Call me a homer but...

I’m very optimistic. We can move the ball on anyone. I believe that. Just gotta take care of the ball and get timely stops. Easier said than done, I know. We will find out who this team is tomorrow night and the rest of the season. But I’m legit excited.

 

Dear Homer, being a life long pessimist I am worried Connor is still in the growing stage and may not be as good as he was in first half of season. Ben is Ben, love/hate relationship at the moment. Having the players who can move the ball on anyone and those players actually doing it on any given Sunday is another thing.

I do agree Sunday night will be huge. If the season ended today we would be 4 seed and Chargers 5 seed and would meet in playoffs.

 

Don't get too excited. This team has been wildly inconsistent the last four years. They will lay an egg when you least expect it.

 

Homer

 

I could see Ekker having a good game, especially in the passing game. Hopefully the Steelers are in Rivers grill enough to keep Ekker in the backfield for pass protection. The Steelers will do what they do; things that excite, things that frustrate, and a couple of head-scratching things.

 

That was Denver where the egg laying happened. Ben plays his best ball in December. After a road loss he is 5-0 . I am excited as well

 

Oh the egg laying happens in January too. But yeah, Ben does play very well in December. Since the disappointing 2016 season, I just don't get too excited any more though.

 

It is easier said than done. You just have to be willing to do it.

Ben needs to be smarter with the football, especially in crucial situations. He needs to be smart enough to give up on a play if it isn't there. The final play of the Bronco game was evidence of that. The slant clearly wasn't going to be there. Throw that ball out of the endzone and play for another down. If Ben can tighten it up and play smarter this offense will be just as dangerous as any in the league.

Fichtner needs to be more assertive. I like that Ben has more freedom, but I hate that Ben seems to be abusing that freedom a bit. We need to run the ball much more often than we currently are. Fichter is the OC. He needs to do a better job of reeling Ben back in at times.

Tomlin needs to coach smarter. He needs to do a better job of adjusting to game situation. When the topic of adjustments was brought up at Tomlin's press conference, Tomlin seemed irritated by the suggestion of making adjustments. It is not a knock on Mike T's manhood to adjust. I like that Tomlin takes risks, but I hate the fact that he is over-aggressive in near every situation. There is no doubt in my mind that Tomlin was going for 2 on that last drive in Denver had we scored. I am all for taking calculated risks. I am opposed to taking unnecessary ones.

If the Steelers can just tighten some things up in terms of how they manage game situation, this team is just as good as any in the league.

 

My guess is this first part - Ekker will have to be involved in the passing game, because I think Ben & Co will come out throwing and try to run up the score out of the gate - meaning very little rushing effort from the Chargers if they fall behind. Could be a high-scorer.