Game Thread: Week 13 Giants

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

Truth. Glad I never got hooked on the stuff. Had a stint with the chew but that was a brief one. Never acquired the itch, but partook on the party weekends. Nowadays I only indulge on good cigars on the holidays and celebrations.

And those probably won't do you any harm.

 

[Cali Steel]

Thanx.

Yup, I had a big one last Saturday night, while visiting family in the Burgh for Thanksgiving. Hit me completely out of left field...no prior symptoms. I've always been fit and active, so it came as quite a shock. Ambulance took me to West Penn, which has an emergency heart team on call 24/7, instead of the closest place. They had to put in 2 stents.

But since I'm in good shape, I handled it well...got out Tuesday. With a few months of rehab, I should make a full recovery. Staying off work one more week, mainly as a precaution.

Hey, one word of caution to any Steeler peeps who smoke. If you use nicotine replacements (gum, patches or vaping) to quit smoking, get off that shit quickly. If you stay on the replacement instead of smoking (as I stupidly did), you're saving your lungs, but still fucking up your circulatory system.

Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Take care of that ticker brother......

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Take care of that ticker brother......

I will, Cali. Thanks.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Recap...

Coaching... Sloppy game, but they got the W. Need to cleanup those penalties. Good aggressive play calling on both sides of the ball though. Nothin else to say... B

Offense... The offense sputtered at times, mostly due to penalties, but overall they were solid. Bell was the monster they need him to be. Tough break on that fumble. I thought he was down. IMO, that INT was on Ben. The pass was thrown behind Rogers in stride. Tough for any receiver to adjust to that and fight for it, even though at first glance I thought he could have. Still gotta tip the cap to Ben for a great game. Obviously the long awaited arrival of Ladarius Green has finally taken roots within the offense. Welcome! He is the much needed go-to option opposite AB that this offense has been missing for the last month or so. That should take the pressure off Rogers & Coates enough for them to excel in their own niche (and heal those fingers Coates!). Hopefully Coates can start stretching the field again. Solid game for the O-line. Gave up some sacks, but they battled hard against a great defensive front. Ben had some great pockets to work with, and Bell found enough breathing room to rack up over 100yds on the ground. This unit lives & dies with the O-line (& Ben), so give credit where its due. B+

Defense... Impressive game for this unit that many, myself included, have been doubting. A much better opponent than they've faced recently so there's much to be optimistic about. Nothing to really see from the G-men in the stat sheets. OBJ's 100yd outing was more a result of garbage time than anything meaningful. The DB’s had a great game until that garbage time. Burns & Cockrell played pretty damn well against OBJ. Mitchell & Burns also played well. DBs got away with some defensive holding/PI calls, but there were plenty of missed calls against both teams. There was a hold on Timmons that was atrocious and not called, and the D paid for it. Speaking of LT, solid game sir! Not only the INT, but his run support & pass rush was awesome. Shazier included. They continue to shine above the rest. Great work from the front 7 this week. Just because the pressure didn't equate to stats doesn't mean it wasn't there. Good blitz packages from Butler. Eli Manning was shook, and the errors started to unfold. Exactly what this unit needed to do during this game. A little worried about the defense when it comes to the dump-off game. That catch & run from Rashad Jennings looked way too easy. Hoping Hargrave's concussion isn't too serious. B+

ST... Other than (surprisingly) Bullock, the units sucked once again. Penalties, shaky coverage & a few shanked punts. Gotta figure this shit out Coach Smith. C

Overall... Certainly had a lot of sloppiness throughout the game, but they came through when needed in a very tough battle. Great RZ defense saved the day. I'll eat some crow from last week when I said I doubted the RZ defense because of Tolzien. They played great defense where it counted. Offense is finding a groove. Great win, but they still gotta work on cleaning up their play. Much to improve on but the arrow is pointed up! B

Outlook... Like we talked about prior to the game, this was a pretty good measuring stick for the Steelers' postseason chances. And I gotta admit, the confidence is rising. Steelers are strengthening their brand of football as the 2016 season hits the final stretch. The race is still neck & neck for the AFCN between Baltimore & Pittsburgh after both teams cashed in W's today. Steelers hit the short road this week to Buffalo in a pivotal AFC wildcard race matchup. Buffalo has their backs against the wall after losing to Oakland, so they are going to be on their A game. McCoy is as dangerous a RB as they come, and don't discount Taylor. He's one of the few dual threat QBs left and can make any defense pay for any loss of containment. Throw in a renewed Sammy Watkins and you have a very potent unit. Easy to see why they were so successful earlier this season. Their 6-6 record is more a reflection of their brutal schedule. They are much better than their .500 record indicates. If the Steelers can grind out a win, then they will vault themselves into the front of the WC discussion. Baltimore hits the road north to Foxborough. Nasty road game for both AFCN teams. A win for 1 & not the other will reshape the AFCN race. Gotta keep stacking wins and let the rest sort itself out.

Good write up Face.

I saw the game pretty much the same way, but I’ll add a few tidbits.

OFC…4 of 5…Not perfect by any stretch. Some early drops by a host of players. But I went fairly high with my grade because the OFC really controlled the game….34 mins possession time vs 26 for NYG…that’s more than half QTR longer, 7 for 15 on 3rd down…389 yds to 234. What I really liked was how they milked the clock down going into the half…they didn’t get a TD, but 14-0 felt a lot better than 11-0.

As you’ve said, great to see Green have a breakout game. With Coates being a non-factor receiving the ball, I felt like he was going to get a lot more targets soon. I don’t expect 100+ yds every game, but hopefully this is the start of something consistent. Certainly something teams have to game plan for now.

DEF…4 of 5…it wasn’t a dominating performance, but shutting out any team for a half is very good DEF. The picks were both game changers. Timmons took what looked like a sure 6 off the board with his high point int…no way Mitchell was going to stop that one. Davis…a classic case of the pass rush getting the pocket QB off his spot and throwing on the run, he saw his eye locked and broke on it…beautiful!

ST…3 of 5…The shanked punt was the worse play of the night…he did put 2 inside the 20 and 3 for 3 on FGs with a new kicker, need to be better this week.

Summary… I agree with you on the penalties…12 for 115 yds is way too much. Tough to win games with that much negative yardage. That can’t be on the road this Sunday. 7-5…basically the Steelers held serve in terms of the DIV…MIA and BUF lost but not much else changed on the AFC playoff picture…DEN and KC maintained their position…still looks like the north or naught, but they control their destiny…go up BUF and get a win!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Thanx.

Yup, I had a big one last Saturday night, while visiting family in the Burgh for Thanksgiving. Hit me completely out of left field...no prior symptoms. I've always been fit and active, so it came as quite a shock. Ambulance took me to West Penn, which has an emergency heart team on call 24/7, instead of the closest place. They had to put in 2 stents.

But since I'm in good shape, I handled it well...got out Tuesday. With a few months of rehab, I should make a full recovery. Staying off work one more week, mainly as a precaution.

Hey, one word of caution to any Steeler peeps who smoke. If you use nicotine replacements (gum, patches or vaping) to quit smoking, get off that shit quickly. If you stay on the replacement instead of smoking (as I stupidly did), you're saving your lungs, but still fucking up your circulatory system.

Glad to hear you are okay NC!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

And those probably won't do you any harm.

I smoke a stoogie on the golf course now and again, maybe 6 or 7 a yr...aside from that a non-tobacco person...what you've reminded me do is schedule my annual physical...I skipped last year.

Be well!

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

I smoke a stoogie on the golf course now and again, maybe 6 or 7 a yr...aside from that a non-tobacco person...what you've reminded me do is schedule my annual physical...I skipped last year.

Be well!

You too.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[ATL96Steeler]

JJ has not played badly, he's just not a sack guy...It's not secret that Deebo is the best edge pass rusher on the roster, I think they were saving up Harrison for this point in the season all along.

The young DBs are learning on the job, but growing in confidence...really glad they are getting early PT...I have to say...Gay played well last week too.