Tag: 2023

One year ago today, the Steelers offense changed forever

One year ago, the Steelers fired OC Matt Canada, starting a journey to rebuild their offense and achieve success under OC Arthur Smith.

One year ago today, fans of the Black and Gold danced in the streets of Pittsburgh, and excitement could be seen on the face of every member of the Steelers organization. On November 21, 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers fired OC Matt Canada.

Under Canada’s 2023 offensive scheme, through his eleven games that season, the Steelers’ offense posted five games with 17 points or less. His last game as offensive coordinator came in Week 11, following a mere 10 points scored against the Cleveland Browns.

While it took some time, the Steelers would score 34 points against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16 and 30 points against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17.

While fans were forced to play the blame game between then-starting QB Kenny Pickett, backup QB Mitchell Trubisky, and former OC Matt Canada, the offense improved to 19.7 points per game without Canada calling the plays.

Ultimately, one year ago today marked the beginning of the journey to solving the Steelers’ offensive issues and resulted in an impressive offense led by OC Arthur Smith and QB Russell Wilson.

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Two-years ago today, Chase Claypool became Joey Porter Jr.

Today, November 1st, 2024, marks the two-year anniversary of the heist of the century: trading away Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears.

Two years ago today is a day for celebration, as not only did Pittsburgh pull off one of the greatest one-sided trades in Steelers’ history, but they secured the future of the franchise. I am, of course, referencing the Chase Claypool-Chicago Bears trade that took place on November 1st, 2022.

The Bears traded away their second-round draft pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, the 32nd overall pick, for Claypool. The stars aligned perfectly for Pittsburgh in this draft, as the Miami Dolphins were forced to surrender their first-round pick, allowing Pittsburgh to make the first selection on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Steelers would then select their current starting cornerback, Joey Porter Jr., who has thus far proved himself to be the future of the Pittsburgh secondary.

Claypool would quickly be traded off the Chicago Bears, ending up in Miami and signing with the Bills in the 2024 offseason. Claypool was once again released, while JPJ has developed into one of the league’s premier shut-down corners.

Pittsburgh fans once again hope Steelers’ GM Omar Khan pull off another blockbuster trade, just a few days away from the trade deadline in 2024.

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Matt LaFleur chooses Jordan Love’s best throw from 2023 season

A clutch throw in his first playoff start was Matt LaFleur’s pick for Jordan Love’s best from the 2023 season.

Matt LaFleur was impressed with Jordan Love’s overall performance in his first season as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. The Packers finished 9-8 and reached the playoffs as a wildcard team thanks largely to some impressive play from Love down the stretch.

Naturally, there were plenty of memorable throws from Love’s 2023 campaign, in which he completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns. However, LaFleur quickly pointed out what he thought was the best throw from his quarterback during an appearance on Kevin Clark’s “This Is Football” podcast.

“He made so many incredible throws, but the one that sticks out to me was probably in our playoff game vs Dallas when they all-out pressured us. He changed the protection and threw a dime to Dontayvion Wicks for a touchdown,” said LaFleur.

Here’s the play LaFleur referenced:

It was a great play in a big-time moment from Love, who was making his postseason debut. The Packers were facing a pivotal third down on the road in a hostile environment, but their signal-caller delivered like he had done it a million times.

First, Love used his cadence to get the Cowboys to tip that they were sending pressure. Recognizing this, he adjusted the protection so they had the blockers to handle Dallas’ pass rush. Then, the throw was exceptional as it was delivered with pin-point accuracy despite being under pressure.   

“There were so many great throws, but just that whole process of him recognizing Cover 0, getting us in the right protection, and then hanging in there and making that play. I thought that was an incredible play,” LaFleur continued.

Green Bay, of course, never looked back after taking a three-touchdown lead in the second quarter, coming away with a 48-32 victory to advance to the Divisional Round. Love was super impressive over the last half of the season, but that play showed his remarkable development.

Moving forward with Love as the starting quarterback, the future appears bright for the Packers.

“The growth has been incredible, it’s been phenomenal,” said LaFleur. “I’m excited about what the future has in store for him.”

Packers QB Jordan Love makes PFF’s list of top 101 players from 2023 season

In his first season as the Packers QB, Jordan Love finished No. 89 on PFF’s top 101 players from the 2023 season.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love made the “PFF 101,” a list from Pro Football Focus of the top NFL players from the 2023 season.

Love, in his first season as the starting quarterback in Green Bay, finished at No. 89 overall.

From Sam Monson of PFF: “Love was one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks over the second half of the season, finishing ninth in PFF passing grade (83.2) overall on the year. When he was dialed in, he was a devastating playmaker, but inconsistency in his game kept him away from the top spots on this list.”

Across the regular and postseason, Love finished with 37 touchdown passes (second) and 37 big-time throws (tied for third) while having just 18 turnover worthy plays (ninth fewest). Counting rushing stats, Love produced almost 5,000 total yards and 41 touchdowns.

A second-half charge powered Love’s ascension. Between Weeks 1-8, Love had zero games with an overall grade of 70.0 or above. Between Weeks 9 and the divisional playoff round, Love had eight, including three elite grades of 90.0 or better..

As of Wednesday, PFF has released only the first 60 players of the list. Love is the only Packers player between No. 101 and 41 and is likely to be the only Packers player on the list when it’s fully released.

Notre Dame Football: Estime Top Pro Football Focus Running Back Rankings for 2023

A truly GREAT year for #7!

Now that the 2023 season has completely come to an end its a good time to look back at the year that was.

For Notre Dame, that meant a return to having a truly elite college running back.

Yes, Notre Dame has had some really good backs in recent years but it’s difficult to put any in quite some time in the same level of [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] in 2023.  Estime was the lead-back for the Irish and ran for over 1,300 yards, a number that could have threatened 1,500 if he were to have gotten 2-3 more carries a game.

Just how good was Estime in 2023?  Pro Football Focus released their top-10 graded running backs across college football for the year and you can see for yourself just how well he stacked up.

Packers KR Keisean Nixon named first-team All-Pro in 2023

Packers kickoff returner Keisean Nixon was named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press for the second consecutive season in 2023.

Green Bay Packers kickoff returner Keisean Nixon was named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press for the 2023 season.

Nixon received 36 of the 50 first-place votes.

The honor is Nixon’s second consecutive first-team selection at returner. Per the Packers, Nixon is just the fourth player to go back-to-back as the first-team All-Pro kickoff returner.

Although he didn’t have a kickoff return touchdown, Nixon led the NFL in both kickoff returns (30), kickoff return yards (782) and kickoff returns of at least 30 yards (7). His long kickoff return — 51 yards — was the 10th longest in the NFL in 2023. He also had a 49-yard kickoff return.

Among returners with at least 10 kickoff returns, Nixon’s 26.1-yard average ranked fourth.

He finished the season with two games of 100 or more kickoff return yards and nine with 50 or more.

Last season, Nixon had 11 returns of at least 30 yards and five of 50 or more, including a 105-yard touchdown. He also had eight games with 100 or more kickoff return yards.

Nixon was the team’s only All-Pro in 2023. Nixon and cornerback Jaire Alexander (second team) were All-Pro picks for the Packers in 2022.

Packers’ Keisean Nixon named to NFLPA’s 2023 All-Pro team as kickoff returner

The NFLPA’s All-Pro team — as voted by players — included Keisean Nixon as the first-team kickoff returner.

Green Bay Packers kickoff returner Keisean Nixon didn’t make the Pro Bowl, but he was the pick on at least one All-Pro team for 2023. The NFLPA’s second annual All-Pro team — voted on by only players — selected Nixon as the first-team kickoff returner.

Nixon was the only Packers player on the team.

Based on volume numbers alone, Nixon was an easy pick.

The 2022 AP All-Pro led the NFL in kickoff returns. His 30 returns were eight more than second place. He also led the NFL in kickoff return yardage. His 782 kickoff return yards were 271 more than second place. Among players with at least 10 kickoff returns, Nixon ranked fourth in average at 26.1 yards. His 51-yard kickoff return was the 10th longest in the NFL this season.

Four different players had a kickoff return for a touchdown, but Nixon wasn’t among them. The only player with at least 300 kickoff return yards and a touchdown was Broncos rookie Marvin Mims.

At Pro Football Focus, Nixon ranked sixth in kickoff return grade among players with at least 10 returns.

The 2023 AP All-Pro team will be released soon, possibly even this week. Can Nixon go back-to-back years as the official All-Pro returner?

One other note: the Cowboys, who will host the Packers on Sunday in the NFC Wild Card Round, had five NFLPA All-Pros: CeeDee Lamb, Tyler Smith, Zack Martin, DaRon Bland and Brandon Aubrey.

No Pro Bowlers and only one first alternate for Packers in 2023

The Packers have five Pro Bowl alternates but zero Pro Bowl selections on the initial rosters in 2023. Rashan Gary is a first alternate.

The Green Bay Packers did not have a player named to the initial Pro Bowl Games rosters and have just one first alternate.

The Packers were one of just four teams without a player selected.

Outside linebacker Rashan Gary was named a first alternate, meaning he’d be one of the first selections should a player on the initial roster drop out. Defensive lineman Kenny Clark, offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins, return specialist Keisean Nixon and cornerback Jaire Alexander were also named alternates.

Alexander was the team’s lone Pro Bowler on the initial rosters last season.

Quarterback Jordan Love, who has 30 touchdown passes and 34 total touchdowns, was not a top alternate and is unlikely to become a Pro Bowler in his first season as the starter.

Gary has 9.0 sacks, 22 quarterback hits and six tackles for losses in 16 games. He has never been named to the Pro Bowl. The three outside linebackers picked ahead of Gary were Danielle Hunter, Micah Parsons and Hasson Reddick.

Nixon, a 2022 All-Pro and the league leader in kickoff return yards, wasn’t selected. Rashid Shaheed, who returned a punt for a touchdown against the Packers this season, is the NFC return specialist.

The San Francisco 49ers had nine players selected. The Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys were tied for second with seven.

Sun Bowl: Weather Forecast for Notre Dame-Oregon State

No snow at the Sun Bowl this time around…

The only other time Notre Dame has traveled to El Paso for the Sun Bowl the Irish were greeted with a snow storm and freezing temperatures.  That day resulted in a dominating win over Miami to close the 2010 season and the Golden Domers will be looking to end 2023 the same way as they take on Oregon State on Friday afternoon.

The good news for Notre Dame and for Oregon State for that matter?

The snow that greeted the Irish last time they were here won’t be in the picture on Friday.  Instead, a high of 57-degrees is forecast with only slight winds expected and plenty of sunshine.

So, pretty much the polar opposite of what the weather was in 2010.

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