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

[Chicoman]

Well we saw a much more balanced attack on offense this game than we have the first two games. I'll elaborate a little more on that later.....I'm still not impressed with Matt Canada's play calling but at least tonight we didn't see a Jet Sweep for a 8 yard loss in a critical moment of the game. The most disturbing thing about Matt Canada's offense is the lack of using the middle of the football field in the passing game. The Steelers and Kenny Pickett threw 8 passes between the numbers and 7 of them were complete for some good yardage including a 72 yd TD to Calvin Austin in the first quarter to tie the game at 7. Looking at the passes outside the numbers Pickett was 9 for 20 throwing outside the numbers and with the exception of the TD pass to Freiermuth there was one completion for over 10 yards that was thrown outside the numbers. Defensively the Steelers Defense did enough to preserve the win down the stretch and they won the turnover battle 3-0 tonight with Jimmy G just tossing 2 of those passes blindly up for grabs and both were Intercepted. Davonte Adams carved up our secondary pretty good tonight for 13 rec 172 yds & 2 TD's on 20 targets. Chris Boswell kicked 3 FG's tonight including a clutch 57 yd FG and Pressley Harvin did a great job punting the football. Josh McDaniel is a terrible Head Coach.....he proved that tonight opting to kick a FG from the Steelers 8 yd line instead of going for it on 4th & 4 from the Steelers 8 yd line......awful coaching decision. The Steelers ran some play action if you want to call it that with Kenny under center but if that's what they call play action passing it was poorly executed play action. TJ Watt continues to put up the sack numbers this season with 2 more sacks tonight giving him 6 sacks in 3 games this season.....I'd love to see him get 30+ sacks this season! There's been alot of criticism of the Steelers predictible play calling this season 90% when Pickett was under Center they RAN and 82% in Shotgun they passed the football. Tonight you saw the Raiders when Pickett was under Center they loaded up with 9 or 10 guys in the box and on a few play action passes the Steelers were able to complete a few passes which is what we need to see more of going forward. It wasn't perfect tonight and at the end of the game it started to get a little ugly with a couple 3 & outs but they were able to find a way to win on the road in Vegas which has traditionally been a nightmare for Steeler teams. Tomlin needs to get his rookies more reps in the game....Keanu Benton, Joey Jr, Broderick Jones....all these guys should be getting more reps in game. I've attached a passing chart and play call chart of Pickett Under Center vs Shotgun run & pass plays. Also there's a chart showing Pickett's passing.....Looking ahead to next week I hope the Steelers continue to throw more between the numbers.....they did it a little tonight but clearly it's not enough.


Per Tomlin's Post Game:
Levi Wallace - Bumps and Bruises but was able to return
Najee Harris - Bumps and Bruises but was able to return

Game Balls:
Kenny Pickett - 16 for 28 235 yds 2 TD's. First multiple TD game of his career.....he wasn't perfect but tonight was a step in the right direction...way to shake off the critics!
Calvin Austin - 2 rec 72 yds 1 TD.....First NFL TD....nice 72 yd catch & run
George Pickens - 4 rec 75 yds.....this kid has all the tools to be the #1 WR
Chris Boswell - 3 FG's, 11 points....a clutch 57 yd FG kick in the 3rd Quarter......The Wizard of Boz
Pressley Harvin - 6 punts 53.8 yd average, long of 63.....only one bad punt tonight and it was his 5th punt...41 yds I think.
TJ Watt - 2 more sacks tonight...giving him 6 on the season. I wanna see TJ get 30 sacks this season! GO TJ GO!
Minkah Fitzpatrick - 11 tackles tonight and 1 BS Penalty
Levi Wallace - 6 tackles 2 INT's

Game Goats:
DeMarvin Leal - Cmon son that Penalty on that FG kick gave your opponent a fresh set of downs and a 2nd chance......terrible!
Dan Moore & Chuck Okorafor - They might be the 2 worst tackles in football both struggle in Run Blocking & Pass Protection.....How is it that we haven't given Broderick Jones some reps....he can't be any worse!

FU's:
FU to the Refs - Should have flagged Max Crosby for a helmet to helmet hit on Pickett and WTF was that Roughing the QB Penalty on Minkah when the game was on the line....TERRIBLE. The Zebras almost cost us the game tonight late in the 4th Quarter.
https://www.facebook.com/messenger_media?attachment_id=3420552521434594&message_id=mid.$cAABa8yyXz1CQ-6iq_GKymNd1mOy6&thread_id=100000471699280
Here's my notes and passing chart for Pickett.....as you can see a better mix of plays from Under Center and in Shotgun but they need to throw more over the middle of the field with the success they had there this week....

 

[keslerclan]

Nice write-up Chico. Games like this are difficult to gauge as we had a few NFL level football plays mixed in with the garbage of the last few years.

Don't agree with The goat status of Leal as I think he played his best game as a DE. He had a lot of hustle plays and was much more stout in the run game than I've seen him in the past. The call against him was an aberration and shouldn't have been called, IMO.

Some of the play calls tonight couldn't have come from our normal play sheet...and that's a good thing. Collinsworth even brought up the "zone" blocking which our players are not grasping nor competent at...It's more than that. Our OL is not nearly as bad as they look, IMO, they just have a horrible scheme and coaching along with bad play-calls which Kenny seems stuck with. Why run ANY run plays against a stacked box? Why not run a CWM (Check w Me) play action directly behind them. That was Haley's bread and butter call. Either a TE block and release (like the LVR 2-point conversion) which Heath used to run magnificently or a run fake to set up a TE screen? Ridiculous that even a novice can see the deficiencies in the play-calling. Adding a FB/H-back in Heyward only increases the "options" from play-action which are devoid of any creativity. TE block and release "slants" or even "sluggos" would have killed it tonight with Crosby (who is very good, btw) moving all over the place form outside. The TE would look like he is following Crosby only to drop into the middle zone behind the coverage. Sure Kenny looks "confident-less", because he can see the difficulty of the play-call against what the defense is doing to prevent it. We will face "stacked" boxes and an accumulation of players around the LOS until we can consistently beat it. They are easy to beat if you have the right "check" play called behind an obvious run play.

My goat goes to the OL coach (Meyers) and the total lack of response to what all teams will continue to do against us until we have a true OC. Our WR coach is garbage too as it looks like the scheme is "set" on what our options are thus limiting the perception of the remaining WRs of their "role" as a secondary target. They aren't moving with the coverage like they did w BB back there because Kenny can't shrug off the rush like BB did through most of his career.

I think our ****** OL coach and WR coach make it more difficult to overcome a rudimentary (******) OC with limited creativity (common sense) plays to "counter" a defensive game plan that forces us into a one-dimensional offense (passing) which we can't overcome by actually game-planning against it. We just roll-up like there aren't 8 guys near the LOS and run a "zone or power" style run (or run fake) with routes that simulate a running play, thus limiting ourselves.

This offense is really in need of fresh coaching across the board WHO have some influence on whoever the OC may be.

 

[TDX27]

They showed the replay on the Leal call and, man, if they saw something in real-time, they have great eyesight because in slow motion, that was as ticky tacky as it gets. The dude barely got up in the air so if he was using leverage, he needs to learn how to really use it. His hand only touched the guy on the OL because they all went low when the Steelers entire line was jumping straight up. I thought that was as bad as the Minkah call.

 

[jitter77]

Game balls: Wallace... Not sure why he gets so much hate. No one is covering Adams 1 on 1 and alot of his catches were exploiting crappy zones.
Holcomb - seemed to make some nice plays solid tackler.
Boz - blasted kickoffs and made big FGs
Harvin- 2 very good games in a row

Goats: Cole seemed like everytime i looked he was laying on the ground. Online was not good again in general.
I don't think anyone else played terribly
Canada - not using the middle of the field / TEs. Being too predictable. Jamming Harris into a wall constantly.

FUs: Lots of poor coaching this weekend. Raiders should have went for it on 4th.
Refs were pretty bad. Minkah's hit was not a penalty. The ref on the broadcast even agreed. I was surprised he agreed with the leverage call. I did not see anything there.

 

[Drink IRON City]

FU-offensive coaching, all

FU- Where is our #1 draft pick ?

FU- clock management


The positives have been mentioned, but our LS should be mentioned as well.



Salute the nation

 

[slashsteel]

FU-offensive coaching, all

FU- Where is our #1 draft pick ?

FU- clock management


The positives have been mentioned, but our LS should be mentioned as well.



Salute the nation

Long snapper?

 

[Drink IRON City]

Long snapper?

Yes, his snaps were great and never heard his name called once……. As many times he was on the field, he did good.



Salute the nation

 

[slashsteel]

Yes, his snaps were great and never heard his name called once……. As many times he was on the field, he did good.



Salute the nation

I think STs have been good overall. With a few hiccups here and there.

 

[Troglodyte]

Add Mark Robinson to the players that need more reps.

 

[bornafan]

While the DL took care of their business last night.... I thought Benton made the most of his 21 snaps and want see more.

 

[Ike Kelly]

Thanks Chico, great write up. Your pass graphic explains it ALL. Everything is outside the numbers. It’s like the OC doesn’t know that those sideline passes are actually more difficult for a QB to throw than between the numbers. They also are longer in distance than just throwing up field. Other than the Muth drive, no imagination or deception in the playcalling. I hope his added responsibilities gets him on the sideline so he can actually see the player’s frustration with his work. Launch Canada to the moon already.

 

[Sarge]

While the win was good, the offense is still trash. Aside from one long TD pass, it was the same uninspired, plodding offense that we've seen since 2019. It's almost like they're afraid of success.

 

[Djfan]

The one play action lead to a TD, so not so bad on the play action, IMO.

Much better game, and Canada seemed to know a thing or two.

 

[Steelr4evr]

While the win was good, the offense is still trash. Aside from one long TD pass, it was the same uninspired, plodding offense that we've seen since 2019. It's almost like they're afraid of success.

They better cut way down on those sideline passes real quick. They're sitting on that stuff and stacking the line.
Two of those passes last night should have easily been picked for touchdowns.

This has been a really long stint of having a horrible running game and most of it is by scheme. The other is by OL being subpar.

They need a stud C and I hope Broderick Jones is what they think he can be. He's certainly not starting yet.

They need to blow this offense up. It's a complete waste of time if you're focused on winning a championship anytime soon. That crap is never going to cut it.

It's way too easy for any defense to shut down or severely disrupt.

 

[TDX27]

While the win was good, the offense is still trash. Aside from one long TD pass, it was the same uninspired, plodding offense that we've seen since 2019. It's almost like they're afraid of success.

It was a nice roll out and pass to Muuth for the TD as well. Perfect ball on the run. Teams are daring us to throw to the TE's and throw in the middle. We need to do it and help open up the run. You can't run against 8+ men in the box and/or run blitzes. Hopefully, Canaduh will wake up. Last night was just a little sampling of what they should be constantly doing. They also need to start throwing to Washington, especially in the redzone. Throw it high and let him go get it.

 

[Steeltime]

The one amazing drive, Kenny throws Pickens crossing pattern, 17 yards. So easy.

Two plays later, Kenny to Warren in the middle of the field for 16 yards. Uncovered. Again, easy.

Next play, Kenny to Freiermuth over the middle of the field for 14 yards. Again, EASY.

Next play, Harris runs for 17 because the ******* defense is scrambling to cover the middle of the field and one block springs the run.

Next play, Kenny play-action, rolls left, Freiermuth open for the TD.

81 yards in 6 plays, not one negative play, longest run of the night for the Steelers, three passes over the middle of the field for 47 yards.

Lesson: Throw the ******* ball over the middle of the ******* field. That is all.

 

[Steelr4evr]

It was a nice roll out and pass to Muuth for the TD as well. Perfect ball on the run. Teams are daring us to throw to the TE's and throw in the middle. We need to do it and help open up the run. You can't run against 8+ men in the box and/or run blitzes. Hopefully, Canaduh will wake up. Last night was just a little sampling of what they should be constantly doing.

Well they've got really 4 solid years of game film they've been watching, yet they're still doing the same stuff with even less results.

The under center run/ shotgun pass. Is so stupid I can't even comprehend why you would help the other team like that.

Stuff that is so simple it requires no training. I swear it takes 5 years for this team to change anything of significance.

What's worse is they haven't been changing for the better. It's extremely frustrating to watch with the talent they've had/have that you could be getting so much more out of.

 

[steel dino]

Well we saw a much more balanced attack on offense this game than we have the first two games. I'll elaborate a little more on that later.....I'm still not impressed with Matt Canada's play calling but at least tonight we didn't see a Jet Sweep for a 8 yard loss in a critical moment of the game. The most disturbing thing about Matt Canada's offense is the lack of using the middle of the football field in the passing game. The Steelers and Kenny Pickett threw 8 passes between the numbers and 7 of them were complete for some good yardage including a 72 yd TD to Calvin Austin in the first quarter to tie the game at 7. Looking at the passes outside the numbers Pickett was 9 for 20 throwing outside the numbers and with the exception of the TD pass to Freiermuth there was one completion for over 10 yards that was thrown outside the numbers. Defensively the Steelers Defense did enough to preserve the win down the stretch and they won the turnover battle 3-0 tonight with Jimmy G just tossing 2 of those passes blindly up for grabs and both were Intercepted. Davonte Adams carved up our secondary pretty good tonight for 13 rec 172 yds & 2 TD's on 20 targets. Chris Boswell kicked 3 FG's tonight including a clutch 57 yd FG and Pressley Harvin did a great job punting the football. Josh McDaniel is a terrible Head Coach.....he proved that tonight opting to kick a FG from the Steelers 8 yd line instead of going for it on 4th & 4 from the Steelers 8 yd line......awful coaching decision. The Steelers ran some play action if you want to call it that with Kenny under center but if that's what they call play action passing it was poorly executed play action. TJ Watt continues to put up the sack numbers this season with 2 more sacks tonight giving him 6 sacks in 3 games this season.....I'd love to see him get 30+ sacks this season! There's been alot of criticism of the Steelers predictible play calling this season 90% when Pickett was under Center they RAN and 82% in Shotgun they passed the football. Tonight you saw the Raiders when Pickett was under Center they loaded up with 9 or 10 guys in the box and on a few play action passes the Steelers were able to complete a few passes which is what we need to see more of going forward. It wasn't perfect tonight and at the end of the game it started to get a little ugly with a couple 3 & outs but they were able to find a way to win on the road in Vegas which has traditionally been a nightmare for Steeler teams. Tomlin needs to get his rookies more reps in the game....Keanu Benton, Joey Jr, Broderick Jones....all these guys should be getting more reps in game. I've attached a passing chart and play call chart of Pickett Under Center vs Shotgun run & pass plays. Also there's a chart showing Pickett's passing.....Looking ahead to next week I hope the Steelers continue to throw more between the numbers.....they did it a little tonight but clearly it's not enough.


Per Tomlin's Post Game:
Levi Wallace - Bumps and Bruises but was able to return
Najee Harris - Bumps and Bruises but was able to return

Game Balls:
Kenny Pickett - 16 for 28 235 yds 2 TD's. First multiple TD game of his career.....he wasn't perfect but tonight was a step in the right direction...way to shake off the critics!
Calvin Austin - 2 rec 72 yds 1 TD.....First NFL TD....nice 72 yd catch & run
George Pickens - 4 rec 75 yds.....this kid has all the tools to be the #1 WR
Chris Boswell - 3 FG's, 11 points....a clutch 57 yd FG kick in the 3rd Quarter......The Wizard of Boz
Pressley Harvin - 6 punts 53.8 yd average, long of 63.....only one bad punt tonight and it was his 5th punt...41 yds I think.
TJ Watt - 2 more sacks tonight...giving him 6 on the season. I wanna see TJ get 30 sacks this season! GO TJ GO!
Minkah Fitzpatrick - 11 tackles tonight and 1 BS Penalty
Levi Wallace - 6 tackles 2 INT's

Game Goats:
DeMarvin Leal - Cmon son that Penalty on that FG kick gave your opponent a fresh set of downs and a 2nd chance......terrible!
Dan Moore & Chuck Okorafor - They might be the 2 worst tackles in football both struggle in Run Blocking & Pass Protection.....How is it that we haven't given Broderick Jones some reps....he can't be any worse!

FU's:
FU to the Refs - Should have flagged Max Crosby for a helmet to helmet hit on Pickett and WTF was that Roughing the QB Penalty on Minkah when the game was on the line....TERRIBLE. The Zebras almost cost us the game tonight late in the 4th Quarter.
https://www.facebook.com/messenger_media?attachment_id=3420552521434594&message_id=mid.$cAABa8yyXz1CQ-6iq_GKymNd1mOy6&thread_id=100000471699280
Here's my notes and passing chart for Pickett.....as you can see a better mix of plays from Under Center and in Shotgun but they need to throw more over the middle of the field with the success they had there this week....

Nice work Chico..

Who needs an i-pad when you have a pen and paper!

 

[madinsomniac]

While the win was good, the offense is still trash. Aside from one long TD pass, it was the same uninspired, plodding offense that we've seen since 2019. It's almost like they're afraid of success.

We live in our fears….

The one amazing drive, Kenny throws Pickens crossing pattern, 17 yards. So easy.

Two plays later, Kenny to Warren in the middle of the field for 16 yards. Uncovered. Again, easy.

Next play, Kenny to Freiermuth over the middle of the field for 14 yards. Again, EASY.

Next play, Harris runs for 17 because the ******* defense is scrambling to cover the middle of the field and one block springs the run.

Next play, Kenny play-action, rolls left, Freiermuth open for the TD.

81 yards in 6 plays, not one negative play, longest run of the night for the Steelers, three passes over the middle of the field for 47 yards.

Lesson: Throw the ******* ball over the middle of the ******* field. That is all.

We don’t do that… someone said that the middle of the field is just a decoy for us… the qbs rarely even look there in progressions.
We didn’t even let ben really go there his last year… its all safe sideline ****… just like with play action… those sites that track it all say since at least 2019 we have been a bottom five team with it… and it actually slightly improved when canada took over from woefully the worse by a big margin to just really low amounts…

Its a really really bad team philosophy that needs exterminated…

 

[Steelmann]

Thanks Chico, great write up. Your pass graphic explains it ALL. Everything is outside the numbers. It’s like the OC doesn’t know that those sideline passes are actually more difficult for a QB to throw than between the numbers. They also are longer in distance than just throwing up field. Other than the Muth drive, no imagination or deception in the playcalling. I hope his added responsibilities gets him on the sideline so he can actually see the player’s frustration with his work. Launch Canada to the moon already.

Yes Ike.... I just don’t understand their way of thinking. What the heck are we , the general public missing? These professionals study tape after tape and still come up with the same uninspired, easy to defend play calls game after game.
Surely they must realize that the middle of the field opens things up for the outside and vice-versa. Yes the timing is different. Some quick hitting slants would get the Defense to back off the line. I think Kenny would thrive there. I just don’t get it.

 

[strat68]

As to Minkah's PF, the rule book explicitly states that if it there is any doubt on a QB hit, err on the side of safety and throw the flag. It's the only rule in the book that says this.

 

[madinsomniac]

Yes Ike.... I just don’t understand their way of thinking. What the heck are we , the general public missing? These professionals study tape after tape and still come up with the same uninspired, easy to defend play calls game after game.
Surely they must realize that the middle of the field opens things up for the outside and vice-versa. Yes the timing is different. Some quick hitting slants would get the Defense to back off the line. I think Kenny would thrive there. I just don’t get it.

Especially since if you factor in field width, throwing to the far outside is a longer throw than to the middle of the field and this easier to defend. These coaches are simply terrified of the 2% interception chances… they flush multiple scoring opportunities per game down the drain because they don’t want to turn the ball over…


If you told a coach their qb was either going to throw 4 tds and 4 picks or 1 td and no picks, they take the latter way too often …

 

[madinsomniac]

As to Minkah's PF, the rule book explicitly states that if it there is any doubt on a QB hit, err on the side of safety and throw the flag. It's the only rule in the book that says this.

And that is why every penalty over ten yards should be instantly verified in the booth before called… especially PI

 

[Steeltime]

We live in our fears….
We don’t do that… someone said that the middle of the field is just a decoy for us… the qbs rarely even look there in progressions.
We didn’t even let ben really go there his last year… its all safe sideline ****

Safe? SAFE?? Maybe somebody could get Cana-DUH access to Youtube videos of a few of Kenny's sideline throws, including Peters' dropped pick-6 last night.

 

[GMC]

Safe? SAFE?? Maybe somebody could get Cana-DUH access to Youtube videos of a few of Kenny's sideline throws, including Peters' dropped pick-6 last night.

Anyone else have flashbacks of SB XXX after that play?