Big Ben and Jesse James are bonding in the red zone

[squidkid]

shocking..........a preseason RZ improvement article.
is this FEB. 2nd?

[Shawn]

Friendly bet...JuJu will have more Red Zone TDs than Bryant

I would take that bet.

[RuthlessBurgher]

By Josh Alper
June 25, 2017, 11:14 AM EDT
Steelers expect “great deal of improvement” from tight ends

Before the 2016 season, the Steelers signed Ladarius Green as a free agent in hopes of keeping the tight end position as a key one in the wake of Heath Miller’s retirement.

Green missed a lot of time after offseason ankle surgery, however, and ended the year in the concussion protocol, leaving the Steelers without much to show for their rare dip into the veteran free agent pool. They released Green this offseason and are moving on with Jesse James and Xavier Grimble in line for significant playing time.

James, a 2015 fifth-round pick, has 47 catches through two seasons and Grimble, who was undrafted out of USC in 2015, had 11 catches in his first regular season action last year. James said the duo is “ready to step up and make the plays we’re asked to make” and offensive coordinator Todd Haley shares that expectation.

“Jesse will be a year better with lot of playing time last year. Xavier, same thing,” Haley said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He’s a guy who wasn’t even sure he was going to make the team going into last year, made it and then contributed for us. They are young guys. Until you see them through that full third year, I think it should be expected there will be a great deal of improvement.”

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took issue with a report that he wanted the team to add a tight end this offseason. If James and Grimble fulfill Haley’s expectations, there probably won’t be a need to do the same in 2018.

[Steel Maniac]

Grimble is a good athlete too. Coming into this season, if he improves his route running, he'll be serious contributor.

[Slapstick]

That's fine and he will have BRYANT to thank for being open

That sounds almost exactly like what people said about Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace...

[Shawn]

That sounds almost exactly like what people said about Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace...

It is. JuJu won't be getting open much in the NFL anyways. He didn't get open much in college. He doesn't seem to need to get open in order to make catches. Hes scrappy and tough. I'm sure he will get his fair share of RZ TDs. I predict 4.

[feltdizz]

It is. JuJu won't be getting open much in the NFL anyways. He didn't get open much in college. He doesn't seem to need to get open in order to make catches. Hes scrappy and tough. I'm sure he will get his fair share of RZ TDs. I predict 4.

lol, I can't wait for you to be wrong about another WR. JuJu will get open just fine. I think you guys are a little too heavy handedwith the lack of separation in the scouting report due to his 4.5 speed.

[Ghost]

Instead of worrying about who's right or wrong on who will be getting the TD's; how about we all just bask in the gloriousness of an offense that should be damn near unstoppable. Barring injury, this team has no excuses not to put up a ton of points.

[winwithd]

Instead of worrying about who's right or wrong on who will be getting the TD's; how about we all just bask in the gloriousness of an offense that should be damn near unstoppable. Barring injury, this team has no excuses not to put up a ton of points.

It'll be Haley 's fault if they DON'T score at least 30 a game.

[RuthlessBurgher]

It'll be Haley 's fault if they DON'T score at least 30 a game.

No way... it's obviously Tomlin's fault.

Unless it's Ben's fault instead.

Or maybe Le'Veon sitting out all of the offseason activities is the reason.

Or possibly Antonio's end zone dancing and Facebook Live and Instagram models.

Ah, forget it...we all know it's my fault.

[Shawn]

lol, I can't wait for you to be wrong about another WR. JuJu will get open just fine. I think you guys are a little too heavy handedwith the lack of separation in the scouting report due to his 4.5 speed.

What are you talking about? Strawman again? Wrong about what? His struggles to get open? I said it doesn't matter. He makes tough catches covered. Watch the guys college film. He is often blanketed and still catches balls.

[Shawn]

No way... it's obviously Tomlin's fault.

Unless it's Ben's fault instead.

Or maybe Le'Veon sitting out all of the offseason activities is the reason.

Or possibly Antonio's end zone dancing and Facebook Live and Instagram models.

Ah, forget it...we all know it's my fault.

It's obviously Ben's fault since he can't score in the RZ. Just ask Dizz.

[feltdizz]

What are you talking about? Strawman again? Wrong about what? His struggles to get open? I said it doesn't matter. He makes tough catches covered. Watch the guys college film. He is often blanketed and still catches balls.

Yes, his "struggles" to get open? JuJu was open a ton in college but he works underneath half the time so of course he wins he 10 yards wide open. He didn't just make tough catches if you watched his film. You don't struggle to get open and put up those kind of stats. He wasn't always blanketed and I think your prediction is off.

[feltdizz]

It's obviously Ben's fault since he can't score in the RZ. Just ask Dizz.

He definitely deserves the most blame. Every year we hear about this high powered offense and most years we still had terrible RZ numbers. Anyway me who is honest with themselves will admit Ben isn't the best RZ QB.

[Shawn]

Yes, his "struggles" to get open? JuJu was open a ton in college but he works underneath half the time so of course he wins he 10 yards wide open. He didn't just make tough catches if you watched his film. You don't struggle to get open and put up those kind of stats. He wasn't always blanketed and I think your prediction is off.

If you watch the film you'll notice that JuJu isn't a speed guy. That isn't his game. He isn't a guy who can run a streak and beat an NFL DB. You are right in one sense, USC used him mostly underneath and that was for a reason. If he gets open its based on solid route running on those short to intermediate routes. If you read the scouting reports you'll also notice the scouts observed the same thing. Now, if you have some film of him taking the top off the D and beating college DBs with speed streaks then please point me in the right direction...I'm willing to reconsider my stance. You do seem desperate and excited to glean my posts looking for something I may be wrong about. So, maybe I'm wrong about this...maybe the dude is a speed demon and will be ripping up 50 yard streaks at will. But, I just dont see it. Frankly, thats not his game...nor was it why he was brought in. And obviously doesn't need streak speed to be effective.