Gameballs and Goats

[RunNGun]

I'll give the gameball to Benny Snell. He provided a spark for the offense and may have taken Conner's job.

HM- It was great to see Juju having fun out there. He got open for 2 TDs and looked like he's back to being Juju.

T.J. Watts interception was huge. Watt is one hell of a defensive player. He can do it all.

Big Ben got off to a slow start, but damn it was good to see the offense moving the ball again. Ended with 3 TDs through the air and even showed off the wheels on a scramble. Hopefully, he continues to knock some of the rust off.

Bud Dupree was all over the field showing early and often why he deserves a long term deal.

Goats- No one really had a bad game, but Minkah was pretty quiet throughout the game. He may have had a miscommunication with Nelson on the long TD throw. Other than that it was just a quiet night.

James Conner proved that he is indeed made of glass. He was doing too much dancing and shies away from contact too often. I hope his time as the starter is done.

[86WARD]

Gameballs - Bud, JuJu, Ben, TJ - Bud looked fast...super fast!

Goats - Diontae Johnson, Chris Boswell

[st33lersguy]

Game Ball-
Ben: 3 TDs 0 INTs with no game action since 2019 week 2

Juju: 2 TDs

Benny Snell: 113 yards on only 19 carries no less. Helped spark the offense

TJ Watt and Cam Heyward: 1 INT each

Goats-
Special Teams made too many negative plays

James Connor: So ineffective. Being replaced by Snell helped the offense

[RunNGun]

I could have thrown Diontae in there. His return abilities looked pretty sketchy, but I thought he bounced back and played pretty well as a WR.

[Edman]

Steelers win. No goats.

Heroes- Ben started slow, but pulled it together to have a great game. No forced throws and minimal hero ball. He was great.

Benny Snell steps in for Conner and knocks him down to the backup role.

The Defense picks up right where it left off.

[BlackAndGold]

That defense is a monster.

Held Barkley to 6 yards rushing.

[Hawkman]

The defensive front gets my game ball. Held them to 30 yards rushing and 11 tackles for a loss. That’s strong.

[FrancoLambert]

Balls
Benny Snell...James who?
JuJu...he's back.
Washington...no quit on his TD, country strong.

Goats
James Conner...too easy.
Special Teams...ad nauseam.

[BlackAndGold]

Just posting thoughts from game, so bare with me lol.


Ola and Highsmith were noticeable(good thing) when filling in for Watt and Dupree when they needed a rest.

Dotson had a nice block on a pull late in the game. He's a people mover. He'll get the start next week if DeCastro isn't back.

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They'll have to look to sign or trade for o-line depth.

Wisniewski and Banner may be gone for some time, maybe the season.

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Alualu looked fantastic at NT.

[CV1]

That defense is a monster.

Held Barkley to 6 yards rushing.

Did you see the tweet where they took a jab at Barkley... Rushing comparison between Ben and Barkley


https://twitter.com/steelersdepot/st...420194816?s=12


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[Fire Goodell]

Defensive front 7 and Ben. They totally shut down Barkley and it's so nice to have a quarterback again.

[Mojouw]

If Watt and Dupree were any faster off the ball it would be a penalty. By the end of the game, Watt just had the snap timed exactly. I acknowledge that he had it easy just pass rushing every play, but he was a step or two over the LOS while the OT was still in his backpedal.

[tube517]

Benny Snell football includes picking up the block and giving Ben time (See juju's first TD reception)

Tyson Alualu has been a great under the radar pickup since we got him.

Devin Bush had a solid game.

Special teams had a disappointing night. Probably the only bad thing tonight.

Missed PAT - Bos

Kicked ball out of bounds on kickoff - Bos

DJ's muffed punt

Coverage on punts/Peppers had a 13.0 punt return avg.

[Mojouw]

Colquitt's hang time was seemingly not good. Gotta help your coverage out a bit. I could be wrong, but that's my first impression.

[Rotorhead]

No goats today, no preseason games means we were working out some bugs and timing today.

Heroes:
Heyward
Watt
Ben
Snell

[Craic]

Game Ball:
Offense:This is pretty difficult. I feel as though no one had a consistent game, but everyone played well when they had to pick it up.

• Ben was rusty (as should be expected), but did well after a quarter and a half.
• Smith was quite in the middle-part of the field, but had 2 TDs and a very heads up play recovering the fumble. Did anyone see his eyes? He literally had his eyes on the football as Snell was carrying it in front of him.
• Snell started off a bit slow and hand a forced fumble that luckily was recovered, but he still rushed for 113 yards with a 5.9 yard average. And, how many rushes for a loss did he have? One? He fought hard to get back to the LOS on a few plays.
• James Washington. Only had three targets, but had a 17 yard average on two reception, including a short TD that he had to fight to get.

So, I can't give the game ball to any one person, but it goes to the offense as a whole for doing what needed to be done to win a game.

Defense:

• T J Watt, Williams, Dupree. Really? I knew we had a linebacker core that was getting into the "good" range. But those three combined for a sack, 6 tackles for loss, 3 defended passes, 4 hits on the QB, and an INT.
• Our secondary was quite tonight, allowing 2 TDs and 26 receptions on 41 passes with no INTs (that goes to a linebacker and D Line). But they still held Jones to a 79.2 percent rating, and their only penalties looked to be ticky-tack calls.
• The line looked stout.

So, I have to give game balls to Watt, Williams, Dupree, and a shared gameball to the D Line.

Special teams:
Nope.

Goat:

Offense: No goats for injuries. But Conner isn't looking durable. I'm tempted to put Diontae here, but the kid showed a mental toughness going back in and not muffing another punt; making a mistake on a pass play, and then coming back and making another one happen.

Defense: Can't put anyone here on defense. I want to see the secondary tighten up, but in all honesty, I shocked they played as well as they did without any preseason and with no OTAs. They'll tighten up as the season progresses, right on schedule to dominate when needed.

Special Teams: Tempted to Boswell here. But, he came back and hit both field goals as well as the next extra point. Mentally, he had to be saying, "No, not again!" and yet, he dug deep and pulled it out. So, no goat there. HOWEVER Something needs to be done with the coaching. I am tired of seeing the other team having 10, 15 yards between the guy receiving punts and any of our players, and yet our guys having people on top of them when they're trying to receive punts.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Game Ball the whole team
Goats Sling TV for going out now and then on my outdoor projector.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Ben, Benny, JuJu and the front 7

DJ for the first 2 bad punt handlings, Steve Nelson for 2 TD receptions allowed and Wisneiwski for lousy pass protection and no push in run game.

[Mojouw]

Be interested to see the tape breakdowns later this week for the defense. Tomlins post game comments seemed to indicate that they left their DBs exposed to stop Barkley.

[BlackAndGold]

[Mojouw]

So about Week 12 or so?


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[BlackAndGold]

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So about Week 12 or so?


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Ouch, but yes.

[86WARD]

That defense is a monster.

Held Barkley to 6 yards rushing.

Roethlisberger out-rushes him...9 to 6.

[tube517]

I think Highsmith had more pressure last night than ChickFilA had his entire career.

[dislocatedday]

I think Highsmith had more pressure last night than ChickFilA had his entire career.

The few times that Highsmith was on the field he was immediately noticeable to me and making a positive impact. He also looked physically bigger/stronger on TV last night than I remember from seeing his college highlights, but he was still mighty quick too.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

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Kevin Dotson is going to be an outstanding OG for the Steelers.

He was a 4 year starter, so has experience. He bench pressed 225lbs 33 times at a private pro day, so he puts in the work in the weight room... and also ran a 4.80 40 at that pro day, which shows his athleticism. Yes he played in the Sun Belt conference, so went under the radar, despite being named All-American team. I honestly think he pushes Feiler off the roster in 2021.



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The few times that Highsmith was on the field he was immediately noticeable to me and making a positive impact. He also looked physically bigger/stronger on TV last night than I remember from seeing his college highlights, but he was still mighty quick too.

Highsmith has better pass rush moves as a rookie than Bud Dupree had as a rookie, just not as much of an athlete. He runs the arc, has a really quick spin and a counter that rips crossface of the OT, once he sets it up with speed rush outside. He needs to get stronger, but has a real good upside and relentless motor.

[Hawkman]

Be interested to see the tape breakdowns later this week for the defense. Tomlins post game comments seemed to indicate that they left their DBs exposed to stop Barkley.

I heard that. When Hilton has a sack and a TFL......you know they’re leaving someone exposed, but what I took from Tomlin’s post game comments......they actually had a very committed game plan in making Barkley one dimensional. I don’t think he got into positive rushing yards until his tenth or eleventh carry. 11 TFLs and coming from everywhere.

[Mojouw]

I heard that. When Hilton has a sack and a TFL......you know they’re leaving someone exposed, but what I took from Tomlin’s post game comments......they actually had a very committed game plan in making Barkley one dimensional. I don’t think he got into positive rushing yards until his tenth or eleventh carry. 11 TFLs and coming from everywhere.

Sounds right. But it might have left Hilton/MF/and Nelson with zero margin for error in the passing game. Minkah took one false step and Slayton scores the first long TD. Long story short, the pass defense might have been "designed" to give up yards while the entire goal was to "smash" Barkley?

[Hawkman]

Sounds right. But it might have left Hilton/MF/and Nelson with zero margin for error in the passing game. Minkah took one false step and Slayton scores the first long TD. Long story short, the pass defense might have been "designed" to give up yards while the entire goal was to "smash" Barkley?

I buy that too.

[Rotorhead]

I buy that too.

Makes sense, stop their best player from being effective and live with the rest.