My thoughts on regular season wk 18

All you have to do is see what didn't change.

 

Longest losing streak to end the season since 1998

 

Imagine if they hadn't had a playoff spot secured 4 weeks ago?

As bad as it is, the fact that they're still playing next week is masking the epic collapse we're witnessing.

 

Tomlin wanted a better quarterback. That veteran quarterback blew the game on the final drive.

 

They looked good in Wilsons first 6 games because we played weaker teams, against good teams we can see how much more work is needed.

How after this many weeks is our offensive line so bad , Moore was clearly outmatched against Hendrickson and when they finally put a TE over there to help him its Muth and he goes in motion.

Being such an experienced QB how is it Wilson has zero pocket awareness. Its like he lets himself get sacked , get rid of the ball.

Would the entire team get swallowed up in a crevasse if they did something totally insane like throw on first or second down. Smith is maybe 4.17% better than Canada.
The play to Pat Friarmueth for the late TD had some deception and scheme why is it Smith only has one of those plays.

I will continue to follow the Steelers like I have since Jack was a rookie , but this is very tiring being trapped in the slightly better than average realm but at least the streak is alive. Maybe I should of said both streaks are most likely safe. The no losing season streak and the one n done streak.

 

They need a new head coach, new o line coach and new DC.

whenever management and ownership are serious about winning again thats what needs to be done

 

I think the whole idea Tomlin is some kind of defensive genius is a myth, when he went to TB under Dungy that defense was stacked great dline good linebackers and a solid back end. Then he went on to Minnesota I bet most people don t realize that team was very good against the run but almost worst in the league against the pass.
Dose that look familiar.

The idea we are a running team without a great offensive line is a joke ,tonight they couldn't get 1 1/2 yards on two try's, pathetic.
Nothing changes under Tomlin its groundhog day football same dull conservative offense , same bend but don't break defense with too much soft coverage.
Same game or two above 500 and the same quick exit from the playoffs, even if they beat the Ravens there is almost no chance this putrid offense can hang with the Bills or Chiefs .

Next spring we will be looking for a QB just like we have since Ben retired. Same story different year.

 

1. Outside of the easy as cake first drive, they did a really nice job. Not sure why we decided to let Trice 1v1 Chase all game until the 4th quarter, but glad we finally stopped.
2. Yeah, its bad. Russ turned into a pumpkin for sure. Yes, there were a couple drops... but he missed a potential winner to a wide open Pickens deep (and its been the only throw he's been good on this year). We had every opportunity to win it, but Russ failed to perform.
3. What a weird game from him. He's usually very sure handed, but he punted a few pretty easy ones.
4. Wild. We just didn't even try to stop it from happening.
5. Yep.
6. This is what I feared from day 1. I got a lot of heat for it during his first few games, but it has been apparent for months now that all Russ has is the deep ball. If the moonball gets kept in check, he's got nothing. He's been bad in the pocket, made a lot of poor decisions, and turned the ball over extensively. I don't think we should even think about an extension for him in the offseason. He looks cooked to me.
7. Yes, he's been very good to end the year.
8. Would've preferred Houston obviously... The defense better suit up and get after it next week. It seems a Baltimore offensive collapse will be our best shot. I don't see Russ and the offense putting up many points.
9. Yep. Poor QB play and absolutely stunning HC decisions. Hard to win in this league with that combo.
10. Absolutely. Been a stud.

ADDS
11. I'll never let Tomlin fool me again. At 10-3 I thought this year could be different. It felt different. It was not.... Tomlin is who he is, and ownership seems very comfortable with the current status quo. Not much sense in getting worked up over it, just gonna have to pinch our nose and ride it out. This team will win NOTHING with Tomlin at the helm moving forward.
12. This team needs to let some non-performers go. Russ needs no contract extension offered. Najee too. Dan Moore, gone. I wasn't worried about Minkah until recently, we gotta take a hard look at his deal and wonder what we are doing here. We're going to have some money to spend in the offseason... find a way to get some inspired players in the uniform. We need more Elliott's and Queen's.

What an exasperatingly bad way to end the regular season. I am usually an eternal optimist when it comes to things like this, but it is REALLY hard to feel any type of way other than cynicism right now. This doesn't feel like a team that is going to compete next week. This doesn't feel like a team that is going to put together a great game plan and stick it to the Ravens.... It feels like we've rolled over and died. I know there are a lot of really good and prideful players on this team that will give it their all, but I don't have any faith in the coaching staff and I don't have any faith in the Quarterback. I'm going to hope we win, and root like hell... but it really feels like a 10% chance or less that we play more games after next weekend. Hope I am wrong.

 

I am spoiled by Big Ben. I remember what a 2 minute drill should look like. This team, from the play calling, to the QB, to the offense was playing like they had 3 time outs and 5 minutes to play. Pass after pass to the center of the field. Wilson's bone headed run where he lowered his head and charged into the defenders instead of going for the sideline just set the tone for the rest of that fiasco of a drive. They showed zero sense of urgency. Horrible clock management which is a common theme this season.

I would love to see the 3rd down stats for the Steelers showing a breakdown of going for it all against running a solid 3rd down play for the first down. Today, if I counted correctly, Wilson was 1/6 on 'deep balls'. He was 1 for 4 doing it on 3rd downs.

When the game first started, I told my brother in law. The Bengals will drive down and score. Then the Steelers will go 3 and out. Then the Steelers D will put up a semblance of effort up and hold the Bengals to a FG. I said all of this after the kick off and watched Burrow throw his first 2 passes. I could see that once again, the Steelers show up seemingly totally unprepared and have to make changes after being run over on defense.

We had a lot of dropped passes today. Pickens did his future no favors.

Can we please, please, please stop with the plays that are designed passes behind the los by a few yards? There is never a hole and the RB/WR/TE is met at the line for a brutal struggle to get 2 yards.

Our 3rd and short, 4th and short, or really anything and short is a non existent play for us. If we were 1st and goal at the 1, we would probably turn the ball over at about the 7 yard line, having failed 4 times to get it in to the EZ and lost yards while trying.

Have we ever thrown a pass on the first play? If we had a dominant run game, running it into their faces would be fine. But we don't. Lets not be quite so predictable.

Our offense is regressing.

 

I would ‘t mind a motivational coach if the coordinators were stellar, but ours are dismal and stale. They both need to go, as Tomlin isn’t going anywhere.

 

Putting up 17 points on a hapless Bengals defense doesn't feel like "not backsliding into the playoffs"... We're nosediving into the playoffs. Our offense looks worse than it has at any other point in the season. Our defense has looked worse to end the year than to start (they played well enough to win today, but the offense sold again). Our QB play has been the worst it has been at any point in the season.... There are VERY few positives to take into the post season. The best hope is that it is a rivalry game and Lamar tends to shrink in the playoffs. Hopefully the defense makes a lot of plays and we get just enough from the offense to get it done.

 

What promising coordinators would want to come coach for Tomlin? His coaching tree is where careers go to die. We need some younger, talented coordinators that bring something new. What we have is... well. You know.

 

Wilson was really disappointing in the final drive, wtf are you doing trying to run and get tackled in bounds throw the ball away in that situation. Then Pickens was open for the possible game winning play, but it was a terrible pass from Wilson.

 

With the offense struggling they should've used Fields in some of those short yardage situations.

 

He's averaged 171 yards passing per game the past 5 games... He had a great start against 2 really bad teams from NY, struggled hard in a few wins vs Washington and Baltimore, righted the ship the next two in a decent game vs. CLE in the snow and a big game at Cincy... Then its been league worst QB'ing. Its... abysmal.

 

Totally agree. I would've liked to have seen a Fields series somewhere in the last 3 games. Russ has been SO bad. Give the kid a series to spark things maybe, or simply send a message to Russ. We've horribly mismanaged the end of the season.

 

Absolutely agree

Steelers simply NOT a serious organization now n last decade

Once is an accident
Twice is a trend
3 times is a pattern

NO IDEA what 7 seasons straight is, insanity??

 

I got a bit blasted for saying our record was fools gold around week 5-6. Then was quite surprised and impressed mid season. Then the last 4 weeks happened AGAIN!

Tomlin will never trick me again.

Mr. Rooney - Please please please trade Slick Speaking Tomlin and George Pickens (before he metastasizes) and get some good draft capital…! I have been begging for three years now. Enough is enough. UNCLE!!!

 

Really? Friermuth dropped a pass he never drops. Tomlin wasted 20 seconds not calling a time out on time. And as mad as I am at the coaching staff, the receiving options had a LOT of drops tonight.

I think this loss is mostly on 1) The game plan/scheme/coaches. 2) O-line (see reason 1) 3) The receivers then maybe 4) Wilson.

I’m not lobbying for his return, but I feel like he’s helped the offense more than HE has hurt it.

 

Look to any of the top tier playoff teams and their OC first. Who ever is in Detroit maybe…?

 

Exactly. Simple as that.

Until then I’m going to be Karen asking to speak to the manager! “I am VERY disappointed with my experience and how I’ve been treated!”

 

Perfectly said.

 

All of THIS!

 

Bingo!

 

In the past many years I haven’t seen a thread with so many statements that feel like they were picked straight from my brain.

There are some damning unifications here. I feel like a Jets fan.