Week 2 Vikings

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Needed that 1st down!!! Tick tick tick!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

FG good... Still only a 2 possession ball game. Need the D to step up on this series!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Boz still perfect on the day... 3/3 FGs, 2/2 XP.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

2 plays, 2 1st downs... D needs to buckle down

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Good to see Butler stayin aggressive.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Steelers D stepped up! Turnover on downs. That should just about do it

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Big day for Boz... Perfect 4/4 FGs & 2/2 XP

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Great FF by Gay on that last play

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Steelers win 26-9

Not a pretty win, but this was a great defense they played. I'll take it!

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

Steelers win 26-9

Not a pretty win, but this was a great defense they played. I'll take it!

Better tham last wk, but improvement still needed.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

OFC...3 of 5...OL faced a very good DL today, and they were keying on Bell I thought...would like to have seen a few more snaps for Conner. Juju got 6 today so it makes up for a couple more drive stalling penalties. James is making plays...every game, hopefully gaining more confidence from Ben. Too many FGs. Avill came out replaced by Hubbard for heat related issued, then I heard Hubbard came in for Gilbert for a few plays and Avill went back in at LT...near got any clarity on that.

DEF...4 of 5...Heyward was a beast, Dupree was too. Overall the front 7 was stout. Only 2 sacks, but lots of pressure and collapsing the pocket all game inside....one big run play by Cooks. Haden picked up his game, Burns decent not great...Davis got schooled by Rudolph a few times, but not much damage done...against Case Keenum you can't get too excited, they did what was expected. Hope TJ is okay.

ST...4 of 5...probably closer to 5 really some penalties knock the grade down.

Good win...I think most of us expected a 2-0 start. we have a 2-0 start with 0-2 CHI coming up next week. Agree with NC...need to keep improving.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Coaching... Still getting penalized too much. 10 penalties against the Steelers today for 72yds. Much more balanced play calling from Haley today. But still struggling on 3rd downs. 3/13 (23%) today. Haley has got to find more consistency. Butler called a good game today. He dialed up the pressure & never backed off. That's exactly what I wanted to see. C+

Offense... Ben was 23/35 for 243 yds & 2 TDs. Wasn't very pleased with how much he was forcing the ball to AB in the 1st half, but he did a better job of working through is progressions in the 2nd. Still seeing some errant throws. Couple of those were drive killers, but the good thing was he wasn't turning the ball over. Their secondary was stingy, but Ben was able to move the chains on early downs & take deep shots through most of the game. They got Bell goin today which was nice to see, but the Vikes front 7 wasn't giving up much. Bell had 27 carries for 87yds. O-line did a good job today, even after losing both Gilbert & AVill. Hubbard played both OT positions today and played well. That front 7 is one of the best in the business, and the O-line did a good job of keeping Ben upright. Marty B stepped up big today. B-

Defense... Aside from 1 drive the defense played well today. Chickillo got a lot of work today after Watt left the game. Don't know if Harrison logged a single snap? Not sure why. Even though the unit only had 2 sacks, they were consistently in the backfield generating pressure without Watt & Tuitt. Heyward was dominating. Secondary played well. Diggs & Rudolph were held in check for the most part. Diggs only had 27yds & Rudolph 45. Hiilton had a busy day. Vikes were 5/15 (33%) on 3rd downs. They took advantage of a backup QB, but that is exactly what they were supposed to do. B+

ST... Boz was perfect on the day. 4/4 on FGs & 2/2 on XPs. Coverage teams weren't exactly great, but thankfully they didn't get a ton of work today. Only 1 punt return & 2 kickoff returns. Great defense by Dirty Red on the fake punt. 2 weeks in a row Matakevich is making a big impact for this unit. Berry had a bunch of mediocre punts today. Averaged only 38yds per punt. The 36 yarder was pathetic. But he redeemed himself on the day with the punt that got pinned on the 1 yd line. That was perfect. Penalties hurt. B

Injuries... Jesse James left the game with an ankle injury after the first play but was able to return. TJ Watt suffered a groin injury in the first half and never returned. He was announced as out after halftime. Marcus Gilbert left the game with cramps and never returned. AVill was in & out with dehydration issues. Tomlin said he had been dealing with an illness the last couple days so that played a role.

Overall... Still plenty of work to do. Both sides of the ball played better this week. But there were lots of concerns. Offense struggled to finish drives today. Through 2 games they are 8/26 on 3rd downs. That is a big concern. Could have been a much different outcome if Bradford played today, so that question will keep them grounded for now. The Vikes made this game much closer than the final score would indicate. Still, Steelers continue to stack wins. Not a bad place to be sitting at 2-0 even if it doesn't feel great. If this team can find ways to win without finding its rhythm, then just imagine what they'll do when they do find it. Tomlin's notorious for being a "2nd half" (of the season) team. B

Outlook... Back on the road to Chicago next week. Steelers are stacking wins but still nothing to get too excited about. Still this is going to be a very winnable game. Chicago is 0-2. Their offense showed some life in week 1, but their passing game is lackluster. Glennon is not taking good care of the ball so hopefully the Steelers can capitalize on that. They have a good running game so I expect the Steelers to focus on that. Cohen is a spark plug so Shazier will have his hands full. And don't sleep on Howard.

 

[Yo Tee]

Defense played good. I hope the injuries today aren't that serious. I believe this game wouldn't of been as easy with Bradford at QB. 2-0 was expected though. I think the Steelers D is gonna have a field day next week against Mike Glennon. I'm not worried at all about next week. I'm hoping Le'Veon can step it up a notch next week. Still don't think he's at full potential. At least I hope he's not.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Coaching... Still getting penalized too much. 10 penalties against the Steelers today for 72yds. Much more balanced play calling from Haley today. But still struggling on 3rd downs. 3/13 (23%) today. Haley has got to find more consistency. Butler called a good game today. He dialed up the pressure & never backed off. That's exactly what I wanted to see. C+

Offense... Ben was 23/35 for 243 yds & 2 TDs. Wasn't very pleased with how much he was forcing the ball to AB in the 1st half, but he did a better job of working through is progressions in the 2nd. Still seeing some errant throws. Couple of those were drive killers, but the good thing was he wasn't turning the ball over. Their secondary was stingy, but Ben was able to move the chains on early downs & take deep shots through most of the game. They got Bell goin today which was nice to see, but the Vikes front 7 wasn't giving up much. Bell had 27 carries for 87yds. O-line did a good job today, even after losing both Gilbert & AVill. Hubbard played both OT positions today and played well. That front 7 is one of the best in the business, and the O-line did a good job of keeping Ben upright. Marty B stepped up big today. B-

Defense... Aside from 1 drive the defense played well today. Chickillo got a lot of work today after Watt left the game. Don't know if Harrison logged a single snap? Not sure why. Even though the unit only had 2 sacks, they were consistently in the backfield generating pressure without Watt & Tuitt. Heyward was dominating. Secondary played well. Diggs & Rudolph were held in check for the most part. Diggs only had 27yds & Rudolph 45. Hiilton had a busy day. Vikes were 5/15 (33%) on 3rd downs. They took advantage of a backup QB, but that is exactly what they were supposed to do. B+

ST... Boz was perfect on the day. 4/4 on FGs & 2/2 on XPs. Coverage teams weren't exactly great, but thankfully they didn't get a ton of work today. Only 1 punt return & 2 kickoff returns. Great defense by Dirty Red on the fake punt. 2 weeks in a row Matakevich is making a big impact for this unit. Berry had a bunch of mediocre punts today. Averaged only 38yds per punt. The 36 yarder was pathetic. But he redeemed himself on the day with the punt that got pinned on the 1 yd line. That was perfect. Penalties hurt. B

Injuries... Jesse James left the game with an ankle injury after the first play but was able to return. TJ Watt suffered a groin injury in the first half and never returned. He was announced as out after halftime. Marcus Gilbert left the game with cramps and never returned. AVill was in & out with dehydration issues. Tomlin said he had been dealing with an illness the last couple days so that played a role.

Overall... Still plenty of work to do. Both sides of the ball played better this week. But there were lots of concerns. Offense struggled to finish drives today. Through 2 games they are 8/26 on 3rd downs. That is a big concern. Could have been a much different outcome if Bradford played today, so that question will keep them grounded for now. The Vikes made this game much closer than the final score would indicate. Still, Steelers continue to stack wins. Not a bad place to be sitting at 2-0 even if it doesn't feel great. If this team can find ways to win without finding its rhythm, then just imagine what they'll do when they do find it. Tomlin's notorious for being a "2nd half" (of the season) team. B

Outlook... Back on the road to Chicago next week. Steelers are stacking wins but still nothing to get too excited about. Still this is going to be a very winnable game. Chicago is 0-2. Their offense showed some life in week 1, but their passing game is lackluster. Glennon is not taking good care of the ball so hopefully the Steelers can capitalize on that. They have a good running game so I expect the Steelers to focus on that. Cohen is a spark plug so Shazier will have his hands full. And don't sleep on Howard.

Good pickup on Matakevich...the foiled the fake punt this week...big play!

Good matchups...Rhodes vs AB...tracking that one much of the game, and honestly Rhodes had a good day vs AB.

Injuries...okay I thought I heard them say on the play by play, Avill had come back in and Hubbard moved over to RT for Gilbert...reportedly a very hot day, that seemed to be a factor...TV crawler was saying Avill did not return so I was a little confused there. TJ...groin...at least a week I would assume...maybe 2.

Overall...I think the OFC has a long way to go to win on the road vs a good team right now. Seems like Haley or Ben were going to proven names a lot yesterday which you understand, but I would like to see more Conner...6-8 carries a game can keep Bell fresher.

Outlook...yeah...the Bears played the Falcons pretty strong at home in their opener. The Bucs were highly motivated after not playing week 1, and they took the Bears to the wood shed early yesterday. I don't see enough DEF or OFC in CHI to beat the Steelers so hopefully this isn't one of those games Tomlin doesn't have them ready to go.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

I know they need to play better and a lot of improvement is still needed but I'd much rather they still be progressing at this stage of the season and not hit their peak til the second half of the season. Don't want to peak too early since the goal is a long playoff run cumulating in an end of playoffs win. Way too early to say the 'S' and 'B' words.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

@FaCe-LeE-uS and Steeler Nation

Snap counts from yesterday.

Steelers Vs. Vikings: Player Snap Counts - Week 2 - Steelers Depot

Interesting Harrison was a DNP yesterday...Chickillo was the fill in for TJ Watt....interesting. I didn't see Harrison on the injury report so I guess they were just saving Deebo for the long run.

Also interesting...Hilton played 55 of the 66 DEF snaps....Gay played 20 snaps on DEF.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

@FaCe-LeE-uS and Steeler Nation

Snap counts from yesterday.

Steelers Vs. Vikings: Player Snap Counts - Week 2 - Steelers Depot

Interesting Harrison was a DNP yesterday...Chickillo was the fill in for TJ Watt....interesting. I didn't see Harrison on the injury report so I guess they were just saving Deebo for the long run.

Also interesting...Hilton played 55 of the 66 DEF snaps....Gay played 20 snaps on DEF.

Been reading a couple of different takes on the Deebo situation. Definitely don't think it has anything to do with any conflicts. IMO a couple of things are probable:

1. They were riding the hot hand with Chickillo. Still doesn't explain why Moats played.
2. Deebo left the lockerroom quickly with his family after the game so maybe there was a personal issue at hand

Love seeing Hilton continue to make an impact in the regular season as he did in the offseason. This kid is a stud. He is everything that we thought Golson would be.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Been reading a couple of different takes on the Deebo situation. Definitely don't think it has anything to do with any conflicts. IMO a couple of things are probable:

1. They were riding the hot hand with Chickillo. Still doesn't explain why Moats played.
2. Deebo left the lockerroom quickly with his family after the game so maybe there was a personal issue at hand

Love seeing Hilton continue to make an impact in the regular season as he did in the offseason. This kid is a stud. He is everything that we thought Golson would be.

I have no clue.

Hope all is well with Harrison and for Timmons...I'm hearing this is a little bizzare, but no details there.

Loving Hilton game as well...clearly this is what they were hoping Golson would be, but wasn't. I'm not even sure Golson has been picked up.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I have no clue.

Hope all is well with Harrison and for Timmons...I'm hearing this is a little bizzare, but no details there.

Loving Hilton game as well...clearly this is what they were hoping Golson would be, but wasn't. I'm not even sure Golson has been picked up.

Read this on the Steelers Depot mailbag not long ago:

Charles Mullins: What is Senquez Golson up to? He should be fully healed by now and resurfacing soon.

Alex: One of the beat guys asked of him last week. Said he was just getting healthy and waiting on a call. Maybe it’ll happen mid-season. But clearly, there isn’t a line to his door.