OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: 2022 Handball season has arrived!

[Empoleon8771]

What I disagree with is the notion that Pickett is a normal rookie, when he's not. He's a 5-year college player, 24 years old, and outside of learning the speed of the pro game and pro play design/reads, his mechanics are likely as developed as they're going to get. He's likely near what his potential ceiling is already, which was the vast majority opinion of him pre-draft, low ceiling, high floor. He's likely not going to become what Fields for instance has blossomed into this year out of the blue. Who's still younger than Kenny btw.

But he is still a rookie though. You're right in that he won't have this massive surge like younger guys have, but it still takes some time for rookie QBs to get fully adjusted to the NFL.

He's not going to improve substantially in terms of talent, because he is already a fairly polished player. His improvement will be learning what he can and can't do in the NFL and learning how to apply his skills to be successful in the NFL. That's something that will just take time, regardless of whether he's a 21 year old rookie or a 24 year old rookie.

He's not a young athletic freak that has the potential to be a Mahomes tier QB if everything clicks for him, but I don't think anyone things that. His upside is 2013-2017 Alex Smith, a solid starter game manager QB who runs the ball well. Even Smith took quite a few years to get fully acclimated into the NFL, his rookie year was infamous for being horrible.

 

[Shaftception]

Are his mechanics really a problem though? I think they're pretty damn good. Most of his issues seem to be decision making which will improve with time.

The only thing that really concerns me with him is him trying to bail out the back door when the pocket is relatively clean. That was always an issue with him and I don't know how easy it's going to be to correct.

It's not that they're a problem, I dont think they're a problem, it's just that he likely isn't going to show much more with more experience like there's still potential for with younger less experienced QB's. This was expected of him before his draft, "pro-ready" and all, which has it's benefits and downsides. Benefits in that he shouldn't need that much development to get a feel for what he could become, but won't surprise you two or three years down the development line by taking a leap into an upper tier of quarterback. It's why teams are willing to give said players so much leeway before moving on from them. I just feel Kenny isn't likely to have as much room to grow. If he proves otherwise great, one less position they have to worry about rebuild wise.

Outside of his potential accuracy issues with intermediate/downfield throws, which can go either way as he develops, most QB's don't pull an Allen dramatically improving accuracy issues but he could prove otherwise, I'd agree he shows signs of being fairly well-rounded, but nothing that truly wow's you.

The bailing the pocket thing seems to be coachable as long as they identify it and work on it with him. How much you have confidence in the staff to adequately do so is another question.

Is that enough for the future? Time will tell.

What an ending to this Bills vs. Vikings game btw.

Edit: Omg the ending to this Bills game. Holy hell. A fumble by the Bills at their 1-inch line that turns into the winning TD for the Vikings.

 

[xlm34]

It's not that they're a problem, I dont think they're a problem, it's just that he likely isn't going to show much more with more experience like there's still potential for with younger less experienced QB's. This was expected of him before his draft, "pro-ready" and all, which has it's benefits and downsides. Benefits in that he shouldn't need that much development to get a feel for what he could become, but won't surprise you two or three years down the development line by taking a leap into an upper tier of quarterback. It's why teams are willing to give said players so much leeway before moving on from them. I just feel Kenny isn't likely to have as much room to grow. If he proves otherwise great, one less position they have to worry about rebuild wise.

Outside of his potential accuracy issues with intermediate/downfield throws, which can go either way as he develops, most QB's don't pull an Allen dramatically improving accuracy issues but he could prove otherwise, I'd agree he shows signs of being fairly well-rounded, but nothing that truly wow's you.

The bailing the pocket thing seems to be coachable as long as they identify it and work on it with him. How much you have confidence in the staff to adequately do so is another question.

Is that enough for the future? Time will tell.

What an ending to this Bills vs. Vikings game btw.

Yeah that game just got even crazier.

 

[Al Smith]

Crazy ending to the Vikes/Bills game.

 

[Shaftception]

Jesus if the BIlls pull this off...

 

[ChaosAgent]

How can Buffalo be a SB contender starting 2 guys from Pitt, whose secondary has sucked for years, in their secondary? Is Narduzzi that bad of a gameday coach?

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Red zone offense has been bad for years. Really needs to improve

 

[Andy99]

Lol…Allen just blew the game…

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Even josh allen makes back breaking throws

 

[Shaftception]

Been a number of god awful int's over the middle today. Allen blew the game with one, Prescott has two just in the first half, a few others earlier in the day.

 

[JTG]

That Minnesota-Buffalo game was insane. Justin Jefferson is like a bigger, stronger prime AB. Unbelievable skill.

 

[Al Smith]

Colts/Raiders is still close. If Colts win, Saturday detractors can always point to Josh McDaniels, with a recent coaching record just this side of Hue Jackson, as the opposing coach.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

are we improving, or are we just playing a bad team?

Today the two combatants lived up to their records. Someone had to lose

.

 

[JTG]

Colts/Raiders is still close. If Colts win, Saturday detractors can always point to Josh McDaniels, with a recent coaching record just this side of Hue Jackson, as the opposing coach.

While I completely get where a guy like Cowher comes from, and the hiring of Saturday isn't fair, particularly because he has turned down less glamorous coaching jobs with the Colts just this season, Saturday knows how football works. Dude did it at a really high level for a long time, and snapped the ball to one of the greats. There isn't much he would really need to learn, especially if he has competent assistants.

 

[JTG]

Steelers drafting 11th.

 

[ChaosAgent]

While I completely get where a guy like Cowher comes from, and the hiring of Saturday isn't fair, particularly because he has turned down less glamorous coaching jobs with the Colts just this season, Saturday knows how football works. Dude did it at a really high level for a long time, and snapped the ball to one of the greats. There isn't much he would really need to learn, especially if he has competent assistants.

I think credentialism is a drain on society, but so too are powerful/destructive people like Jim Irsay.
Cowher was a special teams coach and our current coach isn't adequate from an Xs and Os POV.

It's kind of weird that for players performance is all that matters; Kurt Warner bagged groceries before QBing a Super Bowl winner - but coaches is like moving up in an IBM-style matrix organization.
There also seems to be very little correlation between the performance/hype of (insert assistant/college coach here) and their success at the NFL level. From that standpoint, eh why not take a shot with a guy for 8 games when season's over anyway?
Irsay sucks as a person, but so many successful businessmen do. I'm curious to see how this turns out.

 

[Andy99]

Steelers drafting 11th.

They need to start losing more…

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Steelers drafting 11th.

11 to 15 range is where I thought that they would end up. Too many creampuffs on the schedule to expect them to end up with only 3 or 4 wins.

 

[Al Smith]

While I completely get where a guy like Cowher comes from, and the hiring of Saturday isn't fair, particularly because he has turned down less glamorous coaching jobs with the Colts just this season, Saturday knows how football works. Dude did it at a really high level for a long time, and snapped the ball to one of the greats. There isn't much he would really need to learn, especially if he has competent assistants.

No, it's not fair. But I guess I don't see why this is a bigger deal than other rampant nepotisim/old boy connections in the NFL (or many other sports and non-sports businesses, frankly). I'm not condoning it, but am definitely not shocked - and surprised at the general level of "outrage" that an owner's buddy moved to the top of the coaching ladder without "paying his dues". It's just how the world works.

NFL coaching ranks still lean heavily on family connections: Report

Ten of the league's 32 head coaches are the son/father/brother of a current or former coach.

theathletic.com

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Saints were a bad, banged up team missing five starters.

I expected a win against this shitty team, but I’m sure Saints fans had similar hopes.

As someone wrote already, one of them had to win.

Defense did fine, it was Andy Dalton though, so not exactly a big test.

O line was a mixed bag, thought they got some good push in the running game and while KP’s scrambling skewed the final total, they did well in the run game.

Pass protection was a different story, unfortunately.

This is the blueprint I said they needed if KP was going to be a starter. Keep his att around 30 or under and have balance with the run game.

Let him be a game manager, don’t put everything on his shoulders.

KP had chances to do something stupid 3-4 times and threw the ball away, which shows some growth.

He let the veteran Dalton make the game’s biggest mistake, and that ultimately was the difference yesterday.

 

[JTG]

No, it's not fair. But I guess I don't see why this is a bigger deal than other rampant nepotisim/old boy connections in the NFL (or many other sports and non-sports businesses, frankly). I'm not condoning it, but am definitely not shocked - and surprised at the general level of "outrage" that an owner's buddy moved to the top of the coaching ladder without "paying his dues". It's just how the world works.

NFL coaching ranks still lean heavily on family connections: Report

Ten of the league's 32 head coaches are the son/father/brother of a current or former coach.

theathletic.com

I think Irsay wanted his team to have an identity and something to rally around. Reich had no personality. Matt Ryan has no personality. The team in general has no personality. Saturday at least gives them a face and some energy. Nelson is also probably stoked too because Saturday loves Running The Damn Ball

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

While I completely get where a guy like Cowher comes from, and the hiring of Saturday isn't fair, particularly because he has turned down less glamorous coaching jobs with the Colts just this season, Saturday knows how football works. Dude did it at a really high level for a long time, and snapped the ball to one of the greats. There isn't much he would really need to learn, especially if he has competent assistants.

Cowher came off like a douche in the pre-game show with his comments. Like he's part of this gilded society and no outsiders are permitted.

But that isn't even the issue here: Jeff Saturday had like 10 years in this league and was regarded as a smart dude. It's not like they plucked a guy who was playing MLB to be a coach of a completely different sport. If you've played in this league, you have credibility to be a coach.

 

[JTG]

Saints were a bad, banged up team missing five starters.

I expected a win against this shitty team, but I’m sure Saints fans had similar hopes.

As someone wrote already, one of them had to win.

Defense did fine, it was Andy Dalton though, so not exactly a big test.

O line was a mixed bag, thought they got some good push in the running game and while KP’s scrambling skewed the final total, they did well in the run game.

Pass protection was a different story, unfortunately.

This is the blueprint I said they needed if KP was going to be a starter. Keep his att around 30 or under and have balance with the run game.

Let him be a game manager, don’t put everything on his shoulders.

KP had chances to do something stupid 3-4 times and threw the ball away, which shows some growth.

He let the veteran Dalton make the game’s biggest mistake, and that ultimately was the difference yesterday.

Najee looked to have some gusto back to his game, but his vision this year really does suck. He runs right into the backs of his linemen. I really do like Warren more as a runner. He has some ball security issues, but he hits holes with authority and I think as he gets more experience, he has potential to be a really good back. It kind of feeds into the narrative of why you don't pick a back with a 1st round pick.

 

[JTG]

Cowher came off like a douche in the pre-game show with his comments. Like he's part of this gilded society and no outsiders are permitted.

But that isn't even the issue here: Jeff Saturday had like 10 years in this league and was regarded as a smart dude. It's not like they plucked a guy who was playing MLB to be a coach of a completely different sport. If you've played in this league, you have credibility to be a coach.

The issue Cowher took is something I can agree with. The Colts offered Saturday a job multiple times as an assistant and he turned them down citing he wanted to be with his family, only to take a HC gig when it came around. It does have a stink to it because if you were an assistant with Indy, you have every single right in the world to be pissed. You were there from the beginning.

With that being said, maybe these assistants kept their jobs because they hired Saturday. I get the feeling Irsay doesn't like any of the coaching staff.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Najee looked to have some gusto back to his game, but his vision this year really does suck. He runs right into the backs of his linemen. I really do like Warren more as a runner. He has some ball security issues, but he hits holes with authority and I think as he gets more experience, he has potential to be a really good back. It kind of feeds into the narrative of why you don't pick a back with a 1st round pick.

I was more than fine with Harris at 1, so if he doesn’t become a feature back. I can’t be bitching about the pick.

However, I honestly like Warren more, as he fits the kind of squatty, speed back I’ve always loved.

He and Warren could form a really good “Thunder and Lightning” duo for the next several years.

Canada deserves credit for getting Warren in there and finding a way to get him more touches yesterday.