I'm glad some of us are not coaches

Let me start be saying I TOTALLY AGREE with going for it on 4th and 1 on the opening drive. Not only were we gashing the Ravens in the run game but it was the OPENING SERIES, it did not cost us the game.

Those that would have taken the point there let me ask. Have you watched the Ravens this year? They've been awful at moving the ball without Flacco and Steve Smith. Didnt you see up put up 30plus on Denvers league leading defense? On the legion of boom in Seattle? What would make you as a coach go conservitive with EVERYTHING to play for? I dont agree however with the playcall. Why does Ben not QB sneak on short yard situations, isnt he like 250lbs? At that point why dont we hand the ball to the Fullback instead of using him as a lead block
NOW GO BACK AND LOOK AT THAT PLAY
D will lined up 9 yards behind scrimmage and Ben snaps and takes 3 steps BACKWARDS for the handoff.......REALLY???
We only needed a yard or inches depending on how you look at it?

We lost because im the first half in addition to that play we backed it up with bad tackling (Blake, Allen,Timmons,) all guilty and that was further complicated by bad BEN
Again WATCH THE GAME
Watch Ben throw of his backfoot late to the fullback, watch him miss an open Wheaton by lobbing it Late instead of zipping it, watch the force throws to Brown with Wheaton open, watch how many times Ben let the defense dictate instead of him as our leader dictate with the weapons we have, watch how many times Ben lets the clock run down to zero (specifically when we play the Ravens), watch how Ben no longer escapes pockets or the lack of stepping up into the pocket (The villanueva sack comes to mind),
I'm seeing people blame coaches where it's not necessarily warrented. The timeouts yesterday were on Ben, the 7 or 8 it's over the last 4 or 5 playoff games.......all Ben

Oddly enough when we beat Cleveland se will be 10-6 which is where most people on this board had us to start the year (2 of those losses were without Ben and 1 was squarely on the FG kicker.

We knew at the beginning of the season that the Defense sucked, we knew it qhen we drafted Golson (who knew we would lose he and Allen)
For those wanting Boykin in the slot and Gay outside (Gay got torched on the outside yesterday so I guess coaches know what they know lol)

I will throw the lack of urgency on D and sloppy tackling on Tomlin and Butler but some of us on this board are REALLY reaching of you believe a potential 10_6 team is mediocre

A pass rusher and a safety, along with a corner and we will look much better.

For those that question our draft picks or game management. I've had Sunday ticket for more than 10 years and have seen every coach fubar on time management.

And NO ONE MISSES on DRAFT PICKS more than Bellicheck. (Except maybe Cleveland) go look at how many NE had had since BB has been coach

Now LET'S GO STEELERS!!!

 

I agree with everything u said except your title

U need to change some to ALL

 

How can you say Tomlin should have gone for it on 4th and 1 from the 25 when the Steelers lost by 3?

Ravens dominated the TOP 35:25 minutes. Their offense controlled the game with a backup QB and a backup RB.

Harbaugh demonstrated how to properly manage a game. Hopefully Tomlin was paying attention.

 

One thing for sure - you won't be coaching soon either - soundbites rule the day - need to be terse and succinct like Captain Obvious. Otherwise I pretty much agree completely with your well-stated dissertation.

 

regardless of who you play you go for the points on the road. get on the board and keep the fans out of it.

on fourth downs this year we are 4 for 12 - tied for last in the league

 

that's idiotic. nobody knew what the final score was going to be on the first drive. if you think that is why they lost you need to learn more about football. I am sorry but that is ridiculous

 

Big game like that, on the road, against your biggest rival, with a playoff birth on the line, you take the points.

End of story.

 

You always take the points. football 101. Especially at that point of the game. Tie game - you take the points. If you have a comfortable lead then maybe you go for it to put the dagger in...but you do that closer to the endzone. say maybe inside the 10 yard line? It might make sense then.

Since when did Tomlin start posting here? It's funny that you take issue with everyone's opinion and point out our profession...but you also have an opinion and you are not a coach as well..... your opinion turned to be wrong..and cost us the playoffs. The feeling is mutual believe me. Most coaches take the points in that situation. Anyone who's actually played the game would agree.

If it's a tie ball game late in the 4th quarter we'd be eating up clock and trying to kick the game winning FG if not a TD. That 3 points changed everything.

 

BTW player mistakes like mistakes / blown coverage / turnovers etc. are all correctable ... any good coach knows how to keep those types of things to a minimum. There's a reason the GREAT coaches inthe NFL don't typically lose games like that due to mistakes. They definitely don't beat their own teams or make decisions that often become an obstacle for your team to over come. It's tough enough to beat your opponent let alone beating the mental errors by the coaching staff. Sure sometimes you take gambles and sometimes they don't work out. But there's a time and place for those things... you don't typically take big risks against bad teams.

 

The whole point is you don't know what the final score will be so you take the points.

That became evident to everyone but you at the end of the game... but hey I'm the idiot right? Hahaha.

Tomlin himself admitted his 4th down decision as a key factor in losing. It is not open to debate.

 

I would say our lack of success on 3rd downs is far more indicative than a single play. We're 38-39% on the year and probably worse than that yesterday. If I remember correctly Ben was 2-7 on 3rd down and only one went for a first down. I brought 3rd downs up over a month ago. Hoping and pleading that we would stop going Air Haley on 3rd downs and opt for higher percentage plays. One way has a 60-70% chance of success and the other roughly 20%. But, the bombs are exciting and it gets the team and fans fired up. You know what gets the team and fans even more fired up? Winning

Just checked we were 2-8(25%) on 3rd down.

 

Unless you have an agenda then you would understand why Tomlin took the risk of going for it on 4th and 1. The Steelers had a lot of success running the ball the first series. With the way the Steelers offense was performing for the past few weeks there was some room to make up 3 points if the 4th and 1 attempt wasn't successful. A game is never won or loss on the first series of the game. Hindsight is hindsight.

Not sure how you support Harbaugh when his team has been managed to the point of having a losing record.

 

Tomlin is one of the worst coaches in the league. It is obvious to almost everyone who watches this team week in and week out. The few plays he does call are absolutely moronic. And if he had anything to do with the bombs they threw praying to get PI at end of game knowing their offense sucked balls. Harbaugh is 10x a better coach than MT, and harbaugh sucks. People need to wake up. This staff, including an abysmal gm, is garbage. Or he hots homeruns on O and is just garbage at D.......

 

Bell had 121 yards rushing on 17 carries against KC in the game Tomlin went for it on 4th from KC's 32. It didn't work then either.

Just because you have had success running the ball is no guarantee of outcome.

Why would you give up a score when you are still 25 yards out? That makes no sense. Make it a one score game. There is no guarantee of a TD. In fact there was no guarantee of a single ****ing yard.

SMFH

 

Sometimes plays work and sometimes they don't. 4th and 1 was a risk that Tomlin thought would work out in the team's favor. It didn't work out. The team had a lot of time left to make up for it.

You are right, there's no guarantee that a 42 yard field goal goes through the goal posts. So in essence, Tomlin didn't give up a score. You put up a counter argument to your stance without even realizing it AGAIN.

Teams can overcome missed FG's, penalties, ect. It's extremely difficult to overcome turnovers. Turnovers are where the Ravens game was loss.

 

That's interesting you say that turnovers cost the game because Tomlin said his 4th down blunder could be counted as turnover on downs.


Oooooh! You just contradicted yourself! Oooooh!

And let's look at the probability hmm.

Boswell is 93% on the year for field goals.

The Steelers are 33% on 4th downs on the year.

The Steelers have a 60% TD percentage from the red zone on the year.

So even if the Steelers made the 4th it is still just as likely they end with a FG as with a TD.

Now based on statistics and Tomlin's own admission his mistake counted as a turnover in a game decided by turnovers are you prepared to admit that...

Never mind. You're so much smarter than everyone just like Tomlin. Why even kick field goals at all when you can just score touchdowns?! God! I'm so stupid!!!

Feel better?

 

the problem with our 4th downs is we almost always give it to the running back who is starting 5 yards deep in the backfield. If we need 1 or less yards and I've got a 6 5" qb he is going up the middle.

OR whatever happened to the backs diving over the pile? maybe that was a thing of the 70's but it certainly worked.

it's odd we are the best at the 2 point conversion and worst at 4th downs

 

Sure it would have made a difference. Maybe idiotic is tonstrong. Sorry for that but during the course of a football game u can point to alot of things. What if he missed the kick. Would everyone be saying he should have went for it? What if antonio catch had been ruled a td? Or better yet what if ben hadn't throw to picks?

Points are never a sure thing in a football game. That I know. Just cause u were in range doesn't mean an automatic 3. It was 4th and 1 at the 25. I like our chances converting that. Now it didn't work out but I am not going to concede a 42 yard fg this time of year in any stadium

 

I agree with the 3rd down assessment we were awful but I will reiterate if anyone feels like the game yesterday was lost on a failed opening drive 4th and 1 with a team that was averaging 30 plus a game then God Bless You!
This isnt the 2008 - 2013 Ravens where every point is at a premium because of their defense
Theyve allowed 25 or more points in 9 of their games this year including 2(30) point games to the Browns, thats right the Browns!!!!
I like going for it on 4th and 1 early, hate the playcall and execution (easier for Ben to snap and pivot handoff to the fullback than snap and retreat 4 yards backwards for the handoff

I dont have to defend Tomlins record it speaks for himself especially in December. Too many here want to replace a coach who has been one of the best (percentage wise since his tenure began, feel free to measure him against Harbaugh, McCarthy or anyone else you can think of). People want Tomlin to be like Cowher but Cowher lost big games too and hated adjustments, be like Bellicheck but he has Brady(check BB's record before Brady).
And again thats part of my point Ben is not Brady. Brady spreads the ball, changes cadence and tempo, QB sneaks with success on 4th down.
Ive heard we should have hired Arians but wait didnt we beat the Cardinals this year and lets be real, whos defense would you rather have? That D alone has won several games for them in theast 2 years.
We're close, closer than what you might think but continuity is part the reason why Seattle, Bengals, and Cardinals are playing so well.
This team at its current state will go as far as Ben and Leveon takes us, and Leveon aint coming back this year.

Question AND BE HONEST: Last week How many wanted the Steelers to run the clock down and kick the ball back to Denver instead of do what Ben did which was complete a pass to AB and basically end the game. Now if you said no I want the offense to finish the game its because you like I believe in IT over the capabilty of the Defense to stop the opposition team when it matters, and that for me is exactly why I go for it on 4th and 1 on the opening drive

 

Ben waved off the FG unit,he wanted to go for it on 4th and 1.

 

Ben always wants to go for it.

That is still Tomlin's call.

 

I think it's inappropriate to think the FG, if attempted and made there, would've had no effect on what followed. I don't recall Harbaugh being a coach who scripts out the first 15 plays. As it was, BAL had to come out and take over on downs relatively ASAP. If PIT makes the FG, there's a commercial break, then a kickoff/touchback, then another commercial break, then finally they start playing again. Big difference right there in planning and attitudes, even ignoring the scoring momentum and whatever effect being down by 3 might have on BAL.

[edited for spelling 'n' punctuation -- I hate that]

 

I think if I was a coach, I'd look for a new strategy to get off the field on third down.