Ignoring coaching problems for a sec, did we have the talent?

Crazy having an offense and no defense doesn’t win you championships.

 

yeah that top 10 defense was just a mirage. Bunch of bums.

 

The Cowboys beat them on a fourth-down touchdown. The had the ball with the opportunity to at least tie the Colts late until the aborted snap. Remember, the fourth quarter of that game was one of the few times the offense looked really good with Fields. They had Pickens wide open behind everybody for what should have been the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds remaining in the loss to the Bengals. For everything that went wrong that night in Cleveland, they win it if the officials call the blatant intentional grounding by Winston.

The Steelers absolutely had the opportunity and capability to win 12 games this season. They also could have ended up winning only seven or eight because they played so many close ones, but I think the ugly end to the season has blinded people to what this team could have done.

 

the only time we were top10 in ppg back then was 16 or 17.[/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]

check again, top 10 in 2011, 12, 15 (11th), 16, 17, 19, and 20.

Its the coaching, and its been the coaching for a good while now.

 

check again, top 10 in 2011, 12, 15 (11th), 16, 17, 19, and 20.

Its the coaching, and its been the coaching for a good while now.[/QUOTE]
So before it was during the killer b’s era, but now you want to go with times before and after? Hate to break it to you but 11th isn’t top 10. In 17 the defense was okay, but then we lost Shazier in December. Hardly the same going into the post season. You’re not even comparing apples to apples. Go back to 2011 and you’re talking about Hampton, Harrison, Woodley, polamalu,Timmons, Harrison, Taylor, keisel.. compare that to the 2017 roster

 

You have to remember the bengals didn’t play us the same defensively the second time around. The first time we ate them alive checking the ball down. In the second they played to stop that. Forcing us to try and beat them by running and going over the top.

 

Yeah, Jackson is such a good CB Carolina was going to cut him before the Diontae trade .

 

And they could've easily lost a few games that they won based on talent it's not a 12-win team.

 

Fair enough, but the Bengals had played better defense since the first meeting. I don't think Russell was capable of repeating that type of performance again, especially with Pickens having the worst game of his career that day.

 

Our offense lacked talent, or at least experienced talent.

I was hoping Russ could have hid some of our imperfections.

 

So before it was during the killer b’s era, but now you want to go with times before and after? Hate to break it to you but 11th isn’t top 10. In 17 the defense was okay, but then we lost Shazier in December. Hardly the same going into the post season. You’re not even comparing apples to apples. Go back to 2011 and you’re talking about Hampton, Harrison, Woodley, polamalu,Timmons, Harrison, Taylor, keisel.. compare that to the 2017 roster[/QUOTE]

Im going with 2011-2020, Tomlin’s fantastic playoff record during that time. You said they had no defense during that time and that is clearly not the case. They had plenty of defensive talent to go with Ben and the offense. They underachieved. Its a recurring theme.

 

he was good, he holds a number of panthers records. But he had an injury history and the panthers were trying to create cap space. he is a capable corner when healthy and USED CORRECTLY. That you cant dispute. Face it, Tomlin and his message have gone stale. The ineffectiveness of the defense is one of the symptoms. This team needs a change.

 

The guy who can't tackle and isn't good in man coverage is good, make it make sense .

 

That's one of the worst parts, the AFC is loaded with young stud QB's that we have to deal with for a long time.

Mahomes, Jackson, Burrow, J. Allen. Plus the young guys that are really promising, Daniels, Nix, Stroud, Maye, and Richardson. Then guys that are talented as hell that haven't put it all together but could, Lawrence, Herbert, Tua.

The AFC is LOADED, and we currently have Skylar Thompson. It's truly fxxxxxx pathetic.

 

I agree that they adjusted, but that should've been expected, and I thought the Steelers made some poor choices in countering. In the first meeting the Bengals tried to pressure the backfield a lot more (10 blitzes, 41.5 Pr%), which softened their second level and made it apt to be exposed if their blitzers don't get home.

Harris was probably the biggest beneficiary, catching all six targets for 54 yards. His ADOT was -2.5 yards, but he boasted a YAC/R of 11.5. In the second game the Bengals blitzed less (5 blitzes, 24.3 Pr%), and despite seeing nearly the same volume (4 catches, 5 targets) he only had 20 yards, ADOT of -0.8 yards, and a significantly reduced YAC/R of 4.5.

Harris also had much better success rushing in the first game, posting a line of 16/75/1 TD. He saw nearly a full yard more in both yards before contact (2.3) and after (2.4) per attempt than he did the second time around (1.4 and 1.6, respectively). If the Bengals were sitting back more I think Tomlin would have been better off getting Warren and his elusiveness more involved. But instead they took him completely out of the passing game (0 catches, 1 target) despite his 4/55 line (13.0 YAC/R) in the first game, and gave him only six carries.

Wilson was sharper in the first game, but I also think they forced the deep ball more than they needed to in the second. Their top receivers in both games had short-range ADOTs, but the Bengals just did a better job of containing the YAC the second time around (Wilson's YAC/Comp dropped from 9.3 to 3.9). Still, the Steelers took a guy like Pickens - who admittedly had a terrible second game - out of shorter ranges altogether, with his ADOT jumping from 7.3 to 14.8.

 

No the team was nowhere near talented enough. They’re still rebuilding. I’m not saying the coaching is perfect, but the players just aren’t good enough, especially on the O. It’s going to take time for the Steelers to be a real contender again. That means likely wasting what’s left of T.J.’s and Cam’s careers, but there’s no way around it unfortunately.

 

https://x.com/BenAnderson58/status/1880738095429218453?t=Z1JgCOxkq6H4DakwyL5Hlw&s=19

 

He was mediocre at best, then battled that back injury throughout the season-ending losing streak. The constant shuffling in the secondary had to contribute to the constant breakdowns on defense. That injury history you claim was the reason the Panthers wanted to move on from him ended up hurting the Steelers this season, too.

 

ok, but when did play he was not put in the best positions to do his best. Such as playing too far off the receivers. And even with the injuries, arent the backup guys supposed to know their roles also? Isnt that the meaning of next man up? I dont see how you can avoid putting blame on the lack of preparation.

 

Look at the full 53 man roster, this years team had better quality players. Still same results.