Ryan Clark with the fire

Whoa! Ryan Clark thought along the same lines as me regarding the Minkah trade?

Not sure what to think about that.

 

Sounds exactly like some of the posts around here. Starts with Art, who has made some serious mistakes.

 

Anyone here going to accuse of him of being a Ravens fan?

 

Nah just you.

 

Bringing Ben back was a massive organizational failure. I also believe, and have believed for 10 years now, that not firing Tomlin is a massive failure, although I know there's much more debate on that one.

They really didn't do a good job building the team for the future and the team is paying the price now. Some of it is just bad luck. Guys don't end up panning out in the big leagues. That happens. But the mess that is our Oline, there's no excuse for that. Management needed to address that before it become such a big problem.

 

Seems like Ben's been in charge the past five years.

 

We only fixed our issues with a great O-line coach. Our line sucked before and after Muncheck. Regardless of the linemen if your coach sucks so will they. NE has had a great oline coach and they had great line play for years even though they never paid out the nose for them

 

One thing is for sure is with a lot of new pieces on the team they have not bought into what the Steelers are saling!! In time in time that will happen but right now the Koolade lacks sweetness its sour!! Reception and intergration these players need to know what it means to be a member of 6 time superbowl champs and the blood, sweat, and tears that have been shed to get to where we are today!! We have no identity right now!! We are just walking around in the dark with no light at the end of the tunnel the Veterans need to step up and get this team fired up and ready to kick some butt!! Until this happens it will be more if the same!!

 

I think if you go back 4 years 5 tops and look from then on I don't think this is where they thought things were headed. Ben was in good shape, the Haley years allowed him to not take so much punishment. AB was at the top of his game and locked in. Some doubt on Bell and how they could extend everyone. There were some new fresh pieces coming in and the arch rivals in NE and Baltimore were aging too. I don't know if extending Ben at that time was wrong but certainly the restructuring should have been stopped because that really hastened the end.

 

The era ends with Ben, his fault again. HOF qbs do that to teams. SF & the Pack are the only exceptions i can think of.

 

Wait so the team that's had dominance over that span and has maintained it despite the multiple top5 picks made by all the other teams to try and find their QB and build their teams.

Now it's you've failed before they even complete the season? Now you want to say "See! these other teams got better because they failed for so long!" "The Steelers are falling behind because they didn't use their late round picks better than the teams that got top 5 picks!"

 

Clark makes some good points, misses on some others. If speaking more to the Steelers (and maybe the league) over the past 30 years, it resonates somewhat better. Most Steeler teams over that span were generally regarded as competitive year-to-year, despite the occasional free agent loss. Still, there were down times, and losing a franchise player can have a greater impact. But "good organizations find a way to keep winning?" Who are these "good organizations"? The Patriots are struggling post-Brady, the Saints had down years even with Brees. The Packers have had a good run of it since trading for Favre in '92, of course that involved having two HOF QB careers play out back-to back, something about as common as the Steeler draft of '74.

With or without significant injuries, free agent losses, or a franchise QB, all teams go through rough spots. Clark's implying the Steelers are remiss for not having Ben's replacement, as if finding their next franchise QB is as easy as deciding they want one, is disingenuous. So is his line about a defense "that only works with certain players" - missing a player or two is one thing, being down four of your starting front seven is another.

The mistake the Steelers have made is in leaning on, and contouring, the passing game with Ben well into his twilight years. They've effectively painted themselves into a corner with it - he can't operate a fully functioning passing scheme, and the one they've devised at least requires a running game they've yet to develop. The Fitzgerald trade took a gamble in sacrificing a first round pick that could potentially have been used to ensure a foundational piece like the O-line was kept in optimal shape, but I don't think they saw things falling like they did. Still, they placed some poor bets as well.

 

I agree, went defense heavy and it’s only elite with ALL players healthy… in which they never are lol


What a waste of a decade

 

I love Ryan Clark

 

I didn't listen to Clarks yamming. I can see it for myself. It will take a few seasons to get back to the winning ways.

Do I think that Tomlin is the guy to do it? No. But Art II does.
Colbert will ride off into the sunset. Then what? Will Kahn take his place?

I have seen multiple championships in my lifetime. Very fortunate. It's been a long stretch of nothing but another winning regular season record. Long stretch.

 

their head coach, coached the O-Line in NE.

 

When you GM is on a Year to Year contract you will never get great results. Thats like having a lame duck coach. Its one foot in and one foot out. No fire to really produce.

 

Ryan's a talking head now. But, he's not wrong.

This team blew it's chance in 2017, and it's been downward since.

The put the eggs in the Ben basket, thought he could have some elder Peyton Manning , John Elway, or Tom Brady succecss, it hasn't happen.

When healthy they have a decent defense. Which is how you go 8-8 after starting 1-4 with Mason and Duck at QB.

It's how you can dink and dunk yourself to an 11-0 start with a good defense, until injuries catch up and the offense is figured out by other teams.

 

Its funny to me that everyone forgets the most simple truth in the NFL... THE NFL IS A COACHES LEAGUE. Good coaches win. Every team has personnel issues. There might be a bad season or two from good coaches. Bad coaches might have a good season here and there if they have the talent but they struggle with consistency. Tomlin is a great example of this. Andy Reid is another example. Also good coaches have the ability to rebuild. Tomlin has yet to do this. IMO he's a mediocre coach that has been winning with talent and a good defensive coordinator. Now is when Tomlin's leadership should shine and it's not.

Tomlin's teams are quitting on him. And more than once. They quit on Sunday and they quit the last 2 seasons... 2019 we ended the season 0-3 and 2020 finished 1-5. Now we are quitting during games. WR's are quitting on routes. The focus is totally lost. We are not prepared or put into any position to be competitive. Last two games were over before they started.

We have been stuck in mediocrity for about 10 years now. Its no longer a fluke or just a blip in Tomlin's career. We are consistently bad w/ the occasional fluke of success. Look at our post season record over that span and just let the facts speak for them selves. We were loaded with talent during this time. Ben was still an elite QB during this time.

As soon as Ben's skills have diminished we cannot score...good coaches can still score with mediocre QB's. Add in the fact that the FO and coaching staff totally mismanaged the O-line. We have an offensive coaching staff in over it's head... it all adds up to a team that has gone 2-7 over their last 9 games. Almost completely because of the offensive issues.

The defense has been the only redeeming quality of this team and that is still completely run by a former Dick Lebeau assistant that has shown if he has the play makers he can dominate. The only problem with the DL defense is it is totally dependent on skilled LB's and a NT. Losing Watt and Alualu turned this defense into an average unit. We have always been great at providing depth at LB and the D-line. This is why our defenses have consistently been solid for the most part. Things fall apart when we lose that talent.

When an offense loses talent they can turn to the run game or the pass game. Ben is a capable QB. He's not great anymore but he's still running the offense given to him and he showed last Sunday that he can get yards through the air when the offense opens up. When the entire unit is malfunctioning you cannot just blame the QB. That's ridiculous.

With the current offensive issues we have - I do actually want to see a young QB in there. Lets see what Mason can bring. Ben is still capable at being a damn good QB, just not on this unit. We need a young QB that can make plays out of nothing (like Ben did in his early years). There is a lot of NOTHING surrounding our QB right now and he cannot make something out of nothing any longer.

 

Watch out Ryan, Glenn's about to call you a troll!

 

Hey bigbenhotness.

Yes, I totally agree on your quote: "What a waste of a decade". Spot-on. What a waste of talent that has come through here the past decade and basically nothing to show for it. Also as you stated: "only elite with ALL players healthy". I stated the same in my thread today as it pertains to the horrific "Depth" on this team. It is downright putrid. I can't even get myself to refer to them as "back-ups" or "second stringers". Again, if anyone goes down on this Team, the drop-off in talent is so astronomical that it is beyond belief.



STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

Does Clark want to come on the Staff and fix it?

 

c’mon, we all know the Rooney’s aren’t ponying up for good help. They couldn’t afford RC.