Steelers vs Browns Matchup - DawgTalkers.net

Numbers:

Both teams are 1 and 1.

Browns are a 3.5 point favorite.

Over/Under is 40.5.

Browns are averaging 380 yards of offense a game. The Steelers are averaging 255.

Browns are allowing 331.5 yards per game on defense. The Steelers are giving up 404 yds per game.

Steelers are plus 4 in Turnover Differential. Browns are plus 1.

Key Matchups:

--The Steelers OL is really bad. The Browns need to shut down the run and pressure Trubisky. Doing so should result in a victory. Not accomplishing these things will make things very difficult for the Browns.

--The Browns running game should wear down the Steelers D and the Browns should be able to use play action. I also think that Cooper could have another solid game. If the Steelers shut down the Browns run game and we are playing behind the chains, it might look ugly.

--The Special teams need to have a better day. The Browns should just boot it out of the endzone when they are kicking off. Both teams have quality kickers. Both teams have punt returners who have fumbled.

Miscellaneous:

The Browns need to play well from the beginning. There is a segment of our fan base who wants to see the team fail and will boo early and often at the first sign of trouble. Gotta start off hot and shut them up and give the rest of the fans [the majority] to cheer and rock the place.

If the team isn't up for this game after the terrible way that we lost last Sunday's game, then heads will surely roll after the game, but I think that we will do just enough to win a close one, with the defense continuing to having a few blown coverages, because that seems to be our MO.

Like with most Browns vs Steelers games. I think that you can dismiss their records and their stats which came before.

Browns -5.5

Teams have only played two games. While it's true that's all the stats you have to base anything on so far, it really gives you no indication of what a team is capable of how how you will match up against them.

I think the argument could easily be made that both the Bengals and the Patriots are better teams than either the Panthers or the Jets which would be a factor that would skew those stats. So much as you stated, I think we can throw out the records and the stats after only two games having been played by both teams.

How this game will end up is anyone's guess at this point.

I'll root for the Browns as usual but have zero expectations. We don't know which D or O will show up. And personally, I feel Tomlin is by far the better coach. Ski was great in year one but hasn't seemed able to get our players all on the same page since. It makes me yearn for the days coaches would go nuts on players for screwing the pooch during the game.

Originally Posted by MemphisBrownie

Browns -5.5

Browns -4.5

I think we match-up well w/the Steelers. I think their OL is weak and I think we can run on their D. I think Brissett is playing better than Trubisky. I think playing at home should be an advantage. The thing that scares me is that we don't usually play well vs the Steelers. We beat their backups to get in the playoffs two years ago and then stomped them in the playoffs, but last year it was back to normal. We were 4 and 3 and Pittsburgh came in and beat us 15 to 10. Later in the season, they humiliated us and I'll never forget watching their players laughing at Baker. So, while I think we should win this game........I can't say I'm confident.

The Steelers offense is really struggling. I heard something on TV about the offense only generated 60 yards of offense in the second half of week 1 and only had 20 total yards in the 4th quarter in week 2.

Here is one of many articles on that talks about their offensive woes.

Quote

Amanda Filipcic-Godsey | Steelers offense struggling to find groove

Amanda Filipcic-Godsey
CNHI Pa. Sports Sep 20, 2022

PITTSBURGH – Anemic. Lackluster. Uninspiring.

These are just three of the many words that can be used to describe the Pittsburgh Steelers offense two weeks into the 2022 season.

In Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers were plus-five in turnovers. The team still needed an entire 10-minute overtime period, an injury to the Bengals’ long snapper, and a 53-yard game-winning field goal from Chris Boswell as the overtime period expired to defeat the Bengals. The offense posted 267 total yards and just one touchdown.

The Steelers didn’t fare that well on Sunday, as they dropped their home opener 17-14 to the New England Patriots. The Steelers posted 243 yards of offense and didn’t get into the end zone until the first play of the fourth quarter when Mitch Trubisky connected with Pat Freiermuth for an 8-yard touchdown. Diontae Johnson’s catch on the two-point conversion made the score 17-14.

Pittsburgh got the ball back two more times and went three-and-out on both drives.

The Steelers defense had already spent five minutes of the fourth quarter on the field, so when the Patriots got the ball with just over 6 minutes remaining, it seemed a foregone conclusion that that would be the ballgame – and it was.

Some argue it’s the offensive line. Others say it’s the play calling by offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Some believe it’s Trubisky’s play. It’s likely a combination of all of the above, though the offensive line looked better against the Patriots than it did in week one or the preseason.

“We can be better at everything,” Trubisky said following the game. “I can be better at decision- making. We had some missed opportunities. I had some missed throws. We had a couple where we weren’t on the same page.

“Bottom line, we’ve got to score more points.”

While Trubisky often checked down when his first read was covered and was picked off when he threw into traffic, the play calling has also left plenty to be desired. This past year – Canada’s first season as offensive coordinator – the offense looked similarly watered down at times. The notion was that 39-year-old quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was limited by his lack of mobility and his inaccuracy on downfield passes.

Yet this year, Roethlisberger is gone. He’s been replaced by a 28-year-old who can make plays with his legs, but little seems to have change offensively from 2021. Canada still seems hesitant to call plays downfield and his play calling has been far too conservative for a team with playmakers such as Johnson, Freiermuth, Najee Harris, Chase Claypool and George Pickens on the offense.

Pickens was not targeted until there was 22 seconds to go in the first half, despite being open several times prior to his one completion. He caught a pass along the Steelers sideline for a gain of 23 yards on his first target. It was the longest pass play of the day for Pittsburgh.

“Definitely get George more involved. We’ve just got to get on the same page. I think there was one where I threw out of bounds. He was going one way and I thought he was going another way,” Trubisky said. “We’ve got to get George involved. He’s super-talented.”

Following a missed field goal by Nick Folk in the third quarter, the Steelers offense was set up with great field position at their own 42. They wound up having to settle for a 52-yard Boswell field goal after failing to convert on third-and-8 at the New England 33. Trubisky threw a short pass to running back Jaylen Warren for no gain.

A smattering of “KEN-NY, KEN-NY” chants erupted from the frustrated crowd at Acrisure Stadium, signaling their desire to see backup quarterback Kenny Pickett under center.

It seems unlikely coach Mike Tomlin is ready to put the rookie in just yet, but he acknowledged Trubisky didn’t do enough.

“Obviously, we collectively didn’t make enough plays today, he included,” Tomlin said of his quarterback.

The offense wasn’t the only problem on Sunday. The team had a defensive lapse by cornerback Akhello Witherspoon, who was bullied by Patriots wide receiver Nelson Agholor for a 44-yard touchdown with under a minute remaining in the first half.

The Steelers also had a special teams play go awry when Gunner Olszewski, a former Patriot, muffed a punt in the third quarter that was recovered by New England at the 10-yard line. The Patriots needed just three plays to get in the end zone and take an 11-point lead. It was a lead that felt – and wound up being – insurmountable.

“New England made some significant plays. In a game like that, it’s going to come down to a couple of plays, and we didn’t make enough of them,” Tomlin said.

However, a touchdown a game on offense isn’t going to get it done. The Steelers defense has given up 18.5 points per game in the two contests so far this season. That should be good enough for a 2-0 record, but the offense has struggled mightily to find any rhythm so far this season.

“When you leave your defense out to dry like that – it doesn’t help when you turn it over on special teams, and that’s on me,” Olszewski said.

The Steelers offense needs something to change – and fast. The team will travel to Cleveland for a Thursday night matchup this week before returning home to face the New York Jets, who defeated the Browns 31-30 on Sunday. Then the Steelers will face Josh Allen and the Bills and Tom Brady and Buccaneers in back-to-back weeks. An offensive touchdown per game will not cut it against any of their upcoming opponents.

“I’ve got to tell the guys to buy in, be patient, and just focus on your job. That’s what you’ve got to do as a leader, just got to keep guys on track,” Trubisky said. “If everybody just does their job, we’ll be a lot better as an offense.”

The Steelers better hope so. If not, things could get very ugly, very quickly and the 2022 season could be derailed before it even really begins.

https://www.tribdem.com/sports/aman...459554e-37bf-11ed-923d-f74f38d4929e.html

My hope is that Ski realized winning a division game can keep us alive even if our record is not so good. So maybe he saved a few new plays nobody has seen yet. My fear is we don't get a big enough lead heading into the 4th qtr. because we all know what happens then.

Yeah, and honestly it’s going to be difficult to muster 20 points against their defense. So a big lead is probably not in the cards. You hate to get into the habit of blowing leads late … that’s a bugaboo

the matchup is definitely the secondary vs the steelers receivers. we have the talent to completely shut them down. but what we need to see tomorrow night is these guys being on the same page. the lack of discipline on the back ends up showing up like on sunday, the steelers will be able to run the ball because mitch will eat us alive in the middle and bust coverages, making us not be able to shut down Harris. I know our D line isn't healthy, but we can not let the steelers gain an advantage on the ground, because i think the steelers are gonna test our DB's early in the game with a lot of motions and pick routes.

i have to wonder how many plays are gonna be made simple because the DBs still have their eyes completely in the backfield.

Here is an excerpt from a pretty dumb article, but Stefanski's comments are important when thinking about potential key match-ups. We don't want Trubiski scrambling around and buying time or running for first downs. I'll post the link in case anyone wants to read the reporter's commentary.

Quote

“He is a really good quarterback,” Stefanski explained. “I saw him a lot when I was in Minnesota and he was in Chicago. He is very, very athletic. He can really move around. He can make plays with his feet. He can take off and run. He can throw while scrambling. I think they do a nice job of utilizing his athleticism. They have skill players really all over the field outside and inside that can hurt you.”

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/202...medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

If we were smart, we would look at what BB did last week against the Steelers O. That seemed to work! And aren't we supposed to have a better D than the Pats?

I think the Pats D is solid. It's their offense that has looked like hot garbage.

i really hope our DT's can show some gap discipline in the pass game. bro you deal with QB's who scramble outside the pocket then hit the sidelines. fine.

but QBs scrambling up the middle for a big gain is just devastating, and mitch is a big dude. He isn't Allen, but the DBs coming up better not try some lazy arm tackle. i read this:

'I needed to mature': Browns rookie Perrion Winfrey says he's learned from discipline

https://www.yahoo.com/news/needed-mature-browns-rookie-perrion-194944722.html

I know he's a back up, but after the benching and a wake up call, I hope he plays big tomorrow night. at least help solidify the middle and eat blocks.

Yeah, we need help in the interior. I think we all saw that coming during the off-season.

One thing I've seen w/Trubisky is he seems far less effective when he rolls to his left. Not sure if you saw any of their games, but he was really inaccurate while moving to his left. I saw Pickens---their rookie WR---throw his arms up in disgust after a pass fell about 5 yards short and out of bounds last week.

j/c:

We're screwed.

yea good point. he really struggles throwing to that wide side of the field in the pocket, so forcing him to work that side of the field will get us quick 3 and outs, but thats if garrett doesn't bite on the PA's or loses containment on that side. but with Clowney out, i dont know if we can generate the control on the LoS necessary to manipulate the pocket. I think the steelers are gonna purposely roll mitch to the right and shift the line specifically to neutralize garrett with Clowney being out. im worried that the steelers might successfully exploit the weakest side of our line. they haven't been able to run the ball at all so far this year, but nobody on the line scares them except Garrett.

still, there's gonna be plenty of chances for the DBs to get their hands on the ball, so they need to step up if mitch is comfortable in the pocket.

the steelers defense isn't good. Fitzpatrick can't be everywhere, so i hope we play more ball control than we already do on offense and just keep our D off the field.

I think those are all great points. We looked vulnerable on our defensive left [offensive right] last week, both in the run and pass.

I do wish I would have brought up Fitz in my first post. Dude is a really good player. JB needs to be careful w/that guy lurking in the secondary.

I think we need to see if Garrett and Bitonio play. If not, the key matchups change greatly.

Originally Posted by MemphisBrownie

Conjure the mojo of Golic, Matthews and Dixon.

Yea, I brought Fitz up in the other thread a couple days ago.

He’s one of my concerns.

Quote

As for the Steelers: Their offense hasn't been good through two games. Their fans were chanting for Pickett last game. They do have some weapons on offense, but they've only scored 14 points on offense the past two games. Their defense has played pretty well despite Watt being out. Though they couldn't generate a pass rush. Our line is better than the Pats, so I am hoping that will even be a truer statement for our game. My two biggest concerns about their D, is Heyward has always been a problem for us. I am hoping with Watt out, we can assist in other areas with our blockers. Fitzpatrick is the other. Unless I am mis-remembering, he's always been a good/great ball hawk.

One thing that concerns me is that the Browns have had a habit of making terrible QB's and back-ups look great. Over the past several seasons this has seemed to be a trend.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing the Db's continue their Chinese firedrills.

Parsons is being elevated to mvp status by all the talking heads.

He walks on water.

It was the same in college. Except it was JOK who won the Butkus Award.

Parsons is a great pass rusher. And sacks equal glory.

The difference is JOK is better at coverage and overall play.

Originally Posted by Homewood Dog

If we were smart, we would look at what BB did last week against the Steelers O. That seemed to work! And aren't we supposed to have a better D than the Pats?

a friend, who happens to be a Steelers fan and not enamored with Trubisky, shared the following graphic on how he spread his passes around. A full one-third of all completions were BEHIND the Line of Scrimmage.

[Linked Image]

Well we should clobber them, so he'll show up and look like Brady playing against us.

Originally Posted by Ballpeen

I think we need to see if Garrett and Bitonio play. If not, the key matchups change greatly.

peen, they were not listed on the injury report today. That is a good sign.

It was reported that Garrett, Conklin and Bitonio will all be active.

All great news. Glad Conklin will return but Hudson seems to be holding his own at RT. Although I’m not sure if he’s getting extra blocking help on that side.

I hope and pray we win this game. It's been a long 3 days after the Jets game fiasco, and I can't imagine how tough it will be with a loss tomorrow and a week and a half until our next game. If this team and coaching staff has any fire and heart, we will come out like gangbusters and play a strong game. Let's hope!

I worry about Trubiski.

The guy is a hometown guy and he is playing for his NFL life with Pickett nipping at his heels.

When guys have the motivation and need to do it, sometimes they do. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a great game.

I also don't have high hopes for this game BUT...this should be our time. They are in a transition period so it's our turn to sweep them a few years in a row, we had no business losing both games last year but we did.

The Home Pittsburg game. The Browns home pittsburg game.
You get one every year, and only one every year.
This is going to be the 24th home Pittsburgh game for the Browns since the return in I999.

The 24th home Pittsburgh game since the return in I999.

I think, if you looked back at the other previous home Pittsburgh games as a Browns franchise, since the return in I999, you might find that WAY too often, the Browns come into the game in a state of disrepair, ?, or disorder at the time the game kicks off.

Some years it happens after the Browns season is already beyond playoff contention.

This year it happens tomorrow night, on Thursday night football, ... in whatever circumstances currently exist.

Originally Posted by Ballpeen

I worry about Trubiski.

The guy is a hometown guy and he is playing for his NFL life with Pickett nipping at his heels.

When guys have the motivation and need to do it, sometimes they do. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a great game.

I think there are some who secretly root for the steelers over the long history and there is nothing wrong with that, except the secret part.
Personally I have usually hated the steelers beyond which I'm allowed to print.

But seeing as currently, I don't feel like I care whether the Browns win 49 in a row or lose 49 in a row as long as they are going to trade away Baker and 3 first round picks for Jacoby (stopwatch) Brissett, I mean it's a... it's a Benny Hill movie it might as well be.

Originally Posted by PrplPplEater

Looks like Baker Mayfield stats.

Oh we need this one. It’s not a season- killer because our division looks to be all kinds of suck, but it will, as you say, be a long 11 days until week 3.

Here’s what I do: do the same thing on offence, run the damn ball, look for Coop, on D we have to stop being brain-dead in the secondary. Stop giving up big chunks on kickoff coverage, let Cade boot it into the stands. Our run D hasn’t been awful. Blitz Trubisky.

I wonder if we’ll see more of Harrison and Lecounte.

Here is a video that previews the game and then features Charles Davis talking about some of the keys to the game.

After watching that video, I wonder if we should play more Cover 3 instead of Cover 2 and 4 this week?

We’ve seen this script before (heck, we just saw it Sunday haha) … a QB who has no business beating us at our stadium comes in and plays lights out.

Trubisky isn’t good, but we can make him look good. I worry about his ability to run

Quote

How the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in primetime showdown

Cory Kinnan
September 22, 2022 8:44 am ET

The Cleveland Browns get their first chance to show what they’ve got on primetime football tonight as their divisional rival Pittsburgh Steelers travel to FirstEnergy Stadium. After getting punched in the gut a week ago against the New York Jets, this game will tell a great deal about what this team and locker room are made of.

After the rest of the AFC North stumbled just as hard as the Browns did in Week 2, Cleveland still has a chance to take over as the leaders in the division with a win tonight (at least until Sunday). The Steelers and Browns both sit at 1-1 entering this matchup, so it has the makings of another high-anxiety outing.

How do the Browns come away from this game with a 2-1 record? We dive headfirst into that conversation now.

Jacoby stays positive on touchdown-to-interception Ratio

What has separated Jacoby Brissett from Baker Mayfield a year ago thus far has been his ability to keep the football out of harm’s way. Through two games, Brissett has turned the ball over just one time, and it came with 11 seconds left in the game when he was forced to push the football down the field and into field goal range.

This is the recipe for winning with him under center the next nine games. The Browns do not need Brissett to blow the doors off of the stadium, but they need to take care of the football and be efficient. And thus far he has answered the call.

Brissett currently sits in the top-10 of just about every efficiency metric out there, including sitting seventh in DVOA and ninth in DYAR according to Football Outsiders. More of the same should give the Browns a comfortable win over the Steelers, but it should have also given them a comfortable win over the Jets as well.

Even if Brissett is just one passing touchdown to no interceptions, he has put the Browns in the position to win the football game.

Browns do not blow a single coverage

A players-only meeting has been called. And that should be a relief as it would be more concerning had they just chosen to ignore the glaringly obvious through two games. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has stated communication against the pass has been the emphasis as well.

Good.

After two straight weeks where the Browns have blown two-score leads in the fourth quarter due to blown coverages, this is the last week they have to prove they can get their act together without the serious discussion of somebody getting fired.

This Steelers’ offense is anemic. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has put bottom tier quarterback play on tape, they cannot run the football, and their offensive line should be quite overmatched. This, however, was the same against Mayfield and the Panthers as well, but allowed 65% of their yards to strike on two blown coverages and a screen pass.

As long as the secondary figures it out (big ask), the Browns should roll against the Steelers.

Keep Anthony Walker Jr. on the field full time

Keeping MIKE linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. on the field full time might go quite a ways for this team to stay within themselves and towards getting their communication woes handled. As the Browns are currently rotating the defensive communication duties between Walker Jr. and Jacob Phillips, the play of number 5 has been significantly better. Keep him as the main communicator.

Walker Jr. has also stepped up as quite the leader this week, as a team captain should, saying all of the right things during his media availability. Walker Jr. has taken blame that was not his to take and stepped up for this team after getting punched in the mouth. The Cleveland Browns are quite lucky to have Walker Jr. as a leader on this football team.

He is been significantly better than Phillips through two weeks, he is a leader on the defense, and the Browns need to simplify their communication systems. Keep Walker Jr. on the field.

Just put 20 points on the board

For a team that is tied with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in the percentage of drives that end in points (top in the league), the Browns have not had much issue putting the scoreboard operator to work. The same cannot be said about the Steelers as previously mentioned.

Their offense has scored just two touchdowns all season long, with kicker Chris Boswell being their leading scorer on the season. There should be no reason the Browns should not be able to outscore this offense.

If the Browns can even put 20 points on the scoreboard, that should be more than enough as the only time the Steelers surpassed that this year was on an overtime field goal (that took all 15 minutes of overtime to hit). It is simple math, the team that scores the most points wins, and the Browns have proven to have a significantly better offense while playing two talented defenses thus far.

Should the Browns get out early and force the Steelers out of their game plan, that will put a great deal of pressure on Trubisky. This is the blueprint.

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/lis...medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

One of the things Quincy Carrier does that I love is he brings division guests who are guys like him.

News alert. These youtube guys that cover the North know their teams better than any of the tv people. The reason is because it is their team. They know the league but they really know their team. The Steeler guest this guy knows the Steelers.

Originally Posted by Versatile Dog

After watching that video, I wonder if we should play more Cover 3 instead of Cover 2 and 4 this week?

I don't know the big differences between Cover 2 and Cover 3 etc but Charles Davis talks about how teams are playing tight coverage vs the steelers because they don't seem to have the ability or willingness to go deep. Historically, when I see something like that comment, the Browns come out playing off coverage to prevent getting beat deep allowing the other offense to short pass to wide open receivers marching all the way down the field easily.

A 2 sentence description of differences between those coverages would be appreciated.

Simply put, Cover 3 divides the field into 3 vertical sections. Cover 4 divides the field into 4 vertical sections.

Cover 3 has 1 deep safety and the other safety plays closer to the LOS. He helps cover TEs, RBs, and the flat as well as being a force against the run. Cover 4 plays both safeties deep. They provide deep help on the deeper passing game and are not as effective on the underneath routes and defending the run.

I mentioned Cover 3 because Trubisky has not challenged teams down the field and has thrown a lot of shorter passes.

Does that help? I'll answer more questions if you have them.

I watched some of the Steeler/Bengals game. I listened to Tomlin's press conference.

Clearly, Tomlin is aware that both Chubb and Hunt have had almost the same snaps like 76 and 78.

He knows the Browns have the best running attack.

Given the above. When you watch how the Steelers were playing the run against the Bengals.

Run blitz. On a wide zone to the strong side the linebackers and a safety are jamming the gaps and flood the outside.

They try to turn the play and close cutback lanes.

The solutions is slants to the vacated areas.

IMO on early downs the Browns need to throw to the TE's.

Or, have Hunt and Chubb in the backfield and use Hunt off the play action to Chubb find the open area.

The Steelers are going to commit to the run. We need to exploit that early. Then come back to run later in the game.

Originally Posted by bonefish

IMO on early downs the Browns need to throw to the TE's.

Yep.

j/c:

I'm putting my wife's vehicle and my second born son's bike on Nick Chubb longest rush over 19.5 yards. He's had a rush of at least 20 yards in six straight games!

Originally Posted by Versatile Dog

Simply put, Cover 3 divides the field into 3 vertical sections. Cover 4 divides the field into 4 vertical sections.

Cover 3 has 1 deep safety and the other safety plays closer to the LOS. He helps cover TEs, RBs, and the flat as well as being a force against the run. Cover 4 plays both safeties deep. They provide deep help on the deeper passing game and are not as effective on the underneath routes and defending the run.

I mentioned Cover 3 because Trubisky has not challenged teams down the field and has thrown a lot of shorter passes.

Does that help? I'll answer more questions if you have them.

That's helpful to me.
Is it safe to say Cover 3 has tighter coverage or will the tightness of coverage vary depending on how the defense decides to play it?

Originally Posted by MemphisBrownie

j/c:

In addition to that, the wind is supposed to be between 25-25 mph. That should result in more emphasis on the running game and short passing game which will eat clock.

Originally Posted by Jester

Originally Posted by Versatile Dog

Simply put, Cover 3 divides the field into 3 vertical sections. Cover 4 divides the field into 4 vertical sections.

Cover 3 has 1 deep safety and the other safety plays closer to the LOS. He helps cover TEs, RBs, and the flat as well as being a force against the run. Cover 4 plays both safeties deep. They provide deep help on the deeper passing game and are not as effective on the underneath routes and defending the run.

I mentioned Cover 3 because Trubisky has not challenged teams down the field and has thrown a lot of shorter passes.

Does that help? I'll answer more questions if you have them.

That's helpful to me.
Is it safe to say Cover 3 has tighter coverage or will the tightness of coverage vary depending on how the defense decides to play it?

I don't know about "tighter," but Cover 3 has more man tendencies than Cover 2 or 4. It's still very much a zone defense, but the corners can trail the WRs all the way up the sidelines. Cover 2 and 4 are safer. Cover 3 is a bit more aggressive. For example, Baltimore was in Cover 3 last week against Miami and were burned repeatedly deep by very fast WRs in T. Hill and Waddle. Cover 3 can be exploited by deep passing attacks. Cover 2 and 4 are safer, but not as aggressive in coverage.

It's Alex Wright's time to step up and shine. He should get a fair amount of one on ones with Myles on the other side (I'd keep MG on the offenses right to try to keep Trubisky flushed to his left, generally-speaking.) Rattling Trubisky without blitzing would be great for our chances. Hopefully, the pass rush starts hot so they keep Freiermuth in blocking for extra protection. Might also send JOK off Myles' edge to stress that OL and hopefully get one or the other free in the potential confusion.

I might also have Delpit double cover Diontae Johnson every play (with the occasional blitz by him mixed in,) so that I didn't have to worry about 22 back in zone coverage, while also hopefully taking away the quick/easy passes. I would likely also have Ward follow Johnson all game so as to avoid the size mismatches the other receivers present.

I think I'd like to see us run more cover 1. Not exclusively, but it could simplify the assignments some.

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I think I'd like to see us run more cover 1. Not exclusively, but it could simplify the assignments some.

You might be on to something.

There was an article from 2020 that said this:

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“IT’S NOT PRETTY ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT TRUBISKY REALLY STRUGGLED AGAINST MAN COVERAGE. AGAINST COVER-1 — MAN COVERAGE WITH A SINGLE DEEP SAFETY — TRUBISKY RANKED 30TH IN EPA PER PLAY. HE PERFORMED BETTER AGAINST ZONE COVERAGES.

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chica...-method-to-stump-mitch-trubisky-in-2019/

There is also this for the first two games this year.

https://www.playerprofiler.com/nfl/mitch-trubisky/

Lot's of great information in that link, but regarding man vs zone, check these numbers out.

Completion percentage: Man-53.8% Zone-75.0%

Passer Rating: Man-73.3 Zone-117.7

Accuracy Rating: Man-6.0. Zone-8.1

Btw--------for those of you who like Advanced Stats, that second site is a very useful tool to study data.

j/c...

Chester Rogers punt return time!

j/c:

I gotta make a phone call......

[Linked Image from media.giphy.com]

That would be awesome lol

Originally Posted by Versatile Dog

Originally Posted by MemphisBrownie

j/c:

In addition to that, the wind is supposed to be between 25-25 mph. That should result in more emphasis on the running game and short passing game which will eat clock.

I was going to say, just being out and about town, the wind is buffeting around 25 MPH. It might not be cold outside, but one sweatshirt with hood isn't enough to remain comfortable. A bit nippy might be the way to describe the temp.

Originally Posted by Milk Man

I'm putting my wife's vehicle and my second born son's bike on Nick Chubb longest rush over 19.5 yards. He's had a rush of at least 20 yards in six straight games!

Winner!!