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The Real JuJu

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Blast Furnace, May 1, 2020.

  1. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    That is a good point. I think the real key this year is going to be Johnson and Washington making opposing defenses pay if they focus too much on Smith-Schuster. Both made some real progress in spite of the quarterback situation last season, but they are going to have to do more in 2020.
     
  2. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    Ebron will make some noise if he can stay healthy, McDonald too. Teams won't be stacking the box against Ben & they won't need max protection with the te's.
     
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  3. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    You don’t need a lot of practice to run go routes. If DB’s don’t respect that, Claypool will make them pay. Add in the other weapons and I agree, going to be too difficult to only key on JuJu.
     
  4. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    If all you can do is a go route, then unless you have Mike Wallace speed, you are easy to defend. That still leaves JuJu in the heavy coverage. We cant underestimate the value of the route running and decision trees that makes a receiver a challenge to defenses.

    Not an argument. Just a thought.
     
  5. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    You have to respect 4.42 speed and he is also a monster compared to Wallace in size who couldn’t fight his way through tissue paper. Plus Claypool can run a full route tree. Wouldn’t matter if he was easy to defend anyway, when you have someone that can take the top off the defense, it opens up things underneath. We haven’t had someone like that since Bryant.

    There is also DJ who is a very good route runner with deceptive speed. Throw Ebron, Vance and JW into the mix, they won’t be able to focus just on JuJu.
     
  6. The Glory Days

    The Glory Days Well-Known Member

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    I think you have to respect a pro bowl qb that can read defenses and anticipate the routes being ran fully or being broken off. If our OL and Ben's arm hold up, you'll see a very different receiving corp in terms of production. If Ben can get in the time with the receivers to build some rapport and trust, we will have a fun offense to watch. And with our defense giving the offense an extra possession or two a game, we should be in a position to make some noise.

    Crossing my fingers and toes that the OL gels, stays healthy, and plays much better than last year.
     
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  7. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Being able to “run a full route tree” in college and know how to adjust the route against an NFL defense are way far apart. Expecting anything from Claypool early in this season is more optimistic that I am.

    Regarding the second paragraph, absolutely. DJ in particular should have a big step forward.
     
  8. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    DJ did what I expected of him last season and he didn’t even have Ben :thumbs up:

    My only concern with Claypool is how this virus affects things. Otherwise, I look for around 800 yards, 6 or 7 TD’s from him.
     
  9. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    The virus, and the lack of OTAs and who knows how much more is really going to hurt all rookies. Ed Bouchette brought up a good point from the college level as well. Because of the same affect on college practices and potentially college games there will probably be less kids coming out early. This could make for a lousy draft next year?
     
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  10. SteelCity_NB

    SteelCity_NB Staff Member Mod Team

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    I think the opposite will happen. Even more kids will come out at the chance to get that money.
     
  11. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    IDK, they will be lower level kids, and they risk the chance of not being drafted at all. Then they are screwed.

    But I understand your logic. I just don’t see a kid who normally wouldn’t be drafted, or drafted above say rounds 6-7, suddenly being a 3 rd for example, just because it’s a thin draft.
     
  12. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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  13. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    My goodness. JuJu is not kidding around this time. Perhaps drafting Chase Claypool has more meaning than I initially thought.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  14. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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    I have been following juju all off season he appears to be working very hard indeed, regularly posting his home workouts, he is in incredible shape. Let’s hope it translates to the field
     
  15. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    James Conner did the exact same thing last year.

    Just saying.
     
  16. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    I like his attitude, not just going to dismiss last year as a down season. From what I understand about this trainer, you need to be a glutton for punishment to stick with him. JuJu is determined to be great. Looks like he is putting his focus on his game and less on his brand.
     
  17. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    All the better. Perhaps Mark Madden will leave him alone. Then again, I can imagine Mark Madden coming up with something silly to antagonize JuJu.



    Not that I care for Mr. Madden myself anyway. :lolol:
     
  18. STEELWINDS

    STEELWINDS

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    Hey Blast Furnace.

    I was watching America's Game early this morning when the Steelers beat the Rams on their way to their fourth ring. Just Awesome! Anyway, it got me to thinking about JuJu. In that game, as you may recall, Lynn Swann got hurt and left the game. Now, John Stallworth got exactly what he probably wanted, the spotlight to be on him on the biggest stage in the NFL. Mr. Stallworth delivered big time. I remember that game as I feel so fortunate to have been around for all of the Steelers' Super Bowl victories.

    Back to that game. It kind of reminded me of JuJu's situation in part. He no longer is the beneficiary of AB to be lined up across from him as Stallworth no longer had Swann. Now, IMO Swann and Stallworth were both on the same level and in a sense Stallworth and Swann were actually beneficiaries of one another. AB and JuJu not as much. This is no knock on JuJu. It is just that there was more of a history there with Swann and Stallworth of time spent together. JuJu and AB were not together for as long.

    Given that, yes JuJu did what he was suppose to do with AB on the field with him. He excelled. Last season was his first without AB. It obviously was not a good year for JuJu. He was hurt, he had horrible QB play. Neither of these affected Stallworth. He was healthy and had Terry Bradshaw throwing to him. Given that, he proved that he did not need Swann to become that #1 guy. After Swann retired Stallworth did not miss a beat and finished up the rest of his career on a continued highly productive note.

    So, IMO, the jury is out on JuJu in regards to being that true #1 receiver. He should be back healthy this season and Ben should be back according to media updates. So, if those two things are in place, we will see if JuJu can indeed take that next step to being that true #1 receiver. Also, he will have support. I like Washington and Deontae. Now add in Claypool. Also, add in Vance and Ebron. So, I do not see JuJu as having to go at this alone. The people I just mentioned are going to have to be accounted for. They are all very talented.

    Personally, I think JuJu is up for the task. I hope he gets off to a fast start and never looks back. I think that will go a long way for him to prove the naysayers wrong. The man is very talented. I actually think our entire receiving crew is going to have to be dealt with. The guys I just mentioned above are all very good. Now, throw in a good RB mix and I really see us as too much for teams to handle. The biggest issue is for Ben to build chemistry with these guys. He only has a history with JuJu, Vance and a small bit with Washington. Not having Spring workouts is not helping the chemistry building process. Nonetheless, we will get through that. We have no choice.


    STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2020
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  19. mcam

    mcam Well-Known Member

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    I like Ju Ju. Kind of sad I think his time is coming up here. Hope I'm wrong.

    Think last year is an unfair assessment. He's no Antonio clown but he is a solid WR. He had a huge drop off of skill throwing to him last year. Defenses could square off on him.

    I think with more weapons he'll do good, and then he'll probably be gone contract year next year.

    I hope he makes bank he's a good kid I think. Hope it doesn't get to his head like ole ego head Brown. <<one of the greatest self-induced NFL let alone Steelers tragedies. Potentially one of the greatest ever sidelined because he chose to be an A-hole in life, but I degress.
     
  20. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    The best thing you can do with Madden is ignore him. There is a reason he has gotten some work as a pro wrestling announcer. That is where he belongs.
     
  21. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

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    Brown is such an idiot and was an incredible athlete. 5 year period where he amassed nearly 8k yards. Sigh
     
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  22. STEELWINDS

    STEELWINDS

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    Hey Blast Furnace.

    I have stated this several times now over the months. We are good to go on the "O". We have all the receiving power we need to make opposing teams worry. I like each of our receivers. They all have a unique skill-set and as a unified cohort they are going to cause headaches for opposing defenses. Now add in McDonald and Ebron and there are two more aspirins that need to be taken.

    To top it off, sprinkle in our RBs coming out of the backfield. Samuels is the best receiving RB that we have, then Conner. I also like Whyte, mainly due to his speed. Willie parker type fast. I am telling folks that a 10.5 for the 100 meter dash is blazing. Trust me, as a Track & Field Coach I will vouch for this. I am not including McFarland for now as I will take a wait and see approach. I hope he is good. I am not sure what Tomlin's infatuation is with UMD players so I hope he and the Front Office made a good pick here.

    RIGHT NOW, the biggest issue is the QB. If it is Ben then great. However, even with Ben the entire "O" is behind the curve in regards to building chemistry. Missing all of last year and the OTAs up to this point is not helping that chemistry-building process. I guess the teams can start to practice now? If so, and the right pre-cautionary measures are taken, then Ben and this crew need to start putting in some type work. The sands of time are dwindling and no more can be wasted. They need to find a way to get together, even if it is for lunch (smile). They need to bond both physically and mentally if this upcoming season is to be a banner one. Yes, the ideal situation would be for them to hit the practice field and to start to throw the ball around. However, there are other things that they can also work on for now that does include physical contact. They just need to start the cohesion process on whatever levels that they can work on for now.

    STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2020
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  23. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Going to be interesting to see how the roster shakes out but I’m thinking Whyte will not make the team.

    Conner and Snell are locks, you figure McFarland will make the club unless he is just abysmal in camp (whatever camp there may be) and put him on the PS but I don’t think that will be the case, I think he ends up being one of the best picks in their draft.

    How many RB’s will make the team? 4? I think the roster has been expanded this year to 55, you figure OL will be prioritized in that regard, 1 or maybe both extra spots. Not sure they’d want to use an extra roster spot for a RB.

    Probably looking at Conner, Snell, McFarland and Samuel. Whyte gets cut.
     
  24. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Ward refused to be on Madden’s show Madden spoke badly of Ward ever after. I’m suspecting it’s similar here. Madden is not an intelligent person. He does know a little about hockey but he knows next to nothing about football.
     
  25. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    Madden knows enough about hockey to be dangerous and by that I mean he gets people worked up about stupid things. I pretty sure he was one of the best writers that started the Mario lied to us to get a new building narrative. I'm sorry but when Kansas City offers you a state of the art facility for free for over 10 years and a market clamoring for professional hockey that isn't a lie that is a solid offer especially with an aging Civic Arena and state and local government that is reluctant to put their names on any plans to update the venue.
     
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