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Game Balls, Game Goats & FU's............@ Cleveland....Week 3.....

Chicoman

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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!
 
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You are like a broken ******* record, it’s like 4 non blondes on repeat.
 
In no particular order:

Sick of DJ dropping passes.

Sick of Mitch overthrowing balls toward the sideline by 10 yards.

Sick of Najee up the middle on first down for 1 yard. Especially with 9 minutes left in the game and down by two scores.

Sick of 3-and-outs.

Sick of Chris Wormley.

Sick of not throwing over the middle of the field until it's too late.

Sick of Derek Watt counting $4.7 million against the cap and doing next to nothing.

Sick of stupid penalties by offensive lineman.

Sick of Mike Tomlin's bullshit rhetoric.

Ready to see what Pickett can do, despite all of the other problems with this team.
 
In no particular order:

Sick of DJ dropping passes.

Sick of Mitch overthrowing balls toward the sideline by 10 yards.

Sick of Najee up the middle on first down for 1 yard. Especially with 9 minutes left in the game and down by two scores.

Sick of 3-and-outs.

Sick of Chris Wormley.

Sick of not throwing over the middle of the field until it's too late.

Sick of Derek Watt counting $4.7 million against the cap and doing next to nothing.

Sick of stupid penalties by offensive lineman.

Sick of Mike Tomlin's bullshit rhetoric.

Ready to see what Pickett can do, despite all of the other problems with this team.
DJ Watt restructured his contract in 2021 to free up cap space. The salary they are paying him this year is basically to make up for last year. He's a special teamer only....kinda crazy to pay him what they are but the Steelers organization is making it up to him this year for him helping the Steelers last year. They will not cut him this season.
 
There is two aspects of oline play. You cannot win football games running for less than 10.yards in the second half. I don't give a **** how they pass block.
 
DJ Watt restructured his contract in 2021 to free up cap space. The salary they are paying him this year is basically to make up for last year. He's a special teamer only....kinda crazy to pay him what they are but the Steelers organization is making it up to him this year for him helping the Steelers last year. They will not cut him this season.
How nice of him.
 
I don’t ever recall a Matt Canada offense that didn’t use a fullback or hback… im 99% certain that is a trend that has been a staple of Mike Tomlin’s era though… we cut the true fullbacks after 07 and pretty much limped through with Tes types playing hback on the rare occasion we needed them.. David Johnson definitely wasn’t there for his blocking
 
You forgot the FU to Mike Tomlin. He come right out and said that the strategy was to not throw over the middle and limit turnovers. Look at the throwing charts for the three games this season. If you cannot trust your QB to throw between the hashes, does the same go for your #2 QB? If so, this is going to be a long season thanks to Mike Tomlin.
 
The names and faces will be very similar next week as well.
 
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!
It's funny how you type this like Steelers fans have any say in it whatsoever.
 
You forgot the FU to Mike Tomlin. He come right out and said that the strategy was to not throw over the middle and limit turnovers. Look at the throwing charts for the three games this season. If you cannot trust your QB to throw between the hashes, does the same go for your #2 QB? If so, this is going to be a long season thanks to Mike Tomlin.
Can't you read? Every problem on offense is Mitch Trubisky, and if Steelers fans hope really hard, we can force the Steelers to play Kenny Pickett.
 
The names and faces will be very similar next week as well.
A stubbornness to make changes not only during a game but then carrying it over to the immediate future is very concerning. The HC has to be held accountable for that. One of my biggest gripes with Tomlin.
Everyone can see this Canada/Mitch situation isn't working, will not work in the immediate future, or long term. Yet here we are trotting it out week to week with no end in sight. If they think Watt will fix all that ails the team I have some bad news for them. If they think that mentioned duo will magically improve I have some bad news for them. Nothing in Canada's tenure has me thinking otherwise.

What really sucks is here I am yet another season finding myself having to lower expectations.

Very very disappointing.
 
It's funny how you type this like Steelers fans have any say in it whatsoever.
Yeah no kidding...haha. If I actually had any control I would clean house and rebuild the fundamentals that are completely lost.

I have no control and all I can do is watch it burn. Which from the looks of it, needs to burn.
 
In no particular order:

Sick of DJ dropping passes.

Sick of Mitch overthrowing balls toward the sideline by 10 yards.

Sick of Najee up the middle on first down for 1 yard. Especially with 9 minutes left in the game and down by two scores.

Sick of 3-and-outs.

Sick of Chris Wormley.

Sick of not throwing over the middle of the field until it's too late.

Sick of Derek Watt counting $4.7 million against the cap and doing next to nothing.

Sick of stupid penalties by offensive lineman.

Sick of Mike Tomlin's bullshit rhetoric.

Ready to see what Pickett can do, despite all of the other problems with this team.
The only thing I can add is, sick of the bad drafting. This crap is unwatchable.
 
The only thing I can add is, sick of the bad drafting. This crap is unwatchable.
Outside of ignoring top OL talent in the draft, I disagree. The Steelers have unbelievable talent on the roster mostly built through the draft. Its the coaching, schemes, and culture that is unwatchable.

To your point though, I love Najee, but Jalen Warren behind a line lead by Creed Humphrey would likely yield a much better running game right now.
 
When a first round reach and another first rounder that the Steelers traded up to get are on your goats list, Tomlin needs an FU for his draft day decisions.

If you’re subtracting Pickens’ (who was late adjusting to the ball) catch from Trubisky’s stats, you also need to add the drops. It’s not saying a lot, but Trubisky was the offensive MVP of the game.
 
The O was looking pretty good in the 1st half and I was thinking just keep this up in the 2nd half. Keep the tempo going. And then the Canaduh effect took over. Three 3 and outs to start the 2nd half. When Cleveland got up by two scores with 9 minutes to go, he showed no sense of urgency just like last year. On 1st down, he ran up the middle for no gain. WTF?!?!?! We went 3 and out and that was the ball game.

Our D sucked (we knew they couldn't stop the run but they let Cooper and Njoku run free all game long with no apparent adjustments). But, I did notice on one series, they put Adams in at C. Just like last year, he looked good. He was pushing their C back into the pocket on every play and making the RB's go around him. Then, on 3rd and short (an obvious run situation - at least for most of the game), they took him out and went with 2 DL. They ran up the middle for a nice gain and the 1st down. Why? WTF was that? Keep him in there. In that short period, it made me wonder why Adams isn't in there more especially now that Watt is out. They were trying last week to run with more 3 DL sets and they should keep doing that and Adams has to be getting significant snaps. Pushing the C back immediately a yard or two (minimum) on every play is significant.

But, our biggest issue is still Canaduh. Not even a single throw to Muuth until late in the 4th quarter. WTF? Not a single dump-off to Najee until late in the game.

Our OL did open some holes to run and they took advantage. It sucks on the big Warren dump-off in the 2nd half that they had the drive-killing 5-yard penalty. We would have gotten at least a FG on that.

With our upcoming schedule, I'd be shocked if we had even 3 wins after 8 games. I think Tomlin's streak is in serious jeopardy this year.
 
A stubbornness to make changes not only during a game but then carrying it over to the immediate future is very concerning. The HC has to be held accountable for that. One of my biggest gripes with Tomlin.
Everyone can see this Canada/Mitch situation isn't working, will not work in the immediate future, or long term. Yet here we are trotting it out week to week with no end in sight. If they think Watt will fix all that ails the team I have some bad news for them. If they think that mentioned duo will magically improve I have some bad news for them. Nothing in Canada's tenure has me thinking otherwise.

What really sucks is here I am yet another season finding myself having to lower expectations.

Very very disappointing.

How many seasons now have we had to lower our expectations.................?

I doubt much will change until it's a BIG change and that is in about 3 years.


Salute the nation
 
The Steelers need a scheme, culture and fundamentals makeover. I'd be really hesitant to throw Pickett into this mess of an offense. I'm sure they'll do it at some point when all is lost.

The defense is in deep **** as well because of the offense and being horrific against the run.
 
While I’d stop short of a game ball to Jayden Warren, he really gave a spark until he was swapped for Harris in the red zone. Then I don’t think he came back in after the fumble.

I‘ve never been a huge Dionte fan. Yes, he’s an amazing talent, but greatness isn’t dropping the ball as often as he does.

I personally would like to see the Steelers be a pass first offense and use the run to keep Ds honest. I do think they have the personnel, and yes, I think Mitch can be successful. The offense lacks rhythm, but I think the components are there that in an uptempo offense they could move the ball. They‘re just not built to be a run-it-down-your-throat offense.
 
In no particular order:

Sick of DJ dropping passes.

Sick of Mitch overthrowing balls toward the sideline by 10 yards.

Sick of Najee up the middle on first down for 1 yard. Especially with 9 minutes left in the game and down by two scores.

Sick of 3-and-outs.

Sick of Chris Wormley.

Sick of not throwing over the middle of the field until it's too late.

Sick of Derek Watt counting $4.7 million against the cap and doing next to nothing.

Sick of stupid penalties by offensive lineman.

Sick of Mike Tomlin's bullshit rhetoric.

Ready to see what Pickett can do, despite all of the other problems with this team.

Money post right here.
 
Yeah no kidding...haha. If I actually had any control I would clean house and rebuild the fundamentals that are completely lost.

I have no control and all I can do is watch it burn. Which from the looks of it, needs to burn.
This is such a money post. They had the fools gold year where Bud hit his absolute high point and they just teed off. But other than that it's been hype all summer only to find that they have a massive problem or two that can never be corrected in season. To me if you believe Tomlin should stay at this point you are an enemy of this team's fan base. Enough is enough already. Watch the ****** games.
 
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