Welcome to Hot Reads!
After many years of giving you “Quick Hitters” we felt it was time for a rebrand. Hot Reads will look and feel very similar to that but I’m hoping to offer up a few different things along the way. The subject matter is of course the Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL and some random thoughts along the way. In essence, I’m going back to when I started nearly 20 years ago. I hope you enjoy it.
Preseason Reactions
I’ve been around long enough to know that winning and losing games in the preseason means nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. There is no better example than the 2008 Detroit Lions. They went 4-0 in the preseason and then went 0-16 in the regular season. The Steelers of course finished the preseason 3-0 last year before stumbling out of the gate. In other words, relax. It’s the preseason.
Yeah But…
So the Steelers losing Friday night to Houston doesn’t mean a damn thing in the long run but there is no getting past the sloppy play. Besides the two botched snaps there was Quez Watkins horribly played punt return which resulted in a turnover and a fumble by Kyle Allen as well. Believe me, the loss doesn’t bother Mike Tomlin nearly as much as the sloppy play.
I take no delight… OK I take some.
You may have seen that a couple of the early founders of Pro Football Focus have left the site. Sadly, they are probably going on to create something even worse but I digress… PFF is an incredibly flawed grading system. There is no way a person can grade a player when the person doesn’t know the responsibility of the player on a given play. It’s that simple and shame on the networks and individuals who use this as gospel.
Re-Visiting My Thoughts on Payton Wilson
If you read my postgame observations then you know I wasn’t as impressed with rookie LB Payton Wilson as many others were. People often take personal offense to critical analysis of some players as if you’ve just criticized their first born. Wilson played exactly how we expected him to in many ways. He is all over the field. He hustles. He talks a little smack. He does it all in coverage and against the run. Despite leading the team in tackles with seven, Wilson has work to do. He can overrun the ball carrier and he can get lost in coverage too but these are fixable things. I have high expectations for Wilson as long as he stays healthy but for anyone to expect perfection from a rookie is just silly.
Home Run Champ! The Steelers’ tradition of having a ‘Home Run Derby’ at Training Camp continued and Justin Fields emerged as the winner!
Your new Steelers home run derby champion. Way to show up big time, @justnfields. pic.twitter.com/kQCiMflFxc
— Mike Tomlin (@CoachTomlin) August 12, 2024
From Latrobe
The Steelers got both DL Dean Lowry and RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson back at practice on Sunday but they also lost a couple of guys to injuries. DB Kalon Barnes and WR Tariq Black both left practice with what Mike Tomlin called “soft tissue injuries.” Barnes had a nice game on Friday playing more than a half while Black saw just a handful of plays. Black will be fortunate to even make the Practice Squad while Barnes – to this early point – will push for a roster spot.
WPIAL Coverage
It’s my job to promote the website and all that it covers and that’s what I’m doing here. Often times there are many liberties and embellishments associated with this but not in this case. For those of you interested in the tradition that is Western Pennsylvania High School Football, then you need to see Ian’s coverage. The newspapers don’t cover it like they once did and frankly that wouldn’t matter. Ian has put together previews, analysis and historical records that you won’t find anywhere else. Whether you’re in Western PA or miles away, Ian will keep you posted!
Random Rumblings
I always enjoy the Olympics. Seeing the sports we typically never see is fun for me. That said, I can do without all the celebrity promotion crap. It gets old really fast… I’m going to make a prediction; within the next 5-10 years the Steelers will get a new facility separate from PITT. It has to happen as more and more teams continue to upgrade their own facilities, the Steelers continue to fall behind… My son and I have been thoroughly enjoying EA Sports College Football 25. It’s not perfect and needs some work but it’s so fun having the game back. Great bonding for he and I… Thanks to our tremendous graphics man Aaron for the new ‘Hot Reads’ graphics…