Beer We Go Steelers

With a stout defense and a diverse offense, the Steelers dominated  the Bengals…

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BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Mason Rudolph, he had his first win and he threw two touchdowns and passed for 229 yards Also Considered: Diontae Johnson who has a knack for big plays and Jaylen Samuels who was outstanding in the wildcat.

Where I watched the game: At Buckley’s in my hometown! It was my second “road game” of the year and the Steelers delivered. KGB got all my friends down and my family. We watched the Steelers pound the Bengals into mulch! Beer of choice was Miller Lite and snuck a few Fireball shots in there for my birthday! The wings were outstanding as usual and we had potato skins too!

My Stat of the week: 3-3 and 109.7 Jaylen Samuels Passing line, that is not a typo, great job again running the wildcat!

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers can climb right back in the division with a win over the Ravens. It will be a tough test but also the measuring stick on how this season will go. The Steelers should pull out a close win.

This week’s Jersey: T.J. Watt #90, Home Black.

The Steelers once again fell apart and the offense never got on track in San Francisco, sending Pittsburgh to an 0-3 start. It was another inconsistent effort by the Steelers on both sides of the ball as the defense surrendered the half time lead and the offense struggled to run the ball with any kind of consistency.

Mason Rudolph’s performance was passable in the second half after a rough first half. Rudolph was a paltry 8 for 15 for 40 yards in the first half and squandered opportunities for the Steelers to take a big lead. He finished with 174 yards two touchdowns and one interception.

He didn’t get a lot of help from the offensive line and the running game. James Conner never got on track and coughed up the ball in a big spot. The Steelers were driving to put the 49ers away and the fumbled caused new life. Conner finished with just 43 yards on 13 carries. The protection was okay but not great and running room is still hard to come by.

The defense again shows flashes of brilliance and then faded. The defensive line was gassed and gashed from being on the field too long and gave up 168 yards on the ground. The 49ers played an up-tempo offense and with the slow start by the offense the defense struggled keeping up, especially given the situation. The Steelers are soft in the middle and struggle in coverage especially with tight ends. Mark Barron continues to struggle and made several costly mistakes, and Bud Dupree still hasn’t found his stride. The 49ers converted 6 of 11 third downs.

T.J. Watt and Stephon Tuitt both have been standouts so far and Minkah Fitzpatrick had a nice first game.

Once again, the finger is going to be pointed at the coaches who continue to fail to adjust in a tough environment. The offense needs to figure out a way to run the football and the defense needs to figure out a way to stop it. Until that is done, this team will not start winning.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: We are going with Stephon Tuitt; he had another big day and was all over the 49er’s backfield. Also Considered: Mason Rudolph, he had an uneven performance but never shrunk from the moment and he had no help from the running game or the line. T. J. Watt who had a big interception.

Where I watched the game: In Saratoga, at a conference on my phone and at a bar called “The Stadium” which is my go-to for the Steelers games when I am away. I watched with my buddy Dan and the beer of choice was Miller Lite and the snack was ridiculously hot wings. The loss put me in a bad mood, and I was jerk most of the night afterwards.

My Stat of the week: 21-Points, which is what the Steelers defense has given up two weeks in a row during two heartbreaking losses.

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers season is slowly slipping away, a loss to the reeling Bengals will be the nail in the coffin. Sooner or later the Steelers will put it together, this should be the week.

This week’s Jersey: David DeCastro #66, Away White.

The Steelers announced today that Ben Roethlisberger will undergo season ending elbow surgery at some point this week after having an MRI on Sunday night.

The Steelers blew a first half lead and surrendered 21 second half points losing the 2019 home opener to the Seattle Seahawks. It was a mediocre performance which showed how good this team can be and it also exposed all its flaws.

The biggest story was the injury to Ben Roethlisberger who left late in the second quarter and never returned with an elbow injury. Ben finished 8 for 15 for 75 yards in the first half, the Steelers had trouble moving the ball against a Seattle defense that was thrashed by the Bengals one week earlier. Mason Rudolph, cam in and acquitted himself nicely. He threw for 112 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, another drop by Donte Moncrief. He had good poise and looked every bit ready for the NFL.

Despite solid play by Rudolph, the offense is a work in progress. James Conner never could get on track running the ball. The passing game is off and only mustered 180 total yards against the porous Seattle defense. Donte Moncrief’s nightmare season continues, his dropped caused a turnover and put Seattle in a position to take the lead. Vance McDonald led the team with seven receptions followed by JuJu Smith-Schuster’s five, but neither were big factors. There are still flashes, but the whole thing looks off.

The defense is mediocre again, like the offense, they show flashes of brilliance but continue to fall apart in big spots. The pass rush disappeared after the first half. The secondary was leaky and again had no answer for a middle of the field tight end. Russell Wilson passed for three touchdowns and 300 yards. His biggest play was a 15-yard scramble on third down that setup the game clinching fourth down conversion.

Once again, the fingers are being pointed at the coaching staff. The Steelers made several crucial mistakes and mental gaffes. A special team’s error by Mt. McCullers that setup a touchdown, the Moncrief dropped first down catch that setup another touchdown, a huge missed tackle by Anthony Chickillo that led to a 37-yard touchdown, these are all back breaking errors, that this team is not talented enough to overcome. The fact that the Bengals trashed the Seattle secondary and the Steelers couldn’t, doesn’t speak well to preparation.

Once again, the clock management was horrendous, and the Steelers whiffed at the end of the game on it. Game plan management on both offense and defense is awful and the adjustments are completely lacking.

This is a good week to discuss the referees again because they helped the Steelers, even with the pass interference challenge going against them. The refs were way to involved in the game again slowing down any kind of pace of play. They missed several calls and then made questionable ones, it was an inconsistent and awful performance.

The Steelers can quickly watch this season slip away and go the entire decade without a Lombardi trophy if they don’t get this fixed.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am going with Mason Rudolph, he had a great day given the situation. Also considered: Stephon Tuitt, who had a monster first half and JuJu Smith-Schuster who broke the record for the fastest to 2500 yards.

Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and the D-Man. The Beer of choices was New York Yankees Pils made by Blue Point brewing. I figured the Yankees would be a good influence…it wasn’t, The Yankees lost too. Corona Light was KGB’s beer of choice and Stewart’s Diet Root Beer for D-Man! Once again, the food was great, we had Nashville Hot-Chicken Sliders, and Chili for dinner. The Janick was at the game, representing Beer We Go.

My Stat of the week: Five Catches for JuJu Smith-Schuster. He was already the fastest wideout to amass 1,000 career receiving yards and added another page to his history book. Smith-Schuster reeled in five catches for 84 yards in route to becoming the youngest player (22 years, 297 days) to reach 2,500 receiving yards

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers have a must win game in a tough rejuvenated 49ers team. They need to have a much better game plan.

This week’s jersey: JuJu Smith-Schuster, 19, Color Rush

The Steelers were trounced by Bill Bellichick and the Patriots in the worst opening day loss since 1989! The Steelers defense had no answers for the Patriot’s play action pass…and the offense couldn’t move the ball. It was a complete breakdown.

The offense was a non-factor and looked completely disjointed. It was clear that Ben Roethlisberger was not comfortable, and the receivers didn’t help him. He was jumpy with several of his throws off track. Donte Moncrief had two crucial drops, including a potential touchdown. JuJu Smith-Schuster played well but was a non-factor. Vance McDonald was non-existent until the game was nearly over. James Washington had one big catch but was not on the same page with Roethlisberger.  The post AB era has begun and so far, is not impressive.

The offensive line was mediocre and while Ben was never sacked there was no room to run. Conner finished with a weak 21 yards on 10 carries while Jaylen Samuels, after running for 142 yards against the Patriots last season, was held to only four yards on two carries.

The pass rush all but disappeared in the game and the linebackers had no answer for the play action pass. Devin Bush put together 11 tackles but didn’t have the impact that was expected. Vince Williams had trouble in coverage, the Patriots whipped up on T.J. Watt and took him out of the game. It was another disappointing game for Bud Dupree despite recording the only sack of the day.

The secondary was torched by Tom Brady…again. The intermediate passing was unstoppable and long passing strikes worked when Brady needed them. All the secondary upgrades didn’t make any difference it was a different cast of characters but the same story. Brady finished with three touchdowns and 341 yards passing. Even a Patriots gadget play was effective with Julian Edelman throwing for a 32-yard strike.

Once again, the Steelers went into Foxboro and once again were dismantled in every facet of the game. Mike Tomlin and crew don’t seem to have any answers for the Patriots adjustments. Everything successful the Steelers did in last year’s game was non-existent in this one. The play calling was atrocious and too conservative to beat a team like New England. The Steelers were clearly not prepared and that falls directly on the coaching staff.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: This is tricky…the answer is NO ONE, but we will give the Game Beer to Darryl Drake. He is missed, and we dedicated this year’s shirts to his honor.

Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and Billy. The Beer of choices was IC Light and Corona Light and the food was great, maybe the best. KGB went all out for the games; “Dirty” Pierogis and Teriyaki Bomb Wings for an appetizer and Primanti Style Sandwiches for dinner. Still full as I write this blog. The Tailgate Kids went to “bed” although suspiciously knew a lot about the game when they woke up and Little Miss Tailgate is at college now, she watched in her lounge there. (SEE BELOW)

My Stat of the week: Is a mind boggling one, Tom Brady is now 6-0 v. the Steelers in New England and has yet to throw an interception. He absolutely owns the Steelers. (On a side note he played against Devin Bush last night, he also played against Bush’s father.)

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers will have to bounce back against a tough Seattle team coming off a tough win.

This week’s Jersey: Cameron Heyward, 97 AWAY, it was a gift for the playoffs last year and this was my first chance to wear it.

Little Miss Tailgate:

This year is going to be different for the blog. I am now away at college beginning my freshman year. However, I’m not letting college hold me back from watching the Steelers. We have a great group of friends that I will be watching with and a great area to watch from. I thought that yinz would be interested to hear about my first game since I left for college. 

I have met some amazing and dedicated sports fans like myself to watch the game with, which is the best thing I could ask for. It was cool to meet a friend who is also a hardcore Steeler fan like myself, but I have a wide range of team favorites all around my building. Friends that are Steelers fans, Seahawks fans, Cowboys fans, Giants fans, Jet fans, Browns fan and my suitemate herself is a hardcore Ravens fan (can’t wait for Steelers v Ravens week this year). Even though we all have our opinions on who’s the better team we all had a great football Sunday together. 

We watched the game on the NFL Sunday ticket in a lounge that’s in my residence building that has a large TV in it and a bunch of comfy chairs. We all watched together starting from one o’clock, we stopped for church at 5:30 and then went back to finish the games and set up for the disastrous Steeler game that happened last night. 

We all were yelling and screaming, because truthfully in all my life I have never seen the Steelers play so poorly. Both the offense and defense were broken and need major improvement.

I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me this year with everything being new in my life and I am very excited to embark on this new chapter in my life and enjoy this season from a new perspective. Root Beer We Go Steelers! 

Until next time, 

Little Miss Tailgate

LET”S DO THIS!!! BEER WE GO STEELERS!!

It has been awhile! We are excited for the 2019-20 Season! The Steelers are in a “transition” year but that seems to be a good thing as they move to be more focused on football and less focused on the drama. They look poised to make big waves. We pivoted on this year’s shirt and have dedicated them to Darryl Drake!

The Steelers have been good, now it is time to be great!

The Steelers once again seem to put together a very solid draft on paper;

Here is the BWG Analysis:

Round 1 (10): Devin Bush, ILB, Michigan

For the first time since 2003 the Steelers made a bold move and traded up to grab Bush. Bush is a stout athletic defender that will immediately pay dividends. He has great instincts and will be a three down linebacker. He also can help in the pass rush from the outside or in the gaps. In our analysis this was the biggest need the Steelers had and this is the perfectt casting for that need.

GRADE: Six Pack

Round 3 (66): Diontae Johnson, WR, Toledo

Every year the Steelers draft someone and it just doesn’t add up. (See Colin Holba) This is that pick, it felt like a huge reach and while he seems like a capable player and it would be foolish to second guess the Steelers on receiver talent, spending a third rounder on him seemed like a huge stretch. He will be in the slot and brings great speed to the offense. Smaller player, but plays bigger than his size, improved his hands in his Senior season. He also can be a return man if needed. His being drafted could spell the end of Eli Rogers or fan favorite Ryan Switzer.

GRADE: 2-Beers

Round 3 (83): Justin Layne, CB, Michigan State

The Steelers also find gems later in the draft and this could be one of them. Layne lacks elite speed but he was a steal at this number. He had a round two grade. He can play both man and zone coverage and plays as if he is a giant. He has mediocre hands despite being a converted wide receiver, he seems like an Ike Taylor clone! He is a cover three coordinators dream and will make immediate impact.

GRADE: 5-Beers

Round 4 (122): Benny Snell Jr., RB, Kentucky

This was a little bit of a reach as Snell lacks certain speed and explosiveness. The Steelers needed running back depth and Snell gives them that, He looks like a between the tackle, short yardage back, with one cut, downhill ability. He has good NFL genes being the nephew of NFL great Matt Snell. While he is limited he should compete for a roster spot and carve out a place in the running game.

GRADE: 3-Beers

Round 5 (141): Zach Gentry, TE, Michigan

This was a great pick. Scouts are torn on this guy and you can read a report praising him or condemning him. He graded out exactly where they grabbed him and he will compete for the spot vacated by Jesse James. He has monster intangibles like a whopping 34 1/8 catch radius and being a former quarterback a high football IQ. Has huge upside and is exactly what you are hoping for this late in the draft. He also fills some depth issues.

GRADE: 4-Beers

Round 6 (175): Sutton Smith, LB, Northern Illinois

A small school phenom who will need to really step it up to be a force in the pro game. He is a one trick pony (pass rusher) and will provide needed depth at the linebacker position. Getting after the quarterback is important and will have a chance to make the team.

GRADE: 2-Beers

Round 6 (192): Isaiah Buggs, DE, Alabama

This could be the steal of the draft. He is an ideal 3-4 end or could play in the middle on the nickel and dime. He has solid NFL quickness and strength. His conditioning is a question mark and probably hurt his draft stock. He graded out as a round three prospect and the Steelers nailed this pick! Will make an immediate impact and strengthens an already strong defensive line.

GRADE: 5-Beers

Round 6 (207): Ulysees Gilbert III, ILB, Akron

Nice speed and a productive tackler who was selected for his coverage skills. He has a high motor and will be a nice addition to the team. Strong upside prospect that can compete for a spot on the depth chart. His skills translate well to special teams and looks like a nice pick in this round.

GRADE: 3-Beers

Round 7 (219): Derwin Gray, OT, Maryland

A great value pick in this spot, he will provide depth and compete for a backup role. Has the skills to compete against undrafted free agents and last years picks. He graded out as a fifth round pick and has size that scouts want. This was a good grab in the seventh and he will play somewhere in the NFL in 2019.

GRADE: 4-Beers

OVERALL DRAFT GRADE: ALMOST FULL CASE (A-)

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Michigan Wolverines linebacker Devin Bush Jr. on Thursday with the 10th overall pick.

Okay fair to say I am the worst blogger ever. I have just been swamped with my real life and at some point we will do a comprehensive write up of the AB debacle and the Le’Veon Bell business meltdown!

Today is Draft Day and as Alexander Pope says, “Hope springs eternal..” Very excited for the draft and while the Steelers have had an uneven performance over the last few years, there is plenty to be excited for! For every Jarvis Jones there has been a T.J. Watt.  So let’s dive in on what is needed.

NEEDS:

Cornerback: I can probably steel (pun intended) one of my past draft previews as this has been the toughest code to crack. While I am not ready to give up on Artie Burns, the Steelers need an upgrade across the board at this position. They need someone opposite Joe Haden who can play and contribute consistently. The Steelers have money invested in the top three spots, but this should be a day one (If there is a steal) or day two pick.

Inside Linebacker: You can not replace Ryan Shazier, it is just not possible as he was a once in a lifetime talent. Also I am not a revisionist historian, I was excited about the pick of Shazier but puzzled, that is why I am a blogger and not a GM. He was the cog that made the Steelers defense run and it is obvious that he is sorely missed. Job Bostic was badly miscast and Vince Williams was somewhat exposed without Shazier. The Steelers invested in Mark Barron but I still see this as a big need. This has to be a day one or day two pick.

Safety: The Steelers also need to crack this challenge. Morgan Burnett was a bust and it will be a long time before the Steelers make that type of move again. The depth chart is extremely soft and the Steelers need an upgrade at this spot. While this is probably a bigger need, than Cornerback or Inside Linebacker, this is a strong safety class for 2019 and the Steelers need an upgrade in coverage ability and overall athleticism and there are several value picks available. This is a day two need or early day three.

Wide Receiver: Well we had to get here at some point.  There is no formula to replace someone like Antonio Brown and a rookie certainly can’t do it. While I think the Steelers are in good shape at this spot, they need to invest a pick or two here. They have clearly proven they do a great job at finding talent here. This is a day three look.

Running Back: While the Steelers struck gold with James Conner, this position needs better depth, especially with a renewed emphasis on the run. This is a late day three pick, where there is always value at the end of the draft.

Also need another edge rusher and offensive line depth.