Can we stop the “Keeping Up with the Jones'” with the QB’s in the AFC? Can we stop with the “Mitch can’t go toe-to-toe with Patrick, or Lamar, or Justin, or Joe, or Deshaun…” Can we just watch basketball and shut up until the draft?
Ok, I’m asking for the moon there, but I really am sick of the narrative that you need an elite quarterback to field a successful team in the NFL. I want to push back against that for a minute.
I understand why the NFL uses big-name QB’s as the face of teams, and why they market games to casual fans as if they were heavyweight bouts. For years Steelers/Patriots games were “Brady vs. Roethlisberger: the pretty-boy hero vs. the crooked-nosed heel.”
We’re all painfully aware of who got the better of that exchange more often than not, but in all that time no victory was ever decided by Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady having a fist-fight at the 50 yard line. They were never on the field at the same time, except when they shook hands post-game.
It’s absolutely true that a great quarterback can steal a game or three you had no business winning. Pat Mahomes can put up 50 on you in the first half if you’re not careful, but you don’t fight fire with fire.
I’ve got news for you: he’s human. Last year the Chiefs lost to the Titans 27-3. The Bills, Giants, Packers and Cowboys all held him to 20 points or less. If Ryan Tannehill and Daniel freakin’ Jones can out-gun him, Mitch Trubisky can, too.
The best way to topple a Pat Mahomes-led team is to build a defense suited to slow him and his weapons. These are the ingredients you’ll need:
Defensive linemen who can control blocks while keeping their eyes in the backfield so they can shed/stuff if he tries any of his malarkey – check.
Linebackers who can cover with depth; the inside linebacker duo of Devin Bush and Myles Jack is genetically engineered to counter Travis Kelce – check.
Corners who can run with the Tyreek Hills of the world – check. (Witherspoon, by the way).
Edge rushers who can contain – check, and check plus.
Physical run defenders (you see how that Maulet kid can hit?).
I know what you’re thinking: “But Mahomes & Co. walked all over this defense…twice!” Slow down, tough guy. TJ played that first game with cracked ribs and his groin hanging off; when he was healthy in that Wildcard Weekend matchup he created two turnovers. Witherspoon also posted two + performances against him, while Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu and Myles Jack didn’t play in either game.
The Steelers have aggressively plugged a lot of holes around that defensive corps and they now have the potential to be one of the best units the NFL has ever seen. I’ll leave you with one last memory to chew on: Aaron Donald recording a run stuff on 3rd and 1, then getting in Joe Burrow’s face to force an incompletion on 4th and 1.
You’ve got one of the top-two interior defenders, the best edge rusher, and the best center-fielder in the NFL in Cam Heyward, TJ Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. On paper, that three-headed monster should give you a puncher’s chance to hang with any team in this league.
Pat Mahomes is different. He doesn’t conform to the rules of the sport, or physics. Push the pocket on Patrick and he’ll pirouette right out of it. If you blitz him, he only becomes stronger. He’s the best the world has ever seen at looking defenders off his targets; hell, he doesn’t even need to be looking where he throws!
Scary stuff, especially considering how comfortable he looked while dismantling the Steelers when last they met, lo those three weeks ago. So what’s the plan of attack?
First and foremost, don’t put more bullets in their gun. Ben loves those RPO crossers, but surely the Chiefs are aware of that as well. If the Steelers give the Chiefs even one extra possession with a turnover, the playing field gets a lot steeper.
Defensively, look for the “mush rush.” This is a concept in which penetration takes a back seat to containment: the edge rushers are careful to sacrifice containment by over-pursuing while the inside guys control rushing lanes.
Instead of traditional “half-man” pass rush sets, look for “two-gapping” on the interior: defenders lining up head-on with offensive lineman so they can control the block with their eyes in the backfield, then shed the block to make a tackle to either their left or right. It’s a bit of a lost art in today’s NFL, but Isaiahh Loudermilk is one of the better two-tappers on this team. Watch for #92.
2) King of the “Hill”
Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill has sub-4.3 40 speed, and the Steelers defense, well, doesn’t. Joe Haden is by all accounts a fantastic leader, he’s easily my favorite former-Brown and I’ll forever love him for this:
Joe Haden picks off Tom Brady in the Steelers’ 2018 victory over the Patriots
God bless the guy, but he can’t run anymore; even the famously-hapless Gilligan could escape “Haden Island.” So who’s the next man up?
Ahkello Witherspoon is a guy they brought in before the season for depth, but he’s a RAS-ier (Relative Athletic Score) corner who should be more able to run with the Hills, Diggs and Chases of the world.
After a slow start, Witherspoon came on strong down the stretch with 3 INT’s and 7 PBU’s in his last 5 games. He’s made some sensational plays under-cutting routes, but Mahomes’ eyes are harder to read than Kirk Cousins’.
Do you throw him out there and ask him to play one-on-one with Hill? Absolutely not, that’s not a one-man job. He’ll probably have Minkah’s help over the top, freeing him up to pounce on those intermediate routes.
3) “Kelce” about that
The Steelers have been rather successful at quieting the impact of the opponents most dangerous offensive weapons this year. That’ll be a stout task today, as the Chiefs have two guys who can wreck your gameplan.
Travis Kelce is one of the best over the middle, an area of the field the Steelers have struggled mightily in recent history. So what has to happen to keep Kelce from running wild through the heart of this defense?
It starts with the MLB’s, particularly Devin Bush. He’s been a bit of a lightning rod this year; while some of that criticism is warranted, he’s consistently dealing with climbing offensive linemen because the Steelers’ defensive trenches have been decimated. Fans have wanted him to play more downhill, but that’s never been what he does.
As the off-ball ILB he’s playing the primary coverage role over the middle. He has supreme ball skills for a MLB; he could make Mahomes pay for getting too cocky with those no-look balls.
Another name to keep in mind here is Witherspoon. In addition to his athleticism, he’s also quite long (meaning height/wingspan) for a corner. You need wings like that to take on the 6’5” Kelce.
4) “That’s my Quarterback”
Steeler Nation rejoiced yesterday when Juju Smith-Schuster was activated from what we believed was a season-ending shoulder injury he sustained on a jet sweep against the Broncos in Week 5.
We’ll see how much a factor conditioning and rustiness play in his contributions, but having #19 out there – even on a pitch count – should prove massive for Roethlisberger, who has sorely missed his third down safety blanket.
The aspect of Juju’s game this team missed most, however, is his run blocking. Diontae and (more so, of late) Claypool show effort in that arena, but neither of those guys are going to knock Vontaze Burfict on his butt. Having Juju out there will be big for Ben, but it’s huge for Najee.
QB(2): Ben Roethlisberger (voidable), Mason Rudolph
The position casual fans have at the top of the needs list. It’s not a strong draft class for QB’s and the free agent talent is second-tier at best. Names like Aaron Rodgers (2022 cap hit: $47 million) and Russell Wilson (2022 cap hit: $36 million) would turn heads, but they’re under contract and any trade package will almost certainly demand multiple first-round picks. This team has too many holes to throw multiple premium picks at a single position.
At this point I think the most likely scenario is a swan song for Ben. If Ben isn’t back, I think they’ll bring in a free agent (think Tyrod Taylor, Teddy Bridgewater, Jacoby Brissett) and have him compete with Mason for QB1. It’s not what I WANT to happen, but it gives them the flexibility to fill out the rest of the roster.
RB(4): Najee Harris, Benny Snell Jr, Anthony McFarland, Derek Watt
Not much to add here, unless you want to swap out McFarland for another change-of-pace back in the late rounds. Benny Snell hasn’t contributed much offensively but his value to the team is special teams, another aspect of the game casual fans overlook.
WR(3): Juju Smith-Schuster (voidable), Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson
Juju bet on himself and came back to Pittsburgh on a one-year “prove it” deal. While he has always been the team’s primary third down target, Ben had trouble connecting with him deep early in the year, then he was lost for the year to a separated shoulder suffered against the Bengals. He’s already spoken about maximizing his value in free agency; it’s possible the team moves a little towards his camp’s side in negotiations considering how thin they are at his position, but I don’t see a long-term deal coming.
Regardless of Juju’s future, I think WR is the team’s greatest area of need. They’ll need to add in free agency and the draft. The WR free agency class is strong and deep: headlined by names like Davante Adams, Odell Beckham Jr, Chris Godwin and Allen Robinson. More economical options include Emanuel Sanders, Sammy Watkins and DeSean Jackson. The most intriguing names for burners in the draft are Jahan Dotson out of Penn State and OSU’s Chris Olave.
TE(3): Eric Ebron (voidable), Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry
Eric Ebron hasn’t garnered more than three targets in any game this year. His cap number would be just under $4 million next year, but that number is set to void just after this year’s Super Bowl. Freiermuth and Gentry will make less than $1.5 million combined next year.
The team feels Freiermuth is ready to take the TE1 perch and Gentry has taken the strides as a blocker needed to solidify his roster spot. They also have Kevin Rader on the practice squad, and FB Derek Watt has probably lined up more as an H-back than a fullback this year. They may add a depth piece, but this is one of the easier position groups to project.
OT(3): Zach Banner, Dan Moore Jr, Joe Haeg
Dan Moore has been a mixed bag at LT, but the Steelers had enough faith in him to leave him on an island with Myles Garrett most of the Cleveland game. I think they want to give him a chance to grow.
Banner is tied to the RT spot, so his value as a swing guy is limited. Haeg can play anywhere along that line and is set to earn less than half of Banner’s hefty $6.6 million price tag. If Banner doesn’t start next year, he could be a cap casualty.
Chukwuma Okorafor has quietly been the best pass-blocker on the team this year; I especially enjoyed watching his work against Von Miller in the Broncos game. That performance won Okorafor the RT job, and it’s why Zach Banner hasn’t played yet.
I’d like to see Okorafor back. If Moore takes a step back Chuks can kick over to the left side, allowing Banner to step in at his native RT spot. You’d feel pretty good about Moore and Haeg as your depth. If that doesn’t happen – or even if it does – OT could be a mid-round target.
IOL(2): Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green
Dotson’s LG spot is the only OL position I see as crystallized moving into 2022. I like Kendrick Green as a mauler, but I don’t need to see him snap the ball if it can be avoided. I’d kick him out to RG – he played the left at Illinois – and target a center early in the draft. I’m thinking Tyler Linderbaum out of Iowa.
That takes care of your starters. Joe Haeg also offers depth at guard, but BJ Finney and JC Hassenauer are unrestricted free agents after this season. They’ve both logged significant tape for the Steelers; they’ll probably at least test free agency. In addition to the draft pick, look for another center-capable guard as a veteran free agent pickup.
DT(3): Tyson Alualu, Isaiah Buggs, Carlos Davis
DE(4): Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Chris Wormley, Isaiahh Loudermilk
Some have projected DL as one of the highest needs, but they just need to get guys healthy. Tuitt and Davis haven’t played at all this year due to injury, and Alualu went down for the year in the fifth quarter of the season. Buggs has flashed in the expanded role he’s been tasked with, but has also been over-exposed at times. He can be a valuable piece in a deeper rotation.
The Steelers had the chance to trade for DT Fletcher Cox before the deadline, but balked at the deal when Philly asked for a third-round pick. Cox is under control through 2023, so Pittsburgh’s unwillingness to part with a third-rounder for two-and-a-half years of a perennial pro-bowler speaks to their confidence in the guys on the roster.
EDGE(2): TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith
The Melvin Ingram experiment taught us this team is all-in on the Watt/Highsmith tandem, but they can’t play every snap for 17 games. They need to add at least two: one for rotation and one for depth.
Pittsburgh took Highsmith in the third round to back up Watt and Dupree; I could see spending another mid-rounder on a third head for that EDGE-rushing monster. There may be a veteran addition to the unit, and probably an RFA camp darling as well.
ILB(4): Devin Bush, Joe Schobert, Ulysses Gilbert III, Buddy Johnson
Another unit with a high projected need; I guess they’re expecting Bush to not make the 53 in ‘22. I remain higher on him than most fans and, quite frankly, his recent tape warrants I should be. I think back to that fantastic interception he had against the Ravens in 2019 and expect that Devin Bush to return.
Any addition here will likely be a mid- to late-rounder. I don’t think they’ll spend much after bringing in Joe Schobert this past preseason, but the top free agent name this Spring is Dont’a Hightower. The Steelers were involved in him after his rookie contract expired with New England, so who knows.
CB(3): Cam Sutton, Justin Layne, James Pierre
Joe Haden’s cap number is over $15.5 million this year. I wouldn’t hate having him back but at that number? Salud, god bless, let the guy go chase a Lombardi after being marooned in Cleveland the first half of his career.
They need to add at least two, and one of those needs to be a starter. Considering the Steelers’ history drafting pedigree corners I’m looking at the FA market seeing names like Stephon Gilmore, Kyle Fuller and Patrick Peterson. They’re projected to have between $30-40 million in cap space; if they’re going to spend this is the position to do it.
S(2): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tre Norwood
Terrell Edmunds may have done enough this year to play his way around the risky fifth-year option (just ask Juju about getting hurt in a contract year) and into a long-term deal. Especially considering the weak free agent class, I think the Steelers lock him up.
If not I love Jaquan Brisker from Penn State. He’s solid down low and has the coverage ability to roam deep. The flexibility a guy like that could bring paired with a guy like FS Minkah Fitzpatrick boggles the mind.
Miles Killebrew has two blocked punts this year. One has to presume that all but locks up a return to camp next season. He’s obviously a great special teams player; he’s also a good depth piece,
Specialists(2): Chris Boswell, Presley Harvin III
The most stable unit. LS Christian Kuntz is an ERFA this Spring but we haven’t heard his name all year, which means he’s an above-the-line player. No reason to expect him to not return.
Our boys gave me a scare tonight but – bumps, bruises and all – Penn State preserved their perfect season with a 28-13 win at Camp Randall.
The Nittany Lions climb to 7-0 despite QB Drew Allar watching the entire second half from under a towel on the sideline. Dani Dennis-Sutton was also hurt in this game – he tried to go for Penn Stat in the second half but vinyl lasted one snap. Starting RT Anthony Donkoh was also unable to finish this game.
Despite of how uphill the battle seemed to get, Penn State came through in a way #3-ranked teams must.
In addition to the TD snag shown above that speaks for itself, Singleton set up that TD opportunity with a 27-yard catch-and-scamper on a crossing check-down.
Nobody was happier for Nick than Drew after that catch. You could read his lips say “WOW” when the camera cut to him amidst that celebration. Drew’s lips were caught saying something a little more PG-13 (as long as you only say it once!) to a Wisconsin fan who mocked his injury just before the half.
The most impressive part of Nick’s performance tonight is he clearly isn’t 100% himself out there. That tummy ache that held him out of the USC game may have been more significant than it seems. The last two weeks he’s tallied 22 rushes for 75 yards – almost 3.5 yards per carry.
Singleton has still been effective in space, as a receiver out of the backfield (7 rec, 76 yds, 2 TDs) but he’s struggled between the tackles. We’re going to need his best self next Saturday against Ohio State.
I think we can all agree it’s fun seeing a Beau Pribula package every now and then. I don’t think any of us want to see him taking snaps full-time
His throw to Liam Clifford for 23 yards with about 5 minutes left in the game might have sealed it for the Lions.
A few snaps later, Kotelnicki brought Vega Ioane in motion from the top of the screen. Everyone – including the commentators – had seen the highlight from UCLA; they were expecting something similar to that.
Instead, Beau pulled the string on the changeup, pulled the ball back from Kaytron’s tummy and bent around the edge. Ioane bluffed the sift block (split zone run) but instead of hitting the kick-out block he went around the outside, ostensibly as a lead blocker.
Kotelnicki called this same play before – in the Illinois game (the first clip in this tweet). It wasn’t quite as clean this time (you’d like to see Beau real tight to Ioane’s backside there) but it’s just a matter of time til we’re treated to Vega blowing up a safety on the edge and Beau dancing right into the end zone.
Jaylen Reed was already shouldering more than his fair share with personnel losses in the safety room. Tonight he had to take on even more responsibility, helping prop up the Penn State offense in Drew Allar’s absence.
In addition to the pick six he was also in on a TFL, and nearly reeled in a second pick late in the game.
Also: shoutout to S Zakee Wheatley for a team-leading 10 tackles.
Ford missed the USC game, but he’s following up his 7-tackle showing fro the UCLA game with 2 TFLs on one drive. The first of which – the more emphatic of the two – is shown above.
The senior Old Dominion transfer has shined in limited opportunities. Size was a desperate need on this defensive line and his 319 pounds are a nice anchor inside.
Bonus: he can also slide well and play the run laterally – as evidenced above.
Penn State effectively ended USC’s inaugural B1G season Saturday afternoon with a 33-30 (OT) rodeo ride in SoCal.
My lovely lady friend and I drove 10 hours to Norfolk, VA and back yesterday to see John Mulaney so I enjoyed this game from the pilot’s chair of my Toyota Camry (shoutout to YoutubeTV).
Rest assured I’m rewatching as I write – partially because of my journalistic integrity, but I’d be lying if I said I weren’t mixing business with pleasure.
I love a good pitchers’ duel and I’ll fight anyone who says that style of sport is boring, but I have to admit: shootouts are fun! Fun to watch, and fun to write about.
Let’s talk Biggest Winners:
Drew Allar
30/43 passing – 391 yards
2 TDs/ 3 INTs
4 rushes – 32 yards
I lost the feed for this game briefly during halftime and by the time I got it tuned back in Drew had erased USC’s first half advantage with two quick, efficient touchdown marches. Each of those drives featured a stretch of three consecutive plays that each resulted in passing gains of 10+ yards:
1st Drive (20-6 USC)
19 yards to Wallace
10 yards to Singleton
Warren ➡️ Pribula ➡️ Allar ➡️ 32 yard TD back to Warren
2nd Drive (20-13 USC)
25 yards to Wallace
34 yards to Warrren
16 yards to Evans to 3 yard line (took 2 rushes to finish)
We really hung this one on Drew’s shoulder but he stepped up under the bright lights. He had some fluky INTs (and one head scratcher) because of the increased sample size but he erased all of that coming through when all the chips were down – TWICE on Penn State’s final TD drive.
Every week it’s looking more and more like he’ll be able to get to bed early next April on draft night.
What can you even say about Tyler Warren at this point?
Coach Kotelnicki has been everything advertised as far as injecting new life and wrinkles into this offense. Superfans will remember the center-eligible play from that time Iowa blew out Ohio State (I wanna say 2018?) – except Coach K added the pass-back element, and a misdirection run element (which they ended up hitting early on the next drive).
FG’s have to be a given. You have to absolutely convert those three points because you’re taking 7 potential points off the board.
After Sander Sahaydak missed three FG tries in Penn State’s first four games it appears the kicking unit has stabilized.
Barker is perfect both in FGs (6/6) and XPs (8/8) since taking over FG kicking duties after Sander’s second miss against Illinois. Seven of those 14 makes came this afternoon – including a clutch 36-yarder to walk off the Trojans (another big shoutout to Drew for getting that ball to the middle of the field just before the final play).
Fleming was on the receiving end of both of those 4th down conversions I mentioned above. It says a lot about a guy when your quarterback repeatedly comes back to him on fourth down. That confidence Drew Allar has in Julian Fleming is why we don’t have to worry about that drop becoming a “thing” for him.
Fleming was flagged for offensive pass interference early, taking a Tyler Warren TD off the board. Come to think of it, that was actually a 4th down play, too – so technically Allar was 3/3 on 4th down last night.
It may not be showing up on the box scores for Fleming but he’s putting out teach tape left and right. I’ve highlighted his blocking before, his work habits are evident to even the untrained eye, at a certain point the Football Gods are going to reward him for his selfless efforts.
Dani Dennis-Sutton
6 tackles – 2 TFLs
DDS bookended this game with a pair of TFL’s: one on the first play of the game, and the second helped politely usher the door shut at the end.
Speaking of bookends, the Penn State D – playing tight, physical coverage – hung a couple of goose-eggs on either side of Dani’s big play. The defense turned out the lights; the offense thanked their gracious host and locked up for the night.
Hindsight being what it is the Trojans would have been better off just trying a 1st down field goal.
The Nittany Lions won a 27-11 home game over UCLA this afternoon, which I almost missed because I thought “there’s no way they’d make those poor, poor, obscenely rich kids fly across the country and play a game at 9 a.m. in their native time zone.”
This was just the tune-up game in their slate of newly-minted west coast B1G teams. Traveling to USC next week will be a significantly tougher test. Depending how that goes I’ll tell you how confident I’ll be when the Washington Huskies come to town next month.
At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, let’s get back to today. Graciously, Tyler Warren decided to take a week off and let someone else enjoy the spotlight for once. Let’s talk Biggest Winners.
Wheatley played key roles in setting the tone for Penn State’s defense at the start of both halves. He was only credited with seven tackles on the day, which is hard to believe because I counted six just on the first drive.
First of all, what more you can ask a guy to do on that targeting play? Wheatley got so low trying to get under the receiver’s head/neck area he planted a knee in the dirt before the hit. We CANNOT allow that to become a penalty.
Credit to Zakee for not letting that soft-ass flag get to him. He followed that play with a nice stick coming down low in the running game, then got the Nittany Lions off the field on 4th down with another run stuff. He knows he plays the game the right way and he’s gonna keep throwing that shoulder around.
On UCLA’s first drive of the 2nd half, Wheatley’s 2nd down TFL paved the way for Jayden Reed’s 3rd down strip sack. Even though they benefited from the luckiest bounce I’ve ever seen, it was clear the momentum was 100% on our side.
— Penn State Nittany Lions | Happy Valley Insider (@PennStateRivals) October 5, 2024
Vega is the first offensive lineman to make The List and he did it as a slot receiver. Okay, maybe “receiver” should be in quotes.
Slot players can move laterally before the snap, and there’s no rule against who can line up in the slot – not yet, at least. You can give a Big Boy a head of steam and watch him destroy folks. Sometimes he’ll also bury them for good measure.
I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a reactionary rule change – like the Kenny Pickett fake slide rule – coming after this season. Just like in Air Bud: there was nothing in the rule book against a dog playing basketball when that movie came out, but surely there’s been some sort of amendment in the interim.
They came back to this motion in the 2nd half but play-actioned off it, trying to scheme something up for Tyler Warren. Even though they didn’t complete that pass (Warren was mugged in coverage) it’s an important example of how plays can be stacked and stemmed off each other. Show them one thing, when you go back to it they think they know what they’re looking at, then you pull the string on the change-up.
I don’t yet have the stats to prove this yet but it feels like Drew was looking to push the ball downfield more often than in many of the games we’ve seen him play – especially in which he’s leading.
The two intermediate passes to Liam Clifford were triangulated in between three defenders: splitting the two underneath guys and zipping it in before the safety could get there. The deep ball to Clifford was also great to see – as was the savvy vet moment from Drew at the end of that play.
The flag in the defensive backfield could have potentially negated the big gain but Allar knew from where the flag was and when it came out that it had to be on the defense. Maybe he even saw that 12th defender trying to get off the field and was savvy enough to get the snap off in time to create a free play. Either way, it was a “high football IQ” moment from a kid who’s proving he’s actually a GAMER, not just a game manager relying on a top rushing attack to win.
Quinton Martin
Here’s another guy who stepped up in Singleton’s absence. I actually wrote about Martin when he led Belle Vernon to their second consecutive AAA state title.
This offense will look vastly different next year. Kaytron might stick around to prove he can highlight his own unit but Drew, Tyler and Nick (among others) are almost certainly moving on to The League. Getting Martin on the field makes us feel more comfortable about him shouldering more of the load next year, and getting him a taste of the Beaver Stadium experience will make it awful tough to put his name in the portal if he ends up feeling froggy.
CamBlackburnWrites 