Good Monday to you Steelers fans.
Let’s get this out of the way first… Mitchell Trubisky will be starting Thursday night. It’s less than ideal to start a rookie QB on a short week. One of the hardest decisions an NFL head coach can make is when to pull his ineffective starting QB for an unproven rookie. Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t been awful, but he has done very little to make anyone think he’ll lead this team to significant wins. I know what Mike Tomlin wants to avoid; he wants to avoid the revolving door that he had back when he was forced to use Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges. The problem is that Tomlin cannot wait too long. If he does, he loses the fan base, perhaps the team and any chance of a postseason berth. For the first time, I’m going openly advocate that it is time for Kenny Pickett. This is not a 20-year old rookie here. This is an older rookie with a ton of experience under his belt. He needs to start week four. But…. I doubt he will.
Tomlin and the No-Huddle
Mike Tomlin claims he does not live in his fears. He doesn’t always coach that way however and the no-huddle offense is a prime example. During the career of Ben Roethlisberger, the no huddle (not hurry-up as many call it), was used quite effectively. The problem is that it was not used often enough. The reason Mike Tomlin doesn’t use it more often is two-fold. First, he wants to establish a running game and feels that isn’t the best way to do it. Secondly, he is afraid of exposing his defense to too many ‘three and outs’ thus putting them right back on the field. This current offense is already going three and out way too often so I so no reason not to use it more. Twice this season, Trubisky has led scoring drives using a form of the no-huddle or “muddle huddle” yet Tomlin and Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada never go back to it. I’m not suggesting the Steelers become the Peyton Manning Era Colts, but when your offensive is searching for answers why not stick with what works?
Tweet of the Day… This sums up much of the fan base this morning.
Good morning to everyone except for Matt Canada.
— Kim (@Kimmy_KimKimM) September 19, 2022
Around the North
There was a silver lining yesterday despite the Steelers’ loss. All three of the other AFC North teams lost as well and arguably in much more excruciating fashion. The Ravens and Browns both blew double-digit leads at home while the Bengals roared back to tie Dallas only to lose on a field goal at the gun. I have a feeling this is going to be typical for the division this year.
“Next Man Up”
For all those that felt like T.J. Watt’s absence wouldn’t be that big of a deal I have some news for you. It was. No sacks in a game for just the second time in roughly their last 80+ games is the first clue. The fact that Mac Jones could have baked a cake and called for an Uber when he dropped back was the second. Demarvin Leal did a nice job as did Delontae Scott and Malik Reed but let’s stop pretending the next man up was even going to be close to Watt.
Disappearing Act
You could see the level of frustration on Cam Heyward yesterday. As the clock wound down, he got into several verbal altercations with Pats’ linemen. Part of that frustration was due to the fact Heyward didn’t play well. He was stymied most of the day by rookie guard Cole Strange. Alex Highsmith, who had three sacks last week, was also a non-factor.
FOCO
We’ve got some awesome new stuff from our friends at FOCO! Check out the latest Hoodeez, as well as new FOCO Sweatshirts, Jackets, Leggings, Joggers, and MORE for MLB, NFL, and even NCAA.
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! Check out our latest T.J. Watt inspired t-shirt/hoodie.
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