Post Cincy Thoughts

Based on Yds per game Steelers have the 2nd ranked D in NFL at 258.7 yards to 258.5 for Denver.

They have the # 1 ranked pass defense with 147 Yds per game average.

They are tied 2nd in team sacks.

They are 3rd in points allowed at 16.6 per game.

They are #15 in rush D at 111 Yds per game which is up from #23 last week.


They are 11th in Total offense.

I am really liking what Haden and Hilton have added to our 2nd year starters Burns and Davis. The Steelers secondary held the WR ranked #2 in yards to 3 catches for 41 yards.


Robert Golden had a higher QB rating than Ben 118.8 to 117.4.   Golden had more passing yards in the 2nd half than Andy Dalton (44 to 34)

With a sack next week Watt will be on pace for 10 his rookie season

In division, including head to head tiebreakers, Steelers are up by: 3 on Balt, 4 On Cincy, 6 on Cleveland

Never want underestimate an opponent with what the Steelers have done in the past, but subtracting Aaron Rodgers from the next 4 games (@Detroit, @Colts, Titans, Packers) it seems doable, Detroit probably the toughest opponent in there. 5 of the last 7 games are at home.

Early for thinking about playoff seeding, but at the moment Steelers are the top AFC seed:

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Wins tie break over New England and Kansas City based on best win percentage in conference games.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/standings/_/view/playoff



I keep saying this every week but I love what Conner looks like in the brief glimpses.

I caught the end of Baltimore's game. Flacco struts around on the field like an all time great while being ranked 31 of 32 QBs at ESPN. He has 5 TDs to 8 INTs.

Despite the slow start Bell (684) is now second in rushing yards by 33 to Kareem Hunt (717).

With 235 yards next week AB will be on pace for a 2000 yard season  

Offense should've put the Bengals away much sooner. 5 straight 5 goals. :(

opposing defenses are not being fooled with Steelers 3rd and 1 deep pass. offense still needs some work Gilbert is being missed at RT.

Steelers defense made the adjustment at half time.

Ju Ju gets better each week bye bye MB.

After giving up 14 points, the defense came A L I V E!!!

It was great to see them zoning in on eliminating any momentum the bungals thought they had. This was the best defensive output in the season to date. Right now they need to keep their foot on the throttle. Up next are the Detroit Lions and they do have the ability to strike often with their weapons. They've shown it. Defense will need to secure a victory next week if the offense doesn't get their heads out of their arse.

For some reason our offense has failed to live up to it's potential to date. Yesterday I saw glimmers of hopes with the exception of on 3rd and short as well as in the redzone. This killed them last year in the playoffs and thankfully it hasn't hurt them too often this season.

Early in the game, the offense took a lot of underneath stuff and as if the playbook pages went missing, they stopped calling the short stuff. They attempted too many long passes on those short situations. While the line may be hurting, it's no exception for some of the miserable blocking on 3rd and short or in the goal line.

Who would have thought our offense would be our Achilles heel this year... Bryant needs to be sat a game and let Juju, Rodgers and Bey play. Someone needs to sit his ass down and have a good talk with him about how the organization stuck by him even through his suspensions.

We found out this defense can adapt. The bad news is we also found out this offense can adapt but not in a good way. We need to put our foot on their throat on both sides of the ball and not let up until they cry uncle.
We also found out Golden can throw the touch pass.

The defense was great. Golden had more yards on his pass than Dalton and Cincy did in the second half haha. I loved that play. I figured they were punting so I looked away for a second and then saw it happen. Offense does need to do better in the RZ but 29 points against a decent defense and a rival at that. But man the defense. We're number one against the pass. I'm so glad that Tomlin and Butler's plan for the D has come to fruition. These guys got a bright future ahead of them and they're establishing their own identity. And props to William Gay. He always got a hard time but he's become a solid pro. I'd call Gay this generation's Deshea Townsend. Not a star but a solid, hard-working, and team first professional who is a good piece of the puzzle.

New podcast up today for anyone interested in my thoughts on the Chiefs/Bengals wins, and also addressing Vontaze Burfict, and Martavis Bryant.

2 game lead on the division feels nice right now

2-0 with the Jim Mora avatar, I'm gonna keep it lol. Super bowl!

Fire Arians wrote:

2 game lead on the division feels nice right now

2-0 with the Jim Mora avatar, I'm gonna keep it lol. Super bowl!

I never get tired of the Jim Mora picture or his rant! Lol it was perfect for the game against the Jags.

I like this,

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Roosevelt Nix really got under Vontaze Burfict's skin

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict refusing to shake hands with him,

From the ground, Burfict kicked up at Nix’s head with both feet and made contact, knocking Nix’s head back on the second play Sunday.

In the third quarter, he knocked Nix down with a head slap as Nix jogged by him after a play.

The good news for the Steelers is Nix did not take a retaliatory penalty.

“The league will do what the league does,” he said when asked about Burfict’s antics. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t react to the cheap shots with his fierce blocks. He reacted repeatedly.
“He gave it to Burfict all day,” Ramon Foster said.
“There were some big collisions,” Roethlisberger said. “You kind of could hear them. You can just tell that Rosie loves it. He brings a toughness, a tenacity, nastiness. It’s all clean. It’s all legal. He loves it. He absolutely loves it.”

It was Bell who gushed the most Sunday about Nix.
“Roosevelt Nix, our fullback, is the best fullback in the world. I was just watching him hit guys all day. Near the end of the third quarter, they weren’t filling the holes as aggressive as they were early in the first quarter and second quarter.

the Bettis and Krieder backfield smashmouth football hell of a running game but didn't have a QB to complement it.

Bell and Nix backfield time to get back to smashmouth football this time around the Steelers have the QB to complement it.

time to get back to those long smashmouth offensive drives that punish defenses and throw passes off of it the only time I really want to see 4 or 5 wide offense is third and long. I formation or 1 back 3 wide formation is what I'd like to see the Steelers offense run most of the time.

could bring back some of the 70s Harris and Bleier backfield with Conner and Watson backfield and the quick trap run offense.