OT: NFL

[IUPNation]

Kenny Pickett took snaps in a Super Bowl
before the currents yinzers did….

[iupgroundhog]

It's joyous.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Kenny Pickett took snaps in a Super Bowl
before the currents yinzers did….

I’m glad he did. His awful throw allowed the Chiefs to get the ball back and ultimately led to a nice chunk of change coming my way. Thanks, Kenny!

[Chuck Norris]

I did not see that game putting me in bed at the end of the third quarter, after spending most of said quarter playing games on my phone. Truly a dominating finish to the season by Philadelphia.

[IUP24]

I did not see that game putting me in bed at the end of the third quarter, after spending most of said quarter playing games on my phone. Truly a dominating finish to the season by Philadelphia.

Philly's approach is what the Steelers want to do, but cannot get over their own internal struggles (and internal beliefs of how they believe they should play and manage the sport) to get there. They have a dominating, physical, and aggressive defense with speed all over the field. But those guys are made up draft picks from all over the board. A lot of mid round picks make up that unit. They don't have a bunch of high priced, shiny toys who take up most of their salary cap on that side of the ball. When TJ Watt goes down, the Steelers are toast. The Eagles have 3 guys who collectively match that production and don't miss a beat when a pass rusher goes down (Brandon Graham was out since week 4). Outside of Jalen Carter, I don't think you can point to any individual on Philly's D and say they are "elite." They have a ton of really good, quality players (with depth), that all schematically fit and work together.

You wonder why Philly can go out and sign Saquan Barkley, trade for AJ Brown, build and retain a mauling offensive line... That's how. Defense won the game for Philly based on how they disrupted Mahomes and KC and you need defense to win. But their approach was to schematically build depth on that side of the ball through the draft (which generally costs a lot less when those guys are young) and pay for their weaponry on offense. It's worked.

Congrats to Tyler Scudder, Brandon Hunt, and Nick Sirianni. As a lifelong Pitt fan, congrats to Avonte Maddox (2nd ring), AJ Woods, and Kenny Pickett. Happy for all six of those individuals.

[IUPalum]

Philly's approach is what the Steelers want to do, but cannot get over their own internal struggles (and internal beliefs of how they believe they should play and manage the sport) to get there. They have a dominating, physical, and aggressive defense with speed all over the field. But those guys are made up draft picks from all over the board. A lot of mid round picks make up that unit. They don't have a bunch of high priced, shiny toys who take up most of their salary cap on that side of the ball. When TJ Watt goes down, the Steelers are toast. The Eagles have 3 guys who collectively match that production and don't miss a beat when a pass rusher goes down (Brandon Graham was out since week 4). Outside of Jalen Carter, I don't think you can point to any individual on Philly's D and say they are "elite." They have a ton of really good, quality players (with depth), that all schematically fit and work together.

You wonder why Philly can go out and sign Saquan Barkley, trade for AJ Brown, build and retain a mauling offensive line... That's how. Defense won the game for Philly based on how they disrupted Mahomes and KC and you need defense to win. But their approach was to schematically build depth on that side of the ball through the draft (which generally costs a lot less when those guys are young) and pay for their weaponry on offense. It's worked.

Congrats to Tyler Scudder, Brandon Hunt, and Nick Sirianni. As a lifelong Pitt fan, congrats to Avonte Maddox (2nd ring), AJ Woods, and Kenny Pickett. Happy for all six of those individuals.

100% the Steelers problems are internal. That all starts with Tomlin. Yes, the Steelers have put a ton of money into the defense but when you run the same scheme you've run for 20 plus years it becomes old and stale. Julian Edelman proved that with his interview last week.

Tomlin needs to check his ego and let his assistants work, let Weidl doing the scouting/drafting and update your system on both sides of the ball. Tomlin won't let any of that happen which is why it's time for him to go.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

100% the Steelers problems are internal. That all starts with Tomlin. Yes, the Steelers have put a ton of money into the defense but when you run the same scheme you've run for 20 plus years it becomes old and stale. Julian Edelman proved that with his interview last week.

Tomlin needs to check his ego and let his assistants work, let Weidl doing the scouting/drafting and update your system on both sides of the ball. Tomlin won't let any of that happen which is why it's time for him to go.

FYI: Tomlin's never had a losing season.



LOL. Sorry. Couldn't help it.

[IUPalum]

FYI: Tomlin's never had a losing season.



LOL. Sorry. Couldn't help it.

lol

[Ram040506]

I’m glad he did. His awful throw allowed the Chiefs to get the ball back and ultimately led to a nice chunk of change coming my way. Thanks, Kenny!

Me too!

[IUP24]

100% the Steelers problems are internal. That all starts with Tomlin. Yes, the Steelers have put a ton of money into the defense but when you run the same scheme you've run for 20 plus years it becomes old and stale. Julian Edelman proved that with his interview last week.

Tomlin needs to check his ego and let his assistants work, let Weidl doing the scouting/drafting and update your system on both sides of the ball. Tomlin won't let any of that happen which is why it's time for him to go.

The Eagles are a fantastic team and are built very well. Pound for pound and belief for belief, the Steelers and Eagles are similar, but the methodology is vastly different. So too are the results.

Both believe in having a strong defense that can rush the passer.... Philly has a ton of guys who schematically work together. A ton of them are between their 1st and 4th year in the league and are mid round picks. The Steelers want "splash" on that side of the ball and pay big names. But they lack elsewhere, believing that the elite skill of a few will make up for the plug and play nature of the others.

Both want a strong offensive line... Philly's approach has been to get maulers who can play multiple positions. Their 3 interior linemen can all play any of the three positions, and did for them this year. The Steelers are also investing early picks into the OL and drafting high grade guys, but they are hell bent on playing guys in the position they want them to play, not where they best fit. It's hurt development. And they aren't drafting OL (typically) who have a lot of versatility, having played multiple OL spots in college.

Both clearly want to run the ball.... The Steelers believe in a traditional approach with a traditional type of back. That works if the OL is nasty (theirs is not). Philly utilizes tempo and different sets where they can spread the field, but still play a physical inside game on the ground. They also want more modern, multi-faceted types of backs. Barkley is 1 of 1, obviously. But even a guy like Gainwell is better suited for their offense than a guy like Warren is suited for the Steelers.

Both want to utilize tight ends in their offense... Philly lines up Goedert and Calcaterra inside, in the slot, and as receivers. The multiple uses, often combined with their rushing attack, disguises what they intend to do on offense. Too many Steeler fans are too busy yelling "MUTH" to see that he is average at best and hardly used in their offense whatsoever. There's two dozen Pat Friermuth's in the NFL. Philly has found creative ways to involve that position in their offense while staying true to what they want to do.

I really credit the Eagles for how they've approached the game and committed to their philosophy. They clearly want to run and play physical football. But they've really put a modern and innovative twist onto that style of play and method of operation. It's really neat to watch.

[iupgroundhog]

Getting back to the Eagles, the Super Bowl champs, they played a fabulous game. I expected it to be a really competitive game. It ended up being a blowout.

The crazy thing is that the Eagles are a really young team position-by-position. As mentioned before, they have played without Brandon Graham for much of the season and he is probably retiring. The only other "older" players are Lane Johnson and Darius Slay. The Eagles are in a really good spot organizationally.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Getting back to the Eagles, the Super Bowl champs, they played a fabulous game. I expected it to be a really competitive game. It ended up being a blowout.

The crazy thing is that the Eagles are a really young team position-by-position. As mentioned before, they have played without Brandon Graham for much of the season and he is probably retiring. The only other "older" players are Lane Johnson and Darius Slay. The Eagles are in a really good spot organizationally.

How are they contract-wise?

After SB wins, a lot of dudes want to 'get theirs' ... which ultimately usually breaks up these teams.

Are most of these guys locked up for a couple more years?

[IUPalum]

How are they contract-wise?

After SB wins, a lot of dudes want to 'get theirs' ... which ultimately usually breaks up these teams.

Are most of these guys locked up for a couple more years?

Carter and Davis are the key up front of D and both are on rookie contracts. Philly will have to determine if they pick up the 5th year option worth 11.4 mill in 2026. Carter just finished year two but he'll be worth huge money in a couple years.

[IUP24]

Carter and Davis are the key up front of D and both are on rookie contracts. Philly will have to determine if they pick up the 5th year option worth 11.4 mill in 2026. Carter just finished year two but he'll be worth huge money in a couple years.

I think their organizational approach will lend itself to allowing players to walk and continue to backfill through the draft. I don't think they are in the business of investing heavy money into 1-2 guys on D. Just 2 of their top 10 highest priced contracts are on defense.

Phenomenal players for sure. But they are way more business and less emotional than most organizations. They have a plan. I bet they will try to sign either down the road when the time comes, but I would not be surprised to see them go either.

[The P in IUP]

The Eagles are going probably going to lose a handful. Graham to retirement, Milton Williams and Josh Sweat on the Dline are free agents. LB Zach Baun and OG Mekhi Becton were on one year deals for pennies on the dollar and like Williams are going to get paid more than the Eagles can afford to take on. They will still be a good team but other than wiffing on the overpaid DL Bryce Huff and LB Devin White Howie had one hell of an off season, the law of averages say eventually he will have stinker of a draft that will cause some issues. But right now that doesn't matter cause the Eagles are Super Bowl Champions and its time for a parade.