Happy Friday and welcome once again to the weekend.
The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their annual OTA practices on Thursday and next week they’ll conduct their mandatory minicamp. On the surface, things appear to be going well for the 2017 Steelers so far this offseason and especially when it comes to the overall health of the team.
Come next weekend, the NFL news cycle will really slow down and thus we hope to keep you entertained with several posts dedicated to stats and film study, among other things. It’s the single-worst time of the offseason, in my honest opinion, and hopefully it passes quickly.
On a personal note, two weeks from today I will be back in Florida visiting with my family. While I do not enjoy traveling, I am looking forward to the trip for obvious reasons. Also, God-willing, I will be going to see Iron Maiden perform in Las Vegas a week after I arrive back from my Florida trip. I am really looking forward to that concert.
As usual, I have five questions for you to answer on this quite Friday evening and I hope several of you have a little time to participate. I really enjoy reading your answers every weekend.
Have a great weekend and hopefully it includes the Pittsburgh Penguins winning their fifth Stanley Cup Sunday night in Nashville.
Peace and love, peace and love!
1 – ESPN recently ranked Landry Jones 14th overall on their list of 16 backup quarterbacks. Please look at those rankings below and tell me the quarterbacks you would like to have on the Steelers instead of Jones.
2 – If I were to set the over/under of receptions made by Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant during the 2017 regular season at 64.5, which side would you choose?
3 – What percentage of chance at making the Steelers final 53-man roster this year do give defensive tackle Daniel McCullers as we sit here in early June?
4 – Assuming Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva ultimately signs a new contract between now and the start of the regular season, will his new money yearly average be greater or less than $5.9 million?
5 – It appears former Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams will try his hand at professional wrestling. Of the players currently under contract with the Steelers not named James Harrison, who would be a perfect tag team partner for Williams?
Recap last week’s Friday night questions per David Orochena:
Question 1 – An overwhelming 83% majority believe Javon Hargrave will play more than 400 defensive snaps during the 2017 regular season. Most agree that they would like to see more of a rotation among the defensive linemen to keep them healthy and fresh.
Question 2 – Chris Hubbard just edged out Jerald Hawkins 12-11 on retaining the swing-tackle job by week 1. Consensus of the group appears to be that both will earn a roster spot regardless of who is designated the swing tackle and that Hawkins will eventually claim the position later in the season.
Question 3 – By a 58-42% margin; most respondents do NOT believe Knile Davis must excel as a kickoff returner during the preseason to make the 53-man roster. Citing the deemphasis on kickoffs, most felt that he must beat out the others by learning the playbook & pure running back skills – rushing, catching and blocking. There were varying opinions of whether he was a lock to make the squad based on those criteria. But all felt Le’Veon’s job is safe from him.
Question 4 – The training camp battle question was perhaps the most interesting. 22 different Steelers were named in at least one training camp battle. Most took this to mean two players fighting for the same spot on the roster. SkoolHouseRoxx thought the best battle would be seeing rookie cornerback Cameron Sutton working against Antonio Brown. I guess he grew up coloring outside the lines. Chris92021 viewed it as the internal struggle of Martavis Bryant battling himself. We all know that not all the battles at Latrobe are on the field as Darth Blount47 suggested Steelers fans check out the Alex Kozora taking on the McLumina in the parking lot. Turns out the most popular one on one battles were two sets of wide receivers fighting each other for roster spots/roles: Justin Hunter vs Sammie Coates & JuJu Smith-Schuster vs Eli Rogers in the slot. However, fully 1/3 of the respondents were looking at 3-way battles with the most popular being William Gay vs Senquez Golson vs Cameron Sutton being mentioned by four different people. Does the aging veteran have enough left in the tank against the oft injured former 2nd round pick and will either be able to beat out the talented rookie? Gay (8), Golson (5) and Sutton (7) each received the most mentions. Looking forward to camp!
Question 5 – Another close vote. A narrow 52-48% margin believe that Jordan Dangerfield will NOT make the 53-man roster this year. He has overcome the naysayers before.
BONUS Question from 2 weeks ago – A couple weeks ago Dave asked us how many games will it take for the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup. PaeperCup’s call for a Penguins sweep did NOT happen. However, our median response was that the Penguins would win it in 6 games which is still doable. Most importantly, can they win one more game? Let’s Go Pens!
