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Game Balls, Game Goats & FU's......................Week 17.....................@ Ratbirds

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Chicoman

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We're still ticking! We've got a pulse! Count em....@ Indy, vs Raiders & @ Ratbirds......(3) 4th Quarter comebacks by our Rookie QB Kenny Pickett and if you were a doubter all season.......You've gotta be a believer now! This was the Ultimate Test for Kenny Pickett tonight down by 4 vs the Ratbirds on the road and he delivered with an 11 play 80 yard Game Winning TD Drive! He capped it off with a TD pass to Najee Harris covered by Roquan Smith who just happened to be the guy who knocked Pickett out of the game 3 weeks ago. Now that's Poetic Justice! What a tremendous team effort all around tonight....Offense and Defense really stepped up when it mattered. I'll start off by saying this Offensive Line is really starting to look pretty damn good as we approach the end of the season! They provided good openings in the running game for Harris & Warren as the Steelers rushed for 198 yards vs one of the most stout Defenses vs the run. Najee Harris become the first RB to rush for 100+ yds against the Rats this season tonight with 22 rushes for 111 yds, 2 rec for 12 yds including the game winner with under a minute to play. Jaylen Warren had a nice game too with 12 carries for 76 yds and 3 rec for 22 yds. I'm so excited for Kenny Pickett.....this was the kid I wanted all along in this draft.....He has shown continued improvement all season and tonight I hope he silenced more of his critics who doubted this kid's ability at an NFL level. Defensively they bottled up the Ratbirds running game tonight after the Rats ran through the Steelers Defense 3 weeks ago. It was nice to see a young kids like Mark Robinson & DeMarvin Leal get good play time in our Defense and show what they are capable of. I'll say this now....Robinson is already better vs the run than Devin Bust ever was! Robert Spillaine has stepped up the last two weeks at ILB leading the team in tackles....gotta give him props.

Don't look now but this Steelers team is 8-8 for the first time since Week 2 of the season. Gotta give Coach Tomlin some credit for turning this season from a complete disaster into one where our Steelers still have a chance to make the NFL Playoffs entering Week 18 vs Cleveland. If next week is the last game of the season I'll say this season was a changing of the guard but this team persevered and turned it into a good season with a bright future behind a rookie QB in Kenny Pickett who I'll say the arrow is pointing up for him. If there's one thing this O-line needs it's a true anchor LT to protect Kenny Pickett. Nothing against Dan Moore....he's servicable but he's not starting material in the NFL at LT. Let's enjoy this one for the next 24 hours as we look forward to a match up vs Cleveland next week to close out the 2022 regular season and let the chips fall where they may Playoffs or Not!

And now for your reading pleasure....I present to you the Ratbird Game Message Board! https://forum.russellstreetreport.com/showthread.php?238715-Game-Thread-Steelers-Ravens-SNF-1-1-23


Per Mike Tomlin's Post Game:
No injuries other than bumps and bruises associated with play

Game Balls:
Kenny Pickett - Not great numbers but when it mattered the most he delivered with an 11 play 80 yd TD drive for the win. 15 for 27 168 yds 1 TD
Najee Harris - IMO this was his best game as a Steeler. 111 yds rushing, 12 receiving 1 TD. Hard rushing all game and the only RB to gain 100+ vs the Rats all season
Jaylen Warren - 76 yds rushing, 22 receving.....he is quickly developing into a great #2 RB and wow can he pass block!
Minkah Fitzpatrick - 9 tackles, 1 INT 1 pass defensed....he's just awesome!
Robert Spillane - 9 tackles tonight....another balls out performance just like last week
Mark Robinson - Finally got a helmet and he had 7 tackles tonight....that should warrant him some more play time. He's already better vs the run than Devin Bush
Terrell Edmunds - 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed....he has earned a new contract IMHO after this season. Let Devin Bush walk and resign this guy this off-season
TJ Watt - He was getting held most of the night tonight....did get home with 1 sack. I think he's starting to get healthy....he is playing better than he has all season

Game Goats:
Steelers Special Teams - 1 missed FG tonight and they gave up a HUGE return on a kickoff by the Ratbirds....fortunately our Defense stepped up on that drive and the Rats didn't score

FU's:
Referees - **** THE OFFICIATING CREW! WTF how the hell did they miss Ronnie Stanley pulling Cam Hewyard down and over the pile as Heyward was attempting to get after the play. Should have been a Delay of Game Penalty on the Rats and loss of a timeout. Instead it setup the Rats for an easy go ahead TD that was Gift Wrapped to them by the officiating crew! PATHETIC!
 
I would add Canada to the goat list, those crayolas aren't eating themselves.

I would special mention Sims he had a beautiful catch. Much better option than Gunner IMO.

I would give Najee the game ball. Just a solid *** performance from the young man, kudos.
 
slashsteel said:
I would add Canada to the goat list, those crayolas aren't eating themselves.

I would special mention Sims he had a beautiful catch. Much better option than Gunner IMO.

I would give Najee the game ball. Just a solid *** performance from the young man, kudos.
Click to expand...
solid? I think you mean mother f'ing awesome performance by Najee
 
CoolieMan said:
solid? I think you mean mother f'ing awesome performance by Najee
Click to expand...
Yes that is what I meant to say mother f-ing awesome performance.

Came a long way from that injury start.

Really great bounce back
 
Game Balls: Pickett played better than the stats, had a few drops and no turnovers. Back to back game winning drives w/ the season on the line and this one against our rival in their house. Came up clutch when needed.

Harris / Warren: Very good tandem. Harris / Oline are jelling and Warren just brings the extra gear.

The defense had some issues, but came up big when it mattered. More of a team effort.

Goats: Boswell having a bad season not sure if he is 100% healthy, but very scary when he kicks this year.
Pass protection could use some work. Kenny was running for his life a few times.

FUs: Just to the Ravens....
 
Chicoman said:
Referees - **** THE OFFICIATING CREW! WTF how the hell did they miss Ronnie Stanley pulling Cam Hewyard down and over the pile as Heyward was attempting to get after the play. Should have been a Delay of Game Penalty on the Rats and loss of a timeout. Instead it setup the Rats for an easy go ahead TD that was Gift Wrapped to them by the officiating crew! PATHETIC!
Click to expand...

I aint making this up, from the Ravens board:

We were gifted a penalty on Heyward that Powers clearly baited him into. One long pass was called back, because the WR stepped out first and another long pass that was a great catch, but with only one foot down. We got more breaks in this game than I can remember in a Ravens/Steelers game.
 
KP- two clutch drives to win the game the last two weeks. If he can build on this and put 2 or 3 more touchdown drives on earlier in the game we might have something.
Harris/Warren- I am calling them the wrecking ball and bowling ball. Great 1-2 punch.
Offensive line- this offensive line was near the bottom of the pack to begin the season. Today I would argue top 10 in the nfl. That’s a far way to come and Pat Meyer imo deserves some credit.
Muth- maybe the most complete TE in the game right now. Has an outside chance of moving into 2nd in single season receiving yards by a Steeler TE and ahead of Heath.
Pickens- just throw him the damn ball.
DJ- just catch the damn ball.
Watt- Welcome Back.
Heyward- good game OG. Heart and soul of that defense.
Mark Robinson- way to fill the hole. Missed one tackle but if Bush was playing there would have been at least 3 more.
Spillane- dude studied film. Read two plays so perfectly it was like he was in the offensive huddle.
Cam Sutton- don’t leave. Give us a hometown discount since you cut your teeth here.
Fitzpatrick- straight baller. Call him the grime reaper because he kills game winning drives for the opposing team.
Edmunds- dude has really come into his own. I would argue he’s at least top half of the NFL at SS and at only 25 ascending.
And finally. Mike Tomlin. Though I’ve been your hardest critic I will say I do believe he changed the team philosophy to a ground and pound mentality that relies on the defense. Not winning a championship like this but still can keep games close and steal some W’s. I am still a firm believer he should play out 2023 and unless we win a playoff game next year (I don’t believe we get to the playoffs this year) we have him play 2024 to see what happens. Still hate his ineptness of in game adjustments and that we definitely aren’t innovating. But I tip my hat on getting us in position going into week 17 to potentially make the playoffs.
 
slashsteel said:
I would add Canada to the goat list, those crayolas aren't eating themselves.

I would special mention Sims he had a beautiful catch. Much better option than Gunner IMO.

I would give Najee the game ball. Just a solid *** performance from the young man, kudos.
Click to expand...
Credit where it is due - CANADA called a f*cking awesome game!
There were routes running curling in the middle of the field, routes running in behind other guys. So good.

Whole coaching staff delivered in spades.

Defensive coordinator actually called an effective 6 defensive lineman front. Sold OUT to stop the run. Brilliant and it helped the team win big-time.

Kudos.
 
MT~Forged said:
All year Harris has been getting **** on, when he was obviously playing hurt. Now that he seems to be past that, everyone seems surprised. Well, **** them, he is who we knew he is.
Click to expand...
Yes, yes, yes! He is a beast and Warren complements him well.
 
KP brought us back last week with a game-winning drive and this week as well. Not only that, we were down 2 scores in the 4th quarter and he led us to victory this week. The kid has the "it" factor when they let him use "it". Get Canaduh out of here and out of the way. If he is here next year, we will see more Gunner in as one of our 2 WR's running back and forth across the field letting the D know it's a running play. I absolutely couldn't believe how many snaps he seemed to be getting and how many plays Pickens wasn't on the field. DJ and Pickens should be on the field for a minimum of 80% (if not more) of the snaps and never both off the field at the same time.

Canaduh gets yet another FU in my book.
 
The announcers mentioned the OL has been the same all season - I've always believed this is key to developing a solid OL. Keep the same guys together for an entire season and they gel, no matter how average they may be to begin with. Of course, we still need to build up the trenches in the next draft.
 
Pickens-Steelers.jpg
 
Game ball to all really. Was Steeler football this year for sure. Seemed like each player made a play here and there.

FU to this officiating crew, Steelers never get the same respect other teams seem to get. Hayward call please.
 
Great Game by offense and defense. Hats off to Pat Meyer who made this offensive line good. He got them working as a unit and turned them around. I would like to see upgrades at LT and LG, but for now, good job.
And dare I say jt, Matt Canada. He crafted a good game plan for once and it worked. The ground game against the birds was outstanding. This is a difficult team to run against yet he stuck to the run and didn’t get too cute. He called a very good smash mouth game. I would like to see an improvement next season at OC as everyone else, but for this game, he gets a game ball.

GOAT- Danny Smith and his special teams.
 
steelreeling said:
Credit where it is due - CANADA called a f*cking awesome game!
There were routes running curling in the middle of the field, routes running in behind other guys. So good.

Whole coaching staff delivered in spades.

Defensive coordinator actually called an effective 6 defensive lineman front. Sold OUT to stop the run. Brilliant and it helped the team win big-time.

Kudos.
Click to expand...
I think the D performance and victory masks that Canada's offense still struggled to produce TDs. I loved the win but there is still some obvious issues there.
 
At the beginning of the game I think it was Collensworth that said something to the effect of if you are looking for a shootout this isnt the game for you.

Last nights game was old school Steeler football. Run Run. pass occasionally and play defense. Extremely enjoyable.
 
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