Steelers vs. Cardinals – Week 13, 2023

Gutfoxx 1 Comment

Remember when Pat Pete trashed talked the 49ers? Then they came out and roflstomped us and talked about that in the post game? Seemed like a pretty motivating factor for them that game.

So what does Pat Pete do before this game against the Cardinals? Calls Kyler short and bad from the pocket. And what do the Cardinals do? Roflstomp the Steelers, shouting from the locker room afterwards about how bad they are. Seems like they took it personally.

So yes, Pat Pete has gotten on my nerves. Run his ass out of town if he keeps talking like this.

One good thing I’ll say about Canada is that he got away from these tight compressed looks and running the ball into the stacked box. There’s just not enough room against good teams, against bad teams like the Cardinals it kinda works but I don’t like it.

One thing that’s annoyed me all season is just how bad the WRs are at scramble drill
-coaching issues, don’t ask them to cook you an egg if we can’t scramble

Broderick Jones might have had his worst game as a pro. I really do hope we draft a right tackle and move him back to left next year and send Dan Moore to the moon

Kenny Pickett has not developed sadly. I think it’s partly because of the bad coaching, part because he’s under a ton of pressure in the pocket every rep, and then the other part is that it feels like he doesn’t have a feel for routes and concepts against different looks

Our defense with Elandon Roberts and without him against the run is night and day. The three injuries to the ILB spot have been devastating. I really hope MyKal Walker and Mark Robinson are not the starters next week.
-Watching deeper into the game, the missed tackles by Walker have been absolutely awful.

Keeanu Benton’s been insane. Getting tired of me saying that on a week to week basis? #1 fan blog of Benton ain’t slowing down this week. First run play of the game is him getting penetration, first pass play he gets the knockdown.
-only downside to that knockdown is the fact that I think JPJ intercepts it if Kyler gets it past the arm

I think the worst thing I see out of this offense is the downfield passing attack. The route concepts have no distraction routes to get some of the deep crossers open. Allows guys to just drift and cover.
-and since the offensive line is meh at best against just average pass rushers there isn’t a lot of time to make plays. And even when there are plays to be made Kenny frequently doesn’t.

I wonder if the playbook is too complicated for some of these young guys

Mason Cole needs to get lost in Europe somewhere. Go become a backpacker.
-We’ve been pissed off at him all year, glad to see his awfulness is being repeated by more people lately. It’s a little easier to see on broadcast when he’s messing up snaps to be fair.

By their third drive the Cardinals finally read the scouting report. Take advantage of these poor LBs in coverage. (this is me hating on Mykal Walker some more)

There’s been a lot of talk of the “turning point” of the game where it went from Steelers to Cardinals and a lot of people are saying it’s the Pickett injury and then the next play the stuff 4th and goal from the 1. I think that’s a solid contender but the offense was pretty meh throughout.

The turning point to me was the Elandon Roberts unnecessary roughness on 3rd and 12 with the awfully dumb hit on the defenseless WR. If he literally does nothing the defense is off the field. Those kind of 3rd and long mistakes are devastating to morale.
-his injury later in the game ended up killing the run defense but this felt deflating

Watching more of this game, dang the Steelers taking (calling) a lot of deep shots, and not the glitchy deep shots which are streaks down the sideline to Pickens. Just like deep posts/crossers. This is a 9 year old in Madden’s offense.

These idiots running the O don’t seem to understand they don’t have the o-line for this.

Watching Kyler getting the ball out in 2 seconds because they understand modern offense vs. the Steelers losing downs b/c they don’t is frustrating.

To show just how dumb they are, they run a WR screen without spacing or numbers advantage

Does this offense not have audibles? Some of these plays are terrible going into the defensive look. Thought they’d institute better communication after the bad man left.

I don’t often talk of special teams but it’s been real bad since GB (the incident) and it’s hit a pretty bad low this week. I can’t even call this a bottom cause they seem to get worse every week. 3 penalties on Killebrew is embarrassing for him.

Pass rush did a really nice job in getting to Kyler, he has consistent pressure on him.

WRs seem super inconsistent on run blocking.

This o-line is embarrassing in blitz pickup. COACHING

Teach Kenny Pickett some sort of fighting style like Tua or draft someone else. These brittle bones he’s got is annoying af.

I know we shouldn’t take PFF seriously but seeing some of these grades… For example Nick Herbig had 12 snaps total (a few of those were on kneel downs), and in the one I just watched he had a super win against a run block, hit the RB in the backfield, RB spun out, TJ then hit him but didn’t bring him down, the Herbig got the tackle for like a 3 yard loss.
-Herbig and Watt both got knocked for the missed tackle so the “tackle” grade is in the 20’s for the game (I’ve noticed one missed tackle destroys a grade on defense) but it doesn’t seem like Herbig got credit for the run shed super win since his run defense grade is 51.4

Next play Herbig took on 2 blockers, TJ stopped both the RB handoff and got the tackle in the backfield on Kyler. These are great plays, these grades man…
-I do hate how since no one watches all the games we have to rely on the grades for other teams when there are so many problems with them.

It’s just insane to me the success rate they have on throwing the ball to Pickens down the sideline and how infrequently they do it

JPJ is so good I wish they’d lean into that a little bit more when designing their defenses. I will say they do a decent job overall on defensive calls. Looking at the tape it’s easier to say these things in retrospect because I can see the offensive formation and play as it’s happening.

I feel like a big weakness of the offense is that on 2nd and long they always want to make it 3rd and manageable. Which is a fine goal. But I feel like it becomes too obvious to the defense, therefore making it easier to defend. If they leave Pickens one on one on those, huck it chuck it football.

Goal line defense needs to be worked on. They looked really confused by the quick snap. The front shouldn’t be figuring out alignment at the snap of the ball.

I feel like the Steelers have the worst passing game in the league vs. cover 2

Cardinals came into this game with great zone beating concepts and Kyler on the right page with them dotting from the pocket even though Pat Pete said he “couldn’t”

You know how I talked about momentum changing plays? Cardinals recovering all three fumbles in the game felt pretty momentum changing.

2 TEs to one side with the outside one motioning? Oh that’s a toss. I THOUGHT WE LEFT THIS GENERIC PREDICTABLE OFFENSE IN THE CANADA ERA

Just like the new OCs said, these are still Canada’s concepts. This pound the rock and attack vertically offense just doesn’t work that well with this personnel. Mostly the vertical stuff since the QBs aren’t throwing it and the defense is playing it.

I have no idea how PFF gave Armon Watts a 65 grade against the run, dude was really bad

DOG AT THE END OF THE GAME TO ATTACK COVER 2 THEY WERE RUNNING ALL CURLS, THE WORST POSSIBLE PLAY. THIS IS A JOKE.

Bengals vs. Steelers – Week 12, 2023

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First week with the bad man gone – a weight has been lifted off the city

I thought they’d do a jet sweep first play for the meme’s but it was beautiful to see the long play down the middle to the TE. Was like one of those Mr Beast video’s where people can see for the first time

Diontae came back from his injury, played a good game but since then has been trying his best to become the bad man on the team. Veteran move taking the pressure off Pickens
-I still hate it

Tomlin is a coward with punts. What a cringe coach.
-4th and two from the Bengals 44, punts. Ball gets a touchback. Dude gained 24 yards of possession when there was like a 60% chance or more of converting.

I feel like since JPJ hasn’t gotten picks in the last few weeks we aren’t talking about him as much but his presence isn’t just turnovers. For example, the first Bengals offensive play: it was a play action and the Steelers went pressure. Bengals did a decent job of giving time but Chase was driving into JPJ’s chest on the press and didn’t look around soon enough for the pressure to finally cause the pass to be thrown away.
-the play was 100% a win due to JPJ but it won’t show as a knock down or a pass defense in the box score

Dear Steelers, when you are showing pressure with the double mug look, don’t have your LBs a yard off the ball. It’s obvious you’re not coming, defeating the mug concept. That’s like robbing a bank with a bomb on your chest but everyone can see it’s just road flares.

Calvin Austin is not as good of a returner as I was hoping he’d be. To be fair there isn’t much there for him but I feel like he should be more explosive looking
-Our entire special teams kinda sucks right now. Ever since the ST Coach got destroyed at the end of the packers game

Kenny still shows issues with route anticipation. He had a corner open to Diontae but he didn’t pull the trigger because Diontae wasn’t looking at him. But if he was confident he’d let it rip and Diontae would have gotten his head around in time.

I just want to say it’s interesting that people are back on the Najee train. Almost like we told ya’ll a few weeks ago that he wasn’t the issue even when every filthy casual said he was. (production vs draft position is a solid argument though, I think everyone would prefer Creed Humphrey right now)

I’m still seeing Pickens one on one and Kenny is not taking it. I HATE EVERYTHING. JUST THROW IT YOU BUM.

Najee’s Angry Run where he emerged from the pile was basically all the result of Broderick Jones our stud rookie’s continued effort on the play. His lead block and drive resulted in Najee still staying upright and gaining all those extra yards. Really good effort, love to see it. Thick. Solid. Tight.

Kenny had 4 verts against cover 2 and looked to Muth down the left sideline instead of Pickens down the right. I feel like ANY TIME YOU GOT PICKENS TAKE IT. HE IS A LITERAL GLITCH.

Even though Kenny looked better, there is still a ton of meat left on these bones. Unlearning the Canada will take time. Does anyone know a good cult deprogrammer?

Mycal Walker – nice play on the tip passed (that Chase caught off the tip) but then really bad play not taking a shot near the end zone on the guy that was scampering in. Need to try to lay him out there to prevent the points. Overall okay game, can’t expect too much for a recent signing.

Darnell Washington got a catch on a regular route! Work them big dudes in. More vertical high points please! Madden taught me they’re the glitch

I need more playing time for Nick Herbig like everyone needs more money. It’s just a fact of life. I truly want to see him get 20 snaps a game instead of 5.

Kenny needs to learn to chill in clean pockets just a little bit more. I don’t fault him for his skittishness because of how bad pass pro has been but basically any 20+ yard concept that’s not a straight streak or post can be thrown out the playbook because he gets the ball out before they develop. And not just due to the breakdown of protection, just his internal clock.

Steelers still ain’t great at blitz pickup (and Kenny looks bad under the pressure of the blitz)
-I blame all of Kenny, Mason Cole and the coaches

Maybe I’m wrong but I feel like the Steelers secondary has caught on to the fact that when teams don’t line someone up on TJ to chip, the pass is going to be out in 2 seconds. Seeing some nice route jumps when the Bengals showed their hand this way.

I like how whenever the Steelers move TJ Watt inside to rush the center it’s been a run play lol

Holy crap, the Steelers ran the play I’ve been trying to get them to run this whole season (almost)
Basically when you see extra protection to TJ’s side, this time both a TE and RB, have TJ lock onto the TE and cover him (exactly what happened)
-the benefit here is that TJ essentially takes out 2 offensive players, the tackle and the TE, allowing you to overload the weak.
-The only issue with the Steelers call this time is that they only sent 4 which allowed the RB to slide and pick up. I say send 5. If they would have listened to me it’s an EZ sack.
-It was almost perfect, just didn’t commit enough.

The one free release TJ sack came from a nickel blitz to his side that confused the protection. ALMOST LIKE THIS BLOG WANTED. LOVE IT.

Crazy how good Trenton Thompson has been for us. Got a nice pick this week, similar play to the one he dropped last week. Overall been really solid on film other than the splash play.

One note: new offensive coordinator(s), and now Miles Boykin isn’t a run tell! He was out for 8 plays this week, 4 run, 4 pass. Yay!

It seemed like the Bengals were really ready for Jaylen Warren and the outside run game this week. These under center heavy sets with him in them might be a little too much of a giveaway.
-You all know my disdain for their love of this set. I will say they’ve been better out of it these last few weeks since they’ve started using a bit more play action.
-but overall they don’t do enough out of it to make defenses respect the pass

Overall solid game, 400 yards offensively for the first time since Canada took over and now that he’s gone that curse has been lifted. Defense was truly the game winner. Our pass rush was back doing it’s dirty thing with pressure’s and sacks. That’s even with the Bengals getting the ball out quick. (which is really the gameplay to beat this team.)

The most pleasant surprise this year has been Keeanu Benton. His ability to play nose with Heyward and the other interior d-lineman has turned us into a good run defense. In previous years that was a HUGE issue. Elandon Roberts being a good run stuffer has really helped too, dudes out here straight stuffing o-linemen on pulls and it’s a sight to see.

So good run d, great pass rush. Just need to get Minkah back and the new guys more on the same page (saw JPJ blow another coverage but Highsmith was at the QB in 2 seconds so the ball was thrown away) and the team will be really cooking.

But overall still can’t shake the feeling that this offensive performance happened against a lessor team and the true test is yet to come.

Steelers vs. Browns – Week 11, 2023

Gutfoxx 1 Comment

The Steelers are who we thought they were. Good defense, bad offense with the problems at OC, QB, LT and C. (although our entire o-line struggled with pass blocking at times)

Even though the defense let up only 13 points let’s not let them off the hook for folding. I feel like it’s gotten kinda bland schematically. It’s the plain yogurt of defenses, sure it works but I feel like cutting some strawberries in there would help.

I actually don’t blame the DC as much for this since we have a practice squad secondary and LB core right now. Tough to teach complexity to freshmen. Got to start with 101.
-But I will say seeing the Browns and the different looks thrown against our offense vs. the looks we gave them was kinda night and day
-The 2nd half was generally really good outside of the fold at the end (the offense should have been on the field doing Pickler things anyways)

Let’s give credit to the Browns who did a good job of checking down across the field to limit the damage the QB can do to the O.

Surprised the Steelers didn’t switch to a more aggressive cover 2 to clamp those under routes because DTR showed a lot of inaccuracies even on short throws.

And DTR’s inaccuracies is why we shouldn’t let the Steelers defense off the hook, there were a lot of opportunities that the steelers got lucky on by the ball being off target to WRs or them dropping it.

But that’s enough negativity about the defense, the offense justifiably should get almost all of the blame for the loss.

Just so many questions that I’m not sure anyone has answers for.

Cleveland stacked the box against our heavy sets…why didn’t we just throw jump balls to Pickens?

Warren looked incredible…why did he only get 9 carries?

Do the Steelers not know their own personnel?

How do we know stars are big balls of gas and not just holes in the universe?

Kenny coming out and saying they didn’t expect (and therefore didn’t prep as much presumably) for zone was embarrassing as an excuse. Like what a simple adjustment if you are a professional. There were plenty of guys open in these zones, he just didn’t pull the trigger.
-you know I just thought of something. Do you think Kenny doesn’t know you can throw streaks against zone coverage?

Najee coming out and saying that it felt like the Browns knew some of the plays that were coming was just another notch in the belt of embarrassing Canada anecdotes. We’ve heard that like a dozen times over the last two years from opponents and Steelers alike now.

Steelers threw a lot of screens in the game…I like the screen game, they barely used it earlier in the year and now it feels like it’s a huge staple of the offense. I feel like there should be a happy medium but against a blitz happy Browns it was probably a fine week to make it a staple.

Please utilize more play action Matt Canada.

BTW Trubo being the backup quarterback might be the worst decision I’ve ever seen. He is probably the worst QB I’ve ever seen take up the pigskin for the black and gold.,

I STILL DON’T KNOW WHY WE AREN’T ROTATING TJ WATT MORE
-He was on the field for 73 of 75 snaps
-for comparison Garrett was on for 49 of 58 reps
-TJ has complained about being gassed at the end of games and they still don’t rotate even thought they have very solid edge depth.
–replace both coordinators

This is still a Keeanu Benton simp blog. (just saw him swim move the center and then knock Bitonio (the left guard) on his butt on a run play.)

I don’t know who needs to hear this but Cam Heyward still got that dawg in him

I AM CRYING AT MY SCREEN WATCHING ONE ON ONE DEEP WITH PICKENS AVAILABLE
-this happened multiple times and it made me sad seeing it every time
-they even had it on 3rd and long and didn’t take it

I just watched an under center play action (great!) but Kenny did a boot out (okay, moving pocket is good) and then there were no routes on the side of the field that Kenny had to throw the ball to except one 20 yards+ downfield that was covered by 4 dudes
-what is this play design Canada, give some options to the guy
–maybe someone was supposed to release to the flat that forgot to? Guys not knowing the assignment is also the o coordinators fault

I know it’s been meme’d on a lot but Kenny’s back and to the left spin is starting to get hilarious, just like the JFK assassination
-but seriously dude is killing us, such a bad move

Yo I just figured it out, you know how lefties in Madden have a weird hitch when trying to escape the pocket right? What if Kenny is a secret Madden lefty but right handed and him trying to escape left is his glitch?
-Like some sort of Zoolander situation?

DeMarvin Leal is losing snaps…for good reason. He looks like shit.
On that note, when did Loudermilk get decent? He no longer is embarrassing himself out here and is making some splashes against the run.

I actually like the depth on this d-line, from Heyward to Larry O, Benton, Loudermilk, A. Watts and even with Adams when he comes back. There’s some real solid interior dudes here. A good group they’ve assembled that held up real nice against one of the best interior o-lines in the NFL. Although maybe Bitonio might not be amazing anymore idk but he has been a stud for like a decade.

Add Elandon Roberts on top of that and the run defense looks a lot better than it has in some time.

Even though once again every time Miles Boykin is on the field we run the ball (6 for 6 this week!) he had some nice blocks on Warren’s long TD run that finished it off. Screw it, show all the tells!

Also, I got to give credit where credit is due. Mason Cole. If it weren’t for your lead blocks on that run it wouldn’t have happened, nice work dude.

This tape is so funny Kenny gets rid of the ball quick when he has time but holds onto it against the blitz. Either playcalls are unlucky or something else is happening…

There are far too many deep concepts in Canada’s playbook…which is fine but when you’re getting screamed at with a blitz you got to stop with these and start running more drag routes.

How often has this blog called for more mesh concepts? It’s been so frequent I get a meal free next time I mention it.

I don’t know why but it seems Kenny doesn’t vibe with the stop routes in the middle of the field, so just stop calling them Canada, even though they’re normally fine, it’s too much and it’s not working

I feel like I don’t talk about Warren enough in the blog…is that cause we all just know he’s really good? Like we can just see his magic on our television on Sunday, it’s very evident seeing him spin gold from these tattered strings of offense given to him.

So…Kenny kept throwing it to Diontae for some reason. It kinda pissed me off seeing him keep targeting him when the superior WR was available to throw to, and it didn’t seem like he had communication issues with Pickens like he did with Diontae.
-Diontae is not an outside WR in the same caliber of Pickens. The only rational I can see is that Kenny wanted to get him some confidence…or maybe feed the squeaky wheel? But yeah that last drive was REALLY bad.

Steelers vs. Packers – Week 10, 2023

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Initial notes before watching the tape
Steelers pass offense looked brutal, Kenny didn’t take enough shots to Pickens
Plays aren’t designed to attack the middle of the field for some reason
Packers run defense bad or Steelers improving run game really hit their stride?
Kenny Pickett misses reads
Our rookies are great
Watt was gassed again at the end, we need to rotate Herbig and Golden in more often
-Should have drives of TJ off the field and only in on 3rd and longs
Highsmith didn’t do a whole lot
Coverage outside of JPJ (and whenever Minkah returns) is a disaster
We need LB help desperately with Kwon gone for the season
Benton is finally getting more recognition from people for his play (outside of pff for the game)
Why aren’t we using Darnell Washington more in the pass game? Kenny hate him?
Kenny seems like he locks onto reads too much
Kenny will make tough plays but botch easy ones too often
If defenses only covered flats we wouldn’t have a pass game
Levi Wallace needs to be given a one way ticket to fuckoffville. I wonder if the coaches just really like him as a person, cause his play on Sunday’s does not deserve the roll he has
Pat Pete’s been making some nice plays since they switched his roll a bit
Najee needs to be the power back he is more. One on one with a DB you need to truck.

Started watching some of the tape…there are so many one on one opportunities for Pickett to Pickens that him not throwing them is annoying af. This game is simple, throw it to your playmakers, score touchdowns.

I will say with how good the run game was early it makes a bit of sense they aren’t really worried about pissing Pickens off.

I just watched Elandon Roberts get around the o-line and put right guard Jon Runyon on his behind, it was glorious.

Christian Watson made an insane play against JPJ, really the only way he was going to catch it. Just crazy with how bad he’s played this year that he can still do that. I don’t know what’s wrong with the guy but the talent seems to be there. Chase Claypool disease?

…I see we’re back to the if it’s Boykin on the field it’s going to be a run offense. A little predictable Canada no? 8/9 plays he was in on Sunday was a run.

I will say Canada is moving the pocket a lot more lately, something that this blog said to do earlier in the season. Now we just need Pickett making good reads when it happens

Watching more of this film…The Packers have the worst run defense of any team we’ve played this year and it’s not close. I feel like they’re undisciplined, LBs aren’t shooting gaps, there’s little backside support, no run sheds…at least here in the first half. I know they changed things at halftime so it’ll be interesting to see that. Just strange you’d come out trying to stop Kenny Pickett first over the run game.
-Campbell does not look like a good run defender the few times I’ve seen him this game. I wonder what PFF says his run defense number is. (they gave him a 46 this game in run D, that feels about right)

Packers ran a lot of stunts on their d-line here in the first half and it made the running lanes a lot easier to navigate.

I love saying I told you so to national discourse but Najee looking good again after us saying that he wasn’t the problem with the O so many times feelsgoodman.
-He did have a terrible game (two weeks ago was it?) but overall he’s been much better since they switched to the power run scheme

I think the biggest indictment of the Packers run defense was the fact that we gained yards on inside zone style runs, something that every other team destroys us on.

I still have no clue why teams aren’t playing the flats more against Pickett, it’s 110% of his pass targets. (don’t ask me about that number, I was told there would be no math)
-I just watched the Packers drop 8 and the flats were wide open on 3rd and short and Kenny completed it for the first. Dude what is this D coordinator.

94 on the Packers, Karl Brooks – had one really nice play crashing down to kill a trap on a run and cause a butt tackle. A few plays later did the exact same movement inside from a 3 tech position and it caused him to get downblocked and opened a huge hole to gain which sprung Warren’s 15 yard TD run. Don’t know if that’s just the scheme or him doing it on his own.

I just saw Marcus Golden fight through a double team on the edge against a toss to push it back inside like a BEAST. Something I’ve seen TJ have trouble with (and sometimes do tbf) but the fact that the Steelers aren’t rotating him and Herbig in more to keep TJ and Highsmith fresh is pissing me off more and more.

The amount of miscommunications in the secondary for the Steelers was super evident and something they absolutely need to clean up going forward. It’s tough losing both your LBs that were the green dot guys and you’d think Minkah returning is going to clean it up a bit but overall they looked sloppy af on Sunday.
-Weird that they deactivated Darius Rush because they thought he’d be a liability in communication (according to him) when the rest of their secondary was about as bad as can be.
-I mean at least with Rush you have someone that’s big and can run with players. With Wallace you have all the negatives of Rush but none of the positives

Elijah Riley, someone that hasn’t played much has made some nice plays for us but you can tell he still is super hesitant out there in coverage. Really late recognizer in coverage.

I get it, it’s tough to play QB, but for some reason it feels like Kenny’s reads are out of phase with the WRs, he looks right before a double move and looks off of it, doesn’t time up the routes vs. when they’re supposed to be beating the coverage he’s seeing. Stares down checkdowns, pre-reads and decides on plays. Very Jared Goff against the Patriots in the Super Bowl type of games right now for him.

And about Kenny’s inability to throw across the middle, I do blame him for a lot of it versus Canada. At 21:01 of the all-22 there’s a perfect throw wide open in the middle of the field for the first down but he doesn’t unload, he gets happy feet. These are the throws professionals need to make.
-He does come back to the middle late on the read against cover three and might not have seen it in time. Just again, out of phase with the play call to the coverage. Needs to recognize earlier the coverages post snap.

I think without the clocking from our WRs our run game isn’t as good as it is. Allen Robinson does some nice work out there.

Steelers run blocking did well this weekend (or pack sucks) but the pass blocking still needs major work. Hopefully the brass sees it and acquires a stud Tackle and Center in the draft this year.

I’ve noticed Pickett likes escaping the pocket left for some reason. Even when there is space to go up the middle, it’s always back and to the left (JFK assassinator style of pocket awareness)

My biggest tip for JPJ is to stop looking for flags, it’s suspicious.

I think I said in week 1 against the 49ers when we got blown out how much I like Keeanu Benton. It feels like more people are finding out about him which is awesome. Been his #1 fan since that first game.

Mark Robinson…I wanted him to get more playing time earlier this year. He got it in this game b/c #1 and #2 LBs are out for the year and it looks like he’s having a rough go of it. If this keeps up he won’t be on the field much longer, just blowing assignments (from what I can tell)
-tbf it is tough going from scout team to the plays as you don’t get a chance to become familiar but that’s what the money is for, doing a tough job.

Pat Pete won the game for us this week, and I won’t forget that. The blocked kick and the breakup into INT were the differences.

The infamous swing screen of controversy. Play blown dead but that’s not what I want to talk about, let’s talk about how it was a good play call if the Steelers execute. Diontae missed his block like he had no idea he needed to, Kenny misses the throw. It was like a 10 yard play plus if the players do their job. Crazy how much the plays have switched to being effective and the execution isn’t there.
-Is execution on the o-coordinator? Yeah still kinda

Mason Cole – still garbo in pass blocking

The Steelers did drop Watt on some plays. It’s not exactly what I want, maybe instead of a predetermined drop there could be a check to it. Problem is the lack of leadership for defensive playcalls right now.
-But something that if TJs gonna get chipped by a TE, that he switches to man on him and 5 are sent off the other side to overload 5 v 4 (cause the tackle still kicks out to block TJ after the chip)
-It would have to be a 5 wide check or a green dog blitz in order to account for overloading the RB too

Man I still can’t believe we didn’t hit a single double move with how often GB was playing the curls (to be fair it’s all the Steelers throw lol) but the WRs had a few really good opportunities, Kenny just can’t read in time (the out of sync issue I said above)

I’ve talked a lot of crap about Levi Wallace but that’s because he’s constantly getting burned in man coverage. If the Steelers utilize him as a zone style inside defender he hasn’t played bad in that.
-Same with Pat Pete
-Just crazy their best pass defender is a stud coated stud in man in JPJ, sucks that they have conflicting skill sets in their secondary. Although JPJ is pretty good in outside zone to be fair.

I do know they’ve been calling a lot of cover 3 lately which is nice because they aren’t giving as big of explosive plays that way, but it’s not like they’re phenomenal in that either.

When Minkah gets back (I think this next game I’m think) in obvious passing situations they want the follow players out there in zone: JPJ and Rush on the outside (I know coaches don’t trust Rush because he’s a rookie) but Wallace, Pat Pete, Minkah and Kazee as the middle of the field guys, then an LB (no good choices but probably Roberts since there aren’t bodies left there with experience) and the 4 rushers (Highsmith, Watt, Benton and Heyward)

Overall we have a lot of liabilities out there and it’s not like the d-coordinator is anything crazy either so it’s basically our talent vs. yours. Tough position to be in as a team.

There’s a play in the 3rd quarter here when they mug the a gap, show strength of blitz to right but send off the left. I don’t hate the call. I don’t like the cover 3 behind it as Love has an easy check to the flat in the trips set. I feel like next game do the same thing but have it as cover 2 rotation and leave JPJ down there in the flat to pick it
-I feel like JPJ cheating deep in the coverage gave it away to Love, have him do the same cheat but at snap jump down.

I’ve noticed players give away too many tells to QBs pre-snap at times. Need to clean that up a bit.
-One of the obvious ones is where they’re supposed to be “mugging” the a-gap but they’re basically shouting across the street to give someone they’re money. Totally ineffective lined up 2 yards off the LOS.
-so ineffective Love had all the patience in the pocket and beat them for 30 yards on a deep in

Loudermilk have 100% improve since he was being bullied earlier this year. He must have switched to whole from skim

Watching this tape if Cleveland doesn’t use a lot of motion and low crossers (drags) out of bunch sets I will be very surprised
-Steelers might want to scratch some of these match concepts if they’re going to look like this running them

This might be crazy to say but I hate Pickens in a stack set. It usually means a bad play lol
-this is normally crazy cause stack sets usually mean free releases for WRs, more ability to get open
-But when he’s split wide, away from other WRs it opens up so much for this offense. The only problem is Kenny so rarely throws the one on ones to him it loses its effectiveness
-So a stack set means Pickens is easier to cover and the defense can condense, closing run lanes

You’ll know how much I like mesh concepts for this O, I just saw one where if Kenny throws it it’s like a 10 yard gain, but of course he doesn’t follow (due to pressure probably) but if he just throws it quick it’s a positive play.
-it just pisses me off his only checkdowns are outside throws

If Kenny just pump fakes short and throws an intermediate route I’d lose my mind. The pumps have been missed since Ben left

…oof, more Mark Robinson L’s. I think I just saw him blow another coverage assignment and chase the QB. I’d imagine if he plays like this again he won’t be playing much after.

I thought Jordan Love did a decent job of getting the ball out quick. A lot of these it seems even if Watt had a free shot with no blocker he still wouldn’t have gotten to the QB before the ball got out. Just overall effective offense. Reminds me of the Texans game that way. It’s also how Rodgers made his o-line look really good for years. Quick, quick, quick, gas out the rush then you got time for those long plays.

Final thoughts on the game: Steelers played a 6/10 game, sad the passing attack looked as miserable as it always has even with the Packers #1 CB out. The DBs are terrible outside of JPJ but at least we have the pass rush and run game?

Steelers vs. Titans, Week 9, 2023

Gutfoxx 1 Comment

Broderick Jones is a stud
Dan Moore is below average, and Mason Cole is an embarrassment

need more rotation on our edges so Watt and Highsmith aren’t as tired
-Herbig and Golden would be starters for other teams in the NFL

Our interior should be Adams and Larry O for 40% of the snaps and Cam Heyward and Benton for 60% with Leal and Loudermilk rotating in for bigger sets when needed

Pickens is a bad scramble WR, dude just walks during plays at times
-good run blocking effort though. Such a unique dude.

I hate to keep making excuses for the guy but Kenny’s accuracy issues – due to the ribs?!? Cause these are really bad, the overthrow to both Diontae and Pickens should never have happened

TJ does not look comfortable rushing the middle and I can’t say I blame him. I don’t think it’s being done in the right situations and the defense around him isn’t set up correctly to isolate the center
-I still think they need to use TJ as a man defender on his chip guy a couple times and overload the other side of the line. Cause the offense will be down two men this way (chip and RT)
-Also, remember the double ghost technique we proposed a few weeks back? Need to see it. For those that don’t remember, it’s TJ and Herbig both doing it with TJ over guard and Herbig over tackle

Conner Heyward is okay…at just about everything. A really solid piece to have for your team but separation and overall receiving threat Muth offers above is evident on the tape. Similar level blockers though…below average to average. They don’t move guys but they do a decent job of getting there.

Runs to the left behind moore aren’t a great idea

Matt Canada’s playcalling…it was okay, def not the issue like it was earlier in the year. There’s still some issues like a double corner with barely a checkdown that really won’t work against anything and his conservative nature on second down (use to be 1st and 2nd) that still need to be ironed out but overall it’s much improved
-I really think his biggest issue now is that he doesn’t understand he has a special talent at WR that very few teams have ever had. A 1 v 1 downfield dominator.
–they’re trying to get the ball in his hands and have him rac it which is…okay…that’s not his strength, Diontae and Calvin Austin are those dudes.
-all they need to do is use him in motion and isolate him one on one downfield. I feel like this isn’t very hard to do yet I don’t see them doing it.

During the last drive…pass rush is fatigued af, I’m surprised they don’t use double 3 techs instead one guy still lining up over the center. I feel you might be able to get better pressure isolating that way. But…fatigue. Maybe they didn’t think to do it.
…Okay Cam Heyward and Larry O are in and we’re in double wide 3s (closer to 4/5s)

Overall a good running game from the Steelers, bad passing, they don’t want to attack the middle for some reason (hopefully we get more of it when Muth returns but I’m not going to hold my breath)

Although I will say there were plays drawn up to attack middle with a streak dig combo, the pass rush flushed Kenny before the in route even got close to where it needed to be

Defensively we played well, penalties extended drives too much so that needs to be cleaned up.

Steelers vs. Rams Week 7, 2023

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Protection kinda sucked first series. Not in the way it usually does, by giving up vs. pass rush moves but by letting free blitzers come home. Seems like they aren’t good against the disguised blitzes. Coaching issue.

First series on defense and it seems the Rams have identified our weakness against the run, Larry O is just getting pushed, 2nd run play is embarrassing for him
-Coming back to this a little later, he is REALLY bad in this game. Worst I’ve seen him all year against the run…He does improve and make a few nice plays later. Must have got yelled at.

Our Linebackers are not great at crossing the face of blockers (talking Holcomb and Alexander)

Rams did an amazing job of neutralizing Watt on the pass rush with chip blocks (it’s what every team has done) I do feel like the Steelers might be better off trying to move him around or generating pressure based on him taking that chip block every play
-for example, you can have TJ take the chip and just bury the guy in the dirt (man cover that dude basically freeing up someone else), can overload the other side since the tackle will be looking at him.
-Or simply just have TJ move alignment before the snap to rush anywhere else
-I’d like to see if he could ghost technique a guard. Line up him and Herbig on one side and let them both try ghost outside moves over the tackle and guard. Have a 1 tech and LB distract the center and guard the other way
(I will say TJ did switch spots a couple plays this game, but he still got chipped lol)

2nd series on offense, first run play has pulling blockers…nice. Got a good gain (as Najee fumbled it lol) But this is exactly what they needed to run last game when they tried to use zone blocking too often.

I will say the run came from a compressed form right away but they didn’t do as much of this like they had in previous weeks. Canada’s getting better folks. AND this run came from shotgun compressed instead of always under center compressed like we’ve seen and complained about before.

2nd run is an under center zone run…no gain. COME ON.

Najee needs to get tutelage from Le’Veon Bell, he gets too happy and bounces outside. Brutal one from this second series. Learn to hesitate if you must and stick the head forward, bouncing is for Barry Sanders, you are not Barry Sanders.
-Or, just run full speed at the line and let God sort out the rest. You’re a power back, act like it.

I know we know this but it bears repeating, Kwon Alexander is bad against the run. I know Elandon Roberts is the dude for that but I feel like Elandon against the run is a bigger upgrade that I’ll take his loss of pass just to get that thumper on the field. The Rams are bullying the inside of the Steelers defense early.

The Steelers are playing a lot of man coverage against these Rams compressed sets. Any Madden player can tell you that compression and bunch are man killers with the rubs and releases you can get out of them. Surprised Steelers came to this game with that as their scheme vs. a more zone or match based scheme since match is how a lot of teams combat the tightness.

The Evolution of Matt Canada
1st play of the series after a Rams punt
Tight set, under center…oh crap here comes the run again
But wait
It’s a playaction
Rollout, perfection
Diontae on the comeback, gets a yard of separation
Kenny throws the ball a yard off, incompletion
Good play call though
I’m here for it

(they used a similar play action rollout later to great success)

It is amazing watching a great interior vs. a great edge. Rams had really bad edges and therefore we didn’t hear much about our tackles being bad but watching Donald make Seumalo look terrible is interesting.
Like Mason Cole we know is bad and he puts it on film every week. But Seumalo up to this game was doing fine (after the SF game)
But seeing a generational DT, even an undersized one blow him up and back is kinda crazy vs. what we had seen before this.

I will say our interior did play decent enough against Donald, he dominated the blockers at times but overall didn’t take over the game like he has in the past.

The theory of the Steelers offensive line right now (b/c for some reason we aren’t playing Broderick Jones) goes like this: They are completely average to below average with below average coaching as evidenced by blitz pickups. When they face average to below average talent they look fine. When they face anyone good they look terrible.
There isn’t a rock as you call it. Like SF has a below average o-line but they have a rock (when he’s back healthy) and that’s a lot easier to scheme with than no rocks.

Steelers scramble drill against man coverage is well below average, these dudes need to get that dawg in them. On scrambles it looks like only Kenny and the defense are running hard.

I feel like I make this note every week but I will keep doing it until Benton gets more playing time. He is sooooo good right now. And for some reason he only played 28% of the snaps.
-I feel like when Cam Heyward comes back it should be Benton and him as one DT pairing then keep Adams and Larry O together. That’ll be a solid rotation. If they cut back on Benton’s reps when Heyward is back I will be very disappointed.

Almost had the full Wisconsin d-line on Herbig’s first career sack. Just need to have that bum Loudermilk out there for a play with Watt, Herbig and Benton to get the full line.

Levi Wallace…Please play someone else Tomlin.

Larry O and Adams, our main interior d-linemen. I am so conflicted watching them. At times they make such nice plays and then they look like they don’t belong at DT at others, getting pushed back and separated from the line of scrimmage.

I think one of Kenny’s problems is his looking off from his reads too quick and checking down. Some guys he looks away right as they’re about to come open. He needs better anticipation, a problem I’ve seen a few times this year. I think it’ll improve with time and with an O-line he trusts. He started this year under fire from the 49ers and Browns that it makes sense he thinks he’s about to get hit every rep back there in the pocket.

It almost feels like Pickett doesn’t trust the windows in the middle of the field sometimes. There will be guys open that it looks like he’s looking at but he doesn’t throw it. Other times he does bullet it in there. Again, this might get better with experience.

Steelers offensive line looked a lot better at the end of the game with pass pro and run lanes. Strangely enough they started pulling more players and down blocking…huh some blog out there recommended they do that more in the previous few weeks. Glad the Steelers can self scout cause ain’t no one reading this…I can say whatever I want! weiner!

If I were in charge of the Steelers after the Bye

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I don’t know if I’d have cut Desmond King…while Gunner Olszewski and Chandon Sullivan are still on my roster acting like sleeper agents trying to get me fired. I blame Belichick.

I would start Broderick Jones over Dan Moore (only someone who has been blackmailed would start Dan Moore at this point) (I’m not saying Mike Tomlin had sex with Dan Moore’s relative (mom, sister, etc.) but the rumors are circulating)

I would move Joey Porter Jr. to a starting outside CB spot (no joke here, I will slice someone if this doesn’t happen soon) (by slice I mean offer them a glass of orange slice) (poisoned) (in a video game)

I would then move Pat Pete or Levi Wallace to the nickel spot

I would then move Minkah Fitzpatrick back to where he’s best at, a deep 3rd Free Safety

I would tell my offensive coordinator not to show his hand on run plays by having heavy sets being what we run out of (Steelers are playing 70’s football and not the kind we like in Pittsburgh, the kind that says we’re gonna run it, stop it if you can, oh you can? well we’re gonna keep doing it anyways)

I would run more mesh and post patterns (can even be on the same play)

When Muth comes back I would try to get him more involved than he was

I would run my big 6’7 TE down the seam more and throw high points (like classic Madden cheese)

I would run out of spread sets to help Najee and Warren

I would up the amount of play action I use (especially shot plays to Pickens b/c he is OP)

I would stop with the zone run concepts that our o-line is bad at and run more traps/powers. Things that we saw done well in the Texans game. (only an idiot or an insane person does the same thing over and over and expects different results)

I would steal plays from the 49ers, Dolphins and others and use them in my scheme (no lawsuits please)

I would use Keeanu Benton more and rotate my edges a little more to keep TJ/Highsmith a bit fresher plus get reps for my young guy Herbig. (you ever had a TJ fresh off the tree? Tastes like heaven)

These are just a few of the things I would do coming out of the bye

Ranking Steelers based on how they’ve played through 5 weeks

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A silly exercise to compare dudes across different positions. But this is basically how much I’ve enjoyed watching each of these guys play each week. Basically “how good are they doing what they do”

I’m not going to rank guys who haven’t played much O or D reps or guys who got injured early like Diontae Johnson and Cam Heyward

1TJ WattWatt else can be said about the best defender in the NFL?
2Alex HighsmithHe eats so good
3George PickensAbsurdly talented, horribly used
4Keeanu BentonYoung rook has looked waaay better than I thought, need more PT
5Joey Porter Jr.ditto from above
6Minkah FitzpatrickHasn’t made the splash plays that we’re accustomed to seeing
7Larry OgunjobiHolding down the d-line admirably in Cam’s absence
8Elandon RobertsInsane run defender, love watching him explode into the hole and make tackles
9Broderick JonesOnly been 2 games but his last vs. Balt was AWESOME
10Jaylen WarrenLegit explosive af and used on better playcalls than Najee
11Cole HolcombBest LB we’ve had since Shaz (that isn’t saying much lol)
12Najee HarrisSuffers from most his runs being telegraphed to the defense, almost no holes
13Montravius AdamsUsed as a nose but he’s not thicc enough for doubles IMO. But my god does he HUSTLE, got that DAWG
14Kwon AlexanderA little better in coverage than the other two, had some decent plays but overall average
15Calvin AustinExplosive speed, rest of game is lacking
16Markus GoldenGreat rotational pass rush piece, sadly not incredible against the run
17Pat FreiermuthWasn’t utilized enough when healthy, hope that changes when he gets back
18Connor HeywardNot a great blocker, but seems to get the job of getting open in space down
19Isaac SeumaloStruggled HEAVY against SF but since then has been real solid, makes a bit of sense since he was mostly a RG in Phi but LG with us
20Nick HerbigNeeds many more reps, give TJ/Highsmith more breaks and let the young kid get his feet wetter
21Patrick PetersonLet up some big plays but sadly is our best CB besides JPJ
22Kenny PickettHard to separate his issues from Canada’s, def left some plays on the board
23Armon WattsNothing special, doesn’t have a ton of reps
24Damontae KazeeThis is about the meh line for me, everyone below this needs major improvement. Kazee has been very meh, not a good tackler, not crazy valuable in coverage either
25James DanielsRegressed from last year and now injured
26Allen RobinsonHas some nice hands but lacks explosiveness and some lazy routes it seems
27Chukwuma OkoraforBrutal work at RT, def look to upgrade this position. I can’t believe he makes 8 figures a year
28Darnell WashingtonHe was supposed to be a better blocker than this. Coach also doesn’t utilize his strengths well
29Nate HerbigAbout as good as Daniels (not great) but has played less
30DeMarvin LealDisappointing, so streaky, he’ll have a great play then be replacement level on others
31Isaiahh LoudermilkJust is not stout enough
32Levi WallaceBurnt toast, not great against the run, slow
33Mason ColeThis guy is getting shoved in lockers
34Chandon SullivanDon’t hear his name much but take it from me looks way more cooked than Wallace, which is tough to do
35Dan Moore Jr.The best thing that’s happened to Pitt’s offenses is his injury

Steelers vs. Ravens – Week 5, 2023

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It will forever confuse me why we telegraph we’re running so much by being in heavy sets when we do it. I get the first series not being in a spread set since you’re inside your 10 but the 2nd set of downs they should have tried to spread the field to give a better chance to find holes in the defense for big gains instead of this 2 yards and a cloud of dust crap
-Our first 5 runs were out of super tight, heavy sets, and it became evident what plays were runs most the rest of the game. They got to stop showing their hands here.
-Please use these heavy sets to set up one on ones for Pickens down the sideline, it’s literally embarrassing how much we run out of these
-At least this week it was 50/50 run or pass if Miles Boykin was in the game. As you recall from last week’s notes in the Vegas and Houston game it was 14/16 chance it was going to be a run with him in the game.

And we keep trying zone runs when our linemen aren’t that great at zone runs. We got power dudes that did really well with the traps last week. It’s embarrassing to not know your personnel. These zone runs at baltimore’s front is like trying to hammer a nail with your forehead.
-and I don’t hate the zone concept but you got to use the threat of a Kenny keeper once in a while. He just about always hands it off (I do remember some keepers previously but only a couple. And he was hurt last week so that adds another wrinkle to him not keeping it, but if that’s the case then you can use different run schemes and not run it into Balts strength?)

Pickens is incredible in what he does but he doesn’t sell the penalty enough, he gets held like crazy but because he’s so big and strong it doesn’t show so he doesn’t get the flags as much.
-it’s the same reason TE’s don’t get as many flags as smaller WRs

I still think we need a true nose
-I’m surprised we didn’t see Fehoko out there at all after we just activated him.
-Guys like Adams gives it his all (remember he’s a dawg) but just doesn’t have the anchor for the nose that we need for the stout run defense. Watching him get moved then Pierce for the Ravens muck things up on the opposite is as different as you can imagine. Like going from a rainbow after a fine mist to a mist of blood from an accidental knife juggling accident.

Mason Cole is just getting tossed by Pierce, even before I looked at this all-22 I was looking for draft eligible centers for next year. People seem to love that guy out of Georgia.
-Sadly he’s under contract next year for 6 mil, if we cut him we save 4 mil but I doubt we do
-Him getting blown up is why a lot of these zone runs aren’t working
-The more I watch Mason Cole try to block Pierce the more I want to punch my screen
-This battle might be the main reason our offense struggled so mightily
–Canada needs to recognize how bad Cole is and work a different offense against these monster DTs that beat this guy’s ass.
–For an example of a good system look at what Houston did with their much outmatched o-line
-Watching Warrens reps later in the game, Balt didn’t have pierce on the field and our best inside run came when 98 (Travis Jones) was nose/a-gap and Seumalo swallowed him up, Cole got to the LB and the run went crazy. Amazing what a good nose can do for a defense.
—next rep Jones destroyed Seumalo lol

Kenny throws almost everything to the outside part of the field. It’s insanity.
-like if the knock on the QB is a poor arm (which his arm seems to be fine) why aren’t you giving him shorter throws over the middle? Everything is a stop or streak. There’s no route concepts being thrown that I’d even be comfortable throw even in Madden

Watching Kenny throws then going to the next series of Lamar getting easy throws to the middle to get the ball out quick and beat the rush is something else. It’s like watching your crush with Tanner, your high school bully

With how bad Kazee is I’m surprised we don’t see Elijah Riley more. I know Kazee is a deep guy (even though Minkah should probably be back there more) but When Riley was on the field for a like 10 plays total a few weeks back in Cleveland he made some real nice plays.

Also Desmond King (former all-pro for the Chargers) played one defensive snap. It was the TD run in the first quarter, took a bad angle to the RB as the last line of defense. Didn’t see the field after that lol.
-still probably better than Kazee, don’t know if you can tell, I’m not a fan

I am also not a fan of Chandon Sullivan. I think our defense misses Cam Sutton who from all reports is killing it out there in Detroit. I wonder if Mike Tomlin who’s coached a ton of great nickels thinks he can do it with anyone. He’s got Ronde Barber, Mike Hilton, Sutton and others that have played great for him in that position.
-but man this guy is just burnt toast, Hope Desmond King or Elijah Riley step up and get more reps here soon
-He will lose us games, slot fades just destroy him. Once teams see this they will take advantage. Even Balt went back to it on the same drive and if not for Agholor’s drop Steelers fans would be way more aware of just how bad this dude is.

Once again, I am Keeanu Benton’s #1 fan.

I’m starting to like Holcomb more. He still gets beat from time to time but overall I think he’s a very solid contributor at the MLB spot. Probably the best MLB we’ve had since Shaz (that’s not saying much)
-I do want to see the young Robinson a little more. He’s only gotten 4 snaps this season.

There was a Jet touch pass run near the goal line by the Ravens, last week against the Texans these plays destroyed us because Highsmith/Watt got hooked and they got the edge. This time Highsmith fought a double team and was able to make it into only a minimal gain vs. the huge ones the Texans did. I’ve got to wonder if the Ravens running it to the short side of the field hurt them here. Seems like you want more field with this kind of thing not less?

George Pickens is insane. That’s the whole note.
-as a blocker I watched one play where he knocked over the corner then had a crazy good block against the safety. He was pumped afterwards, and so was I lol

Sucks the all-22 doesn’t have play clock, quarter, down/distance cause I want to know how late into the 2nd quarter our first spread set run was.
-I’m also not seeing mesh routes CANADA

I just compared screenshots of a shotgun run vs. pass and it was amazing, almost all our o-linemen had like picture perfect exact same stances except RT Chucks Okorafor. His right foot was further back on the pass.

Just watched a badass rep from Broderek Jones, He put Clowney into the dirt, Kenny had tons of time and completed a nice 15 yard gain.

Just saw MESH on 3rd and 8! It was against zone so the mesh stopped and Kenny eventually found him for an easy 14 yard gain!

Ravens did a ton of holding down the field, along with PI, surprised no flags. Shouldn’t complain as refs are inconsistent every game. (Steelers also hold down field lol)
-Cheap shot on Calvin Austin was dirty Balt

Too many of these stick plays against cover 2. Need more 4 verts. If you took a shot every time the Steelers ran some sort of stick play you wouldn’t be reading this right now, you’d be dead from alcohol poisoning

I love Elandon Roberts against the run, dude is a straight dawg

I like how they’re moving the pocket for Kenny, I don’t like how the route combos are getting bagged, cause they’re the same ones. And they’re mostly going left against his arm vs. right, the way of his power
-Also Kenny needs to get his eyes back to the middle of the field more on these, he’s leaving a lot of nice yardage out there

They just ran a swing screen and it died because Darnell Washington couldn’t land his block in space. I thought he was going to be such a good blocker, he’s been a bit of a disappointment in the regular season. Still a rook, hopefully he’ll get better.
-they also put him on the same routes they put Muth on, they need to tailor them to his skills, routes without sharp breaks. High point streaks, maybe some drags, etc.

Steelers look lost against man coverage to frequently. Unlike a good O that calls plays with built in man and zone beaters, steelers look to call one or the other

I rewatched TJ Watt punch Zay Flowers like 10 times, it never got less funny. Welcome to the NFL rook

I don’t know what’s wrong with Minkah Fitzpatrick in under zones, dude looks like he locks eyes with the QB and doesn’t look for work, i.e. doesn’t look for the nearest WR when he’s in an under zone. Noticed it on a big play against the Texans, see it again on one of the 3rd and long conversions the Ravens had at the end of the 2nd quarter. Maybe he just expects the pass rush to win after a few seconds? Either way Minkah needs to start to look for work while he’s in zone and not be a traffic cone.
-He might be used to playing like that as a deep third and hasn’t converted the process in under zones?

I will say a big positive is our ability to run the ball for any sort of forward progress when it’s super easy to see based on formation and pre-snap movement that we’re running the ball.
-I’d like to see the stats on our success running the ball left vs. right. Broderick Jones played well
-TE Washington is a much better in-line blocker than in space but yeah that man is not NFL ready, bad missed block not only the early one in space but first play after the JPJ pick he got made a fool of

Ooh! We ran another mesh, this time Jones got beat inside for the only pass rush pressure of the game he let up, Kenny was able to roll out the pocket though and hit the shallow crosser for a gain. Success even with a blown block! Wow almost like this is what a good offense can do!
-I will say this mesh was RB release mesh vs. 2 WRs/TEs but it still sorta counts! (cause it fits my narrative)

I don’t know if they have the check but when Pickett sees man press he should tell his dudes to get in a stacked formation. I’m watching a 3rd and long with Balt showing pressure and man pressure and one high. Outside of the Amazing Pickens (leave him on his own, dudes a stud) but the other WRs might be better suited to stacked formations or short motion to get free releases

Markus Golden is really solid don’t get me wrong but I was hoping Herbig would get a few more reps at edge. TJ and Highsmith are really getting a ton of reps. And obviously the coaches know more than I do about fatigue levels but when you have the depth of quality the Steelers do I feel like they should use it a bit more.
-I wonder if they could implement some sort of all edge package as a 3rd and long thing, move TJ Watt/Highsmith over the interior as we’ve seen them do like twice this season

I tweeted this but it needs to be said, please cut Gunner. If the Steelers don’t do this I suggest a group of fans get together every game to Naruto run the sidelines to steal his helmet. They can’t catch us all!

Just watched a play action out of shotgun with a professional streak corner dot to Pickens. Wow now this is Pod-Racing! (a professional offense)
-crazy how good the blocking was when the defense was unsure of the play call
–sadly it’s still shotgun so the defense should have figured it was a pass

I just watched the “go be a family man” rep like 10 times. JPJ played that literally perfect.
Steelers do have a separation problem with their WRs not named Pickens. Hope when Tae gets back that remedies it a little. Also got to hope Calvin Austin is okay and keeps improving.

On Highsmith’s forced fumble at the end of the game, TJ Watt got tripled teamed with the TE, RB and Right Tackle, left Highsmith on an island and he made them pay
-I mean this pass rush is absolutely crazy, Baltimore could only send 3 guys out on routes when they needed to make all those deep throws. 7 Guys to cover 3 is good math.

Steelers vs. Texans week 4, 2023 all-22 thoughts

Gutfoxx 3 Comments

Texans did a great job taking advantage of our defense’s weaknesses, slow LBs that aren’t great readers and outside CBs that aren’t great against the run

They also did a great job taking advantage of our aggressiveness with the screen game

I think my favorite part of Canada’s offense is that during the last two games if WR Miles Boykin was on the field there was 14/16 chance (according to pff) of it being a run

Ran the same play back to back weeks, against LV at 6:12 of the first quarter it was a TD to Calvin Austin for 72 yards. Against Texans at 5:06 in the first with similar sets it was picked by the Texans.
-almost like Canada thought they didn’t do film study (other teams have televisions now?!?)
-to be fair there was slight differences like the post came from the other side of the field and some pre-snap motion initiated by Kenny in the raiders game to show man coverage

Our defensive alignment was questionable at times. Example: with bunch and RB left, we had more defenders on the right side of the ball. They quick tossed it and gained 10 yards

Demarvin Leal is streaky, sometimes good, sometimes terrible. Seen multiple terrible plays already (I’m in the first quarter lol) I don’t know what to think of the dude. Ya’ll know I was pounding the table for other picks there last year, mainly Chenel that went to KC.
-Wow, Leal really didn’t show up to play, just saw another terrible rep

Someone has to tell Seumalo to stop “helping” on left tackle blocks. Multiple times in the last two weeks I’ve seen him push a defender to “help” and it knocks the defender off the block to create pressure lol

Benton is playing nose a lot, not what he’s best at yet I still love how he plays it. I think I said after the 49ers game he might be our second best interior d-linemen behind Larry O right now but I think he might be number 1 right now.

Steelers threw a few screens and almost all of them were sniffed out by the d-line. This is the exact opposite of what happened to the Steelers on D, they got killed by screens. The difference seems to be coaching, our o-line is bad at selling it and our d-line is bad at recognizing it. (Larry O did stuff one late in the game)

This offensive pass game is just high low stop routes, one after the other over and over again. I haven’t seen mesh yet (even though we gained 30 yards both times last week, (one was called back due to pre-snap lazy Pickens movement))

Steelers stopped throwing streaks down the sidelines, their best offense last year and in preseason. So now DBs just sit on the stops/out routes

Kenny pre-reads and just throws even if it’s covered, got lazy looks

Still no clue why we don’t chip DEs more

the fact that d-line games screws with our o-line this much means coaching is bad.

Kenny is an athletic QB, remember when Canada said he needed an athletic QB to make his scheme work? Where’s the options, where’s the designed runs, etc.? Or maybe Kenny gets injured so much they threw that out? idk but he’s using the mobile QB exactly 0%

As you’ve read here in the past, the downfall of Najee has been greatly exaggerated. He had a great day.

Broderick Jones had an up and down game but did plenty to give me hope for his future. He got better as the game went along.

Steelers got a great ground game going once we started to run more o-line traps and less of the inside zone splits. (and after Dan Moore got hurt)
-seems like the o-line is a bunch of maulers and less finesse guys now with Jones in for Moore and Herbig getting the start over injured Daniels.

Loudermilk is too skinny, gets moved hilariously. Needs to switch to whole milk.

I don’t understand why Minkah isn’t more in the centerfield role. I feel like he’s best there, they got him manned up a lot and that’s not his game changing strength