There are wins that you feel good about (Bills, Ravens, Patriots). There are also wins that frustrate you because we could have played so much better. Last night was one of those wins. I’m happy we won….But oh so unhappy about the way we won. On to the grades where I’ll explain my frustrations:
QB — The Good: No head injuries and no interceptions that were actually caught by Steeler defensive backs. Tua did make some nice throws and kept some drives alive. 21 of 35 for 261 Yards and a TD is a decent night.
The Bad: There we’re about 5 balls that should have been intercepted by Pittsburgh. That’s concerning to me. 3 of those throws were right in the hands of Steeler defenders. Tua missed high on a few throws that could have been caught and generally was a little off last night.
The Grade: C - . A little below average outing that really could have and should have been worse. We can chalk it up to rust. However, I really think play-calling has a lot to do with Tua’s below average performance. I’ll get into that subject in the coaching section.
RB’s — The Good: Mostert had a good game in general. 16 rushes for 79 yards was good last night. A few nice runs by Mostert had the Steelers on their heels at times. Add in 4 catches for 30 more yards with the only TD catch of the night and this grade belongs to Mostert.
The Bad: Besides Mostert there was no running game. Edmonds is just not effective when he has the ball in his hands. 17 yards on 7 rushes doesn’t really cut it. Especially getting shut down on 3rd and 4th down like he was. But again, I’m not a big fan of how he’s being used by this coaching staff.
The Grade: B - . Mostert is playing good ball. He’s been a pleasant surprise. Edmonds not so much. This Grade is definitely because of Mostert.
WR’s — The Good: Waddle, Hill and Sherfield were the receiving corp last night. Hill’s 7 catches for 72 yards were all big catches. Waddle had 4 catches for 88 yards and they were clutch as well. Sherfield kicked in 3 catches for 44 yards is what was a decent night for this crew.
The Bad: Most of the WR catches were off of an RPO look and right in center field. A couple deep shots to Hill weren’t on and impossible to complete. Hill looked a little off last night to be honest.
The Grade: B + . Another decent night for this group. Again, the play-calling has to change.
TE’s — The Good: 3 Catches for 27 yards was nice. All 3 catches helped in a big way for Gesicki.
The Bad: Gesicki was targeted 7 times and comes down with 3. Not much separation by Gesicki on the other 4 targets. No other TE made a catch.
The Grade: C - . Gesicki is better that what he showed last night. Period. We really need more production out of this group.
OL — The Good: Tua had some time to throw. These guys didn’t allow a recorded sack all night. We had over 100 yards rushing all tolled. Not a horrible outing by these guys and Armstead makes a HUGE difference on this line.
The Bad: There was no push on critical running plays when we needed it. The pocket broke down a few times way too early. Eichenberg is still not good.
The Grade: C . Overall, not a bad effort. We still need to clean some stuff up here….But it was a decent night for these guys.
DL — The Good: Some decent run stops when we needed it. Wilkins played well with 4 solo’s and a half sack. We only gave up 95 yards total rushing.
The Bad: As usual, nowhere near enough pressure on a rookie QB. We got gashed on a few runs…Although not too bad. The lack of pressure has gone from a minor concern to a major problem.
The Grade: C + . We held when we needed. That’s huge. The lack of a higher grade is due to the lack of pressure on the QB. That has to be addressed at some point.
LB’s — The Good: Jaelan Phillips was a man possessed after the half. I think he took his lack of production in the first half personally. 1.5 sacks and some determined play in the 2nd half helped a lot. Ingram was getting close there for awhile. Van Ginko and Riley had a few nice tackles.
The Bad: Not enough pressure on the QB in general. Too many plays were negative for these guys. Baker was invisible.
The Grade: B - . Actually not too bad by these guys. I’d like to see better, but holding an NFL team to 10 points is good enough.
DB’s — The Good: Great interceptions on all 3 picks by the boys here. MAD CREDIT to Noah Ig-Burned-Agony for the game saving pick. I hope this gives him some confidence going forward. Holland played a great ball game.
The Bad: Noah was picked on and responded as expected to be honest. Beat for the TD. His first play on the out and up should have been another TD but was a complete miss by Pickett. X was OK. He’s nowhere near where he was last year. That’s a fact.
The Grade: B . When you grab 3 picks from a QB and hold the opposition to 10 points….You’re doing something right. Especially with the absolute lack of support from the front 7.
ST’s — The Good: Sanders went 3 for 3. Morstead was decent as well. The coverage units were good in general.
The Bad: 1 bad punt by Morstead. Other than that…..Not too bad.
The Grade: B . Better night overall by these guys.
Coaching —The Good: I know this is gonna piss people off…..But not much here again.
The Bad: Where do I start? Not going for 3 to get your team up by 2 scores? The total lack of diversity in the play calling? Calling 2 running plays to your clearly inferior 2nd string RB and missing the 4th down conversion? How about no Jet Sweeps? How about no slants? How about getting the ball back with 2:51 seconds left and rolling Tua out on 3rd down with only 2 guys to the roll out side in a pattern? Pittsburgh got the ball back with 2:30 or so. THEY HAD NO TIMEOUTS! Run the ball! They would have gotten the ball back at the 2:00 warning. The defense? Please tell me… What happened to the amoeba defense? Why are we playing DB’s so far off on 3rd and short?
The Grade: We won…So D -. Again I ask….Where is the so called genius with McDaniel???. I don’t see it. Please explain it to me. I want a coach that makes the other team guess as to what we’re gonna do. With the weapons we have…..That should be every play. NOT HAPPENING. Our Defense isn’t making anyone do anything except get tired from their own long drives.
The Conclusion: I’m really starting to sour on McDaniel. I wanted to believe….But 0 points in the 2nd half is damning for an offensive “Genius”. I’ll take the win…. But I’m not happy about it.
