My thoughts in retrospect

[SteelChip]

What do we have to do to stop teams from gashing us with runs up the middle for 6-8 yards a clip ?

Eli Rodgers seems to have picked up some of the now 'in vogue' swagger..or bravado...or bragadociousness ? Whatever it is, it looks good on him.

Was I seeing things or did they swap sides with Hayden and Burns because if they did ( and I'm pretty sure they did ), it worked pretty damn good.

This young team is starting to gel at the right time. It's hard for me to grasp how young they are. There are only 6 guys over 30 years old w/o Deebo

Alualu, Tyson 30
Heyward-Bey, Darrius 30
Mitchell, Mike 30
Foster, Ramon 31
Gay, William 32
Roethlisberger, Ben 35

Not nice to say but the only one we would really miss next year is Ben

The glaring weakness on this team IMO is Mitchell, he gets to the impact part of the play about a second or two after he needs to be... with regularity.

Did I imagine it or did Spence do a nice job filling some gaps pretty quick in that game.
.and along that note, what is William's deal ? What does he want to prove and to whom ?

I do believe that that little Hilton guy is the real deal. He is not the least bit askeered of mixing it up with them full growed dudes. He not only attacks the LOS but he has the jets to cover some ground PDQ on blitzes.

I need to watch close next week but from what I saw Finney ( big gut and all ) looked like he can handle Foster's spot without missing hardly a beat. Yeah, line calls and all.

I had a feeling that Ben and Haley were not hangin' out after practice. A couple times during recent games the camera would show Ben's reactions to Haley's input and it didn't look real pleasant. May be interesting what happens this off-season. I don't think the Rooney's are above a little negotiation to keep Ben in da Burgh ....jus sayin'
Then again...maybe some team will pull a Cleveland and scoop Haley up to save their day....LOL

Good win, satisfying win and an extra week to doctor some wounds before they raise the curtain again.

 

[Coach]

Good summary. The team looks poised for a super bowl run. One area to worry. The run defense up the middle. With Haden back and Hilton playing the way he is, the coverage and blitzing options are much better.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Good synopsis SteelChip but also remeber that our guys weren"t playing as tight as though it was a big game. I think they knew they had this (score evidence) and played a little less urgent. I hope that was part of what contributed to the gashing. Now on to the Browns and here's to hoping we can sub in a lot in the middle third quarter.

OH and the cheatriots got more help from league but am hoping for a slugfest beating up for them against the JETS JETS JETS.........................


Salute the nation

 

[Fiji Mariner]

The Jets love to help us around or in the playoffs.

 

[Steeltime]

Was I seeing things or did they swap sides with Hayden and Burns because if they did ( and I'm pretty sure they did ), it worked pretty damn good.

You did indeed see that, Chip, as Haden spent the game "shadowing" Hopkins. And it worked very well, apart from one very long completion to Hopkins where Haden was right on his hip and just missed swatting the ball away, and the dual pass interference in the end zone that was not called.

The glaring weakness on this team IMO is Mitchell, he gets to the impact part of the play about a second or two after he needs to be... with regularity.

Absolutely agree. Mitchell will be 5 yards off the receiver running a fly, and will maintain that distance until the ball is thrown, at which point he finally moves towards the receiver ... and arrives after the guy catches the ball.

Other NFL safeties regularly break on the ball and get there in time for the interception or pass break-up.

 

[bermudasteel]

Thank you Uncle Chip - your assessment is spot on...

 

[Hines57]

The glaring weakness on this team IMO is Mitchell, he gets to the impact part of the play about a second or two after he needs to be... with regularity.

The glaring weakness on this team is it's inability to stop the run. We are getting too much penetration into the backfield and are not containing the gaps. Losing Shazier is part of this, but our run D wasn't great when he was playing either. We need our OLBs to contain the run and shut that **** down.

 

[SteelerSask2]

I disagree about Spence. They got gouged in the middle. I cant understand how they were high on Metekavich and now he is replaced by a guy on the street.

 

[Litos]

What do we have to do to stop teams from gashing us with runs up the middle for 6-8 yards a clip ?

when you dedicate your Dline to get to the backfield and disrupt a possible pass this will happen, honestly I don't mind this. Rather make them earn yards than give them away in passing situations all day

Eli Rodgers seems to have picked up some of the now 'in vogue' swagger..or bravado...or bragadociousness ? Whatever it is, it looks good on him.

Was I seeing things or did they swap sides with Hayden and Burns because if they did ( and I'm pretty sure they did ), it worked pretty damn good.

more than swapping the CBs, Joe Haden got assigned to Hopkins.

This young team is starting to gel at the right time. It's hard for me to grasp how young they are. There are only 6 guys over 30 years old w/o Deebo


Not nice to say but the only one we would really miss next year is Ben

Amen

The glaring weakness on this team IMO is Mitchell, he gets to the impact part of the play about a second or two after he needs to be... with regularity.
he has really lost a step, mix that with his lack of instincts (he always relayed on his athleticism) and he is losing the battle with father time quickly
Did I imagine it or did Spence do a nice job filling some gaps pretty quick in that game.
he improved at least
.and along that note, what is William's deal ? What does he want to prove and to whom ?

I do believe that that little Hilton guy is the real deal. He is not the least bit askeered of mixing it up with them full growed dudes. He not only attacks the LOS but he has the jets to cover some ground PDQ on blitzes.
credit to him and Butler for putting him in a position to succeed with his abilities

I need to watch close next week but from what I saw Finney ( big gut and all ) looked like he can handle Foster's spot without missing hardly a beat. Yeah, line calls and all.
Had some bad plays early i nthe season but he did a nice job yesterday

I had a feeling that Ben and Haley were not hangin' out after practice. A couple times during recent games the camera would show Ben's reactions to Haley's input and it didn't look real pleasant.

May be interesting what happens this off-season. I don't think the Rooney's are above a little negotiation to keep Ben in da Burgh ....jus sayin'
Then again...maybe some team will pull a Cleveland and scoop Haley up to save their day....LOL

Good win, satisfying win and an extra week to doctor some wounds before they raise the curtain again.

Here we Go Steelers, here we go

 

[Supersteeler]

I disagree about Spence. They got gouged in the middle. I cant understand how they were high on Metekavich and now he is replaced by a guy on the street.

Matakavich definitely struggled in his first start, the game he got hurt in. They were victimizing him the same way teams do with Spence and Fort when they are in there. Not sure what the answer is with out current roster.

 

[Coach]

I disagree about Spence. They got gouged in the middle. I cant understand how they were high on Metekavich and now he is replaced by a guy on the street.

Spence is just a place holder. A team that uses its back to run or catch up the middle will rip him.

 

[SteelerSask2]

Matakavich definitely struggled in his first start, the game he got hurt in. They were victimizing him the same way teams do with Spence and Fort when they are in there. Not sure what the answer is with out current roster.

I dont disagree. But he was thrown into a bit of a tough circumstance. I dont see Spence as any better. I dont think anyone can expect the world when you lose an all pro like that. But when the outside pass game is largely sewn up, you would think even below average players with a really good front 3 could plug their gaps against the run. Jags will be a big problem.

 

[TDX27]

We were getting victimized in the middle on runs even when Shazier was in there. Our run D has been bad most of the year. If we have 2 DL in the game, we will get gouged just about every time.

 

[SteelerFan448]

Once the running backs get through the line, they're already to the secondary. The inside linebackers are no where to be found.

 

[black and gold apex]

The defense has had a hard time of it with missed tackles and over running the plays. Our tackling has not been good. Throw in Burns side of the field, that will be our weakness in the playoffs. Hilton is our most aggressive player once line backers are passed.

 

[Stryker]

Spence is the fastest LB we had. It was the idea to go fast at ILB before Shazier was drafted. He got hurt, we drafted 50, and the rest is history. Though if the Steelers want a ILB that can cover ground like Shazy, Spence is the closest we have. If you want to do better against the run, Tyler needs to be playing on running downs.

Haden switched sides if Hopkins switched. Looked to me like he followed him all game. Excellent job holding the 2nd best receiver in the game to 4 catches. 2 were other worldly catches by an excellent receiver, but that aside, not bad for our CB who hasn't played in a month.

The Steelers were built with 1 impact player in each of the levels of D. Heyward at DL, Shazier at LB, and Haden at DB. With the return of Haden, it is no coincidence that he pass rush was getting to the QB, as the coverage in the secondary was fantastic. This will be a big boost going forward. It's also why Hilton was that much more impactful last game. We rolled coverage with better players behind him blitzing. No one was open, bang, bang bang. 3 sacks!!

This D will be making plays now that they got Haden back.

 

[SteelChip]

Tyler needs to be playing on running downs.

What's the story with Red ? I haven't heard anything.

 

[Supersteeler]

I dont disagree. But he was thrown into a bit of a tough circumstance. I dont see Spence as any better. I dont think anyone can expect the world when you lose an all pro like that. But when the outside pass game is largely sewn up, you would think even below average players with a really good front 3 could plug their gaps against the run. Jags will be a big problem.

At least Matakavich has been practicing with the team all year. Hell Spence was a week removed from being on the street. I'd say that is a way tougher spot to be in.

 

[mdk2]

What's the story with Red ? I haven't heard anything.

He went from 2nd string back up to out of the rotation. Seems like we have issues with linebacker evaluations, just a guessing game for the coaches. Keep throwing players out there, do they watch these guys practice or anything?


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[Supersteeler]

He went from 2nd string back up to out of the rotation. Seems like we have issues with linebacker evaluations, just a guessing game for the coaches. Keep throwing players out there, do they watch these guys practice or anything?


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Wait.....wasn't he a 6th or 7th Rounder? That's pretty much what you expect out of those picks.,.....depth players. I don't see that as a talent misjudgment at all. L.T. was either a late rounder or undrafted, can't remember which. They were on the team to back up Shazier, not to start. Unfortunately a long term solution is all of a sudden necessary. I would think ILB will be an early round priority this draft.

 

[SteelChip]

He went from 2nd string back up to out of the rotation. Seems like we have issues with linebacker evaluations, just a guessing game for the coaches. Keep throwing players out there, do they watch these guys practice or anything?

What ? Last I heard he was "out of the rotation" with a shoulder injury. I got no clue what you're talkin' about.

 

[Stryker]

He went from 2nd string back up to out of the rotation. Seems like we have issues with linebacker evaluations, just a guessing game for the coaches. Keep throwing players out there, do they watch these guys practice or anything?


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Start ripping Olsavsky and Porter...

 

[mdk2]

What ? Last I heard he was "out of the rotation" with a shoulder injury. I got no clue what you're talkin' about.

He's healthy, not even listed on the injury report for the past couple weeks. He's strictly ST now.

 

[mdk2]

Wait.....wasn't he a 6th or 7th Rounder? That's pretty much what you expect out of those picks.,.....depth players. I don't see that as a talent misjudgment at all. L.T. was either a late rounder or undrafted, can't remember which. They were on the team to back up Shazier, not to start. Unfortunately a long term solution is all of a sudden necessary. I would think ILB will be an early round priority this draft.

No doubt, I'd take Jefferson ILB from Texas in 1st.

 

[ark steel]

Not sure enough of most teams to know which FA ILB's would be playing the same ILB position as Shazier or the other side.

John Bostic is 26
Christian Jones is 26
Preston Brown is 25