Game Thread: Week 10... vsCIN

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Of note.... Geno Atkins has been a no-show for the entire season. Bobby Hart is the fansbase's least favorite player - though I think he's played better of late. It will be interesting to see what sort of damage the Pittsburgh pass rush does to Burrow. I pray he stays healthy.

Steelers are getting back Alualu & Hilton on D. Those 2 were big pieces when this defense was so dominant 3-4 weeks ago. Hoping they get back to that level of play now that they’re healthy

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

7, 98, 38 & 65 all reinstated today... Cleared COVID protocols!

89 remains in quarantine

 

[Cali Steel]

Morning faithful.
Checking in from the liberal wasteland of CA
My liver is celebrating another 1:25 start.
No bourbon for breakfast........

 

[Superbelt]

9-0!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Coaching... Offensive playcalling was a mess early on. Most early drives couldn't even muster a 1st down. 3rd drive barely netted 15-20yds before punting. 4th drive they were gifted great field position but stalled near the RZ. Ticky tack playcalling was a clusterfuck to watch. He, Ben & Canada got things turned around in the 2nd quarter. But it still required abandoning the run game yet again which is a big concern moving forward. Offense threw the ball 46 times, which was the 2nd highest amount this year. Butler damn near pitched a shutout in this game. Big props to him & the rest of the staff for locking this game up early & making great adjustments along the way. If you take away the yards from the fake punt, and the 22yds on the final drive from the 2nd/3rd team defense that was in... The Steelers only gave up 78yds total rushing to the Bengals. B-

Offense... Not all is Randy's fault for the early struggles. Ben & his receivers didn't look good to open up the game. After that first lobbed fade that got literally blown out of bounds, Ben was smart to keep things low & fast. But that's when the drops started to play a factor. O-line struggled yet again with consistency in the run game. Conner found some good holes, but they still ended up abandoning the run game once again when the offense struggled. It took 5-6 drives before the offense started moving, thanks to a couple big throws to DJ. Suddenly they had a pulse and the offense moved with better consistency from that point on (aside from their 1st possession in the 2nd half). Claypool is a talented kid, but his consistency needs work. He made up for the drops though so he's earning the attention he gets. Ben should be put on the MVP map after this performance, but people will discredit him by saying "it's only the Bengals". But if you look at his week to week consistency & taking this otherwise lifeless offense and putting it on his back... He's absolutely deserving of being mentioned in the MVP race. Probably won't ever get the votes though, but such is life for Ben in the NFL. 4 TDs & 110 rating yesterday. B-

Defense... I think Joe Burrow had an awakening yesterday. NFL isn't going to be as easy as he thought. The Bengals were 0/13 on third down attempts... Let that sink in. Big credit goes to the DBs though. Aside from a few busted coverages this unit was hardly giving up anything. Joe Haden was back to looking like an all-pro and 5-8 years younger. He was crazy good. Smothering receivers & breaking up passes that were on the money. Also gotta give a shoutout to Cam Sutton & Antoine Brooks Jr. Both saw extensive time in the slot and looked good. Brooks' tackling ability was easy to see why they love the kid. Sutton's strip FF was clutch. Can someone tell me why offensive pick plays are no longer being called a penalty in the NFL? The WRs aren't even trying to hide it anymore; looking like NBA forwards planting their feet & holding their hands over their crotch. Bengals got their 1st & only TD on the day because of a pick play. In man coverage there is just no way to win unless the inside guy has the awareness to see whats happening, and by then its probably too late. It was great having Alualu back. His presence is huge for this unit. A

ST... Boz came through in a big way early on with the wind gusts threatening to make things ugly for the kickers. He was perfect on the day. And low & behold Berry nearly averaged 50yds per punt. Coverage teams were fairly good with a great punch out FF by Adeniyi on the opening punt, and McCloud chipped in a big punt return later on to spice things up. Not going to fault them for the late fake punt from Cincy. That was a great play that they probably saw an advantage on film. Let's just hope that it doesn't become a frequent thing against PIT. A

Overall... Survived another injury scare to Ben. I knew it was goin to be a long year because of that lol. Speaking of long, afternoon games always seem to draaaag. Luckily my family was all home again to watch the game with me (hence my absence) so that helped me pass the time during a routing game where I didn't feel like I needed to watch every second. Still looked like the offense is struggling to find an identity. They need to find a way to get this run game going and dial back Ben's attempts. But it certainly feels like this team is starting to gain some steam & getting back to more dominant play. Far from a perfect performance and there are still things they can improve on, but scoring 36pts & routing a division opponent is exactly what should be expected of this team. 9-0 for the first time in franchise history. I don't honestly feel like I've digested that fully & appreciated what it is compared to how awful things were last year. Waking up to constant victory has been spoiling us, even if some of these games certainly haven't felt like a W. B+

Outlook... Steelers go back on the road to Jacksonville. Steelers are 3-1 in their last 4 games in Jacksonville, but they got obliterated by the Jags in their last 2 meetings at Heinz Field. Jags aren't the team they were in '17 & '18 though, but still a good team. They have struck gold with a UDFA running behind center. Steelers defense matches up well with the Jags' attack, so hopefully it will be a relatively stress-free day. But its still going to be looked at yet another trap game. Jags nearly upset the Packers in their last game with Jake Lutton under center. Granted the Pack were without both of their starting CBs. Gardner Minshew is dealing with a ligament sprain & small break in his throwing hand thumb. He had been playing through the injury in prior weeks before they shut him down to rest for a game, or it could have been due to his struggles. Will be interesting to see which QB they roll with next week. They should be getting back rookie Laviska Shenault, which has been a great pairing for DJ Chark & Keelan Cole. They are a vertical passing team with lots of speed, similar to the Bengals. Hopefully the Steelers DBs are up to the task again.

 

[cincygrad]

Another good game to show the difference in talent between the Bengals and an elite franchise. Yes, the Bengals were 0for on third downs.... But, you're really not going to have much success against a D like the Steelers when it is 3rd and 7. Not sure what the percentage shot of that is for the year, but I'm guessing its not too high. I mean, the Steelers have the best sack/qb hit stats in the league. The Bengals desperately need to build a better running attack to help Burrow.

The game could have been a lot worse if Ben and his crew weren't as sloppy (they left a few plays out there on the field). The Bengals were playing guys at corner that were on the street a few weeks ago. For a team that has invested multiple high picks for corners and then dipped their toes in FA for more corners, it's pretty discouraging to see the minor leaguers they are putting out on the field. The roster rebuild in Cincinnati still needs a lot of work. You can see it much easier when they play a team like Pittsburgh.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Another good game to show the difference in talent between the Bengals and an elite franchise. Yes, the Bengals were 0for on third downs.... But, you're really not going to have much success against a D like the Steelers when it is 3rd and 7. Not sure what the percentage shot of that is for the year, but I'm guessing its not too high. I mean, the Steelers have the best sack/qb hit stats in the league. The Bengals desperately need to build a better running attack to help Burrow.

The game could have been a lot worse if Ben and his crew weren't as sloppy (they left a few plays out there on the field). The Bengals were playing guys at corner that were on the street a few weeks ago. For a team that has invested multiple high picks for corners and then dipped their toes in FA for more corners, it's pretty discouraging to see the minor leaguers they are putting out on the field. The roster rebuild in Cincinnati still needs a lot of work. You can see it much easier when they play a team like Pittsburgh.

Been sayin this all year, but once the Bengals figure out their O-line they are going to be a great team. Joe may have his ups & downs but they are valuable learning experiences for a rookie. He'll be just fine once they figure out how to build around him, which is obviously the O-line. Not having Mixon yesterday really hurt them, but their O-line let them down yesterday.

 

[Superbelt]

I've changed my mind of JuJu.

I used to be resigned to him possibly moving on after this season.

Now I believe they need to find a way to keep him. Somehow. He has to stay a Steeler.

He's too good. He's too important. He grinds out the tough yards and reliably pulls in Ben's 3rd down looks.

His attitude is AllPro, and it's infectious.

It's things like this that needs to be nurtured on the team. You need to have a positive and winning culture.

Avery Williamson Still Unlearning Losing Mentality After Seeing Steelers' Confidence When Trailing

Avery Williamson’s previous team is 0-9 in 2020. His current team, for whom he has not yet played a snap, although he dressed on Sunday, is 8-0. They literally could not be on further ends of the spectrum, given the timing of the trade deadline, so it’s fair to say that no player in NFL […]

steelersdepot.com

Appearing on The Fan yesterday, he talked about the psychology on the sidelines at play for him watching the Pittsburgh Steelers trailing in the fourth quarter, even trailing at one point by 13 points, their largest deficit of the year, and the stark contrast between his internal dialog and the manner in which his new teammates were handling it.​

​

“Unfortunately, I have been on that other side, and it was crazy, because I was on the sideline just sweating, and guys are like, ‘look, we’re about to get this thing going’”, he told his hosts. “They just had that confidence. They had that confidence, and I really liked that”.​

​

JuJu Smith-Schuster IS the Steelers.

 

[Wamu]

9-0!

 

[Superbelt]

View attachment 258556

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[cincygrad]

Excellent scheme by Pittsburgh. Watching Joe Burrow play over the last few weeks, the thing that stands out about him is how accurate he can be on those passes inside the numbers. Apparently his stats from LSU were also suggestive of this... And Boyd is a beast in the middle of the field.

A few key points. The Steelers can do this because they have a good pass rush and good safety play. It won't work for everyone. This highlights a major issue in the Bengals passing game - No deep threat. The ghost of AJ Green isn't fast. Speed isn't Boyd's game and it's probably not the primary strength of Higgins. They desperately need a guy that can beat single coverage on the sideline.

 

[Superbelt]

Steelers are getting back Alualu & Hilton on D. Those 2 were big pieces when this defense was so dominant 3-4 weeks ago. Hoping they get back to that level of play now that they’re healthy

Sutton has been playing amazing ball in place of Hilton since he went down.

Hilton is still better, but we are very lucky to have two guys this good at nickel.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Sutton has been playing amazing ball in place of Hilton since he went down.

Hilton is still better, but we are very lucky to have two guys this good at nickel.

Agreed. I just wish the coaches played them the same. Without Hilton they are more apt to playing less aggressively.