My thoughts on reg season wk 14

Agree. Hope Jones is back sooner rather than later.

 

Imagine being a fan and being this miserable why even follow the team .

 

I will take the big plays down the field over MOF

 

I think Jones is out for the regular season. Playoffs, who knows.

 

yeah they have sharp practices once in a while

 

the problem with old Qb’s is that they lose their consistency. Hard to string two good games together. Lets how AR does next week.

 

Finally finished the game. Here are my ten thoughts on it all.


1.) Zach Frazier should be high on the Pro Bowl ballot but sadly isn't. Given the year he has had, he has earned. Well on his way to becoming a Top 3 Center in all of Football. To think that the Center Position was in dire straights prior to his arrival. Pittsburgh finally got that right. Just need to get the signal caller.

2.) Even without a Run Game (more on this later) Aaron Rodgers proved he is still that dude. Great throw after great throw, Aaron needed to make the plays not only was it was necessary but also when it was crunch time. Not too sure how many games like this he has left but Sunday's performance was something for certain.

3.) Yahya Black is still a ways off from being the run stuffing force I expect him to be. Still having issues with leverage and gap discipline. He has shown some growth but as of now, he is inconsistent overall. Benton though, has been worse.

4.) Losing Darnell Washington for any length of time is going to not just sting but be felt in a major way. Pat Freiermuth didn't do much with his opportunities and Jonnu Smith... well.... yeah.

5.) Joey Porter Jr. is the most frustrating Cornerback on the Roster. Gets flagged... way.. too... much. That said, he is also the best Cornerback on the team as well. While I do think he has positioned himself as a CB1, my hopes for him being a multi year Pro Bowler are slipping more and more. I don't think he ever will be.

6.) This team's inability to run the football consistently really needs to be studied a lot more. Is it schematic based on the zone blocking?! Is it schematic based on the play calling?! Is it both?! Something else?! Pittsburgh, for whatever reason, cannot run the football.

7.) Pittsburgh has allowed over 500 yards rushing within the past two games. Pittsburgh also faces a team that has found success running the football to return to form in the Miami Dolphins. Something has to give on Monday Night. Regarding the game against Baltimore, Pittsburgh still couldn't stop the run. Losing both Malik Harrison and having no Derrick Harmon didn't help but such issues are more coaching and not solely on personnel.

8.) Carlos Waitman had a nice bounce back back; same goes for Special Teams as a whole. They will be counted on a lot more for the final four games so here is hoping that Waitman and the Special Teams unit continue their upswing from here on out.

9.) Officiating is officially irksome. We are officially back to asking "What is a catch?!" Considering this has been a problem since "surviving the ground", it is safe to say that this constant officiating will continue to cost teams games; doubly so in the playoffs.

10.) Pains me to say this but add me to the "T.J. Watt is finished" camp. Not so much from a run stopping standpoint but his pass rushing glory days are now long over. Myles Garrett, Aidan Hutchison, Will Anderson Jr., Maxx Crosby and even Brian Burns all get double teamed often. Now, as often as T.J.?! I doubt it given the metrics. Still though, no excuse.

 

This.


Defense literally is spent by the second half. It also doesn't help that the Offense usually cannot get any rhythm going whatsoever. For that matter, the running game has still been an issue.

 

Was Rodgers excellent yesterday? It feels like the Ravens played an aggressive style of defense in the first half and Rodgers burned them when they got caught along the sideline without safety help.

Then, in the second half, the Ravens backed off and played sounder coverages and the Steelers just punted for the most part. I don't think they had a first down in the fourth quarter.

I don't actually know but it feels to me like Rodgers was able to do some crafty vet crap and catch the Ravens in bad looks a few times in the first half. Then the Ravens got a handle on that and basically put the entire Steelers offense in a sleeper hold. It just feels like if the Steelers QB was not Aaron Rodgers bur Raron Adgers...people would not be throwing so many flowers his way.

 

I agree with you on that but my point is we should have lost the game. This is after we had a 14 point lead. We had 8 yards of offense in the fourth quarter. That ain’t going to cut it. I would love to see use make a run but we’ll need more breaks like that!

 

Overall Rodgers had still a great game...The biggest problem was our poor running game all game long

 

It's a nice - and unusual problem for the Steelers to have.

 

TOP was a lot closer this past game.

The second half "collapse" is more of Steelers having a lead and going turtle mode after half time but they suck at turtle mode.

 

You are correct. I misspoke. Playing Buffalo again doesn't make me feel any better.

 

It is hard to believe that one player makes that big a difference, but the statistics with and without Harmon are hard to ignore. Hopefully, he is back sooner rather than later.

I am sure the loss of Washington will be the excuse for the running game, but they had him when they failed to run it well against the Bears and Bills, who both have weak run defenses. They can't even say defenses are cheating up too much because they don't fear the passing game, because they couldn't run worth a damn against the Ravens, even after hitting some big passes early. The line and backs aren't getting the job done. Maybe the scheme is part of it, too. I still think the lack of a real thumper at running back is a problem.

 

I wouldn't hate getting another shot at the Bills if the Steelers are healthy, but that's a big if.

 

12. Yahya Black had an amazing game. He stopped a Derrick Henry TD .. I rewatched his play on YT and he is a load and plays his gaps extremely well. I saw him sling #70 from the Ravens at one point to get to the ball carrier.

 

Actually, they did run it well against the Bears with 186 yards rushing it was Mason and the passing game that stunk.

 

Yeah, AR has sucked for like a month.

 

It's been my feeling for years that the lack of success late in the season and during the playoffs is that the defense is too tired and injured late in the season. Listening to a local Pittsburgh sports show earlier, and Gerry Dulac calculated that the defense has been on the field now for an equivalent of 16 games already. If we're going to continue to lead with our D and expect our D to win games for us, then we need to build a power-rushing offense and possess the ball on offense.

 

We won the game, therefore we deserved to win it.