2023 SEASON

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

So I haven't been able to stay away from watching the games. But I'm so depressed over the hot-mess that I've pretty much avoided talk radio or talking about the team period.

Some thoughts though...

1. Worried about Pickens. Of course, he's frustrated. He should be. But you would hope he had the ability to handle it better instead of social media tantrums and lies. Really not sure he can handle the NFL. The whispers of why he fell in the draft are starting to make more sense.

2. No longer sure Pickett is the guy. Every week I lose more and more faith. I think by now, regardless of being hamstrung with Tomlin and his OC choice, we would have seen more. Hope I'm wrong but here we are regardless. Just hard to tell what the issue is when there are so many issues.

3. The defense is shit. It's been saved by individual performances of generational players. Is it the roster? Is it the coaching? Like everything else, hard to judge the recipe when Tomlin is dumping trash in the soup.

Agreed with all the above.

Pickens… Really hate his antics, but it’s the new era of NFL player so I suspect we have to get used to this type of behavior to some degree. I’m hoping they can get a lot out of him before he goes completely off the rails. Did you see his route chart from the GB game? Difficult to stomach & comprehend why this team only gives him 4 routes to run over & over. I’d be furious too.

Pickett… Agree that I’m souring on him. Hate to say it because I see so much potential. For whatever reason he appears to get worse by the week. Frustratingly missing layup throws and checking down rapidly & missing receivers getting open. Shades of Mason Rudolph if we’re being honest. Dances around like a scared deer in the pocket before dumping the ball off at the LOS. This offensive scheme does him little favors but we’ve seen enough to know Kenny is not showing the progress we should be seeing at this point. Only 20+ games under his belt, but he’s 25 so you have to wonder how much more time he should get to prove himself.

Defense… yea this is fucking baffling. Injuries have played a part, but schemes are shit & I think we have overestimated some of the talent they have on this unit. The secondary is a mess & now that the ILB corps is depleted the interior will fall apart. Going to have to rely on Cam, TJ, Mink & Smitty to keep creating splash plays. I find it hilarious that Fitzpatrick overruled Austin’s dumbass playcalling last week by screaming at him on the sideline.

 

[thedddd]

Really don’t understand how they didn’t use him.

They brought him back on the Practice squad.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

They brought him back on the Practice squad.

Glad to hear but doubtful we’ll ever get to see him. I think adding him into the rotation over Monty Adams would be way better for the run defense now that the ILBs are depleted.

 

[thedddd]

AFC North Notes: Bengals, Steelers, Chubb

The Bengals and Steelers were not among the teams who made deals at the trade deadline, but each contender looked …

www.profootballrumors.com

What could have been.

• On the subject of Steelers assistants, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac notes the team did not offer Brian Flores a promotion opportunity to convince him to stay. The Steelers did not dangle their DC job to keep Flores, whom Tomlin hired as linebackers coach following a surprising Dolphins dismissal. Viewed as a way for Flores to reestablish his value amid an ongoing discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and select teams, the Steelers stint proved effective. Despite the ongoing suit, Flores interviewed for the Cardinals’ HC job and received steady DC interest ahead of his Vikings hire. Teryl Austin is in his second season as Pittsburgh’s DC but has been with the team since 2019.

 

[thedddd]

At this point they need a warm body.

Steelers, LB Myles Jack Interested In Reunion

Veteran inside linebacker Myles Jack has reportedly unretired and, accompanying that transaction, the Eagles waived him yesterday, forfeiting their hold …

www.profootballrumors.com

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Player finally not holding back as much... Its going to get worse. Or at least it should. Needs to be a group effort or else they'll all just get 86'd like Chuks did. Probably the only way the staff & FO will listen.

I love how he worded everything... Calling out Canada for being predictable. Claiming they are stuck riding this "tiny wave". Saying there is a way to make the necessary change, but doubting it will happen. The way this team wins means little because its not sustainable.

Najee sounds a lot like us now lol.

Najee Harris: ‘I’m tired of this sh*t’

The Steelers’ running back didn’t hold back

www.behindthesteelcurtain.com

 

[Superbelt]

Player finally not holding back as much... Its going to get worse. Or at least it should. Needs to be a group effort or else they'll all just get 86'd like Chuks did. Probably the only way the staff & FO will listen.

I love how he worded everything... Calling out Canada for being predictable. Claiming they are stuck riding this "tiny wave". Saying there is a way to make the necessary change, but doubting it will happen. The way this team wins means little because its not sustainable.

Najee sounds a lot like us now lol.

Najee Harris: ‘I’m tired of this sh*t’

The Steelers’ running back didn’t hold back

www.behindthesteelcurtain.com

He said pretty clearly that even though their record looks good, everyone can see they aren't winning games in a way that will result in anything but a 1st round playoff loss.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

He said pretty clearly that even though their record looks good, everyone can see they aren't winning games in a way that will result in anything but a 1st round playoff loss.

For those counting at home... That makes 5/11 offensive starters (6 if we include Boz) that have made it abundantly clear how they feel about Canada's offense. Not even including many of the players that were here but have since left (Ben, Juju, Sternberger, etc). This is really starting to feel like Tomlin is losing the locker room.

 

[Pure Steel]

For those counting at home... That makes 5/11 offensive starters (6 if we include Boz) that have made it abundantly clear how they feel about Canada's offense. Not even including many of the players that were here but have since left (Ben, Juju, Sternberger, etc). This is really starting to feel like Tomlin is losing the locker room.

The passing game is beyond pathetic.....3 for 14 on 3rd downs is an absolute joke, many chances yesterday to steal a win......took like 14 seconds off the clock their last drive.....a gift wrapped win vs an equally as inept offense.....

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Guess it's even worse than I thought.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Gotta admit I'm like 90% out on Kenny at this point. I know the offensive scheme is dogshit & does him no favors, but he has clearly regressed. Supporting him is becoming impossible. Especially after you watch the all-22 film week after week. He's become a 1-read dumpoff QB that doesn't give his receivers a chance to get open. Not to mention routinely missing layup throws.

I'm tired of watching him struggle to get 116yds per game... Yes, that is in fact his average.

At this point they need to bench him. Don't really see much of a point in keeping him in there and not pushing him to gain more confidence. Rinse & repeating these dogshit schemes & (likely) urging him to play it safe isn't working... This team is DOA every Sunday until something more drastic changes schematically.

I was always a big Kenny supporter. Not even talking about him being the hometown hero. I thought he had all the tangibles & leadership qualities to make him great at this level. There is still that part of me struggling to die. He still shows flashes of being that guy, but it seems to be less & less apparent.

 

[Superbelt]

Dudes are sick of wasting multiple years of 0 chance of being competitive for a title, and no sign of anything changing going forward.

TJ Watt has a 0-3 playoff record in his career.

 

[Superbelt]

Gotta admit I'm like 90% out on Kenny at this point. I know the offensive scheme is dogshit & does him no favors, but he has clearly regressed. Supporting him is becoming impossible. Especially after you watch the all-22 film week after week. He's become a 1-read dumpoff QB that doesn't give his receivers a chance to get open. Not to mention routinely missing layup throws.

I'm tired of watching him struggle to get 116yds per game... Yes, that is in fact his average.

At this point they need to bench him. Don't really see much of a point in keeping him in there and not pushing him to gain more confidence. Rinse & repeating these dogshit schemes & (likely) urging him to play it safe isn't working... This team is DOA every Sunday until something more drastic changes schematically.

I was always a big Kenny supporter. Not even talking about him being the hometown hero. I thought he had all the tangibles & leadership qualities to make him great at this level. There is still that part of me struggling to die. He still shows flashes of being that guy, but it seems to be less & less apparent.

That one bomb out in the middle of nowhere with no Steelers within 30 yards is the kind of play that highlights a career-ending.

Canada is a problem. But Pickett is too. Canada isn't forcing Pickett to throw shit like that, or miss open receivers.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Dudes are sick of wasting multiple years of 0 chance of being competitive for a title, and no sign of anything changing going forward.

TJ Watt has a 0-3 playoff record in his career.

This team doesn't deserve the likes of Watt, Heyward & Minkah.

 

[Superbelt]

This team doesn't deserve the likes of Watt, Heyward & Minkah.

I feel terrible for Heyward in particular. His entire career has been spinning his wheels. He's never been to a Superbowl. He's fast approaching the end, and there is absolutely no hope he will ever get that here.

 

[thedddd]

Gotta admit I'm like 90% out on Kenny at this point. I know the offensive scheme is dogshit & does him no favors, but he has clearly regressed. Supporting him is becoming impossible. Especially after you watch the all-22 film week after week. He's become a 1-read dumpoff QB that doesn't give his receivers a chance to get open. Not to mention routinely missing layup throws.

I'm tired of watching him struggle to get 116yds per game... Yes, that is in fact his average.

At this point they need to bench him. Don't really see much of a point in keeping him in there and not pushing him to gain more confidence. Rinse & repeating these dogshit schemes & (likely) urging him to play it safe isn't working... This team is DOA every Sunday until something more drastic changes schematically.

I was always a big Kenny supporter. Not even talking about him being the hometown hero. I thought he had all the tangibles & leadership qualities to make him great at this level. There is still that part of me struggling to die. He still shows flashes of being that guy, but it seems to be less & less apparent.

He became David Carr 2.0. For a different reason where Carr was killed by a dog shit o-line and Pickett killed by awful schemes. But both lost their careers early on due to circumstances out of their own that weren't direct result of injuries.

 

[Superbelt]

And the thing is, we don't have any better options.

Kenny isn't the guy.

Trubisky was benched for Kenny, and he hasn't shown any better in games when he's had a chance.

Mason was benched for Duck Hodges, who is out of the league.

But we've had the Passtronaut, and let him go.


This is a lost season. None of these guys can even be game managers to support a running game.

 

[Superbelt]

The draft this year is going to be QB rich.

The more games the Steelers win, the worse position they will be in to possibly draft a QB.


But of course that won't matter if Tomlin saddles the offense with a dumbass OC.

 

[thedddd]

The draft this year is going to be QB rich.

The more games the Steelers win, the worse position they will be in to possibly draft a QB.


But of course that won't matter if Tomlin saddles the offense with a dumbass OC.

If Canada is around next year they should stick with the turds they have, not worth it to ruin yet another QB.

 

[Superbelt]

If Canada is around next year they should stick with the turds they have, not worth it to ruin yet another QB.

We see teams every year ruin rookie QB's with a bad cast around them. Now we're the ones doing it.