The mystery of why Brandon Boykin didn’t see the field on defense last week in the opener has been revealed but the good news is that he should be in the line-up for Sunday’s game against San Francisco. From what I’ve learned, Boykin was not physically capable of playing defense last week but has been cleared to do just that next weekend.
What the ailment was or is is uncertain at this time but the answer to last week’s most troubling question has at least been revealed. While the Steelers struggled against Tom Brady and the Patriots’ passing game, the Steelers’ Nation was abuzz with “Where’s Boykin?”
The Steelers traded a conditional round pick to Philadelphia for him this summer and most believe he’s easily their best option in the slot cover position. One theory from Thursday night was that maybe the Steelers didn’t want to play him on defense because if he plays 60% or more of the team’s snaps they’ll owe the Eagles a fourth-round pick.
For a team that appears to be in “win-now” mode, that theory seemed highly unlikely and it was according to today’s information. What Boykin getting on the field means is that someone has to get off of it.
With William Gay solid at one outside corner and Cortez Allen less than solid but in place at the other, Antwon Blake is likely relegated to special teams duty. Although he showed some flashes last season at corner, he struggled last Thursday night. Special Teams has always been his bread and butter anyway so perhaps a re-focusing there will be good for him.
While we won’t know if Boykin would have made much of a difference in the outcome of the Patriots’ game, his presence will be a welcome sight for many of us nevertheless on Sunday.
3 comments
I actually thought Cortez played “ok” on Thursday. Nothing outstanding mind you and certainly nothing that justifies his level of compensation, but ok.
Antwon Blake, while being used out of position, was just plain awful. You have to hand it to McDaniels. He motioned Gronk and Edelman to Blake’s side most of the night and gave the Steelers the choice of Blake covering Edelman or Gronk; both options are a mismatch. Blake’s forte has never been and will never be coverage. He is a boundary only CB and can only function in off-man or zone coverage. Personally, I would try him at safety.
But I digress, the guys who were most responsible for the Steelers failures in pass defense were Butler (for his scheme), Blake (while he was used out of position) and Garvin. I don’t understand why Garvin would give up the outside to Gronk and give him a free release off the line. He was probably coached to do so, but his coverage was plain awful on top of that.
I’m also not sure that I buy the “not physically capable” explanation. Why then did Bouchette report that the Steelers genuinely felt that Blake had outperformed Boykin to that point?
I don’t buy the story that Boykin was physically unable to play……that is plain Pittsburgh “Jumbo Baloney” Mike Tomlin’s ego or there is more to the story. Tomlin has his favorite coach’s pet favorites like Blake and Archer he will never admit failure. The blame for the defense seems to be a combination of Tomlin, Butler and Lake all three allegedly experts on the defensive secondary. This is the third year in a row Tomlin keeps saying communications is the problem with the defense and the another repeat is the Red Zone offense, three years later they still exist. Perhaps the Steelers will have a better chance against the 49ers if Tomlin is inactive for that game and see how it goes
This just another example of next man up and not properly arranging the depth chart. I have always found it funny how other teams can plug and play new players but the Steelers seem to feel it takes 2-3 years.As i have said in the past “best man up” I also have read on other sites that J.Jones had a very good game and is showing signs of breaking through. I don’t buy that he also keeps making the same mistakes play after play. I think this weeks game will really be a good indicator of where we are as a team.