Uh oh, this kid might be able to play…
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I know it’s preseason, but…
Pickett has led 3 drives so far, and all three have been touchdowns. Moreover, all 3 have been explosive touchdowns. A 30-yard pass to Pickens, a 64-yard rush by Jaylen Warren (UFA from last year that a lot of us like better than the #1 guy, oh, he’s also Willie Parker’s cousin…) and a perfectly thrown 25-yard laser to ‘Muth. He’s also 9-11 for 115 yards and his air yards are excellent. Moreover, his command of the team and the offense are incredible for a 2nd year guy. He’s not going to play the game like it seems like everyone is today, with busted plays, running all over the place avoiding tackles and making miracles happen like a Joe Burrow or a Josh Allen (or Ben Roethlisberger)… Instead, he is just going to methodically pick you apart.
The kid looks like a pro…
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Beyond that, the Steelers have added a THIRD OLB that looks a pro bowler, Nick Herbig. When Watt or Highsmith take a play off, the tackles aren’t going to have a better time of it.
Our DL has gotten bigger and stronger (the new kid Benton is a beast of an man) opening more opportunities for the LB core, we have a platoon of ILB that are playing the position as such. They vocally want all 4 to get equal snaps in the game. We already had maybe the best safety in the game, and now we’ve added another 2 big safeties that have the coaching staff foaming at the mouth to try a new “big nickel” package. Our only defensive weak link was CB… Well, we signed a future HoF corner, drafted Joey Porter Jr in the 1st round (he’s already made several big picks and pass breakups) and we have a late rounder and another UFA (former team captain for West Point) that are also making plays.
This defense is going to be wicked…
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5 preseason drives, 5 touchdowns. Last night he dropped 2 ≈ 35-yard dimes in a 92 yard scoring drive… He is walking out of the preseason with a perfect quarterback rating https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/lists/steelers-falcons-nfl-preseason-kenny-pickett-preseason/
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@Mik said in Uh oh, this kid might be able to play…:
That’s great. It’s going to be the toughest division this year.
Sorry, but I don’t buy Lamar Jackson, especially in a traditional pro drop-back system, which is what they are running at his insistence. To top it off, he’s not taken any preseason snaps in the system. And their secondary sucks this year because they had to pay Lamar. https://theathletic.com/4750341/2023/08/04/ravens-training-camp-lamar-jackson-mark-andrews/
I also don’t buy Watson and the Browns. It’s 4 years since his 1 good season. Everybody forgets that Houston was trying to trade the guy before the allegations came up. He looked mediocre last year and has had a poor camp by some reports. https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2023/08/17/deshaun-watson-calls-out-report-struggles-browns-eagles-joint-practice
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#1 Preseason QB, his PFF rating was slightly above Mahomes breakout year. They are the only two starting QBs to ever get a complete preseason rating over 90.
Oh, the rookie edge rusher from Wisconsin who is our #3 behind former DPOY TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith (14.5 sacks last season, pro bowl) was the highest ranked EDGE rusher with a 30% win rate, and some of that was against starters…
The Swiss Army H-Back Connor Heyward was the highest rated TE.
I get that preseason means nothing in the standings or even talent, necessarily, but it does mean something in terms of preparation, growth, and command of their personal situations at that moment in time. With what these guys have shown, there’s not a team in the league that they should be scared of. I’ve not been this excited to start a season in over a decade or more.
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-preseason-pff-team-of-the-preseason-player-awards-2023
