The Steelers answered the question about what they will do with Steve McLendon now healthy on their defensive line.
Rookie Daniel McCullers is inactive for this game.
A lot of fans will howl about that, but realize that it comes down to who can do more as a backup, McCullers or Cam Thomas.
Thomas will back up both end and nose tackle. McCullers would have strictly been the backup nose tackle.
Cortez Allen is active today and will serve as the Steelers' No. 4 corner. That means he'll likely just see a lot of special teams action.
It's chilly here tonight with a very light wind.
Given what happened earlier in the day, we can now say definitively that the loser of this game will be in last place, a 1/2-game behind Cleveland, which won earlier to improve to 5-3.
8 comments:
"Thomas will back up both end and nose tackle." Just not very well.
I don't care what else happens this game, someone has to take out Upshaw.
Time to get an atittude and he just gave them a reason. That was straight up bs. Someone has to get him back.
LOL! A Wing Ding on that PAT. 2 pts is 2 pts I guess.
That was a really dirty hit by Suggs on Blount, from behind and right at his knees. Suggs could have blown out both Blount's knees right there. He should have been ejected.
"A lot of fans will howl about that, but realize that it comes down to who can do more as a backup, McCullers or Cam Thomas.
Thomas will back up both end and nose tackle. McCullers would have strictly been the backup nose tackle."
I call bullplop on that. This is strictly a bad decision by the coaching staff, and there's nothing nuanced about it. Sometimes the fans are right to howl.
First of all, Cam Thomas is the starting DE, not a backup, and that's a problem. Starting Keisel at RDE and shifting Heyward to LDE would be a better option, as would starting Tuitt at LDE.
Also, it's just not true that Thomas offers more than McCullers. Thomas is terrible at two positions (DE and NT in base) and McCullers is at least improving at two positions (NT in base and DE in sub-packages). I'm sure he's still loaded with faults, but he does have one major attribute, and is getting better. Thomas offers nothing anywhere, and has no upside. I thought it was an okay signing in the wake of losing Al Woods, but Cam Thomas has earned a seat on the bench. He's Cortez Allen, minus the promise and talent and commitment.
Do you think Flacco makes that 4th and short if it's McCullers alongside McLendon instead of Thomas? He barely made it as it was (and he might not have, considering how quickly his helmet came off).
Like a still-learning and limited Martavis Bryant, McCullers offers something. I'd complete the analogy by comparing Cam Thomas to one of our lesser receivers like Lance Moore or JB, but that would be unfair to Lance Moore and JB.
On a side note, I sure wish James Harrison could offer more to this team than Brett Keisel is! Too bad his heart isn't in it.
;-)
Always enjoy a beat down of the Ravens. If not for the KR TD and fumble, it would have been even better. :)
can we talk about how incredible Antonio Brown is? I am in complete awe of his game changing plays. His TD was just all effort, as if he said to himself I am going to score here no matter what.
To me, he is the reason we win the majority of our games (not to take away from Ben).
AB is having the best season I can ever remember a Steelers WR having, and one of the best I've ever seen from any WR. He's really doing it all, and he's also cut down on the mistakes.
With the emergence of Wheaton and Bryant, and with Ben on top of his game and the OL actually looking like an OL for a change, plus our RB, I see no reason for it to slow down. Teams have already thrown everything they have at him, and it hasn't worked. They can't afford to throw more, or Ben will carve them to pieces.
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