You don’t have to have a daily relationship with the Steelers; we love inviting you in to worship with us on Sundays. For the “Christmas and Easter” fans here’s a look at what to expect when you tune in this week.
This Sunday the Seattle Seahawks come to Heinz Field for Sunday Night Football on NBC, so you’ll have to “Wait All Day” for this one.
Offensively, the ’Hawks are anemic at best. They lead the NFL in punts and have only 5 FG attempts on the year. Not only are Seattle’s drives unsuccessful, they’re often not even competitive.
Compounding those struggles, they could be missing all three of their top offensive skill players. This Sunday will be the first start of QB Russell Wilson’s (#3) career he’ll miss due to injury. The 10-year veteran had surgery on that noodle finger this week after he was injured in last week’s loss to the Rams. He hopes to return by week 10, per Ian Rapaport.
Already a crippling blow, starting RB Chris Carson (neck) and WR D.K. Metcalf (foot) may join him on the sideline. Carson is dealing with what Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll referred to as a “long term condition” and has not practiced this week. After taking an early exit from practice on Wednesday, Metcalf was a DNP (did not participate) on Thursday.
Although Metcalf (#14) is going the wrong direction on the injury report you can bet the 6’4”, 235-pound wideout who runs a 4.3 40 is a point of focus for Keith Butler. He’s got the body of Megatron with Tyreek Hill speed. “Hope for sunshine, prepare for rain.”
The other pass-catcher to know about is WR Tyler Lockett (#16). He’s as solid as they come, especially with his feet in the Promised Land.
Seattle’s backup QB is Geno Smith (#7) who Pittsburgh fans likely remember from his WVU career, famously 2-0 against the Pitt Panthers. He doesn’t have the speed or the escapability of a Russ Wilson that just leaves you scratching your head. But he can extend plays and move pockets laterally, wrinkling defenses a bit.
Despite having All-Pro MLB Bobby Wagner (#54, second in the NFL in tackles) and two DT’s over 300 pounds (Poona Ford – 310; former Steeler Al Woods – 330) on the payroll, the Seahawks have allowed the second-most rushing yards in the NFL this season. They’ve also allowed the third-most passing yards. They’re a pale specter of the “Legion of Boom” defense and the Steelers should have options in how to attack them.
S Jamal Adams (#33) is the premier blitzing defensive back in the NFL. He has 21.5 career sacks – a formidable 9.5 last season alone – and each season on his resume he has notched more sacks than the previous campaign. He’s still hunting his first of the season and he’ll be licking his chops to get after Ben.
According the Seahawks writer Gregg Bell on the Steelers Depot podcast, the Seahawks are going to try to run the same Russell Wilson offense with Smith. To what extent that remains possible once TJ Watt, Melvin Ingram, Cam Heyward & Alex Highsmith enter the chat remains to be seen. They may be able to neutralize one of those guys, but at least one of the others will have a big day.
For the Steelers, the ground game finally found some purchase last week after spinning their tires for the better part of, idk, three years? RB Najee Harris (#22) got the first 1oo-yard rushing game of his career against the Broncos; look for them to try and continue that trend this week to grow the confidence of a young offensive line.
I keep saying it and Ben keeps making me look like a jackass, but eventually I’ll be right so I’ll keep saying it. Pat Freiermuth (#88) has been criminally underworked for his pay grade and it’s time to get him involved. Ben said as much in an interview this week, saying the onus is on him to work the rookie TE into the offensive plan.
CamBlackburnWrites 