OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: Stillers in 1st n'at!

[Andy99]

I dont think Haden was top. I think at this point of his career, off the injuries, max value from a top team may have been 10M or so. A discount but I dont know in 2017 that he was Gilmore caliber.

Maybe what he’s currently making with the bonus is fair value but he certainly gave them a discount last year when he signed in order to accommodate the cap...I don’t think his last two years at $11 mil completely make up for that...

 

[Andy99]

Wow this Rams-Hawks game is really fun....

 

[Al Smith]

Wow this Rams-Hawks game is really fun....

Agree. I don't think the Rams have peaked, but I wonder if the chemistry of their defense will allow it to be a real force. They have a lot of pieces who seem to be individuals not interested in gelling as a team.

On the other hand, they really got screwed last week on the Hekker non-first down call. If they make the right call there, they might have wonl

 

[Andy99]

Agree. I don't think the Rams have peaked, but I wonder if the chemistry of their defense will allow it to be a real force. They have a lot of pieces who seem to be individuals not interested in gelling as a team.

Maybe..I definitely see what you mean because they have some top D players...I think the Saints are just a smidge better having watched several games for both teams...

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Kupp could have a season ending injury...never good when its the knee.

That would hurt.

 

[Al Smith]

Kupp could have a season ending injury...never good when its the knee.

That would hurt.

He just came off of sprained MCL. Couldn't tell if it was the same leg. Injury controlled only by the fact that he's on my fantasy team.

Edit: Uh oh. That fumble hurts.

 

[Andy99]

That’s it for Seattle..oh well, good game up to the last 6 minutes

 

[Al Smith]

I would think Seattle has a better chance of recovering an onside kick than stopping the Rams on downs. But what do I know.

 

[USMC607]

Yeah, in THEIR building, the Saints are going to lite up the Steelers D.

The one game that interests me is this Pats game in Tennessee. Is anyone watching that one? Are the Titans doing anything defensively to slow the Pats down?

Definitely getting pressure up the middle on Brady and their DBs are doing a solid job as well especially on 3rd and longs.

The Patriots Defense looks atrocious though. I dont wanna get too excited but as long as our oline keeps doing its thing. Our offense should destroy them.

Just gotta stop theirs.

It also helped that Gronk was out.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

BTW, since we will likely pick late in each round and Raiders will likely get first overall pick...we basically got Switzer to only move down a few picks.

Nice addition

 

[Bingo71]

Two of the teams that the Pats lost to this year have former New England assistants as head coaches.

When the Steelers play the Pats, it’s never a matter of Pittsburgh not having enough talent, it all comes down to coaching. Tomlin just cannot overcome Bellichick, he just can’t.

IF the Steelers are going to beat the Pats in the Brady/Bellichick era Tomlin must step outside his conservative shell and go for the jugular. Will he? I’ll believe it when I see it.

 

[KIRK]

Definitely getting pressure up the middle on Brady and their DBs are doing a solid job as well especially on 3rd and longs.

The Patriots Defense looks atrocious though. I dont wanna get too excited but as long as our oline keeps doing its thing. Our offense should destroy them.

Just gotta stop theirs.

It also helped that Gronk was out.

Well this is where coaching comes into play.

I actually think Fichtner might give Hoodie a run for his money. There's no real book on him, and he seems now to be putting in game specific wrinkles that make the Steelers offense less predictable.

As to Josh McDaniel against Butler and Tomlin . . . I suppose praying might help.

 

[TimmyD]

@Mr Jiggyfly and I were discussing this earlier. It is NOT an inspiring list.

And, unless you can persuade Arizona to give up PP without a 1st (that we know the Steelers won't trade), the pickings on the trade market will probably be comparable.

THAT SAID, it would be an upgrade for sure.

Being a Chargers fan I can say without a doubt that if the Steelers took a flier on Jason Verrett and he managed to stay healthy you guys would be incredibly happy with him. The guy would be an absolute stud corner in the NFL if he wasn’t essentially Beau Bennett in the injury department. The guy can’t catch a break when it comes to his legs though and staying healthy which is a shame because he is an absolute elite talent. If he managed to stay healthy he would be the Steelers best corner (even with Haden playing so well)

 

[KIRK]

Being a Chargers fan I can say without a doubt that if the Steelers took a flier on Jason Verrett and he managed to stay healthy you guys would be incredibly happy with him. The guy would be an absolute stud corner in the NFL if he wasn’t essentially Beau Bennett in the injury department. The guy can’t catch a break when it comes to his legs though and staying healthy which is a shame because he is an absolute elite talent. If he managed to stay healthy he would be the Steelers best corner (even with Haden playing so well)

I'm think it would depend on the cap hit then.

The Steelers will have some money to play with this offseason but not so much that they can miss on any significant investment.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Pats losing means Pitt controls their destiny to a 1st round bye. With that being said.....

I won't be shocked in the least if they lay an egg at Jacksonville. Been their MO for decades. Or at Oakland although it's clear that the Raiders and Gruden have no intention of winning games this year.

 

[KIRK]

Pats losing means Pitt controls their destiny to a 1st round bye. With that being said.....

I won't be shocked in the least if they lay an egg at Jacksonville. Been their MO for decades. Or at Oakland although it's clear that the Raiders and Gruden have no intention of winning games this year.

Or at Denver, where they've traditionally struggled.

As I said, in the next 6, they have 3 big tests (Chargers, Pats, at Saints), 1 game with a team that always gives them fits (Jags), and 2 games at let down venues (Oakland and Denver).

They need to go 4-2 to make the last game in Cincy meaningless.

Anything less, and they may still make the playoffs, but I can't see them doing much . . . not even winning a home wildcard.

NOW, if they go 5-1, including a win over the Pats, then yes, they will get my attention.

 

[DanielPlainview]

The Browns really f***ed up their passing game when they traded Gordon. I know he's been an idiot but I feel like they shouldn't have traded him if all they were getting was a 5th

 

[KIRK]

I wish it were possible for the Eagles and Cowboys BOTH to lose tonight.

 

[Al Smith]

I wish it were possible for the Eagles and Cowboys BOTH to lose tonight.

Preference will always be for the Cowboys to lose no matter what the circumstance. Eagles could be the team from the NFC that gets hot in the second half of the season and does some damage in the playoffs.

 

[Shockmaster]

The Browns really ****ed up their passing game when they traded Gordon. I know he's been an idiot but I feel like they shouldn't have traded him if all they were getting was a 5th

Browns gonna Brown.

 

[KIRK]

Preference will always be for the Cowboys to lose no matter what the circumstance. Eagles could be the team from the NFC that gets hot in the second half of the season and does some damage in the playoffs.

Agree about the Cowboys.

As to the Eagles, I don't know. Something is really off there.

EDIT: And as I type that, Wentz is picked off.

 

[Al Smith]

Agree about the Cowboys.

As to the Eagles, I don't know. Something is really off there.

EDIT: And as I type that, Wentz is picked off.

Sometimes forget that Wentz hasn't really played that many games.

As an almost complete aside, I saw an event where Brandon Brooks, Eagle OL, spoke over the summer. Not the most polished speaker, but seemed like a pretty good kid with an interesting history of battling some psychological issues.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Or at Denver, where they've traditionally struggled.

As I said, in the next 6, they have 3 big tests (Chargers, Pats, at Saints), 1 game with a team that always gives them fits (Jags), and 2 games at let down venues (Oakland and Denver).

They need to go 4-2 to make the last game in Cincy meaningless.

Anything less, and they may still make the playoffs, but I can't see them doing much . . . not even winning a home wildcard.

NOW, if they go 5-1, including a win over the Pats, then yes, they will get my attention.

Those are the types of games they usually blow early in the season. Dont think we will have to worry about that the rest of the way. Doesnt mean there wont be some close games, with the Jags, Broncos, and Raiders all being on the road but if they lose it won't be due to lack of preparation or focus. The one thing to look out for against teams who are out of it towards the end is they have nothing to lose so theyll do things they normally wouldn't. More trick plays...going for it on 4th downs...etc. Just have to be prepared for that type of stuff.

From here on out Im more concerned with injuries. Week 10 thru 17 is when we usually get our annual season ending injury to an important player.

We do have more depth this year but just want to see one playoff run with a healthy team.

Alot probably still dont believe in our D but we are watching them develop and improve each week...and I can see it continuing. Like I keep saying , the one weakness is CB2 and wish we would have made that trade. But we have so many young players continuing to shine...improve. Watt. Hilton. Davis. Our Dline is solid...Tuitt is still young as well and dont think weve seen the best out of him. Hargrave having his best year. Dupree is even having a good year.

Then vets like Haden. Vince Williams to go with Bostic and Fort arent a bad ILB corps. We can obviously improve that area but theyve been doing well during this win streak. The more Burnett plays the better he will get and compliment Edmunds well.

I do think Burns can turn it around but idk about this year..since they are obviously not going to give him a chance to play most of the snaps and get his confidence back. We are unfortunately stuck with Sensabaugh out there and being the weak link.

Anyway, this group is growing right before our eyes...took awhile after that Shazier injury but its happening.

And we haven't even seen Thomas or Adeniyi yet who I think can make an impact.

Adding more talent in next years draft and FA, will make them even better.

Looking forward to it.

Finally giving us the Offense and Defense at the same time. We'd have a couple more rings right now with the offense we had over these years with any of the previous D groups dating back to mid 90s.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Le'Veon Bell's tweet from 2013 about sitting out could not have aged worse

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

LVE is as good as advertised.