Chase Claypool is the only reason this team won today
Chase Claypool is the only reason this team won today
Not even Antonio Brown or Hines Ward took over games like Claypool did today. He's a force all on his own.
I'm just glad our sieve of a secondary doesn't have to defend him
Istina
Reminds me of Julio Jones when he's on the field.
1. Graham Barton, C, Duke 2. Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida 3. Maason Smith, DT, LSU 3. Max Melton, CB, Rutgers 4. Blake Fisher, OT, Notre Dame 6. Tommy Eichenberg, ILB, Ohio State 6. MJ Devonshire, CB, Pittsburgh
Yep, the ONLY reason. His 2 INTs were pretty exceptional too. He also recorded 5 sacks and held the Eagles' rushing attack to 94 total yards(remember 1 went for 74). But it was his 27of34 passing for 3TDs that sealed it.
No doubt Claypool had a game for the record books and one he will always remember, but it is ALWAYS a team win.
You be you though.
Back to the thread . . .
Claypool is going to be a nightmare. Is he there yet? No. Several of those touchdowns were well-designed plays where he had to show average NFL receiver ability. But when he had to show more? he did. I'm excited about this kids future.
Here's the other thing I like. When you think about the vertical ability of both Claypool and Washington, you can't help but salivate. End zone? throw the ball away? Yeah, maybe. But Ben can also throw it just low enough that those two can try to get a hand on it.
Watch the vertical for both athletes. When was the last time we had this?
(watch starting at :36)
start at :32
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
You can go to the ground and let the ball hit the ground without completely losing it to the opposing player. I understand wanting to secure the football. But I do not think it was as close as you're making it out to be.
EDIT: But, either way, it's not a big deal. This is the Chase Claypool thread, and that kid deserves his accolades today!
Sorry to stay off topic for a response here, but the only reason the receiver was on top of him or trying to pull it free at the end was BECAUSE Nelson caught it. The receiver had no play on the actual ball if Nelson shuts lets it fall or swats it away. The overthrown ball was totally uncatchable for the WR. This is a second reason Nelson shouldn’t have caught it that I didn’t even think of at first. There was an actual chance for the receiver to wrestle the ball away or make Nelson fumble it that simply wouldn’t have existed on a batted or dropped ball.
And the field position ended up not making a difference, but imagine a fumble on the Steelers possession. There was over 3 minutes on the clock. It was not kneel down time. A quick Eagles TD and suddenly they are a FG from victory with time outs and the two minute warning. Totally conceivable. I’ve seen much stranger things happen.
The alternative is Nelson lets it drop and the Steelers have it in FG range. Stuff like this can matter and smart football players know the situation before the play starts and know exactly what they’ll do in that situation. And catching it was NOT the safe play. It was the riskier play.
So yeah, Claypool is awesome! Love the kid!
Is it just me or does Chase make Juju look pedestrian?
Through 4 weeks or so of games and Claypool is separating himself from the other "big body" WR in the draft class. I guess Pittman Jr. gets a pass because he got hurt and, honestly, Rivers and company look not good. But Claypool has put up better results than Edwards with the Raiders, Gandy-Golden with the WFT, and Shenault with the Jags.
I was not a fan of the pick on draft day. Nor did I truly hate it. I just bought into some of what I say in the pre-draft rankings and scouting reports that painted Claypool as a totally different player than the one who has shown up in Pittsburgh. I freely acknowledge that there was plenty of information out there that indicated that I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was and am.
It will be interesting to track the careers of the guys in this draft class that fit that "super sized" wideout label. There were several of them. Could add the guys that are just a few inches shorter to the list above as well. Like Peoples-Jones and Aiyuk.
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Is just teams loading up to stop Juju and making guys like Claypool and Washington beat them? I think Juju can be and is an effective WR and I hope that it is just that there are so many weapons in this offense that there simply are not enough footballs to go around right now.
Is it me or does he seem quicker than what his college tape showed?
1. Graham Barton, C, Duke 2. Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida 3. Maason Smith, DT, LSU 3. Max Melton, CB, Rutgers 4. Blake Fisher, OT, Notre Dame 6. Tommy Eichenberg, ILB, Ohio State 6. MJ Devonshire, CB, Pittsburgh
There are also little mental things that impress me about Claypool. I forgot which game it was, but he was thrown an uncatchable pass and he was interfered with a little, so he really sold it and fell to make sure the ref threw the flag, even though the interference wasn’t the reason he couldn’t catch it.
It was a little thing, but definitely a heads up move in a split second decision to extend the drive.