Chris Adamski stories, Page 50
Steelers 4 Downs: Blitzburgh is back, no reason for tight ends to celebrate
1. Dialing it up The Pittsburgh Steelers have a reputation for bringing the blitz. After a two-year hiatus, they are back at it in 2023. According to pro-football-reference.com, only four NFL teams blitz at a higher rate this season than the Steelers’ 37.9%. That number is a significant increase over...
Drafted 5 picks after Steelers took Najee Harris, Jaguars RB Travis Etienne taking star turn
Two and a half years after the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Najee Harris to be their all-situations, highly-productive workhorse running back, the next player selected at that position in that 2021 draft is emerging as moreso exactly what the Steelers sought. That player, Travis Etienne, will face the Steelers for the...
Steelers’ Diontae Johnson, Cole Holcomb, Larry Ogunjobi cleared to play against Jaguars
Aside from the muddled situation at cornerback, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a healthy roster headed into Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Three relied-upon starters who spent time on the league-mandated official injury report this week all were full practice participants Friday and given the official green light to play...
With 3 questionable at CB, Luq Barcoo, Darius Rush might be next men up for Steelers
It might be Luq Barcoo and Darius Rush getting significant playing time at outside cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Other than Patrick Peterson, it’s anyone’s guess who the cornerbacks will be against the Jacksonville Jaguars if the injury report is any indication. The Steelers’ Nos. 2-4 on the...
Back together on field for Steelers, WRs George Pickens, Diontae Johnson push each other
In Diontae Johnson’s first game back after being on the injured reserve list Sunday, George Pickens actually ended up with more production (five catches for 107 yards) than what he averaged in the four games during which Johnson was sidelined (4.3 catches, 89.8 yards). So much for any worries that...
Steelers’ Larry Ogunjobi does not practice because of shoulder injury
Seven consecutive practices is as long as the streak would last for Larry Ogunjobi. A veteran defensive tackle, Ogunjobi since Oct. 4 had fully taken part in each of the seven Pittsburgh Steelers practices that had been eligible for noting on the league-mandated status report. He was not listed as...
Coming off 1st career sack, Nick Herbig knows his role still mostly special teams for Steelers
In crediting Pittsburgh Steelers fans, rookie Nick Herbig let it slip the confidence he has in himself to beat NFL offensive tackles. An outside linebacker the Steelers drafted in the fourth round in April, Herbig explained his takedown of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the second quarter of...
Veteran Steelers CB Levi Wallace does not practice because of foot injury
Could the seeming gradual transition from Levi Wallace to Joey Porter Jr. as a Pittsburgh Steelers outside cornerback be hastened by an injury this week? Wallace, the six-year veteran who’s in his second season with the Steelers, did not practice Wednesday. According to the league-mandated injury report, Wallace has a...
Steelers’ Najee Harris: NFL officials ‘a little too soft’ in throwing taunting flags
Early on during Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams, Najee Harris’ mouth evoked a warning from the officiating crew that was verbalized to Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Late in the game, the Steelers receivers George Pickens and Diontae Johnson each drew taunting penalties for their actions at the...
Mike Tomlin prefers Steelers keep teams guessing week-to-week in lieu of having ‘identity’
What are the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers? Do they have an “identity?” Coach Mike Tomlin would prefer they don’t, at least not in regards to schematics or tendencies. Seven weeks and six games into the season, the Steelers have poor statistical rankings (31st in total offense, 30th in total defense) but...
Tomlin: Team failed to adjust to officials’ ‘tenor’ in L.A.
Eleven times during Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams, officials threw flags against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A season-high eight were accepted, and another triggered a crucial offset of a Rams penalty that would have given the Steelers an important late first down. During his weekly news conference Tuesday, Steelers...
Steelers notes: Mike Tomlin explains decision to receive after winning coin toss
Teams that win the coin toss in the NFL elect to defer possession to the second half more than 90% of the time. For the second time this season, though, on Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers chose to receive to begin a game at the Los Angeles Rams. In explaining why,...
After season high in penalties, Mike Tomlin says Steelers must adjust to officiating crewsVideo
Eleven times during Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams, officials threw flags against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A season-high eight were accepted, and another triggered a crucial offset of a Rams penalty that would have given the Steelers an important late first down. During his weekly news conference Tuesday, Steelers...
Questionable, subjective spotting of the ball hurts Pitt, helps Steelers over wild weekendVideo
As football fans, we live in era during which seemingly everything can be instantly calculated and analyzed to painstaking accuracy. We know that the Cleveland Browns’ Jerome Ford, for example, achieved a top speed of 21.13 mph during his 69-yard touchdown run against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. We watched...
5 things we learned: 4th-quarter stats make ‘Clutch Kenny’ nickname appropriate for Pickett
Five things we learned from Steelers 24, Rams 17: 1. Clutch Kenny Since Week 5 of last season, when Kenny Pickett first became the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starter, no NFL quarterback has guided more fourth-quarter drives that either tied the game or gave his team the lead than Pickett. Only one...
CB Darius Rush not in uniform vs. Rams days after signing with Steelers
Four days after signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Darius Rush was not in uniform for Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams. A rookie cornerback, Rush was signed off the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad Wednesday. Though he had said he did not expect to have a role on the...
Steelers 4 Downs: Generating pressure the key to defense’s success
1. Get to the QB It doesn’t take advanced analytics to come to the conclusion that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ strength is in their defense — and that defense is driven by the ability to rush opposing passers. But Sharp Football Analysis presented some numbers to show just how reliant the...
LeBron on turf? Rams’ Cooper Kupp earns high plaudits from Steelers tasked to limit him
During his weekly news conference, Mike Tomlin aimed high in finding a comparable for the star receiver of his next opponent. Really high. As in, Tomlin started by comparing the Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp to a pair of players who’ve combined for four NFL Defensive Player of the Year...
Steelers notes: T.J. Watt fine, signs point to Diontae Johnson also playing vs. Rams
It was early in the first quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most recent game when the pinky finger on T.J. Watt’s left hand was badly dislocated. Watt, though, didn’t realize the extent of it until the game was over. “When I took my glove off and it was the size...
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth will not play Sunday after apparent aggravation of groin injury
Just a few days ago, is appeared the Pittsburgh Steelers were assured of getting Pat Freiermuth back. But the week ended with the team knowing it will still have to play without their starting tight end. Freiermuth will not play in Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams, according to...
T.J. Watt added to Steelers injury report
A day after having about as clean a midseason injury report as possible, the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday had an addition Thursday. A big name, too. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt did not practice for what was listed as a heel injury. Watt, the NFL’s co-leader in sacks, was not listed...
Is this the week Joey Porter Jr.’s playing time takes a leap for Steelers?
For what it’s worth, the messaging has changed regarding the prospects for one of the greatest sources of angst among Pittsburgh Steelers fans: extra playing time for rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. It’s been a weekly question for defensive coordinator Teryl Austin — will Porter get deployed more often and...
All injured Steelers players practice fully, including Diontae Johnson, Pat Freiermuth
It was a full-y fulfilling day for the Pittsburgh Steelers in regards to the handful of players they have working their way back from injury. Six contributors who missed at least one game of action all practiced fully Wednesday, according to the injury report. That is an encouraging sign the...
‘Old heads’ Patrick Peterson, Matthew Stafford to meet 1 more time in Steelers-Rams game
As Patrick Peterson said Wednesday, he knows he’s an “old head” in the NFL. The No. 5 overall pick 12 1/2 years ago, Peterson is one of only 13 active players left from the 2011 draft class. Peterson is looking forward to Sunday when he can match wits against one...
After signing Darius Rush, Steelers now have 3 of the top-rated CBs of 2023 draft class
If the Pittsburgh Steelers went into this past spring’s draft looking to acquire a top cornerback, they eventually found a way to get a few of them. The Steelers signed Darius Rush off the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad Wednesday, adding another big rookie cornerback to the organization. The 6-foot-2,...
