Good Monday to you Steelers fans.
If Sunday’s game in Cincinnati was a prize fight the towel would have been thrown in before the third round. It was that bad and it easily could have been worse. Here are my observations from yesterday’s 41-10 loss to the Bengals.
Offense
- I do not understand what has happened to Chase Claypool. Once so dominant he seems to be a shell of himself. Instead of using his size and strength he plays down to the defender.
- Awful pick-six by Ben Roethlisberger. Ball floated and never had a chance. Looked like there was some pressure but he has to know he can’t rainbow a ball out there.
- The offensive line just isn’t good. At this point it may look entirely different again next year. Heck, it may look entirely different next week.
- Very hard to go after Matt Canada. The offensive gameplan was out the window early. That said, Canada struggles to make adjustments on the fly. That’s not good.
- Diontae Johnson should get a Pro Bowl nod this season. He’s played that well to this point.
- I realize Eric Ebron wasn’t available but Zach Gentry should not be an option for your offense as often as he is for the Steelers.
- What in the hell happened to James Washington?
- Anthony Miller needs to get more opportunities.
- Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm is on very thin ice in my opinion. All of the things we heard from coming into this season have not come to fruition. We’ve also heard there is conflict among players and other O-Line staff. Again, the loss of Mike Munchak cannot be stressed enough.
- Anthony McFarland reminds me more and more of Dri Archer. Super fast but goes down on first contact nearly every time.
Tweet of the Day… Not good my friends.
After being idle in Week 7, the #Steelers have allowed a league-worst 818 rushing yards since Week 8. They've given up 1,464 through 11 games. Only the '72 and '89 squads allowed more through 11 games.
— scarps (@scarpizio) November 29, 2021
Defense
- Just atrocious tackling again. Blame it on effort, poor fundamentals, whatever, it’s really bad.
- Keith Butler is not getting fired. You’re asking this guy to coach up defensive players who shouldn’t even be on the field this much. Henry Mondeaux? Chris Wormley? Isaiahh Loudermilk?
- James Pierre does some nice things but he cannot be a starting corner in this league.
- T.J. Watt isn’t anywhere near healthy.
- Nice to see Minkah Fitzpatrick get his first pick of the season.
- Important snaps in recent weeks for a guy like Isaiahh Loudermilk. Think of how little he would have played were Tyson Alualu and Stephon Tuitt available. Hope this benefits him down the road.
- Alex Highsmith plays the way you want someone to play. He goes hard every, single play even when way behind. Both he and T.J. Watt struggled to keep contain however.
- Taco Charlton doesn’t look to me any way like a fit as a 3-4 outside linebacker.
- Cam Heyward reminds me of a superhero fighting alongside common citizens. He knows it’s a losing battle but he won’t stop fighting.
- I don’t believe in giving up on people but when they give up on themselves it gets harder. Devin Bush is regressing each week. I don’t see any fight and I see the same mistakes over and over.
- Vince Williams’ retirement looms larger every week doesn’t it?
Special Teams
- I think Pressley Harvin III is in serious trouble in terms of his career continuing in Pittsburgh. He just doesn’t punt we’ll enough.
- Great to see a terrific tackle by Derek Watt on punt team. Why he doesn’t get more snaps on offense is beyond me.
Coaching
- Why does Mike Tomlin go for it against the LAC on fourth and goal down 7-3 but punts at mid-field down 24-3 near the end of the half and unable to stop the opponent?
- You can blame Keith Butler all you’d like to (and much of justified) but when you’re working with what he is on the DL and at CB there’s only so much you can do.
- For the first time I’m really starting to question whether Adrian Klemm is the guy who should be coaching the O-Line. There has been little progress. Any improvement seems to be squashed with repeated steps backwards.
On to the Ravens
Pro Bowl
Voting for the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl is now underway. You can vote for all of your favorite Steelers by clicking this link right here. I’m of the opinion that Chris Boswell, Cam Heyward, Diontae Johnson and T.J. Watt should 100% be on their way to this game.
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