Steeler vs Ravens and End of Season Thoughts

[jitter77]

I think they got away from what was working. Troy should not have been in there along with JJ. On offense they went back to screen or launch and prey. I don't know why we did not use no huddle more? Also i did see 5 wide a few times, but Ben did not get rid of the ball quick. There had to be some shorter routes there for the taking.
Hard to say what will happen next year. If troy, ike, kiesel, and Harrison leave we will have no leadership. I still like the idea of trying ike at safety, but we will see. We need some pass rush, a cb, a safety or two etc etc... Don't see the D being fixed in a year. Maybe being in 2 good FAs not OK ones and draft D. Hopefully at least Shazier will work out. I don't have much hope for JJ or Sham.

 

[Steelr4evr]

If Ike,Troy,James and Brett all go in the off-season the team won't have much of seasoned veteran leadership left.Glad we have Coach Porter to help carry some of the torch. This draft has to produce few long term franchise guys. I hope the new guys are hitting it hard in the off season.

 

[slashsteel]

this team has experience and enough players who are trending up

it just needs to replace the weaknesses with players who are capable

backup RB
starting OLBer / possibly two
starting CB

Allens contract should be ditched, free agency bring in a CB.

this team doesn't need 6 scrubs brought in

bring in three above average players and the team with a good draft might do some damage in the next playoffs.

one corner free agent
2 OLBer free agents (presuming a guy like Houston can't be had)

the key is WHO you bring in

in the draft you can get the BPA

at

SS
OLB
CB
RB
TE

attack CB and OLBer with free agency and the draft, try to turn that weakness into a strength...........

say

Revis, Gore, and Brian Orakpo

then draft a corner and pass rusher high

flood the weaknesses with possibilities.....

Let DL retire and bring in Rex Ryan to run the show.

He will have that hunger coming off a fire........

 

[madinsomniac]

Exactly - that old "next man up", huff & puff, "We're playing Smashmouth Steelers Football" no matter what...Idiots. They got their ***** **** kicked

After everyone and their brother agreed they should spread the Ravens out and attack their weak secondary we stick with the SMALL BALL DINK AND DUNK formations.... and hope for our leftover RB's to break a big play?

Stupid;....I didn't see one 5 Wide all night - no wonder they were doomed

they didnt even dress Moore...

 

[madinsomniac]

Here are the traditions the steelers probably should move away from...

1. Smashmouth Football... you dont win games 10-6 anymore. People ran the ball because it was the safest and most efficient way to get offense for a very long time. in the mid 2000's the scale tipped so heavily into the passer's favor you almost have to be an idiot not to play mostly pass centric gameplans every chance you get.. yes there will be teams that its better to run than pass on, but the impose your will era is dead, and we must move on, not simply revert to the passing game when the run has finally failed us..

2. Hard hitting safeties... this is just asking for a personal foul... get coverage centerfielders, make sure they are good tacklers with the wrap up method.

3. Tackle-first Big Cbs. We need coverage CBs. much like the safety position, the expectations for CBs has changed a ton.. hitting and tackling should be secondary to spash plays and man coverage abilities.

4. Playing for the close game... treat every offensive play like the other team is scoring every posession. you cannot expect to run out the clock on a 3 point lead... or even a14 point lead these days. bury teams as best as you can.

5. Valuing Kicker accuracy over leg strength... yes some of the big time kickers are missing a few more field goals, but they are also allowing zero kickoff returns too, which over a season these days probably is well in the steelers favor

 

[Spike]

I don't know that that would have worked. The Rats had a pretty good pass rush most of the time.

I'm talking about starting the game, the first half - 21 minutes of possession time wasted - we needed to go score big early. slamming 4th string runners up the gut was the safe way to go, but it didn't produce TD's....that killed any hope we had


4th qtr 3rd and 8 is not the ideal time to pass

 

[LeXX75]

this team has experience and enough players who are trending up

it just needs to replace the weaknesses with players who are capable

backup RB
starting OLBer / possibly two
starting CB

Allens contract should be ditched, free agency bring in a CB.

this team doesn't need 6 scrubs brought in

bring in three above average players and the team with a good draft might do some damage in the next playoffs.

one corner free agent
2 OLBer free agents (presuming a guy like Houston can't be had)

the key is WHO you bring in

in the draft you can get the BPA

at

SS
OLB
CB
RB
TE

attack CB and OLBer with free agency and the draft, try to turn that weakness into a strength...........

say

Revis, Gore, and Brian Orakpo

then draft a corner and pass rusher high

flood the weaknesses with possibilities.....

Let DL retire and bring in Rex Ryan to run the show.

He will have that hunger coming off a fire........

I doubt very highly you see Rex as a DC anyplace if he doesn't get a HC gig I bet he heads to ESPN for a year or so till more teams clean out their coaching staffs .

 

[slashsteel]

I doubt very highly you see Rex as a DC anyplace if he doesn't get a HC gig I bet he heads to ESPN for a year or so till more teams clean out their coaching staffs .

perhaps.............. but not out of a possiblity

I think he gets another HC gig but we'll see..........

 

[Spike]

they didnt even dress Moore...

nice - I didn't even see that

yeah, we don't need to gameplan our strength vs your weakness, we're the mighty Steelers (chest thump), we'll just line up and beat you (huff puff),
no change in gameplan necessary men

 

[GMC]

nice - I didn't even see that

yeah, we don't need to gameplan our strength vs your weakness, we're the mighty Steelers (chest thump), we'll just line up and beat you (huff puff),
no change in gameplan necessary men

But they "rule the north", didn't you see the t-shirts? That's the problem with this team, they think that winning the division is the prize rather than the first step.

 

[Spike]

But they "rule the north", didn't you see the t-shirts? .

sorry - I missed that event

used to be the Steelers aimed their sights on the SB - now getting to the wildcard game is the top of the mountain - yeehaw

 

[Ron Burgundy]

I'm talking about starting the game, the first half - 21 minutes of possession time wasted - we needed to go score big early. slamming 4th string runners up the gut was the safe way to go, but it didn't produce TD's....that killed any hope we had

For sure. They cannot come away with 3 every time with the defense they have.

4th qtr 3rd and 8 is not the ideal time to pass

They'll never be expecting that with our #1 RB out.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

sorry - I missed that event

used to be the Steelers aimed their sights on the SB - now getting to the wildcard game is the top of the mountain - yeehaw

If it's any consolation, at least they got beat by The Elite Joe Flacco instead of Tim Tebow who beat them with 300+ yards passing and never played another down in the NFL.
Errrrr.....

 

[deljzc]

Do you know how much I wanted to vomit this morning when I came into work and my Eagle/Univ. of Delaware fans are stating how clutch Joe Flacco is and how much of a wiiinnnnnerrrr he is? (And they said it just that way... wiiinnnnnnerrrr).

Do you realized it's been almost FIVE years since we could say the same thing about Roethlisberger?

It's nauseating. I still can't decide if I'm more sickened about the Steelers losing (which I can accept as a 50-50 coin flip after an overachieving 11-5 regular season) or Baltimore getting to the final-8 again (which is just mind numbing).

 

[Dsteelmans]

Do you know how much I wanted to vomit this morning when I came into work and my Eagle/Univ. of Delaware fans are stating how clutch Joe Flacco is and how much of a wiiinnnnnerrrr he is? (And they said it just that way... wiiinnnnnnerrrr).

Do you realized it's been almost FIVE years since we could say the same thing about Roethlisberger?

It's nauseating. I still can't decide if I'm more sickened about the Steelers losing (which I can accept as a 50-50 coin flip after an overachieving 11-5 regular season) or Baltimore getting to the final-8 again (which is just mind numbing).

And to add insult to injury, the *s will show how easy it would have been to beat the rats.

 

[oicu8ad]

Here are my year end thoughts:

a). We are 0-3 in our last 3 playoff games.
b). It has now been 6 years since we've won the super bowl.

Now, I'm hoping and praying that the arrow is pointing up, but I think it hinges on Troy & Ike (and maybe LeBeau). If they stay, it continues to hamper us moving forward. Old veterans continue to play. If they go, then we move on to the younger guys (hopefully some studs in the draft).

Our offense is better, but it pisses me off when we don't attack the defense's weakness. WHY, WHY, WHY do we do the opposite.

Our defense needs help and if we can add some young impact players, there is hope.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

One more thing. Pouncey and Decastro better hit the buffet and the weight room. I know they are athletic, but I'm tired of seeing them get pushed back by big DL. I don't want them to be draft slobs, but no reason they can't each add 10-15 LBs, get stronger and still be plenty athletic.

 

[POP]

IDK, we haven't won a single play off game since 2010. Tomlin is supposedly one of the best coaches. Really? No play off win since 2010?

I kind of feel deflated from the whole season; seemed like so much drama to get booted in the 1st round of the play offs to a team that was nothing better than average.

There is so much not to like about the team. As of now I feel apathetic. Maybe as time passes my passion will return, but it's gone right now.

Since no real moves will be made to improve, I have a hard time caring. Oh, some zero-impact free agents will be added, obviously they will draft players, but, in all honesty, what has this group done to add players to make this team better? Jarvis Jones? Shazier, Archer, Mitchell, Moats? They dump our only legit back up RB and then do nothing to replace depth, nothing. The Rooneys are often cheap and once again their cheapness showed.

I consider this season a waste, and not just because they failed to win a single play off game. I don't see growth, improvement.....evolution...progress. If they bring Troy and Dick back, I may indeed quit being an active fan or ordering NFL Ticket.

Why was Gov. Christie at the Dallas game and why does he remain so obese? Why?

 

[Skott]

Can Heyward

 

[thesteelcity]

why can Heyward? He played pretty good this season. He was one of the bright spots on D.

 

[Steel G]

There is so much not to like about the team. As of now I feel apathetic. Maybe as time passes my passion will return, but it's gone right now.

Since no real moves will be made to improve, I have a hard time caring. Oh, some zero-impact free agents will be added, obviously they will draft players, but, in all honesty, what has this group done to add players to make this team better? Jarvis Jones? Shazier, Archer, Mitchell, Moats? They dump our only legit back up RB and then do nothing to replace depth, nothing. The Rooneys are often cheap and once again their cheapness showed.

I grant you that Jar Jar, Archer and Mitchell are complete wastes of space. But Shazier has promise and Moats was actually a nice FA pickup for the money. Heyward, Tuitt, and McCullers are some really nice youth along the Dline with Heyward being a standout. Sharmarko has potential to be a playmaker in the secondary. They need an outside rusher and corner help obviously, but I'm not as down on the D as I once was. When Ike and Troy sat, they played better. I think with a fresh approach to the D, they may have something. I'll look to see what that status of Coach Dad is in the coming weeks. And while Archer was a stupid pick, the best talent on this team clearly is on the offensive side of the ball. Aside from the greatness of Bell and Brown, Wheaton and Bryant should come into their own as well. They just need to come up with a decent 2nd RB. After last season's near playoff miss, I was about where you are now. I feel a bit better about the team this time though.

 

[obxsteeler]

IDK, we haven't won a single play off game since 2010. Tomlin is supposedly one of the best coaches. Really? No play off win since 2010?

I kind of feel deflated from the whole season; seemed like so much drama to get booted in the 1st round of the play offs to a team that was nothing better than average.

There is so much not to like about the team. As of now I feel apathetic. Maybe as time passes my passion will return, but it's gone right now.

Since no real moves will be made to improve, I have a hard time caring. Oh, some zero-impact free agents will be added, obviously they will draft players, but, in all honesty, what has this group done to add players to make this team better? Jarvis Jones? Shazier, Archer, Mitchell, Moats? They dump our only legit back up RB and then do nothing to replace depth, nothing. The Rooneys are often cheap and once again their cheapness showed.

I consider this season a waste, and not just because they failed to win a single play off game. I don't see growth, improvement.....evolution...progress. If they bring Troy and Dick back, I may indeed quit being an active fan or ordering NFL Ticket.

Why was Gov. Christie at the Dallas game and why does he remain so obese? Why?

Sorry to see you go but I would much rather have Troy, Dick, or both.

 

[topseed]

This league is THERE for the ******* taking by one GREAT team that just wants to go out and be great. Draft better, build the roster better, practice better, execute better and coach better.

I don't know when it's going to happen, but it's going to happen. It's just not going to be the Steelers.

The league has been taken...by the Seattle Seahawks. You'll realize that it's already happened when they go back-to-back next month.

 

[oicu8ad]

The league has been taken...by the Seattle Seahawks. You'll realize that it's already happened when they go back-to-back next month.

Damn I hope not. I hate most every team left. By default, I'll be rooting for the Panthers or Colts (then in this order).

Panthers / Colts
Broncos
Packers
Seahawks
*Patriots
Ravens
Cowboys

 

[blitzburghv5]

Im still playing back that one play Saturday night where James was coming around the edge and he took a swipe at Flacco's arm and if not for the last nudge by the Tackle to throw im off just a hair, he either sacks Flacco, forces a fumble or disrupts his read-progression. That one play couldve changed our fortunes..........so ****** close...........