Welcome back to your Pittsburgh Steelers weekly mailbag. As always, we’re here for the next hour to answer whatever is on your mind.
To your questions!
Pius Street Uke: Traveling cross country to take my son to our first ever home game. What are the must do’s for a 3 day weekend?
Alex: I’m a poor Pittsburgh tourist guide but a couple things I’d offer. Definitely ride the Incline to the top of Mt. Washington. A beautiful sight at the top. That is a must and the one thing I’d definitely recommend. I like the Heinz History Center. Dave Bryan, David Orochena, and myself went a couple years back. Lots of cool stuff in there to celebrate the region. If your family likes the zoo, Pittsburgh has a good one. And Phipps Conservatory is really nice, though it’s better during the holiday season. I went last year to check out all the displays. So a couple things to offer, hope that helps. Enjoy the game and trip!
Aaron Baker: Hey Alex! Just a fun hypothetical question for you. I know it’s super unlikely but if you could trade Pat Freiermuth or Alex Highsmith for AJ Brown, would you and why or why not?
Alex: Freiermuth, yes, and it doesn’t take long to think about. Even in a tight end heavy offense, Brown is the better and more useful player. There’s Jonnu Smith, there’s Darnell Washington. Pair Brown and Metcalf and you’re cooking. Highsmith…a little trickier. Herbig is great but I like being strong and deep at such an important position and one drawback on Herbig have been some nagging injuries. I don’t know if I would do that one, at least, not right now. Maybe in an offseason where I can add depth and make sure Herbig is signed long-term.
Gluebucket:
After 4 games, is there one player you believe who’s quality of play will be the best indicator of how successful the Steelers season is?
For me it’s Broderick Jones. If he continues to show signs of improvement, I see the Steelers doing well. If he doesn’t, I don’t think Rodgers makes it through the season and I think the offense crumbles.
Alex: I’m with you. I’ve highlighted the offensive line all offseason even as the national focus revolved around Rodgers and Metcalf and Ramsey. Especially for the tests Jones has upcoming. Myles Garrett in Week 6, Trey Hendrickson Week 7, Micah Parsons/Rashan Gary Week 8. What a tough slate. Pittsburgh will need to give him help but this is a gauntlet where Jones needs to be at his best.
Black and gold mafia:
AK,
You and Dave touched on something on the podcast that has been a pet peeve of mine for a few years now. My opinion is Steelers need to run more power gap.
I’m not a huge fan of zone blocking especially for a young offensive line. There’s to much that needs to go right for it to work. Power/Gap simplifies things and get bodies moving vertically instead of horizontally.
I know most teams run a combination of both schemes, but the I don’t think it’s coincidence that we saw a big uptick in the effectiveness of the run game when the split between zone and gap was more evenly distributed.
Do you agree or not?
Alex: I think big picture, that is fair and accurate. And I agree it’s not a coincidence either. Playing that more physical and downhill brand of football brought some juice and confidence to this offensive line, too, which I think the group fed off of to sustain throughout.
Still, a coach has a philosophy and the players have to be able to execute. Yes, it’s a young offensive line but it has experience. Jones is in his third year. Frazier and McCormick started nearly all of last year. Fautanu’s rookie injury was valuable time missed but he was a college senior and not the lump of clay Jones was out of school. And when I looked at the numbers before the Vikings game, the Steelers ranked about middle-pack in zone and man/gap runs. The difference wasn’t as stark as I expected it to be.
For all that’s invested in this group, they have to run any scheme effectively. Unless there was a talent deficiency like the group not being athletic enough for outside zone runs, which I don’t think is the case (and I know isn’t the case you’re making), then they have to get the job done.
Wall999: Hello Alex, why are some holding penalties 5 yards and others 10 yards?
Alex: That’s a fun question. I’m not sure why offensive holding is 10 yards and defensive holding only five. Some speculate it’s because defensive holding is an automatic first down so making it 10 yards and a penalty is over the top. Offensive holding lets you replay the down, at least. It’s probably one of those things no one has bothered to consider or change. Holding put in to stop Mel Blount and big cornerbacks from being able to wrestle receivers downfield, even though Blount proved his game was more than just that. And they, I assume, figured 5 yards and a first down was enough to discourage corners from mixing it up like that.
Haole: When you look at the tape and evaluate, what’s the biggest change or improvement to his game that allowed Keeanu Benton to rebound from a couple of awful showings to start the season? Does the presence of Derrick Harmon make that big a difference?
Alex: His talent has always been there. Better execution helped. I’m not sure what the switch was other than knowing he was capable of beating blocks and playing well. Minnesota had a couple lineman go down in the game but still, Benton had success against their high-prized RG Will Fries. As a defense, being able to stop the run and pin ears back on third down helped. Benton won with moves that weren’t just his club/over, he had a nice rip move for one sack, and Pittsburgh’s stunts were effective. Also helps the team faced a less-mobile quarterback in Wentz. Probably the most pocket passer Pittsburgh’s faced this season.
HinsWardFan: After watching the All22, do you think that the Steelers played harder or smarter this week? Just curious if you think that they will only play that well when they’re inspired, or if they got their collective act together.
Alex: Probably a mixture of both. Not that their effort was bad before but there was additional strain and really selfless play on tape. But they also played better as a team. Rush and coverage working together, the o-line on the same page. The offense winning on first down. No missed tackles, no turnovers, Addison blown coverage aside, no other blunders. They played a clean and team game and that’s a winning formula.
Bill Antos: Hopefully, Steelers either have Howard or Thompson return from IR. Not sure what the rules currently are regarding IR. Is there some point where Howard and another point where Thompson must return from IR or they won’t be able to return from IR. Have been concerned about how well the OL can block for Rodgers(especially with the current OL coach) since before Rodgers signed with the Steelers. If the Steelers don’t return both Howard and Thompson from IR, and Rodgers is injured late in the season, is there a point where they can’t both return from IR?
Alex: There’s no “deadline.” But once a player’s window-to-return opens, the team must decide within 21 days to activate the player from IR and bring them back to the 53-man roster. If that doesn’t happen by the 21st day, the player remains on IR the rest of the year and can’t come back. Also, in the regular season, only 8 players can return from IR. So there is a max. The playoffs expand that by two extra spots. Unused spots roll over so if only 7 returned in the regular season, 3 can in the postseason.
But there is no deadline to begin the process. Last year, Pittsburgh opened windows on a ton of players late: DL Logan Lee and WR Roman Wilson are two examples. Neither were ultimately activated. Howard and/or Thompson could be activated in Week 17 if the Steelers wanted to, so long as they have return spots available.
