It's time to have a conversation about TJ Watt

TJ Watt's contract is up after 2025. I'm guessing we let him walk and promote Herbig or Smith.

 

My point in them passing on Mitchell is they never get a shot at the #1 CB, but Mitchell fell to them and they passed on him .

 

Smith won't be on the team in 2025 unless he restructures his contract, I don't think he's the answer he's over 30 years old.

 

We did it two years in a row. We could have had Gonzalez year before, and Mitchell this year.

 

The draft was deep at CB in 2023 they knew they could get a CB at pick #32, I don't think they needed to go OT in the first round two years in a row.

 

I know.....I was Just saying....We've skipped two very good 1st round CBs that were still on the board when We picked.

 

Fair enough.


However, how do any of us know if Quinyon was a system fit?! Quinyon wasn't as Scheme Proof as many thought coming out of Toledo. Very reliant on man coverage; namely press man. He has gotten much better at Zone as the season has went on. Teryl Austin enjoys playing lots of Cover 3 with some Cover 1 on the side. For that matter, a lot of Cover3 has been used all season minus the likes of New York (both teams), Atlanta and Los Angeles.

 

Austin relies too much on TJ’s dominance. If an opponent takes that away seems Austin has no counter. He sucks, and Tomlin has never been good on detailed prep and in game adjustments. Thats what it seems anyway.


He has a way with words in press conferences though.

 

I don't understand why for the Cleveland game TJ wasn't all over the place. Nick Herbig practices on both sides of the line, so in a game where TJs opposite number is a guy that trains to play both sides of the ball as the #3 OLB why wouldn't the Steelers move TJ from side to side to see how the offense reacts?

I for one would love to see a blitzing DB coming from TJs side to see what the offense would do. Would they still double TJ and let the blitzer in, or give TJ his one on one?


I just wished that the Steelers would have promoted Brian Flores to DC in 2023 after his 1 year hideout on the Steelers Staff was over.

 

Move Herbig around line. Let him pick his spot. TJ does more than just rush the passer.

 

I don't really see what a DC would have to adjust....If one of Your D players are taking up most of their attention....there are at least 3 other guys that need to be winning their matchups. It's not like they have 2-3 guys on Watt, and then 2-3 guy on everyone else. You only have a 11 men on the field. So on those times they are doubling , chipping, and tripling Watt.....someone should be winning. It's really that simple. There is a reason that every single person that is playing opposite of Watt are getting sacks, but they aren't doing it enough.

 

Highsmith was getting plenty of pressure before he got injured.

 

It's not just TJ. The team as a whole has sucked at getting after the QB this year. The Steelers are in the bottom 10 for sacks as a team, which is crazy given their recent history.

 

why not try moving TJ around like they did Garrett or blitz more. May need to rush more than 4 more often. Winston is not Brady, i dont think he can adjust that fast. He’d get rattled and start to make mistakes. Austin just strikes me as too cautious, and it ends up hurting us.

 

There's a difference Garrett plays on the DL, Watt is an OLB they can move him around but it doesn't mean it will be effective.

 

The whole coaching staff sucks. Danny Smith is probably the only decent coach they have. Tomlin doesn't like any competition.

 

The why did he hire a former HC to be his OC, fans come up with these dumb takes .

 

Big deal, he was a loser in Atlanta. He's barely better than Canada as OC, so Tomlin isn't worried.

 

Smith was the OC when the Titans made it to the AFCCG, he had scrub QBs in Atlanta.

 

He has scrub QB's as OC now, so I don't expect much from him. Any coach can have success if they have a top level QB, it's a QB driven league, you need the goods.

 

He's been injured almost half the season.

 

8-3 and in first place with scrub QBs

 

The guy doesn't have to be a schematic fit from day one. That's just an excuse. Injury concerns were reportedly an issue for Fautanu going into the draft, so it is tough to hold the Steelers blameless for having to play almost the entire season without getting anything from their first-round pick. Maybe he can get healthy. Maybe he can be a stud if that happens. Maybe is doing a lot of work in both of those statements.

Mitchell is an outstanding player right now, and as you acknowledge, he is improving. The Steelers could have locked up the corner position for a long time and they could be much better on defense right now. There was a decent argument for Fautanu on draft day, though even then he wouldn't have been my pick, but with the benefit of hindsight, there is not a good argument now. The Steelers picked the wrong guy for the short term and likely for the long term as well.

The argument about which position seems deeper for 2025 doesn't hold up, either. Those things can change so much in a year that it makes little sense to draft that way.

 

Enjoy it while it lasts, because it won't. I put them on 2 more wins max.

 

WELL
WELL
WELL

I'm sure
NOTHING WOULD BE CONVERSED
from any of you !!!!!
with TJ actually in the room

waaaaah