Division race once again could be over on Sunday...

Great post. Lots of truth and facts. I agree 100%.

 

On my count, we’ve actually lost more at home than at theirs to them in the last ten years... by a total of 3 to 2.

I think the big question is where the Bengals are coming off the bye. We have a lot of recent history of being there when other teams “turn the corner” and start playing well.

 

We are 7-2 last 9 vs bagels

 

You could be right. The fact that you could be right makes me think neither is going to happen. As some others have said, division races are never settled this early. Not to mention if you've learned one thing as a steeler fan it has to be "never count your chickens before they hatch" We love losing to bad teams.

 

No gamethread?

 

you were saying ?

 

This division race is essentially over at this point with the Steelers being 2 games up on both the Ravens and Bengals with the tiebreaker in hand. I have a very very hard time seeing either one of those teams catching the Steelers and winning this division it's not happening.

 

It will take a catastrophe to lose the division now. Our goal should be to take it one game and maintain focus. We've still got some issues that need to be ironed out. Red Zone offense and run defense come to mind. Great teams win games they deserve to lose. If the defense struggles will the offense pick up the slack? Right now I'd say no. We need to find ways to get in the endzone. the Jekyll and Hyde personality of this team has me confused. Hard to get your head around the fact that the same team that lost to the Bears and Jags beat the Chiefs and Bengals like they did.

The most obvious concern is we have a lot of football left . Injuries could ruin everything. I hope Tomlin starts taking a little better care of Ben and Bell.

 

Sorry, but none of this is accurate. Too early to call anything one way or another. As it stands, no one in the division has really proven on the field that they are worthy of winning it. We should run away with it easily, but history says we'll make it far tighter than it should be.

If we don't figure out how to score from the red zone, we're in for some major disappointments.

 

I'll still say this division race is over. No way are either the Bengals or Ravens good enough to overcome a 2 game and essentially a 3 game deficit with the Steelers currently owning the tiebreaker.

 

I want to agree with you. I really do. On paper, we should be undefeated with a 27 point average margin of victory. But at this point, we're no more consistent than the Ravens and we're an injury or two away from playing for next season.

What did you think when Lev twisted his ankle? Did the season flash before your eyes? See, on paper we should be nearly unbeatable. But even with all our stars in place, we're only mediocre. Lose one or two for a significant amount of time and mediocre turns to futile.

 

You're really bad at this.

 

It's gonna happen again. Write it down, hell... carve it in stone. I predict the next egg-lay will be vs. the Titans in a few weeks. It may happen in Detroit this week.

If the offense scores FGs instead of TDs vs. New England... it's a sure loss. I was pleased with the defense, but the offense is still not producing in the red zone like it should. If someone knows the red zone stats of all teams, post them. I bet the Steelers are in the bottom 5 of the entire league. That is pathetic with all of the talent at QB, RB and WR.

 

Still not happy with the red zone offense. It's terrible. I could see the 9ers or the Browns being that bad in the red zone... but the Steelers?!!?! WTH?

On a brighter note.. the defense looks to be the best it's been since 2011. Still not at '08 or '05 levels, but impressive to say the least. Dupree, Watt, Heyward, Davis and Haden had great games vs. Bengals. All of them deserve a game ball.

 

Early in the season, Ben was going to Jesse James a lot in the EZ. It seemed last night that the TEs were a non-factor when we got there. I don't really get how we seem to go so one-dimensional inside 20 yards, when in between the 20s there's far more variation in plays and targets.

A headscratcher, to be sure.

 

Still lots of football left. But, it's ours to lose.

Steelers have two of the remaining three, AFC North games at home as well.

Need to keep winning, Going to need to be 13-3 or 12-4 to have legit shot of being the #1 Seed.

Hopefully, the Dolphins and Bills can play the Pats hard, as they don't look very crappy this year at all.

Need someone in the AFC West to put down the Chiefs.

 

The patriots have 5 road games out of their next 7 and they will lose at least 2 of those games, and my upset game for this week is the chargers over the pats, chargers have won 3 in a row and beat denvers defense yesterday 21-0 so rivers shouldnt have a problem carving up the pats rookie secondary....

 

You know I kind of like how some of you questioning where the Steelers are right now - red zone, Ben not producing, targeting specific players, stretching the field, etc. The Steelers have always been a team of peaks and valleys (as much so as I can remember anyhow). I would hate to think we are peaking at this point in the season. Another 2 weeks and we should be playing some of our best ball. To me, the question then becomes how long can we ride or stay at the peak? I'm hoping all the way to a Superbowl victory!

 

And this offense is going to stay mediocre untill this wussy tomlin fires Haley and gets a young innovative OC in here that can change this predictable offense, look at how the falcons has went from the highest scoring offense to the lowest in one year since they hired sarkasian one of the worst OCs even when he was coaching washington and USC in college, here is a couple college OCs who are innovative and X O guys who could upgrade our offense:

6 Joe Moorhead, Penn State

Moorhead is extremely well-respected in coaching circles, both as a play caller and as a developer of young quarterbacks. And as the hired fixer of the Lions’ necrotic attack, he now has a chance to showcase those skills to a much broader audience. Plus, the 42-year-old Moorhead is unlike most young coordinators in that he’s already had a successful stint as a head coach. Athletic directors will love the added security of knowing he went 38-13 in four seasons at Fordham, leading the Rams to three straight playoff appearances behind one of the FCS’ most explosive offenses.

5. Sonny Cumbie, TCU
Cumbie, like so many of Mike Leach’s former quarterbacks, is rising quickly through the coaching ranks. He’s only 34, yet he’s already in his fourth season as a Big 12 coordinator, the third in Fort Worth.


Along with fellow co-coordinator Doug Meacham, Cumbie has been instrumental in revolutionizing the Horned Frog attack. After struggling in its first two seasons in the Big 12, TCU has averaged at least 42 points per game in each of Cumbie’s two years on the staff.


4. Tim Drevno, Michigan
Jim Harbaugh is unavailable to the other 127 FBS programs. However, there is the next best thing, an assistant who’s worked alongside the game’s hottest head coach for all but one of the last 13 seasons. Drevno has been Harbaugh’s right-hand-men at San Diego, Stanford, the 49ers and now in Ann Arbor. As such, he understands the formula for winning at a high level and has the temperament to thrive in a competitive and pressure-packed environment. At 47, Drevno is in his coaching prime, and is poised to be the next member of the Harbaugh coaching tree to earn a big promotion.

3. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Riley began making a name for himself as the East Carolina OC earlier in the decade. It’s in Norman where his coaching career experienced liftoff. He’s an Air Raid whiz kid who played for Mike Leach at Texas Tech before joining the program as an assistant. And while Riley’s Pirate teams were perennially prolific, it was his impact with the Sooners in 2015 that really piqued the interest of ADs across the landscape. With Riley calling the shots, Oklahoma produced its most points in seven years and Baker Mayfield erupted into one of the game’s premier playmakers.

2. Mike Sanford, Notre Dame
One of the top college football offensive coordinators around, Sanford is going to be a head coach. It’s merely a matter of when that happens. He’s the epitome of a riser in the ranks, becoming Brian Kelly’s coordinator a year ago at the age of 33. The son of a college coach, Sanford also spent three successful seasons at Stanford and coordinated the Boise State attack before getting to South Bend. He’s bright, energetic and determined to keep growing, within and outside of Notre Dame. Sanford did a bang-up job with the ND quarterbacks a year ago, having DeShone Kizer ready to roll after starter Malik Zaire was lost to a season-ending ankle injury.

1. Lane Kiffin, Alabama
After getting canned by USC in 2013, Kiffin badly needed to restore his reputation. Two seasons with Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa has been like redemption boot camp for Kiffin, who’s played a key role in the Tide’s recent success.


Kiffin deservedly gets a lot of the credit for the overall success of the offense as well as the individual development of quarterbacks Blake Sims and Jake Coker as seniors. Plus, Kiffin’s personal growth at Bama will help make an administration more comfortable extending that offer for him to once again be the face of a program.

 

Perhaps but maybe this defense is good enough to put enough pressure on Brady so he does not put up 30-40 pts? This is a pretty dynamic defense .. And defenses win championships. This offense is sputtering but Bell and Brown are doing very well .. Keep pounding the rock with Bell Conner and Watson and we win. Simple strategy really.