Nice, pleasant day here at Heinz Field. The winds that whipped through the area Saturday are gone.
It's a little overcast here at Heinz Field, but pretty calm other than that.
Nice day for football.
No surprises in the Steelers inactives since they were all players declared out on Friday.
The Jaguars will be starting a pair of rookies on the left side of their offensive line. Could be a big day for Keisel/Timmons.
14 comments:
Tale of two halves. Got greedy with the long bombs and skipped the short yardage plays. Bens back in the shotgun and needs to go back to three step drops.
Yep, and once again Wallace completely dissapeared on the second half. Seems like they have to keep a constant check on Arians/Ben or they'll just keep going for the long ones. Once again saw Ben disregard the check pass to RB's and TE's to try and connect a longer route. Great first half by the offense, dumb and unintelligent second half. Tomlin must speak to Arians and make sure he acknowledges the need for possession rather than big chunks of yards on a single play. Need to be smarter.
4-2 though can't complain. What a great game by Kiesel, any news on Legursky's injury?
It's a dislocated toe, nothing major.
Ben stunk in the second half. Biggest part of the story. Eh. We've got a long way to go. The offense under Ben and Arians (they are the same person, all criticism must address both of them) is never going to be consistent. He's still a top 5 QB & potentially an all-time great. But any Ben/Bruce offense is going to be sloppy and undisciplined and inconsistent. Went to two Super Bowls that way so far, though...
Why in the world are you calling a punt block after a 3 and out and Jax fairly deep in their own end? It made no sense at all and gave Jax momentum.
Agree about the love affair with the deep pass. Wallace said the wind effected the ball that he had to turn a couple different ways.
Why is the QB trying to buck a strong wind?
It's maddening.
I would consider a dislocated toe "nothing major". I depends on the severity. K. Irving from Duke missed most of the season last year with a toe injury. I guess we'll see how bad it is.
The most disheartening part of this game, other than the D had trouble stopping the run again, was the lack of Ben taking the checkdowns and quick throws. He went back to holding the ball trying to make big plays down the field. Damn, what has to happen before Ben can see that he can help his defense and team by getting the ball out of his hand.
The Steelers are getting a glimpse of life without James Harrison in the pass and run game and it is not pretty. I believe this team will be vulnerable to the run the rest of the season as well. Right now, I do not know if the first round pick should be an OL, a NT or another OLB pass rusher. There are a lot of needs that I see right now. If Ben played smarter, it could help overcome some of the shortcomings on this team. Still, 4-2 is not bad.
I have to agree Datruth, this was a disheartening win. The Jags adjusted in the 2nd half and Arians/Ben did not. They have to recognize that this O-Line is not capable of consistently protecting the long ball. Take the short underneath stuff or get rid of it.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are beginning to look like the Al Davis Raiders. A team that preferred speed and the long ball... How's that worked out over the past decade?
MJD had 25 of his 96 yards on 2 consecutive carries in the 2nd qtr. Otherwise he had 70 yards on 20 carries, not exactly lighting it up in YPC.
As for BR, I think only a serious knee or ankle injury will change the way he plays qb.
I know Dale will mention in his opening note that this was a game where Ben tried to get greedy. I was bothered by him looking so much to the WR's after Mendy's run inside of the 5-yeard line Heath Miller is 6'5'', 260 lbs. and Wes Saunders is 6'6'', 270 lbs. Why not use THEM down there? Also, what happened to the QB protecting his OL by getting the ball out of his hand quickly instead of constantly trying to go long? I just feel like this game was a step back even though it was a win.
I see a lot of slippage from some of the older veterans on D. I'm a firm believer that it is always better to cut a veteran player taking up precious salary cap room a year too early instead of a year too late. I wouldn't be against the Steelers selecting another 3-4 OLB early in the next draft because Timmons cannot rush the passer from that position. Otherwise, you better hope that either Jason Worilds or Chris Carter turn out to be a hit.
this game reinforces the idea that offensive outbursts like last week are more of a fluke and less about a smart offensive plan.
the steelers are 4-2 and what we do know for sure:
- the run defense is inconsistent, with a decent showing against the titans.
- the offense is inconsistent, often times lacking the ability to adjust to the defense.
- they have yet to beat a playoff caliber team (i don't think the titans make the playoffs).
- #7 is not an elite QB until he consistently takes what the defense provides.
- the o-line will not hold up against tougher teams.
the main premise here is consistency. they seriously lack it. whether it's because of a lack of focus, ability, coaching, etc. i don't really know. but, if they want to earn at least a split with the pats and ravens, they better get it together.
I don't disagree with what anyone is saying in this thread and the game today was a big disappointment in the 2nd half.
But, in 2008 and 2010 there were numerous games where pretty much all of these comments were made. In each of those years the Steelers only lost to eventual playoff teams and went to the SB.
So these games are frustrating but its the same story again and again. Nothing I saw today was much different than in previous years, and history says that isn't a bad thing.
the steelers channeled their inner Bill Cowher today. IN the second half they became very conservative often running on both first and second down which then created very predictable third down play calls. The o-line is not good enough to use that type of game plan. However, it did work today.
Post a Comment