First Call: Jaguars DB says George Pickens ‘hasn’t played our corners’; Sean Casey won’t stay with Yankees
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One Jacksonville defensive back had an interesting quote about Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Sean Casey is walking away from his job with the New York Yankees. And the Penguins face a tough test at home Thursday night.
All that and more from the AFC North in Thursday’s “First Call.”
May catch his eye
If trash talking was like hot sauce, this would be a two or three level of mild on a scale of 1-10.
But it might be enough to get George Pickens to notice. And as Pickens himself admitted last week, he’s now aware opponents may try to get under his skin.
On Wednesday, Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins was asked about facing the Steelers receiving corps Sunday.
“I know that the receiver we have coming in this week, No. 14, he has a high yards per catch,” Jenkins said of Pickens in a video posted by 1010 XL in Jacksonville. “But respectfully, he hasn’t played our corners yet. So I’ll say that … we’re smart enough to know where the key guys are and how to take away those guys out of the gameplan.”
Well, at least he was respectful. And he’s right about Pickens’ yards per catch. It’s second in the NFL at 18.5, behind only Houston’s Nico Collins (18.9).
But Jenkins may want to slow his roll by suggesting that Pickens hasn’t faced corners like Jacksonville’s. It doesn’t translate that way in the team pass-defense stats. Jacksonville is allowing 273 yards per game through the air, 31st in the NFL.
However, the Jaguars have nine interceptions, second in the NFL. Plus the team’s yards per catch average of 6.8 is middle of the pack (15th), and they’ve faced more passing attempts than any other defense (291). According to Pro Football Focus, Darious Williams has their second-best coverage grade (85.6). Tre Herndon is 27th at 69.9, and Tyson Campbell, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, is 29th at 69.1.
Campbell played with Pickens at Georgia. He’s got the better size (6-foot-1, 195 lbs) to deal with Pickens. Williams is 5-foot-10, 187 pounds. Pickens has back-to-back games of over 100 yards.
Seeing red
Much was made about the Steelers having a rare opportunity to have multiple red-zone possessions in a game Sunday in Los Angeles.
On the afternoon, they had three. All resulted in touchdowns. Granted, one was set up at the L.A. 7-yard line by T.J. Watt’s interception.
But it was nice to see some snaps within shouting distance of the goal line. After all, coming into the contest, Matt Canada’s offense had totaled just seven red-zone possessions.
That said, the Steelers aren’t alone in that regard when it comes to their division, as PFF’s Brad Spielberger points out. The Bengals (13) and the Browns (14) are the teams with the next fewest red-zone trips, just barely ahead of the Steelers.
Fewest trips to the red-zone through Week 7:
Steelers – 10
Bengals – 13
Browns – 14
Patriots – 15
Buccaneers – 16
Panthers – 16— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) October 25, 2023
The Bengals are the only team in the NFL with a lower yards-per-game average on offense (256.3) than the Steelers (273.5). Cleveland is 20th at 319.2.
Dancing with Darnold?
Speaking of the Bengals (3-3), they may get a break when playing the San Francisco 49ers (5-2) on Sunday. Backup QB Sam Darnold may be under center for San Fran.
According to Sam Wagoner of ESPN.com, starting quarterback Brock Purdy is in concussion protocol. He started to have symptoms on the flight home from Minnesota.
#49ers QB Brock Purdy is in concussion protocol. Started having symptoms on the plane ride home.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 25, 2023
According to BetRivers.com, San Francisco is still a 3½-point favorite at home despite Purdy’s potential absence and a two-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, Cleveland is a 3½-point underdog at Seattle. Both teams are 4-2. Baltimore (5-2) is a healthy 8½-point favorite in Arizona (1-6).
The Steelers are still 2½-point underdogs at home against the Jaguars.
More sports
• Kenny Pickett: Steelers ‘moving in right direction’ despite slow starts to games
• Steelers’ Najee Harris: NFL officials ‘a little too soft’ in throwing taunting flags
• Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon remains in awe of Penguins forward Sidney Crosby
One and done
Upper St. Clair’s Sean Casey won’t be back for a second year as the hitting coach with the New York Yankees.
Casey was given that job on July 10, replacing Dillon Lawson at the All-Star Break. The Yankees were hitting .231 as a team when the change was made. The team ended the year with a .227 team batting average, second lowest in all of Major League Baseball in front of just the Oakland A’s (.223). The Yankees batted .221 with a .688 OPS in 71 games with Casey as hitting coach.
Casey cited personal reasons for walking away while on his “The Mayor’s Office” podcast.
“(Manager Aaron Boone) and I had talked about coming back next year and what that would look like,” Casey said via ESPN.com. “And really before any offer could be exchanged between both of us, I just told him that I’m not going to be able to come back next year because I’ve got my two daughters at home.”
Casey has two teenage daughters living in Pittsburgh. Prior to working in the Bronx, Casey had been a part of the MLB Network.
“I have those girls 50% of the time,” Casey said. “I just can’t imagine being away for eight months in New York while they’re here in Pittsburgh.”
Casey played with five teams during his 13-year MLB career, including one year with the Pirates.
How they got here
The Penguins (2-4) have a massive challenge on their hands Thursday night. They host the Central Division-leading Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs come in having won all six of their games so far. The Vegas Golden Knights (7-0-0) and Boston Bruins (6-0-0) are the only other unbeaten teams remaining in the NHL.
On Oct. 14, the Avalanche topped San Jose 2-1 in a shootout. That was the only game so far that Colorado failed to win by multiple goals.
The Detroit Red Wings have 34 goals. They are the only team with a higher total than Colorado (27). The Avalanche’s power play percentage of 28.6 is eighth in the NHL. Their penalty kill of 92.8 is fourth.
Mikko Rantanen is fourth in the NHL with 12 points. Cale Makar’s nine points (tied with Detroit’s Shayne Gostisbehere) are best among defensemen. Alexandar Georgiev’s 172 total saves are third in the NHL.
Aside from that, they haven’t been very good I guess. Faceoff is at 7 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.