the Ravens, Bengals and Browns

i know its only the preseason, but those 3 teams look like they are ready to start the regular season right now. the Steelers on the other hand looked pretty bad their 1st game.

i dont take too much stock from the preseason, but when your coming off a terrible season it sure would of been nice to look like you have some urgency to get back to the top. they were going through the motions last week and the other 3 teams in their division look like they are playing with a purpose.

im not gonna say that Tomlin is on the hot seat, but if this team comes out flat to start the season and they look like they did last year, i would say he will be on the hot seat.

Bens in his prime and probably has 3 to 5 years of high level play ahead of him still. they have some weapons, but the injury bug keeps hitting this team. hopefully they can get healthy and the guys that need to step up do.

we are looking at the end of an era for a few guys on this team in the near future. Ben, Troy, Clark, Keisel and Ike are all probably playing in or for their last contracts.

hopefully come Tuesday after their next game alot of these worries go away, but right now they have way more questions around them than answers. its not a mistake they are ranked 18th in the power polls right now.

 

Did you watch the ravens game last night? They don't look ready at all. Aside from a punt return and one long pass they looked lost. Their running game has been horrible as has their oline. Numerous starters on their defense made horrible plays. You should go over to their board they aren't happy at all.

 

I think every fan is the hardest on their own team. We, of course, are going to be way more critical of the Steelers- at least I know I am. I honestly did not think our starters were that bad against the Giants.

 

I am sorry, but I think this statement is funny:

"i dont take too much stock from the preseason, but"

You obviously are looking for some urgency in a preseason game. In all honesty that is not what preseason is about. There is no gameplanning, the vets are just trying to get their timing and feel for the game back, and the UFAs are going all out to try to make the team. It is a weird mix. What you see on Monday night is nothing like you will see in real games. DL plays a very generic D typically and usually shows the standard 3/4 look all the time. It can leave fans with a...what happened to our team....type feel, but the reality is until the first whistle blows I only want so much urgency.

You also throw in the phrase...coming off a terrible season. Really? Terrible? Subpar, yes, but not terrible. This team was a victory against the Bengals from still making the playoffs last year. Cleveland went 5-11...THAT is terrible. Getting a top 10 draft picks means you were terrible. Getting a pick in the teens means you were average. Getting a pick in the 20s means you were a playoff team. Getting a pick in the 30s means you were a SB contender. An average year for most other teams...is a Subpar year for us. Let's not panic.

 

I don't have any statistics in order to back this up but it used to be running joke among my family and friends that when the Steelers have a crappy preseason then have a very successful season and when they look awesome in preseason they usually disappoint.

I compare the Steelers preseason game 1, 2013 to other teams around the league and I got believe....................

PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

 

maybe if the Steelers were coming off a super bowl victory it wouldnt seem so bad. the Ravens are coming off a super bowl victory and they have some wiggle room.

 

I only watched the first half and didn't see anything particularly impressive other than the one pass that went for a td. They couldn't run the ball, couldn't stop the run. Obviously it's early and they have time to get these things sorted out, but crowning champions in August is a tad bit premature.

 

The falcons 1s beat the rats 1s, that's all that matters, wins in preseason means nothing, I want to see our 1s do something in this next game, I want to see Bell run the damn ball before preseason is over, and DJ Woods is a hell of a receiver, that flip coming down on his head and holding on to the ball was a pro move, and showed how tuff he is, this kid has talent that should get him on the roster, looking for some more rookies to step up their game this week, but Woods looks the best of the crop right now...

 

CRAYONS (to chew on)

some of the fans are chalking it up to
"now's the time to play bad if you are gonna play bad

 

im not in panic mode yet. its still way too early for that, but this Steeler team needs to find some sort of identity.

the defense although ranked high last season never made game changing type plays. i know they didnt give up many points, but they need to get to the qb more and create turnovers.

lets face the facts the their offense isnt a juggernaut. Ben was having a nice season last year before he got hurt, but they werent a shoot out type of team. the defense has to help put them in better field position. they are gonna be very young at wr and rb it looks like. the oline is also going to be young, but they look like they will be improved.

i have no idea what to expect from the offense this year and im not real sure what the defense is going to look like. Troy, Clark and Keisel are all closer to the end than their prime. whos knows what the lbs are going to look like and hopefully the dline can get back to what they were a few years back when Smith was still playing.

 

I think we will be fine as far as competing within the division. I remember week one last year when the ravens pounded cinci. Everyone seemed to think they would run away with the division. Then they lost to the eagles the next week. We were 8-8 but we could have swept the division. 1-1 vs Baltimore without Ben. 1-1 vs browns with the fumble fest game. 1-1 vs cinci with penalties costing us the week 16 game. A few things go our way and we make the playoffs last year.

 

I hear that former Steeler AQ Shipley may be their starting center. Nuff said.

 

I hope so Big Mac will eat him alive with his short arms

 

Here in the Baltimore area, all I have heard all day (since last night's game) is things will be different now that they signed Dallas Clark (our possession receiver) and Brandon Stockley to be the number two receiver. I keep hoping and believing that this just shows that both the Ravens are desperate and the fans are living in a fantasy world, am I wrong, will these two guys really help them?

 

Yes they will help. The reason they brought them in was to force the more favorable match-ups they want. Both are solid possession guys and in my opinion will play the slot almost exclusively. The Ravens are looking for ways to free up Torrey Smith and their rookie WR(i think that is who they were talking about in the article I read) in single coverage on go routes and streaks. So they are looking to force teams to either dbl cover the WR's on the outside or give up 1st down yardage over the middle to two solid vets. Clark and Stokley won't burn by anyone but they will find a soft spot in zone and move the chains. It is kind of what the Steelers have wanted to do the last few years with Wallace, make teams pick their poison.

Edit: I should also say that it won't help quite as much as what the Ravens fans think it will.

 

Yeah they will help but at the same time the have the combined age of 71. Stockley couldn't perform with his boy manning how's he going to do with flacco. This is just Caldwell hoping two of his former players still have something left. Clark might but he provides nothing in run support so if he is in the game you know they are passing.

 

the brownies # 1 pick mingo is out with a bruised lung after their win.

 

I agree and I also thought the starters looked ok for the most part but I do hope that we get our pass protection fixed. I say the weak point on offense was pass protection and I say the weak point on d was the corner play but we were missing a starter so I guess that's to be expected. If our front 7 can gel and get to the qb we can stand to have some weaker corner play I think.

 

And, Their quick little rb, Lewis literally broke a leg, and, their replacement gaurd, Pinkston, or Lavau, I forget which, was replacing the other, went downn...
All hat aside, their O loked way ahead of ours, so far.
Of course, they played their starters most of the first half, to see what they had.
We don`t have to do that...
Still, I`m not happy that they have Ray Horton in charge of their D... He has some talent to work with, and he knows what he is doing...
All in all... They have looked better than us, so far...
BUT....
It`s only pre-season...
And they are the Clowns...
Not too scared, but it DOES bother me, that they have looked btter than us so far, at least on the offensive side of the ball...
You play how you practice...
Which is why I have no problem with Tomlin having his guys bang heads!!!'

 

well a lot of our stems from us implementing a new blocking scheme. those teams are not doing that. of course their offenses will look better game one. we ran the ball quite well for our first outing. NY had nothing to stop LSH while our first unit was in there.

as I've said before, I think TH is still experimenting with what our new mobile line is capable of. at least part of the line is mobile anyway and they are trying to see where and when they can do things with guys like foster and gilbert, that may not be as mobile as some others along the line. it's a work in progress.

 

Oh my. lol

Bman

 

:bsux:

 

if this were jeopardy i would say the answer is .... what are 3 teams better than the steelers right now (well 2)

HINES