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A short week and a tough divisional opponent on the road in Cleveland tonight. This one pretty much went down like I thought it would......Steelers gradually losing the battle in Time of Posession and our Defense wearing down against an excellent Browns running game was just too much for the Steelers to overcome as they drop to 1-2 on the season. I thought the Steelers had a good game plan to start the game and the offense looked better than the first two games in the first half but they seemed to move away from the running game at the start of the second half and the offense sputtered as three, 3 & Out drives became the theme for the Steelers offense after their 1st posession in the second half. I really don't understand after the Browns lost their 2 starting ILB's by early 3rd Quarter and they still didn't attack the middle of the field or run up the middle with 2 inexperienced ILB's and our O-line up to that point had done ok with run blocking. Through 3 weeks the Steelers have lost the battle for Time of Posession by significant margins in all 3 games with their opponents posessing the football for over 115 minutes of 190 minutes played. I don't care if this was the 70's Steel Curtain on Defense...they would wear down too.
So the obvious question is it Mitch Trubisky or is it Matt Canada (27 Passes Outside the Hash Marks, 5 in the middle of the field....That's The Canaduh Effect)? Not throwing into the middle of the field and throwing outside the hash marks the Steelers are basically using 1/3 of the field to move the offense. Pretty ******* ridiculous! The Steelers offense was 1 for 9 on third down tonight (13 for 39 in 3 games on 3rd down)....that's just downright pathetic. The O-line has actually played pretty good in the first 3 games so stop throwing them under the bus as Trubisky had plenty of time to throw the ball downfield. The receiving corp is solid on this team....Johnson, Claypool, Pickens, Freiermuth, Gentry, and RB duo in Harris & Warren are pretty damn good and IMO they stack up just as good as any other team's offensive weapons. Why they are unable to sustain drives comes down to 2 people....Mitch Trublisky & Matt Canada. I did start to question the play calling in the 2nd half down 2 scores and running Najee up the middle on first down seemed like bad play calling. I see people calling for a No Huddle offense....I don't think that's an option for any offense when you can't sustain drives with first downs...your just giving the ball back to your opponent that much quicker.
I will never buy into the narrative of starting a rookie QB and that it will ruin him. If it ruins him he was never cut out to be an NFL QB! I doubt they FIRE Matt Canada until the end of the season but at this point I see minimal risk in starting Kenny Pickett next week vs Jets. Looking at our schedule ahead of us it's really a difficult road before the BYE Week 9. Our next 5 games are Jets, @ Buffalo, Tampa Bay, @ Miami, @ Philly. I could conceivably see this team going 1-7 or 2-6 into the BYE if things don't change. This offense needs a spark and we can't continue to lose the Time of Posession battle or this team will lose every game the rest of the way.
The offense needs a spark! They aren't getting it from Trubisky so they've got nothing to lose starting Kenny Pickett.....IT'S TIME!
Per Tomlin's Post Game:
No Significant Injuries....
Akhello Witherspoon - Hamstring being evaluated
Game Balls:
Alex Highsmith - 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks.....he got good pressure on Cleveland tonight for much of the game when the Browns tried to throw downfield.
O-line - They've actually played pretty darn good in all 3 games...and they were good again tonight. I started to get frustrated by Trubisky not stepping up into the pocket and moving laterally usually into the face of an oncoming defender. BTW Myles Garrett had 2 tackles tonight.
George Pickens - Great catch tonight....would love to see more of this kid but first we need a better QB who can get him the football!
Game Goats:
Akhello Withspoon - He got smoked today by Amari Cooper...we are starting to see his limitations at CB when he goes against top tier WR's.
Terrell Edmunds - Gave up 2 TD's tonight....he still lacks the intincts needed to be an NFL Safety.
Chuckwuma Okorafor - WTF was he doing on Jaylen Warren's screen pass? They flagged him for being downfield but he was running with the play. Seeing him Frog Splash that Clowns LB'er was ridiculous and uncalled for....It's the NFL not the WWE! It really killed our first drive in the 2nd Half.
Devin Bush - I don't recall ever seeing an ILB get run over more than Devin Bush did tonight. Stats show he had 11 tackles but I think half of those were from Chubb tripping as he trampled over Devin Bush.
Mitch Trubisky - 20 for 32 207 yds - (27 Passes Outside the Hash Marks, 4 in the middle of the field....That's The Canaduh Effect) Subtract a ridiculous catch by Pickens for 36 yds and Mitch averaged 5.5 YPA. In his first 2 game he averaged 5.1 YPA. His incompletions tonight were really badly overthrown/underthrown passes.....as he was wildly inaccurate tonight. Curious to see where he ranks? https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/least-passing-yards-per-attempt-by-a-qbs-since-2000
FU's:
Matt Canada - (27 Passes Outside the Hash Marks, 5 in the middle of the field....That's The Canaduh Effect)? Not throwing into the middle of the field and throwing outside the hash marks the Steelers are basically using 1/3 of the field to move the offense. Pretty ******* ridiculous! I know Canada is part of the problem as is Trubisky but this philosophy for an Offensive Coordinator is just plain DUMB! I would FIRE this guy tomorrow! It should be the first thing Tomlin does tomorrow morning!
To all Steeler fans hesitant to start Kenny Pickett.....WHAT DO WE HAVE TO LOSE? You will find out if it's really Matt Canada's fault or Mitch Trubisky!
So the obvious question is it Mitch Trubisky or is it Matt Canada (27 Passes Outside the Hash Marks, 5 in the middle of the field....That's The Canaduh Effect)? Not throwing into the middle of the field and throwing outside the hash marks the Steelers are basically using 1/3 of the field to move the offense. Pretty ******* ridiculous! The Steelers offense was 1 for 9 on third down tonight (13 for 39 in 3 games on 3rd down)....that's just downright pathetic. The O-line has actually played pretty good in the first 3 games so stop throwing them under the bus as Trubisky had plenty of time to throw the ball downfield. The receiving corp is solid on this team....Johnson, Claypool, Pickens, Freiermuth, Gentry, and RB duo in Harris & Warren are pretty damn good and IMO they stack up just as good as any other team's offensive weapons. Why they are unable to sustain drives comes down to 2 people....Mitch Trublisky & Matt Canada. I did start to question the play calling in the 2nd half down 2 scores and running Najee up the middle on first down seemed like bad play calling. I see people calling for a No Huddle offense....I don't think that's an option for any offense when you can't sustain drives with first downs...your just giving the ball back to your opponent that much quicker.
I will never buy into the narrative of starting a rookie QB and that it will ruin him. If it ruins him he was never cut out to be an NFL QB! I doubt they FIRE Matt Canada until the end of the season but at this point I see minimal risk in starting Kenny Pickett next week vs Jets. Looking at our schedule ahead of us it's really a difficult road before the BYE Week 9. Our next 5 games are Jets, @ Buffalo, Tampa Bay, @ Miami, @ Philly. I could conceivably see this team going 1-7 or 2-6 into the BYE if things don't change. This offense needs a spark and we can't continue to lose the Time of Posession battle or this team will lose every game the rest of the way.
The offense needs a spark! They aren't getting it from Trubisky so they've got nothing to lose starting Kenny Pickett.....IT'S TIME!
Per Tomlin's Post Game:
No Significant Injuries....
Akhello Witherspoon - Hamstring being evaluated
Game Balls:
Alex Highsmith - 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks.....he got good pressure on Cleveland tonight for much of the game when the Browns tried to throw downfield.
O-line - They've actually played pretty darn good in all 3 games...and they were good again tonight. I started to get frustrated by Trubisky not stepping up into the pocket and moving laterally usually into the face of an oncoming defender. BTW Myles Garrett had 2 tackles tonight.
George Pickens - Great catch tonight....would love to see more of this kid but first we need a better QB who can get him the football!
Game Goats:
Akhello Withspoon - He got smoked today by Amari Cooper...we are starting to see his limitations at CB when he goes against top tier WR's.
Terrell Edmunds - Gave up 2 TD's tonight....he still lacks the intincts needed to be an NFL Safety.
Chuckwuma Okorafor - WTF was he doing on Jaylen Warren's screen pass? They flagged him for being downfield but he was running with the play. Seeing him Frog Splash that Clowns LB'er was ridiculous and uncalled for....It's the NFL not the WWE! It really killed our first drive in the 2nd Half.
Devin Bush - I don't recall ever seeing an ILB get run over more than Devin Bush did tonight. Stats show he had 11 tackles but I think half of those were from Chubb tripping as he trampled over Devin Bush.
Mitch Trubisky - 20 for 32 207 yds - (27 Passes Outside the Hash Marks, 4 in the middle of the field....That's The Canaduh Effect) Subtract a ridiculous catch by Pickens for 36 yds and Mitch averaged 5.5 YPA. In his first 2 game he averaged 5.1 YPA. His incompletions tonight were really badly overthrown/underthrown passes.....as he was wildly inaccurate tonight. Curious to see where he ranks? https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/least-passing-yards-per-attempt-by-a-qbs-since-2000
FU's:
Matt Canada - (27 Passes Outside the Hash Marks, 5 in the middle of the field....That's The Canaduh Effect)? Not throwing into the middle of the field and throwing outside the hash marks the Steelers are basically using 1/3 of the field to move the offense. Pretty ******* ridiculous! I know Canada is part of the problem as is Trubisky but this philosophy for an Offensive Coordinator is just plain DUMB! I would FIRE this guy tomorrow! It should be the first thing Tomlin does tomorrow morning!
To all Steeler fans hesitant to start Kenny Pickett.....WHAT DO WE HAVE TO LOSE? You will find out if it's really Matt Canada's fault or Mitch Trubisky!
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