Good Wednesday to you Steelers fans.
With the mid-term elections behind us we can now once again enjoy television without annoying campaign commercials. Ahead of us however are nine more weeks of Pittsburgh Steelers’ football. In other words, maybe those ads weren’t so bad… I digress… If we learned anything from Baltimore’s Monday Night win over New Orleans it’s that the Saints are very beatable. We’ve seen the Red Rifle, Andy Dalton, many times before and the Steelers know him as well as anyone. Will they turn back to Jameis Winston? I would but I’m not Dennis Allen. They still have Alvin Kamara but overall the offense isn’t that scary. The defense however will present problems for Kenny Pickett and company. Cam Jordan will be in his face all afternoon and Tyrann Mathieu anchors a very solid secondary. All that said, the Steelers need to win this week. A loss here and suddenly a top five draft pick looks to be a real possibility.
Tweet of the day… Scarps is all positive today!!
#Steelers are 1-4 this century against the Saints and have given up at least 30 points in 4-of-5 games. Their only win was 38-31 in 2006. First one to 20 on Sunday wins.
— ꌚꏸꋫ꒓ꉣꌚ (@scarpizio) November 8, 2022
The Post-Claypool Offense
I’ve probably spent way more time thinking about this than I should have but I’m really curious to see how Matt Canada moves forward here. Unless his plan is to slide Diontae Johnson into the slot more leaving Miles Boykin and George Pickens on the outside then I’m not sure how much we’ll see of three wide receiver sets. Steven Sims and Gunner Olszewski are his only options and they don’t scare anyone. What I think is a real possibility is more two tight end sets and the possibility of seeing more Derek Watt and/or Connor Heyward. Let’s face it; Olszewski and Sims can’t block well in the slot and this running game already sucks. Therefore I can see a situation where using bigger bodies to help the running game is more likely.
Coming Back?
When last we saw our Steelers they were without Chris Boswell, Larry Ogunjobi and Levi Wallace. As of this writing Boswell and Ogunjobi are expected back but I haven’t heard about Wallace. The addition of William Jackson III lessens that loss a bit we shall see. The good news of course is that T.J. Watt guy will be back for sure and even at 75% he’s very much welcomed!!
Around the AFC
Has anyone taken a breath in Buffalo? The news that Josh Allen was having his elbow checked out has Bills Mafia on pins and needles. To be blunt, if he isn’t the Bills’ QB they aren’t going anywhere and it opens up the AFC to several more teams… There’s something about the Chiefs that just doesn’t look right. I’d give my right arm to be 6-2 like they are but they aren’t winning the way they used to and I think they’re vulnerable… I don’t know what to say about the Raiders. What a mess… To me, the Bengals are going to be the most intriguing team in the second half of the season. I say this because they have a brutal schedule that includes all three division opponents plus the Bills, Chiefs, Bucs and Patriots. Don’t forget they are also 0-3 in the AFC North.
FOCO
We’ve got some awesome new stuff from our friends at FOCO! Check out the latest Hoodeez, as well as new FOCO Sweatshirts, Jackets, Leggings, Joggers, and MORE for MLB, NFL, and even NCAA.
ALERT!! FOCO just dropped these cool, new bobbleheads this week. Get one today!
Our Online Store
Please visit our online store! We have been so fortunate to work with DC4L Custom Tees! They are wonderful to work with and are willing to work with you on just about any design you can come up with! Check out our latest T.J. Watt inspired t-shirt/hoodie.