Steeler 1st Qtr Review

[Ojb81]

To do what??? Run the ball 5 times all game!!! Conner isn't the problem with this offense. It has no balance even when they aren't behind. Once they get behind the run is completely forgotten. That's poor coaching and play calling. As I recall, there were were several games last year where we wondered why Bell wasn't used more. New OC but same old problem with play calling.

let's stop pretending that Conner is on Bell's level, just because we're all mad at Bell right now. Conner is decent for the most part, but he's no Bell, not even close. "but, but he went through cancer!", yes, yes, I know, and I admire his toughness. But it certainly wouldn't hurt to try and mix it up somewhat, particularly with the rookie Samuels, and see what we might be able to do on down and distance with the other ball carriers.

 

[Yo Tee]

To do what??? Run the ball 5 times all game!!! Conner isn't the problem with this offense. It has no balance even when they aren't behind. Once they get behind the run is completely forgotten. That's poor coaching and play calling. As I recall, there were were several games last year where we wondered why Bell wasn't used more. New OC but same old problem with play calling.

We could run the ball 20 times but if he's averaging 2 yards per carry, what does it matter how many times we run the ball? We need quality runs, not more quantity of runs. Right now, Conner isn't doing that. Not saying he can't, but he currently isn't.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I agree with most of this, but I still think this falls more on coaching than anything. The risk they took to draft unaccomplished players but still athletic freaks had to involve some sort of understanding & belief in their coaching staff. The FAs, to me, were definitely a result of the Bell situation. Burnett & Bostic are ok, but we knew long ago when they were signed that they weren't going to be the full-time starters that they need them to be.

When you look at the DEF compared to LY with what we all thought was an improvement at S in Burnett...the talent is better than the results, no question coaching is failing this team. My bigger point is, even if they were playing at LY level...do they have what it takes to beat the better QBs in this league?

Should the money earmarked for Bell been spent on better DEF players?

NE is frugal on FA spending, but they paid big money to Revis in his prime and they did it again with Gilmore.

 

[Yo Tee]

let's stop pretending that Conner is on Bell's level, just because we're all mad at Bell right now. Conner is decent for the most part, but he's no Bell, not even close. "but, but he went through cancer!", yes, yes, I know, and I admire his toughness. But it certainly wouldn't hurt to try and mix it up somewhat, particularly with the rookie Samuels, and see what we might be able to do on down and distance with the other ball carriers.

This. All of this right here. We all have an axe to grind with Bell but that does that mean we stick with what isn't working? We have other RBs on the roster, time to use those guys. Samuels might be the better RB in this situation. How else are we gonna know? Ridley might be a great addition to Conner. How else are we gonna know? All we know is the running game isn't working right now and it's not because we only run the ball 8-10 times. It's because during those 8-10 runs, the dude is only getting 2-3 yards a carry.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

let's stop pretending that Conner is on Bell's level, just because we're all mad at Bell right now. Conner is decent for the most part, but he's no Bell, not even close. "but, but he went through cancer!", yes, yes, I know, and I admire his toughness. But it certainly wouldn't hurt to try and mix it up somewhat, particularly with the rookie Samuels, and see what we might be able to do on down and distance with the other ball carriers.

Man...Connor is so far doing a good job. No one is expecting Bell like results, but having Bell is not going to change Ben missing wide open players on 3rd down, he's not going to change the fact that any CB not name Haden is pretty much easy pickins on 3rd down.

Of course no CB can defend for as long as the QBs have time to throw vs the 2 and 3 man pass rushers the Steelers send after them.

I'm with your general tone here on Connor...right now they're trying to use him like they would Bell and he's not that guy. Mixing in more carries/touches for Ridley/Samuels is not a bad thing. Connor should be around 20-25 touches a game max.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

let's stop pretending that Conner is on Bell's level, just because we're all mad at Bell right now. Conner is decent for the most part, but he's no Bell, not even close. "but, but he went through cancer!", yes, yes, I know, and I admire his toughness. But it certainly wouldn't hurt to try and mix it up somewhat, particularly with the rookie Samuels, and see what we might be able to do on down and distance with the other ball carriers.

A rookie who almost got a QB (I forget which one) killed during preseason due to blowing a blitz pick up??? That's the reason he's not playing. If the coaches don't trust him in blitz pick up, he has no business seeing the field, barring injury. I did see Ridley get a few series in the 2nd half of the TB game.

No one is saying Conner is Bell but we haven't committed to the run. Until we do, it won't matter who the RB is if we only run 10 running plays a game. With that few carries it's impossible for any back to get into a rhythm or share carries. This is all on the OC. Conner had over 30 touches and 100 yards rushing against Cleveland. look at the RB touches since that game and rushing attempts, they are pathetic. They are letting Ben try to do too much and we've become 1 dimensional and teams are shutting that down in the 2nd half.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

This. All of this right here. We all have an axe to grind with Bell but that does that mean we stick with what isn't working? We have other RBs on the roster, time to use those guys. Samuels might be the better RB in this situation. How else are we gonna know? Ridley might be a great addition to Conner. How else are we gonna know? All we know is the running game isn't working right now and it's not because we only run the ball 8-10 times. It's because during those 8-10 runs, the dude is only getting 2-3 yards a carry.

I don't think anyone has an axe to grind with Bell's performance as a player.

As much of an ass he's been, he's still better than Connor. My position here is the DEF is giving up 30 pts a game...that's a bigger problem than Connor's YPC.

 

[Yo Tee]

I don't think anyone has an axe to grind with Bell's performance as a player.

As much of an ass he's been, he's still better than Connor. My position here is the DEF is giving up 30 pts a game...that's a bigger problem than Connor's YPC.

No, not performance, but it's personal at this point. The defense is the main issue, running game is secondary in my opinion.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

A rookie who almost got a QB (I forget which one) killed during preseason due to blowing a blitz pick up??? That's the reason he's not playing. If the coaches don't trust him in blitz pick up, he has no business seeing the field, barring injury. I did see Ridley get a few series in the 2nd half of the TB game.

No one is saying Conner is Bell but we haven't committed to the run. Until we do, it won't matter who the RB is if we only run 10 running plays a game. With that few carries it's impossible for any back to get into a rhythm or share carries. This is all on the OC. Conner had over 30 touches and 100 yards rushing against Cleveland. look at the RB touches since that game and rushing attempts, they are pathetic. They are letting Ben try to do too much and we've become 1 dimensional and teams are shutting that down in the 2nd half.

I think the flow (and score) of the game is taking the run out of the game plan more than Fichtner is trying to put the game in Ben's hands.

Hell, right now the OFC is under pressure to score on every possession. Down 2 possessions early to BAL, TB, and KC. We can question whether you should abandon the running game because you're down 2 possessions in the 1st half?

 

[Yo Tee]

I think the flow (and score) of the game is taking the run out of the game plan more than Fichtner is trying to put the game in Ben's hands.

Hell, right now the OFC is under pressure to score on every possession. Down 2 possessions early to BAL, TB, and KC. We can question whether you should abandon the running game because you're down 2 possessions in the 1st half?

It can be argued that if the running game were more reliable, we wouldn't have to have Ben throw it 40-60 a game. He's on pace to throw the ball over 700 times. That's ridiculous.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Man...Connor is so far doing a good job. No one is expecting Bell like results, but having Bell is not going to change Ben missing wide open players on 3rd down, he's not going to change the fact that any CB not name Haden is pretty much easy pickins on 3rd down.

Of course no CB can defend for as long as the QBs have time to throw vs the 2 and 3 man pass rushers the Steelers send after them.

I'm with your general tone here on Connor...right now they're trying to use him like they would Bell and he's not that guy. Mixing in more carries/touches for Ridley/Samuels is not a bad thing. Connor should be around 20-25 touches a game max.

I disagree somewhat. They aren't trying to use Conner like Bell because they aren't running the ball very much at all. 10 running attempts vs. Baltimore. TEN!!! Our O is very unbalanced right now. I do agree that Conner should be getting about 25 touches per game.

We all know that for some reason Tomlin rarely mixes in the #2 RB. Last year we were all screaming for Conner to get a few series per game and he rarely got any touches. This isn't new either as we can all remember Tomlin saying he was gonna ride the wheels of Fast Willie Parker which he did.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

I think the flow (and score) of the game is taking the run out of the game plan more than Fichtner is trying to put the game in Ben's hands.

Hell, right now the OFC is under pressure to score on every possession. Down 2 possessions early to BAL, TB, and KC. We can question whether you should abandon the running game because you're down 2 possessions in the 1st half?

True but when they have the chance to run and eat up some clock they don't (2nd half of TB and Balt games). Maybe the coaches know just how bad that D is and that no lead is safe. I do wonder if running more and giving the D more rest would help but I'm not sure it would.

No one's brought this up yet but is the OL doing a good job so far this year? IMO I thought they'd be playing better than they have with all the starters returning. But they did have injuries so I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into their and the RBs performances. Was just wondering if anyone thought the OL could be doing a better job of blocking on running plays. Could pass protection be improved? The one play that keeps playing in my mind is the one Conner fumble in the Cleveland game where one of Cleveland's DL was 5 yards deep in the backfield. I'd bring up sacks but we all know Ben holds onto the ball too long sometimes which isn't the OL fault.

 

[Yo Tee]

I disagree somewhat. They aren't trying to use Conner like Bell because they aren't running the ball very much at all. 10 running attempts vs. Baltimore. TEN!!! Our O is very unbalanced right now. I do agree that Conner should be getting about 25 touches per game.

We all know that for some reason Tomlin rarely mixes in the #2 RB. Last year we were all screaming for Conner to get a few series per game and he rarely got any touches. This isn't new either as we can all remember Tomlin saying he was gonna ride the wheels of Fast Willie Parker which he did.

While I agree with you that we should be running the ball more, it's my opinion that we clearly can't rely on Conner to be as productive as we need him to be. Bring Samuels or Ridley on and see if we can't get something going with either someone else or a dual back system.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

It can be argued that if the running game were more reliable, we wouldn't have to have Ben throw it 40-60 a game. He's on pace to throw the ball over 700 times. That's ridiculous.

Obviously I think they need more balance, but situational football takes over at some point. Even a more reliable running game is not going to be effective when you're down 2 possessions in the 2nd half.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I disagree somewhat. They aren't trying to use Conner like Bell because they aren't running the ball very much at all. 10 running attempts vs. Baltimore. TEN!!! Our O is very unbalanced right now. I do agree that Conner should be getting about 25 touches per game.

We all know that for some reason Tomlin rarely mixes in the #2 RB. Last year we were all screaming for Conner to get a few series per game and he rarely got any touches. This isn't new either as we can all remember Tomlin saying he was gonna ride the wheels of Fast Willie Parker which he did.

In the one game that the score stayed within possession, he had a Bell like touch game. But aside from that, the other 3 games the score took him out it.

I say that mostly with respect to how many carries the other RBs are getting relative to the starter...you touched on it with Tomlin rarely...

 

[Yo Tee]

Obviously I think they need more balance, but situational football takes over at some point. Even a more reliable running game is not going to be effective when you're down 2 possessions in the 2nd half.

Agreed, but a more reliable running games makes the defense prepare for the ground game, instead of having Ben throw is 40-60 times a game. By the 2nd half, the opposing LBs are just covering receivers now because they know we are gonna just throw the ball down their throats. Gotta do something to change something up because it's obvious everything we are doing isn't working.

 

[Yo Tee]

Conner's production when we are trailing in the game:
17 rushes, 30 yards, 1 TD - 1.8 ypc

We can't rely on Conner when we are trailing either. Hence why Ben threw it 60 times against KC, which, by the way, is the 2nd most pass attempts by Ben in a single game. Only 2nd to his 66 last year against the Ravens.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

True but when they have the chance to run and eat up some clock they don't (2nd half of TB and Balt games). Maybe the coaches know just how bad that D is and that no lead is safe. I do wonder if running more and giving the D more rest would help but I'm not sure it would.

No one's brought this up yet but is the OL doing a good job so far this year? IMO I thought they'd be playing better than they have with all the starters returning. But they did have injuries so I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into their and the RBs performances. Was just wondering if anyone thought the OL could be doing a better job of blocking on running plays. Could pass protection be improved? The one play that keeps playing in my mind is the one Conner fumble in the Cleveland game where one of Cleveland's DL was 5 yards deep in the backfield. I'd bring up sacks but we all know Ben holds onto the ball too long sometimes which isn't the OL fault.

BAL/TB 2nd half...maybe the TB game I can see the game plan having more running in it to close that game out and ultimately they did the second time around. The BAL game...not so much, the 1st possession of the 4Q, they were down 6 and went pass, pass, INT. The 2nd time they got it in the 4Q, they were down 2 possessions with 3+ mins left so BAL would be happy to see them running even 4-5 yds at a clip.

OL...For as many times as Ben has had to pass coming from behind...(i.e. a known passing situation) I think they're holding up okay.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Agreed, but a more reliable running games makes the defense prepare for the ground game, instead of having Ben throw is 40-60 times a game. By the 2nd half, the opposing LBs are just covering receivers now because they know we are gonna just throw the ball down their throats. Gotta do something to change something up because it's obvious everything we are doing isn't working.

Again, situational football is forcing their hands.

Bottomline here...Bell not being here is not the reason they're 1-2-1. Giving up 116 points in 4 games is a much better reason imo.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

In the one game that the score stayed within possession, he had a Bell like touch game. But aside from that, the other 3 games the score took him out it.

I say that mostly with respect to how many carries the other RBs are getting relative to the starter...you touched on it with Tomlin rarely...

Right, so all this talk about putting in another RB is pointless cause Tomlin is never gonna do it. Until Bell comes back they'll run the wheels off Conner and when Bell's back they'll do the same with him.