Steelers-49ers ... Game Balls and Goats

Game Balls
No one deserves a game ball. I thought the O-line played really well early in the game, and then they crapped the bed in the second half. I guess I'll give half a game ball to Miller and half a game ball to Brown for that fantastic catch he made (even though his hand landed out of bounds). On second thought, I'll give a game ball to Polamalu. He looked more like the old Polamalu tonight. He was flying around everywhere making plays.

Goats
There are too many goats to name this week. Offense, defense, special teams, coaches ... this loss falls on everyone (minus Miller, Brown, and Polamalu).

Game Ball:
Defense for at least holding the 49ers to the 2 FGs in the first half while the offense was turning the ball over
Bruce Arians for having what appeared to be a good game plan, but we'll never know because our offensive performance was, well, OFFENSIVE!

Goats:
Ben for trying to FORCE the ball, and not taking the short stuff (again)
Offense for a lackluster performance
Suisham for showing once again why we need a NEW kicker in the off-season

My Game Ball goes to the Harbaugh family for sweeping the Steelers this season

I can't give out a game ball for that kind of a loss. There are guys that made good plays, but overall, the team just wasn't there tonight.

Which leads me to the goat(s)...coaching staff. This was just one of the most mishandled games I've seen from Tomlin and co. And it all started with allowing Ben to play. Just downright retarded, and I thought it would be a bad decision ever since the injury happened.

JonM229 wrote:

My Game Ball goes to the Harbaugh family for sweeping the Steelers this season

Son of a bitch

SteelCityMom wrote:

I can't give out a game ball for that kind of a loss. There are guys that made good plays, but overall, the team just wasn't there tonight.

Which leads me to the goat(s)...coaching staff. This was just one of the most mishandled games I've seen from Tomlin and co. And it all started with allowing Ben to play. Just downright retarded, and I thought it would be a bad decision ever since the injury happened.

Yeah this. Bad decision to play Ben and not to yank him after the 2 picks in the 1st two possessions. He was obviously heavily favoring the left ankle and not stepping into throws. Batch or Dixon could have done just as well or better and it would have rested Ben while giving them some reps. I didn't like them risking our whole season by potentially getting Ben injured worse for no real production out of him.

And why the hell was he in late in the game when the outcome was pretty much decided? I know Ben said he wanted to stay in, but somebody has to do what's right for the TEAM, not what furthers the writing of "The Legend of Sir Roethlisberger". Somebody on this coaching staff needs to finally grow a set and let Ben know who really calls the shots for the greater good and not allow the inmates to run the asylum just to further the tale of the "Invincible One".

The goddamned clock management right before the half was abysmal also!

I agree with you guys. I said before the game I thought Ben should sit. I don't know what Tomlin was thinking but it falls squarely on him. So if we would have won and Ben got hurt worse did he think we.d be in better shape?

Now what'll we do the last 2 games if Ben does not improve? Start him anyway and have him at 50% because that's what he looked like to me. Some may not agree but I think we stood a better chance with Batch in this game. I know hindsight is 20/20. I mean we lost anyway.

solardave wrote:

I agree with you guys. I said before the game I thought Ben should sit. I don't know what Tomlin was thinking but it falls squarely on him. So if we would have won and Ben got hurt worse did he think we.d be in better shape?

Now what'll we do the last 2 games if Ben does not improve? Start him anyway and have him at 50% because that's what he looked like to me. Some may not agree but I think we stood a better chance with Batch in this game. I know hindsight is 20/20. I mean we lost anyway.

There is absolutely no excuse for starting Ben this week. We should be able to handle the Rams with Batch behind center as long as we play smart and focused. I personally would sit Ben till the playoffs. We're already in and we can beat any other team in the AFC if we have our guys healthy and ready.

I will seriously start to question Tomlin's decision making capabilities if he starts Ben this week. There is ZERO excuse for that now.

Buddha Bus wrote:

solardave wrote:

I agree with you guys. I said before the game I thought Ben should sit. I don't know what Tomlin was thinking but it falls squarely on him. So if we would have won and Ben got hurt worse did he think we.d be in better shape?

Now what'll we do the last 2 games if Ben does not improve? Start him anyway and have him at 50% because that's what he looked like to me. Some may not agree but I think we stood a better chance with Batch in this game. I know hindsight is 20/20. I mean we lost anyway.

There is absolutely no excuse for starting Ben this week. We should be able to handle the Rams with Batch behind center as long as we play smart and focused. I personally would sit Ben till the playoffs. We're already in and we can beat any other team in the AFC if we have our guys healthy and ready.

I will seriously start to question Tomlin's decision making capabilities if he starts Ben this week. There is ZERO excuse for that now.

You are right. Let him practice STANDING flat footed. Just to keep his arm up and go through progressions but that's it. Just enough to keep the rust off and NO more. And even this can wait until right before he comes back like in the first playoff game.