Emptying the brain after the first four games…..
- Mitch is a below average QB. We knew that coming in, the only thing that
could save him in this league is if he learned that when the heat is on and a
play has to be made, he needs to deliver a ball accurately and on time. From
Chicago, to Buffalo and now Pittsburgh, he can’t do it. His stay here will be
short.
- Deactivate Mitch and make Mason the backup to Kenny if Pickett is the starter.
- I’m not prone to hyperbole and I use a phrase like this guardedly, but to
give Najee Harris only two carries in the 4th quarter whilst nursing a lead
with a rookie QB only 15 minutes into his pro career is an effing war crime and
Matt Canada needs to be fired into the sun.
- The line is improving, but when Mason Cole is the only member of the group
who didn’t get called for at least one penalty yesterday, that’s a problem.
Quinnen Williams is a beast though.
- A galaxy brain moment. Trying turning Chase Claypool into a multi-dimensional
player, like Cordarelle Patterson with the Falcons, give him some carries in
the backfield. I remember when I disagreed with Claypool’s selection on that
draft day, saying that for a big receiver he rarely made contested catches and
I wasn’t wrong.
- Now you see why I was so fascinated by George Pickens in April. He’s the
opposite of Claypool. Just get him one on one with any DB in the league and let
him do his thing.
- I like Najee a lot, but he has to stop bouncing outside as much as he does. I
think he knows this and it’s reduced in recent weeks, but he needs to trust his
blocks more. This team needs to get him the ball 25 times a game, to keep the
defense off the field if nothing else.
- Gunner Olsewski was an excellent waste of cap space, offering nothing in the
return game except turnovers. When Calvin Austin is healthy, get rid of him.
- Kenny is going to do Kenny things. Having seen him as much as I have over the
years, nothing he did yesterday surprised me. He’s someone that’s easy to root
for, but he knows that he can’t put up throws like that and expect not to get
into trouble. The adrenaline was flowing and he just needs to back off. I doubt
he can go on a Roethlisberger-esque run in his rookie season, but this is now
about development and improvement week on week. And yes, he should’ve been
named the starter after the Cleveland game to give him ten days to prepare for
his moment yesterday, instead of 12 minutes of halftime.
- I don’t know what the answer is for the run defense. They just get worn down
too much. Hopefully the offense under Pickett can control the clock a little
better now.
- Robert Spillane doesn’t belong in this league. Which is a problem, as he is
the ILB depth right now.
- Pass rush isn’t the same these days which is to be expected, but what shocks
me is the lack of creativity in the pass rush. I know that Highsmith is limited
with his moves, but Wilson had all day too often on those two scoring drives in
the 4th quarter yesterday.
- I remember when Mike Hilton used to blitz QB’s. Perhaps we should throw
Maulet or Norwood into the mix to give an offense something different to think
about.
- I like the Jack/Bush partnership inside, but they are similar players who
will bite on the same play far too often.
- Again, to repeat, DeMarvin Leal is going to be an absolute beast in this
league. He’s already showing it in flashes.
- Tomlin needs to stamp his authority on this offense. If he’s not going to get
rid of Canada, it needs to change fundamentally, develop the power running game
again to re-enable a semblence of play action. I’m still not convinced this
will be 4 or 5 win season, it has the feel of a “terrible start, surging end”
type of deal where they write off the first half of the season, then go on a
run when things settle down in the second half of the year. We’ll see. Things
can only get better on both sides of the ball, though.