The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Week 7 - Bengals

Speaking of J2-S2 ® did everyone see how he handled the Instagram post from Bryant?

Which one is the 20 year old?

 

So Bryant has spoken. Josina Anderson posted the quotes from a 10 minute interview. To me, he's saying most of the right things. He loves his teammates, loves the city, wants to be a Steeler, but just wants to be a part of the gameplan. If he's not going to be a part of it, he wants out so he can play somewhere and have that opportunity. He also said he hadn't talked to any of his coaches or teammates about his frustrations until now and that he wants to have those conversations and find out what he needs to do better to get those opportunities.

It reads better than I expected. I truly hope that Tomlin and Haley can get this kid's head right. I hope that Ben can find him a bit more often and make him happy. His talent is undeniable and him seeing more targets would not be a bad thing for this offense.

 

I agree with everything I omitted from your post with regards to Bryant. I think the reason why they drafted JuJu was obvious right away, and it had little to do with Bryant. JuJu was a strong, physical receiver they didn't have. They knew they couldn't depend on Sammie Coates, and Bryant isn't the same kind of receiver JuJu is either. I doubt they considered the future of Bryant very much if at all when they drafted JuJu. They probably thought JuJu could be used to complement Brown and Bryant in three-receiver sets in the red zone. He came more polished than most rookie receivers, but I think he's surprising everyone with his rapid growth.

 

Coach Tomlin just announced JuJu has been diagnosed with a concussion. Nice to have Bryant even is he's acting childish.

 

Who put Bryant in the situation he is in? He did! He made his choices and needs to live with the consequences. I don’t mean cut him or trade him by any means, unless some team offers something ridiculous to get him. Also Ben has been off quite a bit, but Bryant hasn’t exactly made the most of his chances either. He’s had a couple long passes bounce off his hands. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to watch the game against the Bengals, I read that Ben badly missed him on a long ball, so it’s really not a one person problem. Both those players need to get on the same page, sooner rather than later.

 

Ben has been off on a lot of passes, which only adds to Bryant's frustration.

 

I've had enough of the negativity that the Bryant situation has caused.

Can we talk about Hilton, a pleasant positive surprise. My perception may be skewed because we don't see the entire field watching the game on TV but he seems to be making a splash play or 2 in every game. How has he played overall? Coverage skills? Has he blown any assignments? Please advise
Let's do this

 

There appears to be a misunderstanding with regards to why I've been advocating Bryant's trade. This is not a reaction to Bryant's attitude. My concern is the longterm health of team. In today's NFL, it's brutally difficult to retain success without a franchise QB. I would get rid of Bryant if it meant the difference between a seamless transition from Ben to whatever successor and not. Hell, I'd get rid of Bell too if I had to. Bryant's shenanigans were simply an effective catalyst for me to mention his name even more, and while I wholeheartedly believe the offense would be better without Bryant and his selfishness mucking things up, I don't expect him to go any time soon, nor do I necessarily want it as long as Ben is taking snaps for us.

Can Bryant continue to not only make big plays for this offense, but play like an elite WR? Absolutely. Is he? No. While Ben is playing like 2008's Joe Flacco, Bryant has limited opportunity to make a difference. And on most snaps, for the good of the team, Le'Veon Bell has to touch the football since Ben can't be trusted. There are lots of things at play that Bryant can't control, but the bottom line is that his presence isn't making much of a difference right now.

I'd like to see Ben look his way more often. Let us see that Bryant still has it.

 

The problem we have with WRs is that Ben will lock into his favorite at the expense of our team. Between Brown and Bell you have 50% or more of Ben's targets, with the WR core we have Ben should be spraying the ball all over the place. Defenses should be shaking in their boots when they play us, but because of Ben they really aren't that scared.

 

Give Ben some number flash cards but take out #26 and #84. Let him study those for a week or so.

 

Hilton has been my favorite player in the secondary so far this season. Great blitz timing, very good tackling on defense and special teams and a great attitude.

I can't wait for Cam Sutton to return, too...might be a red shirt year tho

 

Who is released to make room for Sutton when he comes off the PUP list? Or do the Steelers stash him on IR? He won’t make it to PS...

 

They would have to release a WR. I guess Hunter.

 

I think they'll wait and see if somebody gets injured. Right now, that group is playing very well. Why mess with it? No need to rush him back.

 

They only have 2 more weeks to decide don't they? or 3 since they have the bye next week?

 

I vote keep him on IR, as previously noted, why mess with the group of DBs when they are finally coming together? No, I think it's better to "Red-shirt" Cameron this season, and let him sit and watch.