Home Player Suspension SCB Steelers’ Quick Hitters: The “Short Work Week” Edition

SCB Steelers’ Quick Hitters: The “Short Work Week” Edition

by Ben Anderson

Happy Practically Friday, Steelers Fans. It’s the day before a holiday and the last day of the work week for a lot of us.

I sincerely hope that you are planning on spending Thanksgiving with family or friends. But, if you’re not, get out of the house and be social someplace, even if it’s your local pub. Find a reason to be thankful and reflect on the fact that you are granted a quality of life that is in the top 10% of the world simply by living in this great country of ours! Count your blessings. Be humble, be grateful and embrace your fellow man for one day at least.

Speaking of gratitude; JuJu Smith-Schuster looked to be a great prospect when he was taken by the Steelers in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft, but he’s exceeded rookie year expectations. And, today is JuJu’s 21st birthday.

The Steelers are working today. We’ll get a look at the first practice and injury reports of the week for Pittsburgh and their opponent in Green Bay today. The Packers game looked like a marquee matchup back in August, but after Aaron Rodgers was injured and replaced by Brett Hundley, the Packers have gone 1-3. 1-4 if you count the Vikings game that Rodgers exited after 4 pass attempts.

I may be among the minority, but I don’t think Marcus Gilbert’s suspension is that big a blow to the Steelers’ season. The Steelers are 4-2 with Hubbard in the lineup at right tackle, starting or playing the majority of the snaps. This includes wins at Baltimore, at Kansas City and versus Cincinnati.
The time off allows Gilbert to rest his still tender hamstring. He should be not only fully recovered when he returns, he should also be stronger and more flexible through his legs, just in time for the stretch run to what we hope is a postseason that culminates with a Super Bowl win.
Another silver lining here is that Gilbert’s suspension has given the Steelers the an extra roster spot that they promptly used by activating Cam Sutton from Injured Reserve. That gives the Steelers 7 cornerbacks, including the injured Joe Haden. We should expect someone to be trimmed from that unit, or moved to safety, before the season is out.
The only real downside I see to Gilbert’s suspension is that Chris Hubbard will get more time to pad his resume. I expect Hubbard to get a starting right tackle’s contract next March and leave Pittsburgh. However, that was probably going to happen even before this suspension.
Ben Roethlisberger mentioned on his radio show yesterday that he and some teammates encouraged Gilbert to take the suspension now, rather than appeal, because the timing would be better than late season/playoffs. I agree.
Alas, here at SCB we all have opinions and we don’t always agree. Steel Dad’s take:  GILBERT SUSPENSION COMES AT A BAD TIME FOR THE STEELERS

TWEET OF THE DAY. I know it wasn’t from yesterday, but don’t care. That performance was gawd awful and deserves another footnote.

To get up to date on the AFC Playoff race, read Ian’s weekly look at how things are shaping up:  WEEK 12 AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE 

Last night on the podcast, we previewed the Packers, talked about how the Titans game went, the general state of the Steelers and the always popular brief trashing of the Ravens:  STEEL CITY BLITZ PODCAST EPISODE 48 PRESENTED BY 26SHIRTS.COM/PITTSBURGH

Enjoy your day, Steelers Nation!

 

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