My Steelers mid term grades..... Offense

Qb:
Ben Roethlisberger: Big Ben is at the end of a hall of famer career.. At times he has been painful to watch, and at times he still shows veteran savvy and leadership... Truth is that overall, Ben is holding the offense back.... His diminishing skills and lack of mobility are handcuffing anything that the offense can really accomplish... He's getting the job done with pure grit, and the time has come to move on after the season
Grade: C-

RB:
Najee Harris: I shudder to think where this offense would be without Najee.... He is the engine that powers the machine, and can truly do it all... He still needs to differentiate between knowing when to lower his head and when to make someone miss, but The future is bright for him
Grade: A+

Kallen Ballage: Strong runner, but his skill set is misplaced in the current offensive setting..
I do not see him successful in this offense without a lead blocker, but that's more of an indictment on the coaching than on him. In the end, he is what he is
Grade: C

Benny Snell: Can do anything on the field.... Just can't do it fast. Quite possibly the slowest RB in the league, which is his only real downfall... Unfortunately, that is something that cannot be changed
Grade: D

Anthony Macfarland: injured most of the season, and inactive when he returned except for one game, where he logged all of 1 carry..
I still don't see him being successful in this offense without a lead blocker due to the o-line deficiencies...
Grade: Inc.

Derrick Watt: effective when used in the offense, which doesn't happen very often for whatever reason..
Grade: Special teams B+
Offense: inc


Wr:
Deontae Johnson: Seams to have fixed the drop issues that plagued him last season, and has transformed himself into a go to wr... Still developing and will progress further with a less limited QB in the future
Grade: A

Chase Claypool: Supremely talented wr, who is hamstrung by the current offense... Also has concentration issues at times that need to be cleaned up... With a less limited QB, he'll be able focus on developing his route tree and maximizing his talents
Grade: B-

James Washington: woefully underused, and underappreciated... just does whatever is asked of him and produces when needed... Another who's skills are misplaced in the current offense.. Barring a miracle, he will be gone next season...
Grade: B

JuJu Smith Schuster: did it all on the field, and made the hard yardage... Hard to see him go down.... Like Washington, Will almost assuredly be gone next season.. the offense clearly misses his reliability and toughness.
Grade: A

Ray Ray McCloud: Offers little to nothing in the current offense, and as a returner, has taken major steps backwards... I see him as yet another receiver that will be gone after the season...
Grade: D

TE:
Pat Friermuth: All around Te that has no real limitations....true red zone threat that is just starting to find his way in the overall offense..
I don't believe there is anything that this man can't do at the position and the sky's the limit
Grade: A+

Zack Gentry: above average blocker that has opened some eyes with receiving ability no one knew he had..... Nowhere near the ability of friermuth, but more than capable and worthy of a spot in the rotation
Grade: B

Eric Ebron: one dimensional pass catcher, who drops too many for that dimension to make a big difference... His next good block will be his first and his injury opened the door for gentry's assension...... Pretty sure he's also gone next season
Grade: D+

O-line:
T:
Dan Moore: the rookie has had his ups and downs... His development has been uneven and his issues against speed rushers is not what we need with the statue of liberty behind center.... His development is still very much in question and it is far too early to close the book, but a temporary change may be in order, until he develops further
Grade: C-

Chuks Okorafor: excellent pass protector, but a liability in the run game... Not sure if they should move him to the left side where his skill set would be more valuable, but he absolutely has a place on this team
Grade: C

Joe Haeg: better than what I thought he would be, and more than serviceable in the rotation.... Still don't want to see him as a full time starter, but glad that he is here
Grade: B

G:
Kevin Dotson: strong at the point of attack and a better pass blocker than many thought..
Has had his issues in the run game with getting a good push, but it's totally unknown if those issues are his own or if it's because he's flanked by 2 struggling rookies.... Still believe he's the one at the position, but until the line is fully developed and complete, we won't know
Grade: C

C:
Kendrick Green: has a long way to go development wise.... Great aggression and mobility, but not a good anchor... Not sure if his issues are due to technique or lack of functional strength, or a combination of both.. will he be a good center, or should he go back to guard, but like Moore, it's far too early to make an informed decision on him
Grade: C-

 

Agree with most of those grades.

 

Some think Ben is the actual OC, but how would you evaluate Canada?

 

I will list the coaching grades in a separate thread

 

I'd give Canada an incomplete. He's rolled out a very generic form if his playbook. Motions are slowly being introduced more and more, but it's lacking the insane amount of shifts.

 

Ben doesn't have the freedom he had with Fichtner.

 

These grades on offense are crazy.


A+ on Harris? Lol. I like the guy alot but gimmie a break.


The WR’s have been terrible. If Ben was any worse he’d have an F. The Oline is a D- at best and thats only because Okifor has been solid. Pat is the ONLY guy on offense playing above expectations. Id say Harris is about what I expected. Was hoping for more actually but Im not complaining.

defense has been solid but not many have played above expectations. Bush has been terrible. Secondary has taken a step back. The D-line is holding their own considering the injuries. Was really hoping some if the young guys from the last 2 seasons would break out… not one has. Zero progress this year from several players that we needed progress from.

 

Looking forward to it. Thanks.

 

A+is reserved for the rookie running backs that put up league leading #’s…. Like Ezekial Elliot’s 1600 yards in 15 games or the many other rookie Rb’s that had 1200+ yards on the ground in 16 games or less.

I’d give him a B+ or A- but A+ is for extraordinary performances and has he had 1 100+ yard game on the ground? Maybe his 2nd half puts him into that group but as of yet he’s been really good , not great.

Id also add we are running his legs off. His stats are carry related not dominance.

 

I will have to disagree about Ben. We have won 4 games in a row that's not holding us back. Look at some of the other nfl qbs.look at mahomes he looks horrible. Look at josh Allen he didn't do anything vs jaguars Lamar looked bad vs the dolphins. So I will take old ben.

 

My first take is any mid season grade should come out during halftime of the 9th game, lol

There’s probably a few too many A grades.

The o-line is poor, but for the two rookies, they’re gaining experience. So, I might grade them a bit higher.

Regarding Ben holding us back, keep in mind over the last 4 games he hasn’t thrown a pick and came through in the 4th quarter or overtime as was needed. To me, that’s worth some bonus points. Early losses came when OLine was playing even worse. Certainly room for improvement, few other QBs would have this team with a better record right now.

Next, individuals were graded. May I suggest grading units.