Main reason we lost today

I know we disagreed pretty hard yesterday but I couldn't agree with you any more on this statement.

 

The defense gave up 20 points and 10 came off turnovers. None of this I don't hold ben responsible for the td crap. You only get 12 possessions a game. If you give a couple of those away you're going to lose the majority of the time. The defense didn't "suck". They weren't great, but they gave up 20 points. Points is all that matters. Not how many yards manziel threw for, or how long Mallet has been with the team. Points is what matters and allowing 20 is good enough to win the majority of games.

 

It wasn't like Mallet was doing anything spectacular. The Ravens used several short passes and quick throws. The playbook was very simple. Was it any different than what Vick did against SD or Baltimore or Jones against AZ?

The Steelers put up 20, 24 and 25 points in those games with back up QBs. Considering Ben's 2 INTs, is 20 pts by the Ravens at home all that bad?

 

I look at it like this - the offense had 3 drives in the 2nd half after defensive stops with the Steelers down 3 points. One drive wins the game. The offense netted 64 yards and threw a pick in those 3 drives.

I'll take the Steelers every time, against any team needing 1 TD in 3 drives to win a game (and just a FG to tie). If they lose, I have a very difficult time pinning the loss on the defense (that I will admit didn't play well - but they did play well enough to win with any help from an offense sporting 3 All-Pros and a 100 Million HOF Franchise QB).

 

I've brought this up every time people start whining about playing down to the competition, tomlin didn't have them prepared blah blah blah. Almost every time we've lost one of those games Ben has thrown multiple interceptions etc. But, y'all point the finger in every possible direction except where it needs to be pointed.

 

How many times did the defense stop them in the 3rd and 4th quarter and the offense did absoluely nothing? 20points w/ 10 off turnovers, the defense did their job. The defense got us the ball back with 3 minutes to play a timeout and the 2 minute warning. What did the offense do? They choked

 

They also could have use the two time outs they burned to get some extra time too. A point could be made those were just as critical. Would you agree?

 

After the 1st 2 scoring drives by the Ravens, the defense did not allow another scoring drive that did not start with a Steeler INT and forced every other drive (except the end of the half) to be a punt. Granted they could have done more (like not allowing some first downs so the offense had more time or forcing a turnover) but I'll ask the question again and beg for HONEST answers:

If the Steelers offense was given 3 drives against that Raven D needing only a FG to tie or a TD to win - would anyone HONESTLY believe that offense would not score a single point?

 

I hope you've got your overheat protocols in place, Furnace.

The defense can earn a grade other than A or F. In this league, it's unreasonable to expect a shutout against even this depleted Ravens squad, so I'd be pretty satisfied if they held BAL to 10-14. Figure two INTs result in one more Baltimore TD. There's Baltimore's 20 points, and it's still a reasonable defensive performance when measured by the points-allowed total.

 

I'm not saying they are without blame. They didn't make any splash plays. I don't feel they lost the game, nor do I feel like they did anything to help the Steelers win. Not forcing a turnover is certainly a minus, but given everything, even an average performance by the offense wins the game with what the defense did.

If I had to break it down. 60% on the offense, 30% on Tomlin, 10% on the defense.

 

I won't disagree with that. It's going to suck watching another playoffs without the Steelers and watching NE celebrate an AFC title again (I know they can be beat, but I don't see a single QB in the playoffs as they stand that's winning in Foxboro). I hope I'm wrong, but the odds aren't in my favor.