Solid Take: Steelers must be who they are, not who they want to be.

oldschool · Jan 8, 2025 at 4:39 PM

Chucktownsteeler said: ↑

One stat I heard during the game is the Steelers have zero TDs on their opening drives this season.
Click to expand...

I think only 3 TDs in the entire opening quarter!!!

Not sure how many opening drives out of half time, but just as pitiful I’m sure.

This scheme is a joke and fools gold.

Who cares we are never under .500 if nearly ever win feels dirty, weak, lucky and my blood pressure is elevated. Tomlin has never heard of 60 minute football. He wants to keep it close and pull a rabbit out of a hat in the last two drives. THAT will get you to .500 but never further. And it certainly never gets us better draft position.

oldschool · Jan 8, 2025 at 4:42 PM

Formerscribe said: ↑

Agreed. Watching the schematic things the Chiefs and Lions do drives me crazy because the Steelers haven't had that sort of tactical advantage in a long time. Seriously, who was the last innovative and creative offensive coordinator for the Steelers? Arians?
Click to expand...

I liked Todd Haley even if cry baby Ben didn’t. He saved Ben’s career by not having him sacked 65+ times a season. I don’t even know why we moved on from him other than Ben’s relationship with someone who pushed back against his desires. Those offensive years were great!

strummerfan · Jan 8, 2025 at 5:01 PM

Formerscribe said: ↑

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/60...ce=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=11964319

Saturday night was a great example of the Steelers refusing to acknowledge they are not the type of offensive team they want to be. They can't just line up with three tight ends and pound away with the running game. They simply aren't good enough at it. They aren't the sort of team that should be going for it on fourth-and-one. They aren't good enough at it.

They ran it on 20 of their first 32 plays against a defense Russell Wilson carved up earlier in the season. Why? They ran on every first down except their two-minute drill until late in the game. Why? That approach wasn't working. They aren't that team. The line just isn't good enough to play that way. It is one reason Warren has looked more effective lately. They don't use him as much in those three-tight end sets, which aren't effective, though he and Harris have both had their struggles running on first and second down.

The Ravens' strength is their run defense. Trying to line up and shove it down their throats isn't going to work. The Steelers need to know that going into Saturday night's playoff game or it will be another one-and-done. Yes, it is though to rely on Wilson and Pickens to play well, which they will have to do if they open up the offense, but that is the only path to victory Saturday night.

Below is the text of the article for those without a subscription to The Athletic. I would get one if you don't. It is cheap and they have a lot of good material about the Steelers and sports in general.

The Steelers aren’t who they think they are. They must realize it before it’s too late

By Mike DeFabo
PITTSBURGH — To understand what unfolded Saturday night in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ regular-season finale at Acrisure Stadium, you have to start nearly 700 miles south and four months ago in Atlanta.

In Week 1 against the Falcons, coach Mike Tomlin set the standard for the season when he passed up a chance to kick a field goal that could have extended Pittsburgh’s lead to eight points midway through the fourth quarter. Instead, he opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the 6-yard line. Stuffed for no gain, the Steelers turned the ball over on downs but still escaped with a win thanks to six Chris Boswell field goals.

“We live that life,” Tomlin said at the time, insisting that he’d continue to put his faith in his offensive line and the running game as the season continued.

Now here we are in Week 18. After a season to build their identity, coach up their players and analyze the metrics, the Steelers faced third-and-1 from their 37-yard line with 49 seconds remaining in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals. On a QB sneak, Russell Wilson’s elbow landed short of the line to gain.

Tomlin faced two choices on fourth down:

Option A: Punt and give Joe Burrow around 40 seconds to drive the length of the field.
Option B: Go for it, with no guarantee that converting the first down would lead to points.
Tomlin chose to play the possession down the same way he did in Week 1. The result was the same. The Bengals blew up the play, stopping running back Jaylen Warren short. By turning the ball over, Tomlin essentially handed the Bengals a field goal (Cincinnati nearly turned it into a touchdown, but Ja’Marr Chase couldn’t corral a pass on third-and-goal from the 9).

“I like to be aggressive in those moments,” Tomlin said after the game. “If you can’t get a yard, you don’t deserve to win.”

And they didn’t. In a 19-17 loss to the Bengals, those three points could be viewed as the difference.

As you zoom out, that moment helps — as much as anything else — to summarize where the Steelers (10-7) stand going into the playoffs with the stench of a four-game losing streak lingering and the early season optimism nothing more than a distant memory. A team that once had a two-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens with the inside track to win the AFC North has now squandered that opportunity. It also likely blew the opportunity to open the playoffs against the suspect No. 4-seeded Houston Texans. If the Los Angeles Chargers take care of business against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the Steelers will visit No. 3-seeded Baltimore as the No. 6 seed.

They will do so limping into the playoffs with serious questions about who they are and what they actually do well.

When the Steelers lost three games in 11 days to the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, the most optimistic way to view the skid was to consider the caliber of competition. All three teams have a legitimate shot to win the Super Bowl.

Well, it only seems fair to consider the caliber of competition now, right? The Bengals’ defense is one of the worst in the league. It entered the game allowing the fourth-most points (26.1) and sixth-most yards per game (358). The first time he played this defense in Week 13, Wilson posted the second-highest passing output (414 yards) of his entire career, which has spanned 13 years and 199 starts. Pittsburgh averaged 7.9 yards per play, its best in a game since 2016.

For an offense that’s been losing altitude over the last month, Saturday night was a prime chance to turn things around and build momentum entering the postseason. Instead, it was arguably its worst offensive performance of the season, as the Steelers posted their second-fewest total yards (193) and a season-low 3.3 yards per play, tied for 10th-worst by any NFL team in a game all season.

After the game, Wilson said the best thing the Steelers can do is forget about the loss.

“We’ve got to have amnesia going into (the playoffs),” he said. “Just win the next play. Just win the next game. We’ve got to have the best week we can possibly have this week.”

It seems the Steelers might already have amnesia, as they must have completely forgotten what worked the first time they played the Bengals this season. Rather than coming out throwing like they did in a 44-point outburst in Week 13, they chose to rely on old-school ground-and-pound. Star receiver George Pickens was targeted six times, committed three drops and recorded just one catch for 0 yards.

Through three quarters, the Steelers ran the ball 20 times for 58 yards (2.9 average) and threw it just 12 times (plus two sacks) for 51 yards, despite trailing from the opening possession. On first and second downs, they ran 17 times against eight passes.

“I think that was our game plan kind of going into it,” Wilson said. “Just trying to establish our physical nature and everything else.”

Therein lies the problem: The Steelers know exactly what brand of football they want to play. Stifle opponents with great defense and churn up yards with a physical rushing attack. That’s the style of football that helps teams win games in the playoffs, or so they’ve been preaching.

Well, now it’s playoff time. If this 17-game sample size has proven anything, it’s this: There’s a serious disconnect between what the Steelers want to be … and what they actually are.

Under first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Pittsburgh has run the ball 533 times. Only the Philadelphia Eagles (596) and the Ravens (544) have run the ball more. But just because a team runs the ball a lot doesn’t mean it does it well. The Ravens run a lot because they’re great at it, averaging a league-best 5.8 yards per carry. The Eagles are at 5.0 yards per carry, fourth-best. The Steelers? They’re seventh-worst (4.1). The frequency and lack of efficiency leave them ranked third-worst total rushing EPA (-78.5).

Still, after 17 weeks, the Steelers seem to believe they have the kind of offense that can line up, tell you they’re running the ball and do it anyway. In no place is that more apparent than on first down and short-yardage situations — two areas where the Steelers fell short on Saturday.

On first downs this season, Pittsburgh ranks last in yards per play (4.5) while ranking third in run frequency (61.3 percent). A team that wants to “live that life” has converted 38.9 percent of its fourth downs, the fourth-lowest percentage in the league. On fourth-and-1, the Steelers are also fifth-worst with a success rate of 54.5 percent.

“We formulated a plan that we thought was appropriate for this environment and in this game this week,” Tomlin said. “It didn’t work out the way we would like.”

When the Steelers were at their best this season, they were a complementary football team. When one side of the ball struggled, the other bailed them out. To beat the Eagles, Ravens or Chiefs, the Steelers needed both sides to play their best games. Instead, over the past month, both sides have produced their worst games of the season — sometimes simultaneously.

Now, if they’re going to avoid a winless postseason for the eighth consecutive year under Tomlin, the Steelers need to rediscover that formula in a hurry.

“The best thing we can do is get ready for the playoffs,” Wilson said. “It’s a new season. That’s the only thing that really matters anymore at this point. The reality is, winning that game would have helped us in some form or fashion. But at the end of the day, when you go into the playoffs, everybody is 0-0 and you’ve got to beat everybody anyway. That’s got to be our focus right now.”

Maybe it really is a new season, like Wilson says. But unless the Steelers can win a playoff game, it’s going to feel like same old, same old from a team that has too often fizzled down the stretch and fallen flat in the playoffs.
Click to expand...

There’s an interesting article on steelersdepot about Wilson’s struggles the last month. When the Steelers were doing well the defenses they were facing played a lot of man coverage. Against the eagles, chiefs, ravens, and bengals it was far more zone. With the eagles playing 100% zone. The chiefs and Ravens were both over 70%.

blackandgoldpatrol · Jan 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM

mikeyg said: ↑

AND......then you must be a bit unconventional, go against your KNOWN tendencies

Do I have to come up there and TEACH Tomlin??!?!!

Click to expand...

Somebody needs to

Log in

Solid Take: Steelers must be who they are, not who they want to be.

oldschool Well-Known Member

oldschool Well-Known Member

strummerfan Well-Known Member

blackandgoldpatrol Well-Known Member

Share This Page