Good Wednesday to you Steelers’ fans.
Mike Tomlin’s press conference was fairly matter of fact yesterday until he got to the injury report. We expected to hear that Mason Rudolph was in concussion protocol. What we didn’t expect to hear was that Jaylen Samuels would be out for a month after having his knee scoped on Monday. His loss means that Benny Snell is likely to get more snaps at running back after being a very nice addition to special teams where his impact has been noticeable. Samuels’ injury is yet another hit among the hits that just keep coming. Don’t forget he’s also the emergency quarterback too so Randy Fichtner will need to fill that hole as well. Also a surprise yesterday was Steven Nelson’s name. Tomlin said he’s dealing with a groin issue but sounded fairly positive. I keep getting the feeling that this is just “one of those years.”
And Another Addition to the List
Several outlets are reporting this morning that James Washington will be out several weeks with his shoulder injury. “One of those years” is now putting it mildly.
Latest on the QB Situation
I’m told that Mason Rudolph is doing well and is actually progressing better than most thought he would be at this point. I think he has a moderate shot at playing on Sunday night. That said, Tomlin seemed more than confident enough in Devlin Hodges for the time being he’ll get the bulk of the reps with the starters. The longer we go this week without hearing about Paxton Lynch the better I think Rudolph’s chances of playing are.
Tweet of the Day… This is a good point. What the hell is ‘moxie?’
Tomlin said Devlin Hodges has moxie. I wish one time in my life someone would say, “John, you have moxie.” I don’t really know what moxie is, but it would be nice to be told I have it.
— John (@steelirish33) October 9, 2019
The Podcast
After spending a week with literally no voice, I’m back to run the Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast presented by 26shirts.com/Pittsburgh. There is literally no end to the content we will be discussing tonight.
Looking Way Down the Road
For you Draft-niks it’s never too early to discuss potential targets by the Steelers. Rather than do that specifically, I think a better thing to do is discuss the high priority positions the team will need to focus on. I’m not putting these in any particular order but I’d say defensive line, tight end, outside backer and wide receiver. I say D-Line because I don’t see Javon Hargrave returning. He’s going to get way too much money on the open market and he needs to be replaced. Vance McDonald has again proven that he just can’t be relied upon to stay healthy. Adding a tight end makes sense. Edge rusher and wide receiver kind of speak for themselves I would say.
The Last Time We Played the Chargers on the West Coast
Can’t help but notice the similarity here as we head to LA this time rather than San Diego. In 2015, the Steelers beat the Chargers on the final play of the game when Le’Veon Bell dove across the goal line for the winning touchdown. Do you recall who the QB was that day? Ben Roethlisberger? No. Charlie Batch? Nope. Landry Jones? Uh-Uh. It was Michael Vick. So as the Steelers potentially go to LA with Devlin Hodges at the QB spot remember there is some strange precedent.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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