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We Did Not Lose Because of Bell

J

jitter77

Owes Jimmy $50
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I am tired of hearing how not having Bell doomed us. We lost due to horrible play calling and game planning. Tate came out running the ball fine, then the fumble happen and they got away from that. I do not think Bell would have had much success against the Ravens front 7 either. We had no slants / quick outs / curls. We had a 3rd and 1 and threw the ball 40 yrds. I just dont get it. Brown could have ran outs / slants / curls. Then the D eventually would jump those routes and we could have hit them up with out and ups or stop and gos. Not bubble screens or runs up the middle with new backs. Bryant seemed to be playing well and he should have been more involved as well. Sure Bell would have helped, but we could have easily won this game without him. I understand Haley wanted to establish a run so Ben does not get killed, but there are other ways to counter act that. Also the D was terrible Troy / Mitchell were godawful along with Worilds. Harrison was OK but just could not quite get there. Everyone else was pretty much invisible.
 
We played like ****, but Bell ABSOLUTELY would have made a difference. No one has shut him down receiving and running this year. The guy is fluid out of the backfield like a wide receiver..
 
He's responsible for 39 percent of the offense on the year... yeah, him not playing had an impact on the game.
 
If given a choice, I would have played with Bell.
 
Lets pull Damarco Murry tomorrow and see how the Cowboys do. Or Beast Mode from the Seahawks against a good defense.
 
SteelerSask said:
Lets pull Damarco Murry tomorrow and see how the Cowboys do. Or Beast Mode from the Seahawks against a good defense.
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absolutely quoted for truth. You cannot take away an important weapon that you relied on all year, even as a check down and say it didn't hurt. Tate wouldn't have been brought in and STARTED if it didn't matter.
 
I would argue in favor of both theories. The game plan stunk of desperation and second guessin' it would be very unambiguous, at best.
We indeed could have benefited from better production out of the backfield but going into the season with the backfield as thin as it was, was askin' for trouble..

Tomlin could also be in some trouble for putting Ben back in after gettin' his bell rung, there are protocols for that and I don't see that any were followed.

There's lots to work on for next year, that's for sure but hey..we made the dance.... that's some improvement.
 
Bell did have an impact, you can't lose 39.6% of your offense and not feel anything. The thing I think was a problem was Ben could not step up and carry the load. I have been a Big Ben supporter and when Bell got team MVP I was not upset with that but felt Ben had just as good season. However last night I realize just why Bell got it and Ben didn't, we missed Bell last night and I didn't think we would.
 
Ben was off target all game too.

Gradkowski looked really good.

Ben comes back in and then throws another INT.

He stunk up the field
 
Our defense is not going to win us games. The offense has the score touchdowns. Last night we didn't. It was part injury, part play calling, part execution, part turnovers. Last night was a bad mix of all.
 
scstillerfan said:
Elvis Dumervil lost the game for us. The guy we should have signed. Ugh!
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This is where the strengths of BAL is compared to our FO. The players they do bring in are big contributors. Jacoby Jones, Owen Daniels, Steve Smith, Elvis Dumervile and Justin Forsett to name a few. While, I do admire that we go the "tried and true" method of drafting and developing our own, but our FA's have been mediocre to bad of late.
 
hamster said:
Our defense is not going to win us games. The offense has the score touchdowns. Last night we didn't. It was part injury, part play calling, part execution, part turnovers. Last night was a bad mix of all.
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This. I do know that the Tate bobble that led to mushmouths pick never happens if that's Bell on the other end of that dump off. Not getting touchdowns when we were moving the ball early was the difference in the score, but not having Bell completely changes what you can and can't do. Next man up my ***. They were the better team last night, no more no less.
 
I think Haley lost his cajones when it came to game planning with Bell out. There was never a sense that he was making adjustments or calling plays to set up other plays. It just felt like "let's see if this works." That said, penalties, undisciplined play, Gilbert and DeCastro allowing pressure and sacks, terrible run defense in the first half, etc. etc. led to this loss. It was a total team effort in losing from the top (Tomlin) to the idiot penalties of special teams players (Shamarko).
 
I'm not blaming the loss solely on the loss of the Bell, but it didn't help matters when we needed all hands on deck. I give Tate a lot of credit for coming in and trying to fit in and make a difference. If it was a regular season game that was important, he was a good stop gap, but it's the playoffs. One and you're done. It was the hand we were dealt and it was a bad hand. Ben tried to do too much and BAL had an answer for him. Pressure.
 
We absolutely lost because of Bell. No check-down for Ben, no blocking back, Ravens played back all night expecting the pass not worrying about the run. With Bell in there they would stack the line with an extra player or two just like last game when we beat them with 45 points and torched their undermanned secondary. Not having Bell throws the whole offense out of sync with inexperienced replacements.
 
With Bell's pass protection, running, & pass catching ability it was sorely missed. He is someone that requires consistent attention. With that being said we couldn't get them off the field on 3rd down and not enough pressure on Flacco.
 
Yeah, Bell not being in the lineup had nothing to do with the game plan. SMH.

Who knows what the result would have been if he would have played, but to dismiss his impact on this game is idiotic.
 
I am not dismissing his impact, but the game plan was terrible. Even if we had bell do you think we run run run run ? I do not. The INT that was tipped may / may not have happened with Bell there. The pass was bad. After Bell went out the last game the play calling was horrible. These coaches panic and do not know how to adjust. Like I said where were our shorter routes? Miller seemed to be open alot (although he seemed to have trouble holding onto the ball). Wheaton hardly got involved at all. We either ran or heaved it down the field. We should have done 1 or 2 things. Call the game as if Bell was playing, or Let Ben loose. Where was the no huddle at?
 
jitter77 said:
I am not dismissing his impact, but the game plan was terrible. Even if we had bell do you think we run run run run ? I do not. The INT that was tipped may / may not have happened with Bell there. The pass was bad. After Bell went out the last game the play calling was horrible. These coaches panic and do not know how to adjust. Like I said where were our shorter routes? Miller seemed to be open alot (although he seemed to have trouble holding onto the ball). Wheaton hardly got involved at all. We either ran or heaved it down the field. We should have done 1 or 2 things. Call the game as if Bell was playing, or Let Ben loose. Where was the no huddle at?
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No, I think if Bell is in there the entire offensive game plan is different. His presence in the lineup is absolutely huge. If you want a good take on how they played, read Dejan's take on it. Basically said the team lived in their fears. He was right on.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
No, I think if Bell is in there the entire offensive game plan is different. His presence in the lineup is absolutely huge. If you want a good take on how they played, read Dejan's take on it. Basically said the team lived in their fears. He was right on.
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http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/

I think the article is a free one as the entire article is on the front page.
 
I said this numerous times yesterday. Yes, Bell would have helped. Would we have won the game with him the way we played last night? Absolutely not! Our D couldn't stop them. Our O play calling was horrible. Our discipline was horrible. This team looked like they were playing in the 1st or 2nd game of the season and not the 17th. None of that has anything to do with Bell. We got our ***** beat in the trenches and coaching.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
That's it, thanks for posting the line. It is a must read.
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Yep good article that calls it like it is. Coaching let the team down by giving in to fears of what ifs. I felt like the Steeler players faces showed cynicism and disinterest....and blamed them for having a "we can't win this (w/o Bell)" outlook. But DK's article pointing to coaching gives me a new perspective on their seeming pessimism.
 
The Steelers lost because of turnovers, penalties and sacks, NOT Bell's absence. Don't argue with me, argue with the box score that shows the Steelers dominated 1st downs, yards, and T.O.P.
 
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