I really like Tomlin. I think he's a good coach. But man, how they rolled
out Kenny yesterday was just a mess. He didn't get any reps going into the
game. As you said, they had him throwing all over the field in the 4th when
they needed a running game. To play as well as he did, given what he had to
do and the prep he got, is kinda amazing. And then to claim you haven't
made a decision on a QB moving forward when the rookie you threw to the
wolves plays better than your seasoned vet? I dunno.
On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 10:40 AM David Reid <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
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.
