Good Wednesday to you Steelers’ fans.
You’ll have to forgive me if I didn’t jump right away yesterday to announce the Steelers had re-signed outside linebacker Tuzar Skipper. I say this because a few weeks ago when the Steelers were desperate for OLB help, Skipper was suddenly on the street after being released by the New York Giants. Everyone and their brother were certain that Skipper was coming back but he cleared waivers without so much as a glance from Pittsburgh. It just seemed too perfect considering the really good preseason he had while a Steeler. Our wait is now over as the Steelers made it official that he has joined the active squad. To make room they placed L.T. Walton on injured reserve. In no way am I expecting Skipper to suddenly become James Harrison. But expecting him to play better than Jay Elliott or Ola Adeniyi is not a stretch. Both Adeniyi and Anthony Chickillo are banged up so help on the edge was necessary. Here’s hoping Skipper’s second stint in the Steel City is a successful one.
The Podcast
We waited patiently to share our thoughts with you on the late game incident in Cleveland. As we always do, we took a practical and realistic approach to what unfolded. Whether you agree or not is certainly up to you but thanks for listening either way! We also discussed Mason Rudolph, the offensive line woes and much more on the Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast presented by 26shirts.com/Pittsburgh.
Tweet of the Day… L.O.L.
Dang.. Our group chat is so boring you would rather talk ANYONE else… https://t.co/oyhVn7fPe9
— TJ Watt (@_TJWatt) November 20, 2019
From the Training Room
The recent additions of Deon Cain and Quadree Henderson should tell you all you need to know about the statuses of Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Both are in concussion protocol and at this current time are not scheduled to play Sunday but there’s still time… Do I think the return of Benny Snell can help the running game? Slightly. I think people are getting way too excited over this. If Randy Fichtner puts him positions to be a successful runner then it may be a positive. Snell is a down-hill runner. Going wide with him is a no-no… I also think Jaylen Samuels isn’t 100% since returning from his knee injury. He’s lacking the burst that he had to start the season.
Ruminating on Rudolph
Last week was not just Rudolph’s worst game because he threw four interceptions. It’s also due to the fact he threw the ball poorly, missed open receivers and was not helped by his offensive coordinator either. The latter is something that he can’t control but what he can control, regardless of the receiver is ball placement. His inability to consistently get balls in front of his receivers has doomed him on more than one occasion. It was an issue in college and it has continued at the professional level. This doesn’t mean he “throws a bad ball.” It means he isn’t leading his receivers well enough and he isn’t getting the ball out quickly enough either. I think this is something that will keep occurring as the season goes on unfortunately.
Pro Bowl
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Steelers for this season’s NFL Pro Bowl. There are several players on defense worthy of an invite!
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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