Thielen</strong>. Diggs is the more explosive playmaker while Thielen is an excellent route runner with a large catch radius and excellent hands. Behind the two starters, <strong>Laquon Treadwell</strong> is the first player in but he doesn’t show great athleticism and can struggle to separate. <strong>Jarius Wright</strong> also sees significant snaps, but Wright fits the profile of a slot receiver due to his lack of size and elite quickness.
<strong>By Thomas Cooper
www.SteelerNation.com</strong>
The Steelers played a sloppy brand of football riddled with a disjointed offense, a secondary that lacked some communication, and a whole team that decided to get a season’s worth of penalties in one game. The Vikings appeared in mid-season form clicking on offense, defense, and special teams. Will the Steelers take the bad film against the Browns and use it as a teaching tool to make a drastic improvement or will they continue the sloppy play? Will the Vikings believe that the performance they showed on Monday night be the consistent level of play they expect to have throughout the season or will they tumble back to earth? In the openers, both teams played a little out of character, the Vikings being better and the Steelers making Cleveland look like a contender. Did we see the true character of both teams?
<strong>Steelers Defense VS Vikings Offense</strong>
The Vikings’ offense looked to have an excellent blend of run and pass against the Saints’ defense. Rookie <strong>Dalvin Cook</strong> was everything the Vikings hoped he would be when they drafted him in the second round. He has solid hands and can be a threat out of the backfield as a receiver, but he also showed good power and vision in the run game. The Vikings rebuilt their offensive line in the offseason with the key acquisition being left tackle <strong>Riley Reiff</strong> from the Lions. They also added veteran <strong>Mike Remmers</strong> on the right side and drafted <strong>Pat Elflein</strong> to play center. <strong>Joe Berger</strong> is the grizzled and consistent veteran at right guard and the line is rounded out by second year man <strong>Nick Easton</strong> at left guard. In the season opener, they did a masterful job opening holes in the Saints run defense and kept <strong>Sam Bradford</strong> clean enough for him to slice apart the Saints secondary. <strong>Kyle Rudolph</strong> is coming off his best season as a pro and is steady and consistent. Rudolph isn’t that seam splitting deep threat that often gives the Steelers defense trouble, but he is able to find spots underneath to keep the chains moving. At wide receiver, the Saints have two true threats in <strong>Stefon Diggs</strong> and <strong>Adam Thielen</strong>. Diggs is the more explosive playmaker while Thielen is an excellent route runner with a large catch radius and excellent hands. Behind the two starters, <strong>Laquon Treadwell</strong> is the first player in but he doesn’t show great athleticism and can struggle to separate. <strong>Jarius Wright</strong> also sees significant snaps, but Wright fits the profile of a slot receiver due to his lack of size and elite quickness.
