MasterStrategist

Thanks for write-up. AJE needs to "flatten" that rush when he gets 3-4 yards upfield, spin move/hand usage/something. Boogie has less juice off the edge, still think AJE has more upside. Cam Lewis played another solid game. Not sure how we cut him, given our safety injury/age...he's gonna be scooped up if cut. OL looked alot better on 1st team. No surprise, as Dorsey tried more deep drops last week (likely a top 3 pass rush front in Steelers). Ike looked bad, Q looked OK. Edwards looks serviceable at LG, but hopefully Connor back for week 1 (likely best DL we play early on). Vandemark likely backup LT, Q at RT. I won't be surprised to see 2-3 guys make the initial 53, that aren't currently on roster (MLB, RT, QB if we keep 3). Will Grier put up a nice game for Dallas, either will be cut or traded (former Carolina guy). He'd be a nice P/S stash, if we could get him.

Jamal Adams trade. Between this and the 49ers (Lance)/Dolphins deal, that sent a TON of draft capital and really swung competitive balance.

Rodgers looking like the old man he is, tripping all over himself. Love Wink and his aggressive defense. Goes Cover 0 the first 5 plays then "simulates" pressure and gets heat with a 4-man rush. These teams don't like each other 😊

Jonathan looks like his explosive 1st step is back this week. He's more valuable, IMO, than Shaq. Be interesting if they move someone

Highly doubt it. 1 yr $3m with Chiefs, as a backup. He's not the answer either. At this point, we are either looking to make a "splash" trade (unlikely), or just roll with what we got first 4-6 weeks to see if Bernard/Williams show enough improvement.

Agree, I think he should be cut

That's Klein out there with Dodson

9-8 is a likely worse-case, would take Josh missing multiple games. Just liking saying we go 15-2, possible but highly unlikely. Division: 5-1. there will be close games with all 3 teams but think we sweep Pats and Jets, lose 1 to Miami Toughest 3 games: 1-2. Bengals/Chiefs/Eagles -this will be our true measuring stick, likely top 2 contenders in AFC again. I see us beating Cincy, losing a very close game to Chiefs and another L to Philly Tier 2 teams: 3-0. Jax/Dallas/Chargers: I think Dallas will be the toughest game, Chargers will be close as well Tier 3 teams: 2-0 Giants/TB. Dabolls return. I'm not a believer in Daniel Jones, and think Daboll overachieved (hence COTY award) LY. Tampa's QB situation is horrible I'd be tempted to move them into Tier 4, and a Thursday night game in Buffalo will be huge advantage us. Tier 4 teams: 3-0 Den/Raiders/WFT - these should be wins for many reasons, I guess anything is possible; just think we should win all 3 by double digits. 14-3. I'm still a big believer in Dorsey improving his playcalling, and the run game/OL improvements. Defensively, I think our secondary is being underrated again. Mike linebacker is the only concern, but think it gets figured out one way or another.

Not yet, and likely won't until he's back practicing. We have: 1. @HappyDaysinside scoop: sprained MCL/no surgery 2. McGovern stayed on field/leg sleeve, to finish watching practice & his post-practice interview with BN Pure guess, but knowing MCL injuries can be very painful and instability is a concern, the fact he stayed out to finish watching and didn't seem concerned in his interview - could be a Grade 1 sprain, or low Grade 2. If Grade 1, I think it's very possible he plays Week 1. Grade 2, likely looking at 1-2 missed games.

I think that'd be a major reach, but if you have a lot of Steeler fans in your draft...then yeah, someone will draft him in the 2nd or 3rd round. He's probably a 5th-6th rounder in 12 team PPR leagues. I look at the Steeler offense and see a "balanced attack". They aren't going to air it out each week, like us or Chiefs. Pickett isn't talented enough or there yet. And when they do throw, they have a group of weapons that will spread the touches. Redzone- Freiermuth is a monster, and see them running alot. Washington will be used alot there too. Long story short, Pickens is a good player but in FF he's probably in the 30-35 range of WRs.

Agree, and that's been their problem on defense (injuries). However, I think they have much better depth across their team....nobody at TJ or Highsmith level, but those are blue chip talents. I do like Herbig, their rookie. He has the look of a potential steal as a 4th rounder. Young team on offense, but alot of vets on that defense. Glad we don't play the North this season, likely the best division in football.

Correct. 100% agree, saw it happen week 1 against Rams. Dorsey/Allen need to take the "jabs", then mix in the deep shots. It's against Ken's philosophy, but hoping he has learned that lesson for this year.

Ahead of Ravens. Steelers finished LY very well in general. I think they could challenge for the North, if Pickett takes a big step, but not counting on that. That's if they avoid injuries to all their key players. This is one of my favorite matchups in the NFL week 1, 49ers vs Steelers

Thx for sharing. I hope your source is wrong on this though. Curious McGovern stayed out with the team yesterday to watch remainder of practice and not seen on crutches immediately after. But perhaps they found out more today, testing/imaging. Depending on severity of sprain, Week 1 will be challenging to play. Agree with your take on Edwards/Bates being capable depth, Quennin Williams seemed to have a field day LY with our IOL (will need to see how much of that was Morse/Bates).

Steeler defense is for real, their biggest issue is keeping their "stars" healthy in the past few years. They also upgraded their 2 biggest weaknesses on that side of the ball, both ILB spots and CB. Their offense is what I think will come back to earth in regular season. Solid small attacking team, that has Pickens for the occasional 50/50 deep ball. I think they've got nice complimentary skills group, I just think Pickett is a Tier 2-3 QB at best. 49ers will be an excellent measuring stick week 1. Overall, I had Steelers at 10-7 and getting a wildcard (2nd best team in North)

This was from yesterday. Knees are obviously tricky, but very positive he stayed on field/with sleeve, to finish watching practice. He's got a few weeks to heal, if it even takes that long. Edwards/Bates are very good depth in the worse case scenario.

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Not great about McGovern. Any inside scoop on how bad his knee was injured? Bernard hamstring injury is unfortunate, was hoping to see him this week

Thanks for posting! Fully expected youtube to have lag/streaming issues week 1, glad we have the primetime spot

Still be back by Week 1, even if it is indeed broken

Great video/analysis. One thing that stood out during live game, and confirmed here, is the "variety" of looks, schemes, stunts the Steelers threw at us. 5 man, 6 man rushes, various stunts and fronts/wide 9 too, etc. This is the Steeler defense, but not something you see teams do in preseason. They put alot on film, didn't go "vanilla" as some say. It's not an excuse, but when you don't scheme specifically, and looked like Dorsey was trying new concepts under center/route development, this is partly the result. Living in Steeler country, I know a couple media/close contacts to team. One texted me during the game, that he had learned during week that Steelers did some "moderate" planning for this game...to put forth a good showing for their only home preseason game/bitter taste from LYs game. Just passing along, its impossible to tell how this compares to the "prep" our staff did specifically for this game.

Few items: 1. Agree with your takes, especially on OL. @Ralonzoalso put out a thorough/fantastic analysis. Some correctable adjustments to be had on OL, but also with Josh/Cook reading blocks. 2. Penalties: the false starts are inexcusable, but I didn't think the holding penalties were called consistently at all. Case in point, Steelers first 3rd down conversion, I thought Groot was held. Best way to eliminate potential hold calls, is a better quick passing attack. Too many long developing plays, which was a Dorsey/Daboll trait (more Dorsey). Again, this is an adjustment to learn from and adjust (Dorsey/Josh). 3. 2nd Steeler TD: I saw it different than Milano in coverage. I thought he was pointing to Dodson to get a better drop/depth to Pat coming down the seam. But either way it looked like a blown coverage. Communication is expected to be an adjustment, with a new Mike LB beside Matt. But I'm all for seeing what Bernard has to offer. At the very least, Rapp/Neal look much better than Dodson or Klein right now. I'd find a way to go dime on 3rd/obvious passing downs. Dodson is what he is, same with Klein, I'd expect alot of teams to attack them in coverage. Dodson looked worse this week than expected. 4. Young OL: VanDeMark at LT, looks better than Q at right. Broeker and Anderson also look to have potential. I'm wondering if Q isn't a safe bet to make the team anymore, even with Doyle out and Shell retiring.

1. Too many overreactions to a single preseason game. This offense does this occasional "stinker" performance, I don't think it has anything to do with a single factor (or that's its preseason). But I do think preparation/focus is a big part of it, and in a preseason game that's always gonna be hit and miss. 2. Defense team speed is my biggest concern, and had been even b4 we saw Poyer take a poor angle. It just is what it is, a "smart" unit that's in their position/spot 95 out of 100 times. I also get concerned with the latter, specifically at MLB. Edmunds never elevated to a splash/highly impactful player but he was always doing his job and where he was supposed to be. Missed run fits and we see what happened on the 60 yard scamper. I'm cautiously optimistic on Rapp/Neal and how McD can use them. They are both better than our current Mike backer (until we see Bernard). So can we get either on the field in certain. subpackages. IOL play looks good, great to see when that was a concern LY. Our playmakers are better thus year. Kincaid will create mismatches, Gabe continues to look like an improved player each week/throughout camp, as does Cook. Steeler defense can be difficult/one of the best fronts in the NFL when healthy. Not surprised to see us struggle some, but also think some scheming/specific gameplanning makes a big difference against this type of team. I sure hope we adjust our "soft"/off coverage looks for Week 1. Pickett and the Steeler offense thrives in quick hitting routes, I'm almost certain if this was a real game we'd see more press and more pressure looks. For the Jets, they have seen Cincy/Pitt excel with quick passing attacks against us now, I think some of this is McD ready to unleash some varying coverages....they've talked alot about Nickle/Safety alignment and I feel like we will be adjusting looks more come week 1.

My bad, Roschon...sorry man

Lol. This is the usual in Steeler country, unfort