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Good “Tie” Monday to you Steelers fans.
Normally this comes on Monday morning but I couldn’t wait… In what had to be one of the ugliest games I’ve seen in awhile the Pittsburgh Steelers tied the winless Detroit Lions 16-16 at rainy Heinz Field Sunday. These were my observations.
Offense
- Matt Canada should have been fired for not getting Najee Harris a touch in three tries at the five yard line. Mike Tomlin claimed the first play was an RPO and they “got a look.” Sometimes you just run the damn ball with your best player.
- Mason Rudolph was not the reason the Steelers tied. He is also nowhere near where he needs to be in terms of ever being a starting QB. Too many missed throws and too many poor decisions. The footwork continues to be all over the place too. That said, he didn’t fumble away the ball twice in OT either.
- Najee Harris will not have anything left in his body when his second contract rolls around. He’s being relied on way too much.
- If people are going to take JuJu Smith-Schuster to task for an overtime fumble then they should do the same with both Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth. Ball security in those situations is crucial. \
- Why was Ray Ray McCloud the go-to guy on offense early? That was a weird twist.
- The Steelers were limited with both JC Hassenauer and Joe Haeg in at guard. Neither are good at pulling.
- Terrible holding call on Dan Moore which negated a Najee Harris TD.
- What happened to Derek Watt? He makes a nice play on offense and promptly returned to the bench.
- Zach Banner was dressed today but was never used from what I saw.
- Anthony McFarland didn’t get a hat again. Patience with him has to be at an extreme low.
- Kendrick Green cannot be making those kinds of mistakes. His snaps were erratic all day.
Defense
- Credit the Lions for ramming the ball right down our throats in the first half. Their backs ran hard and their OL was much more aggressive. The D-Line was pushed back and the linebackers couldn’t get off blocks and couldn’t make tackles.
- Tackling. Easily the worst all around performance I’ve seen in some years. Devin Bush, Minkah Fitzpatrick you name it.
- James Pierre was terrific filling in for Joe Haden. He was one of few decent tacklers especially in the second half.
- Haden has lost a step and I don’t care what anyone tells me. He made a play on a deep ball only because it was under thrown.
- Terrell Edmunds made some solid plays today and sprinkled in some bad ones too but that’s his baseline right now.
- Tre Norwood had some good plays today that he can build on.
- T.J. Watt finally got a sack but now it comes with a long wait. He was injured on the play and didn’t return. He will be evaluated Monday for hip/knee issues.
- I’m now past the “Devin Bush is still coming off an ACL tear” excuse. He is not playing well period. He isn’t getting off blocks and he isn’t tackling well at all. Perhaps it’s mental and he just can’t get past the injury. Inside backer has to be in play in the 2022 Draft.
- Today was a big day for Alex Highsmith. He got abused at times on the edge and while I believe some of that was missed assignments by others, he rebounded well in the second half. That’s the kind of fight you want to see.
Tweet of the Day…. Cam Heyward also made a similar comment.
Schobert-said twice during his post-game news conference that they need to take practice seriously
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) November 14, 2021
Special Teams
- Coverage units were atrocious. Way too many yards given up on both kick and punt returns.
- Ray Ray McCloud needs to get the hell away from the ball if he isn’t going to field it. It’s that simple.
- Kudos to PHIII for his TD saving tackle.
- Miles Killebrew did not rough or run into the punter. Awful call.
- Chris Boswell is so under-appreciated. That game tying field goal from 52 was in the rain and on an awful field.
Coaching
- Again, Matt Canada should have turned over his play sheet after those three plays where Najee didn’t get a touch from inside the five.
- Props to the adjustments that clearly stopped the run in the second half. Or perhaps it was just more effort.
- Danny Smith does one good thing each season that somehow saves his job. All of the awful crap his units do gets swept under the rug.
- Yes, Detroit was coming off the bye and yes, we were coming off a Monday Nighter but this result is embarrassing. It’s that simple. There’s no way a Steelers’ team at home should have this result against an 0-8 team that can’t even throw the ball down the field.
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