Good Thursday to you Steelers’ fans.
For the first time in several weeks the Steelers saw both James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster be full participants in practice. Now that doesn’t exactly mean anything being that it’s just Thursday but as of right now I’d say it’s looking good for both guys to play on Sunday. What that ultimately means for the Steelers I can’t yet say. With Jaylen Samuels dealing with a groin injury, Conner’s presence is more crucial than ever. In the case of JuJu, he could be the beneficiary of good play from both James Washington and Diontae Johnson. Or perhaps they could benefit from him. Regardless, having both Conner and JuJu back for the stretch run is a major plus in my book.
From the Training Room
STEELERS
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (Knee) – Full
LB Mark Barron (NIR) – DNP
RB James Conner (Shoulder) – Full
RB Jaylen Samuels (Groin) – DNP
C Maurkice Pouncey (NIR) – DNP
OG David Decastro (NIR) – DNP
OT Alejandro Villanueva (NIR) – DNP
TE Vance McDonald (Concussion) – DNP
BILLS
LB Lorenzo Alexander (Rest) – DNP
DE Jerry Hughes (Rest) – DNP
DT Corey Liuget (Knee) – DNP
OT Ty Nsekhe (Ankle) – DNP
NOTES… I already discussed Conner and JuJu… The other thing here to watch is McDonald. Nick Vannett has been a serviceable second tight end but the lack of McDonald on Sunday would be a huge blow to the offense… My other concern is Samuels because he really does provide Duck with a great outlet or safety valve on passing plays.
Tweet of the Day… This is great.
A certain tackle-eligible receiver @ZBNFL had a question for #Steelers QB @DevlinHodges10. pic.twitter.com/odGZgxWksq
— Kevin Gorman (@KGorman_Trib) December 11, 2019
Two-Face
So Earl Thomas, the Baltimore Ravens’ safety who launched himself into Mason Rudolph resulting in a concussion, now says teams are “targeting” Lamar Jackson. He claims that defenders are going purposefully low to get at Jackson’s legs. My question is “And????” Why wouldn’t tacklers target his legs? By doing this it limits his most impressive ability, running! Furthermore, the late Al Davis of Raiders’ fame, once said,”The other team’s quarterback must go down.” He wasn’t wrong and that remains a major goal of defenses league-wide today. I’m not in any way suggesting that malicious, intentional hits are made to injure Jackson but let’s face it; you knock the starting QB out your chances of winning rise significantly. The real story here however is Thomas. You can’t sit there and cry about your QB taking “shots to his legs” when you’ve pretty much made your living as an enforcer in the secondary.
I’m Twitching
JuJu admitted yesterday that he was recently paid $100,000 to watch a football game via Twitch. Do these people not know that I’m available to do this at a much lower fee???? If you are blaming JuJu for doing this then please get over yourself. This isn’t a big deal and these types of deals happen regularly with athletes.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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