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Cleveland ended our season

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Blast Furnace, Jan 9, 2012.

  1. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    We won the game but they did the damage. If Ben doesn't get injured we most likely end up with the 1 seed. And while Cleveland ended it, Flacco's 92 yard drive put us on life support. I always look back on a season to pinpoint the most damaging loss, what game would you pick? Don't say Denver, duh :frustrated:
     
  2. colsteveaustin

    colsteveaustin Well-Known Member

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    I agree. Those Stains indirectly ended our season.I think if Ben didn't get hurt,We would of at least had a great chance at the #2 seed? Things happen for a reason.I hope we make the necessary changes in the off season.We need to draft well.
     
  3. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    Definitely the 92 yard drive against Baltimore. That game was the killer that put us in the chase position.
     
  4. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    Lets be real here then. The 49ers game had more of an impact. Had Ben not tried to play the hero in that game they would have had a better shot at getting the division and the bye thus letting Ben rest going into the playoffs. If he wanted to be the hero in all those games he should have accepted that he couldn't play the way he likes/wants to play and worked with in a system designed to work. Such as the gameplan for the Rams.
     
  5. ballhair

    ballhair Well-Known Member

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    Lets also be real about this: In the Cleveland game if Ben throws the ball away when that play broke down, he wouldn't of got hurt. He takes to many unnecessary sacks and hits all the time. He plays like a befuddled rookie too much. Thats Ben being Ben you say? So be it. Alot of fans are ok with that. I'm not.
     
  6. jnico6

    jnico6 Well-Known Member

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    Baltimore loss at home was the killer. How that clown Flacco goes 92 yards on us is still mind boggling. We win that, we get # 1 seed.
     
  7. Coke Oven

    Coke Oven Well-Known Member

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    Flacco, Tebow, the evidence is in.
     
  8. mdbates2

    mdbates2 Well-Known Member

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    I vote for the loss to Baltimore in Pittsburgh. We've seen that kind of thing way too often the last several years. A late lead is never safe against our defense. I love our D and what it does MOST of the time, but with 1:30 or more to go and a slight lead - they just give it up way too often.
     
  9. sjromano

    sjromano Well-Known Member

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    While I think the loss to Baltimore might have been an emotional turning point, you could also very easily point to the Houston loss. Winning either game would have given us the # 1 seed.
     
  10. bobtx2us

    bobtx2us Well-Known Member

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    I agree the 2nd loss to Baltimore was the deciding game, but the reason we lost it was the offense couldn't get 1 more lousy 1st down with under 2 minutes to play. We were, I recall, at 3rd & short in Balitmore territory & ran 1 of those goofy empty backfield 5 wide plays that resulted in an incompletion. The story of our season is lousy offensive play-calling & no power running game. IMO - is my recollection bad?
     
  11. SteelerJJ

    SteelerJJ Well-Known Member

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    Actually your recollection is good because the same thing happened Sunday. The last drive was the Steelers clutch-time O in microcosm.
     
  12. Myronwemissyinz

    Myronwemissyinz

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    Coach T ended our season in Cleveland. No way should 7 have taken a snap in that game!!!!!
     
  13. colsteveaustin

    colsteveaustin Well-Known Member

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    AGREE!
     
  14. 4EvrH8O'donnel

    4EvrH8O'donnel Well-Known Member

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    I think Roger Gooddell ended the Steelers season before training camp even started by taking away the aggressive way the Steelers were able to play defense. Clark and Harrison both became targets of the very inconsistent officiating crews throughout the league.
    Look no further than the pummeling that Ben took and the non call in the Denver Playoff game versus the no holding calls and the push to Tebow by Harrison which resulted in a 15 yard roughing penalty for the Steelers.
    I hate to bicker about the officiating but it was really horrible this year.
    I do admit though that most teams had their fair share of bad calls.
    Ours just really handcuffed our aggressive style more so IMO.
     
  15. ScottChab

    ScottChab Well-Known Member

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    Players get hurt. Remember Carson Palmer?
     
  16. TarheelFlyer

    TarheelFlyer Well-Known Member

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    Exactly. Both teams finished 12-4. Reverse the outcome of that one game. Just 1 game.

    The Steelers end up 13-3 and are the #1 seed in the AFC. The Ravens, despite spanking us in week 1, slip down to 11-5. The Cleveland injury surely didn't help us, but the outcome of the San Fran game may not have been different. That last second TD by Balt. was the difference.
     
  17. rukus4ever

    rukus4ever Well-Known Member

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    This is an interesting topic. However, winning any one other game does not change the following about the 2011 Steelers:

    1) Injuries en masse
    2) Low red zone conversion %
    3) Offensive stalling (especially once getting to the opposing 45-40 yd line)
    4) Lack of effective pass rush
    5) O-Line inconsistencies
    6) QB inconsistencies
    7) Suisham's leg
    8) Clock management

    This is just to name some of the issues I can think of that need improvement. These would have eventually surfaced to haunt the Steelers in a playoff game that was not in the Wildcard round.
     
  18. HawkeyeJames

    HawkeyeJames Well-Known Member

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    Yes at home late lead and of all QB's Flacco had to go 92 yards. It would have been different if it was Elway, Montana, Young or Aikman. We are talking Flacco and our defense let them off the hook. A questionable roughing the WR call in that final drive along with the wrong PI call on the TD did not help but our D let this season slip away. Then add in the billion injuries we had and this was not meant to be this year. We have a very interesting and longer off-season than we want or are used to but I have all the confidence in the Rooney's that we will be right back in the thick of the AFC for another run at the Superbowl.
     
  19. Steeldefense08

    Steeldefense08 Well-Known Member

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    We coulda had a lot more loses this season.

    1. Colts. won by a FG, but Ike got burned by Wayne. Luckily Painter sucks or that would have been a TD
    2. KC. Luckily Palko sucks cause they were driving down field in the remaining secs to take lead.
    3. Browns. Luckily McCoy was dazed and confused on that last driving series.
     
  20. FeartheBeard

    FeartheBeard Well-Known Member

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    :this!: We hung on by a thread all season. Our weak schedule was our best friend.
     
  21. Steeldefense08

    Steeldefense08 Well-Known Member

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    Just say we did lose those 3 games. we are 9-7 and probably still be ranked 2nd or 3rd in D. that would be odd.
     
  22. Jaxsteeler

    Jaxsteeler Member

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    Cleveland did not end our season, Tomlin/Ariens/Lebeau ended our season by letting Ben play after the injury and not being ready for Denver. There was no reason in the world to not sit Ben until the playoffs. Maybe even sit him out against Denver. Batch is a capable back-up. The high ankle sprain would have not healed completely with the rest but it would have been much better.
    That falls on Tomlin. Ariens contributed to a lesser extent. Lebeau completely underestimated Tebow and did not prepare the D or make the needed adjustments in time.

    All that said I would not trade our coaches, even Ariens at this point for anyone. We just need to get healthy, shore up some weaknesses thru the draft and free agency and make a run next year.
     
  23. ScottChab

    ScottChab Well-Known Member

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    Ben did not lose the Denver game.
     
  24. Jaxsteeler

    Jaxsteeler Member

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    You are 100% correct. Absolutley Ben did not lose the game. But his lack of mobility severly limited his abilities and in my opinion even if we got by Denver we would not have beat NE or Balt or anyone mainly due to the lack of mobility. Of course we will never know for sure but I think that not resting Ben doomed any chance we had to get to Indy
     
  25. rukus4ever

    rukus4ever Well-Known Member

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    Only at two points in the game: 2nd quarter, and OT (though this one was both major and mind-boggling). LeBeau contained the Broncos' offense in the 1st quarter and the entire 2nd half, and gave the offense plenty of time for a comeback. But the offense laid an egg, at the end of the 4th.

    I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The 2011 Steelers never gel'ed as a complete team of Coaching/Offense/Defense/Special Teams. This is why they failed. When most of the units stepped up, the remaining unit(s) would fail and ruin the whole plan.

    Offense should have scored at least one touchdown in the 1st half. Coaching should have managed the clock better. Defense should have stopped one of DEN's 2nd quarter TDs. Coaching should not have sold out to the run the way they did in OT. Change any one of these and the Steelers win. Change any two and you have Steelers dominance. This one issue of focus, discpline and synergy is the one step that kept the 2011 Steelers from being great.
     

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