Steelers will have a new-look passing game
By Dale Lolley
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
The trades of Davante Adams to the New York Jets and Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday sent some Steelers fans into a panic.
What are the Steelers doing? Why weren’t they involved in those trades with the Raiders and Browns?
The thing is, Adams wanted to go to the Jets all along, and he’s making $1 million per week, which means to acquire him, the Steelers would have needed to clear cap space to make it happen. Plus they would have needed to give up a Day 2 draft pick – all for a player who is going to be released at the end of the season. Adams has base salaries of $35.6 million in each of the next two seasons, when he’ll be 33 and 34 years old.
He won’t be with the Jets after this season.
Meanwhile, anyone who thinks the Browns were going to be interested in trading Cooper to the Steelers, even for a draft pick, also believes there’s some waterfront property available at Point State Park at a good price.
That wasn’t happening.
We’re still weeks away from the NFL’s trade deadline. Tuesday’s deals were just the beginning of what will happen between now and the Nov. 5 deadline.
The Steelers have been trying to acquire another wide receiver since trading Diontae Johnson to Carolina in a trade that returned cornerback Donte Jackson. They’ve struck out thus far.
But they’re also interested in seeing how things look with Russell Wilson at quarterback.
One thing that was obvious from watching Wilson and Justin Fields during the offseason and training camp was that Wilson was much more capable of throwing wide receivers open than Fields. Wilson just sees the field better.
So, with rookie third-round draft pick Roman Wilson getting his first NFL action last week in a 32-13 win over the Raiders and Russell Wilson returning to the lineup this week, the Steelers are willing to take a look at their passing game in a tough matchup against a good Jets defense and see if it looks different.
If not, they’ve still got a couple of weeks to make a trade for another veteran wide receiver.
• This could be a very active trade deadline in the NFL.
The 10 or so teams at the bottom of the league are bad. Really bad.
The 10 to 12 teams at the top are pretty good. But not as dominant as some of the top teams in recent seasons. They all have flaws or holes in their lineups.
That’s one of the reasons the Steelers are turning to Wilson.
Yes, for example, Baltimore has a good run defense. It leads the NFL. But the Ravens’ pass defense is 31st in the league.
The way to beat the Ravens is to throw the ball. And to win the division, the Steelers will need to beat the Ravens, something they’ve done in seven of the past eight meetings.
• The Steelers will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX Sunday by wearing 1974 throwback uniforms, right down to the gray facemasks.
It’s doubtful that anyone, however, will wear the tiny two-bar facemask that Terry Bradshaw wore that season. It barely covered his nose.
• Cam Heyward will play his 201st game for the Steelers, matching Pro Football Hall of Fame member Donnie Shell for the most by a defensive player in team history.
The crazy thing is, at 35, Heyward just might be having his best season. Last year’s injury-riddled campaign aside, Heyward just seems to get better with age.
This week’s games
Jets (minus 1½) at Steelers: The Steelers are 4-2 and just ran the ball for 183 yards. The Jets are 2-4 and are allowing 125 rushing yards per game and played in London two weeks ago and on Monday night last week with no bye in between. They also fired their head coach and traded for Adams. Getting Adams is nice, but how much will he play against the Steelers? Russell Wilson will get the starting nod in this game. The game opened with the Steelers favored by 1½, so it moved three points. Take the Steelers, 23-20.
Ravens (minus 3½) at Buccaneers: Lamar Jackson is 22-3 in his career against the NFC. That’s because teams that don’t play him often underestimate his speed. Tampa Bay’s passing game, though, matches up well with Baltimore’s weakness, its pass defense. Take the Bucs to cover in a 27-24 loss.
Bengals (plus 5½) at Browns: Cleveland trading Cooper to Buffalo was the Browns throwing in the towel on this season. At 1-5, and with Deshaun Watson’s continued poor play, there’s good reason to do so. Joe Burrow is only 1-5 in his career against Cleveland. But the Browns haven’t scored more than 20 points in a game this season. Take the Bengals, 24-16.
Seahawks (plus 3) at Falcons: After a 3-0 start, the Seahawks are 0-3. The defense has been the major culprit, as Seattle has been unable to stop good offenses. Atlanta has a good offense. Take the Falcons, 30-20.
Lions (plus 1½) at Vikings: The Lions are coming off a monster victory in Dallas. The Vikings are coming off a bye. Detroit also lost edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a broken leg in that victory over the Cowboys. That’s a big deal. Take the Vikings, 27-23.
Last week: 4-1 ATS, 4-1 straight up
Overall: 18-12 ATS; 20-10 straight up
Dale Lolley hosts The Drive on Steelers Nation Radio and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.