Game Balls, Game Goats & FU's..................week 18...............vs Clowns

[Chicoman]

What a bittersweet end to the Steelers 2022 Season. I wasn't ready for this season to be over especially the way this Steelers team finished out the 2022 season going 7-2 after the bye week to finish the season at 9-8. Not a great game for Kenny Pickett today but he made the throws when it mattered most coverting several 3rd & longs to keep the drives going. The O-line continues to open up holes in the running game for Harris & Warren. Najee went over 1,000 yds for the second time in his young career and we are continuing to see young players like George Pickens, Jaylen Warren continue to improve and today we saw a little more of an emergence from Conner Heyward as he stepped up today with some nice catches after Pat Freiermuth went down with an injury. I'm hopeful next season the Steelers O-line can work on improving their pass protection for Kenny Pickett if there was any weakness on the O-line it's pass protection. The question is do the Steelers continue to keep Matt Canada as our OC in 2023 or do they cut him loose and search for another OC and Kenny will have to learn an entirely new system. One thing is certain this offense is loaded with talent at the skill positions and they are young and ready for a run....the arrow is pointing up and it's exciting to see the growth of Kenny Pickett.

Defensively this Defense finished strong down the stretch but some of the opponents were not very good. I'm still unsure if the Steelers should keep Teryl Austin (I'm not a fan and think he should be FIRED) as their DC.....he was really bad the first half of the season against quality offenses....although he didn't have TJ Watt either. If 3 things happen this offseason for the Steelers Defense they need to resign Terrell Edmunds and Arthur Maulet and let Devin Bush walk....he was a complete non-factor in the game today...0 tackles....saw him on several running plays not even attacking the ball carrier....this guy is an absolute BUST! In fact I can't remember a Steeler Defender who gave a more poor effort out there on the football field. Heck even Jarvis Jones gave a better effort....Devin just doesn't have the heart to be an NFL Football player....he's lazy!

The offseason is upon on now after just missing the playoffs. This season is another season of shoulda, woulda, coulda. Earlier this week Mitch Trubisky made reference to the fact that he wished he held off signing a contract the first day of Free Agency....Oh I agree 100%. I wish the Steelers never signed this guy and just went with Pickett from Day 1 as our starting QB and let Mason Rudolph back him up. Honestly I never thought we'd get Pickett as I felt the Saints would have taken him a few picks before us but they passed on him....thank god! Maybe this off-season the Steelers can go target Tremaine Edmunds who is a Free Agent from the Bills. The kid is certainly not afraid to make contact out there on the football field like Devin Bust. Steelers can use that $$$ they would use to resign Bush and instead resign Terrell Edmunds....he has certainly proven to be a valuable asset back there in the secondary....if they resign him, Kazee & Fitzpatrick our Safties are all set. Steelers will go after a CB in the first round of with the 32nd overall pick....I hope they get a shut down CB.

Officiating today was an absolute ******* JOKE! They Roughing the QB Penalty on Cam Heyward was just terrible! Several more calls/non calls too. I'm really having a hard time with the fact that the NFL isn't 100% RIGGED to keep games and scores close to keep viewers glued to their TV's for ratings and advertiser $$$. There always seems to be a flag with the final play or 2 when the game is on the line that we see or hear....Oh and there's a penalty flag on the field......SMH it just seems too conicidental. Billions of $$$ on the line and I'm just starting to wonder.....I sure as hell can't be the only one who watches these games to see this crap! Years ago in the final minutes of games you typically saw NFL officials back off questionable calls to let the players play to determine the outcome of a game and today you see completely the opposite.


Per Mike Tomlin's Post Game:
Pat Freiermuth - Being Evaluated
Gunner Olszewski - Being Evaluated

Game Balls:
George Pickens - 3 rec 72 yds 1 TD today....looked to me like it should have been 4 receptions because Pickens looked like he got both feet down on another throw but the refs said no
Najee Harris - 23 car 84 yds, 1 rec 10 yds 1 TD - That fumble should have never happened...he should have had 2 TD's today. Tomlin is the worst coach when it comes to NFL Challenges.
Connor Heyward - 3 rec 45 yds.....he emerged today as a player to watch moving forward. He really stepped up when Muth went down with an injury.
Hewyard, Watt & Highsmith - All kept great pressure on Watson today...TJ Watt was getting held all day and Heyward & Highsmith stepped up with 8 tackles each and 2 sacks each
Minkah Fitzpatrick - 10 tackles today....he's the team MVP this season without question
Damonte Kazee - INT today....he's done pretty well since returning from injury this season
Levi Wallace - nice coverage downfield today....another INT....I think that's 3 INT's on the season for him

Game Goats:
Dionte Johnson - the ups and downs this season for Johnson have been just crazy. He had a down day today.....almost fumbled one away deep in Steelers territory. He's just gotta learn to catch the damn ball
Mike Tomlin - I know it was first down but not even waiting to see if Harris crossed the goalline for that TD was just another in Tomlin's long lineage of plays that he should/shouldn't have thrown the challenge flag. He is the worst coach when it come to Challenging plays.

FU's:
Joe "*******" Flacco - **** YOU YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE! YOU SUCK!

 

[jiminoh]

Good win over the Stains. Najee and Warren looked good running, Pickens and Conner catching, and Cameron and TJ and Minkah doing what they do best.

 

[Frosty]

Someone upstairs has to tell Tomlin to challenge, he couldn't see that play from field angle.

 

[Troglodyte]

Tomlin also did the Brown two favors by throwing the ball down by the goal line and stopping the clock with 4:30 left. What’s the thinking there? Just run the damn ball and if you get stuffed, you still force the Browns to burn their TOs.

 

[Steel Reign]

Pickett is an interesting player review for this game. He looked pretty darn good to me outside of a couple high throws. Then I look at the stats and it looks like a poop-show. Then I factor in the DJ drops and it looks like a pretty nice performance. Aside from that, though, I think there were plays again (like the end of game plays the last two weeks) where that it-factor bled out (see that glorious effort on the pass play where he had to break from the pocket and found Warren; they both put work in on that play).

I love the Steelers. I love beating the Browns. All seasons come to an end. I am ok that this season ended with players growing and kicking the Browns in the ***.

 

[Steelmann]

Chico.......I always look forward to your analysis. I also always know to have a ruler by my side ,as I start to read.

 

[TDX27]

KP had I think 3 balls sail on him. That is normal for pretty much every QB in the league. Other than that, he played very well. He improved all season long. I can't wait to see him next year and hopefully without Canaduh and with a full offseason and preseason with No. 1 reps.

 

[Sarge]

I don’t know how anyone can be upset at the Jets or Joe Flacco. FFS, this team pissed away 4 or 5 winnable games, 2 or 3 in the first half of the season. The Steelers have no one to blame but themselves.

 

[pittbull]

It’s like watching the Curse of Oak Island. Every year is “the year”, and todays game was like the season finale. They’re sooo close you know it, but you got to wait another year. The excitement builds for a year only to be disappointment with more ox shoes and old buried wood.

Seriously, they‘re developing into a core group of young players that can be really special. I’m hopeful, but I’ve been disappointed before.

 

[Sarge]

And as far as Dionte Johnson, if he still needs to learn how to catch the ball at this point in his career, maybe this isn’t the job for him.

 

[SteelerFan448]

Game Balls:
George Pickens - Heck of a game to finish out his rookie campaign. Should've had another catch as well. His sideline reception getting mugged was huge today.

Najee Harris - He had the fumble, but it shouldn't have mattered because he scored on first down. Another productive game.

Connor Heyward - Made a big play in a big moment. He has a TD if Pickett throws the ball a little lower.

Cam Heyward - He continues to dominate and should be first-team All Pro. He should've slammed Watson to the field harder.

TJ Watt - For the first time since the start of the year, Watt looked 100%. He was all over the field and I was a bit surprised he only got credited with 0.5 sacks. I'd probably put him at 1.5 sacks for the day.

Alex Highsmith - Another 2.5 sacks. He isn't there yet, but very close to making the Steelers dominate defensive trio into a group of four.

Chris Boswell - Nice bounceback from last week. Perfect on kicks.

Pressley Harvin - Averaged 48 yards per punt. One inside the 10 and helped flip the field with a booming 57 yarder.

Goats
Diontae Johnson - We needed to see more from the highest paid offensive weapon in a huge game. Disappointing performance.

Matt Canada - We could've scored 42 points today, I wasn't going to let him finish the season off the goat list.

 

[Ironcitysteelers]

Game balls: Steelers fans.




The **** we put up with this year. Surprised there wasn’t a tailgate to the OC house.

 

[Steeltime]

Kazee is a good pass defender. He plays the ball really well and reads QB's when playing zone. Both he and Edmunds are FA's, which is a bummer, and they really cannot lose both without risking four weeks of "learning to communicate" at the beginning of 2023.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

And as far as Dionte Johnson, if he still needs to learn how to catch the ball at this point in his career, maybe this isn’t the job for him.

GB:
Najee
Pickens caught everything catchable that was thrown his way.
Pickett steadily improved all year.
TJ is back to his old self.
Cam never left his old self.
Mickey Spillane.
The other Heyward brother.
D led the league in INT's.

GG:
Canaduh still sucks. Why you keep throwing to DJ when he keeps dropping everything?
OL improved from horrible to iffy. Must be leading the season record for most ineligible man downfield penalties.
Bush. C-ya!
DJ still dropping balls thrown right to him.

FU:
Joe Flacco
Matt Canaduh
Refs
DJ

 

[slashsteel]

Kazee is a good pass defender. He plays the ball really well and reads QB's when playing zone. Both he and Edmunds are FA's, which is a bummer, and they really cannot lose both without risking four weeks of "learning to communicate" at the beginning of 2023.

I don't think they lose both. Hoping both return. Not the type of players that should require a bidding war to retain.

 

[madinsomniac]

I don’t know how anyone can be upset at the Jets or Joe Flacco. FFS, this team pissed away 4 or 5 winnable games, 2 or 3 in the first half of the season. The Steelers have no one to blame but themselves.

absolutely… they lost enough win-able games that the only fault lies within.. the second Cinci and the First Ravens game… the Pats, Jets, and Dolphins games… even really that first Cleveland game…they were winning that with 18 minutes left in the game.. and even the final score didn’t really show how close it was… on that last play they were down by what? 5 points and fumbled into the end zone


lots of positives to build on but they didn’t deserve the playoffs because they just gave too many games away

 

[topseed]

One final textbook win for the Steelers against one more bad team. Basically was the same script for most of the latter part of the season. Great game from the front seven, with seven sacks of Watson. Two INTs were big as well. The defense closes out the campaign with seven games allowing 17 points or less. Not exactly against quality competition, but still an impressive feat to accomplish. They played better than I expected this year.

Kenny was again up and down with his accuracy, but it's evident that he's got a knack for finding open receivers when he's on the run outside the pocket. Great to see, and he's only going to get better as he develops. It's also remarkable that Pickett finished his final eight games with zero turnovers. No interceptions, and not a single fumble. For all of those clowns who were whining about his small hand size, and how he was going to be a fumble machine in the NFL -- what do you have to say now?

Najee had another strong game, but the fumble was brutal. Of course, his head coach let him down by trying to run a quick-snap QB sneak with 23 seconds left on the play clock, even though Harris was adamant that he had scored and even pointed toward the sideline indicating that he wanted to see a challenge flag. You've got to take your time there, challenge, and put those points on the board. Nothing is guaranteed, even on 2nd-and-goal from the 1. We've seen false starts, negative yardage, and turnovers derail teams (not just the Steelers) in goal line situations. You can't mess around when the guy's knee was clearly not down.

DJ managed to not find the end zone yet again while dropping a few more passes on his way to 2 catches on 10 targets, and now stands alone as the single-season record holder by compiling 86 receptions without a touchdown. Yet there's a person here who actually believes that this fellow has "AB talent." Please. Pickens might be close to having that level of talent, but Johnson is just a very good route-runner with suspect hands. He's simply not a true #1 receiver that can be counted on.

Nice game from Connor Heyward, filling in adequately for Freiermuth, proving again that the Steelers should have taken Creed Humphrey when they had the chance. They did get some good value late in the 2022 draft with Heyward and Robinson, who appears to be a raw talent with intriguing potential.

8-2 with Watt, 1-6 without him. 9-8 overall, Tomlin comes out smelling like a rose while extending his non-losing record. Mixed feelings on the season, but I'm always happy to see the Steelers win, and I'm optimistic about the future. I think that most of us can agree now that the quarterback position is in good (small) hands. The Steelers will have three top 50 picks, and be able to add some quality players in areas of need.

 

[jitter77]

Pickett is an interesting player review for this game. He looked pretty darn good to me outside of a couple high throws. Then I look at the stats and it looks like a poop-show. Then I factor in the DJ drops and it looks like a pretty nice performance. Aside from that, though, I think there were plays again (like the end of game plays the last two weeks) where that it-factor bled out (see that glorious effort on the pass play where he had to break from the pocket and found Warren; they both put work in on that play).

I love the Steelers. I love beating the Browns. All seasons come to an end. I am ok that this season ended with players growing and kicking the Browns in the ***.

I dont think this was Pickett's best game, but he didnt have any turnovers and made a few timely throws. One thing missing was his scrambling he was unable to make things happen there. Its weird how things work. We put up a lot of points w/ Pickett under 50% and Najee under 100. We should have had 30+ w/o the goal line fumble.

 

[TDX27]

I dont think this was Pickett's best game, but he didnt have any turnovers and made a few timely throws. One thing missing was his scrambling he was unable to make things happen there. Its weird how things work. We put up a lot of points w/ Pickett under 50% and Najee under 100. We should have had 30+ w/o the goal line fumble.

Let me fix that. We should have had 30+ if Tomlin would have thrown the damn red rag handing out of his pocket or maybe in his sock. Najee obviously got in on the first try. The next 2 plays, including the fumble, shouldn't have even happened if Tomlin could ever learn how to use the red rag.

 

[wig]

It was the "Kiss your Sister" season. The team finished strong and pulled out a seemingly impossible winning season.

I ALWAYS like the team to win. No matter the situation (outside Bellicek'ing).

However, it also means there will be no changes in staffing or philosophy. The Steelers will continue to ride their stallions to mediocrity for the foreseeable future.

As Coach Cowher used to say... "It is what it is."

 

[BLITZ]

Clearly I wanted the playoffs. just get in and no telling what happens. But 9-8 after the way it started? awesome job to players and coaches.

There are so many things to look forward to for next year! It does look like we are going to be 1 of very few franchises that draft back to back franchise QBs.! I am not saying Pickett will be a hall of famer yet but it does look like we can trust him with the offense in his large hands.

 

[slashsteel]

It was the "Kiss your Sister" season. The team finished strong and pulled out a seemingly impossible winning season.

I ALWAYS like the team to win. No matter the situation (outside Bellicek'ing).

However, it also means there will be no changes in staffing or philosophy. The Steelers will continue to ride their stallions to mediocrity for the foreseeable future.

As Coach Cowher used to say... "It is what it is."

Was that with or without tongue?

 

[Coach]

What a bittersweet end to the Steelers 2022 Season. I wasn't ready for this season to be over especially the way this Steelers team finished out the 2022 season going 7-2 after the bye week to finish the season at 9-8. Not a great game for Kenny Pickett today but he made the throws when it mattered most coverting several 3rd & longs to keep the drives going. The O-line continues to open up holes in the running game for Harris & Warren. Najee went over 1,000 yds for the second time in his young career and we are continuing to see young players like George Pickens, Jaylen Warren continue to improve and today we saw a little more of an emergence from Conner Heyward as he stepped up today with some nice catches after Pat Freiermuth went down with an injury. I'm hopeful next season the Steelers O-line can work on improving their pass protection for Kenny Pickett if there was any weakness on the O-line it's pass protection. The question is do the Steelers continue to keep Matt Canada as our OC in 2023 or do they cut him loose and search for another OC and Kenny will have to learn an entirely new system. One thing is certain this offense is loaded with talent at the skill positions and they are young and ready for a run....the arrow is pointing up and it's exciting to see the growth of Kenny Pickett.

Defensively this Defense finished strong down the stretch but some of the opponents were not very good. I'm still unsure if the Steelers should keep Teryl Austin (I'm not a fan and think he should be FIRED) as their DC.....he was really bad the first half of the season against quality offenses....although he didn't have TJ Watt either. If 3 things happen this offseason for the Steelers Defense they need to resign Terrell Edmunds and Arthur Maulet and let Devin Bush walk....he was a complete non-factor in the game today...0 tackles....saw him on several running plays not even attacking the ball carrier....this guy is an absolute BUST! In fact I can't remember a Steeler Defender who gave a more poor effort out there on the football field. Heck even Jarvis Jones gave a better effort....Devin just doesn't have the heart to be an NFL Football player....he's lazy!

The offseason is upon on now after just missing the playoffs. This season is another season of shoulda, woulda, coulda. Earlier this week Mitch Trubisky made reference to the fact that he wished he held off signing a contract the first day of Free Agency....Oh I agree 100%. I wish the Steelers never signed this guy and just went with Pickett from Day 1 as our starting QB and let Mason Rudolph back him up. Honestly I never thought we'd get Pickett as I felt the Saints would have taken him a few picks before us but they passed on him....thank god! Maybe this off-season the Steelers can go target Tremaine Edmunds who is a Free Agent from the Bills. The kid is certainly not afraid to make contact out there on the football field like Devin Bust. Steelers can use that $$$ they would use to resign Bush and instead resign Terrell Edmunds....he has certainly proven to be a valuable asset back there in the secondary....if they resign him, Kazee & Fitzpatrick our Safties are all set. Steelers will go after a CB in the first round of with the 32nd overall pick....I hope they get a shut down CB.

Officiating today was an absolute ******* JOKE! They Roughing the QB Penalty on Cam Heyward was just terrible! Several more calls/non calls too. I'm really having a hard time with the fact that the NFL isn't 100% RIGGED to keep games and scores close to keep viewers glued to their TV's for ratings and advertiser $$$. There always seems to be a flag with the final play or 2 when the game is on the line that we see or hear....Oh and there's a penalty flag on the field......SMH it just seems too conicidental. Billions of $$$ on the line and I'm just starting to wonder.....I sure as hell can't be the only one who watches these games to see this crap! Years ago in the final minutes of games you typically saw NFL officials back off questionable calls to let the players play to determine the outcome of a game and today you see completely the opposite.


Per Mike Tomlin's Post Game:
Pat Freiermuth - Being Evaluated
Gunner Olszewski - Being Evaluated

Game Balls:
George Pickens - 3 rec 72 yds 1 TD today....looked to me like it should have been 4 receptions because Pickens looked like he got both feet down on another throw but the refs said no
Najee Harris - 23 car 84 yds, 1 rec 10 yds 1 TD - That fumble should have never happened...he should have had 2 TD's today. Tomlin is the worst coach when it comes to NFL Challenges.
Connor Heyward - 3 rec 45 yds.....he emerged today as a player to watch moving forward. He really stepped up when Muth went down with an injury.
Hewyard, Watt & Highsmith - All kept great pressure on Watson today...TJ Watt was getting held all day and Heyward & Highsmith stepped up with 8 tackles each and 2 sacks each
Minkah Fitzpatrick - 10 tackles today....he's the team MVP this season without question
Damonte Kazee - INT today....he's done pretty well since returning from injury this season
Levi Wallace - nice coverage downfield today....another INT....I think that's 3 INT's on the season for him

Game Goats:
Dionte Johnson - the ups and downs this season for Johnson have been just crazy. He had a down day today.....almost fumbled one away deep in Steelers territory. He's just gotta learn to catch the damn ball
Mike Tomlin - I know it was first down but not even waiting to see if Harris crossed the goalline for that TD was just another in Tomlin's long lineage of plays that he should/shouldn't have thrown the challenge flag. He is the worst coach when it come to Challenging plays.

FU's:
Joe "*******" Flacco - **** YOU YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE! YOU SUCK!

As usual you are very spot on! I don't think Pickett has proven he can throw the fade, post, corner, comeback or out well enough. He lack's velocity in arm and Pickens, and our TE's make him look better than he is.

SHOW me something kid. This is an excellent link which will illustrate what I am talking about. Please view it.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...the-route-tree

 

[slashsteel]

As usual you are very spot on! I don't think Pickett has proven he can throw the fade, post, corner, comeback or out well enough. He lack's velocity in arm and Pickens, and our TE's make him look better than he is.

SHOW me something kid. This is an excellent link which will illustrate what I am talking about. Please view it.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...the-route-tree

Whew now I know he will make a significant jump from season 1 to 2, thank you cooch.

 

[Coach]

Whew now I know he will make a significant jump from season 1 to 2, thank you cooch.

You are very welcome. My analysis on Pickett is his upside is Andy Dalton with a weaker arm and better legs. Pay attention to what I am saying check my past drafts. Got it Slashvag ?