Playing from behind in the 2nd half

Obviously it worked against the Bengals (two late INTs), but I was wondering if you guys felt we might stand a better chance of beating the elite teams in this league if we needed to play catch up in the second half. There have been too many games this season where we shoot out of the gates that get me thinking we're going to drop 50 points on these clowns, only to completely shut down in the second half.

Nothing makes me more angry than watching a first half lead turn into several three and outs in the 3rd and 4th quarters. It makes me wonder if we were forced to keep pace or play catch up throughout the whole game if we would stand a better chance of coming out on top.

 

Hmmmm....interesting. I agree with you-nothing more frustrating then watching us come out fast (last year AFC Championship game, this year vs. the Colts and Bengals) and then almost blow it.

 

Yes I agree with you on jumping out fast and then struggling to finish. How about just being consistant, especially in the red zone. When they get down there, they need to score TD's and not field goals or nothing at all. One of the problems I feel is that they won't commit to the running games with Redman when they get down there. It's always that empty backfield set and passing the ball. Ben gets sacked a lot in that set. There other famous play is the one back set with FAT Kemo pulling to his right and Mendenhall running inside of KEMO's block. Most times it gains very few yards.

For the life of me, I can't understand why they won't just line up in the I formation or off-set I and run the ball straight ahead with Redman!!! BA is the cause of this with his eratic and faulty play calling. He has no knowledge of how to develope a running game. He change the whold philosophy of the Steelers running game. HE help destroy it by getting rid of all the legitimate blocking FB's. I hope this is his last year as the OC.

 

I would much rather be ahead going into the 4th quarter than behind

 

I agree that coming out fast and then stalling is frustrating and the redzone field goals is really going to cost us, I thought tahat was going to be the case against the pats but we held on. As far as commiting to the run with Redman, I like the idea of Redman getting more touches but the o-line on this team is too big and slow to run block efficently, the only holes are the ones the RBs create which is the reason Redman seems to be better than Mendy right now as Redman runs north and south with power while Mendy is looking for a crease to break it open. The only time the run game gets yards is by deception and you can't do that 2 or 3 times a series, after it works once the d watches for it and it either ends up badly or it gets stopped for little or no gain.

 

Couldn't agree more. You score as fast as you can, whenever you can and for as long as you can. It's as simple as that.

 

I know what you're trying to say but the logic is a bit fuzzy. If you truly believe this then you must have really enjoyed last year's Super Bowl. Did you say afterwards: "well at least we didn't blow a lead"?

The question I have about our fast starts and then slo-down - is it poor play calling, poor execution or are defenses able to adjust at half time and stop or slow down our game plan? Probably all of the above for whatever reason.

 

Just food for thought guys. I'm not recommending we don't score points while we can. I was simply posting my observations from this season. Although we won the Cincy game and they are undoubtedly playing good football right now, I can't help but feel like we would have lost another nail biter if they had a half-way decent/non-rookie QB. I also blame play-calling and poor execution in most cases, but who should we rely on to close out the games for us. Our defense doesn't seem as effective playing with a lead and our offense seems incapable of continuing to put up points during crunch time. While suggesting we play from behind to keep the fire going in our offense is a knee jerk reaction, I think once we get healthier and it gets closer to the postseason, this teams veteran leadership will see us through some of the dicier moments. To think we are still 7-3 with how few turnovers we've gotten this season.