The Good: First Place in the AFC North. I will echo GIdion's list of players and add a 3 unsung heroes. Nobody talks about the key block on the punt return, but Rodney Williams shielding a would be tackler was spectacular. Not a pancake, but most importantly not a penalty. He resisted shoving the defender in the back, that's coaching. Basically Danny Smith's outfit has performed really well all year. Second guy being overlooked is Dan Moore Jr. Solid, quiet, rarely misses a snap, improves year to year, game to game. He is the one FA on the OL they need to resign. Finally Van Jefferson catching a ball here and there, but his blocking on some of Najees runs was key. I always liked Chris Hubbard, wish they kept him, he was a steady Eddie at RT, a lot less penalties than Chuks. But good for him he took the big $$$ from Cleveland (recurring story in the NFL) and is probably set for life. The Bad: ESPN, with The Nuss Brothers A. Nuss and P. Nuss. Why are we stuck with Joe Suck and Troy Ache-man on MNF. They blow wish they were still on FOX. I keep rooting for Broderick Jones, but he cost the team a TD. Is it lack of focus, out of position, ever since the exhibition game where Greg Rousseau owned him, it's like he never recovered. Giving up 18 to the Giants isn't something to brag about, they stink. More about that in the Ugly. OLB depth continues to rare it's ugly head, Steelers need a healthy Nick Herbig back in the rotation to add spark. The Zebras had another forgetful night. The Ugly: Two of the catches by Darius Slayton, there wasn't a defender within 5 yards of him. Tyrone Tracy running wild, poor angles on the 45 yard run, nobody set the edge, they all got washed to their left. I thought I saw a hold, but still. Then there was a 17 yard run, where he broke at least 3 tackles. Red Zone Offense, the game would have been put out of reach if they had punched it in. Jones facemask, and Pickens forgetting to toe tap stand out. At full speed maybe the shove carried his momentum, but he is also a freak athlete, given a second chance I think he drags the second foot. WTF was that 2 point conversion, the NY papers are going to go ape shit on Dabol. Thankfully we had an alert Alex HIghsmith who blew up the play. The middle of the Steelers D, Jones was rarely uncomfortable stepping up in the pocket in the first half and parts of the second.
Well, I caught the second half and while I had some mixed feelings about the performance, there was some good. 6-2 going into the bye is great. They have a tough schedule coming up but it's clear this team is on an upward trend. I see no reason for them to not able to go 4-2 vs the division. We'll see about the other three games. TJ Watt, Highsmith, Wilson, Harris were all good. The WR group had some spectacular catches. The special teams keep impressing. Broderick Jones is uneven to say the least. I see the physical talent so I think he can get better. Not too much else just that a bye next week is nice but it may interrupt the momentum.
Totally forgot about Darnell Washington in the Good. His PFF grade was the highest on the team for Week 8. https://steelersdepot.com/2024/10/darnell-washington-posts-first-elite-pff-grade-of-his-career/
Big game coming up this week. Can we pass the test of the commanders? I hope we don’t look ahead to the ravens coming up in two weeks.
