Not sure but ultimately this unexpected bye is not a good thing for them. They don't need the bye this early in the season (considering they're pretty healthy). It was supposed to be in Week 8 (after their matchup against Baltimore) which would have been much more ideal. They'll eventually be travelling.Also, pretty remarkable looking at Pitt schedule.... they're going to go from Sept 16-Oct 25 without leaving town because of that unexpected Bye. I wonder if any NFL team has ever not traveled for 6 weeks in a row before?
No official confirmation yet as to whether or not it will be implemented this Sunday.Anyone know if fans will be allowed THIS week at Heinz field or if they're going to wait a week?
For sure. I just found the stat remarkable that they don't leave the city for 6 whole weeks and figured that had to be an NFL record.Not sure but ultimately this unexpected bye is not a good thing for them. They don't need the bye this early in the season (considering they're pretty healthy). It was supposed to be in Week 8 (after their matchup against Baltimore) which would have been much more ideal. They'll eventually be travelling.
But in typical Philly luck fashion, the Steelers do benefit from this against exactly one team - the Philadelphia Eagles. ETA - And take one guess who the team is that they should have benefitted against?For sure. I just found the stat remarkable that they don't leave the city for 6 whole weeks and figured that had to be an NFL record.
Not saying that's advantageous at all.... that will be tough for them later on in the season when there's road games galore.
This weekDeamon said:Anyone know if fans will be allowed THIS week at Heinz field or if they're going to wait a week?
They won't cancel the game. They would push back the start of the playoffs.Titans just had 2 more players test positive. If their game this week against the Bills needs to be delayed, what do they do? If they cancel or forfeit the game, they should retroactively do the same for the Steelers. Anything else would be complete and utter bs.
Make a week 18 with just the Titans and Bills?They won't cancel the game. They would push back the start of the playoffs.
No one is forfeiting. They'll figure it outMake a week 18 with just the Titans and Bills?
I think they should have made a 2nd bye week ~week 15. Just push the week 15-17 games 1 week out and get rid of week off between Championship games and Super Bowl.
It sounds like the Titans players broke protocol and practiced on their own when things were shut down. There seems to be evidence. This would support a Bills forfeit and not a Steelers one, no matter how much that sucks.
Agreed. The Steelers (and every other AFC contender) would scream bloody murder if you hand the Bills a win. They need to figure out a way to play this game, either now or week 18.No one is forfeiting. They'll figure it out
I think you're probably right. I would much rather they push all the weeks out, and have the makeup week replace like week 15 or 16, that way teams don't get an extra Bye going into the playoffs.Godsbrother said:Agreed. The Steelers (and every other AFC contender) would scream bloody murder if you hand the Bills a win. They need to figure out a way to play this game, either now or week 18.
Seems to be a great talent but not so sure I would say he is the Steelers #1 WR at this point. Will be very interesting to see what happens going forward.Claypool is amazing. Out of nowhere and has instantly become the Steelers #1 WR. Milkman's "lock" of D. Johnson and JuJu both being top 10 WR's this year seems a little off.
Echo of the off season. Been too quiet considering how good the team can be with the 2019 D and Ben back in the saddle.JoeSteeler said:For a team that is. 4-0 for the first time in 40 years not much going on in this thread
You could possibly make an argument for all 3 of them. It could be a situation where a different WR is the top WR any given week, and the others are duds.JoeSteeler said:Seems to be a great talent but not so sure I would say he is the Steelers #1 WR at this point. Will be very interesting to see what happens going forward.
That defense needs to get better, particularly the secondary.Echo of the off season. Been too quiet considering how good the team can be with the 2019 D and Ben back in the saddle.
Next few weeks will be telling of just how good the team is this year. Only 1 loss between the Browns, Titans and Ravens.
100% agreed. Minkah hasn't been targeted very much so far this year, only allowing 9 receptions in 4 games where he was in coverage, but the lack of splash plays is disappointing. And the tackle (or lack thereof) this past sunday where he slammed into the WR but didn't wrap at all, and the WR bounced off and ran for more yards, was terrible. I'm hoping that it's a case of other teams avoiding him, but there have been several articles about his play. Some saying that he's doing his job (for the most part) in stopping big splash plays, but that some of the other people in coverage are screwing up which makes him look bad. Like Nelson letting a WR run right by, or Vince Williams trying to cover anyone down field.That defense needs to get better, particularly the secondary.
Could be but a big knock on previous Steelers teams is that they lost games to bad teams. The Browns are looking good but their wins aren't that impressive either and they got absolutely destroyed by Baltimore.I am actually expecting Cleveland to win Sunday.. As a Steelers Fan, they are a very unimpressive unbeaten.
Maybe the grass isn't always greener? I wonder if any of our current soon to be FA's are looking at their situations.AB and Bell are FA’s...
100% this. In the past the Steelers have showed up in big games, and dropped the "easy wins" to terrible teams. I'm happy we've been able to beat the teams we're "supposed to beat" and hopefully we can show up against the tougher opponents.Could be but a big knock on previous Steelers teams is that they lost games to bad teams. The Browns are looking good but their wins aren't that impressive either and they got absolutely destroyed by Baltimore.
I have no idea which team is better given this crazy 2020 preseason/season and I wouldn't lay down much on either team in this game if I were a betting man.
I think Pouncey is expected to play at this early point of the week, DeCastro didn't sound as promising.Maybe the grass isn't always greener? I wonder if any of our current soon to be FA's are looking at their situations.
100% this. In the past the Steelers have showed up in big games, and dropped the "easy wins" to terrible teams. I'm happy we've been able to beat the teams we're "supposed to beat" and hopefully we can show up against the tougher opponents.
My biggest worry for this week is our O-line against the Cleveland D-line. We might be missing Decastro and Pouncey this week. I really hope we use more no-huddle, and we utilize the quick passing game. Our running game up the middle is nonexistent, mostly because we're getting 0 push against good defensive lines. If Ben doesn't get the ball out of his hands real quick sunday, he's going to get smashed over, and over, and over.
Real deal. Finally nailed drafting the perfect balance of talent, football IQ and character. Ben has a long history of elevating performance of BIG and fast receivers. Couldn’t be a more perfect fit.Can some locals weigh in on the WRs? Was week 5 a coming out party for Claypool or just a weird outlier. San the TDs, he still saw a team high 11 targets, which was double any of his teammates. Fantasy boards seem to still love Johnson, but Claypool's physical size is hard to ignore if he's going to see even 6-7 targets moving forward. What has kept him off the field til now?
While I agree it is important to note that Dionte Johnson will be back this week. Between JuJu, Chase, Dionte, James Washington, Ebron and the RBs there are a lot of mouths to feed in that offense.Real deal. Finally nailed drafting the perfect balance of talent, football IQ and character. Ben has a long history of elevating performance of BIG and fast receivers. Couldn’t be a more perfect fit.
Pittsburgh was bringing Chase along slowly because we have the luxury to do so. Injuries accelerated the timeline. With his dominating performance, there is no way he gets relegated to a minimal role going forward.
Agreed. As a Claypool owner I wouldn’t be putting him in my lineup if I have other decent options this coming week. I want to give it a few weeks to see how the target shares shake out with everyone healthy before I feel comfortable starting him.While I agree it is important to note that Dionte Johnson will be back this week. Between JuJu, Chase, Dionte, James Washington, Ebron and the RBs there are a lot of mouths to feed in that offense.
That's good news but I am getting a sinking feeling this game may get postponed if OBJ tests positive. The Colts have just closed their facility after multiple positive Covid tests (The Colts played the Browns last week). :(JoeSteeler said:Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Maurkice Pouncey, Eric Ebron, TJ Watt and Stephon Tuitt were all full participants today, as were Marcus Allen and Derek Watt.
Diontae Johnson (back) was limited, and David DeCastro (Abs) did not practice.
All Colts tests were personnel. No players yetThat's good news but I am getting a sinking feeling this game may get postponed if OBJ tests positive. The Colts have just closed their facility after multiple positive Covid tests (The Colts played the Browns last week). :(
Other than Bush, any other significant injuries? I wasn't able to watch the game.Wow! Hopeful injuries weren’t serious. Team is special.
####Bush torn ACL out for the year..
FML.. Why can't we have nice things.
Still right! Called wins against Giants, Broncos, Texans, Eagles Browns. Titans was delayed but I said we lose to Titans and Ravens. Based on how our team is playing I think we can split that or maybe win both. The Cowboys win seems more likely now that Dak is out, but Dalton does know our team better so who knows. Even though I predicted it, pretty surprised we're 5-0. 13-3 doesn't seem so crazy **knock on wood.Where do you guys see us landing in the current season? Assuming no COVID issues since we can't really predict that at all. I think that this is probably our best shot at a deep playoff run if Ben is back to full strength since we may lose a lot of starting pieces next year.
Optimistic win/loss total is 13-3. Odds of it happening? Not 0. Idk where I'd put the extra losses but if our whole team somehow stays healthy, I reasonably see us with an 11-5 record getting the first wild card spot.
- Giants - Win (A) - If we can stop the run we win by 2 scores.
- Broncos - Win (H) - Is Drew Lock legit? Our D could feast.
- Texans - Win (H) - Close game, Brandin Cooks already hurt, David Johnson washed up? Watt vs Watt.
- Titans - Loss (A) - Away game against a team with a great run game and solid D. I don't think we go 4-0, first loss could be here or Texans.
- Eagles - Win (H) - Already losing all their pass catchers, they seem to be cursed with injuries this year and have a terrible O-line.
- Browns - Win (H) - I think the Browns are better this year, but if Ben is healthy he leads us to a win.
- Ravens - Loss (A) - We lose by 3 scores and it's really ugly. Ravens are crowned the best team in the AFC. They let it go to their heads.
- BYE
- Cowboys - Win(A) - We pull off a win on the road against one of the top NFC teams in their own stadium. Mainly via defense with a special teams TD from Diontae.
- Bengals - Win (H) - Game is closer than expected with AJ Green already out for the year by week 10. But Tee Higgins, Mixon, and Boyd combine for 4 TDs in Joe Burrow's flying circus.
- Jaguars - Win (A) - Easy win right? ... RIGHT? We win by 1 score against a team we should blow out on the road.
- Ravens - Win (H) - We win by 3 scores dominating from the start. Our Defense gets a score and shuts down Lamar completely.
- Washington - Win (H) - Washington Football Team realizes in week 12 that they might be in running for top 2 draft pick. We win by a mile.
- Bills - Win (A) - Close game but the fact that Josh Allen isn't accurate at all allows us to squeak by.
- Bengals - Loss (A) - Joe Burrow throws for more yards against us than any team so far this year.
- Colts - Win (H) - Phillip Rivers really is done, by the end of the season his arm is shot and he throws 3 picks, 2 to Minkah.
- Browns - Win (A) - Browns gonna Brown.
Without preseason I predict a flurry of injuries over the first 3-4 weeks, so hopefully the Steelers will avoid that.
Spillane is not Bush, obviously, but I thought he played pretty well when he came into the game. He had a couple nice wrap-up tackles on Hunt who I think is one of the slipperiest runners in the league. Not sure how he is in pass coverage, but he seemed like he belonged on an NFL field.Do we hope that Spillane and Ulysses Gilbert can fill the void?