Game Balls & Goats

Game Balls:
Spillane had a great game.
Ben (second half)
TJ being TJ
Fictchner for letting Ben play in the second half.
Tuitt with 2 sacks
Highsmith for that INt. Pretty athletic catch.
Ju Ju quietly had a good game.

Goats:
Minkah once again out of place all game.
First half defense.

Our run D was terrible but we made plays when we needed them. I can complain here but the last few years this kind of game would end up in the loss column so I'll take it. At least we are winning the ones we're supposed to.

I believe Spillane could take VW starting job next year and even though he started slow I think Buggs could work out for us. Maybe he'll play well enough until Alu Alu gets back.

Game Balls:

• Back-ups on defense: Buggs, Mondeaux, Highsmith - the play of these guys was the difference between winning and losing
  
• Spillane - thought he was lacking in the run game, but he made great plays when the team needed it
  
• Ben - he played 4 bad quarters of football over the last 2 games, then shredded the Baltimore secondary to win the game
  
• Tomlin - not sure he gets the credit he deserves, but what he did with the team last year and what's happening this year, I say great job coach!
  
• Ebron - am I the only one who didn't think Ebron was a physical player prior to joining the Steelers? Don't get me wrong, I didn't think he was weak, but he was very physical in yesterday's game and I just hadn't seen that from him before, so I say a game ball goes to a tough guy!
  

Goats:

• Offensive Line: the Ratbirds shut down the run game because the members of the O-line lost their individual battles. They were unable to impose their will on the opposition. Pouncey had some pretty bad snaps, which was a real issue last year.
  
• Receivers (this includes WRs, TEs, RBs) - dropped passes, not creating separation, ball security. These all killed drives especially in the first half where Ben didn't look good ... the receivers didn't help when their QB did his part of the job.
  
• RBs - I like Connor, but there were several runs he didn't see the daylight that the great backs see. Yes, there were several runs that the O-line just didn't create run lanes, but there were others that Connor didn't see the right openings. McFarland falling down for a 1 yard gain when he had at least 5 yards killed another drive ... that's the difference between 3rd and manageable and 3rd and long.
  
• 3rd & 10 Draw - whoever called that play should be ashamed of themselves. The Steelers weren't running well and you thought you could trick that defense with a draw?  
  
• Refs - yeah I really hate to go there, but that PF on Fitzpatrick was such a horrendous call. Jackson was still in bounds and fighting to stay in bounds and they were shoved out by Heyward ... when Jackson was still in bounds and fighting to stay in bounds. I can't tell you how bad that call was. I would let it go if that was the only really bad call/non-call. But several times Steelers defenders were being held at the point of attack. It really is mind boggling to see Tuitt on replays beating his man and that guy, after obvious holding, turn around and tackle Tuitt ... with the referee standing right there watching and not throwing a flag. Ok, this happens. However, several defenders were getting tackled on their way into the backfield and the refs failed to make those calls. And I have to confess that I really don't know the rule around 12 men on the field, but making a kicker kick the PAT twice doesn't seem like the right application of the rule. So in a tough game, a team can intentionally have 12 men on the field and the kick doesn't count?  
  

Game Balls:

Spillane: I know it's early, but really big on him...may even get a jersey to go with my Lambert jerseys. I know maybe he's not as complete as Bush but he seems to be a good player. It's a real testament to the coaching/front office that we lose a guy we drafted #10 for and replace him with a Spillane.

Highsmith: his INT changed the game. Maybe we're sitting here 6-1 if he doesn't get it

JuJu fighting for extra yards on some of those plays.

Tomlin: I've been down on him in the past, but I'll agree with above in the job he turned in last year and guiding the 7-0 start. Tomlin/coaching seems to be doing better this year at halftime adjustments.

Goats:

Running game...needs to be better. We could have ran the clock out if we get 3rd and 2 at the end of game. As it was they had a pass to the end zone as time expired.

Run defense...hopefully don't approach a game like that anytime soon.

solardave wrote:

Game Balls:
. I can complain here but the last few years this kind of game would end up in the loss column so I'll take it. At least we are winning the ones we're supposed to.

I believe Spillane could take VW starting job next year and even though he started slow I think Buggs could work out for us. Maybe he'll play well enough until Alu Alu gets back.

last few years  ? more like tomlins entire tenure . blowing leads and playing down to the competition has been the norm.

and yes i could see it happening. the salary cap could be reduced as low as $175 million next year, which is 22.2 million lower than this year. cheaper options are going to be a necessity at some positions.  Vince has a cap hit of 7 million. they would save 4 million cutting him and eat the other 3. i believe that this makes this 2021 draft very important for finding a few guys that can contribute immediately without much drop off in play.

does it look like Vance is being phased out of the offense to anyone else ? he has caught like 6 passes this year. looks like he and his 7.9 cap hit will also be sent packing to save 5 million. so look for a TE to be high on draft priorities.

Game Balls:

Robert Spillane -  Truly cannot say enough about how well this guy is playing. Not only has he been pretty solid against the running game, he's also been pretty decent in coverage. He had some huge shoes to fill coming in cold off the bench after Devin Bush went out with a season ending injury. I almost feel like Spillane has been making more of a splash than Devin Bush was... maybe that's just me.

Stephon Tuitt - Tuitt is an absolute force. At this point I think he may actually be better than Cam Heyward. His issue has always been staying healthy, so I hope he has a healthy rest of the season because Tuitt is an unsung hero in this defense.

Ben Roethlisberger - Ben was pretty well spot on in this game, he started off a bit rocky but his receivers weren't exactly helping him out with dropped balls and Claypool fumbling one away. Other than that Ben really recovered in the second half when the Steelers started going empty set and began to up the tempo. This allowed Ben to be Ben and he started picking apart the Ravens secondary. I would like to see a little more of this, earlier on in games.

Coach T - Passed up the awesome Tony Dungy for the most wins as an African - American Coach. I in the past have been critical of Coach T and sometimes he does still make bone-headed decisions that make all all want to pull our hair out but at the end of the day I think we've got one of the best coaches in the entire league and he deserves credit for the best start to a season in Steelers history.

GOATS:

Run Defense - Ugly. The Ravens were running at will on us, and I shudder to think what a healthy Mark Ingram may have done to us. We let JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Lamar Jackson embarrass our run defense as a whole. Alualu going down with an injury certainly didn't help, but it's nonetheless unacceptable how easily they were running the ball on us, particularly late in the game. Way too close for comfort there at the end. The Ravens don't have Marshall Yanda anymore, and Stanley is done for the season... Have to be better in this area the next time we face them. Not often are you going to win games in the same fashion that we won.

Offensive Line - A tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde here. In pass pro they did a pretty damned decent job against an aggressive Ravens front seven. They more than held their own in my opinion. I am putting them as Goats though because they got manhandled in the run game. We could've closed the game out late and only needed two yards on a 3rd and 2. First down there and we can kneel out the clock in victory formation. Credit to the Ravens Defense for stepping up, but as a unit the offensive line needs to get a push and create some kind of space for James Conner to work with on that particular play. Their run blocking has been good at times this season, but never great in my opinion. Want to see some improvement in this area.

Again I have to backup and erase Minkah from my goat list. In my defense my stream kept crashing so I missed a lot of that game. I didn't realize he forced that fumble and broke up the pass in the endzone to end the game so he gets a game ball.

Here is my list for the Cowboys game:

Game Balls:

• Ben - Boy he can look totally inept for half a game, then turn it on. Maybe twisting his knee brought out the best of him. If so, he's the NFL version of Mel Gibson ... just torturer the guy and he'll make the bad guys pay!
  
• Boswell - Yes, he missed a PAT and had another blocked. But I blame the guys up front, and the ST coach, for those more than anything. He came through on a career long that certainly turned the tide of the game.
  
• JuJu - He's just a tough guy who happens to play WR. I love that this guy keeps his cool when he's not getting the ball, but digs for every yard when he does. Oh, and fighting through tackles to score, yeah, that's good stuff. Finally, there was a clip of him on the bench shaking his head when the Steelers were behind. He just looked like he took it personally when losing to a shit team.
  
• Minkah - Love the INT, but wished he didn't try to run that one out of the endzone. He's a playmaker, however, there was no openings in that area so he placed his team in a tough position (even without the penalty).  But he is making big plays when his team needs it most.
  

Goats:

• Special Teams - Prior to this game, I thought ST was looking like a strength for this team. Then they played a bad team who had nothing to lose. I really believe if you take away all those ST plays, Steelers win this game easily. They spotted Dallas with such good field position in the kicking game and gave up points by not blocking a guy blowing through the A gap, repeatedly. A 64 yard kick return when the Steelers had a 15 yard advantage, kicked it high and in the corner, only to see Justin Lane not stay in his coverage lane and the Cowboys were in great field position. Overall, it was a piss poor performance that I would have blamed for a loss if that game didn't turn around.
  
• Defensive Line - As the Cowboys were running the ball, I thought it was a matter of being out-coached. However, the more I watched, the more I saw the front 7 getting pushed backwards. They were losing their battles in the trenches. Tyson Alualu looks to be the best run defender on this team.
  
• Offensive Line - Just like the D-Line, this group lost their individual battles. They didn't get any type of push off the ball on run plays. It was so pitiful that the Steelers completely abandoned the run the entire 2nd half, a decision that was justified as witnessed on the 4th & 1 run that lost 4 yards when they wanted to shut the game out. Honestly, even when the Steelers ran well this year, I still wasn't seeing this squad dominate their opponents. At best, they created seams for RBs to get through. But I have yet to see this unit blow their opponents off the ball like we saw from Baltimore last week and Dallas this week.
  
• Claypool - He had a bad game. The rookie needs to catch the easy passes and finish his routes, especially when the ball is thrown his way.
  
• Spillane - I like the grit this guy plays with. But still seeing too many run plays that an O-Lineman is blocking him 7 or 8 yards down field. Do you know how to not get blocked 8 yards down field by an O-Lineman? Shoot the hole! He's not recognizing the hole fast enough and beating the blockers through it. Also, I'll say that having Alualu back will help keep the O-Line from getting to the second level. However, Spillane needs to start playing at NFL speed, attack the running lanes with aggression and speed, and not allow those big, fast, SOBs from getting into him.
  

All in all, 3 straight road wins are always a good thing. In the past, we criticized the Steelers for losing against really bad teams while on the road. They won this game. Great job coaches and team for finding a your way to a gritty win as true road warriors do. This is a strong team.

kirklandrules wrote:

Here is my list for the Cowboys game:

Game Balls:

• Ben - Boy he can look totally inept for half a game, then turn it on. Maybe twisting his knee brought out the best of him. If so, he's the NFL version of Mel Gibson ... just torturer the guy and he'll make the bad guys pay!
  
• Boswell - Yes, he missed a PAT and had another blocked. But I blame the guys up front, and the ST coach, for those more than anything. He came through on a career long that certainly turned the tide of the game.
  
• JuJu - He's just a tough guy who happens to play WR. I love that this guy keeps his cool when he's not getting the ball, but digs for every yard when he does. Oh, and fighting through tackles to score, yeah, that's good stuff. Finally, there was a clip of him on the bench shaking his head when the Steelers were behind. He just looked like he took it personally when losing to a shit team.
  
• Minkah - Love the INT, but wished he didn't try to run that one out of the endzone. He's a playmaker, however, there was no openings in that area so he placed his team in a tough position (even without the penalty).  But he is making big plays when his team needs it most.
  

Goats:

• Special Teams - Prior to this game, I thought ST was looking like a strength for this team. Then they played a bad team who had nothing to lose. I really believe if you take away all those ST plays, Steelers win this game easily. They spotted Dallas with such good field position in the kicking game and gave up points by not blocking a guy blowing through the A gap, repeatedly. A 64 yard kick return when the Steelers had a 15 yard advantage, kicked it high and in the corner, only to see Justin Lane not stay in his coverage lane and the Cowboys were in great field position. Overall, it was a piss poor performance that I would have blamed for a loss if that game didn't turn around.
  
• Defensive Line - As the Cowboys were running the ball, I thought it was a matter of being out-coached. However, the more I watched, the more I saw the front 7 getting pushed backwards. They were losing their battles in the trenches. Tyson Alualu looks to be the best run defender on this team.
  
• Offensive Line - Just like the D-Line, this group lost their individual battles. They didn't get any type of push off the ball on run plays. It was so pitiful that the Steelers completely abandoned the run the entire 2nd half, a decision that was justified as witnessed on the 4th & 1 run that lost 4 yards when they wanted to shut the game out. Honestly, even when the Steelers ran well this year, I still wasn't seeing this squad dominate their opponents. At best, they created seams for RBs to get through. But I have yet to see this unit blow their opponents off the ball like we saw from Baltimore last week and Dallas this week.
  
• Claypool - He had a bad game. The rookie needs to catch the easy passes and finish his routes, especially when the ball is thrown his way.
  
• Spillane - I like the grit this guy plays with. But still seeing too many run plays that an O-Lineman is blocking him 7 or 8 yards down field. Do you know how to not get blocked 8 yards down field by an O-Lineman? Shoot the hole! He's not recognizing the hole fast enough and beating the blockers through it. Also, I'll say that having Alualu back will help keep the O-Line from getting to the second level. However, Spillane needs to start playing at NFL speed, attack the running lanes with aggression and speed, and not allow those big, fast, SOBs from getting into him.
  

All in all, 3 straight road wins are always a good thing. In the past, we criticized the Steelers for losing against really bad teams while on the road. They won this game. Great job coaches and team for finding a your way to a gritty win as true road warriors do. This is a strong team.

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

solardave wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

Here is my list for the Cowboys game:

Game Balls:

• Ben - Boy he can look totally inept for half a game, then turn it on. Maybe twisting his knee brought out the best of him. If so, he's the NFL version of Mel Gibson ... just torturer the guy and he'll make the bad guys pay!
  
• Boswell - Yes, he missed a PAT and had another blocked. But I blame the guys up front, and the ST coach, for those more than anything. He came through on a career long that certainly turned the tide of the game.
  
• JuJu - He's just a tough guy who happens to play WR. I love that this guy keeps his cool when he's not getting the ball, but digs for every yard when he does. Oh, and fighting through tackles to score, yeah, that's good stuff. Finally, there was a clip of him on the bench shaking his head when the Steelers were behind. He just looked like he took it personally when losing to a shit team.
  
• Minkah - Love the INT, but wished he didn't try to run that one out of the endzone. He's a playmaker, however, there was no openings in that area so he placed his team in a tough position (even without the penalty).  But he is making big plays when his team needs it most.
  

Goats:

• Special Teams - Prior to this game, I thought ST was looking like a strength for this team. Then they played a bad team who had nothing to lose. I really believe if you take away all those ST plays, Steelers win this game easily. They spotted Dallas with such good field position in the kicking game and gave up points by not blocking a guy blowing through the A gap, repeatedly. A 64 yard kick return when the Steelers had a 15 yard advantage, kicked it high and in the corner, only to see Justin Lane not stay in his coverage lane and the Cowboys were in great field position. Overall, it was a piss poor performance that I would have blamed for a loss if that game didn't turn around.
  
• Defensive Line - As the Cowboys were running the ball, I thought it was a matter of being out-coached. However, the more I watched, the more I saw the front 7 getting pushed backwards. They were losing their battles in the trenches. Tyson Alualu looks to be the best run defender on this team.
  
• Offensive Line - Just like the D-Line, this group lost their individual battles. They didn't get any type of push off the ball on run plays. It was so pitiful that the Steelers completely abandoned the run the entire 2nd half, a decision that was justified as witnessed on the 4th & 1 run that lost 4 yards when they wanted to shut the game out. Honestly, even when the Steelers ran well this year, I still wasn't seeing this squad dominate their opponents. At best, they created seams for RBs to get through. But I have yet to see this unit blow their opponents off the ball like we saw from Baltimore last week and Dallas this week.
  
• Claypool - He had a bad game. The rookie needs to catch the easy passes and finish his routes, especially when the ball is thrown his way.
  
• Spillane - I like the grit this guy plays with. But still seeing too many run plays that an O-Lineman is blocking him 7 or 8 yards down field. Do you know how to not get blocked 8 yards down field by an O-Lineman? Shoot the hole! He's not recognizing the hole fast enough and beating the blockers through it. Also, I'll say that having Alualu back will help keep the O-Line from getting to the second level. However, Spillane needs to start playing at NFL speed, attack the running lanes with aggression and speed, and not allow those big, fast, SOBs from getting into him.
  

All in all, 3 straight road wins are always a good thing. In the past, we criticized the Steelers for losing against really bad teams while on the road. They won this game. Great job coaches and team for finding a your way to a gritty win as true road warriors do. This is a strong team.

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

Noticed that too with Conner. He looked very unhappy a couple times when they showed him. Steelers really need to rebuild the backfield in offseason.

Game Balls:

Ben-some off the mark throws but he keeps getting it done for us.
JuJu-love the way he fights for yardage.
Minkah-it's great he's making plays again
Cam-he is really making my all time fave list of Steelers players with the way he conducts himself off field, his leadership, and making plays on field like the sack that should have been Dallas last drive.

Goats:

Run defense: hoping it is just the injuries and we iron it out when they get healthy. Maybe the new guy adds more to things than we expect.

I want to say the play call on the 4th and 1 and not kicking a FG but they should have got that 1 yard and ran the clock out. Once they missed the 1 yard it's easy to look back and want the FG, I guess.

LambertWardSteel wrote:

solardave wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

Here is my list for the Cowboys game:

Game Balls:

• Ben - Boy he can look totally inept for half a game, then turn it on. Maybe twisting his knee brought out the best of him. If so, he's the NFL version of Mel Gibson ... just torturer the guy and he'll make the bad guys pay!
  
• Boswell - Yes, he missed a PAT and had another blocked. But I blame the guys up front, and the ST coach, for those more than anything. He came through on a career long that certainly turned the tide of the game.
  
• JuJu - He's just a tough guy who happens to play WR. I love that this guy keeps his cool when he's not getting the ball, but digs for every yard when he does. Oh, and fighting through tackles to score, yeah, that's good stuff. Finally, there was a clip of him on the bench shaking his head when the Steelers were behind. He just looked like he took it personally when losing to a shit team.
  
• Minkah - Love the INT, but wished he didn't try to run that one out of the endzone. He's a playmaker, however, there was no openings in that area so he placed his team in a tough position (even without the penalty).  But he is making big plays when his team needs it most.
  

Goats:

• Special Teams - Prior to this game, I thought ST was looking like a strength for this team. Then they played a bad team who had nothing to lose. I really believe if you take away all those ST plays, Steelers win this game easily. They spotted Dallas with such good field position in the kicking game and gave up points by not blocking a guy blowing through the A gap, repeatedly. A 64 yard kick return when the Steelers had a 15 yard advantage, kicked it high and in the corner, only to see Justin Lane not stay in his coverage lane and the Cowboys were in great field position. Overall, it was a piss poor performance that I would have blamed for a loss if that game didn't turn around.
  
• Defensive Line - As the Cowboys were running the ball, I thought it was a matter of being out-coached. However, the more I watched, the more I saw the front 7 getting pushed backwards. They were losing their battles in the trenches. Tyson Alualu looks to be the best run defender on this team.
  
• Offensive Line - Just like the D-Line, this group lost their individual battles. They didn't get any type of push off the ball on run plays. It was so pitiful that the Steelers completely abandoned the run the entire 2nd half, a decision that was justified as witnessed on the 4th & 1 run that lost 4 yards when they wanted to shut the game out. Honestly, even when the Steelers ran well this year, I still wasn't seeing this squad dominate their opponents. At best, they created seams for RBs to get through. But I have yet to see this unit blow their opponents off the ball like we saw from Baltimore last week and Dallas this week.
  
• Claypool - He had a bad game. The rookie needs to catch the easy passes and finish his routes, especially when the ball is thrown his way.
  
• Spillane - I like the grit this guy plays with. But still seeing too many run plays that an O-Lineman is blocking him 7 or 8 yards down field. Do you know how to not get blocked 8 yards down field by an O-Lineman? Shoot the hole! He's not recognizing the hole fast enough and beating the blockers through it. Also, I'll say that having Alualu back will help keep the O-Line from getting to the second level. However, Spillane needs to start playing at NFL speed, attack the running lanes with aggression and speed, and not allow those big, fast, SOBs from getting into him.
  

All in all, 3 straight road wins are always a good thing. In the past, we criticized the Steelers for losing against really bad teams while on the road. They won this game. Great job coaches and team for finding a your way to a gritty win as true road warriors do. This is a strong team.

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

Noticed that too with Conner. He looked very unhappy a couple times when they showed him. Steelers really need to rebuild the backfield in offseason.

Game Balls:

Ben-some off the mark throws but he keeps getting it done for us.
JuJu-love the way he fights for yardage.
Minkah-it's great he's making plays again
Cam-he is really making my all time fave list of Steelers players with the way he conducts himself off field, his leadership, and making plays on field like the sack that should have been Dallas last drive.

Goats:

Run defense: hoping it is just the injuries and we iron it out when they get healthy. Maybe the new guy adds more to things than we expect.

I want to say the play call on the 4th and 1 and not kicking a FG but they should have got that 1 yard and ran the clock out. Once they missed the 1 yard it's easy to look back and want the FG, I guess.

Those shallow outs either side seemed to be open all game long or the quick slant all the defenders were crashing the line.

bubble screen

effyou515 wrote:

LambertWardSteel wrote:

solardave wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

Here is my list for the Cowboys game:

Game Balls:

• Ben - Boy he can look totally inept for half a game, then turn it on. Maybe twisting his knee brought out the best of him. If so, he's the NFL version of Mel Gibson ... just torturer the guy and he'll make the bad guys pay!
  
• Boswell - Yes, he missed a PAT and had another blocked. But I blame the guys up front, and the ST coach, for those more than anything. He came through on a career long that certainly turned the tide of the game.
  
• JuJu - He's just a tough guy who happens to play WR. I love that this guy keeps his cool when he's not getting the ball, but digs for every yard when he does. Oh, and fighting through tackles to score, yeah, that's good stuff. Finally, there was a clip of him on the bench shaking his head when the Steelers were behind. He just looked like he took it personally when losing to a shit team.
  
• Minkah - Love the INT, but wished he didn't try to run that one out of the endzone. He's a playmaker, however, there was no openings in that area so he placed his team in a tough position (even without the penalty).  But he is making big plays when his team needs it most.
  

Goats:

• Special Teams - Prior to this game, I thought ST was looking like a strength for this team. Then they played a bad team who had nothing to lose. I really believe if you take away all those ST plays, Steelers win this game easily. They spotted Dallas with such good field position in the kicking game and gave up points by not blocking a guy blowing through the A gap, repeatedly. A 64 yard kick return when the Steelers had a 15 yard advantage, kicked it high and in the corner, only to see Justin Lane not stay in his coverage lane and the Cowboys were in great field position. Overall, it was a piss poor performance that I would have blamed for a loss if that game didn't turn around.
  
• Defensive Line - As the Cowboys were running the ball, I thought it was a matter of being out-coached. However, the more I watched, the more I saw the front 7 getting pushed backwards. They were losing their battles in the trenches. Tyson Alualu looks to be the best run defender on this team.
  
• Offensive Line - Just like the D-Line, this group lost their individual battles. They didn't get any type of push off the ball on run plays. It was so pitiful that the Steelers completely abandoned the run the entire 2nd half, a decision that was justified as witnessed on the 4th & 1 run that lost 4 yards when they wanted to shut the game out. Honestly, even when the Steelers ran well this year, I still wasn't seeing this squad dominate their opponents. At best, they created seams for RBs to get through. But I have yet to see this unit blow their opponents off the ball like we saw from Baltimore last week and Dallas this week.
  
• Claypool - He had a bad game. The rookie needs to catch the easy passes and finish his routes, especially when the ball is thrown his way.
  
• Spillane - I like the grit this guy plays with. But still seeing too many run plays that an O-Lineman is blocking him 7 or 8 yards down field. Do you know how to not get blocked 8 yards down field by an O-Lineman? Shoot the hole! He's not recognizing the hole fast enough and beating the blockers through it. Also, I'll say that having Alualu back will help keep the O-Line from getting to the second level. However, Spillane needs to start playing at NFL speed, attack the running lanes with aggression and speed, and not allow those big, fast, SOBs from getting into him.
  

All in all, 3 straight road wins are always a good thing. In the past, we criticized the Steelers for losing against really bad teams while on the road. They won this game. Great job coaches and team for finding a your way to a gritty win as true road warriors do. This is a strong team.

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

Noticed that too with Conner. He looked very unhappy a couple times when they showed him. Steelers really need to rebuild the backfield in offseason.

Game Balls:

Ben-some off the mark throws but he keeps getting it done for us.
JuJu-love the way he fights for yardage.
Minkah-it's great he's making plays again
Cam-he is really making my all time fave list of Steelers players with the way he conducts himself off field, his leadership, and making plays on field like the sack that should have been Dallas last drive.

Goats:

Run defense: hoping it is just the injuries and we iron it out when they get healthy. Maybe the new guy adds more to things than we expect.

I want to say the play call on the 4th and 1 and not kicking a FG but they should have got that 1 yard and ran the clock out. Once they missed the 1 yard it's easy to look back and want the FG, I guess.

Those shallow outs either side seemed to be open all game long or the quick slant all the defenders were crashing the line.

bubble screen

Yeah, the play call was interesting. They obviously didn't have faith in the O-Line to go straight into the line of scrimmage and pick up the 1 yard. So on 4th & 1 they run wide.

solardave wrote:

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

JuJu did get his bike stolen and didnt mope like that....

id say he looks like a guy who knows he aint gettin a huge contract next year ...

every shitty game he has is probably tens of thousands knocked off what he can expect to be offered. i honestly dont see him signing any where for more than 2 million a year.

Great summary of what we've been saying.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/nfl/news/steelers-have-a-perfect-record-but-lots-of-imperfections-to-address/1b9w0xolhvg291rl7hxviso00i?__twitter_impression=true

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

solardave wrote:

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

JuJu did get his bike stolen and didnt mope like that....

id say he looks like a guy who knows he aint gettin a huge contract next year ...

every shitty game he has is probably tens of thousands knocked off what he can expect to be offered. i honestly dont see him signing any where for more than 2 million a year.

I am more of a stats and history freak as opposed to x's and o's, maybe it is in part the offensive line. But yeah, you gotta think that the contract isn't going to be too impressive for him. Steelers football is strong running attack and defense. Really want to see them get back to the punishing run game. Hopefully they can still find it this year, if not hoping they start building towards it in the offseason.

jak341 wrote:

Great summary of what we've been saying.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/nfl/news/steelers-have-a-perfect-record-but-lots-of-imperfections-to-address/1b9w0xolhvg291rl7hxviso00i?__twitter_impression=true

Quote :

Third-down defense

Although the Steelers are among the best NFL defenses in some essential categories, including quarterback sacks (first) and turnover margin (third), their third-down defense ranks only 20th. And qualitatively it may be worse than this, because their ability to put teams in difficult situations with sacks and tackles for loss means teams that convert too often are doing so from third-and-forever.

Quote :

The Steelers tend to undermine their early-down success by playing conservatively on third downs.

.....this right here has been a staple of Tomlin teams over the years. especially after lebeau departed. how many games must be lost or leads blown by going conservative , or "prevent" , before coaches realize they should stick with what got them there ?

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

solardave wrote:

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

JuJu did get his bike stolen and didnt mope like that....

id say he looks like a guy who knows he aint gettin a huge contract next year ...

every shitty game he has is probably tens of thousands knocked off what he can expect to be offered. i honestly dont see him signing any where for more than 2 million a year.

I am more of a stats and history freak as opposed to x's and o's, maybe it is in part the offensive line. But yeah, you gotta think that the contract isn't going to be too impressive for him. Steelers football is strong running attack and defense. Really want to see them get back to the punishing run game. Hopefully they can still find it this year, if not hoping they start building towards it in the offseason.

oh for sure this is an Oline failure. but those stats are a players resume. is it odd that 2 of the 3 100 yd games for connor was when dotson was starting for decastro ?
personaly i think they should try dotson in feilers position to see if things improve. most likely thats where he will be starting next year anyway   . feilers contact is up and they need some serious cap trimming for next year. chuks has done a decent job at RT, but if feiler is a better run blocker than chuks, he should move back to RT.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

solardave wrote:

As usual Kirk I can't argue anything you said. I will add that they showed Connor in the 2nd half on the sideline looking like someone stole his favorite bicycle.

JuJu did get his bike stolen and didnt mope like that....

id say he looks like a guy who knows he aint gettin a huge contract next year ...

every shitty game he has is probably tens of thousands knocked off what he can expect to be offered. i honestly dont see him signing any where for more than 2 million a year.

I am more of a stats and history freak as opposed to x's and o's, maybe it is in part the offensive line. But yeah, you gotta think that the contract isn't going to be too impressive for him. Steelers football is strong running attack and defense. Really want to see them get back to the punishing run game. Hopefully they can still find it this year, if not hoping they start building towards it in the offseason.

oh for sure this is an Oline failure. but those stats are a players resume. is it odd that 2 of the 3 100 yd games for connor was when dotson was starting for decastro ?
personaly i think they should try dotson in feilers position to see if things improve. most likely thats where he will be starting next year anyway   . feilers contact is up and they need some serious cap trimming for next year. chuks has done a decent job at RT, but if feiler is a better run blocker than chuks, he should move back to RT.

At some point, though, shouldn't a talented RB be able to overcome a poor run blocking OL? Not to rain on Conner, but the 1 yard they needed for first downs the past two weeks to close games. I really think Bettis, Harris, Bleir, Bell, Willie Parker, would have got one if not both of those first downs despite the line they're running behind.

I get what you're saying with Dotson too. They do seem to run better when he's in the line up.

cant blame that one on connor. it was a slow developing play and i believe McDonald blew his blocking assignment. him and decastro blocked the same guy and let one run straight for connor





if McDonald plugs up that gap at this point ,connor has a chance of going wide and out running vanderesch to the stick. you will note that NO dlinemen were pushed backwards.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

cant blame that one on connor. it was a slow developing play and i believe McDonald blew his blocking assignment. him and decastro blocked the same guy and let one run straight for connor

imho Decastro blocked the wrong guy Decastro missed his block and blocked Mcdonald's guy.

this is the shit that drives me crazy that never gets fixed...why would you not tell your Dbacks that somebody needs to stay in each receivers back pocket while the others stay over top. they haD 7 dbacks to cover 4 wrs. NOBODY SHOULD BE THAT OPEN !!!  

effyou515 wrote:

imho Decastro blocked the wrong guy Decastro missed his block and blocked Mcdonald's guy.

could be, but i dont think so. i would think decastros assignment was the LB or whoever appeared first on the edge. McDonald was there for cleanup. they probably didnt expect Gregory to shoot that gap. gotta give him some credit. anyway the point was to vindicate connor because he had no chance on that play.call it poor execution by the line, good defense, or a shitty play call , but we cant blame connor..
the math just doesnt add up. 3 blockers against 4 defenders running to the short side of the field ... ...then add in 2 of the blockers on 1 defender = 2 free defenders.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

effyou515 wrote:

imho Decastro blocked the wrong guy Decastro missed his block and blocked Mcdonald's guy.

could be, but i dont think so. i would think decastros assignment was the LB or whoever appeared first on the edge. McDonald was there for cleanup. they probably didnt expect Gregory to shoot that gap. gotta give him some credit. anyway the point was to vindicate connor because he had no chance on that play.call it poor execution by the line, good defense, or a shitty play call , but we cant blame connor..
the math just doesnt add up. 3 blockers against 4 defenders running to the short side of the field ... ...then add in 2 of the blockers on 1 defender = 2 free defenders.

My biggest takeaway the past two weeks is that the running game needs to improve and the main issue is the blocking. The O-Line has been manhandled in the trenches when it comes to the running game. They're doing a fine enough job in pass-pro but their run blocking has been abysmal. They need to step their game up because we can't just expect Ben to put the team on his shoulders every single time, they need to keep him clean and keep the running game going to give Ben a bit of a break, and also to better contol time of possession. We went from being tops in league in TOP to getting our butts kicked in that department over the past two weeks. If we keep letting opponents dominate TOP we're going to start to lose those games, we've had some lucky breaks the past two weeks that've gone our way to keep us in games like this and that's not always going to be a luxury that we're going to have.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

effyou515 wrote:

imho Decastro blocked the wrong guy Decastro missed his block and blocked Mcdonald's guy.

could be, but i dont think so. i would think decastros assignment was the LB or whoever appeared first on the edge. McDonald was there for cleanup. they probably didnt expect Gregory to shoot that gap. gotta give him some credit. anyway the point was to vindicate connor because he had no chance on that play.call it poor execution by the line, good defense, or a shitty play call , but we cant blame connor..
the math just doesnt add up. 3 blockers against 4 defenders running to the short side of the field ... ...then add in 2 of the blockers on 1 defender = 2 free defenders.

if Decasrto went into the hole and blocked the ILBer the faster Mcdonald would of sealed the OLBer a couple of second before Conner got to the edge and would ran past both and Claypool block on the CB that running blay would of been a touchdown.

the defense the Steelers Sunday to me looked like Dick LeBeau was the DC playing prevent defense the Steelers defense has gotten so vanilla since the injury to Bush. l'm with you on the defense man under with 3 DBs over top watching the QBs eyes / reacting to which man on man gets beat.

effyou515 wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

effyou515 wrote:

imho Decastro blocked the wrong guy Decastro missed his block and blocked Mcdonald's guy.

could be, but i dont think so. i would think decastros assignment was the LB or whoever appeared first on the edge. McDonald was there for cleanup. they probably didnt expect Gregory to shoot that gap. gotta give him some credit. anyway the point was to vindicate connor because he had no chance on that play.call it poor execution by the line, good defense, or a shitty play call , but we cant blame connor..
the math just doesnt add up. 3 blockers against 4 defenders running to the short side of the field ... ...then add in 2 of the blockers on 1 defender = 2 free defenders.

if Decasrto went into the hole and blocked the ILBer the faster Mcdonald would of sealed the OLBer a couple of second before Conner got to the edge and would ran past both and Claypool block on the CB that running blay would of been a touchdown.

the defense the Steelers Sunday to me looked like Dick LeBeau was the DC playing prevent defense the Steelers defense has gotten so vanilla since the injury to Bush. l'm with you on the defense man under with 3 DBs over top watching the QBs eyes / reacting to which man on man gets beat.

Here's how the Buck is run (unless the Steelers told their linemen a different way to block it): The playside TE (Ebron) hand-checks the DE, then blocks the OLB down. The lead pulling lineman (DeCastro) gets to the end of the line and hits the first guy he sees (on this play, it should be the DE). The trailing pulling lineman (TE - McDonald) should see how the outside is developing and either hits the next guy to the outside of the first pulling lineman, or cut it inside that first pulling lineman (because that block might throw the DE to the outside) and block the first guy he sees. The playside WR blocks the CB. The RB is reading the second pulling lineman (TE) to determine if the run is inside or outside. If he goes outside, he determines if he goes to the sideline or cuts back based on the block of that WR.

Here's how this play is screwed. Ebron hits the DE, who hesitates, then proceeds to block the OLB. DeCastro flies by to get the first guy he sees (the Safety) because the DE hasn't come across. McDonald, seeing DeCastro going wide for his block, is trying to determine if he goes around the DeCastro block and lead Connor to the sideline or turn inside DeCastro and lead Connor upfield. He decides to try to get outside DeCastro's block, but the Safety makes a great play that results in DeCastro finishing his block 3 yards in the backfield. As McDonald tries to get past the DeCastro block, the DE see the play and comes behind McDonald and makes the tackle. You never want the pulling blockers looking for anyone coming through gaps ... they just plow anyone who might make it through and happens to step into their path. If they are looking for defenders to come through the line, they aren't running hard to the outside. So, McDonald wouldn't or shouldn't be looking for the DE to come through late once he's made his mind up to get outside DeCastro's block.

Analysis: Ebron's check on the DE was too aggressive and caused that DE to not come across for DeCastro to block. If Ebron is blocking the guy, DeCastro has to go to the next guy. DeCastro thinks the DE is blocked, but he's not. The timing really sucked, because if the DE stepped across a hald second earlier, there's no doubt McDonald lights his ass up. Instead, it's Connor who's lit up

yep, you nailed it..after i watched it in full screen , it made more sense