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Pittsburgh Has Something to Prove After Last Season

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By Steeler Nation Staff SteelerNation.com Aside from diving deep into advanced statistics, the easiest way to base a teams’ success in the regular season is by looking at their record. Not all records are the same, however. For a team expected to make a Super Bowl run, an 8-8 record might be deemed mediocre. For […]

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What schedule are we looking at?
 
This team has to get to the playoffs and win at least one playoff game for me to consider it a successful season. Anything less is failure.
 
I'm pretty critical of this regime in Pittsburgh of the past decade. I don't know if it's complacency or just insanity, but they are about as stuck in their ways as any organization I've seen.

They just HATE to take risks. They just have so much faith that their way is the best way, they rarely incorporate change or try new things. It's just not the Steelers Way under Tombert.

I consistently have railed on this team over the past decade for depth issues. They just do not develop backups into starters very well. And often when they BELIEVE a guy has starter potential it is stubbornly misplaced. We see this time and again that some guys we stick with for years on the roster finally get released and get almost zero interest or production elsewhere. Chickillo is just another example. The guy isn't even on a ROSTER right now yet our evaluation of him after YEARS in the building was to give him money and promote him to #1 backup to our OLB positions. I don't really understand it.

They also are notorious for only addressing problems that are right in front of their face. They never seem to ANTICIPATE problems. And if a problem doesn't exist or didn't exist last season, they don't prepare for that problem at all.

Maybe that's a management style. Why worry about something that doesn't exist. I get it (to a degree).

But Tombert right now seems to just think 2020 is going to be the same as 2019 except that Roethlisberger is going to fix the offense. They only think their problems are small because of that: Claypool is the "deep threat" now. That's all we needed on offense to fix it (that and Roethlsiberger). Maybe an improvement on Samuels.

Everything else is status quo on this team.

I worry that offensive line isn't as good. TE's are injury prone. Very little depth at OLB/ILB. Thin at DT depth. But because those problems didn't manifest themself LAST year, Tombert just doesn't seem to care much about it. It literally has to just up and cost us a game or two before we address in NEXT off-season. Everything is so short-term memory and short-term planning.
 
Trading up for Bush and trading a #1 for Minkah seemed like risks that appeared to pay off. Bringing in Canada isn't risky, but could be a move that improves the offense if
they allow him to impact the offensive play calling.

Any team that doesn't win the Super Bowl has a lot to prove the next season.
 
I'm pretty critical of this regime in Pittsburgh of the past decade. I don't know if it's complacency or just insanity, but they are about as stuck in their ways as any organization I've seen.

They just HATE to take risks. They just have so much faith that their way is the best way, they rarely incorporate change or try new things. It's just not the Steelers Way under Tombert.

I consistently have railed on this team over the past decade for depth issues. They just do not develop backups into starters very well. And often when they BELIEVE a guy has starter potential it is stubbornly misplaced. We see this time and again that some guys we stick with for years on the roster finally get released and get almost zero interest or production elsewhere. Chickillo is just another example. The guy isn't even on a ROSTER right now yet our evaluation of him after YEARS in the building was to give him money and promote him to #1 backup to our OLB positions. I don't really understand it.

They also are notorious for only addressing problems that are right in front of their face. They never seem to ANTICIPATE problems. And if a problem doesn't exist or didn't exist last season, they don't prepare for that problem at all.

Maybe that's a management style. Why worry about something that doesn't exist. I get it (to a degree).

But Tombert right now seems to just think 2020 is going to be the same as 2019 except that Roethlisberger is going to fix the offense. They only think their problems are small because of that: Claypool is the "deep threat" now. That's all we needed on offense to fix it (that and Roethlsiberger). Maybe an improvement on Samuels.

Everything else is status quo on this team.

I worry that offensive line isn't as good. TE's are injury prone. Very little depth at OLB/ILB. Thin at DT depth. But because those problems didn't manifest themself LAST year, Tombert just doesn't seem to care much about it. It literally has to just up and cost us a game or two before we address in NEXT off-season. Everything is so short-term memory and short-term planning.




deljzc, I hear all your frustrations but they did some addressing. I don't think with the salary cap and where they seem to consistently pick in the draft that all problems will ever be addressed. BOTTOM line is I feel the "current regime" has done the least with arguably the most talented team, average league wise, for the last ten years. Maybe this year will change and we get our 7.



Salute the nation
 
To me it's been a decade of frustration with Ben between the ages of 29 to 37. Nine seasons.

And ALWAYS an excuse. Salary cap. Injuries. Knuckleheads. Always something.

Whatever they are doing in the 2010's didn't work, so I'm skeptical when they brush off everything as the "Steelers Way" and act like they are perfect and have all the answers.

I don't have any hopes for this season at all. I think we are WAY behind the rest of the league right now. Either in philosophy, coaching, management or something. There is talent but it's all over the place. Nothing cohesive or part of some greater good. I think our identity is gone.

I guarantee this team starts slow and they will blame SOMETHING on the weird off-season or Covid-19 or something. Always an excuse. Always.

Again, I think this team is not planning it is hoping. Hoping that nothing changes and that status quo on the defense = same results on defense. I think that's idiotic in the NFL because NOTHING stays the same from year-to-year. You could have all 11 identical players, exact same coaches and this league catches up to your plans quick. This isn't the Steel Curtain of the 1970's. You CONSTANTLY have to be changing, improving, plugging holes, making tweeks. Constantly. If you don't change, you are heading backwards.

And after last year's debacle on offense with some of the worst backup QB play in the league over the past 5 seasons, how do we have ANY faith this offensive staff will get back to championship level football? We will see how great Roethlisberger really is because I think he's on his own. I think the O-line is a HUGE step back from where it was in 2018 and it will reflect in everything.

Tomlin always squeaks out enough wins to keep the status quo going, but it's just a broken record to me. Nine years. Same old stuff. The chances this year is different is just crazy talk.
 
If we had 7 playoff teams for Tomlin's entire tenure. He would have missed the playoffs twice.
 
To me it's been a decade of frustration with Ben between the ages of 29 to 37. Nine seasons.

And ALWAYS an excuse. Salary cap. Injuries. Knuckleheads. Always something.

Whatever they are doing in the 2010's didn't work, so I'm skeptical when they brush off everything as the "Steelers Way" and act like they are perfect and have all the answers.

I don't have any hopes for this season at all. I think we are WAY behind the rest of the league right now. Either in philosophy, coaching, management or something. There is talent but it's all over the place. Nothing cohesive or part of some greater good. I think our identity is gone.

I guarantee this team starts slow and they will blame SOMETHING on the weird off-season or Covid-19 or something. Always an excuse. Always.

Again, I think this team is not planning it is hoping. Hoping that nothing changes and that status quo on the defense = same results on defense. I think that's idiotic in the NFL because NOTHING stays the same from year-to-year. You could have all 11 identical players, exact same coaches and this league catches up to your plans quick. This isn't the Steel Curtain of the 1970's. You CONSTANTLY have to be changing, improving, plugging holes, making tweeks. Constantly. If you don't change, you are heading backwards.

And after last year's debacle on offense with some of the worst backup QB play in the league over the past 5 seasons, how do we have ANY faith this offensive staff will get back to championship level football? We will see how great Roethlisberger really is because I think he's on his own. I think the O-line is a HUGE step back from where it was in 2018 and it will reflect in everything.

Tomlin always squeaks out enough wins to keep the status quo going, but it's just a broken record to me. Nine years. Same old stuff. The chances this year is different is just crazy talk.

I personally think a lot of the slow starts has to do with the defense that is in flux from year to year. Losing Shazier, bringing in backup FAs to be starters a few years in a row. It took some time for our defense to come together. But what I like about this season is we return the dominant defense, largely intact from the previous season. It's been a while since I was fully confident in the defense getting a W week 1.
 
Sorry, But who wrote this? very non-intriguing. Half way through reading it and I dozed off like a geriatric patient after his lunch of prunes and lactaid free milk of magnesia.
 
If we had 7 playoff teams for Tomlin's entire tenure. He would have missed the playoffs twice.



Cope, I don't know if that is a compliment or JUST shows how mediOker Tomlin's teams have been. 10 first rounders on your "D" and ignoring the offense to do that. I can see both your's Andre deljzc's point of views and I'm thinking our "D" will have to be the ones to win the early season's games if we want a fast start. I see Roethlisberger starting out pretty slow but then on FIRE by mid season. He will throw 9 of his 15 int.s and 14 of his 39 TD in the first half of the season, then light up the sky and ball out rest of season. 12-4 and look out Kansas City who......?





Salute the nation
 
Two things IMO. It's all going to come down to Ben and the defense (and hopefully no injuries to either).
 
I think the more games the team wins this year, the better they'll be from a standings standpoint.

Just a suggestion for CMT's first presser.
 
If we had 7 playoff teams for Tomlin's entire tenure. He would have missed the playoffs twice.

Woah there. But they didn’t have 7 playoff teams. Which means he still has missed the playoffs 5 times with an 8-7 record total.

Sorry Cope but I hate that type of analogy . My favorite is when posters on here talk about dropped passes like they were completions. You know......AB ran the wrong route.....That should have been a competition,it went right through JuJu’s hands. Passes do get dropped. WR’s do run the wrong route. Of course no one will say....hey that shouldn’t be a completion....it was thrown 10 feet too high. WR’s do make great catches too. And QB’s throw it high and wide.
 
It is an important stat. A lot of fans discredit Tomlin for being 'mediocre' but he is far from it. Cowher's players are long gone, so that excuse is dead, and he's still hasn't had a losing season, even without Cowher's QB for a year. The unit of success for a coach is Wins, and how many times they make the playoffs. The rules have changed, and the new rules being applied to his tenure, he'd only be out of the playoffs twice. This is the measure of him moving forward. He will be in the playoffs way more often than not.
 
16-0 *******

if the defense is close to last season, with Ben back the RBs will look better and the WRs and TEs will look like All Pros compared to last season....

Just stay healthy Ben
 
Expectations are just different in Pittsburgh and Ben has both ignored that and took advantage of that. It’s weird we are like one or two plays away from a third Super Bowl with Ben and that was the year he was playing peepee with college girls and causing a stink. 2nd time time around for him. He’s taken advantage of the fact this team has always put him in a position to win but he can’t do shift like wear a fuking helmet or quit riding a motorcycle. Had Ben gone to a team like the browns he wouldn’t even still be in football. What worry’s me going down the road are the picks. The rules are such that you really have to suck to get picked off lot. The defensive backs really are hand tied and picks across the board are down. If ben throws 25 tds and 5 picks we go deep in playoffs. But if it’s like 12 tds 15 picks were fukd. I think in future you hire a head coach that can manufacture qbs like Bill Walsh did and **** can the high priced qbs. We walk a razors edge every year waiting to see if Ben can get us past not being able to afford keeping or bring in new talent. This year won’t be the exception the season will depend on Ben. Super Bowl or bust!!! Hey this is Pittsburgh that’s the the standard!
 
We have been spoiled. what would make any of us feel next year is a championship year.. New OC , controversy with Ben, no running game, who knows who we will resign and why in way to many cases. Receivers not on the same page as Ben as well as too many drop balls. Schedule that is not easy, defense that lacked in the last game big time, forgot and Tomlin will be the head coach,
 
I still don't get what happened to our D in the playoff game. Snap over Ben's head .... clowns TD. Pass over Snell (?) ... INT .... TD. Got it. But why couldn't our D stop the clowns after that? If it ain't broken, don't fix it. No sacks in that game? Streak broken? etc. etc. etc. Did Tomlin really run the D in the game as has been talked about? If so, why the **** would you do that? If he wanted to take over something, he should've taken over the O from Sphincter. Couldn't have done worse with that.
 
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