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JuJu will Flourish as the #1

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Blast Furnace, May 21, 2019.

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  1. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Good article by Starkey.

    https://www.post-gazette.com/sports...urish-as-a-No-1-receiver/stories/201904100163

    I'm not worried about JuJu, as others have stated, it's whats after him thats more of a question mark.

    JuJu will at a minimum, hit 1,000 yards which would be a drop off but would still be a successful season in his first year as a number 1 being double teamed and getting all the DC's attention. It's silly to think he needs to match the yards he produced last year when only 5 other receivers hit that mark and none of them were named Antonio Brown. 1426 yards is a great season and would be difficult to match even if AB were still on the team. AB has only gone over that 4 times himself. I personally think JuJu will have a 1300 yard, 10 TD campaign.

    He's obliterated AB's first two seasons and shouldn't have much trouble matching ABs 3rd year production of 787 yards and 5 TD's. The reason I am making these comparisons is not to disparage AB but to show how great JuJu is playing.

    He also has the most yards in history at his age and only player with two 97 yard TD's.

    Yeah, the kids special.
     
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  2. Steelersfan43

    Steelersfan43 Well-Known Member

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    As you said, I'm not worried about JuJu, the key will be on the other WR .... If 2 other WR are good, the steelers will be fine at this position.

    For the stats, the efficiency is the most important thing, like the yards by target or the% of catch by target ... I do not care about the yards.
     
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  3. 86WardsWay

    86WardsWay Well-Known Member

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    I like JUJU but he will only be successful as a number 1 if the others step up drastically. I don't see him succeeding in double coverage the way other elite WR's can. Ben needs to spread the ball all over the field in order to get him into single coverage as often as possible.
     
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  4. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    I like moncriefs chances in single coverage.:cool:
     
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  5. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Thats astonishing. What exactly is he missing to be an elite WR? That his numbers don't already prove?

    He has every tool in the toolbox to be elite.
     
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  6. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    JuJu is going to be fine not doubt. I seriously doubt he is going to drop because Antonio Brown left. Among the receivers many of us should be worried about, James Washington should be at the top of the list.



    For that matter, James Washington has possibly COLOSSALLY greater pressure than any other player on the roster, Ben included. Much of the team's success depends on his development and progression in year two. If he does not do well, that is going to have some ramifications; potentially season impactful depending on the situation.



    JuJu is arguably the player whom many should be LEAST worried about. He has done it twice. I think he is capable of doing it again.
     
  7. defva

    defva Well-Known Member

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    What he don't have and have yet to prove is if he can have the same success(production) that AB had with double/triple coverage. With a #1 db's covering him. AB made us forget all about Wallace. Let's see if JuJu can do the same with AB gone. Scottie Pippen was the happiest guy in nba when MJ came back .... lol
     
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  8. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    He has the skills, he can do it all but I'll agree that he hasn't proven it yet.

    I see nothing that says he can't handle it. I don't care who is across the field, you don't put up the kind of numbers JuJu has if you aren't very talented.
     
  9. dobbler-33

    dobbler-33 Well-Known Member

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    Juju will be fine as long as he stays out of his own head and don't press in his new role or get injured. He'll have a better surrounding cast than brown had sans Hines. The rest should be comparatively better than AB's support group early in his career. Juju in his first 2 seasons has demolished AB's output in his first 2... Significantly.

    AB had ARE, Sanders, Wallace, Ward, Battle and Cotch his first out of the gate... Then a no show Plax, a shaky/ injured Wheaton a one trick Bryant, Gilbreath and Moye according to internet roster searches though I personally remember things different.

    JuJu will have Crief, which on paper appears more comfy than Wallace or Bryant IMO. Eli and Switz which id take over Wheaton... Injuries and all. DHB was also a cog in the AB years but the result of the sample size seems to lead to some believing he would've been a hammer at safety hahahahha.

    AB had Heeeeeaaaath as well. If healthy I think they're fine and productive at that spot moving foreward with Vance.

    Simply put, I don't see the personnel as far as freeing up certain so and so's as detrimental to the unit or team. JuJu has to earn just like AB did. They can double or triple or focus on him all they want, if others play their part And Ben don't find a new reason to force stuff to his new #1 and supporting cast should be fine.

    Of course, we will see but Im like some here, more worried about the D than JuJu.
     
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  10. dobbler-33

    dobbler-33 Well-Known Member

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    Wallace also made us and the entire league forget about him as well... Grass ain't always greener but ill admit sometimes the money is...
     
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  11. Iowasteeljim

    Iowasteeljim

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    JuJu is a whole different player than AB in the upstairs department (brains). Talent wise, we will have to see. I will preface what I'm going to say by acknowledging I haven't sat down and watched film to confirm my belief, but I'm not sure JuJu's success was as dependent on AB as others are. That is not to say that JuJu didn't enjoy the attraction Brown obviously got, but he seemed to me to make a lot of his own success also. Either way, this season will be pretty revealing!
     
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  12. blake duerden

    blake duerden Well-Known Member

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    juju is an mvp,. Bryant,next,brown,next,juju! Ben makes it happen with his #1s and this could be a special one.
    I just wish the d and run game ball out more.
    getting excited.
     
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  13. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    One issue here is that when we draft a CB, we usually expect them to struggle early and then develop. When we draft a WR, we expect all-pro performances from day one, even though the likes of AB et al. didn't show this.

    Make no mistake, Washington should have pressure on him to succeed, given where he was taken in the draft. But sometimes I think the narrative that we always pick good WRs clouds our memory of the development the likes of Bryant, AB, and Wallace had to make, so there's a risk of seeing problems with Washington based on last season, where in fact we have a receiver finding his way in the NFL.
     
  14. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Off the field, Smith-Schuster shows more intelligence than Brown. On it? Sorry, that's simply not true.
     
  15. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Based on this, you are projecting Brown's absence to hurt the offense significantly. Not only do the Steelers lose his production, but the loss also makes Smith-Schuster less productive. I thought you were one of the posters dismissing the role Brown played in Smith-Schuster's success. Now you seem to be using it as a ready-made excuse for Smith-Schuster's production to decline this year.

    That said, I'd certainly take your projection of 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns from Smith-Schuster. I think it's reasonable. But if he drops down to around 1,000 yards, that's a big decline and probably a sign of trouble.

    I agree that the other receivers are a much larger concern. Smith-Schuster will be good. Nobody doubts that the kid can play. The question is if he can maintain his level of production now that he has to move into the No. 1 role.
     
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  16. defva

    defva Well-Known Member

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    Remember, when Wallace left? We were saying this exact thing about AB. AB is a Baller! Because, he obtained a so called drama queen attitude does not take away from his production
     
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  17. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Not saying that Washington had to be on the fast track purely based on what he needs to do. Given our circumstances last season, with no Martavis Byrant, a new deep threat had to emerge. James Washington was supposed to become that player as the season progressed. Injuries robbed him early on; some inconsistency later.



    The lack of a true deep threat hurt us early on; other aspects the same. James did though end the year strong. Here is hoping he can improve on that.
     
  18. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    That's actually what I was saying, that people were taking Brown's idiocy off the field and extending it to what he did on the field.
     
  19. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    Juju doesn't have to be superman for this offense to succeed. If he's in double or triple coverage then shame on the defense and they will get burnt. It's up to Ben to force them out of that with the many other weapons he will have. It's not a black and white situation now on this team of having to make juju Antonio brown. We have the ability for that ball to go to mismatches more so now then ever and that will show juju worth, even if he's a decoy more now then ever because of what he has done in the past. He brings one thing AB doesnt, that will be the ability to not whine if the ball is not going to him but is making the offense better. Win, win.:cool:
     
  20. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    He doesn't have to be Antonio Brown, which is a very good thing because he can't. He does have to be JuJu Smith-Schuster, which means he has to produce.
     
  21. troybellringer55

    troybellringer55 Well-Known Member

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    I think Washington comes on, it was starting to click for him as the season went on. He had a really big catch against the Patriots that no one talks about.

    I don't think the goal will be to see Ben leads the league in passing yards. I will expect the Steelers to become more balanced, wouldn't shock me to see more passes to check downs wth Conner and Samuels, both who have shown they can catch it. Passes to McDonald as well.

    No one will be an AB talent wise. He was one of the best at his position for a reason. But, I don't think it's all doom and gloom, you just don't really know how the Washington, Montcrief, and Johnson (Trio) will do with Ben.

    I'm going to come out and say James Washington impresses the fan base this season.
     
  22. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    all of our players need to be productive. If he pulls coverage away from other players does that make him less productive?:cool:
     
  23. JAD

    JAD Well-Known Member

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    If JuJu works as hard as AB did with his ball catching skills and route running then he will be fine. He just can't get complacent, which I don't think he will as he got a good head on his shoulders.
     
  24. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    I just don't think it can be compared apples to apples. AB had a different skill set to be able to jump into the slot and work from there and for many teams that changes coverage. Juju isn't that type of receiver. It doesn't make him less of a talent but changes how we go about using other options.:cool:
     
  25. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    It's tough to see the targets aimed at tight ends going up this year with James gone and no replacement of his quality available.
     
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  26. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Actually, Smith-Schuster did do some good work from the slot last season. I'm assuming he will play a similar role to Brown last year. It's one reason Moncrief and Washington are so important. They are better suited to the outside than Johnson, Rogers or Switzer, though hopefully Johnson can be a more complete receiver in time.
     
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