to me the games yesterday showed

Yeah, but our offense would never put up those points against those defenses.

 

I think if Ben had stayed healthy we would have swept the rats this year. Maybe not by a lot of points but when our offense was clicking we could have beat their defense in my opinion.

 

I don't remember the part where our offense was "clicking." At their best this year they were average - in spite of Ben's numbers we didn't score enough points.

 

So you forgot when the offense was leading the league in 3rd down conversions and 2nd in time of possession? If that's not clicking I don't know what is. Man people have no perspective around here. I've said before I wonder if most people started watching this team during the Kansas City game and I'm still wondering. Heath was having a career year. Ben was having a career year. Redman had ran well some. Dwyer had ran well some. Ben getting hurt changed everything. Just because we're not scoring 40 points a game doesn't mean we couldn't win some games. Green Bay can score with anybody and they got beat yesterday. Our defense blew some games early or else we were in the playoffs this year. That is a fact. We put up 31 in Oakland and lost the game. Is that on the offense? Yeah AB fumbled but the d gave up 34 points to the Raiders. In TN we let Hasslebeck carve us up like a turkey. There's two games right there that proved crucial in the long run.

 

Offensive production generally centers around the QB. The offense is probably always going to remain inconsistent in terms of point production as long as Ben is the QB of the team. His inconsistent style of play is the biggest reason why the offense struggles to maintain consistency.

In the close games of the past Ben was able to pull out close games in the end when necessary. This past season he threw 3 game sealing INT's. If he cannot produce a lot o points then he must find a way to regain his ability to play at a high level in the final minutes of games.

 

Exactly.

 

Sorry, but 3 interceptions...don't forget the Denver pick 6. Sure we were down 6 at the time, but he had a chance and failed.

 

The Ravens' D stinks? Remember, 14 of the Broncos' points came on special teams. And the Ravens made three HUGE plays: a pick 6, a strip fumble, and a pick in OT. I'd say the Ravens' D looked pretty darn good for playing on the road, in that environment, against Manning.

 

What I noticed the most yesterday and today is the difference in teams not afraid to go downfield, specially with play action. Something we didn't do. But most of all was receivers who really go after the ball at it's high point, very un-Wallace like We will never score in the high 30's with the same play calling and our type of receivers that don't go after the ball aggressively at it's high point

 

Ben had his share of mental lapses and mistakes. For instance, attempting for the big play while ignoring open WR's that were open short. There were games that Ben didn't look like he was prepared to play vs certain defenses. Ben threw 3 critical game sealing INT's. Those games were Denver, Dallas, and Cincy.

It's mostly the QB's fault when an offense doesn't score points as expected. If people want to continue to rank Ben as one of the best QB's in the league then why has the offense under performed from a PPG stand point?

Some people considered Ben an MVP candidate early in the season. So it's everybody else fault that he played himself out of being an MVP candidate, yeah ok. I believe there were dropped passes, mental lapses, and penalties early in the season. I can see it's still going to take more time for people to realize that the success of an offense generally hinges on how well the QB performs.

Bottom line, Ben hasn't played well enough on a consistent enough basis to elevate the offense into a top 5 scoring offense.

 

Does not make any difference. With the numbers these teams are putting up we would have been one and done. This whole organization reacts to slow in the off season trying to get players. That is from the Rooney's down the line. I think today's way of playing football is passing the Rooney's bye. Great organization in their time but now, I think we have a long way to go before we see another SB much less win one

 

But the Rooney's don't call the plays or catch the ball, it's the coaches and players not the owners.

 

Maybe it's not so obvious for you? Even with all the issues the team had with injuries, mental lapses, turnovers, ect (all teams have "issues" during the season) the team had a chance to win several games. Ben had the opportunity to win at least 4 games at the end. The team would had made the playoffs if the QB delivered when it counted most. The outcome of the season would had been much different if Ben had delivered in at least 2 or the 4 games. A 10-6 record makes the playoffs. The QB was the one that failed to perform when the team needed it most.

In regard to consistency, the offense has been inconsistent from a PPG standpoint as long as Ben has been the QB. When are people like yourself going to realize that the issue is not the cast of characters but the lead actor that's the main issue with the offense? I guess it's not so obvious for you just yet.

 

Well, I do agree that Ben struggled this year. However, I still think the offense's biggest weakness is the offensive line. The pass protection for most of Ben's career has been very poor. This year was improved and, over the first half of the season, Ben was having his best year yet. I think that is evidence that as the o-line play improves, so will his play.

Now don't get me wrong...I personally don't think Ben is an elite qb. I think he's very good--but not elite. But that doesn't mean that he can't win several more championships--especially if the o-line play continues to improve.

 

This year's playoffs showed me that a productive running game is indispensable for championship runs. The only teams in this year's playoffs with poor running games were Indy and GB (you could possibly mention Cincy as well).

Unfortunately, the Steelers don't have a productive running game. They were ranked 26th overall in rushing. Personally, I think this is the single biggest reason for our lack of success this year (the problem with the running game is the o-line play).

 

Be careful. Nobody wants to consider that the QB is holding the show up... :roll:

 

I think what 's really going on here is that Ben seems to get a pass and all other players get lambasted on the regular.

Equal blame goes to everyone, this season. Even Ben.

But to really look at it... Ben has never played a whole season, at a high level. If he did, with all the talent around him, then the Steelers would have 1 or 2 more Lombardi trophies.

 

It is still the greatest TEAM sport there is. Singling out one cause or reason for winning or losing is usually not accurate. Winning and losing at football is multidimensional.

 

I don't think Haley was deadset against it. Didn't they have a long TD pass to Wallace in the Titans game?

There's nothing wrong with a short, controlled passing game. In fact, if you have the talent at WR, the short passes turn into long gains. Tom Brady's been making a living (and a legend) off that for years.

 

Easily.