Gameballs:
Ben Roethlisberger - Ben is playing his heart out, it's sad to see that he has to literally put the team on his shoulders for us to even have a hope of winning. The defense isn't helping him out. The defense had a lucky first half where Fitzpatrick decided to spot us some INTs. If Fitzpatrick hadn't been turning the ball over, we'd of been on the losing side of that football game. I fear we're going to waste Ben's last years by fielding a defense that's about as stout as a wet paper sack.
Juju Smith-Schuster - Juju has been playing lights-out in his sophomore season. Sophomore slump? I think not. 100+ yards receiving per game through three weeks. Consistently making tough catches over the middle of the field. Has been Ben's most reliable target so far.
James Conner - Conner might not be lighting up the stat sheet thanks to injuries on his o-line and poor run-blocking but he's been reliable enough. His running late in the game helped seal a victory. He's also been a reliable safety valve for Roethlisberger when we've needed to check-down. Proud of this kid, he embodies the Steelers, and doesn't act like a diva.
Vance McDonald - Showed us exactly what kind of playmaker he can be when he's healthy. Here's to hoping he stays healthy for the remainder of the season. That stiff arm... the stuff of dreams. Chris Conte is still trying to escape from the Phantom Zone after McDonald banished him there.
Joe Haden - The only guy in our secondary that can remotely cover anyone.
GOATS:
Antonio Brown - Yes he had a nice little touchdown catch, but he just seems to disappear from games and his attitude is way off. He's putting on a face for the media and everything, and saying the right things but his attitude and body language look like he's sulking and going through the motions. It's about winning AB, and sometimes for the team to win you have to sacrifice things like ridiculous individual stats. I still love AB, but I'm tiring of his attitude as I think it's a distraction in and of itself.
Artie Burns - This guy sucks. Plain and simple. He looked promising during his rookie campaign, but has looked awful ever since. He should be getting better, but only seems to be getting worse. Can't cover anyone, isn't even in the area of covering receivers when the ball is thrown his way. I tried to believe in the front office when they made this pick, but I can't defend him anymore. Artie Burns needs to go. He's killing us on the back-end and making whatever WR he goes up against look like Jerry Rice.
The Front Office - For drafting Artie Burns in the first place. Everyone said it was a reach, and it was. I know that some teams have some players higher on their boards than others but seriously who had Artie as a legit 1st Round talent? Right now he'd be lucky to be a backup on just about any other team in the league. They've failed to make any moves to make the team better in this area as well. So expect to see a whole lot more of Burns/Sensabaugh and opposing WRs torching our defense on the regular. At this point, I'm wondering if Brian Allen shouldn't be getting a shot at some playing time.
The Offensive Line - For all the talk from these guys about how they made Le'Veon Bell's career, I have yet to see anything from them since Week 1 that would indicate they are good run blockers. Our offense lives and dies off the passing game right now. I know that Decastro is hurt, and Gilbert but that's no excuse for how poor the run blocking has been overall. They're also letting guys get to Ben a little too often for comfort. Ben right now is our best chance of winning, they need to protect him.
The Defense - The single most glaring issue with this team. They played about one half of football on Monday and then came out asleep in the second half. It was like someone flipped a switch on them. 30-10 halftime lead, and let the Buccaneers come back with 17 unanswered points. Inexcusable. Our defensive success completely relies upon the effectiveness of our pass rush. Our secondary can't cover, or tackle, so we rely totally on our pass rush to have success defensively. If the rush is good, we seem to be able to turn the ball over, and get 3 and Outs. If the rush isn't getting home, we're getting scorched. I was absolutely pulling what little hair I have left out during that second half and we honestly came away with a victory we probably didn't deserve.
Chris Boswell - Nuff said.
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"Success isn't owned, it's leased and the rent is due every day." - TJ Watt
