Good Wednesday to you Steelers fans.
Despite the players having Tuesday off it was a busy day around the Pittsburgh Steelers’ facility. Mike Tomlin had his weekly press conference (more on that in a moment) and the team also made a move in the hours before the trade deadline. To the surprise of few, the Steelers sent Melvin Gordon to Kansas City for a sixth round draft pick in 2022. Ingram wanted out, the Steelers were offered a draft pick and off he went. Does this mean that it’s officially “Taco Time?” I thought former first round pick Taco Charlton did some good things on Sunday but the overall body of work wasn’t enough for me anyway to say one way or the other as to how good he could be. My opinion means little. The Steelers must have felt comfortable enough with him (and Derek Tuszka) to send Ingram packing. Charlton has both ability and potential but there’s clearly a reason a former first rounder was available this far into the season. Tomlin has to believe they get can something of a high quality out of him or I’m not sure this move would have been made.
Tomlin Presser
Injuries are always a big part of what Tomlin discusses and yesterday was no different. Chris Boswell remains in concussion protocol but believes he should be available on Monday night. The team did sign kicker Josh Lambo as an emergency replacement. Eric Ebron, who I thought could have also been dealt yesterday, is working back from his groin injury. We won’t know what his availability will be until later in the week.
Tweet of the Day… This is how you analyze.
https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1455716720384086022?s=20
PFFffffffffttttt……
If you’ve spent any time at all reading my stuff or listening to our podcasts then you know that we are not fans of Pro Football Focus who routinely “grade” players each week. Case in point… They gave Steelers’ Rookie Dan Moore a score of 0.0 as his pass protection grade on Sunday. Yeah, you read that correctly, “zero point zero.” Because no one really knows how PFF grades one can only assume therefore that Moore gave up a sack every time Ben Roethlisberger dropped back to pass right? Moore absolutely struggled at time with Myles Garrett on Sunday giving up a sack and a few other QB hits but let’s not act like he was beaten on every, single play. I feel another rant coming on so I’ll stop now.
Banner
So at what point does Zach Banner finally get a helmet? Is it a foregone conclusion that he replaces Chuks Okorafor or Dan Moore? I honestly don’t know the answers to those questions but the longer he goes without even dressing the more fans and the media will ponder just what is going on with him. When used, Joe Haeg has been a solid run blocker and with Banner still out, he’s been a valuable swing tackle. Perhaps it’s a matter of the Steelers not being any hurry. The O-Line has improved each week and seems to be finding more of a groove. Perhaps they don’t want to tinker with what’s going on.
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!
Quick Hitters is presented by