Good day to you Steelers’ Fans!
Congratulations to the six Pittsburgh Steelers selected to the Pro Bowl! James Conner, Cam Heyward, Antonio Brown, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro and Alejandro Villanueva were all selected. This is a great honor for these and any other NFL player but I have to say this selection process has gotten out of hand. Take for instance the absence of JuJu Smith-Schuster. Below are his numbers in 2018 compared to those of Keenan Allen who WAS selected to the Pro Bowl.
JJSS 95 Receptions 1,274 yards 6 TDs 13.4 Yards per catch
Allen 88 Receptions 1,074 yards 6 TDs 12.4 Yards per catch
One could make the argument that these numbers are pretty close and I would understand that but at the end of the day how do you leave JuJu out of the Pro Bowl? The fact that the whole thing has become a popularity contest is part of the problem. There are few players I respect and admire more than Al Villanueva but let’s be honest; he has been selected two years in a row now in large part because of his story. Do I think he’s become a very good NFL tackle? Yes I do but I don’t view him as a Pro Bowl player. All this is a moot point anyway… I think we’d rather our guys were playing in the Super Bowl right?
We recorded the Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast 111 presented by 26shirts.com/Pittsburgh last night. Ben and Cnic joined me for some great Steelers’ Talk!
Tweet of the Day… Need more evidence of what I’m talking about? Mosley was selected while Leonard was not.
CJ Mosley (2018 Pro Bowler)
-91 tackles
-0 FF
-0 FR
-5 TFL
-0 INT
-0.5 sacksDarius Leonard (Not a Pro Bowler)
-146 tackles
-4 FF
-2 FR
-12 TFL
-1 INT
-7 sacks #ProBowl #Colts— Bill ? (@pngmilitia) December 19, 2018
Good news on the injury front yesterday. It appears that everyone mentioned by Coach Tomlin has a very good chance of playing on Sunday afternoon. That includes Cam Heyward, Bud Dupree, Terrell Edmunds and James Conner.
Some of the stuff directed at Chris Boswell on social media was flat-out disgusting. I’m sure Boswell is missing on purpose just so you send your threatening messages… Grow the hell up people.
I’m going to beat this dead horse all week but the Steelers’ D-Line will be a major key on Sunday. The Saints’ O-Line is banged up and Drew Brees is willing to hang on to the ball longer than Tom Brady. They must get a constant hand in his face.
All of these early bowl games give me little interest with one exception. I do like watching some of the pro prospects. These guys are often overlooked by the general draft community due to playing at small conference schools. Some really good talent out there.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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