Steelers Study Notes, 10/24/21: Steelers Can’t Afford to Trade Ingram, Watt’s Costly Flurry of Fists, and 10-7 Possible?

By Jeremy Hritz

A fall Sunday without Steelers football? It just feels weird, doesn’t it? As we watch the Bengals and Ravens beat the snot out of each other and cheer for them to tie, here are my Steelers Study Notes for Sunday, October 24th.

• Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the Steelers are fielding calls regarding Melvin Ingram for a potential trade prior to the November 2nd deadline. I’m not putting much stock into this report, because should there be another injury to either TJ Watt or Alex Highsmith, the defense would be in serious trouble, as it would mean Derrek Tuszka would be the next man up. I was adamant all offseason about the need for depth at OLB, and for the team to discard someone as valuable as Ingram would be foolish.
• Speaking of Watt, he was fined $10,815 for going all MMA on the football on a carry by Alex Collins. Have to admit, when I watched his flurry of fists last Sunday night, I was a bit confused. I understand how winding up for a strike on the football subjects the ball to a significant amount of force, but the punches that followed thereafter were inconsequential and looked more humorous than they were effective. But I’m not sure how funny a 15-yard penalty is in a close game.
• The Steelers have 11 games remaining following their by week: at Cleveland, vs. Bears, vs. Lions, at Chargers, at Bengals, vs. Ravens, at Vikings, vs. Titans, at Chiefs, vs. Browns, and at Ravens. The most winnable contests on this list are against the Bears, Lions and Vikings. The other 8 games are super-challenging, and the Steelers need to at least go 4-4 in order to have a shot for the postseason. Can they do it? That’s the fun of the NFL–it’s a mystery until its not.
• Will Stephon Tuitt make it back this season? I’m not sure, and I am losing hope. While we were aware of the tragedy that struck his family this offseason, we only recently found out about his knee surgery, and the coaching staff has not been very forthcoming with information regarding his status. If he can’t make it back, it will be more of the same of what we have seen from the defensive line, with Cameron Heyward overcompensating, and the depth struggling to keep pace.
• Finally, how should we expect this Steelers team to come out against the Browns following the bye? Will they be sluggish? Recharged? Flat? Focused? This game in Cleveland is critical to the success of the Steelers 2021 season, so here’s hoping they have regrouped and come out a better version of themselves than what went into the bye.

That is all for today! Have a great Sunday!

• Jeremy