Good Thursday to you Steelers’ Fans!
With the Steelers at 2-0 and not yet clicking on offense, there has been an unusual amount of praise heaped on the defense. Sports Illustrated went so far as to call them “the best defense in the AFC right now.” Ummmm, no. While the ‘D’ is in fact sacking the QB (12.5 sacks through two games) let us not forget they have faced DeShone Kizer (making his first career start) and Case Keenum who is a career backup. This week the Steelers will get Mike Glennon and possibly Mitch Tribusky before finally seeing a quality NFL quarterback in Joe Flacco (notice I didn’t say ‘elite’). Before we anoint this unit the second coming of the Steel Curtain let’s get into the season a bit more shall we?
Steel City Blitz Podcast presented by 26shirts.com/Pittsburgh airs tonight at 10pm Eastern. Tune in for our thoughts on the win over Minnesota as well as our preview of the Bears!
Sounds like Alejandro Villanueva’s illness has spread. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Maurkice Pouncey were both unable to practice due to illness on Wednesday. Bud Dupree (shoulder), Stephon Tuitt (biceps) and T.J. Watt (groin) were limited in practice. Keep an eye on Marcus Gilbert who did not practice. He has a hamstring issue and those are always touch and go.
Tweet of the Day… I agree VWill!
If I wake up in the morning I'm going to wake up a Steeler….. I think that's pretty dope.
— Vincenzo Williams (@VinnyVidiVici98) September 21, 2017
Tight end Vance McDonald was not on the injury report which is a good sign. We need to get him on the field and see what he can do with his athleticism.
Ben Roethlisberger did not practice yesterday and it was described as “non-football related.” I saw some on Twitter question why Big Ben gets these days off but guys like Tom Brady and Drew Brees never do. That would not be accurate. These guys may not have the same designation that Roethlisberger gets but I can assure you they get time off.
One of the problems with the offense in my opinion is quite simply ‘expectations.’ How many times have we heard about “averaging 30 points” per game? Right now the offense needs to worry about moving the ball consistently and scoring touchdowns in the red zone. The points will come.
According to the Steelers’ PR department, Le’Veon Bell will play his 50th career game Sunday. He ranks fourth all-time among all NFL players in terms of most yards from scrimmage through 50 games.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
