Kaleb Johnson

[K_C_]

Okay, dude made 2 huge mistakes the last 2 weeks.

As bad as the Steelers played, they still had a chance to win this game until Johnson somehow didn't know a kickoff was a live ball if it falls in the landing area.

Johnson was pretty unimpressive running the ball in the preseason.

There's absolutely no way he'll be returning kicks next week.

What happens to him?

[Dan Smith--BYU]

small sample size

[K_C_]

small sample size

Um....wut?

Are you telling me you'd stick with him as a kick returner?

Also he has zero explosiveness as a RB.

I wanted to love this kid and really believed he'd be an upgrade to Najee.

He isn't.

[Steelperch]

Steelers suck at returning kicks and suck worse at covering them. Johnson probably never returned kicks in his life. He’s been mediocre as a RB as well. Chalk it up to yet another bad pick.

[CKSteeler]

Tomlin has some fascination with putting slow, unexplosive RB's back on KR's. Did Johnson even do this in college? I need someone to enact that labor for me.

I don't really care. Right now everything seems to big for him.

[LakecrestSteeler]

Okay, dude made 2 huge mistakes the last 2 weeks.

As bad as the Steelers played, they still had a chance to win this game until Johnson somehow didn't know a kickoff was a live ball if it falls in the landing area.

Johnson was pretty unimpressive running the ball in the preseason.

There's absolutely no way he'll be returning kicks next week.

What happens to him?

As I said in the game thread, why the fuck are the kick returners not rotating behind the one about to imminently receive the kickoff? If you are using the second kick returners as a fucking blocker then you are a coaching fool in a sport with an oblong ball.

That philosophy is just as much to blame as Johnson! Shame on Tomlin and Smith for playing checkers and not taking a page out of baseball as the pitchers do for the 3rd baseman! It is so simple and obvious, again a fucking oblong ball!

[zeke5123]

small sample size

RBs seem to either have it or they don’t. KB just doesn’t seem to have burst. Maybe he can drop a few pounds and get *enough* burst. But he looks like a bust.

[zeke5123]

Okay, dude made 2 huge mistakes the last 2 weeks.

As bad as the Steelers played, they still had a chance to win this game until Johnson somehow didn't know a kickoff was a live ball if it falls in the landing area.

Johnson was pretty unimpressive running the ball in the preseason.

There's absolutely no way he'll be returning kicks next week.

What happens to him?

As I said in the game thread, why the fuck are the kick returners not rotating behind the one about to imminently receive the kickoff? If you are using the second kick returners as a fucking blocker then you are a coaching fool in a sport with an oblong ball.

That philosophy is just as much to blame as Johnson! Shame on Tomlin’s and Smith for playing checkers and not taking a page out of baseball as the pickers do for the 3rd baseman! It is so simple and obvious, again a fucking oblong ball!

Because then you are giving up a blocker. The returner should still have a massive amount of time to recover the ball.

[LakecrestSteeler]

Okay, dude made 2 huge mistakes the last 2 weeks.

As bad as the Steelers played, they still had a chance to win this game until Johnson somehow didn't know a kickoff was a live ball if it falls in the landing area.

Johnson was pretty unimpressive running the ball in the preseason.

There's absolutely no way he'll be returning kicks next week.

What happens to him?

As I said in the game thread, why the fuck are the kick returners not rotating behind the one about to imminently receive the kickoff? If you are using the second kick returners as a fucking blocker then you are a coaching fool in a sport with an oblong ball.

That philosophy is just as much to blame as Johnson! Shame on Tomlin’s and Smith for playing checkers and not taking a page out of baseball as the pickers do for the 3rd baseman! It is so simple and obvious, again a fucking oblong ball!

Because then you are giving up a blocker. The returner should still have a massive amount of time to recover the ball.

Disagree. They used to do this all the time. The guy would come over and make sure he would catch it. And you can still do both. Just look for unorthodox kicks or potentially difficult kicks and then go block if they are high percentage.

[LakecrestSteeler]

Okay, dude made 2 huge mistakes the last 2 weeks.

As bad as the Steelers played, they still had a chance to win this game until Johnson somehow didn't know a kickoff was a live ball if it falls in the landing area.

Johnson was pretty unimpressive running the ball in the preseason.

There's absolutely no way he'll be returning kicks next week.

What happens to him?

As I said in the game thread, why the fuck are the kick returners not rotating behind the one about to imminently receive the kickoff? If you are using the second kick returners as a fucking blocker then you are a coaching fool in a sport with an oblong ball.

That philosophy is just as much to blame as Johnson! Shame on Tomlin’s and Smith for playing checkers and not taking a page out of baseball as the pickers do for the 3rd baseman! It is so simple and obvious, again a fucking oblong ball!

Because then you are giving up a blocker. The returner should still have a massive amount of time to recover the ball.

And I suspect this will start becoming the new onside kick and they will start trying hit slices and hooks out of bounce after hitting the target zone. 35 is a big incentive.

[Dan Smith--BYU]

he never should have been returning kicks but should be in the backfield more

[K_C_]

he never should have been returning kicks but should be in the backfield more

I think you're right about him not returning kicks, but he ain't ready for prime time as a RB.

No sir.

...and he might never be.

[Jizz Mop]

With our recent ability to really hit on our draft picks, his lack of football IQ and ability is troubling and certainly an anomaly

/sarca

[StillerDownSouth]

Dude has 2 career carries and y’all already calling him a bust. Tomlin shouldn’t have him returning kicks, period.

[K_C_]

Dude has 2 career carries and y’all already calling him a bust. Tomlin shouldn’t have him returning kicks, period.

I agree he's miscast as a kick returner, but I'm not blaming Dumblin for the fucking guy not knowing a ball that bounces in landing zone is a LIVE BALL.

That might seriously be the dumbest play in NFL history. If not, it's definitely in the top 10, rookie or not.

I liked Johnson at Iowa, but he looks slower in the NFL and I'm not sure why. Honestly Najee looked faster than Kaleb does right now.

Maybe he improves as a RB and has a future, I don't know but I never want to see that dude back returning kicks ever again.

[anpsteel]

he never should have been returning kicks but should be in the backfield more

I think you're right about him not returning kicks, but he ain't ready for prime time as a RB.

No sir.

...and he might never be.

I’m not sure he’s quick enough to avoid the initial defender, with this oline

[anpsteel]

FWIW, Barry Foster did the same thing his rookie year, too

[K_C_]

FWIW, Barry Foster did the same thing his rookie year, too

They said what Johnson did hasn't happened in 40 years.

[Gonzo]

Steelers suck at returning kicks and suck worse at covering them. Johnson probably never returned kicks in his life. He’s been mediocre as a RB as well. Chalk it up to yet another bad pick.

don't you remember a long time ago Tomlin said he prioritized the ability to field kicks with out fear of fumble over return ability

[anpsteel]

FWIW, Barry Foster did the same thing his rookie year, too

They said what Johnson did hasn't happened in 40 years.

Not exactly the same- but same issue


At the 2:50 mark

https://youtu.be/wKUzifhngoM?si=-GYmPvXNJUYMcMn5

[CKSteeler]

Dude has 2 career carries and y’all already calling him a bust. Tomlin shouldn’t have him returning kicks, period.

I agree he's miscast as a kick returner, but I'm not blaming Dumblin for the fucking guy not knowing a ball that bounces in landing zone is a LIVE BALL.

That might seriously be the dumbest play in NFL history. If not, it's definitely in the top 10, rookie or not.

I liked Johnson at Iowa, but he looks slower in the NFL and I'm not sure why. Honestly Najee looked faster than Kaleb does right now.

Maybe he improves as a RB and has a future, I don't know but I never want to see that dude back returning kicks ever again.

I'd like to think a professional athlete would know basic rules, but I've watched the sport long enough to know that isn't the case.

Why are they putting someone back on kicks and not going over the basic rules of the NFL with him?

[Steelafan77]

Steelers suck at returning kicks and suck worse at covering them. Johnson probably never returned kicks in his life. He’s been mediocre as a RB as well. Chalk it up to yet another bad pick.

With all their ducks in a row the momentum could be that elusive 1-16 season….

[955876]

Tomlin has some fascination with putting slow, unexplosive RB's back on KR's. Did Johnson even do this in college? I need someone to enact that labor for me.

I don't really care. Right now everything seems to big for him.

Jibbs still trying to replace the great Crappy Davis as a returner.

[.Kodiak]

As I said in the game thread, why the fuck are the kick returners not rotating behind the one about to imminently receive the kickoff? If you are using the second kick returners as a fucking blocker then you are a coaching fool in a sport with an oblong ball.

That philosophy is just as much to blame as Johnson! Shame on Tomlin and Smith for playing checkers and not taking a page out of baseball as the pitchers do for the 3rd baseman! It is so simple and obvious, again a fucking oblong ball!

A backup KR in case the ball goes thru Johnson's legs? Who the fuck in the league does something that stupid - just waste a blocker because you expect your KR to make a mistake?

[.Kodiak]

Why are they putting someone back on kicks and not going over the basic rules of the NFL with him?

He'll figure it out

[.Kodiak]

FWIW, Barry Foster did the same thing his rookie year, too

They said what Johnson did hasn't happened in 40 years.

Kicking team scoring a TD off the kick-off hasn't happened in 40 years. Foster's boff wasn't a TD, but recovered on the 5 or something like that.

[zeke5123]

I recall Brown and the Steelers lost the ball on a free kick following a safety thinking the rules were like a punt return. These things don’t happen much but seem to happen to Tomlin coached teams.

[cyberlaz]

FWIW, Barry Foster did the same thing his rookie year, too

They said what Johnson did hasn't happened in 40 years.

Kicking team scoring a TD off the kick-off hasn't happened in 40 years. Foster's boff wasn't a TD, but recovered on the 5 or something like that.

I believe it was Rod Woodson his rookie year as a Steeler.

[tbsteel]

We used a third round pick on Kaleb Johnson who:

Can't catch
Can't pass block
Can't return kicks
Can't play teams
And looks slower than shit running the ball

Nice work, Khan.

[955876]

We used a third round pick on Kaleb Johnson who:

Can't catch
Can't pass block
Can't return kicks
Can't play teams
And looks slower than shit running the ball

Nice work, Khan.

But he’s a 3rd rounder so gets a hat. Meanwhile, Lew Nichols who ran with violence in the preseason vanished to practice squad.