Steel City Blitz
Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Monday!
Soft tissue injuries… Stop me if you’ve heard about these before. For whatever reason, they seem to be more common among the Pittsburgh Steelers than other teams. I don’t have the stats on that but the optics are hard to ignore. Broderick Jones has been battling a groin injury and he was joined with the same injury by Alex Highsmith.
At this time, we don’t know how severe Highsmith’s injury is but there is a serious concern here. It’s the third time he’s dealt with this. He did the same thing during Camp last year and it cost him time during the season. After being incredibly durable over his first four seasons, missing six games last year was thought to be an anomaly. Now? We are so sure.
According to Cleveland Clinic, soft tissue injuries are parceled into three different degrees with the first being minor and the third being the worst and often needing surgery. So in the case of Jones, we can assume he’s dealing with a grade one. We can only hope that Highsmith’s is the same.
With Jones’ injury adding to his struggles (he did have his best day yesterday) the debate about moving Darnell Washington has increased. This is something our podcast has suggested since Washington was drafted and after Washington’s brilliant day in pass protection this past week, the calls have increased.
We need to understand that the transition isn’t always perfect and it takes time. It largely depends on coaching and one’s ability. Washington himself recently quipped that he should be “paid like a tackle.” He’s not exactly wrong. In two seasons he’s averaging 17 targets per season. When you consider he’s played over 1,000 snaps in two seasons, he has a point.
I don’t see the Steelers moving him simply because they still see his value as a receiver, especially in the Red Zone. Perhaps those targets increase with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
Every season we see and hear the same thing. “The defense looks great in Camp while the offense is struggling.” This is extremely normal. That said, there is serious concern about the offense. Aaron Rodgers is still lacking consistency. The best wide receiver right now besides D.K. Metcalf has been Scotty Miller. The offensive line is struggling to protect and is struggling to open holes in the running game. Usually – and I stress “usually” – the offense naturally comes along slower because so much of it is predicated on timing. No pun intended but this takes time. If we’re still discussing it in these terms after the final preseason game then panic is warranted.
I mean no disrespect to Scotty Miller but if he’s the best number two WR guy we have right now at 5’9″ and 180lbs soaking wet, then the Steelers have problems… I still struggle with the fact the Steelers are...
