Steelers vs. Texans: The Good(?), The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good:

Antonio Brown- Made a lot of nice catches and did OK in the return game.

Troy Polamalu- Even though he missed some key tackles, looked to be the only guy on defense playing with any fire.

Isaac Redman- Please somebody tell me why this guy isn't getting more touches.



The Bad:

Mendenhall- Not much from him again. Run game improved greatly after he went out and Redman and Moore came in.

Stupid penalties- Dumb penalties by Wallace and Pouncey in the game to kill momentum.

Hines Ward- Hearing his name called less and less. Dropped a key third down ball that he probably should have had.

Ben- He had some nice plays, buy overall took too long to get rid of the ball and made some bad throws. Too many times looking downfield for the big play instead of just taking what the defense gives him.


The Ugly:

O-line- No surprise here other than they looked even worse than usual, if that's humanly possible.

Linebackers- No pressure whatsoever and poor pass coverage all day. Woodley, Farrior and Foote especially.

D-line- Got absolutely manhandled in the first half. Better effort in the second, but too little too late.

The Good
Sepulveda got a punt to land inside the 5.
Despite being absolutely owned in the first quarter and a half, the team didn't quit. And they got back into the game.
Redman finally got some touches, and looked good.

The Bad
After having a good first half, Wallace wasn't even targeted in the second half.

The Ugly
I could write a book on the ugly, but I'll keep it short.

At the top of the Ugly list is the offensive line. But I no longer blame them. I can't blame the O-line, I can't blame Ben, and I can't blame Arians. Rarely have I called out the front office, but I'm doing it now. They need to get somebody in here. It was a mistake to release both Starks and Flozell. They should have brought Flozell back a few weeks ago. I don't care how they do it, but they need to bring in someone to help that O-line. Until they bring someone in, the blame goes to the front office.

I really hate to say it, but I think Warren Sapp was right. Our defense looks old and slow.

My final Ugly goes to the Steelers fans who think it's wrong for those of us who criticized the team after the game against the Colts. There's a difference between an ugly win and a lucky win. The win against the Colts wasn't ugly, it was lucky. We were lucky Manning wasn't playing. Right now, our team has a lot of issues. And it goes much deeper than a poor O-line. We have a lot of issues on both sides of the ball. I don't think it's a matter of being positive or negative ... it's about being realistic.

Maybe we should change the name of this thread to Game Ball thread.

Wallace108 wrote:

Maybe we should change the name of this thread to Game Ball thread.

My game ball goes to the referees whose keen eyes even kept us in this game. Kudos, gentlemen!

Buddha Bus wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

Maybe we should change the name of this thread to Game Ball thread.

Mt game ball goes to the referees whose keen eyes even kept us in this game. Kudos, gentlemen!

with you 100%

I didn't get to watch the game, just saw the final score. Was it as bad as these posts indicate or are these knee jerk reaction posts?

supytalpeht wrote:

I didn't get to watch the game, just saw the final score. Was it as bad as these posts indicate or are these knee jerk reaction posts?

It really should have been a blowout, Supy. 2 TDs got pulled off the board for the Texans for penalties. The team was horrid on both sides of the ball. Very few positives to be pulled from this game.

supytalpeht wrote:

I didn't get to watch the game, just saw the final score. Was it as bad as these posts indicate or are these knee jerk reaction posts?

The first quarter and a half was worse than you can imagine. If it wasn't for the Texans shooting themselves in the foot with penalties, we would have been out of the game at halftime.

The Texans controlled the ball for almost the entire first quarter. We didn't even get the ball until about 4 minutes left in the quarter, down 7-0. They just tore up our defense.

Midway through the second quarter, we began to show signs up life on both offense and defense. Right before halftime, we drove down the field but stalled in the red zone. We had a chance to kick a field goal to make it 10-3. But the kick was blocked and run back for a TD. But once again, the Texans killed themselves with a penalty. A block in the back (which was really unnecessary) negated the TD.

We dominated the 3rd quarter, scoring a TD early to make it 10-7. Momentum was on our side. We forced them 3 and out, got the ball back and kicked a field goal. 10-10.

Then we completely fell apart again. Gave up a TD on the next drive, and that was all she wrote except for a desperation final drive.

All in all, the Steelers were uninspired today. They played flat. Our defense looked old and slow, and Ben was running for his life on every play. There's really no way to sugarcoat it.

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

I didn't get to watch the game, just saw the final score. Was it as bad as these posts indicate or are these knee jerk reaction posts?

The first quarter and a half was worse than you can imagine. If it wasn't for the Texans shooting themselves in the foot with penalties, we would have been out of the game at halftime.

The Texans controlled the ball for almost the entire first quarter. We didn't even get the ball until about 4 minutes left in the quarter, down 7-0. They just tore up our defense.

Midway through the second quarter, we began to show signs up life on both offense and defense. Right before halftime, we drove down the field but stalled in the red zone. We had a chance to kick a field goal to make it 10-3. But the kick was blocked and run back for a TD. But once again, the Texans killed themselves with a penalty. A block in the back (which was really unnecessary) negated the TD.

We dominated the 3rd quarter, scoring a TD early to make it 10-7. Momentum was on our side. We forced them 3 and out, got the ball back and kicked a field goal. 10-10.

Then we completely fell apart again. Gave up a TD on the next drive, and that was all she wrote except for a desperation final drive.

All in all, the Steelers were uninspired today. They played flat. Our defense looked old and slow, and Ben was running for his life on every play. There's really no way to sugarcoat it.

In other words, to answer your question with a question Supy, does...... :shit in the wo ?

Buddha Bus wrote:

In other words, to answer your question with a question Supy, does...... :shit in the wo ?

To answer your question further, supy ... it wasn't just that we lost. It was the fact that all of our weaknesses were exposed in one game. I give the team credit ... they didn't quit. They played their hearts outs. But we were outmatched in every way possible. And as I said, there's no way to sugarcoat it ... the Steelers have some major issues.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

I will say that Keenan Lewis made a very nice play on 3rd down where he stayed with his receiver, was able to turn his head, and got his hand on the ball. A huge play at the time.

I missed most of the game. It wasn't on here and the stream seemed to be having problems but I did see that. He plays well in man.

I live in the Bengal market and for some reason theyed swithed over to show the last quarter of our game. Strange since the Bungals were behind but coming back and we were getting our asses handed to us.

I'm afraid it's going to be a long season.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

Fortunately, I did not get to see the first quarter due to being at my football game and missed some plays due to Sunday Ticket being glitchy

I fixed that for you Dubs. Count yourself lucky you didn't see that first quarter. It was even worse than what you did see.

3 things that are apparent. (1) We need to fix the o-line woes. Bring back Flozell, Where is Gurode? Still out there? Can he play anything else but center? If so he'd be better than what we got. (2) Bench Mendy for Redman at least until we get some solid line blocking. (which may not happen soon). (3) Start Lewis opposite Ike. Let Ziggy and Cam play. Can Stevenson play inside? Pull Farrior and insert him. We are going nowhere with this group that is "old and slow". Actually I don't see them as old and slow, just lackluster and brain dead. Wait a minute,I'm older and my wife sometimes calls me brain dead. Maybe there's something to that.

Sapp is a genius. And so is Sanders

I guess my question is. Didn't all this show up in camp? I know it was a short camp and maybe Tomlin thought the rust would clear but it isn't. Now it's up to him, LeBeau and the FO to address this. If not this year next when we pick in the top ten. That's what's gonna happen if we don't wake up. I know:

Not quite yet but if we lose to the Tits the buzzards will be circling.

solardave wrote:

3 things that are apparent. (1) We need to fix the o-line woes. Bring back Flozell, Where is Gurode? Still out there? Can he play anything else but center? If so he'd be better than what we got. (2) Bench Mendy for Redman at least until we get some solid line blocking. (which may not happen soon). (3) Start Lewis opposite Ike. Let Ziggy and Cam play. Can Stevenson play inside? Pull Farrior and insert him. We are going nowhere with this group that is "old and slow". Actually I don't see them as old and slow, just lackluster and brain dead. Wait a minute,I'm older and my wife sometimes calls me brain dead. Maybe there's something to that.

Sapp is a genius. And so is Sanders

I guess my question is. Didn't all this show up in camp? I know it was a short camp and maybe Tomlin thought the rust would clear but it isn't. Now it's up to him, LeBeau and the FO to address this. If not this year next when we pick in the top ten. That's what's gonna happen if we don't wake up. I know:

Not quite yet but if we lose to the Tits the buzzards will be circling.

We got beaten to the punch on Gurode by the Ratbirds. They picked him up before the season started as insurance because they weren't sure if Matt Birk was going to be healthy. Imagine that.... a team that actually attempts to plug o-line holes with actual NFL linemen, not journeymen cast-offs.

As to your other points:

1) I agree we should bring back Flozell, but I think our salary cap problems are squashing that dream right now. Unfortunately, we are more than likely stuck with the atrocity that is our o-line currently and maybe another camp cut from some bottom feeder team. It's not going to get any better personnel wise I'm afraid.

2) Agree again. I'd like to see Mendy sit and watch a running back who makes a decision and runs forward with purpose. Maybe he'll learn something. Redmen and Moore both did more with the same wet paper bag in front of them than Mendy did.

3) I liked what I saw from Lewis. It's time. I'd like to see Heyward and Hood get in there more too, though I saw quite a bit of them on the field in the Texans game and didn't notice a vast improvement. Maybe more time on the field learning will improve on that. I wouldn't mind seeing Sylvester either, but I'm not sure he's ready. I do, however, think they should at least start rotating him in more often to see if there is some improvement there as well. It really couldn't hurt at this point.

I hate to say it this early in the season, but we are in serious trouble. The Ratbirds are looking really good and are almost a lock to win this division unless drastic changes are made this week on the Steelers, which I don't feel will happen. Tomlin is too stubborn/unwilling when it comes to his vets.

The only silver lining I see to this fiasco is that Arians is almost certainly gone after this season, so "chin up" Steeler fans.

Buddha Bus wrote:

The only silver lining I see to this fiasco is that Arians is almost certainly gone after this season, so "chin up" Steeler fans.

On Mendy's TD run, the announcer stated: "A great offensive call by Bruce Arians"

I imagined y'all were livid at that one

The GOOD: Sepulveda is a heck of a punter

The BAD: Our defense was lackluster for most of the game.

The UGLY: Our offensive line, is well, OFFENSIVE!

the good : ben, sep

the bad : mendenhall and run defense

the ugly : once again.....o-line

BGSU A Dub wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

The only silver lining I see to this fiasco is that Arians is almost certainly gone after this season, so "chin up" Steeler fans.

On Mendy's TD run, the announcer stated: "A great offensive call by Bruce Arians"

I imagined y'all were livid at that one

I guess one out of 60 ain't bad. Truth is it's not Arians this year. I've seen little bitchin' about his game plan It's been hidden in the fact that we don't have the line to do anything.