It has been a one-of-a-kind offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020. The Steelers have finally taken the field in the regular season! It is to check in on all things black-and-gold as the team rolls through their 2020 schedule!
Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at how Chase Claypool isn’t just a quality wide receiver, he is a pure football player.
Let’s get to the news:
- Chase Claypool is a football player, not just a wide receiver. As Jon Gruden would say, “I like that guy...”
Catching passes or making tackles, Steelers’ Chase Claypool likes to go deep
By: Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Contrary to what showed up in the game summary Sunday, Chase Claypool’s 84-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter wasn’t the first long-distance play the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver made in a 26-21 victory against the Denver Broncos.
It certainly was the most impactful. It definitely was the most exciting.
It just wasn’t the first time Claypool ran the length of the field to make a play.
That came on the opening kickoff when Claypool stopped Diontae Spencer at the Denver 20 after a 16-yard return.
It was one of three plays Claypool made on special teams — one solo tackle, two assists — in addition to his three receptions for 88 yards that included the fourth-longest touchdown catch by a rookie in franchise history.
“He’s not just a one-trick pony,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “He’s working to round out all aspects of his game and contribute to us in as many ways as he can.”
To read the full article, click HERE (Free)
- All the injuries because of no preseason? Nope.
Tim Benz: Blaming rash of NFL injuries on canceled preseason is way off
By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Steelers offensive line is already chewed up. But don’t shed a tear for the Black and Gold.
Yet.
A lot of NFL teams have been bitten much harder by the injury bug. Sunday’s Week 2 led to outright fantasy league carnage.
New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley tore an ACL against the Chicago Bears. He’ll be out for the rest of the season. Running backs Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers, ankle) and Raheem Mostert (San Francisco 49ers, knee) could miss multiple weeks.
The 49ers are also dealing with injuries to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) and All-Pro tight end George Kittle (knee). They lost star defensive lineman Nick Bosa because of an ACL, too.
New Orleans Saints All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas missed his team’s Monday night game against the Las Vegas Raiders with an ankle problem. During their game against the Steelers at Heinz Field, the Denver Broncos saw Courtland Sutton tear an ACL and Drew Lock injure a rotator cuff. Seattle Seahawks pass rusher Bruce Irvin tore an ACL on Sunday night versus the New England Patriots.
And that list is just scratching the surface.
To read the full article, click HERE (Free)
- Yeah, about those penalties...
Tomlin throws a flag on team’s 10 penalties
By: Bob Labriola, Steelers.com
Three penalties for 21 yards is acceptable. Ten penalties for 89 yards is the opposite of that.
The Steelers are 2-0 to open a regular season for the first time since 2017, but last Sunday at Heinz Field they appeared at times to be trying hard to prevent that from happening. But in the end, they made enough plays to overcome themselves.
“We were too highly penalized in the game,” said Coach Mike Tomlin at his weekly news conference to echo what he said immediately after the 26-21 victory over the Denver Broncos. “It hurt our efforts on both sides of the ball. It hurt our efforts in terms of possessing the ball on offense. We had two critical holding calls in the first half of the game that put us behind the chains and essentially stopped drives. Ball possession and drives, there’s too much scarcity in that discussion to get major penalties and throw yourself behind the chains. We’re just not good enough to overcome those things at this juncture. I would imagine not many of us in this game are that good at this juncture.”
The two offensive holding calls in the first half both were assigned to tight ends. With the Steelers holding a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, a holding penalty on Vance McDonald nullified a 16-yard run by James Conner on a first-and-10 from the Pittsburgh 42-yard line and disrupted what looked at the time to be some decent rhythm by the offense. That possession ended shortly after with a punt.
The second holding call was on Eric Ebron, and it turned a second-and-8 at midfield into a second-and-18, and two plays later the Steelers again were in punt formation.
To read the full article, click HERE (Free)
- BTSC articles you may have missed...
Is Daniel McCullers’ time in Pittsburgh finally done?
The Steelers won in Week 2 because of them dominating in the trenches
David DeCastro is expected to return to practice this week
The Steelers are moving up the rankings
T.J. Watt is dominating in 2020, and PFF agrees
FILM ROOM: Is Mike Hilton the Steelers’ most dynamic defender?
The Steelers taking the ball away was not just a 2019 thing
Checking out the Steelers’ Week 2 Stock Report
How many points are the Steelers giving the Texans? We check the odds...
- Mike Tomlin’s Press Conference
#LIVE: Coach Tomlin addresses the media ahead of our game against the Houston Texans. https://t.co/Ytyzio7olu
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 22, 2020
- Social Media Madness
.@missi_matthews, @BobLabriola, @TunchIlkin and @CharlieBatch16 discuss our win over the Broncos, the defense, the offensive line, Ben Roethlisberger and more on @SteelersLive The Extra Point, presented by @surface.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 21, 2020
Full ⬇️
Extending the play.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 23, 2020
Getting the job done.@_BigBen7 | @Juiceup__3 pic.twitter.com/3GjqWGsHdn
Week 2 TD celebrations did not disappoint. Vote for this week’s @budlight #BudLightCelly. Which is worth celebrating?
— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2020
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 22, 2020
There's some in this week's Karl's Top Pics
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 22, 2020
#OTD in 2008, @tpolamalu did this. pic.twitter.com/Q9sLw0axEJ
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 21, 2020