Originally Posted by
Six Rings
OFFENSE:
QB Grade A-. Without Ben this is a 500 football team. Ben has been playing very well, limiting turnovers and getting hot when we need him. He has 18 touchchdowns and just 4 interceptions. To nitpick, he starts slowly at times and has had too many low throws or off-target throws early in games. If Rudy enters the game, we are in big trouble. Getting a better back up should be a medium level need in 2021.
RB Grade B. Conner is what he is at this point, a solid back who follows his blockers well and runs hard. He has been reliable, productive near the goal line, and has not had fumble issues. h drawbacks are he too predictable and not fast enough to feature outside the tackles.
McFarland brings rare acceleration to the hole and very good speed, but he's not good at following his blockers, and IMO goes down too easily. Moves are okay. I don't think the Steelers are using him correctly.
Snell is your typical short-yardage guy, but he's nothing special in any area of the game.
The FB position has made litle impact this year, but I did like our sub in Mondeaux
TE Grade B. Ebron has proven to be a very reliable receiving Tight End, a match up weapon, and a reliable target on third down. His blocking, however, is weak. McDonald who backs him up, is a very good blocker, but with the talent, the Steelers have at wide receiver, he's a bit of a forgotten man. The Steelers don't have a 3rd TE worth dressing.
WR Grade A. Ju-Ju has bounced back. With each passing game, his reliability and tough running with the football in his hands has made a difference. Claypool has monstrous talent. We see it every week, but he needs to work on constancy. The Steelers need to target him often. Johnson is a player that just ins't reliable and always seems dinged up. He can spark plays, I just don't think he's clutch enough to count on, especially on 3rd downs. Washington has proven himself to be a very good 4th WR. McCloud is too electric no to use more often in the offense. What a group!
OL: Grade B- This a unit on decline. Big AL, our only proven left tackle has become too easy to beat. Chucks has done a solid job at Right Tackle, but his push leaves a lot to be desired. Pouncey's play has been a disapotiment, his snaps are often too high / wide, and he doesn't pull the way he used to. He can be bull-rushed and doesn't exactly root out defensive tackles. A former star, now in decline. Decastro remains the shining star of the unit. He is the engine that makes the running game go. Feiler can be our most powerful blocker, at times he's very impressive. His pass blocking remains so -so. Rookie Dotson has at the very least, has proven to be capable when forced to play due to injures. Hassenauer is unproven at Center, the Steelers let Wisnewski go, so they appear to be comfortable with him. Age is catching up to this unit, a high draft pick should be spent here in 2021.
Kicker: A- Outside of a missed extra point, and an extra blocked point Boswell has been money in the bank. Last week he showed a leg I did not think he had on the franchise record 59-yard field goal. His kickoffs have been solid. He can be my wingman anytime. He's clutch.
Kick Returner. Grade A. McCloud has been sensational. What a find. 26 yards on average per kickoff, 15 yards per average on punts! It's only a matter of time until he takes one to the house.
DEFENSE:
DL: Grade A. Tuitt is a real load. A force vs. the run or pass. Tuitt is having his best season with 6 sacks and 17 QB hits after 8 game played. Heyward who plays next to him as been rather quiet by his standards. I don't know why. Alalau replaced Hargrave, but with him out Buggs is making his share of play and newcomer Mondeaux has impressed with effort. Carlos Davis did well in his rookie debut. Wormely is a non factor, With two top front line players and surprise depth, the DL has exceeded expectations though we could really use a powerful DT/NT In the middle at times to stuff the run.
LB: Grade A The Steelers play Watt and Dupree as ends for the most part, but they are listed at Linebacker. Watt is phenomenal. He's very quick off the ball and has elite hand use. He's all pro in his prime and splash play machine. Dupree is haivng a very good overall season, but he disappears in some games. Still worth his cap number for now. Bush had a hot rookie start and hasn't been as good since. He out for the year. His replacement in Spillaine already has more tackles and game-changing plays than Bush had this year despite staring two less games as of 11-12-2020. Splliane appears to be staring material. Vince Williams prodives the old school thump and lead the team in tackles. He's also quality on the middle blitz.Highsmith looks looks like a very promsing player but beyond him there was a void of depth which is why the Steelers traded for NFL veteran Avery Williamson.
DB Grade B. With the best pass rush in the NFL, it should be on the easier side to cover. Haden remins a solid #1 corner, but he's aging. Nelson isn't quite as good this year. He was been burned a bit and give up some scores. Our depth at corner is excellent. Hinton tackles and hits way above his weight class. A factor on the blitz, and a player who makes his share of plays on the ball. Sutton offers good coverage for a #4 CB. I still don't trust Layne. A safety the Steeles had a stud in Fitzpatrick. Gifted at making plays that require split-second timing, Fitz can change the momentium of games. His tackling has not been quite as good this year. Edmunds has matured into an assignment sound type of player, who's actually made a few plays a DB for a change. The depth behind the starters is very suspect. Allen and Dangerfield as speical teams guys, Our next man up here if we ever need one won't be a good story.
P: Grade B So far Berry has looked better than he ever has. Can he keep this up?
LS: Grade D. Canaday has been suspect. His snaps have been off more than once and he has allowed players to block kicks. He adds very little in coverage on special teams. Frankly, I wouldn't mind seeing him replaced ASAP. This man is on thin ice.
COACHING
Head Coach B- Lets keep it real, Ben is the reason we come back and win. 2-3 players on defense make the key stops. This is the reason we are undefeated. We win with talent, not outcoaching the other side. Tomlin's job in terms of managing time outs and red flagging official decisions are below average. His game time decisions such as when to kick need improvment and almost cost us vs. ,Dallas when he should have opted to kick the FG and go up 8 points. I hear he's in charge of the defense on 3rd down. I see too many linebakcers matched up on wide receivers. Stop it. Furhermore he has bought shame in terms of fines to the organization again. What can you say, Barry Swizer won a super bowl and was 5-2 in the playoffs. On the positive side, the players seem to like Tomlin and he has not blown any games on the road to a lesser team so far, though it has been close. His true grade will have to wait until the playoffs where he is 3-6 in his last nine tires.
OC: Grade B. To be clear, Fichtner is an upgrade over Haley, but he's far from perfect. Fichtner has a lot of talent to work with. He needs to figure out how to start faster. Take out those wide runs by Conner he's not suited for them. Try play action and screens a bit more. Figure out how to use McFarland a bit better. AKA weakside runs, counters, pithes, etc... Use your receivers to their potential. We have at least two mis-matches on the field at any given time. Exploit them. And please don't assume a 14-20 score lead is enough. Call play to win until it makes sense to milk the clock.
DC. Grade B Butler is a hard man to grade as he has a lot of talent around him and Tomlin takes over on 3rd downs. My beef with him is there are some players that rip us, and he's too slow to limit or stop it.