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| Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press |
The Big Ben farewell win Monday night over the Cleveland Browns was an awesome event. The drama and personal stories within the game can sometimes outweigh the games themselves. It’s why we love sports in the way that we do, and Ben Roethlisberger’s final game at Heinz Field lived up to the hype.
However, it is important to touch on some points that came from what was happening on the field more than the
stories off of it.
Kendrick Green vs J.C. Hassenauer
One thing that may have gone unnoticed among all of the
#ThankYouBen tweets was that Ben was receiving snaps from someone different on
Monday night. Rookie center, Kendrick
Green, who was drafted in the 3rd round this past offseason, was
nursing a calf injury. This paved the
way for J.C. Hassenauer to get the start.
This was Hassanauer’s second start of the year with his first against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11.
From all accounts of those who actually analyze that sort of
thing, Hassenauer played extremely well.
He held blocks, got chips on incoming rushers and opened holes for
Najee. I am not an X’s and O’s guy, so
in this case I will trust the evaluators.
What I am is a results-oriented guy, and the results are clear. Najee had his best game of his career Monday night. The career-high 188 rushing yards he gained are impressive, but I am most satisfied with Najee’s 6.71 yards per carry the other night. The 37-yard touchdown scamper at the end of the game may have helped, but he has had 20+ yard rushes in several games this season and has never come close to that yards per carry average. Hassanauer can’t be given all of the credit, but he certainly deserves some. It also may be time to give him, and others, a look at center over Green even when he's healthy.
New O-Line Coach
Another factor that may have played into Najee’s career game
is the promotion of Chris Morgan to interim offensive line coach of the
Steelers. This occurred last week after the departure of former offensive line coach, Adrian Klemm. Klemm took the
offensive line job at the University of Oregon.
As a results-oriented guy, I have to say the O-line held up pretty well the other night. In addition to Najee’s 188 yard game, Ben was sacked just twice and by the same defender, Jadeveon Clowney. The Steeler O-line held Browns star, Myles Garrett, to just one tackle. Specifically, Garrett was being blocked most of the night by rookie tackle Dan Moore Jr. It was a very impressive night for both Moore and the line as a whole, and you have to wonder if Morgan had something to do with that.
Bottom line on last night's game, the Steelers left their rookie offensive tackle on an island a lot with Miles Garrett. The Browns did the same with their rookie offensive tackle with TJ Watt. Who won the game?
— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) January 4, 2022
Chris Morgan has plenty of experience as an NFL offensive
line coach. He served six years in
different roles with the Atlanta Falcons after being an assistant with the
Seattle Seahawks, Washington Football Team, and Oakland Raiders. This is Morgan’s first season with the
Steelers.
However, as Klemm left, many were already speculating as to
if the Steelers will finally start putting more money into assistant coaches
and stop promoting from within.
Promotion from within is fine to an extent, but it appears to be all the
Steelers are willing to consider when hiring coaches. This has led to a continuous revolving door
of coaches and coordinators because often the best candidate for the job can be found elsewhere. However, based on Mike Tomlin’s comments yesterday, it looks like promoting from within may be the case again.
Tomlin said he felt new oline coach Chris Morgan had a tremendous impact on last night's game.
— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) January 4, 2022
Myles Garrett Isn’t Close to T.J. Watt
This one I’m
throwing in here for my own pleasure of writing about it. Browns fans think Garrett is somehow
comparable to T.J. Watt, when Garrett isn’t good enough to scrape the field
paint off of Watt’s helmet after the game.
I know Pro Football Focus and those in Cleveland will talk about double
teams and schemes, and bleh bleh bleh.
The guy was held to no sacks and one tackle in a division matchup.
The fact is,
Myles Garrett’s play as of late is one of the main reasons the Browns are
missing the playoffs again for the 19th time since 2002. Garrett has been held without a sack in his
last three games, and the 4.5 sacks he has in the last eight games matches the
number of sacks Watt had…Monday night. We
learned Monday night that, in addition to Watt being the clear defensive player
of the year, Garrett isn't even close to the game changer that Watt is.