Good Tuesday to you Steelers’ fans.
All 32 teams in the NFL have to go work on a short week at least once each season. The schedule makers in New York were not exactly kind to the Steelers. While both played Sunday the Browns played the one o’clock game at home while the Steelers played the 425 late game. Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal does it? In the NFL however every extra second is an advantage. The Browns get the extra recovery time and the extra prep time. They also do not have to travel. The Steelers meanwhile will take busses to Cleveland. Part of that is tradition and part of it is common sense. It takes about the same amount of time to bus there as it does to board, fly and arrive in Cleveland. Being that they are the younger team, that could help the Browns recover faster but the Steelers are more experienced and may have a better approach to the short week. No one likes playing the Thursday night games but the positive is the mini-bye week that follows.
Injury Updates
Steelers’ Head Coach Mike Tomlin said James Conner has a very real chance to play Thursday. The same could not be said for Benny Snell, Jr and Roosevelt Nix. Ramon Foster also has a good chance to come through concussion protocol after missing the last two games. Ryan Switzer is dealing with a back injury. I’m told he was in such rough shape that he needed help to get dressed on Sunday.
Tweet of the Day… Why does the D need a nickname? How about the team win something first then we can talk about nicknames.
Steelers haven’t had a good nickname for their defense since Blitzburgh in the ‘90s. Not going to stretch to find one but the way Minkah Fitzpatrick is playing you could do worse than Fitzburgh
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) November 12, 2019
Speaking of Mike Tomlin…
Was Coach Tomlin on your hot seat after the New England loss? Was he on it well before that? Maybe he was never on your hot seat at all…. I took a dive into those waters last night.
The Waterbug
Tony Brooks-James has some speed and quickness that other Steelers’ backs do not possess. I do not see him as an every down back but I do see him as a guy that you have to get some touches. Randy Fichtner needs to find ways to get the young man in space because he isn’t going to run anyone over. I always thought Dri Archer could have been a bit better had Todd Haley used him properly. Brooks-James is intriguing and should be given a few chances each game when the other running backs are injured.
The Fourth Down Call
It’s really easy to rip Randy Fichtner or any other offensive coordinator for that matter when a third or fourth and short play doesn’t work. Green Bay tried to score at the end of the half at their game on fourth down at the one. They ran the ball straight ahead and the Carolina defensive line had it beaten before it started. We can blame execution but sometimes play calls are really that bad. Therefore, Fichtner deserves credit for letting Mason Rudolph throw the ball on fourth and short from his 34 yard line in the fourth quarter. The throw to Trey Edmunds was on the money and the conversion helped lead to an important field goal. Good call and good execution here by the Steelers. And for the record I liked the aggressiveness.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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