After watching the Super Bowl, we're a long way away from there

Especially at quarterback. :-(

 

I thought both teams looked kind of normal, tbh. Certainly not the best performance either side has given.
49ers gave away some silly penalties that probably cost them the game. Mahomes didn't do much until the very last drive IMO.

 

I don't know. Purdy didn't look like anything special. And he certainly didn't cope well once KC began blitzing him.

I think the Steelers issues are more tied to the defense being nowhere near the level of SF's defense. And the Steelers' offensive playcalling being much less imaginative.

 

Both teams had less than 20 points in regulation time.
SF had less than 300 yards passing.
Neither team had a 100 yard rusher. KC's main RB had less than 60 yards rushing, and was outgained by their QB.

Low scoring, low passing, and not able to run the ball are usually complaints levied at the Steelers.

 

Weird...I thought the exact opposite watching the game

 

it looked like classic Steelers football.

 

But, in this pass oriented league, defense doesn't count anymore. Much less running backs! Right??

 

I agree that Purdy's play gave me some hope for Pickett. I wonder what size hands Purdy has, 9.25".

 

I agree with OP.

Here’s what stood out to me most compared to steelers:

- the LBs play was outstanding in the SB
- (i am NOT joking) the punters played a huge role in the SB - that fat punter tomlin loves really needs to go
- both offensive schemes were decades ahead compared to Steelers
- need much better QB

 

‘yes, sad part is Steelers no longer play classic Steelers football.

 

Those are levied against the Steelers when it happens against 2-10 teams, not against SB caliber teams

 

Until the steelers defense can stop the run upfront and have a safety cover a flanker for more than 1 millisecond, we will continue our first round crushing defeats if we even make the playoffs. The d is just as bad as the offense.

 

The 49er players said after the game that they didn't know the OT rules for playoff football. They thought that if they went down and scored a TD the game was over, that's why they took the ball when winning the coin toss. I can't even imagine the outrage in Pittsburgh if Tomlin would have made such a a boneheaded call with the Superbowl on the line.

 

My kid said, "Why don't we tackle like that?". I said, "You mean instead of trying to arm tackle around the shoulders?". He said yes.

He only watches Steeler games, so I guess the solid tackling just really stood out to him as something he isn't used to seeing.

 

Leo Chenal was someone I really wanted the Steelers to draft and he played a really good game last night, nothing flashy just a good fundamental football player.

 

Yep.


For that matter, the AFC may even get more difficult depending on what the Broncos do. Remember this is Sean Payton we are talking about and I seriously doubt he isn't looking at this upcoming class. $10 bucks says the Broncos will trade up for either Maye or Daniels. Add the fact that the Broncos still have some decent pieces and the Broncos may be back into the AFC Gauntlet themselves. Wild card for me in the Conference is still Indianapolis as Shane Steichen took Gardner Minshew and an under gunned Colts team to the playoffs. Imagine how well Anthony Richardson can be under other season of Steichen's tutelage.


Some have the New York Jets in but again... I personally don't trust Owner Woody Johnson nor the health of Aaron Rodgers much. Same goes for the Cleveland Browns; a team I was very adamant on in 2023 of being their final chance. 2024 is gonna bring some nasty changes to their Roster; beyond as well.



Pittsburgh sure as hell has their work cut out for them. That said though, as me and @mac daddyo have been saying, nabbing this position called a "Center" will go a much longer way than others are giving that position credit for.

 

This just isn't the truth. The defense was statistically near the top or above average in basically every category with total ypg being the worst stat (21st) we were 16th against the pass and 18th against the run. We were above average to towards the top of the league in sacks, turnovers, red zone TD%, PPG, etc.

We were GARBAGE in nearly every offensive category. Rush YPG was our best stat at 13th in the league. Essentially we were only above average at running and good at not turning it over. Everywhere else we sucked. We were bottom tier in pass YPG, total YPG, TD's, PPG, Red Zone TD%....

Statistics show we were an above average to good defense and a poor offense. The defense is FAR from being as bad as the offense (and TBH the offense would be a lot better if Kenny isn't our QB).

 

Except, they couldn’t score a touchdown. If able, they would have. It’s just an excuse.

 

Exactly. Everyone keeps harping on our offense but our defense needs alot of work.

What I took away from the game is the following:

1. We can be similar to SF on Offense.
2. SF Offense however is not built to come from behind. If you shut their run game down Purdy and their Receivers are pedestrian.
3. SF has one blue chip player on the OL but they play like a unit and are coached extremely well.
4. We need a thick bodied WR for YAC and blocking for Arthur Smiths offense... other than that none of SF’s receivers are as dynamic as GP.
5. Friermuth can be as good as Kittle.
6. How does KC go from having a bad offensive line to a really good one in one offseason (three years ago)?
7. How does KC go from a very average defense to a really good one in one offseason?
8. Why can’t the Steelers do the same as KC in one offseason?
9. Tomlin still needs to figure out what our identity is on defense? I wish he would get a legit Def. Coordinator but he wants to control the Defense.
10. We need more effective blitz packages on defense.
11. We are closer than we think to be as good as SF.
12. KC success is much harder to mimic than SF because KC is essentially built on Mahomes, Kielce, Reid and Spagnula. You might be able to duplicate Spagnula but the other three are hard to mimic.

 

I think the league is kind of average across the board.

A good QB is what puts you up there.

Not going to compete for any Championship until we have a dude...

You got to have a dude...

 

The Steelers aren’t as far away as many people think. QB is their issue, if they can find an answer there somehow and continue to draft well under Khan and Weidl they will be fine.

The Chiefs look like they are going to run the conference for the next decade however, albeit they are going to lose a few star players this offseason by the looks of it.

 

Tomlin's teams are never as far away as people think, are they?

 

As crazy as it sounds seeing how Tom dominated the league Mahomes is probably even better. He is certainly more athletic. For 2-3 decades 2 QBs are going to dominate the AFC.

 

Here is another non Steeler fan. Go root for somebody else.Probably 28 teams in the NFl feel the same about their QB. What a piece of work.