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Fools Gold or Real Thing?

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Blast Furnace, Oct 13, 2021.

  1. Fakers, will be exposed by the next good team

    20 vote(s)
    64.5%
  2. I believe!

    11 vote(s)
    35.5%
  1. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    This is a weird place for me to be, I’ve always been optimistic with this team but the source of that optimism has always been Ben, as long as we had Ben, I felt we had a shot. That clearly isn’t the case anymore. Yes, Ben looked better and wasn’t as awful as he has been the past 10 games or so but he didn’t resemble anything of the Ben that always kept me optimistic.

    The line showing improvement and ground game getting on track are encouraging but I feel that as soon as they play the next good team, they will be exposed again. Fans made too big a deal about the Bills game but many of us were concerned because Ben wasn’t good and they won that game in spite of him.

    The margin of error for this team to win is razor thin, the blueprint offers not flexibility. You need the defense to ball out every game, we saw what happened when they faltered in the 4th quarter, 3 great quarters isn’t enough. They also need the ground game to churn out big yardage which allows Ben to be game manager Ben because once it’s on him to win the game, they’ve already lost. He’s not that guy anymore.

    Anyone confident that the defense can do that every game? And stay healthy? The Oline to have a good showing like that every week? Najee going off for 120 yards to keep Bens pass attempts down?

    It’s also a weird place to be for me because my heart was happy to see them win Sunday, I still get just as pumped up about it but in the aftermath my head knows all they did was hurt their draft stock.

    But I can’t root for them to lose and will be cheering for a win on Sunday and think they may get past Seattle with no Wilson but ugly Ben will show up when the good teams show up and we’ll be reminded all over again.

    upload_2021-10-13_15-37-34.gif
     
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  2. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

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    Fools gold lol but they will be alright
     
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  3. TuRnDoWnForWaTT

    TuRnDoWnForWaTT Well-Known Member

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    I don't think we overreacted to the Bills game. When fully healthy this is a top 5 defense. The problem is that the Bills game was probably the last time the defense will be healthy. Even then we were without Tuitt. Still this defense is good enough to be competitive. If the offense can continue to run the ball, and not be Ben dependent, then the opportunity is there for this team to sneak into the playoffs. I think we all knew going in that a wildcard was going to be this teams ceiling.

    As for draft stock, I never think that way. These Steelers seasons go by fast, especially as we all get older. Don't waste it worrying about next years draft
     
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  4. Maddog78

    Maddog78 Well-Known Member

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    I think they're fools gold, but I'm still hoping they can stay alive as long as possible to keep the season fun. We've already had one huge break go our way with Wilson's injury, maybe there will be more.

    Best (realistic) case, we win enough games to convince Aaron Rodgers to sign a 3-year deal next year to put us over the top. If we bottom out and get a top 5 pick, he may not want to be part of a rebuild.
     
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  5. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    Not particularly worried about the defense. I think they will be above average to solid. Losing Alualu definite;y hurt and knocked us down a notch. I be;Ives the offensive line will continue to improve. Then we just need a compliment to Harris(maybe McFarland). As for Ben he just to play game manager and not hurt us. If he can stop making boneheaded decisions and putting the defense in losing situations we will be fine. Not Super Bowl caliber, but good enough to appease the torch and pitchfork crowd.
     
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  6. Ytownsteeler

    Ytownsteeler Well-Known Member

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    Fools gold. We were desperate and had to win after three weeks of grief and played a bad banged up team at home. We win 7 games and miss out on any real QBs and have to pray we get Rogers
     
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  7. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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    @Blast Furnace as you pointed out in your OP this team has no margin for error, the offence is just not good enough to overcome bad luck, bad officiating or the mistakes / penalties that are inevitable with a cobbled together and youthful OLine.

    Defence is good when healthy but they haven’t been healthy since Devin Bush went down in the Browns game last year, it has been one injury after the next since. Injuries effect every team but the Steelers seem to be utterly hexed since that day and always seem to be missing 4-5 starters on defence in particular

    They might come out of the bye in reasonable health and rally to a point but their ceiling is the Wildcard round even if everything goes right. Steelers aren’t a bad team but there are several much better teams in the AFC right now.

    This team is in a kind of holding pattern until Ben retires. They are not good enough to be relevant in the postseason, but they are not bad enough to get a draft pick that will give them a chance of their next QB either because the defence will grind out some ugly wins like we saw in buffalo week 1

    An average OLine and a good QB would probably make this team an outside contender and I don’t think Tomlin has a rebuild with a rookie QB in him. I would not be surprised if they go after Rodgers. I know it’s not the Steeler way etc etc but crazier things happen in this league all the time.
     
  8. S.T.D

    S.T.D Well-Known Member

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    You already know How I feel.
    I Honestly watch Quite a lot of Football....probably a unhealthy amount. LoL...., and I know You don't believe Me...., but You judge Ben unlike You judge other Qbs...I believe a lot do....for example...and this is just one....the this ball and that ball could have been Ints.....I don't know if I watched a game this Week in the NFL that I didn't see that at least once .....Some way more.

    Put it this way.
    I've seen a lot worse Qbs than Ben Win SBs.
    Also at Ben's Very Best we weren't Winning SBs....His Very Best Years Our D was so Bad it was pitiful.
    When We Were Winning SBs....He was Good, but Not at His Best, but the Team was.
    There is a reason Only 2 teams in the History of the NFL have Won a SB without a Top 10 D.
    So with all that said..........
    I Believe. :smiley1:
    Note: the Smile is not large enough
     
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  9. 86WardsWay

    86WardsWay Well-Known Member

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    I'd like the option of Other please.

    I'm too hard of a die hard fan to refer to them as Fakers. Faking would mean they have talent but refuse to use it. The talent is there but they are too decimated by injuries at this point and that is very unfortunate. This will hinder them more than anything going forward. It's not going to be Bens age or immobility or even his inconsistency. It's the fact that we are crippled at this point with injuries and will probably still pull off 6 or 7 wins. Healthy and I think we are still talking possible playoffs.
     
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  10. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Not true. You haven’t been here long enough but once upon a time I used to defend Ben as you do.

    You can’t look at Ben’s off target passes and interceptions in a vacuum which is what you are doing every time you compare him to another QB making a bad pass. We have a large consistent body of work of poor QB play to judge Ben on, it’s an ongoing pattern. He’s not remotely the QB he was, it happens to just about every QB not named Brady. Peyton was hot garbage at the end. Father Time loses to no one, he’ll get Brady eventually if he’s too stubborn to retire soon.
     
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  11. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    They're fools gold because they aren't Super Bowl contenders, but I'm not rooting for losses to get a better draft pick, they still have a shot at a wildcard berth.
     
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  12. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Yup. Ben used to be able to overcome bad Olines or no run game or less than stellar WR’s, he can’t do that anymore.

    They have a punchers chance of wining 3 of the next 4 games if they can follow the blueprint and then the floor will drop out and things will get ugly.
     
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  13. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    *Whew


    Man Blast. Most difficulty I have had with such a question. Week One showed that this defense is very good if not great. The problem has not been the defense but the lack of cohesion between them. Having injuries towards the most key players have stymied that cohesion a good deal.



    Should this Defense remain healthy, I say this teams chances of winning are better. For the playoffs?!?!..... well.... that aspect depends on the continued growth and development of the Offensive Line. The fifth performance was a good step in the right direction but now, consistency is required from here on out; health permitted.
     
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  14. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    I said fakers mainly because of the injuries.
     
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  15. hmmmmm

    hmmmmm Well-Known Member

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    Fools gold because the coach needs the most talented team in the league just to lose in the first round. This team with a great coach could win a playoff game.
     
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  16. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

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    I’ll tell you one thing, we play the bills right now and we get smoked lol
     
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  17. LambertsDentist

    LambertsDentist Well-Known Member

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    As STD said, some pretty crappy QBs have won SBs. Hell, we almost won the SB in the 95 season with, well, you know who. I've seen Mark Malone and Kordell Stewart take us to the AFCCG.

    We had some good teams between Bradshaw and Ben. These were good teams because of good defenses and running games. Not because of our QBs.

    We lost 1 defensive starter for the season but other than him the rest of our defense could very possibly stay relatively healthy. That's still an elite defense.

    The O Line might be starting to gel. Remember that the line's starting 5 never played together in the preseason (what the hell, Tomlin!). If they continue to improved then we'll have that running game to go with the defense. Defenses can't stack the box like they did with The Bus because Ben still has enough to make them pay should they try.

    I'm not predicting we win the SB this year but it's still a very real possibility. It'll take a lot of luck, but luck always plays into winning it.

    I realize some will disagree with me but be forewarned, even if we're mathematically eliminated from the playoffs it'll be impossible to root for more losses for higher draft status. There were times in the 80s when I'd start watching a game knowing in my head that a loss would benefit us but I'd still find myself rooting for our team. We're trapped. It's in our blood to root for victory. Resistance is futile.
     
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  18. troybellringer55

    troybellringer55 Well-Known Member

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    If the Steelers can get and stay healthy on defense, get line play like the last 2 games. Keep najee going. Start to use Pat F.
    They could creep on a 9-8 record I think.
    Schedule is brutal brutal…
    Browns and Ravens 4 times, chargers, kc, a better then ya think bengals
    Who knows… time will tell…
     
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  19. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

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    Yeah 9-8 is really good considering the schedule
     
  20. S.T.D

    S.T.D Well-Known Member

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    I shouldn't even be on here now, but I can't sleep....Anyway.....
    Super Winner comment. :bowdown:
     
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  21. Animus

    Animus Well-Known Member

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    I'm going with fool's gold. I still think that this a 7, maybe 8, win team. This OLine definitely looked better but will takes steps back as they continue to gel and become a unit.

    As for bad QBs taking teams to the SB, yea. We all seen it happen. But those teams had OLs and RBs to fall back on as well as a top 3 defense. That's not the Steelers of today. They can certainly grow into that. But I won't get my hopes up. The key is to get Harris going early and often, don't get into 2nd and 3rd & long, and avoid getting down by ten. If Ben throws for more than 30, it greatly diminishes our chances of winning (any game).
     
  22. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    i made the comment way back that there will be growing pains.

    1. so many new coaches in a new offense.
    2. new offensive line.
    3. injuries.
    4. ben's decline.
    5. takes time for all to gel and not just the o-line. claypool only year two. juju now gone. friermuth new. gentry really still new. najee new. sutton in a new role of playing more. pierre new. new assistant DB coach. alualu gone. tuitt gone so far. new d-linemen. davis out so far. new TE coach. new OC. new QB coach. new O-Line coaches. fairly new WR coach. maulet in new role and as a new player. schobert new. ingram new. witherspoon new. killebrew new. wormley new in a starting role. rookies all over.

    many new moving parts that all have to get together. we really shouldn't have expected this all to work as a swiss watch right out of the gate, and it shouldn't be compared to what we did last year either because the parts are much different except for the name of the team. there has been a lot of change. there are many new players and coaches. it takes time. :cool:
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2021
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  23. SteelerGlenn

    SteelerGlenn

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    I believe. If we continue to improve on offense and barring injuries to significant players I still believe we make the playoffs.
     
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  24. CK 13

    CK 13 Well-Known Member

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    Not a believer yet and voted as such.

    I feel the O Line improved and Najee showed why he was the #1 pick. Ben being the game manager keeping the throws to 30. Of course there are going to be those games where its a 40 to 50 banger but the margin of error gets wider the more throws. The Defense took a step back losing Alualu and groingate but have rebounded. Some under the radar players have been stepping up.

    But as mentioned the schedule gets rough after the bye. Seattle is no gimme even without Wilson. Our Defense played its best game against Buffalo and feel we caught them sleeping. But it was a win none the less. Take care of Seattle and then let the chips fall where they may.

    My prediction was 9-8.
     
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  25. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Seattle will be a good measuring stick for where our offense is. Their defense is ranked near bottom or last in a lot of categories.

    If we struggle to put up points on them, then it’s worse than I fear.

    I see a lot of good posts for believing but I think the elephant in the room is Ben, he will derail any of those positives being mentioned.

    Sorry STD, I’m really not trying to needle you :lolol:

    I’ve just lost all faith in Ben. Hope you can serve me up a plate of crow at the end of the season.
     
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