OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: New Quarter Backs for the Handball team!

[bigdaddyk88]

Hoping for a playoff win and accepting that as the goal. The Art II era has officially turned this franchise into the Browns.

You certainly expect a sb next year right?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

You certainly expect a sb next year right?

I can’t imagine any level headed Steeler fan thinks they can win a SB.

By the same token we can’t keep lowering our expectations either.

Noll won playoff games with Malone and Brister.

Cowher won with Tomczak and Maddox.

Tomczak was so shitty in that 96 playoff game it defied logic, and Cowher still managed to win in a blowout.

Maddox was a bust that was literally selling insurance and came out of retirement.

And Malone is almost universally accepted among Steeler fans as the worst starting Qb they have had in the modern era (long term).

Dude had exactly 1 out of 7 seasons where he threw more TDs than picks in his career.

Khan has given Tomlin the ingredients to cook up a playoff win, it’s time.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

PFF named Roman Wilson as late round instant impact player:

Late-round 2024 NFL Draft picks who could make an instant impact in the NFL

Every season, players who may not have been premier draft selections emerge as contributors down the stretch. These Day 2-3 additions could very well fit that bill.

www.pff.com

The Steelers got terrific value by picking Wilson 84th overall, a full 42 slots below his PFF big boardranking. Wilson’s surehandedness makes him particularly appealing: his 2% drop rate tied for 11th-lowest among FBS receivers with 65 or more targets. He’s also a tenacious blocker in the run game.

Although his 5-foot-10 frame likely limits him to the slot, Wilson will almost definitely serve as Pittsburgh’s starting Y receiver after the departures of Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson II. While the Steelers may sign or trade for a veteran to complement George Pickens on the perimeter and run more in-breaking routes, Wilson will be expected to get open right away—namely on crossing routes, his specialty—for Russell Wilson.

 

[OnMyOwn]

If the cards fall right with this roster we can absolutely win a playoff game or 2. I’m excited for the season, so I’m at least hoping for some entertainment.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I'll get hammered for the implication that I'm OK not winning a playoff game, but matchup matters. A WC game against KC being the most apparent example. (Allowing of course that we have no way of knowing what happens between now and WC weekend, Mahomes could fall in a river and disappear or whatever.)

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Nice analysis from what we can expect from A Smith. Not my work:

I think you will see very, very little passing on 1st and 2nd down that isn't play action. Smith has said repeatedly that having your QB drop back straight from center is bad for the QB and bad for the OL AND that he wants every 1st and 2nd down pass play to look like the run pays they are running. He's also said he prefers to run the ball in Red Zone. He also prefers formations with a FB, or 2 RBs, or 3 TE to 3 WR/1 TE/1RB like we've seen a lot of in recent years.

He will "count on" his QB to switch plays at the line, but that often will be a choice between two different run plays.

So, you're going to see a lot of run plays, tons of play action, some moving pockets out of PA, some QB keepers.

I don't know if it will be frustrating or loads better than Canada, but I wouldn't expect it to look like a modern NFL offense. It won't be Miami. It may have a whiff of San Francisco's run game, but more like a Mike Mularkey offense with a few flakes of Shanahan on top.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

I just want to see more cheat motions give Willson Ca3 a running start like Miami and the Rams do where there wrs. I want to see them flex mithtout more. I look forward to seeing 2 Qb packages and the Fields redzone package I could see fields doing double passes off that cheat motion. I think we see more duo running plays calls

 

[Peat]

I'll get hammered for the implication that I'm OK not winning a playoff game, but matchup matters. A WC game against KC being the most apparent example. (Allowing of course that we have no way of knowing what happens between now and WC weekend, Mahomes could fall in a river and disappear or whatever.)

This is where I'm at. My expectations will be set against circumstances and my grading will depend a lot on process. A strong season and losing to Kansas in the first round would be a better job than a frustrating season where they somehow weasel their way through round one before getting put in their place in round two. Those outcomes might feel unlikely but sometimes the unlikely happens.

I would add though that after a certain point, it makes sense to tell someone "use it or lose it". If the use it is hard, then they should have used it before that point. I'm not the owner so I won't set that expectation but I get why some might have it.

I thought the Smith offense didn't use a fullback......

Snap count percentages for FBs in Smith's offences

19 - 6.87% (behind 4 TEs and 2 RBs)
20 - 15.36% (behind 4 TEs and 2 RBs, same guy but is now listed a RB too)
21 - 24.3% (behind 3 TEs and 2 RBs, new guy in Atlanta and is listed as a TE too)
22 - 24.64% (behind 3 TEs and 2 RBs, same guy not no longer listed as a TE)
23 - 16.37% (behind 3 TEs and 2 RBs and only just ahead of RB3, same guy as before)

So the Smith offence can be run without one but most likely you're going to see a FB out there for somewhere between 1/4 and 1/6th of the snaps the FB is available for. It's not a big feature of it but it happens enough that I wonder who the FB is going to be.

I don't think they view Heyward as a FB. Expect 1 to be brought in fairly soon though

Canada certainly didn't but if Smith doesn't view Heyward as one and wants an outside option to play FB, I don't get why it hasn't happened already.

 

[xlm34]

I'll get hammered for the implication that I'm OK not winning a playoff game, but matchup matters. A WC game against KC being the most apparent example. (Allowing of course that we have no way of knowing what happens between now and WC weekend, Mahomes could fall in a river and disappear or whatever.)

Winning is better than not winning, but I just want to see them be competitive from start to finish in however many playoff games they play. Winning a playoff game against a good matchup only to get boat raced in the next round against someone like KC wouldn’t really do much for me.

 

[JTG]

Nice analysis from what we can expect from A Smith. Not my work:

I think you will see very, very little passing on 1st and 2nd down that isn't play action. Smith has said repeatedly that having your QB drop back straight from center is bad for the QB and bad for the OL AND that he wants every 1st and 2nd down pass play to look like the run pays they are running. He's also said he prefers to run the ball in Red Zone. He also prefers formations with a FB, or 2 RBs, or 3 TE to 3 WR/1 TE/1RB like we've seen a lot of in recent years.

He will "count on" his QB to switch plays at the line, but that often will be a choice between two different run plays.

So, you're going to see a lot of run plays, tons of play action, some moving pockets out of PA, some QB keepers.

I don't know if it will be frustrating or loads better than Canada, but I wouldn't expect it to look like a modern NFL offense. It won't be Miami. It may have a whiff of San Francisco's run game, but more like a Mike Mularkey offense with a few flakes of Shanahan on top.

Many of us wanted to see them do that with Kenny and that monstrosity of a line last year. If you run play action, even if your offense isn't great, the other team still has to play the run and pass. Our offense was so predictable that it was impossible to get anything going.

 

[DanielPlainview]

Man the Stockholm is worse than I thought. Merely winning is now the benchmark. Playoff wins maybe. Definitely not more. We’re not the Browns, we’re the Lions

 

[Coastal Kev]

I can’t imagine any level headed Steeler fan thinks they can win a SB.

By the same token we can’t keep lowering our expectations either.

Noll won playoff games with Malone and Brister.

Cowher won with Tomczak and Maddox.

Tomczak was so shitty in that 96 playoff game it defied logic, and Cowher still managed to win in a blowout.

Maddox was a bust that was literally selling insurance and came out of retirement.

And Malone is almost universally accepted among Steeler fans as the worst starting Qb they have had in the modern era (long term).

Dude had exactly 1 out of 7 seasons where he threw more TDs than picks in his career.

Khan has given Tomlin the ingredients to cook up a playoff win, it’s time.

I'm not ruling anything out until I see it. Absolutely no one has any idea how this offense will look and perform next season.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

Man the Stockholm is worse than I thought. Merely winning is now the benchmark. Playoff wins maybe. Definitely not more. We’re not the Browns, we’re the Lions

Could be the dolphins

 

[WickedWrister]

Nice analysis from what we can expect from A Smith. Not my work:

I think you will see very, very little passing on 1st and 2nd down that isn't play action. Smith has said repeatedly that having your QB drop back straight from center is bad for the QB and bad for the OL AND that he wants every 1st and 2nd down pass play to look like the run pays they are running. He's also said he prefers to run the ball in Red Zone. He also prefers formations with a FB, or 2 RBs, or 3 TE to 3 WR/1 TE/1RB like we've seen a lot of in recent years.

He will "count on" his QB to switch plays at the line, but that often will be a choice between two different run plays.

So, you're going to see a lot of run plays, tons of play action, some moving pockets out of PA, some QB keepers.

I don't know if it will be frustrating or loads better than Canada, but I wouldn't expect it to look like a modern NFL offense. It won't be Miami. It may have a whiff of San Francisco's run game, but more like a Mike Mularkey offense with a few flakes of Shanahan on top.

Yeah I think it bears repeating, but Arthur Smith's Falcons last year only ran 3WR sets for 18% of offensive snaps. I don't know if it will be that drastic this year, but I figure we'll be bottom 3 in 11 personnel if history is any indication.

Why I'm not terribly upset about Boyd signing with TEN for less than 5m.

 

[WickedWrister]

Sort of related to Tyler Boyd signing with the Titans, I've seen some speculation that Tennessee might be moving on from former 1st round pick Treylon Burks.

Didn't really like him coming out of the draft (schemed a lot of screens in college, conditioning issues) but I'd take a flyer on him if they're done with him.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

I can’t imagine any level headed Steeler fan thinks they can win a SB.

By the same token we can’t keep lowering our expectations either.

Noll won playoff games with Malone and Brister.

Cowher won with Tomczak and Maddox.

Tomczak was so shitty in that 96 playoff game it defied logic, and Cowher still managed to win in a blowout.

Maddox was a bust that was literally selling insurance and came out of retirement.

And Malone is almost universally accepted among Steeler fans as the worst starting Qb they have had in the modern era (long term).

Dude had exactly 1 out of 7 seasons where he threw more TDs than picks in his career.

Khan has given Tomlin the ingredients to cook up a playoff win, it’s time.

My bar is set for the Steelers, and Pens for that matter, to make moves and a game plan that I can understand and agree with.

Will all work out?

No.

But they need to make sense.

How the offense is designed and performs will be a key to my judgement. If the same conservative support the defense handcuffed offense then we know that UT is Tomlin and that Canada was a useful idiot puppet.

So, my bar is lower. Let's see if they exceed it.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Nice analysis from what we can expect from A Smith. Not my work:

I think you will see very, very little passing on 1st and 2nd down that isn't play action. Smith has said repeatedly that having your QB drop back straight from center is bad for the QB and bad for the OL AND that he wants every 1st and 2nd down pass play to look like the run pays they are running. He's also said he prefers to run the ball in Red Zone. He also prefers formations with a FB, or 2 RBs, or 3 TE to 3 WR/1 TE/1RB like we've seen a lot of in recent years.

He will "count on" his QB to switch plays at the line, but that often will be a choice between two different run plays.

So, you're going to see a lot of run plays, tons of play action, some moving pockets out of PA, some QB keepers.

I don't know if it will be frustrating or loads better than Canada, but I wouldn't expect it to look like a modern NFL offense. It won't be Miami. It may have a whiff of San Francisco's run game, but more like a Mike Mularkey offense with a few flakes of Shanahan on top.

What's funny to me is that this offense seems like it would have fit Pickett extremely well, but now Pickett is gone

Oh well, I think it will fit Fields really well too if Fields ends up the starter. Especially with Fields' mobility, I think having him as a run threat on those play-action and RPO plays would be a real threat.

 

[JTG]

Man the Stockholm is worse than I thought. Merely winning is now the benchmark. Playoff wins maybe. Definitely not more. We’re not the Browns, we’re the Lions

I think right now, the talent being pumped into the team is undeniable. It's going to take a bit, but this will all come out in the wash. The problem is, we hope it occurs before Watt and Minkah are toast. Cam only has a couple of years left and he hasn't tasted basically any success outside of his first couple of years where he wasn't a contributor.

 

[DanielPlainview]

For roughly 40 years this franchise was championship oriented. No more. Thanks, Deuce and Tomlin.

 

[Peat]

Yeah I think it bears repeating, but Arthur Smith's Falcons last year only ran 3WR sets for 18% of offensive snaps. I don't know if it will be that drastic this year, but I figure we'll be bottom 3 in 11 personnel if history is any indication.

Why I'm not terribly upset about Boyd signing with TEN for less than 5m.

I don't know if Boyd would have moved the needle, particularly since Wilson's ran more slot stuff, but I'm not comfortable with the WR talent even if it's only going to be 2WR sets a ton. It might work if there's no injuries and Wilson hits the ground running but even one injury could wreck it.

I would have liked Boyd in terms of being an adult in the room too.

There's an uncomfortably high chance that the team doesn't add a better WR than Boyd at this point.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

I don't know if Boyd would have moved the needle, particularly since Wilson's ran more slot stuff, but I'm not comfortable with the WR talent even if it's only going to be 2WR sets a ton. It might work if there's no injuries and Wilson hits the ground running but even one injury could wreck it.

I would have liked Boyd in terms of being an adult in the room too.

There's an uncomfortably high chance that the team doesn't add a better WR than Boyd at this point.

Yea we're a Pickens hamstring away from our WR talent being exposed.
Was hoping Chark would be signed, but that ship is gone. Guess they'll have to hope that a decent WR is cut when camps open.

 

[WickedWrister]

I don't know if Boyd would have moved the needle, particularly since Wilson's ran more slot stuff, but I'm not comfortable with the WR talent even if it's only going to be 2WR sets a ton. It might work if there's no injuries and Wilson hits the ground running but even one injury could wreck it.

I would have liked Boyd in terms of being an adult in the room too.

There's an uncomfortably high chance that the team doesn't add a better WR than Boyd at this point.

I mean injury proofing the WR room was precisely why I wasn't onboard with trading Diontae in the first place.

I could see us using more Van Jefferson early on but yeah, were in a much better position if Roman Wilson is an instant contributor and Pickens can handle being the #1 week in and week out going against top coverage.

But just looking at how Arthur Smith wants to play football, his brand of offense is probably the best suited to hide a lack of depth at the WR position.

 

[xlm34]

I thought this was a good point on the WR situation. Arthur Smith may not have recently used a lot of WRs but they need to aim a little higher than what he did in Atlanta. Granted part of that was their QB situation, and luckily we don’t have any question marks there

 

[MrBrightside]

I don't know if Boyd would have moved the needle, particularly since Wilson's ran more slot stuff, but I'm not comfortable with the WR talent even if it's only going to be 2WR sets a ton. It might work if there's no injuries and Wilson hits the ground running but even one injury could wreck it.

I would have liked Boyd in terms of being an adult in the room too.

There's an uncomfortably high chance that the team doesn't add a better WR than Boyd at this point.

The drafting of Wilson made Boyd completely superfluous. He hasn't played outside in years. They dearly need another WR but Boyd wasn't it.

 

[WickedWrister]

Steelers 2024 Cash Spending Update Post-Draft Shows Room For 'Significant Playmaker' Addition

With the 2024 NFL Draft now behind us, I know most of you have been sitting on your Black and Gold pins and needles waiting for a cash spending update on the Pittsburgh Steelers. That is the case, right? Well, if it is, today is your lucky day. Included in this post is a look […]

steelersdepot.com

TLDR; Steelers still have about ~13m in cash spending to get to the authors $235m cash spending for 2024. Could go towards an extension towards Freiermuth later this summer. Cam Heyward extension probably doesn't include any new money in 2024.