Good Monday to you Steelers fans.
Many will look at Najee Harris’ comments yesterday as “sour grapes.” He’s clearly been supplanted as the most productive running back on the team by Jaylen Warren and that can’t sit well with him. He’s a first round pick after all while Warren is an undrafted free agent. But whether Harris was lamenting that or not doesn’t matter. His points about “tired of this shit” resonates with all of us. I don’t think any of us are expecting to score like the Chiefs or Eagles, we just want to see a team that can score a tad more consistently don’t we?
Harris was asked whether the team’s 6-4 record was encouraging despite the offensive struggles.
“You could do two things,” he said. “You could look at the record and say, ‘OK, we’re still good right now.’ Or we could look at the record and be like, ‘If we keep playing this type of football, how long is that s— going to last?’ I look at it like, ‘How long that s— going to last?’ Y’all could look at it like it’s a good record, but I mean it’s the NFL. Winning how we did, it’s not going to get us nowhere.” Quote courtesy ESPN.com
What Harris is saying is exactly what me and my colleagues on the SCB Steelers Podcast have been saying for weeks; this just isn’t sustainable. You can’t expect to win every game just because you enter the fourth quarter with the game “close.” If Harris sees this then I guarantee you the rest of the team does too.
Snap Thoughts
Mykal Walker and Trenton Thompson played 63 and 58 snaps respectively. I would suggest that both played well considering where they were just a week or two ago… Calvin Austin had 10 snaps while Allen Robinson had 45. Robinson is clearly a better blocker but I don’t understand not letting Austin run some option routes from the slot… Jaylen Warren had 26 snaps but just 12 total touches. That’s got to get better.
Long Gone?
Would you blame either George Pickens or Diontae Johnson if they chose not to return when their respective contracts are up? If the Steelers are going to stay married to this style of offense then what’s in it for them? Both of these guys are being wasted.
Internal Strife?
When you look at Harris’ comments and then add in the behavior of Chuks Orkorafor, Pickens and Johnson (who was carried away on the sideline by Broderick Jones yesterday as he voiced his frustrations), you can’t help but wonder if the poor offense has finally cracked these guys. When everyone else in football knows how basic this offense is and how poorly Pickett is executing it, then it has to be difficult both mentally and emotionally.
