RB Deal Brewing?
With the Indianapolis Colts still dealing with the extended holdout of running back Jonathan Taylor, and the Steelers still dealing with an underwhelming run game (201 yards rushing, 67 yards/game is 3rd worst in the NFL, and 3.2 yards/carry 4th worst in the league), rumors have bubbled to the surface that the Pittsburgh Steelers may be looking for a mutual solution for both teams.
Are the Steelers ready to give up on their 2021 1st Round pick already? Especially to take on a back with a reportedly desired $14-15 million/year price tag?
I’m not ready to believe that Mike Tomlin is ready to give up on Harris.
Are you?
Injury Updates
For the second day in a row, the Houston Texans were without their top two left tackles, as both Laremy Tunsil and Josh Jones did not practice.
Meanwhile, the Steelers dealt with another day of no James Daniels, no Pressley Harvin (hello, Brad Wing), and somewhat not-so-new to the injury report, no Darnell Washington.
For a team with the rushing issues described above, it’s hard not to think that Washington’s absence, should it come to that, would be a blow.
Sneak Preview
While it was a preseason game, it was still Erik Karlsson’s first game action as a Penguin last night as they beat the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena.
A couple of quick observations, realizing we’re taking about a preseason game:
- It goes without saying, but Karlsson flies. Even watching on TV reminded me of the first time as a fan you go to a live sporting event and realize just how much faster it is than watching it on television. Karlsson achieved that effect without actually being there.
- He also fires passes with heat and accuracy.
To the extent that they may hit your blade but you sure as hell better be ready to receive them and to do so with some touch, otherwise you’re going to be chasing a puck down.
- The Pens did a great job of keeping the low slot and crease area clean. Perhaps that’s partially a function of it being preseason and no one turning the effort level up to 11 yet, but it still stood out.
- If the Drew O’Connor/Lars Eller/Matt Nieto remains a unit, it’s going to be capable of doing just about everything you want third line to do. O’Connor finished the night with a pair of goals, including an empty netter.
- The power play, as currently aligned with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell down low, Evgeni Malkin on the right wing wall, Kris Letang on the left wing wall, and Karlsson at the point, is going to take some time to gel. It went 0-for-3 in nearly four minutes of time last night and looked disjointed, to say the least.
The Pens head to Nova Scotia after today’s practice for a game Monday night against the Ottawa Senators in Halifax.
‘Duzz Rumors
With the ouster of Mel Tucker at Michigan State complete -aside from the lawsuits and further dirty laundry that will most likely be aired out for years to come- it’s no surprise names are starting to be kick around for who will replace one of the highest paid coaches in college football.
It’s even less surprising that former Michigan State defensive coordinator and current Pitt Panthers Head Coach Pat Narduzzi is on that list.
From Pitt’s perspective, despite Narduzzi’s occasional prickly nature, you can’t ignore the results: 62-41, with just one losing season and an ACC Championship is the best stretch of Panther football in four decades.
After wandering through the wilderness post-Wannstedt with the likes of Michael Haywood, Todd Graham, and Paul Chryst, are they willing to gamble that they can find the same consistency again under someone new? While I count myself among those who’d like to believe Charlie Partridge is capable of stepping up and taking over, his limited track record as a head coach (9-27 in three seasons at Florida Atlantic) says otherwise, and I have to think Pitt fans would hate to lose him out on the road, especially in the state of Florida, accruing the kind of NFL-caliber talent he’s been able to find.
From Narduzzi’s persepective, if the Spartans are looking to pay their head coach nearly $10 million/year again, why wouldn’t you throw your hat in to the ring?
Shhhh…
Typically football teams practice with music or fake crowd noise blaring in an attempt to prepare for gameday.
It’s no different at Penn State, where typically one of the practice periods involves blasting Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” the team’s intro song, at a jet engine-level roar to prepare for atmospheres such as last Saturday night’s White Out, when 110,830 fans were in full throat.
In preparing for the relatively small crowd at Northwestern (average of about 17,000 fans per game this season), the early start (11am local time), and the near complete and total lack of atmosphere, James Franklin has gone with a different approach.
With this game, a bye week, and homecoming against UMass on the immediate horizon before a season-altering matchup in Columbus on October 14th, I’d be as worried about spots where emotion or energy can drop off as Franklin is.
All of us know this season rides on two games. Franklin’s job is to keep the players from believing that and losing focus on everything else.