Time to eat some Crow!!!

This isn’t going to taste good but needs to be done!!!!

Tomlin is doing a mighty Fine Job!!!
I’m not going to chronicle ALL the adversity he has faced this year BUT this TEAM is fighting Hard, not quitting and Winning games and as of right Now they are in the Playoffs!!!!

Butler is Doin a mighty fine Job!!!
That one tasted nasty But since firing Porter taking on that job as well Watt is a DPOY candidate and Dupree Looks like a pro bowl OLB..... Without Tuitt our DL hasn’t missed a beat, communication problems of the past seem to have disappeared with the benching of Vince Williams and Burns and Sean Davis on IR, This Defense is becoming what we fans recognize and Love !!

Danny Smith isn’t as horrible as I thought!
Yuck!! He might actually be a decent ST coach if he had a Decent Returner!!!!

Fichtner still sucks as OC!!!

Colbert And Mayock fighting for NFL executive of the Year!!!

Cajun

 

Let's see how Steelers do against the bottom feeders of the NFL. So far, Tomlin has done a great job this year, but we've been burned before.

 

The trade for Fitzpatrick has literally turned our defense around! A+ for the front office.

 

And do you noticed we don't drop our outside linebackers in pass coverage like we have in past years. I think it has helped our defense and pass rush tremendously.

 

Yes yes and yes

 

The defense is still suffering from huge breakdowns on third-and-long far too often. They still can't cover tight ends and they still often leave the middle of the field open. The Rams did them a huge favor by giving up and running draws on at least two third-and-long plays yesterday.

Is the defense better because Butler is doing something right or is it that they finally have two outside linebackers generating consistent pressure and they added Fitzpatrick after years of substandard play from both safeties? I think it is more of the latter, but Butler deserves some credit. He also deserves blame for the schematic and communication issues that continue to plague the defense.

Yes, Smith had his guys prepared for the Rams to run a fake. Great. That should happen. The Rams love fake punts due to Hekker's athleticism and his ability to throw. The special teams still take too many penalties. The kickoff coverage is inconsistent and the return game is a joke. Smith deserves plenty of blame for that.

Regarding Tomlin, I absolutely give him credit for helping to steady the ship after a disastrous start to the season. I also give him blame for yet another slow start to the season and the ongoing issue with slow starts in games. For years, we've seen his teams seem to be unprepared at the start of games. That is still the case this season.

 

Maybe due to the fact the secondary is good.

 

I’ll have what he’s having....

Are you still locked in the basement

 

Excellent Point Jad!

We actually have what seems to be a self-sufficient secondary. Because we do, it seems to be trickling down to all of the other positions on the "D". STEELWINDS

 

It's not exactly been pretty but it's been winning football.

Defense has been carrying them.
There will be a time where they are going to have a down day, and the offense will have to be better if we are to win.

 

I will give him this much. He might be better than his coaching opponent this weekend

 

I'll give more credit to Minka and Colbert than i will to Tomlin.. lol

 

I'm not coming to the table ... just quite yet. I want to see the finishing product in dec

 

Is it also out of the realm of possibility that Tomlin isn’t meddling in the D. Maybe Butler told him it may be my last year , let me do it my way. Notice not nearly as many communication issues? OLBs blitzing more like you said. Major talent increase in the secondary as well is extremely helpful. Fitz, Nelson and it seems Haden is more comfortable with just having to do his job and everyone else is doing theirs. Maybe Austin is also having a big impact on keeping communication and assignments on point. Or lastly maybe 10 first rounders are just ballin and even our coaches can’t screw it up

 

Watch the Colts game again. The middle was still open plenty. Fitzpatrick covers up many flaws, but the issues are still there when opponents actually protect their quarterbacks one in a while.

The current run has been a very pleasant surprise. This team plays ugly, but it is fun to watch. The down side is they could easily still miss the playoffs and 8-8 will probably be enough to keep any coaches from losing their jobs.

 

He already has done well against two of them. One against Miami and one against Cincy. Only remaining two are Arizona and the New York Jets.


Not worried about either.

 

Really, there is one man who is being left out in all of this. An important one at that. I am beginning to believe more and morw that this man is in fact Kevin's Colbert's successor:






Considering that Colin Dunlap, for all his... takes, is a reliable source, Brandon Hunt seems destined to take over for Kevin. Among the in house hires, this one I would have no issues with. Brandon seems more than capable to take over as GM.

 

Well Cajun... you already know my feelings on Tomlin. Has it wavered from time to time. Absolutely. However, will this be Tomlin's greatest season should Pittsburgh make the playoffs?!?! Most definitely.



Not too many coaches can overcome the loss of their starting QB; a HOF one at that. This is also not accounting for losing two All Pro talents on the Offensive side of the ball either. The Minkah acquisition seems to be the final piece for the defense.



Now, with the defense seemingly set, time to work on the Offensive side of the ball again. First up?! Find an Offensive Center as there is no succession plan in place for Maurkice. If there are no Offensive Center's available, take a Running Back. Chuba Hubbard from Oklahoma State seems to be a good start. D'Andre Swift another although I am not too fond of Running Backs as a whole under six feet in height.

 

I assume you are referring to the Jack Doyle Touchdown?! Rather, are you referring to those underneath routes?! That was a Devin Bush issue. For that matter, that is a fundemental issue on both Inside Linebackers. He was targeted again on a critical Third Down and made up for his mistake. Overall though, I agree with you on the coverage in the middle.



The middle of the field is still an issue. Both Bush and Barron have to play better in that regard; getting more depth in their zones being a good starting point. For me though, Devin Bush has gotten better. Mark Barron remains a bit of an issue.

 

In light of how Derrick Henry is performing in the NFL . On the subject of drafting a RB ,Najee Harris put on a show against LSU albeit in a loss but he showed speed, power and excellent receiving skills. He should translate well to the NFL , much like Henry. Probably long gone by our 2nd round pick though....but I’m a dreamer.

 

The thing about Alabama Running Backs though is that their level of touches concerns me. Man oh man are most of them beaten into the ground. Josh Jacobs was the RARE exception to that rule.


That said, Najee is a good starting point. As you said, not too much to nitpick given his Running Style. I will say his build up speed is a bit slow for a Power Back.

 

Can't knock how you feel and respect your position up to this point in the season. I am not ready to commit to anything about our coaches until week 17. To me they suck until they don't suck and that takes a whole seasons worth of work. Yea, we are the 6th seed in the piss poor AFC right now. Last year, we were in the playoffs at 7-2-1 and we collapsed in spectacular fashion. I will admit we are more competitive than we started out at so I will hold my 2 cent analysis until then. First, lets beat the Stains in their own house.

 

Like Scribe said (man I hate agreeing with him), this team has been fun to watch. As much as I like Bush (no pun intended), and I really do like him, he has a lot to learn yet about covering the middle of the field. I suppose that is a good thing at this point in his career.