My thoughts on regular season wk 3

1. I'm not sure who called this offense, but it wasn't Canada.... still a bit too predictable though

2. TJ Watt wants his DPOY back

3. If you're gonna trust Joey Porter Jr to cover Davante Adam's 1 on 1 on 3rd down, then you might as well start him

4. Keanu Benton needs to be starting as well

5. Aside from his near pick 6, Kenny protected the ball fairly well

6. The refs did their level best to get the raiders back into this thing

7. Boswell is Mr automatic again

8. Is it possible that Presley Harvin has figured things out

9. Despite the 3 int's, we need new corners

10. Calvin Austin absolutely needs to be on the field..... even when DJ returns

 

Spot on as usual

 

That was my thought because clearly someone either miscommunicated or forgot their assignment. Just glad it didn't end up being worse than it was.

 

Good summary especially #6 Don't like to be a homer but I did think that penalty for pushing offer defender for leverage on the field goal was dumb as hell and I texted a buddy of mine and said the refs want the Raiders to win this one. There were several non-calls on hits to Kenny as well and at least two shots to the head with a hand/arm

 

Said the same to my daughter during the game. Sure as heck looked like they were indeed not on the same page.

 

Yes to #10, Austin's 4.2 speed is a game changer.

 

Thanks for the usual solid analysis blackandgoldpatrol

Definitely need to look at the corner position next draft. Should have busted the piggy bank to keep Sutton. Wallace was getting abused early then bam turned a 180. At least we saw more of Porter Jr.

Benton is a force.

I feel its time to insert Broderick Jones at left tackle.

You can't run against a wall when they know were going to run. They have to give Pickett leeway to audible out of it. Najee was running into 8 man fronts. This also is part of the predictability of Canada. He called a decent game but this still should be his last ride in Pittsburgh.

 

Kudos to Steelers Nation.

You all forfeited sending your kids to college by spending a few mortgage payments on going to Vegas to see the Steelers.

My observations.

Our defense gives up tons of yards, and is purely depend on Splash, Sacks, INTS and fumbles. I know its Devante Adams but my gosh he was open all night.

Think they did a little better shutting down Jacobs but he doesn't seem himself. Heck he had -2 yards rushing against Buffalo

Boswell is dialed in, his FG from 57 would of been good into the low 60's range. Harvin III great punting aside from one that was crucial but overall his punting seems to be coming around. Also good punt tackling, that often gets over looked on punts.

Kenny Pickett seemed for comfortable and relaxed this game. Lucky the easy pick 6 was dropped, I still think there was mis-communication on a route on that play, pretty much give me Neil O'Donnell PTSD on that one. But I like when he gets out the pocket to extend plays, he also had a really nice run which I think he should do more than he does. Too bad Pickens wasn't set that was a TD drive, Pickett took that clear down to 2 or 3 yard line.

Rushing attack is terrible. Najee seems slow. Jaylen Warren seems a better option at this point. But our offensive line rush blocking in terrible, all around.

Calvin Austin III glad we got to see his speed on full display. He should just watch Tyrek Hill plays on the loop and model his game after his. He probably won't turn into that but I will take a generic Tyrek Hill brand on my team all day long.

For the love of all that is holy use Muth more often. Good things happen when we do.

Refs were not on our side this game. Fitzpatrick roughing the passer call is BS, Leal leverage ticky tack at best.

Josh McDaniels not sure what his thought process was, other than he had no respect for our offense that they would pick up a 1st down. But, thank you I guess.

Anyway 2-1 off to the the Texans, who look a bit harder than expected.

 

yea, it can't be the OC when things are good, only when it's bad.

 

A few of the Najee handoffs it seemed I could have flown there and made the tackle before he took a step. Later he seemed more direct.

Blocking and play calling not in his favor but he hesitates a lot. Can't blame him most times as the defense is in his face.

 

good stuff b&g. except maybe #1. i do agree it's still a work in progress.

 

excellent

I have been on Harvin for 3 years - great night last night!

Wizard of Boz looks healthy

REFS SUCK - they gave Colts the win earlier in the day vs. the Rats.

not sure if it is the corners of the 'bend don't break zone scheme' - I HATE it. these guys were trained since kindergarten to play man to man and Tomlin takes that away from them. MIX IT UP!

 

This is not an approved observation. Do not believe what your eyes tell you.

 

11. We should all be aware the Steelers played the best 2 defenses in the NFL weeks 1 & 2.

 

I know it's asking for karma but I get an extra kick from watching Hairball screaming at the injustice of a Ravens loss.

Not that I condone bad refereeing. More that I really hate the Ravens that much.

 

Good assessment. Just happy to beat the raiders because they've had our number lately more than we've had theirs.

 

Even the rules expert on the broadcast insisted the hit by Fitzpatrick wasn't a foul. They asked him about it twice and both times, he said it was not forcible contact, so it wasn't a foul.

 

Harbaugh was right to complain. That was pass interference.

 

#8 worries me but feeling better about him. A lot of NFL fans (especially the young) look at punting as an after thought. There is a reason the Raiders drafted a Punter #1 years ago. A great Punter makes your defense so much better. I hated him as a Steeler fan but loved him as an NFL fan. Ray Guy was the greatest I ever watched. He'd pin the other team inside the 10 multiple times in a game.

 

Yes the tendencies of our formations to tip our hand needs to be addressed, such as the motion of of WR I think which tipped the run every time on that play and if you look at how Najee lines up, if he's slight in front of KP in the shotgun, pass if he is slightly behind it a run. My son and I were watching that to see if that held up and I think it did the whole game. You saw peters walk right up and jump into the back field and make tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Teams are anticipating our calls too much and yes KP has to have an audible on the stacked boxes and they need to begin throwing on first down.

Romo kept saying in the Jets game, throwing on first down is what you do to help a struggling QB. As soon as the Jets did that in the 2nd half they started achieving some success. He said the thinking is always run to protect the QB but its too predictable and the defense is waiting for it. We need to catch a defense like the raiders did to us on the 3-1 and throw behind the defense. Must be done to prevent the D from stacking the box continuously.

 

Yup, you nailed it in a nutshell. This team really didn't get much better they just played a weaker defense.

We will win our share of games vs. the weaker teams like the Raiders, probably enough to win 9 games and fans can celebrate "no losing Tomlin season" once again.

 

Browns didn't even give up 100 yards. Reminds me of several podcasters that state those dominating defense are a thing of the past. Guess not

 

I think (maybe on same drive) Lamar was hit/ grabbed on facemask and again, no flags.