Daily Links: Steelers Fans Want Linemen in ’23 Draft; Brian Flores to Saints?

Alan Saunders |

Nov 10, 2022

Steelers SDA Brian Flores at Steelers OTAs, May 31, 2022. -- Ed Thompson.

Pittsburgh Steelers fans want the team to take a lineman in the 2023 NFL Draft, and could this week’s opponents, the New Orleans Saints, be a good fit for Steelers senior defensive assistant Brian Flores to get back to being an NFL head coach?

? The Steelers’ longest touchdown this year has been from just https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1590489624518234112″>eight

yards out, which is by far the shortest figure in the league. Warren Sharp on Twitter stated that the 2022 Steelers are the only team without a touchdown https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1590504588670828544″>of

at least 15 yards through the first nine weeks of a season since at least 2000, which is as far back as TruMedia data goes.

? The Steelers are averaging 9.2 yards per completion this season, which ranks https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1590456445404946436″>31st

in the league. On the flip side, they’re allowing a league-worst 12.7 yards per completion.

? ESPN’s football power index projects the Steelers to have the https://twitter.com/nfldraftscout/status/1590446571279495168″>No.

3 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, behind just the Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers.

? According to https://twitter.com/bepryor/status/1590497108251267072/photo/1″>Pro

Football Network’s data from their mock draft simulator, Steelers fans are picking an offensive or defensive lineman 69% of the time in the 2023 draft.

? Teresa Varley of Steelers.com wrote a heartwarming article on how a Steelers and Eagles fan got connected through a life-saving heart transplant.

? The record of the Steelers’ opponents so far are 43-26, while their https://twitter.com/JRown32/status/1590386640161148928″>remaining

opponents are 33-44-1. The Steelers play just two teams who currently have a winning record in the second half of the season — the Baltimore Ravens (twice) and Cincinnati Bengals.

? After leading the league in sacks in five consecutive seasons, the Steelers are on pace for https://twitter.com/TommyJaggi/status/1590358395860971522″>31.8

sacks this year. Pittsburgh has recorded only eight sacks since their Week 1 win over Cincinnati, a game in which they produced seven sacks. The lack of production in the sack department really outlines just how important T.J. Watt is to the defense.

? The Dallas Cowboys are giving it at least another week to activate James Washington from injured reserve. Washington will have a 21-day window to practice with the team once he is designated for return and the team can activate him at any point in that period. Washington was placed on IR on Aug. 31, which was almost a month to the date after he suffered a fracture in his foot during preseason training camp.

? Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report thinks Brian Flores will be the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Ballentine cited Dennis Allen’s 8-28 record in just over two years as the Raiders’ head coach from 2012-2014 and believes he’ll be one-and-done in New Orleans. “Flores’ brand of defensive football would give the Saints a new identity as they rebuild from the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era,” Ballentine wrote.

? Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report handed out a D to Kenny Pickett in his first-round rookie report card grades at the NFL’s midseason mark. “It has not been a good campaign for Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett. To be fair, the Steelers aren’t a good team, and the University of Pittsburgh product has been saddled with a shaky offensive line and a nonexistent running game. Still, his propensity for mistakes is troubling,” Knox wrote.

? NFL.com revealed the 10 best highlight plays made by the Steelers through the first nine weeks of the 2022 season. George Pickens’ spectacular one-handed catch against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 came in at No. 1.

? Plum native Pat McAfee and his wife Samantha https://twitter.com/MrsMcAfeeShow/status/1590344352710397952″>announced

on Wednesday that they’re expecting their first child in May of 2023.

? Damon Amendolara of CBS Sports Radio shared a clip of legendary sports anchor Fred Hickman introducing the unknown Bill Cowher to the nation as the new head coach of the Steelers in 1992. Hickman passed away at the age of 66 on Wednesday.

RIP Fred Hickman. The ‘90s were a golden era for sports television + Hickman was one of the best. Here he introduces the unknown Bill Cowher to the nation as new HC of the Steelers. #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/kXosdguEsi

— Damon Amendolara (@DamonAmendo) November 10, 2022