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Unsung players...

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by mac daddyo, Oct 26, 2020.

  1. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    Hawkins quietly had a very good game. The reason many of the runs were successful. I said before he was playing the best I have seen him at the time he was traded. He has improved on that so far. He stepped in for chuks on a few plays as well. I'm glad he's back. They may have to ex-wife him for next year. Just another guy doing the dirty work to make this machine function well. McDonald, hilton, sutton, Hawkins, alualu, spillane. All of these guys are that kind of player this year making this team better and doing it under the radar for the most part. Just wanting to give them some love for it.:applaud::cool:
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
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  2. blackandgoldpatrol

    blackandgoldpatrol Well-Known Member

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    Can't say enough about edmunds' solid play either
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
  3. steelersrock151

    steelersrock151 Well-Known Member

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    He must be doing well, cause the constant ripping on him has been non existent.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  4. SteelerinKC

    SteelerinKC Well-Known Member

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    I am perfectly fine not hearing his name during the game. Good sign.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
  5. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Edmunds still doesn't make splash plays, but he has improved. After last season, the bar is low, but he is clearing it.

    Alualu needs to be getting a lot of respect. He just keeps showing up by penetrating or at least shoving blockers into the backfield. I was concerned about the position when Hargrave left, but Alualu has been fantastic.
     
    • Agree Agree x 5
  6. troybellringer55

    troybellringer55 Well-Known Member

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    Edmunds has been everyone's whipping boy. But he played very solid yesterday and almost had an INT.

    I think Tyson Allauh at 34 should be given much more credit.

    AL V has been a little more solid at LT this year than last year, Chuks hasn't been bad but can't have the flags all the time.

    McCloud has been very huge, he's great on returns, and you can use him for some long bombs or trick plays, total upgrade over Ryan Switzer, a wise move to bring him in at the end of camp.
     
    • Agree Agree x 4
  7. The Glory Days

    The Glory Days Well-Known Member

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    We're going to keep butting heads on this whole "splash plays" issue. Yesterday was a great example of why splash plays are important, but not as important as doing the little things right.

    The Titans had the splash plays, the turnovers, the momentum stopping successes. We had lunch pail, blue collar, hard nosed success. We tackled. We converted 3rd downs, we sacrificed. And the big plays? The splash plays? They blew up in our faces. Ray-Ray had a nice return. That was big. He made a terrible decision to cut back to the left instead of allowing a blocker to give him separation and lost the touchdown as a result. Didn't hurt us in the end, but it could have. Point is, those splash plays might have kept the Titans in the game, but they didn't win it for them. And our lack of splash plays didn't lose it for us.

    Do the little things right, blocking, tackling, hitting, being disciplined, and most of the time, you'll be successful. A splash play here and there is great, as long as you are doing the important things right.
     
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  8. Steelrules

    Steelrules Well-Known Member

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    Didn’t hear Alualu’s name much nor did I see him much yesterday. I’m sure he didn’t play 100% of the snaps in previous games, but Montreaux played quite a bit of snaps yesterday. Who relieved Alualu in previous games? And what happened to our FA signee Wormley?
     
  9. The Glory Days

    The Glory Days Well-Known Member

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    Mongrel (my nickname for Montreaux, copyright TGD 2020) wasn't even credited on the stat sheet. Alualu was credited with 2 tackles, one solo, one assisted. Mongrel was kind of a liability. Spelling your defense is important, but #99 wasn't quite ready for prime time. Hopefully he gets coached up and prepared better if he's going to be called on in the future.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  10. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    He did well as a lead blocker.:cool:
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
  11. Steelrules

    Steelrules Well-Known Member

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    It’s his first regular season game so I wasn’t surprised. But why was he playing instead of Buggs or Wormley?
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  12. The Glory Days

    The Glory Days Well-Known Member

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    His hair? Maybe he needed a game check to afford someone to do something with that mop.
     
    • Hilarious Hilarious x 1
  13. Disco1981

    Disco1981 Well-Known Member

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    How'd McCullers do :lolol:
     
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  14. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Of course, you need both, but defensive players who can't make big plays are limited in their contributions. In this case, I'm talking about big plays on defense. That doesn't just mean turnovers. It can mean sacks or tackles for a loss. Edmunds doesn't make those types of play very often. He didn't even make many his final year at Virginia Tech.

    I don't have a problem with the way Edmunds is playing right now. He is exceeding the very low expectations I have for him. If he can be a solid player, like the third-round selection he should have been, I'd be very happy.
     
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  15. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Alualu seemed to be playing his usual amount. I'm not sure how you missed him. Watch for the guy shoving the center into the backfield.
     
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  16. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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  17. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Mondeaux? Or did I miss something?
     
  18. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    A resounding endorsement for a defensive end.
     
  19. The Glory Days

    The Glory Days Well-Known Member

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    You didn't. I was questioning the spelling as I typed it but just followed the misspelling like the good little sheep that I am.
     
  20. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    Wormly went out with a knee injury and I think that might have contributed to him seeing more playing time. Buggs might have been in Tomlin's dog house although I'm not sure why since the limited snaps he saw against Cleveland he didn't stink up the place. Maybe had a bad week of practice or could be that Mongo has a bit of experience at FB like Nix had and they thought it might come in handy as a position flexibility thing.
     
  21. Vox Ferrum

    Vox Ferrum Well-Known Member

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    Just fulfilling the destiny of last years hopeful Sutton Smith. Give the guy a few more weeks and he will running in TD's like the Fridge did for the Bears.
     
  22. Vox Ferrum

    Vox Ferrum Well-Known Member

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    These are the guys that create a championship team, and I stress team. You cannot do it without the TJ's and Cam's, but if you can get consistent good play from the bench you have built a very strong contender.
     
    • Winner Winner x 2
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  23. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    For me, Chukwuma Okorafor, Kevin Dotson, Alex Highsmith and Cameron Sutton have been mine. Not even close for any of them in my opinion. I do see the team attempting to groom Sutton into Joe Haden's replacement as Joe's Cap Hit is monstrous; $15.5 Million via Sportrac. As opposed to draft a Corner to see if he can be slotted into the lineup, I would rather keep that continuity in tact by cutting Haden, resign Hilton and perform a restructure to extend Sutton after the "TJ Watt Mega Deal" is complete. Strike that iron while it is hot as Suttons value will only skyrocket from there.




    As for Chuks, have always placed all my proverbial chips on the table for him. Immense athletic talent with potential yet to be tapped. He is beginning to tap into that potential in his inaugural season. Sure, having three penalties is definitely not something one would want to have but such penalties are necessary as growing pains are needed to become better. All I know is that Chuks has only given up one sack; to Myles Garrett no less. He has given up some pressures but none that had me concerned. His run blocking though is still a bit a work in progress but the previous two weeks have been very encouraging to see. As far as I see it though, he is the long term answer at Offensive Tackle; where exactly though is to be determined as I do not think Big Al will be with the team in 2021.



    Regarding Kevin Dotson; take everything I said about Chuks, greatly improve my assessment of his run blocking ability, switch out Big Al for Matt Feller and that is pretty much it. Nothing much else to say about him. I was ecstatic when we selected him as many considered him to be a Top 75 pick. I believe many teams are regretting that choice as he is a keeper; Baltimore doubly so as the loss of Yanda is immense.



    Lastly, Alex Highsmith is progressing far faster than I thought. His snap counts continually going up is a major step in the right direction; 27 in the past three weeks vs 28 in the first three. That one snap difference is a bit odd but in comparison to Ola Adeniyi, 26 snaps in the first three weeks vs 12 in the past three, Alex has earned more trust than Ola. Part of that is his rapid improvement in his ability to set the edge; his major shortcoming heading into the NFL Season as a Rookie. His edge setting improvement was on full display during the Titans game in which he not only maintained his edge assignment but stuffed Derrick Henry like it was nothing. He still needs to get that first sack but no point in rushing it. However, he did have a rep where he went toe to toe against Corey Davis on a Slant Route. While Corey would win that rep, Highsmith stopped him for little gain; a major positive for him. Look for him to get better as the season rolls on.
     
  24. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

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    Speaking of Sutton. What’s this about?

    https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2...MlpmjM2FcgPxB-bFA1EBo6OfJNA7U3K8joQhmicAICynY
     
  25. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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