Game Balls & Goats (Steelers vs. Chargers)

Game Balls:  

Bell...obviously.
                 
Coach Butler....for designing and calling blitzes that makes it appear as though the opposing offenses have not seen them on tape...it seemed like just about every blitz resulted in a hit on Rivers or a throwaway to avoid the sack.....gotta like the attacking personality of his D.

Steeler Nation.....when the camera panned the crowd it looked and sounded like Heinz.  Amazing!

I disagree with all of the "What a ballsey, awesome call by Tomlin" at the end of the game. It was a terrible, reckless call and Bell was lucky to get in. With 5 seconds left and a time out on the inch line, Vick sticks the ball in on the sneak, if he can't, there's time for a TO for a FG. You don't line up in the shotgun for a direct snap to Bell virtually guaranteeing there will be no time remaining for a FG.

Blah Blah, play to win and all of that nonsense, of course, you expect Vick to pop it over, but you have to give yourself a chance to stay in the ballgame if the rush doesn't work.

If Bell doesn't get over that line, this is an entirely different Tuesday and the season would change, and people are out for Tomlin blood saying how stupid the call was. (which it was)

However, we did win, which is awesome, but I hate that call to end the game.

Lots of contributors to this win.

DHB, Wheaton and Miller deserve credit... as well as Vick and Bell and the entire Steelers D!

No goats as far as I'm concerned. The special teams penalties and mishaps can be fixed.

Drizztbob wrote:

I disagree with all of the "What a ballsey, awesome call by Tomlin" at the end of the game.  It was a terrible, reckless call and Bell was lucky to get in.  With 5 seconds left and a time out on the inch line, Vick sticks the ball in on the sneak, if he can't, there's time for a TO for a FG.  You don't line up in the shotgun for a direct snap to Bell virtually guaranteeing there will be no time remaining for a FG.

Blah Blah, play to win and all of that nonsense, of course, you expect Vick to pop it over, but you have to give yourself a chance to stay in the ballgame if the rush doesn't work.

If Bell doesn't get over that line, this is an entirely different Tuesday and the season would change, and people are out for Tomlin blood saying how stupid the call was. (which it was)

However, we did win, which is awesome, but I hate that call to end the game.

I disagree. Le'Veon Bell is pretty much the best NFL football player in the league. Tomlin made the right call. Put the game in Bell's hands until Roethlisberger gets back.

HeinzMustard wrote:

Drizztbob wrote:

I disagree with all of the "What a ballsey, awesome call by Tomlin" at the end of the game.  It was a terrible, reckless call and Bell was lucky to get in.  With 5 seconds left and a time out on the inch line, Vick sticks the ball in on the sneak, if he can't, there's time for a TO for a FG.  You don't line up in the shotgun for a direct snap to Bell virtually guaranteeing there will be no time remaining for a FG.

Blah Blah, play to win and all of that nonsense, of course, you expect Vick to pop it over, but you have to give yourself a chance to stay in the ballgame if the rush doesn't work.

If Bell doesn't get over that line, this is an entirely different Tuesday and the season would change, and people are out for Tomlin blood saying how stupid the call was. (which it was)

However, we did win, which is awesome, but I hate that call to end the game.

I disagree.  Le'Veon Bell is pretty much the best NFL football player in the league.  Tomlin made the right call.  Put the game in Bell's hands until Roethlisberger gets back.

I agree with this as far as not trusting Vick either to make the final play or to put together another drive in OT but I bet the play was Haley's call.

Vis wrote:

I agree with this as far as not trusting Vick either to make the final play or to put together another drive in OT but I bet the play was Haley's call.

Agreed

Tomlin made the strategic decision to win or lose in regulation (the defense was gassed and would not have stopped Rivers in OT) while Haley made the tactical decision to achieve that goal by putting the game in Bell's hands after getting slammed for calling on Vick to win the Ravens game in OT

There is no guarantee if Vick would not have scored on a sneak that a TO could have been called in time

And as far as a quick hitting pass that either scores or stops the clock, that sometimes does not end well

Good, Bad, & Ugly: 2015-5 – San Diego Chargers - http://www.steelcityunderground.com/2015/10/13/good-bad-ugly-2015-5-san-diego-chargers/

Above is my recap. Bell, Vick (at the end) and our new kicker and punter helped immensely. If offense could drive, our defense might have been even better...

Play call was gutsy, due to the f up by the time clock operator, leaving us with 5 seconds... but I liked the idea. San Diego really has no idea if Bell will roll out and pitch it. Could be an end around. Could be a dive. Adds an extra blocker. Gives Bell the freedom to pick a spot and win the game, which he did. Nail biter and gutsy no less.

Anyone else think Nix held on that play? My boss (Browns homer) said so and I guess Dan Patrick was running his mouth this morning too. Looks like the SD defender went low to tackle Bell and missed IMO. What else do you do in that situation? There's a pile of bodies!

Too many to give out, but I'm gonna say game ball - Steelers defense

Mike Vick was great for 8 minutes, and Bell was Bell. But what kept the team in the game was a full 60 minutes of sound defense. Aside from the Chargers' opening drive, they were solid. They pressured rivers all day, and came up with a big play to keep us in the game (Blake's INT). Forced another fumble to get the ball back, though it didn't result in points, but that's the offense's fault.

Runners up:
- Vick: Not great, but made plays when we needed it most. Tough performance, he took a few big shots and got right up.
- Bell: for the most part of our game he was our offense.
- Wheaton: Good play but I'd like to see more catches from our #2 WR, I find it troubling that he's not consistently open. For someone with 4.4 speed and supposedly a good route runner, I can't figure out why he's not making more plays like these. But I'll take it, it was critical to yesterday's win.
- Boswell: He didn't miss a kick or extra point. Already better than Scobee. First attempt wasn't an easy one either, from 47 yards out on the road, but he nailed it.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Diego Chargers Winners and Losers

By Christopher Carter on Oct 13, 2015

Winners:

Le'Veon Bell: What can you say about this running back? Not to sound like Jon Gruden, but this is a special guy right here. Bell had 111 yards on 21 carries plus the walk-off touchdown. Bell delivers time and time again, proving that he is the best running back in the NFL today. His touchdown run was a perfect testament to the notion that maybe he's the best offensive weapon in the NFL.

Cameron Heyward: Time and time again, Heyward changed the line of scrimmage. Rarely coming off of the field, he and the defensive front created enough problems to hold the Chargers' ground game to less than three yards per carry while also bringing pressure to disrupt a passing attack that picked apart the Browns last week.

Jarvis Jones: The Steelers' 2013 first round draft pick has played well this season, making plays away from the ball, but on Monday night he was noticed by all. His sack on Rivers and the forced fumble that led to a turnover were both huge plays that highlighted his performance against the Chargers. His four tackles, one sack and one forced fumble performance might have been the best game of his short career.

Chris Boswell: Steelers Nation just needed to see that someone wearing a Pittsburgh uniform could actually make a kick this season, and we saw it against the Chargers. Boswell made a field goal early in the game and all three of his extra points, putting minds at ease at least for now about the Steelers' kicking game.

Keith Butler: Whatever Butler has this young defense doing, he's got it going. Pittsburgh's defense has been resurgent this season and it led the way to the team's victory against the Chargers, forcing several three-and-outs, two turnovers, returining one for a score and forcing the Chargers to rely on a field goal on their final offensive drive instead of running more clock and/or scoring a touchdown. Young players are making plays, including rookie Bud Dupree, who recorded his third sack in only five games this season.

Mike Tomlin: Many wanted to criticize the captain of the ship for the Steelers' loss last week, saying that he deserved all of the blame for the loss. But if you were part of that group, then you'd better give Tomlin credit this week. Especially in terms of clock management during the second half, Tomlin seemed to manage his team well in San Diego. He extended his Monday Night Football record to 10-2 in his time with Pittsburgh and his team recorded a major victory despite missing their starting quarterback, center, inside linebacker, No. 2 wide receiver, etc. Tomlin often says, "we do not live in our fears," and on their final drive they showed no fear when they put it all on the line and forgot about a field goal in going for the finishing touchdown and the win.

Michael Vick: Yes, I am putting Vick in the win column. Why? Because when the Steelers needed two touchdown drives in the clutch, he delivered. Throughout the game, many wondered whether the Steelers should leave Vick on the field with his errant throws and the frustrations the team suffered on offense. But when the team went down by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Vick delivered on a 72-yard bomb to Markus Wheaton to tie the game and give the Steelers' defense a chance to keep them in the game. After that, the Chargers managed to score only a field goal and Vick led a clutch drive culminating in the walk-off touchdown run. He converted three straight third downs in the absolute clutch for Pittsburgh on the last drive. The first was when he completed a 15-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Then, three plays later, he converted again with a 24-yard scramble, and then got Pittsburgh to within a half-yard of the end zone with less than ten seconds remaining on his third straight third-down conversion.

Losers:

Danny Smith: The Steelers' special teams coach saw the unit suffer despite improving at the kicker position with penalty after penalty being committed throughout the game.

Dri Archer: As the Steelers continue to wait for the return of Martavis Bryant to the roster, they are also looking to see which player they will have to cut to make space for the second-year wide receiver to receive a helmet on game days. Bryant's injury gave whomever might have been cut (many speculate that person to be Archer) another week to prove themselves. Archer's main competition for the spot was seen from fullback Roosevelt Nix, who made several key blocks in the ground game. Meanwhile, Archer has failed time and time again to make noticeable special teams returns, a major reason he was brought to Pittsburgh. Add this to the fact that he's not seen anywhere in an offense that's already missing a speedy playmaker and trying to patch together depth in their offensive weapons. It doesn't look good for Archer moving forward.

Shamarko Thomas: Thomas did recover the fumble forced by Jarvis Jones but, when Will Allen went down for Pittsburgh, he was replaced by former undrafted free agent, Robert Golden instead of the fourth-round draft pick of 2013, Shamarko Thomas. Thomas did see time on the field when Mike Mitchell was pulled for an injury, but he didn't record a tackle on the stat sheet and wasn't very noticeable on defense (the stat sheet is always subject to change, so excuse me if it records him with a tackle later). Thomas also drew one of the special teams penalties when he interfered with a fair-catch attempt. He needs to become less of a liability and more of an asset if he wants to stay on this team.

to read rest of article:

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/steelers-2015-preview-regular-season-news-updates-roster-depth-chart-salary-cap-tickets-san-diego-chargers-how-to-watch/2015/10/13/9516669/pittsburgh-steelers-vs-san-diego-chargers-winners-and-losers

Special teams was a giant goat.  Some of those holds and blocks in the back were just idiotic.  I understand trying to protect your return man, but still some of them were almost like they wanted to get a flag.  One "block in the back" the blocker could have taken 2 extra steps to catch up and block from the side, and still just shoved him right square in the back.

Vick sealed the win but he handed them 3 INTs on a platter that they simply refused to accept (not counting the hail mary).

DBs still really inconsistent, about those big plays, but we did really well overall. IMO if your defense holds them to 20 and under in this era they won.

marvology wrote:

DBs still really inconsistent, about those big plays, but we did really well overall.  IMO if your defense holds them to 20 and under in this era they won.

Pretty much. As much heat as our defense takes, they are one of the top teams in the AFC when it comes to points allowed (which is more important than yardage allowed imo)

Fire Arians wrote:

marvology wrote:

DBs still really inconsistent, about those big plays, but we did really well overall.  IMO if your defense holds them to 20 and under in this era they won.

Pretty much. As much heat as our defense takes, they are one of the top teams in the AFC when it comes to points allowed (which is more important than yardage allowed imo)

I do believe that's part of Butler's philosophy. LeBeau's was to allow yards, but he had the corners playing so far off the line they'd give up first downs constantly.

If you watch the final 3rd down by SD, our corners are pressing on the line... and he's sending pressure too.

Butler doesn't seem to be about yards as much as gambling in some situations to get off the field. I like that way more than "let's hold them" because eventually, you're on your own goal line and can't hold them anymore!

Anyone else here remember some of these blitzers coming in so clean in recent memory? We've had a few video game style sacks this season that I can't recall seeing in years.

Atlanta Dan wrote:

Vis wrote:

I agree with this as far as not trusting Vick either to make the final play or to put together another drive in OT but I bet the play was Haley's call.

Agreed

Tomlin made the strategic decision to win or lose in regulation (the defense was gassed and would not have stopped Rivers in OT) while Haley made the tactical decision to achieve that goal by putting the game in Bell's hands after getting slammed for calling on Vick to win the Ravens game in OT

There is no guarantee if Vick would not have scored on a sneak that a TO could have been called in time

And as far as a quick hitting pass that either scores or stops the clock, that sometimes does not end well

I think the defense wearing out factored into play calling against Baltimore as well. They looked done on that last drive. I think that SD going into hurry up in the 2nd half might be a part of the scouting report on our defense. We need to start spelling the D-line if that's the case.

90+ degree heat doesn't help either

Game balls:

Bell: this guy is soooo good. He's going to be one of the best running backs in the league ever and I hope he will be a longlife Steeler
Boswell: a Steelers' kicker who didn't miss a fg in a game, haven't seen that in a while
Our defensive line: huge kudos to Tuitt and Heyward who played lights out
Cockrell: Yes! We have one great corner back, thank you Bills for letting him go!

Goat(s):

Those stupid fucking penalties on punt returns with a special mention for Shamarko Thomas: that guy is so stupid that I don't understand how he even manages to make it in time for a game

The OL: I blame them for not protecting Vick better. He had little time to go through all his options.

Game ball and goat:

Mike Vick: He can't blame the OL for everything. His passing accuracy is lacking. He can throw the ball deep, but on other plays he's not aware of where the defensive backs are and he often throws the ball out of reach of the receiver. But his last half of the last quarter was great!

Antwon Blake’s Pick Six Came When Needed Most

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/10/antwon-blakes-pick-six-came-when-needed-most/

SteelCityUnderground wrote:

Fire Arians wrote:

marvology wrote:

DBs still really inconsistent, about those big plays, but we did really well overall.  IMO if your defense holds them to 20 and under in this era they won.

Pretty much. As much heat as our defense takes, they are one of the top teams in the AFC when it comes to points allowed (which is more important than yardage allowed imo)

I do believe that's part of Butler's philosophy. LeBeau's was to allow yards, but he had the corners playing so far off the line they'd give up first downs constantly.

If you watch the final 3rd down by SD, our corners are pressing on the line... and he's sending pressure too.

Butler doesn't seem to be about yards as much as gambling in some situations to get off the field. I like that way more than "let's hold them" because eventually, you're on your own goal line and can't hold them anymore!

Anyone else here remember some of these blitzers coming in so clean in recent memory? We've had a few video game style sacks this season that I can't recall seeing in years.

Yep it does seem like Butler's play calling on defense is a lot more aggressive than LeBeau's. Leaves us more open to a big play, but also gives our players a better chance of making plays. I was never a fan of "bend but don't break" myself.

Blitzers coming through more might be a result of the new system allowing tuitt / heyward / mclendon to rush the passer if they beat their man. Instead of the o-line trying to figure out which linebacker to block, they have to first worry about the man in front of them beating them. I'm liking it so far. I'm guessing though that this style of d-line play makes them more susceptible to big gains on the ground, but like any defensive philosophy there's always a give and take.

DHB should of had two flags on him on the final drive but none were thrown, that would have been a major goat.

1. offensive pass interference.
2. holding.

Drizztbob wrote:

I disagree with all of the "What a ballsey, awesome call by Tomlin" at the end of the game.  It was a terrible, reckless call and Bell was lucky to get in.  With 5 seconds left and a time out on the inch line, Vick sticks the ball in on the sneak, if he can't, there's time for a TO for a FG.  You don't line up in the shotgun for a direct snap to Bell virtually guaranteeing there will be no time remaining for a FG.

Blah Blah, play to win and all of that nonsense, of course, you expect Vick to pop it over, but you have to give yourself a chance to stay in the ballgame if the rush doesn't work.

If Bell doesn't get over that line, this is an entirely different Tuesday and the season would change, and people are out for Tomlin blood saying how stupid the call was. (which it was)

However, we did win, which is awesome, but I hate that call to end the game.

Respectfully disagree. Love the call. It's football, and I fully believe that you play to win the game. I don't believe in being conservative. I've grown up a Hawkeye fan watching a guy named Hayden Fry, a Coach that had balls the size of planets (Kirk Ferentz of course is the polar opposite.... but that's besides the point). I like the call by Tomlin, I think it was gutsy and I think they were taking into account the fact that the offense had failed to do much of anything for a little over three quarters worth of football. Go for it, get the win, and get some momentum going for next week instead of playing for OT and possibly losing the game when we had a chance to end it in regulation. Vick was off on a number of throws and should've been picked off a few different times and we got lucky. Do we really want to put it on his shoulders in overtime at that point?

WVABE wrote:

DHB should of had two flags on him on the final drive but none were thrown, that would have been a major goat.

1. offensive pass interference.
2. holding.

But he didn't!

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Respectfully disagree. Love the call. It's football, and I fully believe that you play to win the game. I don't believe in being conservative. I've grown up a Hawkeye fan watching a guy named Hayden Fry, a Coach that had balls the size of planets (Kirk Ferentz of course is the polar opposite.... but that's besides the point). I like the call by Tomlin, I think it was gutsy and I think they were taking into account the fact that the offense had failed to do much of anything for a little over three quarters worth of football. Go for it, get the win, and get some momentum going for next week instead of playing for OT and possibly losing the game when we had a chance to end it in regulation. Vick was off on a number of throws and should've been picked off a few different times and we got lucky. Do we really want to put it on his shoulders in overtime at that point?

I think there is some confusion in my previous post. Of course I want the team to go for it for the win. Vick isn't doing anything besides reaching over the centers back for the TD. He gets in, they win. He doesn't, there is time for a TO for a FG. I certainly don't want him throwing in that situation or putting the game on his back. If we wanted to get Bell the ball, line him up behind center, and bulldoze in. Again, there would still be time remaining for a FG if he were stopped.

Listen, it ultimately doesn't matter because we won the game, but my point is, Tomlin left the team no options if Bell didn't get in and that is not a gutsy call, it's just stupid and unnecessary.

Tomlin's new theme song?

Stella Nation wrote:

Those stupid fucking penalties on punt returns with a special mention for Shamarko Thomas: that guy is so stupid that I don't understand how he even manages to make it in time for a game

God that kick catch interference was so mind numbingly stupid. That penalty pissed me off because it should literally never, ever happen. Thomas knows better than that, and the stupid grin on his face as the penalty was called didn't particularly go over well with me either.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Stella Nation wrote:

Those stupid fucking penalties on punt returns with a special mention for Shamarko Thomas: that guy is so stupid that I don't understand how he even manages to make it in time for a game

God that kick catch interference was so mind numbingly stupid. That penalty pissed me off because it should literally never, ever happen. Thomas knows better than that, and the stupid grin on his face as the penalty was called didn't particularly go over well with me either.

I don't think he was smiling in the offensive sense. I think he was smiling because knew he just made the dumbest play of the season by a player, and that was his reaction to the embarrassment.

pczach wrote:

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Stella Nation wrote:

Those stupid fucking penalties on punt returns with a special mention for Shamarko Thomas: that guy is so stupid that I don't understand how he even manages to make it in time for a game

God that kick catch interference was so mind numbingly stupid. That penalty pissed me off because it should literally never, ever happen. Thomas knows better than that, and the stupid grin on his face as the penalty was called didn't particularly go over well with me either.

I don't think he was smiling in the offensive sense. I think he was smiling because knew he just made the dumbest play of the season by a player, and that was his reaction to the embarrassment.

May very well have been, but it kind of looked like he found it amusing. I hope it was the "I done fucked up" smile.