WR.... Way too many dropped balls.... Playing JV football... Distractions.... WHY ??

[katmandu]

Ok, both Tomlin and JuJu (echoing Tomlin) said Steeler's played JV football again the Ravens.

Seems to be a real issue there.

They seem to have a BAD case of ADD these days. Something has changed in the past several years.

Why ? IMHO, too many "divas" trying to be STARS Social Media and more interested in ENTERTAINING "THEIR" fan base on "THEIR" Soclal media platforms!

It's like they're always thinking.... "How can I do the MOST outrageous new "dance" in the endzone for my next TikTok video ?

It appears "THIS THOUGHT" pops right into their minds right when they see the ball coming their way! They're playing out a the whole choreography in their minds...... RIGHT AS THE DAMN BALL IS ABOUT TO GET INTO THEIR HANDS !

Hmm.... WHO could be guilty of this the most on the Steelers ??

I love ya'all but ya need to get your feces consolidated BEFORE ya'all blow this season with stupid missed plays!

Guys really need to FOCUS a lot harder and keep your minds and priorities on playing BIG BOY football ! Or else, this 11-0 will be all for naught !

Time to growth **** up !

[teegre]

Are you referring to our most reliable receiver? Our receiver who didn’t drop a ball in that game? Our receiver who has had multiple impressive YAC plays (stuff-arms, running through multiple defenders)? Our receiver who changed the momentum of the game (twice in the past couple of weeks) by putting the team on his shoulders on a game-changing, three-reception burst? Our receiver who is Ben’s “go to” guy when we NEED a reception?

If so, let him Tik Tok all he wants.

(He’s not the problem.)

[Six Rings]

Some game our WR drops are going to change the outcome from what should have been a win to a loss. I like Johnson as the 3rd receiver. Ben loves him but forcing 3 passes and fumbling the ball out of bunds when we needed the clock to run can not happen again.

What can be done? Stop targeting Johnson 12-16 times a gam. Ju-Ju for example is far more reliable.

[pczach]

Are you referring to our most reliable receiver? Our receiver who didn’t drop a ball in that game? Our receiver who has had multiple impressive YAC plays (stuff-arms, running through multiple defenders)? Our receiver who changed the momentum of the game (twice in the past couple of weeks) by putting the team on his shoulders on a game-changing, three-reception burst? Our receiver who is Ben’s “go to” guy when we NEED a reception?

If so, let him Tik Tok all he wants.

(He’s not the problem.)

It's a massive overreaction by the OP. Every team in the NFL would love to have a selfless, hard-working and reliable WR that runs like a fullback after the catch, blocks his ass off, has no off the field issues, and enjoys his teammates scoring TD's as much as he enjoys scoring TD's himself.

He was personally passing out turkey dinners to families in need for Thanksgiving....he's a good kid and he has his head screwed on right.....and he's 24.

Guys like JuJu are exactly what you want your team to be about.

JuJu is the oldest player in the WR room at 24 years old. These guys are all young, and they are all going to get better. They are all doing things at a young age that most WR's are not able to do yet. I'm not going to lose my mind when they make some mistakes. They're still learning their craft, and sometimes shit happens.

This is not the time to overreact to anything. One close call, and suddenly an 11-0 team is being questioned and their priorities are questioned? I don't think so.

Some people seem to look for anything to criticize or look for reasons to bang on players. They need to stop.

[Squeegee Thompson]

Or ... here's a wild theory: They just had a bad game. It happens, and they happened to get away with it. If the dropsies continue in the Washington game, then you might have cause for legitimate alarm. I'm fully expecting after the abuse Tomlin dishes out in the meeting rooms this week that the receivers will collectively look like the 70's Raiders with their hands caked with stickum, catching everything in the same zip code.

[NCSteeler]

They had a bad game after what could be described as the weirdest weekly schedule in the NFl in 50 years.

Please these guys are our life blood at this point. Ben no longer has to force it to "the guy" he has so many weapons that celebrate each other. I was so happy to see juju get the TD knowing he hasn't been whining or causing trouble during his dry spell.

Youth has a small down side and a huge upside

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[NCSteeler]

Or ... here's a wild theory: They just had a bad game. It happens, and they happened to get away with it. If the dropsies continue in the Washington game, then you might have cause for legitimate alarm. I'm fully expecting after the abuse Tomlin dishes out in the meeting rooms this week that the receivers will collectively look like the 70's Raiders with their hands caked with stickum, catching everything in the same zip code.

Can you imagine how much Tomlin has had to constantly change his style to manage a full blown veteran team and then a team built of youthful guys. He's doing a good job I expect the young guys to be more focused this week

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[Fire Goodell]

Juju isn't a diva, he's a typical millennial lol (not a bad thing). They've been living their entire lives on social media and it's his platform. If he was a Diva, he'd be getting pissed all year that he hasn't been getting the ball enough, and would be pissed that Claypool is getting more 'respect' than him.

Juju when he found out they weren't playing Thursday, spent his free time and money delivering turkeys and thanksgiving food to poor families. He's a good man.

As for the other WR's I don't think they qualify as divas either. DJ has been pretty quiet in the media (that's a good thing), and Claypool despite as his talent and attention he's been getting this year seems like a pretty grounded guy.

Ebron's always had focus issues catching the ball. Gotta take the bad with the good. Would like to see McDonald in the lineup more, he's the better blocker and IMO similar in playmaking ability. He's not as fast but if he has to run through someone for a first down, I have more confidence that he'd do it while Ebron would get stopped

[EzraTank]

Or ... here's a wild theory: They just had a bad game. It happens, and they happened to get away with it. If the dropsies continue in the Washington game, then you might have cause for legitimate alarm. I'm fully expecting after the abuse Tomlin dishes out in the meeting rooms this week that the receivers will collectively look like the 70's Raiders with their hands caked with stickum, catching everything in the same zip code.

This. They had the game cancelled/postponed multiple times, had no practice routine and as someone said the other day it's hard to stay at "ready to play" level when you just don't know. Add that to the fact that the Ravens were depleted and players, know matter how good you are, are going to relax a little and play down. It's like in little league when that one kid that couldn't hit it came to bat and everyone relaxed and moved up in the field.

[tube517]

I'd rather have them playing video games and posting on TikTok than getting into trouble.



(I still don't like TikTok )

[steel striker]

Chalk it up to a bad game and, all the delays as well. You know in years past the would have been a loss in the Tomlin era and, I'm just glad they won the game.

[Dissolv]

Playing a bad game and winning anyway is one of the hallmarks of a good team. This is a good team -- but it has serious flaws. If they can go all the way with what they have, then you have to look at the year and say that the effort was overall good. This week was just horrible conditions to play under.

I'm a lot more worried about the Rookies/2nd year guys hitting the wall come playoff time than this last game, bad as it was.

[EzraTank]

I worried our defense suffers another major injury. Imagine this defense with a healthy Bush and Dupree all year!

[RunNGun]

Some game our WR drops are going to change the outcome from what should have been a win to a loss. I like Johnson as the 3rd receiver. Ben loves him but forcing 3 passes and fumbling the ball out of bunds when we needed the clock to run can not happen again.

What can be done? Stop targeting Johnson 12-16 times a gam. Ju-Ju for example is far more reliable.

The thing is Johnson isn't the 3rd WR. He's the #1 WR. They target him 12-16 times a game because he is the best at getting open...but his hands are not the most reliable. Juju has had a hard time creating separation as of late...same goes for Claypool...a lot of 50/50 balls thrown their way.

Juju isn't going to see that many targets because he doesn't get open that many times a game. He's sure handed and tough as nails though.

[cubanstogie]

I believe it was an aberration. DJ especially has made some tough catches in traffic this year. We knew ebron would drop his share. Even when Ju Ju only gets 5 touches hes effective. Im hoping eventually hes as productive as he was when AB here. If Claypool keeps making big plays it’s possible. Bottom line I don’t see how all guys get covered, doesn’t matter to me who gets big stats. Maybe Washington gets more touches. If anything its reminder to DJ to take care of ball before he makes a move. Im not worried

[EzraTank]

I believe it was an aberration. DJ especially has made some tough catches in traffic this year. We knew ebron would drop his share. Even when Ju Ju only gets 5 touches hes effective. Im hoping eventually hes as productive as he was when AB here. If Claypool keeps making big plays it’s possible. Bottom line I don’t see how all guys get covered, doesn’t matter to me who gets big stats. Maybe Washington gets more touches. If anything its reminder to DJ to take care of ball before he makes a move. Im not worried

The biggest issue is Ben seeing the open guy IMHO. He missed a wide open Watt at one point on a simple slant that should have been a TD.

This week should be a good measuring stick. We play on limited rest (compared to Redskins) and the Redskins have the #2 pass defense in the league right behind ours.

[katmandu]

I'd rather have them playing video games and posting on TikTok than getting into trouble.

(I still don't like TikTok )

Yup. Better than going totally off their rockers like AB.

[Mojouw]

It's a massive overreaction by the OP. Every team in the NFL would love to have a selfless, hard-working and reliable WR that runs like a fullback after the catch, blocks his ass off, has no off the field issues, and enjoys his teammates scoring TD's as much as he enjoys scoring TD's himself.

He was personally passing out turkey dinners to families in need for Thanksgiving....he's a good kid and he has his head screwed on right.....and he's 24.

Guys like JuJu are exactly what you want your team to be about.

JuJu is the oldest player in the WR room at 24 years old. These guys are all young, and they are all going to get better. They are all doing things at a young age that most WR's are not able to do yet. I'm not going to lose my mind when they make some mistakes. They're still learning their craft, and sometimes shit happens.

This is not the time to overreact to anything. One close call, and suddenly an 11-0 team is being questioned and their priorities are questioned? I don't think so.

Some people seem to look for anything to criticize or look for reasons to bang on players. They need to stop.

I think you pretty well nailed it.

Also after reading this I think Ben is still a bit bitter about that final drive in the Green Bay SB loss. https://steelersdepot.com/2020/12/ro...e-and-sanders/

I still remember him trying to not be salty about it, but basically indicating that there were numerous problems on that drive because the young WRs didn't know where to line up or what routes to win.

But from the above article: “And fill in for each other. Play each others spots. Which I think is one of the most special things about the group. Literally you can plug each guy into each position, each role, each route. Which we do a lot of that with the no-huddle, moving guys around. They don’t blink. They don’t second guess. They don’t question. When I say, ‘let’s do this, let’s do that,’ they line up and do it. I think when you talk about this group, the collectiveness of all five of them is what makes them so special.”

That kinda says it all to me. Ben wants these guys to play "WR" and worry about being good at their position and who gets catches and TDs will get sorted out later.

[86WARD]

The whole team came into the Wednesday game thinking it was going to be a cake walk. It showed in their demeanor leading up to the game and the way they played the actual game. There was a lack of focus...it was obvious.

[Steeler-in-west]

I think the game postponements, weird game time, almost complete lack of any fans, and playing a raven team that was infested with the virus played on their minds and had them a little distracted. I somewhat think the game should’ve been played Monday at the latest or not payed at all and the ravens should’ve been made to forfeit. That’s what they deserved by botching they’re protocols. Totally a double standard when you see what the league did to Denver

I expect the Steelers receivers to return to they’re more reliable form against the redskins.

[Six Rings]

Juju isn't a diva, he's a typical millennial lol (not a bad thing). They've been living their entire lives on social media and it's his platform. If he was a Diva, he'd be getting pissed all year that he hasn't been getting the ball enough, and would be pissed that Claypool is getting more 'respect' than him.

Juju when he found out they weren't playing Thursday, spent his free time and money delivering turkeys and thanksgiving food to poor families. He's a good man.

As for the other WR's I don't think they qualify as divas either. DJ has been pretty quiet in the media (that's a good thing), and Claypool despite as his talent and attention he's been getting this year seems like a pretty grounded guy.

Ebron's always had focus issues catching the ball. Gotta take the bad with the good. Would like to see McDonald in the lineup more, he's the better blocker and IMO similar in playmaking ability. He's not as fast but if he has to run through someone for a first down, I have more confidence that he'd do it while Ebron would get stopped

Most Divas are Rich. Ju-ju is playing for his 2nd contract. It would be very foolish for him to act up now. Only after he get's " Paid " will we find out if he is a diva or not. Just saying. I don't think he is.

- - - Updated - - -

The whole team came into the Wednesday game thinking it was going to be a cake walk. It showed in their demeanor leading up to the game and the way they played the actual game. There was a lack of focus...it was obvious.

Agreed and this is on Tomlin. He has to keep their focus. We can't play like this in the playoffs.

[teegre]

I think you pretty well nailed it.

Also after reading this I think Ben is still a bit bitter about that final drive in the Green Bay SB loss. https://steelersdepot.com/2020/12/ro...e-and-sanders/

I still remember him trying to not be salty about it, but basically indicating that there were numerous problems on that drive because the young WRs didn't know where to line up or what routes to win.

But from the above article: “And fill in for each other. Play each others spots. Which I think is one of the most special things about the group. Literally you can plug each guy into each position, each role, each route. Which we do a lot of that with the no-huddle, moving guys around. They don’t blink. They don’t second guess. They don’t question. When I say, ‘let’s do this, let’s do that,’ they line up and do it. I think when you talk about this group, the collectiveness of all five of them is what makes them so special.”

That kinda says it all to me. Ben wants these guys to play "WR" and worry about being good at their position and who gets catches and TDs will get sorted out later.

I’ve avered for years that we lost that game because Manny Sanders got hurt. He was so good as a rookie, the Jets put Revis on him (and Manny broke Revis’s ankles).

Anyway, on that last series, we wasted a down by spiking the ball (take the time out!!!) and then on second down, Antwaan Randle El ran the wrong route (he was playing in place of Manny). The rest... is history.

[hawaiiansteeler]

[Mojouw]

https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/sta...31822282170370

When you throw over a third of your passes into the area of the field that the entire league drops a ton of balls in...you are going to get drops....at least the logic makes sense...I guess the next thing would be to compare this to where the drops are actually happening...but I am far too lazy to do that.

[Steeler-in-west]

Like another poster said, 3 games in 12 days. Give them a chance to regroup. Let’s see how they perform Sunday night. Something tells me the receivers will play a lot better, as will the offense as a whole.