Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Thursday.
The Kickoff
How do we define when a player is “playing well?” It’s a subjective question to be sure. Minkah Fitzpatrick is a guy who has recently had his overall play questioned and I’m here to be the voice of reason. Some believe that Fitzpatrick is playing well. So well in fact that teams are purposefully avoiding throwing anywhere near his position. Others will say his lack of splash plays is an indicator that he’s “just a good safety” right now and nothing more. The truth always lies somewhere in between. Minkah is actually playing pretty well. His tackling has been great and he’s covering better than in recent seasons despite a poor angle taken this past Sunday on one big play in particular. I do however understand that for the money he’s making, he isn’t doing enough. I believe he’s gone 20 games now without any form of “splash” play and that’s concerning. The fact of the matter is that this defense wouldn’t be as solid as it is without Minkah but that doesn’t mean fans can’t expect more for the money.
The Podcast
Episode 395 of the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc airs LIVE tonight on our YouTube channel. We’ll re-cap the big win in Washington, discuss the injuries, the play of Russell Wilson and of course look ahead to the Ravens.
Revenge??
Patrick Queen plays his old team. Diontae Johnson plays his old team. Does that mean this is a “revenge” game for one or both? They may be on the opposite side but the way they left was very different. Johnson was traded away after the Steelers realized he was no longer worth the trouble. The Ravens chose not to re-sign Queen and allowed him to hit free agency. Make no mistake, both guys will be looking to make big plays Sunday. I won’t be surprised if both do to be honest.
Steelers History
This week in Steelers History, Gordon takes us back just a few years for an epic showdown with the Baltimore Ravens. It was T.J. Watt’s rookie campaign and the game saw Ben Roethlisberger set a franchise record!
Lamar vs the Steelers
Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson has struggled when playing the Steelers. He’s 1-3 versus the Steelers and is 17-4 against the rest of the AFC North. In fairness to him, he’s had some games where’s played fairly well but his receivers let him down big time. My biggest concern about Sunday is that “he’s due.” He’s due to make some big plays against us and that has me worried ahead of this one.
Random Reads
I think it’s important to note that regardless of the outcome on Sunday, it doesn’t really change the fortunes of either team. There’s still a long way to go and five divisional games for the Steelers… If I were Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin, I’d be very concerned about slants and deeper routes across the middle of the field. Washington hit a ton of these and had several more open that Jayden Daniels simply missed… Good one tonight on Thursday Night Football as the Eagles and Commanders go at it. Give me the Eagles in a close one… Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are obviously great players but if I’m an NFL team, and I know Deion Sanders is trying to “steer” them away from certain teams? I’m not sure I want either of them. Archie Manning essentially did the same thing with Eli when he told the Chargers he would never play there. They drafted him and immediately traded him to the Giants. I’m not a fan of high-profile parents getting their way on things like this… Lots of talk about Coach Tomlin winning the Coach of the Year Award. I’ll take a postseason win over that in a heartbeat.
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