Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Thursday!
The Kickoff
The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached the BYE week. As things are, the week nine respite has come at a good time. With Zach Frazier, Nick Herbig and Cordarrelle Patterson all expected back after the break, the sense of excitement will only grow more for this team. At 6-2, there’s little more that could have been expected. One could easily nitpick close losses to Indy and Dallas but that’s the NFL today. Instead, we turn our focus to what follows. Six games against the AFC North and three games against teams that are a combined 18-4. The good news is that even if the Steelers go 4-5 they’d still reach 10 wins but… I get the sense that with several starters coming back, the addition of Cam Sutton and the stellar play of Russell Wilson, this team is shooting for far more than that.
The Podcast
Despite it being Halloween, we’re still going ahead with the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc at our regularly scheduled time tonight. If you haven’t seen the show, we’d love to have you swing by!
Using Sutton
Now that Cam Sutton has been reinstated by the NFL following his 8-game suspension, the question becomes how do they use him? There’s speculation he could see time ahead of Beanie Bishop and I know what you’re thinking. “He’s got three interceptions in the last two games. How can you bench him?” Totally fair question and I don’t think you’ll see Bishop completely left on the bench. However, I do believe that Mike Tomlin covets experience especially as we get into the winter months. If Sutton can play inside and keep things in front of him he can be effective. If he is forced to play man coverage then things get very concerning.
It Is What It Is
Let’s say Diontae Johnson was still on the roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Would the offense have started clicking earlier? Would there be zero concern about the wide receiver room? Would Johnson be giving better effort than we saw last year? Would he be a locker problem? Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan made the decision to trade Johnson for those latter reasons but don’t be surprised when you hear what a wonderful teammate he is in Baltimore. Could you blame him for being happy? He’s now playing with an MVP at QB and has a future Hall of Fame RB too. As long as Johnson gets a few balls and they’re winning he’ll be happy. As for us? I’m not sure why so many fans care. Is it because Khan has failed to replace him? THAT I get, but as for being upset he’s in Baltimore? It is what it is.
Random Reads
The two jackasses in New York are lucky they weren’t banned for life. Fans are there to be fans. Players are there to play. These two Yankee fans thought they could be part of the game. Wrong… This morning I opened my ESPN app to see the number one highlight was Bronny James getting his first NBA bucket. I couldn’t help but notice it came when the Lakers were down about 30 late in the game. He’s lucky his father is who he is otherwise he’d probably be playing overseas… 20 years ago today the Steelers blasted the Patriots and ended their regular season winning streak. Sadly, I don’t get too hyped over it because a couple of months later those same Patriots came into Pittsburgh and left with the AFC Title. Yeah… I’m in a mood today!
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