Six Steelers’ Slobberknockers for Week 2: A half-dozen questions for BTSC fans to discuss

What the heck is a “slobberknocker?” In football terms, it’s a hit that, well, knocks the slobber right out of the other player’s mouth. I’ll be posing six hard-hitting questions to BTSC fans every game-day morning during the 2018 regular season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers play their first home game later today, tangling with the Kansas City Chiefs at Heinz Field. It’s an opportunity for the Steelers to redeem themselves following a rain-soaked tie in Cleveland which the Black-and-gold somehow allowed to slip out of the win column. And BTSC fans will be watching every move and holding the home team accountable because they’re not your run-of-the-mill Steelers’ fans, but a cut above. As such, they crave more in-depth commentary.

Q1: With Right Guard David DeCastro sitting out Sunday with a broken hand, will his absence be felt more in the running game or passing game?

Q2: With Haden all but ruled out, should an injured Artie Burns move to the Left Cornerback position (this might be null and void with Burns’ availability also being in question)?

Q3: If neither Burns nor Haden is available to play, who will have a better game — Cameron Sutton or Coty Sensabaugh? Should the Steelers move Mike Hilton out of the slot to man one of the outside positions?

Q4: Can James Conner repeat his outstanding stat output from Week 1 against a Chiefs’ defense that was gashed for 123 rushing yards in Week 1? Will his surprising use in the passing game continue?

Q5: What changes will the Steelers make to give Ben Roethlisberger a cleaner pocket after a disastrous Week 1?

Q6: After the Chiefs gave up more than 400 passing yards last week, who will have more receiving yards, Antonio Brown or JuJu Smith-Schuster (for those not keeping score at home, JuJu outpaced AB 119-93 in Week 1)?

The disappointing tie against the Cleveland Browns hardly looked like the start of a championship run that Steelers fans wanted to see. Time to file those memories away and focus on the road ahead, as the Steelers look to continue their dominance over the Chiefs. Pittsburgh has won six of the last seven meetings including three out of the last four. Will the BTSC boards be saturated with joyous fans or disgruntled and panicky ones later today?