PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s a Rams team without a couple of their top running backs in a system that likes to throw it more, yeah, you’ll see more Joey Porter, Junior on Sunday.
It may not be in a starting role, but you’ll also likely see him on the field with Patrick Peterson at times. They’ve been discussing moving Peterson inside and they got rid of one of their slot corners (Desmond King) and Peterson said he thinks he matches up with Pro Bowler Cooper Kupp, who has returned with 15 receptions for 277 yards, a 17.7-yard average.
Peterson said with Porter’s size and attributes on the outside, he would be a good matchup for LA 6’2” rookie Puka Nacua, who has 50 catches through six games for 598 yards and a pair of scores.
“There's an opportunity for him to get more work on the field,” said Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin of Porter. “He's been steadily progressing each week, he's gotten a little bit more and has done a good job with it, so we'll see how it goes this week. But probably can anticipate it because they do throw the ball quite a bit.”
“It’s going to be a high-level competition, I’m ready for it.” Porter, Junior said this week.
Porter was cautious to say he just comes in and does his work and the coaches will decide when he plays. He said he prepares with a starters mentality and isn’t worried about any matchup.
“I always welcome it,” Porter, Junior said. “I hide from no rec (receiver) and I duck no smoke. We are football players, that’s what we like to do. I’m definitely excited for it.”
It’s a system that will challenge you with motion. They almost always run a three wide receiver set with good receivers in a creative system that can generate a lot of looks out of that personnel.
“We have to be on our P’s and Q’s,” said Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith. “We see a lot of motion and they’ve caused miscommunication. They’ve had open guys and exploited it. We know if we are not communicating it can lead to disaster. We got to be able to get lined up, communicate well and that will be able to set us up to have good plays.”
“Communication is key with that stuff,” said safety Keanu Neal, who compared them in style to San Francisco. “We have to understand what they like to do, who likes to motion. Have little tips and tells and trust those tips. Pre-snap communication is going to be essential, understanding the formation and seeing what happens before it happens.”
“It’s going to be challenging, but it’s always a challenge when they have so much 11-personnel and doing a variety of different things,” Peterson said. “We have to be on our P’s and Q’s. We have to understand where guys are because in certain formations there are tells. We have to make sure that we hit that fastball when Matthew Stafford winds up and pitches it.”
It's a comeback for the ‘P’s and Q’s’ references. And a rematch for Peterson against Stafford. They’ve seen each other a few times with Peterson getting the 35-year-old for two of his 35 career interceptions.
Stafford is completing 61% of his passes for 1,677 yards (3rd in the NFL) in 2023. Peterson said he hasn’t missed a beat in his 15th season and saying it’s not just the Sean McVey scheme, which has produced 24 plays of 20+ yards, but the QB.
“Matthew Stafford has been one of the better quarterbacks for a while,” Peterson said. “Me and him are kind of the OGs, the old heads in the game right now. I can just remember, he’s doing same things he was doing with Calvin Johnson in the early teens.”
“They got a good wide receiver corps in general. It’s going to be fun to stack up against those guys and see where we are at,” Porter said. “It hasn’t always been the best with us, but we get to challenge ourselves again this Sunday. We are prepared.”