Did we only activate two tight ends Thurs?

Jesse James wasn't active on Thursday. Did we really only have two tight ends active for the game? I know they don't use tight end packages in their offense a lot, but isn't it almost required to have at least 3 tight ends active every week, even for special teams? I can't even name a fourth tight end on the team, if there is one. I also don't know why they only had 4 receivers active (5 I guess if you include Archer). Did anybody else notice this? Regardless of how you feel about James (I personally believe he's going to be really good in a couple of years), don't you need at least three tight ends every week?
Didn't understand some of the inactives Thursday night.

 

They used Will J as a jack of all trades. He is now a TE/FB/RB. Had they really needed a third TE for a jumbo 3TE running set they could have used a backup linemen as a TE ie Adams last year.

 

I guess that's true that we usually only play with 4 WRs (which still seems like 1 too less; but I get it, Bell and Archer are basically pass catchers too), but I don't like not having at least 3 true tight ends playing each week. If Miller or Spaeth go down, we actually have to resort to a fullback or offensive lineman to compensate? Seriously? And I understand Bell is out, but we don't have another true running back to back up Deangelo? Our next best option after D. Williams was fullback Will Johnson? Will Johnson is one of my favorite Steelers, but it bothers me that Pittsburgh is so top heavy with no depth whatsoever (particularly at tight end and running back, not to mention to D-line). It bothers me that Pittsburgh put all of their eggs into the basket of a 32-year-old running back without a single true running back to back him up if he went down. Granted it worked out for them, but that is so risky. Think about it. We had 1 true running back on Thursday, and he's 32 years old. It seems like with the majority of other teams in the league, they all have at least somebody active should they need them. We lose Bell for two games and do absolutely nothing to replace him. No cheap FA acquisition to be a handcuff for a few weeks. We just make Will Johnson potentially play three positions. It's nice to have that kind of versatility in a guy, but to me it just seems kind of lazy. New England was without Blount and yet they still had at least three true running backs active. I just don't know what they're doing sometimes. It seems like we go into games with like 35 active players.

Rant over.

 

I completely forgot about the Todman signing and that does change my view somewhat on Deangelo being the only back they have before Bell comes back. And if Todman proves to be useful for them, all the more better. But it also makes me realize that Deangelo is literally the only running back that made the team through the preseason (if you don't count archer or Nix as a FB). It also still does not change my mind on why they didn't activate James. I don't know any team in the NFL who activates only 2 tight ends for a game, regardless of offensive scheme. That third tight end is usually crucial for special teams and kick coverage. The fact that they would prefer to use a fullback and a back up o-lineman who played tight end 5 years ago over a true tight end (albeit rookie) baffles me. James cannot be that bad, because I can't see W. Johnson or Villanueva being any better at all. Again, I am all for having versatile players on the roster. But you're allowed to suit up 46 players on game day. Why can't three of them be true tight ends?? Theoretically, had Spaeth and Deangelo gone down on Thursday, Will Johnson and Villanueva would have been our RB and TE2. It just kind of proves that Pittsburgh is so without depth in a lot of ways.