SectionC3

For old times’ sake, hoax. But I agree with you that Beasley is something sorely missing from the offense. Whether he can be the guy who was extremely productive for us for a few years remains to be seen. I have no issue with taking a hill shot at it, though. There’s nothing to lose by trying to work him in, and plenty of (third and medium distances) to gain.

This can’t be true because the Steelers can still get to nine wins.

Solid point. I think a healthy diet of berries and salmon would be appropriate for this tailgate for those seeking to prepare similar to a bear. Get a free trial of YouTube TV and you should be good.

No. But it distracted McDaniel. I don’t know if this made the broadcast, but he was jawing with fans in section 114/115 during the first quarter. Never seen a HC do something like that during a game.

4th and 18 against the Vikings not knocking the ball down. I sense a pattern here.

This. Coming from an OP local. This will be your best bet tomorrow. Traffic getting out of there is going to be a nightmare in the snow.

OMG get the metaphor. It refers to engaging in a pointless activity. Like sting that signing Bease and dumping Stevenson is like changing one dirty tshirt for another equally dirty T-shirt.

That’s not the issue. He left not because of his beliefs, but because he couldn’t keep them in check at and relative to his place of employment. Them’s the breaks, as they say. So long as he’s a team player and can contribute a bit, I’m glad he’s back. He’s one of us, irrespective of what he does or not believe relative to the now-academic issue in question.

I look at it this way. When was the last time we saw Josh stand in the pocket, flat-footed and unmolested, and unleash a rope in the middle of the field? It’s been awhile. He’s under too much duress. Some of this is scheme (can’t throw it at somebody’s back, and maybe a couple of boots, rollouts, or an effective screen game to get the DL moving side to side and running around a bit might help), but most of it is poor OL play.

Agreed on both counts, and I’ll add that if Hodgins was still here he’d have had a crack at this role already.

I’m not a Bease anon (quite the opposite, actually), and I usually agree with just about everything you say. The last four weeks, however, have been a major problem. And, after watching McKenzie nearly make a mess of another game on Sunday, I’m willing to take the low-risk, high-reward approach here and see if we get a little lucky.

This. All day long. It’s a huge need. Whether Beasley is the guy to fill the need is to be determined. We know that the guys otherwise available to us now aren’t cutting it. It’s nice that they took the step this week. We beat Miami at home last year because of Beasley. I’m not saying that I expect anything like that this week. He might not even be active. But if he can pick up one key third down it’s worth it.

I don’t know about that. I do know that slot is a huge problem. This offense has no rhythm right now. Gotta start stringing first downs together again. It shouldn’t be such a freaking struggle to convert on third down.

My thoughts exactly. Hodgins would have had a shot at this role if he was still here.

This is where I’m at. Get me four on a “gotta have it” third and three and I’m thrilled.

The big play to Diggs this week looked like a whip route from my vantage point. Even at the height of his powers Beasley wasn’t turning that into 31 yards. But he can still run that route, and he’s probably the only guy other than Diggs on the roster who can do so with some degree of effectiveness and reliability. That’s the chain-moving that we miss.

Enough of OBJ. Give that money to someone who wants to be here, like Poyer. In the meantime, Beasley is here to see if he can make the catch on third and short that McKenzie couldn’t make last week.

The other layer to this is that it’s good that they recognize that the slot is a problem. Maybe Crowder can help there in the playoffs if it turns out that Beasley is completely washed. I suppose that’s neither here nor there right at the moment because he’s just getting back to meaningful physical activity. But, long term, this signing suggests that they know they need to upgrade at that position, and I suspect that we’ll see a premium placed on skill offensive players in the draft.

I’m at the point where I don’t care about YAC. I think it may have been over emphasized. We did just fine when we played the football equivalent of target golf. Move the ball down the field by getting it to a spot and don’t worry about whether the recipient of the football advances the ball from said spot. We lack rhythm on offense in part because we don’t have a chain mover other than Diggs. The ability to move Diggs into the slot more frequently might solve that problem. But we don’t have the personnel to do that. If Beasley makes one significant conversion for us this effort is worth it.

Agreed. We don’t need six catches per game out of the slot. We need one or two “chain moving” plays per game on a third and short that we aren’t getting out of the current occupant of the slot position.

I don’t disagree. But I’ll take the five yards, however, on the third and short that McKenzie “plexiglassed” this week.

I almost always agree with you. But here I don't see the harm in the flier. I'm exhausted by McKenzie's inconsistency. Unless we can bionically heal Crowder (or sign OBJ on the cheap, get him ready immediately, and kick Diggs into the slot, or have Brown become functional enough to attempt the same thing), it's worth the shot. All we have to lose is another PS receiver who is even less likely to contribute this year.

I'm with you on the burst. I want short area quickness and a guy besides Diggs who can run a whip route on a big third and three.

I think he’s just about washed myself. But nothing ventured nothing gained, and if he picks up one or two big third downs the rest of the way it’s worth it. It’s like taking a flier on brown to see if we can free up Diggs for use in the slot here and there. No harm in trying. Frankly, we’re desperate in the slot. This was at least the second really bad game McKenzie has played this season. They don’t think Shakir can get open there. Hines isn’t ready for that role, and they don’t trust Cook with some of those snaps. So Bease it is. I’ll add that I doubt this happens if Hodgins didn’t end up with the giants. I really think we would have run him out there in the big slot role and given it a go before taking a shot at it with Bease. This. All day long. McKenzie seems like a really nice, fun guy. But this excuse-making and deflection of responsibility is too much. Amateur move in that tweet.

Adios to likely KeeSean Johnson. Then we see what happens with Miami. My guess is that Brown would not be elevated this week, and then it would be a week-by-week thing thereafter.