Kaleb Johnson

[Northern_Blitz]

What did Wilson do better than Pickett in December and January? Did he leave our offense better than when he arrived? Did he show us anything in December and January that would give us hope for the future?

When Wilson first started he gave us hope and then he erased all that late in the season.

What I need to see from Johnson is some chain moving, turning negative plays into positive plays. More splash plays. Pass protection and ball protection. Consistency and another gear that Najee doesn’t have. I want to see Najee’s rookie season stats or better.

You talk about Wilson like he was methodically marching us down the field late in the year putting on a clinic. The O was ass in December and January.

Felt, you may not remember...but here's what Kenny did in his final Dec / Jan with us. threw 10 passes, completed 7, for 70 yards. No TDs (shocking!). No INTs. Got hurt again. Lost his job to QB3.

As I said, I don't think Wilson was some world beater. And I would have preferred it if we benched him for our QB2 at the end of last year.

But the bar for "better than Kenny" was crazily low. And Wilson cleared it.

And bringing in Wilson and trading Kenny meant we weren't going to waste another 2 to 3 years confirming that Kenny wasn't a starter in the league.

What I actually said:

I don't get how you can't understand that it's possible for Wilson to be much better than Kenny but also not be a good long term answer...If we swapped schedules between the two years, I wouldn't be surprised if we wont the division under Wilson and missed the playoffs under Kenny. Probably a 1st round exit either way because we still weren't good enough to beat Mahomes, Allen, or Lamar in the playoffs.

[WindyCitySteel]

Dizz, is it safe to say you were in favor of keeping Kenny and Najee and trading Watt? If so, I’m not sure that would have been a recipe for a championship.

[Northern_Blitz]

Dizz, is it safe to say you were in favor of keeping Kenny and Najee and trading Watt? If so, I’m not sure that would have been a recipe for a championship.

Dizz said that moves like this only make sense if it increases "production".

At least when it's a RB he likes that averaged ~ 63 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

For QBs, only play in December and January matter. Note: In his last December / January with us, Kenny threw 10 passes, got hurt (again), and got benched for the 3rd string QB.

I'd love to hear what Felt thinks would make trading Watt a good move.

[feltdizz]

Felt, you may not remember...but here's what Kenny did in his final Dec / Jan with us. threw 10 passes, completed 7, for 70 yards. No TDs (shocking!). No INTs. Got hurt again. Lost his job to QB3.

As I said, I don't think Wilson was some world beater. And I would have preferred it if we benched him for our QB2 at the end of last year.

But the bar for "better than Kenny" was crazily low. And Wilson cleared it.

And bringing in Wilson and trading Kenny meant we weren't going to waste another 2 to 3 years confirming that Kenny wasn't a starter in the league.

What I actually said:

That’s a silly comparison. I could point out that in the last 4 games of 2024 Kenny won more games than Wilson.. lol.

The point is Wilson and Fields were brought in to win more games in 2024 and we had the same damn record.

You guys are more concerned with style
points and fantasy stats than actually winning more games.

[feltdizz]

Dizz, is it safe to say you were in favor of keeping Kenny and Najee and trading Watt? If so, I’m not sure that would have been a recipe for a championship.

Hell yeah!!! Trade Watt and use that $30 Mill for
more depth with quality players instead of these bargain bin depth pieces.

Look, I know what Watt brings. It plays out the same way every year and I even fall for it because the guy is incredible early in the year when healthy.

First half of the season he makes splash plays in a few games and we all say we can’t win without him and its foolish to even think
about trading him. Then he gets dinged up and misses a few games or the second half of games followed by a lackluster push towards the playoffs and then poof, he’s gone when needed most because teams neutralize him or he is injured.

This isn’t a championship roster Windy. I would’ve rolled with Kenny until 2026 when we will more than likely move up to draft a QB in the top half of the draft.

[feltdizz]

Dizz said that moves like this only make sense if it increases "production".

At least when it's a RB he likes that averaged ~ 63 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

For QBs, only play in December and January matter. Note: In his last December / January with us, Kenny threw 10 passes, got hurt (again), and got benched for the 3rd string QB.

I'd love to hear what Felt thinks would make trading Watt a good move.

Our biggest issue is lack of depth in the trenches NB. Watt is just one man. We need more than a OLB.

Did you see how bad our D was shredded these last 5 games of the season?

and we had one of the most expensive defenses last year.

I’m not the only one who has floated the idea of trading Watt too. A few talking heads have also made this suggestion.

[Northern_Blitz]

That’s a silly comparison. I could point out that in the last 4 games of 2024 Kenny won more games than Wilson.. lol.

The point is Wilson and Fields were brought in to win more games in 2024 and we had the same damn record.

You guys are more concerned with style
points and fantasy stats than actually winning more games.

I like QBs that are capable of throwing TDs.

KP does have nicer hair though. The wins he got here were because of the defense (but he did have a great drive against Baltimore!). He's like the slightly upgraded version of the Mason/Duck year.

I would’ve rolled with Kenny until 2026

Wow felt. Maybe we can pick him up if he gets cut by CLE.

Our biggest issue is lack of depth in the trenches NB. Watt is just one man. We need more than a OLB.

Can you explain why this logic doesn't apply to your favorite players?

Aside: Our biggest issue is that we haven't have good QB play since Ben got hurt. And I'd trade Watt (and anyone else on the roster) for a true franchise QB. Having an elite OLB doesn't change this. Having an average RB doesn't change this.

You know what does matter? Having a QB who's generationally bad at throwing TDs. But maybe we should have given him two or three more years. Because you like what he did in college. He's Tim Tebow...let's hope we don't have to play him in the playoffs

[feltdizz]

I like QBs that are capable of throwing TDs.

KP does have nicer hair though. The wins he got here were because of the defense (but he did have a great drive against Baltimore!). He's like the slightly upgraded version of the Mason/Duck year.



Wow felt. Maybe we can pick him up if he gets cut by CLE.



Can you explain why this logic doesn't apply to your favorite players?

Aside: Our biggest issue is that we haven't have good QB play since Ben got hurt. And I'd trade Watt (and anyone else on the roster) for a true franchise QB. Having an elite OLB doesn't change this. Having an average RB doesn't change this.

You know what does matter? Having a QB who's generationally bad at throwing TDs. But maybe we should have given him two or three more years. Because you like what he did in college. He's Tim Tebow...let's hope we don't have to play him in the playoffs

If Aaron Rodgers comes in and throws 28 TD's and 11 INT's and we finish 5-12 do you see that as an improvement at the QB position?

My logic is if our record doesn't improve and we struggle to score points when we need them the most I don't view it as an improvement or a good move?

Why should I be happy seeing players that "I" like leave if the end result isn't any better than last year?

"Wilson had 10 more TD's and 400 more yards" but we lost the last 5 games and looked pathetic on offense... and Wilson finished 6-5. Hooray?

[Northern_Blitz]

If Aaron Rodgers comes in and throws 28 TD's and 11 INT's and we finish 5-12 do you see that as an improvement at the QB position?

My logic is if our record doesn't improve and we struggle to score points when we need them the most I don't view it as an improvement or a good move?

Why should I be happy seeing players that "I" like leave if the end result isn't any better than last year?

"Wilson had 10 more TD's and 400 more yards" but we lost the last 5 games and looked pathetic on offense... and Wilson finished 6-5. Hooray?

I'd love to be in a situation where we were winning games because of a quarterback instead of having to carry him.

I think Rogers will be something like a game manager hopefully a good one. If Kenny could have been that he would still be on the team.

[Dog chasing Cat]

Our biggest issue is lack of depth in the trenches NB. Watt is just one man. We need more than a OLB.

Did you see how bad our D was shredded these last 5 games of the season?

and we had one of the most expensive defenses last year.

I’m not the only one who has floated the idea of trading Watt too. A few talking heads have also made this suggestion.

You've made some solid points. I really like that idea of free up some money to build depth all around.

[Northern_Blitz]

You've made some solid points. I really like that idea of free up some money to build depth all around.

FWIW, I'd be fine if we could trade Watt for a nice haul of draft picks.

Better chance of trading up to get a QB.

But it would also mean that we'd have to spend a **** ton of money in UFA next year to be in compliance with the cap (cash and cap average over 3 year). And it's really hard to spend money wisely in UFA. The new floors on cash and cap spending kind of force teams into bad decisions. Especially if they have mist multiple 1st round picks in a row like we have (Edmunds, Bush, traded for Minkah, Harris, Pickett...my guess is that Jones won't earn a 5th year option next year without a probowl nod).

Watt will be overpaid on this contract. I don't think I'll like the final numbers. Hopefully he can still be elite for the first half of the contract. If we're insanely lucky, he'll be Heyward. My guess is that it will likely be better than overpaying to get more above average guys in UFA.

It's better to "waste" money on elite guys than on above average guys. Because elite guys change games.

Some posters wanted us to spend even more on Bell than the huge offer we gave him (Bell was elite at his peak, but it was clear he was falling off in his last season with us and it really showed in NY). Or wanted us to give a huge offer to Najee. Or even wanted Kenny to play for us until the 2026 season...which would mean giving him the 5th year option, which is expensive for QBs.

[feltdizz]

Bell was an ALL PRO his last year with us. If he signs and doesn’t take a year off to party the results would’ve been different. He came back fat and out of shape. Huge mistake on his part.

and if we want to be honest instead of stretching the truth AGAIN, one would know I said the Steelers made an aggressive offer, the only issue was guaranteed money. Something I think the Steelers need to revamp in the modern area if they want to compete in the NFL for some real talent instead of these old geezers and injured players we tend to pick up in FA.

wanting Najee resigned at $8 to $9 Mill per isn’t huge money in 2025.

and no one ever said a word about extending Kenny to 2026. That is something you made up. I wanted Kenny to stay in 2024 to play with a new OC so we could get an evaluation with an OC besides Canada because he was so bad no one even knows where he is right now.

[Northern_Blitz]

...

and no one ever said a word about extending Kenny to 2026. That is something you made up. I wanted Kenny to stay in 2024 to play with a new OC so we could get an evaluation with an OC besides Canada because he was so bad no one even knows where he is right now.

Dude...like 2 days ago. I even quoted it already

I would’ve rolled with Kenny until 2026 when we will more than likely move up to draft a QB in the top half of the draft.

I don't know how many Steelers fans would be left if we had to suffer through two to three more seasons of Kenny trying to run an offense, getting himself hurt, then being outplayed by guys below him on the depth chart. He looked worse than PHI's QB3 last season, so they traded him away. Now apparently he looks like the worst option in CLE's camp. He's not an NFL starter Felt. Certainly not one with any hope of being above average.

----

Bell was elite at his peak. And I wish Tomlin understood load management for RBs then like he seems to now. Then maybe we would have seen even more monster playoff performances from Bell.

But we ran (and passed) him into the ground.

He was an all pro for the same reason Ben led the league in passing in 2018. Insane volume.

As just about everyone on here told you there were clear signs of decline. And we were worried it was steep. And you wanted to give him what his agent wanted. A contract that was RB1+WR2.

Thankfully, he turned down the big offer we gave him. And was pretty terrible the next time he stepped on a football field.

[hawaiiansteel]

DK's Daily Shot of Steelers: Is Kaleb Johnson RB1?

[feltdizz]

lmao.. touche. We all know it would’t make
sense to sign Kenny to a 5th year then go get another QB in 2026. I think you know what I meant when I said evaluate Kenny with a NEW OC and then move off from him if he didn’t improve.

As far as Bell is concerned. The year off is what did him in. A “declining player” who was somehow still an All Pro that year.