Who is to mostly blame for our losses this season?

Don’t apologise for being detail-oriented my friend. I completely get your point about the significance of the punter. It’s a position we seem to have neglected since Sepulveda didn’t work out. All the more odd given how much we keep players like Matekevich because of their ST abilities, but don’t bring in much competition at punter in the off season.

My point is more that a punter doesn’t choose to kick short in those situations any more than a QB chooses to throw incomplete. A lot of it is execution of both the punt and the blocking. You’d hope that Danny Smith knows the looks of the opponents punt pressures and has talked the ST through that. Though if he hasn’t, then you certainly have a case.

 

Popcorn.....

 

how could you possibly blame Tomlin for all the injuries we had this season and being forced to start an undrafted rookie at QB?

 

Yes, management certainly doesn't need to listen to their customers who are the reason they have their jobs. Good point.

 

Then what was our excuse last year? Just curious on what your take on that is since we had very few injuries.

 

Ben lead the league in turnovers and the kicker didn't perform up to the level of expectations.

The team probably would had won 2 more games if the kicker played better. The team would had made the playoffs.

 

Because he didn’t cryogenically freeze Charlie Batch for just the right occasion.

 

Yeah because he made those players get injured

 

Washington was having a good preseason before drake died. juju, holton, switzer, moncrief, young haven't gotten better. Johnson I think just got more comfortable with The offense as a rookie and sheer talent.

The FB thing should have been addressed earlier. Nix only played like a game and a half all year. That didn't help special teams either.

 

Hey Brandon556211.

Yes, the coaching has been suspect not just this year but for a while now. And as you are pointing out, there is a hierarchy to the whole coaching set-up as to who should take the majority of the blame and who's next and so forth down the line. I agree, it starts with Fichtner. If Tomlin does not like the results with the OC, it is his job to intervene and offer assistance to him.

As we all know, a different set of eyes are what is needed sometimes with any troubling results, with any job in this world. It is called "Collaboration" which I am not sure how much of that goes on with our Coaching Staff. Some HCs will probably use a 100% Hands-Off approach and that is what they are probably hoping for as they do not want to get into Micro-Managing.

However, when it is needed then it is needed. If Mason is struggling, in the end this is Tomlin's ship. He is the one who is going to ultimately be held accountable for his success or lack there of. That is why it is so important as a person in Management to surround him/herself with the best and brightest "Think Tank" personnel.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Hey MojaveDesertPghFan.

Yes, both seasons have some parallels for sure. And as we have all discussed here, it is a very, very fine line on what determines the end result of any game. Yes, like you stated: "The losses of course and the handful of turning point plays are then etched in our memories". So true! These are what we remember most and tend to block out the remainder of the sixty minutes of the game. We tend to forget what got us to that one moment in the game and become "Tunnel-Visioned" on that particular play as the sole reason for the win or loss.

Is that fair? Maybe, maybe not. We can break down a game into specific plays but must also realize how each one collectively contributes to the entire four quarter event. Of course as you stated: "This factoid mandates near perfection play...." and we know that is impossible. Even in a hypothetical 58-0 win there are going to be some imperfections that can be found to the overall performance of that game. However, that is what the best coaches and players do, never be satisfied with your last performance. It is when you start taken "Curtain Call Bows" that you can become complacent and start believing your own hype.

Regarding my vote, once again each of those plays for those games were very detrimental to the final outcome. I know it sounds like I am somewhat contradicting what I just wrote above but I am not. Those plays, are part of the Four Quarter Event. Although they did not completely lead to the losses they were major contributory factors. Also, it is when they happened that makes them more polarized. At those points, in those games we were basically coming to the end of each one. And although no time is a good time for a "blunder", they all really came at key moments when the "Sands of Time" were dwindling away. Take care.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Hey SteelerJJ.

I really think that Mason was doing okay up until the Browns' game. He was 5-3 as a starter. Once again, the gist of my post was who was to primarily blame for our losses. Well in Mason's three losses, as a starter, Conner and JuJu get major blame (As pointed out my original post here.) while it was all on Mason for the Brown's game. Then he melted down and his mediocrity carried over in to the next week against the Bengals where Duck eventually took over. However, he did come back in the Jets game where his stat line (see the table below) was actually pretty good as well. Really, minus the Browns' game, statistically Mason has done well with the opportunities he has been given.

Sometimes, for any rough life situation, the person may need a little bit of respite or time off to take a step back and self-reflect. This can be just what the doctor ordered to help that person "regroup" and "re-strategize". After, the Browns' game fiasco with Mason and then his crummy beginning to the Bengals' game before he got replaced by Duck. If you look at the Jets' game's statistics for Mason, where he finally got his chance again to play again, he did quite well. I posted his stats in the table below.

Given that, yes, I am in agreement with you in regards to your quote: "his lack of development". I, like you, believe that this coaching staff has done very little to help in the growth and maturation process not just for Mason but Duck as well. One point, that I keep driving home here is why are the Tight Ends are not be utilized more? They are so vital to the "O" as a whole but are critical options for any QB, especially a young QB when running the offense.




STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

I blame Burfict for scrambling AB's eggs a little too much which led to the circus and ultimately his departure. Juju and Ben didn't look too good without him on the field.

 

Hey TGH.

You got that right in your quote regarding the loss of Ben: "The team was unprepared". Management did not have a "Contingency Plan" in place for exactly what happened to Ben. I stated in another post here, that we should have signed a Veteran Back-Up QB well before training camp in the Summer. Counting on Mason, Duck and Lynch in case Ben went down is totally unacceptable. Especially, given the fact that this is a season-ending injury not just to hold things down for a few games. Very, very poor planning on Management's part.

I would not go as far as saying the season has been "wasted" as you stated. We have been competitive for most of it and actually can still make the playoffs. As my Thread here analyzes our losses, and my vote, The Offense, we could have had another four wins easily except for blunders by players not named Mason.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Hey KnoxVegasSteel.

Yeah, I know as we all try to figure out what went wrong with AB. Many, like you, theorize that Burfict hit. I cannot throw that explanation out the window. The brain is a tricky organ that science knows very little about. It sure does seem though, that along his timeline, this is when a lot of his foolish behaviors began.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Could part of “other” include the “whiney, sky is falling, Ben is fat, know it all”, part of our fan base?

 

The media networks? They listened to flexed game times. How to run the franchise? Give it time, it will end up just like journalism.

 

Hey Roonatic.

IMO, it is not only Ben that needs to hangout with Ryan. Ryan's commitment to coming back is inspirational, as is James Conner's. Any athlete, with any type of medical condition should respect these two gentlemen's stories. As an athlete myself, I have had my fair share of injuries. Being put up on the "Shelf" really sucks. Sometimes it can be minor such as a basic ankle sprain or more severe as in Shazier's or Conner's situations. I think that until something precious is taken away from someone, some people, take these things for granted.

A Little Philosophical Here: Obviously, adversity does not have to even be isolated to sport-related injuries as with Shazier. Conner's is a prime example of that. Once again, it can be anything that one holds dear to the heart. Sometimes, these things can "Be Returned" and other times not. This is often when the "Stages of Grieving" kick in. The unbelievable thing is that these life-altering events can happen within a split second and to anybody at anytime. Here today gone tomorrow as the saying goes.

How one responds to that adversity is the key to regressing, staying stagnant, or moving forward. It seems that Ryan and James are moving forward and hopefully Ben is to. I think Ben appreciates all that he has and will make all the right moves to get back to where he was prior to the injury. He is a big time competitor. That is one of the qualities I like in him. If he can return, I feel that he will. He seems to have a passion for the game. And never underestimate the strength of passion.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

They never used Nix when he wasn't injured

 

Hey Steel_Elvis.

Yes, injuries have played their share in our woes this season. I do not recall when is the last game that we had our entire starting "O" together for the same game. Although, it may have been the last one. Even then, didn't Conner leave due to injury? And even though they are not injuries, you can kind of clump departures in there too. Losing Bell and Brown was very, very damaging. Hey, you could include Jesse James in there too. Although, for whatever reason, the TE has been invisible in this "O" mostly all season. I still continue to scratch my head on that one. I liked James and thought that him and Vance together were very formidable. Vannett is okay but I like James better. However, keeping Vance on the field is a task in itself with his injury history

Yes, losing Tuitt was also critical. Even at the high level that this "D" is playing we could always be even better. He was off to a great start. Like Ben, this was no temporary injury for a few games or so. Unfortunately, both were season ending injuries (ugh!). However, Tuitt seems to be banged up every year, thus missing games here and there. He showed flashes of why he was projected a 1st Round pick by some. He definitely was becoming more consistent this season towards living up to that billing.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

No option for Colbert?

 

I can't give Butler a pass this year and here is why. Up until we got MF from Miami, we had like 9 #1s playing for him and most people it seemed wanted him gone, especially after 2018.. So we add a 10th #1 pick and now he is a good coach and doing a good job? WTF. I think it was matter of so much talent on the filed at the same time that the players were doing great things in spike of our coaching. The defense is still a work in progress and that can only be completed with more competency at the DC level IMO. When we can prevent teams like the Jets, in an absolutely must have game, from ramming a 75 yard opening, tone setting, drive up our butts, then I'll be more likely to agree with him dong a better job.