Offensive Struggles

Well, that's his bad. He can either:
a. Pout and get traded.
b. Suck it up and determine to be the next Devonte Adams
c. Agree to sit.

If I trade him, or cut him, it becomes a "Must Do" to get a replacement as his absence leaves with nothing but Wal-Mart WR's.

 

the offensive line has to play better and the offense will run smoother. bottom line. it starts in the trenches.

 

I'd love to see Tee Higgins here too, but I just don't see him as a #1. Would love to have a more elite route runner as our #1 and Tee as a #2...or even Pickens as a #2 if he could get himself straight (unlikely I know).

 

yes - do whatever the tendency is NOT.

and YES - that means wrinkles with Fields, throwing ALL caution to the wind!

 

I'm a little concerned by the injuries with Higgins. He missed time earlier this season and I'm not sure he would be playing this week if the Bengals had made the playoffs.

 

How many receivers in the NFL wouldn't be No. 3 behind Chase and Higgins? Right now, Chase is the best receiver in the NFL. Are there 20 guys you would start over Higgins? I doubt we could come up with 30. A top-30 receiver is at least a valid No. 2.

 

Plus what GP has been so mad about .. He watches KC scheme lesser talented guys into wide open spots and use those guys to open the field for others...

If Teams intend to bracket GP then go trips one side and run the Football to the other.. Football 101 if they bracket then thats 4 defenders on 3 leaving 7 run zone read backside option 1 defender now its 6 thats man on man leaving your RB and QB to beat their 1 guy.. And if they leave a OL uncovered I go the quick trap game as well using the RB and the QB ..

Steal that QB power trap from Buffalo and lead with a OL and a RB with Fields cutting off those blocks...

 

That's fair. Pickens is a valid #2 on most of teams in the league. He's the de facto #1 only because we don't have one. And frankly that's at fault of Omar.

 

We can't go run,run, pass again this week. That puts Russell Wilson at 3rd and 7 every series and then our O line lets the Ravens front 4 get pressure. Because we have to keep TE's in to help against the pass rush that leaves 7 Raven defenders to defend against only 3 receivers, that's why no one is ever open.

 

Agreed. There was some back luck with Christian Kirk getting hurt as the Steelers were trying to trade for him, but Khan blew it in the offseason. There was no excuse for going into the season with Van Jefferson as a starter.

 

I more or less throw his name out there as he is an obvious Free Agent. My bad.
The real point is, we need a #1 that has the work ethic of a Terry McLaurin/Devonte etc.....
and regulate Pickens to where he has to make a decision, does he want to be the best or does he want to go the DJ route.

 

warren will be key. he is a ravens killer. when they take those LB'ers out to cover him on those swing passes you pop a few to washington down the middle. those two things alone will have them scrambling with the LB'ers and will bring those safeties up around the line more and then you go to muth and pickens. it's not rocket science. you make them adjust their better players off their strengths.

 

I wasn't saying you were wrong. I have advocated for signing Higgins, too. I'm just growing a little more concerned about his injuries as time goes on. His rookie year was the only season in which he didn't miss at least one game and he missed five last year and this season.

I agree that the Steelers need a true No. 1 and I think he can be one. He had games that he played like a No. 1 as a rookie, back before the Bengals had Chase.

 

The final week, Pickens sucked. He was also out for injury (or maybe discipline) for a few weeks. That affects his stats for the year. You also have to consider that our play calling has either regressed or been figured out to hold no surprises.

So imo, yes his stats declined, but there are a lot of valid excuses (calling it what it is) for that. I do not believe his skill has gone down. Maybe his attitude has gone down as he is trying to fight fans this year, but being the only valid wr this year hurts his chances of making plays. He gets the doubles and best defenders.

Personally I am torn about what to do with him. He has undeniable skill. His problems are all mental and maturity issues. That can be fixed with good leadership. Clearly he is not getting good leadership now. Without coaching changes, that will not improve. But if you can coach the bs out of him, I think he is a top 10 receiver in the NFL. Stealing a quote from some spots writer I read a while back.....he is a human highlight reel.

I don't think that we can go into next season needing to completely rebuild our wide receivers and quarterback room. The expense and talent pool are just not going to support it without hamstringing ourselves in other areas.

 

His route tree is essentially the bark as a huge chunk of his routes are 9 routes. The one time he ran a 2, he dropped the dime Russell threw. He could be a great #2 if we got a Tee Highins, or someone else. I'm not debating the talent he has, I'm presenting his limitations that's preventing him from being a #1. Expand his route tree, allow him to be a chain mover that can break a bubble screen for 40+. He's just a 50/50 deep threat guy, and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

We have to stop drafting guys and hoping the coach "can reach/relate to the young man". This is a business where you are going to be paid handsomely so either you are ready or you are not. You have character or you don't. We don't need reclamation projects coming out of college. If there are red flags on character or less than team first attitude that is apparent, run away because it will ultimately backfire.

 

He went back into his comfort zone when it stopped working. I don't blame Smith. I blame Russ.

 

please don't try to run on Ravens ---unless we get a big lead. Please don't throw pitch-backs or screens Harbaugh is expecting all this ---Because Steelers do it all the time. Please don't take any unnecessary 4th down tries. We couldn't even get a yard so please stop.

 

NOW how bad do you want the Superbowl Steelers --go all out-- get mad- do what you need to do-- but get us number 7

 

Zay Flowers has just been ruled out for Saturday nights game. He had over 100 yards against us in their win over us 3 weeks ago, so it is a significant loss for the Ravens.

 

Different sport, but I believe the man that term was coined for was Dominique Wilkins, the human highlight film. He won zero championships. (not that it was his fault)

 

100% we have to pass to set up any run game. If the first play of the game is throw to the WR behind the line of scrimmage I will cry just as bad as a hand off to najee up the middle. WE need to push the ball upfield and that doesn't mean a 40 yard bomb down the sideline. Set up for the usual BS run and roll out russ for a quick throw to Muth!! Then if we get 5 or 6 yards don't waste it by going right to najee running east west or right up the middle. Go to swing pass to Warren but be sure the pass it made with him looking and moving upfield!!

 

This is very good news for us. Wasn't Bateman also pretty banged up? I know he recently came off an injury, and I remember him going down pretty hard in that Cleveland game with what looked like a potential shoulder type injury. I know he continued playing, so it's not something that's going to keep him out.

Flowers and Likely have seemed to be the primary targets when the play has broken down and Lamar goes schoolyard ball. I'm hoping that without Flowers he'll be less decisive in this situation, which means he'll run instead. This could be good or bad.