Good Wednesday to you Steelers’ fans.
If you read this column regularly then you know what I’m about. I repeat myself a lot but I guess you could say I like to beat a dead horse. One of those items is that I firmly believe that stats only tell part of a story in terms of how a player performed. This was exactly the case for Mason Rudolph on Sunday. Rudy was 22 for 38 for 242 yards and a score. There were at least six legitimate dropped passes by his receivers. If those are receptions then suddenly he’s 28 for 38 and he’s damn close to 300 yards. Despite the drops and despite the pressure from Aaron Donald and company I thought Rudolph gained confidence as the game went on. Oddly enough, I tweeted Sunday that he reminds of that baseball pitcher who always struggles to get out of the first inning but when he does he settles down and performs well. This has been Rudy in nutshell so far this season. He could have easily buried his head and felt sorry for himself but he didn’t. He kept throwing and he kept running the offense. Now whether or not this increased confidence that I believe I’m seeing translates from here on out I can’t say but I thought he played much better than the stats showed and that’s something you have to account for.
The Podcast
We recorded episode 155 of the Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast presented by 26shirts.com/Pittsburgh last night. Our topics obviously included Rudolph but also Bud Dupree’s play and his future, Minkah Fitzpatrick and the O-Line shuffle from Sunday. Check it out and please give us a review on the platform that you’re using!
Tweet of the Day… Welcome to being old Jas!
Officially too old for concerts on a week night 🙁
— jasmine (@jBSTEEL_) November 13, 2019
Latest Injury News
STEELERS
RB James Conner (Shoulder) – Full
OL Ramon Foster (Concussion) – Full
WR Ryan Switzer (Back) – DNP
RB Benny Snell Jr. (Knee) – DNP
FB Roosevelt Nix (Knee) – DNP
LB Anthony Chickillo (Ribs) – Limited
LB Olasunkanmi Adeniyi (Hip) – Limited
C Maurkice Pouncey (NIR) – DNP
BROWNS
WR Odell Beckham Jr. (Groin) – Full
G Joe Bitonio (Back) – Full
CB T.J Carrie (Back) – Full
DE Myles Garrett (Knee) – Full
T Kendall Lamm (Knee) – Full
WR Jarvis Landry (Hip) – Full
DB Eric Murray (Knee) – DNP
S Damarious Randall (Chest) – Full
T Greg Robinson (Shoulder) – Full
TE Ricky Seals-Jones (Knee) – Limited
DE Olivier Vernon (Knee) – DNP
NOTES… I think you can go ahead and pencil in Nix and Snell as ‘not playing’ on Thursday… Vernon’s status is worth watching as he’s an important pass rusher opposite Myles Garrett… If Chickillo and/or Adeniyi can’t go then the OLB depth goes back to VERY thin.
WPIAL Championships
The Steelers may be on the road this week but there will be plenty of action in Heinz Field as the WPIAL Championships take place. Ian has done a brilliant job of covering WPIAL all season long here at SCB and he’s got a massive preview for you. WPIAL annually sends dozens of kids off to division one schools and I know has several of them pegged in his preview.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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