Steelers @ Black Cats

Lokki wrote:

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Pickens and Warren are some bright spots this year on this team.

Really wish that we would utilize Pickens more though. I'm so tired of watching Diontae Johnson run backwards for 5 yards after every catch.

Right? DJ catches the ball near the 1st down marker the. Jumps back or loops around 5 yards backwards every time it seems like and it leaves me wondering what his ideas are on moving the chains... it's like he doesn't realize he is close or passed a first down marker...

Mitch had a rock solid game. Great on target passes with zip and accuracy. Last week he was moving the team just as good he just made a few poor decisions that ended up costing the game. He is showing he can move this team well though.

DJ had a decent game but really needs to get his game awareness and team first mentality checked. That unsportsmanlike conduct was completely and totally unnecessary. To me he wasn't worth the money still.

Pickens does need more targets. I am however worried by his showmanship and attitude he seems to be a me oriented player instead of a team oriented one. Great steal for a round 2 pick I just hope he matures and Tomlin can get him to play Steeler football. I doubt it but I can hope.

O-line is playing much better. Mitch had time to throw, The holes are getting better for Najee and Warren. They are starting to work well as a unit and it's good to see.

Najee and Warren both had great games. Lots of physical running and punishing people who made tackles.

Defensive line did a good job shutting down the Panthers run game once they did that Darnold was put in position to win the game and they kept another team under 16 points. Where was that play last week shutting down the run?

Secondary was hit and miss but made some solid plays. Like mentioned before we give up a lot of plays in the middle of our field.

Pretty solid outing, when the QBs play within themselves and don't force things we can win football games. Hopefully that trend continues for the rest of the season. Would like to see these guys win out and carry some momentum into the offseason. I'm not into losing for draft picks, so it's promising to see these guys are playing hard every week at least instead of just quitting.

I still think Matt Canada has got to go but I kind of get the feeling we're going to see him for at least one more season. I would rather bring in someone else so Kenny can start learning a new system versus more of Canada's predictable playcalling.

The o-line might be gelling enough now that I'm willing to say that drafting OL isn't as glaring of a need as it once appeared. I think DL and DB need to be the focal point early in the draft, at least that's how I feel right now.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Pretty solid outing, when the QBs play within themselves and don't force things we can win football games. Hopefully that trend continues for the rest of the season. Would like to see these guys win out and carry some momentum into the offseason. I'm not into losing for draft picks, so it's promising to see these guys are playing hard every week at least instead of just quitting.

I still think Matt Canada has got to go but I kind of get the feeling we're going to see him for at least one more season. I would rather bring in someone else so Kenny can start learning a new system versus more of Canada's predictable playcalling.

The o-line might be gelling enough now that I'm willing to say that drafting OL isn't as glaring of a need as it once appeared. I think DL and DB need to be the focal point early in the draft, at least that's how I feel right now.

Don't forget ILB. I'm pretty sure Bush will be gone. He's playing better but still not worth big bucks...to us anyway.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Pretty solid outing, when the QBs play within themselves and don't force things we can win football games. Hopefully that trend continues for the rest of the season. Would like to see these guys win out and carry some momentum into the offseason. I'm not into losing for draft picks, so it's promising to see these guys are playing hard every week at least instead of just quitting.

I still think Matt Canada has got to go but I kind of get the feeling we're going to see him for at least one more season. I would rather bring in someone else so Kenny can start learning a new system versus more of Canada's predictable playcalling.

The o-line might be gelling enough now that I'm willing to say that drafting OL isn't as glaring of a need as it once appeared. I think DL and DB need to be the focal point early in the draft, at least that's how I feel right now.

I think OL is still a need, but I agree that having a true runstuffing DL should be the absolute priority imo or an absolute stud (like Roquan Smith) at ILB like Solardave said.

At this point I think Matt Canada will be back next year.

I certainly hope Meyer, the OL coach, is as well. He's done a very nice job with what he's working with and they seem to be latching onto his system now.

My take on the draft: We STILL need one very good lineman drafted early (up from 2 that I thought before). We also need a hog nasty run stuffer. And ILB. And DB. But I hope we don't draft a DB in the first round because we suck at that - unless we can get the "Sure thing" (aka, the next Revis).

This team still needs a lot, but its nice seeing some of the players emerge. My preference the first round would be either a top flight lineman or a top flight D-lineman.