Who are we rooting for tonight Bengals vs Ravens?

When people claim that the officials are on the take, it's stuff like that call that have no reasonable explanation.

Not only were the Steelers not offsides, the defense was lined up offsides. I would have no problem with the female official that called that penalty removed from her duties. In fact, I think she should have been let go.

It was a pre-snap penalty. Nobody was moving. She is lined up looking down the line of scrimmage. The call simply can't be made against the Steelers. There should have been a penalty on the other team. Outrageous officiating. Maybe something even worse than that.

There were comments I read where people claimed she was a known Jets fan and always hated the Steelers. Who knows what is true, but there is no way that a person that is trained in the rules of football can make that call when they are looking right down the LOS with zero movement if there was no bias involved IMO.

 

True, no world beaters, but there are a few teams that stand above the others. I thought Cincy would have a chance this season, but it appears that injuries to Burrow have derailed that. If he misses a significant amount of time to end the season their playoff chances are in all likelihood, shot. They have no easy wins to end the year and another loss or two puts their backs against the wall with essentially no shot at winning any tiebreakers.

 

How can you claim Trubisky was much more successful as a starter than Pickett? Pickett has clearly outplayed him in every way on the same team, in the same offensive system, playing with the same players and being coached by the same coaches? He has also done that with much less experience.

What you're saying doesn't make any sense. We already know that Pickett is better than Trubisky. Plus, Pickett is a less experienced player with more upside. Pickett also has the possibility of much more growth, while also showing he already has a knack for playing his best in game-deciding moments. Trubisky had already played 4 seasons in Chicago, and was much closer to a finished product than Kenny Pickett is right now.

Kenny Pickett would get a lot more interest than Mitch Trubisky got.

 

And just like I told you in that thread these games never play out like you think it will, injuries are the biggest factor.

 

Minkah should be back soon they didn't put him on IR.

 

Are you on meth? We've seen enough of Trubisky and Rudolph to know Pickett is the best QB on the roster by a long shot. If the Steelers wanted to tank the season, all they'd have to do is start Trubisky or Rudolph. It would achieve the same result... multiple losses.

 

1. Well by most metrics, he was. In Chicago, Trubisky won 58% of his games, threw for 64 TD's in 51 starts, 208 yds/g, completed 64% of his passes etc. So he won a similar amount of games as Kenny, but threw for more ypg, more TD's, completed a higher % of his passes, went to a Pro Bowl, etc. He just had more statistical success and league accolades. If you put Trubisky's resume (before the 2021 season) next to Pickett's currently, I would be shocked if any teams viewed Kenny's resume as superior.

2. Yes, Pickett is better than Trubisky now in terms of what we need to win games. Trubisky has always been more reckless with the ball and will throw more picks. We would likely gain more yards as an offense with Trubisky as a starter in Pickett's stead, but we would turn it over more and our margin of error is currently 0... so Pickett is better for what we need. I am less impressed than most about KFP's turnover margin simply because 95% of his passes are within 10 yards of the LOS. Its hard to throw picks when you're dumping it off or throwing quick outs. His refusal to take shots downfield or take risks is why he doesn't throw picks, not because he is particularly accurate or "smart" with the ball. All of Pickett's upside is theoretical as well. He might have already peaked as an NFL QB. He is largely the same player in start #21 as he was in start #1 with essentially zero progression. There is a real possibility that he wont get any better than he is now. Realistically, Pickett's work in the 4th quarter is probably the main reason why we haven't given up on him. With his stats, if he's sitting at 8-13 instead of 13-8 as a starter, there would be a real possibility we'd be currently searching for the next guy.

3. I don't think he would. I don't think there would be a big market for a guy who struggles to move the ball and score points. You cant be the leader of a league cellar-dweller offense, average 19 points a game as a starter, throw for 180 yards a game, and be a sought after entity as a starter. Baker Mayfield is another guy who out performed Pickett as a starter and is on a 1yr/4mil contract currently. It's hard to imagine based on his current body of work that Pickett would garner interest above what Mayfield or Trubisky did.

If we don't see any improvement from Kenny over the last 8 games, we would be smart to look at someone like Minshew or Mayfield to bring in to compete with Kenny for the starting job in 2024. He just hasn't performed well enough for me to think that he is likely to be better than he is today, and both Mayfield and Minshew are better QB's right now. Cousins would be a great option too. I know the Steelers don't operate in this fashion and its 99.9% going to be Kenny as the starter going into 2024. I just wouldn't expect us to be a top 30 NFL offense if we do.

 

There are plenty of guys that out-performed Kenny as a starter and didn't get looks as named starters. Mayfield is another one. Minshew. Brissett. All these guys are back ups now. I am fairly certain if Kenny left in FA this offseason that he would be a back up as well.

I am rooting for Pickett, I really am. It would be significantly better for us if he improved and became "the guy". I am just not convinced that he is going to be an NFL caliber starting QB for his career based on his level of play.

 

I understand what you are saying about Trubisky in Chicago but now that he is in the same system as Pickett, other teams will take that into account and gauge that. You are also evaluating Pickett with much less experience than Trubisky or Baker Mayfield.

I have read some of your other posts, and it's no secret that you don't think Pickett is any good. You knock his performance, and say you already know who he is, like you did in this response to me. I think there is still plenty of room for him to grow. The system Pickett plays in limits him. I look at the offensive design and see limitations everywhere with scheme, concepts, route combinations, lack of detail within the scheme, few pick plays, no hot routes that are evident, offensive line issues, and teams only having to rush 4 to get the same pressure and time to throw as QBs that get blitzed at more than twice the rate Pickett does.

There are reasons everywhere that add up to some real issues within offense. Notice I say reasons, not excuses. With an inexperienced QB playing in a conservative offense with limitation on what he can do, it is a difficult task to shine.

I do understand criticism of Pickett as well. There are things he can still be doing better than he has been doing within the crappy system he plays in. He needs to be able to maximize what is available to him within the system and deliver the ball accurately to his targets, and take what is available to him. His vision needs to improve as well as his anticipation. There are clearly some trust issues with routes and protection at times, but some of that lack of trust is understandable when he was routinely getting blasted by free rushers earlier this season when the protections were supposed to be in place to stop that, and most of his best targets have been injured for most of the season, and the most talented of them all is often lazy and not running his routes properly or with sufficient effort. That means that there hasn't been a ton of talent on the field, and the talent that is there isn't where he is supposed to be. That is not advantageous to playing QB, and the rest of the reasons I listed all add up to issues for a QB to play with. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt because I know that the system needs to get better to help him.

If Pickett doesn't improve and they bring in guys like Minshew and Mayfield, what makes you think they are going to be much better in this system as they have more experience and are nothing but journeyman QBs? Cousins is a much better player, but he is 35 years old right now. So he will be a 36 year old QB coming off of a major injury that may affect his ability to throw the football. That wouldn't be my plan, because I think you look for young quarterbacks when looking for a franchise guy. Those other guys are great backups, not good starters IMO.

 

Amazon Prime Video quite lazy with the graphics. Watt's head photo shopped on Ben's body

 

Difference is the Ravens only have one division game left, and that's us. We still have 4 left. That matters.

 

I agree 100%, but I still would take KC over anyone if the Qb is healthy, but yes....No team can withstand critical injuries to their top players.

 

Clearly he's the best quarterback in the league right now but they could only muster 9 points against Denver and that was with Kelce. Even good teams have bad games even without injuries.

 

There's More than one?

 

Agreed, but they had beaten the Broncos like 300 times in a row...LoL...that streak had to end sometime. Even with that said....they are the only team I truly fear in the playoffs if We get that far. That's not saying We can't lose to another team, but that's the only one that makes me really really nervous.

 

You alway have to factor in the multiverse

 

I just have zero expectations. At this point it wouldn't really surprise me if they made the playoffs or if they didn't. I don't know that I would really be surprised if they went one and done or won a playoff game.
I do think there are some teams who do not feel comfortable being in the type of games the Steelers have been in. They start to play tight and make a lot of mistakes. Maybe that is the one thing the Steelers can take from the season is that as long as they don't get too far behind, anything can happen. However, the way the defense has played at times this year, that is a feat in and of itself.

 

It does, but if the Steelers beat them, they hold the tiebreaker regardless of what happens in those other three division games.

 

I agree that other teams are gauging that with Trubisky now (and I think Pickett is a better QB all things considered than Trubisky at this very moment), my comment about Trubisky was him coming off of his time in Chicago and how he was viewed across the league. Yes, there will be potentially 2 more years to get better for Pickett, but Trubisky and Mayfield are both guys that were ahead of Pickett in their development at the same points in their careers.

It is true, I don't think Pickett is very good at this moment. It would be hard to find someone who objectively watched him play that thinks otherwise. He's largely been bad. I like a lot about the kid, I just think he has a long way to go before he should be considered a viable starting option. He's tough, he seems like a good and likeable kid, it IS still nice that his best play happens in the 4th quarter.... However, my negative opinions are based objectively on his play. Its not even just the poor stat line and only being able to throw for about 180 yards a game, but he just looks uncomfortable out there. He still bails on semi comfortable pockets, he still misses seeing guys that are open, has trouble getting through is progressions, he still misfires easy throws, and often times is too afraid to pull the trigger on throws that aren't necessarily wide open but are "NFL open" in that he needs to let his receivers make a play sometimes. He just doesn't look like an NFL QB. I don't "know who he is" any more than the next guy, but if he is going to be more than "who he is" right now... I would've expected him to progress some from year 1 to year 2. He hasn't gotten better from start #1 to start #21. That is what concerns me and I have major doubts that he will end up being a starting caliber QB in the NFL.

I also understand the reasoning with his OC too... Canada has left a lot to be desired. However, just like you mentioned Pickett has failed to maximize what he can be in this offense. I would subscribe to that argument more if I saw him looking solid out there, but I think his play has held the offense back just as much as Canada has. I agree that a conservative offense leaves little room to shine, but there just haven't been enough "pockets of excellence" for me to think there's a good chance Kenny becomes something more.

I'm not 100% sure Mayfield or Minshew would look better in the current offense. I think they are both currently better QB's and SHOULD be better, but how much better is a question mark. I just think we have to look at other potential options or back up plans. With the way the Steelers organization operates, Pickett is going to go into 2024 the starting QB. Its the reality of the situation. The only thing I would do is bring in a journeyman spot starter that can fill the void if Kenny continues to look the way he has this season well into 2024. At that point you sit him down, put your Mayfield or Minshew in and then ride the rest of the season out with an early QB selection in your near future. I don't think we should go into 2024 with Trubisky as the backup, but someone we are a bit more comfortable taking over the offense if Kenny continues to stink it up.

 

I know Miami's strength of win is not good, but schematically I think they are a bad matchup for us and probably a team we would struggle to beat. That game could turn into a shootout to some degree and I am not sure our offense has the ability to keep up. KC would also be a team I think we probably lose to 9/10 times. The rest are all beatable imo.

 

Funny, the guys on PTI just said that the only winner last night was the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

I like the Ravens, Bengals and Browns! Now since Watson and Burrow are down Go Baltimore or Houston I guess. My team is done too.