Execution or Coaching?

This year's Steelers seem to consistently beat lesser teams with greater talent and lose to teams with equal to slightly less than equal talent. If this is true, is it due primarily to coaching or primarily to execution? It seems almost every pass play "breaks down" and needs to be extended. Are they that poorly designed or are the players just not executing them as they should? I don't know. The offense just seems so bush league. We can all sit in our living room, and call every run.

I think the same is true of the defense. They seemed like super men against New England, but couldn't get off the field last night. Baltimore had them exactly where they wanted them every third-and-long. Why couldn't they make a stop on obvious passsing downs? Ryan Clark said there was "miscommunication" on the final touchdown. Miscommunication?!?!? You've got to be kidding me. How many times are we going to hear this?

And what about the delay of game on the final field goal attempt? More "miscommunication?" Where are the heads of the coaching staff and players?

Who's responsible? Who's accountable? It's going to be a long season if somebody doesn't find some answers.

 

I am firmly on the side of coaching is to blame. Teams spend enormous resources on scouting teams, film study, and I assume they practice and game plan for each team (though it often doesn't show). The old adage is that you play the way you practice. Practices are designed by coaches. Coaches are there to help players execute better, and at their best. Our coaches are failing, because we have a team loaded with talent. That is what makes it all so frustrating. We have a marquee quarterback, speedy receivers, studs on defense, and we can't seem to slaughter people on the field. That is coaching.

 

100% coaching. And all 3 can take some of the blame last night. HC for bad clock management and stupid penalty to take us out of FG range. OC for 2 pass plays that stopped the clock with under 3 minutes to play. DC for terrible 3rd and long execution all night long and making no adjustments to try and fix it...and also for allowing his safeties to play up when a TD is needed...especially when the same dude burnt us on the left side of the field a few plays earlier on that drive....if he could catch...it woulda been a TD on Ikes side while no safety was within 20 yards of the goaline or within 30 yards of the play

 

I'm in agreement with you---here is more piling on:

HC--Stupid use of the challenge in the 2nd half. It was still going to be 3rd down, the replay was not conclusive, and the timeout is too valuable to give up for so little to gain.

OC---when we get the ball to close out the game and the opponent has 3x outs left, getting cutsie on 1st down is inexcusible. BA was in a running formation and threw the ball----even 3 runs up the gut gets them to use up all their time outs. If you can't RUN to close out a game----you suck!

DC--Dick reverted back to his 10yrd softy cushion pass D. Pathetic vs. a team with one WR. 3rd down D was pathetic. His game plan was horrible. Allowing Flacco (or was that Dan Marino out there) to drive 92 yards for the win is sickening.

 

Doesn't execution stem from coaching? I'm not sure you can consider one separate from the other.

 

To expect this Defense to permanently switch to M2M coverage is not realistic. They have only one proven receiver, but all of them are bigger and more physical than what NE brought to the table. The match up in terms of scheme and personel from the NE game to last nights was drastically different so to expect them to do the same thing and execute it the same in my opinion is not realistic. NEs attack is based on precision route running and timing. Ratbirds don't attack it that way so you can't disrupt them the same way.
It seemed to me they did press the receivers at the line early in the game and it didn't work. Not for me to ever know if the plan was to give them that cushion on some play calls or if they felt they had to because trying to play tight and jam the WRs off the routes at the line was getting them beat worse. I had heard a suggestion on some Steelers talk during the week that they could go back to zone and confuse someone like Flacco, where they knew they couldn't and had to do something different against Brady. Problem is, Flacco didn't look confused at all.
So where does it leave us? Hopefully the figure it out and get a 3rd chance to show us in January.

 

After last night I would like to execute the coaches...oh... you weren't asking that kind of questions huh? In that case j/k!

 

Towards the end of the game Dick Lebeua's totally missed something.

The middle of the field right behind the Linebackers were open all game...the Ravens TE's and and WR's were wide open for many 10 yard routes. Lebeau dropped the defense right out of the play?

 

Ineffective blitzing (bar Harrison and Keisel). We were also telegraphing a lot of the blitzes - not enough smoke and mirrors.