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First shots fired at Canada

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Blast Furnace, Jan 17, 2022.

  1. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    I agree about the pressure on Johnson, he says so what, you just have to move on and make the next catch but his reaction to fans piling on him shows he’s listening. He needs to tune all that out, all the a-holes on social media dragging him, don’t pay any attention to that, it’s just going to add to the pressure.

    Also, not making excuses here, he needs to catch those passes regardless of this but catching passes that close to the line is not easy, comes at you fast. Both drops came close to the line but he made tough catches further away. That again is play calling.
     
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  2. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Johnson had more than two drops before the playoffs. The stat I heard during the final game of the season was five in the final five games. He also had two killer fumbles, both seemingly the same sort of lack of concentration that seems to be leading to the drops.
     
  3. RockyBleier

    RockyBleier Well-Known Member

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    STD - You're right. They definitely highlighted the impact of the receivers . He said what most experienced observers/fans of the Steelers have felt about a lot of things: Canada has been a huge disappointment (what the heck is the scheme?). Ben has been a great, great franchise QB but his run is over. The O-line has to improve (although the change at center and the play of Leglue has been encouraging.
    Yes. You're right, many other things went wrong. Plus, the Chiefs are just way better. But the better team doesn't always win the football game.
     
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  4. FosterMorris

    FosterMorris Well-Known Member

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    Yeah I thought about that too. He has less time to react on those slants. It's also the worst part of Ben's game the quick decision short throws. It would be so much easier if they spread the field. Throwing 3 yard routes vs. 9 in the box. :facepalm:

    No excuses for DJ. I just can't help but think about Coach Noll giving his players extra free time in New Orleans to loosen up and not think about the game before a Super Bowl; and the contrast to Tomlin himself getting less sleep than a meth addict leading up to the game and ranting about cutting eyelids off. Ben was so casual- it's not a big deal, the pressure is on them, let's have fun etc. Tomlin is ranting about unleashing hell and chopping eyelids like one of STD's metal songs.
     
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  5. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Yes, he had 5. I was responding to Jeh saying all 5 happened the last few weeks.
     
  6. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    :roflmao:
     
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  7. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    I thought it was six total, one earlier in the season and five in the final five games, but I could be wrong about that. It seemed as if the mental issue that leads to the drops popped up again in the first game against Kansas City, when he had that ugly fumble, then a dropped pass. The issue didn't suddenly pop up in the playoff game, so the claim that he choked because the game meant more simply doesn't hold up.

    Edit: NBC Sports has him with four drops in the regular season, which was third-most on the team. They have Claypool and Harris each with six drops. Keenan Allen and Ja'Marr Chase tied for the league lead with nine. (That is yet another reason why Johnson should have been in the Pro Bowl over Allen, but I digress.)
     
  8. steelers5859

    steelers5859 Well-Known Member

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    You just can be this bad and keep your job regardless of the circumstances....
     
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  9. AFan

    AFan Well-Known Member

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    I’d only want Hines as OC if Ben comes back. The entertainment value would exceed that of the Todd Haley days. “This week on Passive Aggressive Theatre……….”
     
  10. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Thats the one thing I worry about with him, they seem to come in bunches which to me indicates it gets into his head. Not a good thing. He says the right thing, just need to move on and catch the next one but the drop seems to stay with him, still thinking about it.

    I got my stats from Pro Football Reference Advanced Stats. It varies from site to site depending on their definition of a drop.
     
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  11. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Yup. I found those after my previous post. I trust Pro Football Reference more. They have Chase leading the league with 11 drops. Travis Kelce and Deebo Samuel are among the guys with 10. Cooper cup had eight. Two Steelers had more than Johnson's five. Harris dropped seven and McLoud dropped six.

    https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2021/receiving_advanced.htm
     
  12. Confluence

    Confluence Well-Known Member

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    DJ yes has been inconsistent but he has shown improvement and growth, Canada just does not have the swash buckling confidence you want in your OC. The chiefs offense looked like the Harlem Globe Trotters compared to our shy awkward short passes and long passes to receivers covered like a blanket. Those long lottery throws on 3rd and 5 are maddeningly uncreative and to me show a lack of confidence in play calling. Canada had a year to prove himself. He looked out matched and out prepared. I wld look for a new OC.
     
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  13. S.T.D

    S.T.D Well-Known Member

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    I do agree if He make those catches it extends the drive. What We do with it after that is anyone's guess.:shrug: Chances are nothing, but if the catches are not made....We don't know.
    It's over now so....:shrug:
    On 2 next season.
     
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  14. RobertoC#21

    RobertoC#21 Well-Known Member

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    Wouldnt have mattered anyway, I heard that KC was the superior team and there was no way we could have won even if he did catch everything thrown in his general vicinity.
     
  15. FosterMorris

    FosterMorris Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't say Tomlin is "keeping his job" more like "being promoted."
     
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  16. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    A 24 point drop? That’s a bad drop!
     
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  17. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    But would he still choke in a big moment in the postseason? I’m not saying that to be argumentative. Being clutch is huge in sports. Those drops of very easy passes to catch were daggers to whatever chance we had of getting our offense going in time to put up a fight. Those weren’t drops of tough catches in combat situations downfield. They were easy slants where he would have the 1st down without any YAC. Once I can dismiss as an aberration. Twice in consecutive plays of the same routine nature and high importance is a red flag. I’m not giving up on the guy, but I’m concerned that this could become an ongoing problem.
     
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  18. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    I’ll wait to see if indeed this becomes a pattern in the playoffs. For right now, I think it’s a huge overreaction, I mean the stuff people are saying on twitter is idiotic. No talent, worse WR, trade him for Gatorade, just a bunch of braindead people going off.

    I wonder if those passes are as easy as you make them out to be. For certain he needs to catch them but I notice a lot of the receivers have struggled with those the last two seasons since we have played short ball. I think being that close to the line and the ball coming out of Bens hand so fast can make it difficult. DJ made two catches further downfield that were harder to make.
     
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  19. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    He isn't the first receiver in the NFL who would make tough catches, but drop easy ones due to inconsistent concentration. I don't think the passes themselves were particularly difficult to catch, and I don't think he choked. I think the issue is that Johnson loses concentration on plays that call for him to do some damage after the catch. The problem with that is on the second one, he already had the first down if he had just secured the ball. He has to know the situation, third-and-two, and focus on getting the first down before he worries about turning up field.
     
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  20. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Thats fair.
     
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  21. RockyBleier

    RockyBleier Well-Known Member

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    As I noted elsewhere...the 24 was a typo. I meant 14...Johnson drops a first down with 4 minutes remaining in the half. The Steelers lose possession rather than running the clock down to 2 minutes or even more. The Chiefs end up scoring 14. Ya, it was a bad drop.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2022
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  22. Master Of Puppets

    Master Of Puppets Well-Known Member

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    well arthur brings up some interesting points. looks like tomlin is staying in canada's corner and throwing ben under the bus.

    "when you have red paint, you paint the barn red" mike tomlin

     
  23. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    https://steelersdepot.com/2022/01/h...eme-with-strengths-of-roethlisberger-in-2021/

    https://steelersdepot.com/2022/01/m...surrender-to-matt-canadas-offensive-concepts/

    these two threads reenforce my thinking of what was happening with the offense and having to adjust it around what ben likes and can do. it wasn't blown up to fit mason. it was still fit to ben even if mason had to play.

    now we may see the full matt canada offense as i had said before. we were limited to ben, good or bad. don't judge mason on the offense we had to run for ben.

    life after ben begins now. last year was last year. 2019 was 2019. lot's of changes coming good or bad stay tuned. :cool:
     
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  24. Jammasterc

    Jammasterc Well-Known Member

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    Ok maybe give Canada another shot.
    But ask someone why, if the Receiver did catch the ball, was the first move 3 yards backwards then sprint to the sideline?
    Too many times it looks like they were playing sideline to sideline.
     
  25. shaner82

    shaner82 Well-Known Member

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    Disagree with your last point. NFL WR's catch slant passes every single game. They come in fast and hard. That's the nature of that route. If his instincts, reaction time, nerves, etc. can't handle that particular route, he's clearly not cut out for the job. An NFL WR needs to be able to catch a pass on a slant route. In the red zone, there are no deep routes. What good is he if he can't catch them?

    Now to be fair, I don't believe he's incapable of catching them. I know he can, but I also know he has some issues that need to be fixed. It appears that pressure and nerves can get to him easily. Hopefully with more experience and age, that resolves itself, but it's something that needs to be monitored next year. It can't keep happening.
     
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