Thankfully, the sun came up today Steelers’ fans. I’ll admit though, it struggled mightily to do so.
Ben Roethlisberger will undergo surgery today on his left knee. It was revealed late last night that he has a torn meniscus. The timetable for his return will be anywhere from 1-3 weeks. That means it’s Landry Jones time again folks!!
[Update]: Ben’s surgery lasted all of 20 minutes and revealed no structural damage. Meniscus was not torn. This has been deemed a “clean up” procedure. Status for Sunday still up in the air.
It is absolutely undeniable that Mike Tomlin’s teams have a concrete pattern of playing down to lesser competition. I wish I could explain it but I can’t. The Miami Dolphins came out swinging yesterday and the Steelers dodged rather than fought back. They could not match the intensity or the urgency of the Dolphins and that has to be a concern for Tomlin. It happens way too often.
SCB’s Chris thinks it’s no time to panic following yesterday’s loss.
Meanwhile, I think the Steelers and Tomlin are facing an extremely critical period over the next few weeks.
It’s often difficult for fans to separate their feelings for a player and his performance. Alejandro Villanueva falls into this category. The former Army Ranger proudly served his country in Afghanistan and is living a dream by playing professional football. The problem is that he isn’t playing it very well. He continues to get beat on the edge and when you have tight ends who can’t pass block either it only exposes how poor Villanueva is playing. Sadly, he isn’t the only one on the O-line who is struggling.
Tweet of the Day… Positive vibes from a captain!
Tough game brothers. Just means we have more to learn. Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. Back to the lab.
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) October 16, 2016
If I’ve had one question over the last 24 hours the most it is far away about the third and one call. Le’Veon Bell had plowed forward for nine yards on two carries and the Steelers faced a 3rd and 1 with Landry Jones fresh in the game. Todd Haley went with a heavy package and called for a play-action pass that was dead before it even started. In my opinion this was classic Haley. Too often he tries to outsmart everyone rather than just doing what works until you’ve been stopped. There’s no question in my mind that Bell should have gotten the carry there. The fact he only carried 10 times and average over five yards per carry is a whole other subject.
Lost in the debacle yesterday was the great run by Darrius Heyward-Bey. That cat can flat out fly but he also battered a few defenders along the way too!
Cobi Hamilton got a TD catch in his first game with the Steelers. I think Big Ben and the Steelers like him a lot. Markus Wheaton needs to be aware of what’s going on around him.
OK. Time to move on to the Pats! Have a great day Steeler Nation!
