Game Thread: AFC CHAMPIONSHIP DUH PATSIES

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

@FaCe-LeE-uS

Lol, the avi man....wtf.
Also no grade for the offense....lol.

Just yanking on ya buddy.
Like I said we needed that X factor, and Green could of been that guy. We needed a big playmaker outside of Bell and AB, Green could of been that guy. That said, dump that Fuckin bum......
He's damaged goods......

oops... Probably wouldn't have given them much better than a C.

Yea that revolving door at option #2 was pretty much their undoing. AB couldn't shake the double teams, and drops from Rogers, Coates, James & Hamilton were steaks through the heart. Cannot wait to (hopefully) have Marty B back next season. Pray to sweet baby Jesus that he & Bell stay off the god damned grass this offseason!!!!!!!!!

As for Green... I agree. Damaged goods. I hope they draft or explore FA for TE's this offseason. DJ & Grimble are FAs. Only TE's under contract next season are James & Green.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Oh and the avi... Lost a bet to @Vyle203 in the smack talk thread. Have to sport it for 1 week.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Coaching... Yikes. The coordinators were always 2 steps behind the Patriots. Offense looked shell-shocked when Bell went out. Still there were some very questionable play-calls early in the game. 3rd & 1 on the opening drive and Haley airs it out deep? Sure Coates could have made that play, but why the hell are they gambling that early in a game where they needed to be flawless? Seemed cocky to me. As for the defense. Butler started off well but got gun-shy because Tom Brady's quick-release was rendering their pass rush non-existent. So he reverted back to the 3-man rush with 8 in zone coverage. They got dissected once Butler did that. Didn't help the DBs were giving them the 12-15yd cushions every play. Brady had to be laughing at that. He tried to get the pass rush going again, but it was like he was getting toyed with by NE's OC McDaniels when trying to scheme against their offense on the fly. Whenever PIT rushed 5, NE would go spread. Whenever PIT dropped into zones, NE would go balanced. D

Offense... Once Bell went out it was all downhill from there. Ben played well but he needed more from his team. AB had a lot of difficulty getting open, due to the fact that NE didn't have to scheme against Bell anymore. O-line lost some battles in crucial situations, but for the most part they kept Ben upright in clean pockets. No excuse for that goal-line, The offense still was in decent shape heading into the 2nd half, but after they came out flat again, then a fumble & an INT later, the offense started snowballing. They got some garbage time points to make it less embarrassing, but they were clearly dominated. These are games where everyone needs to step up and make plays, and the Steelers just didn't have enough of them.

Defense... Same old song & dance against elite QBs & coaches. The defense had no answer. Burns & Cockrell were often giving the 12-yd cushions and Brady tore them apart. Gay couldn't keep up with Hogan either, that was just embarrassing. And Mitchell looked lost out there. D-line looked decent for stretches, but disappeared in the 2nd half. IMO most of the defense's failures came down to coaching though. Playing zone against an offense that is built & coached to exploit the zone is an easy recipe for failure. Brady faced little resistance. C-

Overall... Got their asses handed to them on both sides of the ball. IMO it boils down to getting out-coached plain & simple. They had their chances, but ultimately their flawed schemes caught up to them. C-

Outlook... In all honesty I'm surprised the Steelers made it this far. They showed some incredible resolve down the stretch when everyone had left them for dead. They gained some valuable experience for the younger guys, so there's some optimism to be taken from this experience. Still sucks ass, I know. The Steelers have some tough decisions to make this offseason, but the roster is still loaded with talent. Timmons & Harrison's future is up in the air. Cockrell is a RFA I believe so he'll likely get locked up for another 3-4 yrs. On the offensive side of the ball, Le'Veon Bell will be the talk of the offseason. Will the Steelers franchise tag him? Or sign him to a lucrative contract? My guess is they will be leaning towards the tag until he can prove to keep himself clean. Steelers already promised AB he would get a huge extension, so that will also be a focal point this offseason. After that dust settles they will need to sign A-Vill who's a FA this offseason. Also Nix & Landry's contract are up. Doubt those 3 are going anywhere. Martavis Bryant could potentially be back in the fold. They will likely be SB favorites next season, and they will have a long offseason to chew on this devastating loss.

TO THE DRAFT THREADS!!!

Good job as always.

My 2 cents.

OFC...2 of 5...No Bell, but no excuses...not converting on 1st in goal from 6" set the tone for the rest of the game and typical gambling Tomlin not going for it on 4th from his own 40ish when the DEF had not forced yet forced a punt put a cap on a tough night. Two turnovers, drops...just didn't do nearly enough to beat a good team on the road in a AFCCG.

DEF...2 of 5...zone and no pressure was NOT how they won 9 straight games to reach the AFCCG...not sure why they felt it would work last night...there were big gaping holes in the zone and Edleman and Hogan knew just where to fin them, they're lucky NE didn't hang 40 on them.

ST...2 of 5 missing a XPT, otherwise punting was the highlight of the night.

Credit to the Patriots, they were better prepared, they were the better team.

Summary...They didn't deliver last night, but the end result it was a good season. Burns, Davis, Hargrave all got valuable experience as rookies and should be better for it next yr. Also Hamilton, Coates and Rogers on OFC.

I think they need to come back next year with a great attitude. Of course they need to figure out a long term solution at ROLB. IMO they need to address slot CB, Gay is no longer starter material. Of course Bell, but Cockrell, Timmons all need to be resigned. Bryant has put in for reinstatement, we'll have to see how that goes, but AB needs some help and also they need to figure something out with Green...imo and no offense to him, he can't help his concussion situation, but the guy just needs to retire.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

OFC...2 of 5...No Bell, but no excuses...not converting on 1st in goal from 6" set the tone for the rest of the game and typical gambling Tomlin not going for it on 4th from his own 40ish when the DEF had not forced yet forced a punt put a cap on a tough night. Two turnovers, drops...just didn't do nearly enough to beat a good team on the road in a AFCCG.

DEF...2 of 5...zone and no pressure was NOT how they won 9 straight games to reach the AFCCG...not sure why they felt it would work last night...there were big gaping holes in the zone and Edleman and Hogan knew just where to fin them, they're lucky NE didn't hang 40 on them.
.

Good writeup ATL!

O... After Bell went down it looked like Haley had a chance to go up-tempo and let Ben do his thing, but they didn't. Doesn't matter if the receivers are dropping TD passes though. They need an answer for WR2, and I'm not sure they should bank on Marty B being the future of that position. His final year UC is next season, and nobody knows how he'll look after the year off, or if his head is on straight. Coates isn't the answer IMO, and Rogers is better suited in the slot.

D... They really need to stop running zone on 80-90% of their defensive plays. It only works if the D-line & pass rushers are getting pressure. Or at the very least, get rid of the 12-15yd cushion. Right from the start Brady was able to eliminate Harrison & Dupree by getting the ball out quickly to his receivers. That made Butler tuck his tail between his legs and drop 8 into coverage.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Good writeup ATL!

O... After Bell went down it looked like Haley had a chance to go up-tempo and let Ben do his thing, but they didn't. Doesn't matter if the receivers are dropping TD passes though. They need an answer for WR2, and I'm not sure they should bank on Marty B being the future of that position. His final year UC is next season, and nobody knows how he'll look after the year off, or if his head is on straight. Coates isn't the answer IMO, and Rogers is better suited in the slot.

D... They really need to stop running zone on 80-90% of their defensive plays. It only works if the D-line & pass rushers are getting pressure. Or at the very least, get rid of the 12-15yd cushion. Right from the start Brady was able to eliminate Harrison & Dupree by getting the ball out quickly to his receivers. That made Butler tuck his tail between his legs and drop 8 into coverage.

OFC...agreed. Haley missed some opportunities...I don't think they were quite ready for DWill's pace of hitting the hole, but on 2nd and goal playaction I thought was coming...whatever, they might have dropped that too. I do think MB will be on the roster next year, and will be an effective player, but Coates is just not good enough to be a starter.

DEF...I was surprised that Butler sat back in zone as much as he did...it really looked as if NE expected it. Maybe the rub routes scared him idk. I'm curious to see how they go about the DL/OLB/edge rusher next yr.

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

OK, time to get the sour grapes out of my system.

The officiating was a disgrace.

Patsies' O line was holding repeatedly, never flagged once. Brady fumbles, Steelers come up with ball...first down Pats. James gets tackled before the ball arrives on a key 3rd down pass, no call. I seem to recall that the ONLY penalty on NE last night was a lousy false start.

The whole zebra crew should be taken out and shot...but that wouldn't be legal, so they should be banned from ever officiating again, above the Pop Warner level.

Sadly, our boys probably would have lost anyway. And if it were up to me, two coordinators would be looking for work...more on that later, though we all know it's not going to happen.

 

[Psych-Ward]

oops... Probably wouldn't have given them much better than a C.

Yea that revolving door at option #2 was pretty much their undoing. AB couldn't shake the double teams, and drops from Rogers, Coates, James & Hamilton were steaks through the heart. Cannot wait to (hopefully) have Marty B back next season. Pray to sweet baby Jesus that he & Bell stay off the god damned grass this offseason!!!!!!!!!

As for Green... I agree. Damaged goods. I hope they draft or explore FA for TE's this offseason. DJ & Grimble are FAs. Only TE's under contract next season are James & Green.

Wow, you are the generous one....a C????
Fuck that, D, and I will tell you why.
Ben and Haley did absolutely nothing to cover, hide, or fool any offensive set ups.
Example, James's TD is pulled after review. However it was a first down. Haley runs a no receiver set....I get it you have confidence in the guys up front....BUT when that failed, why the fuck did you run the same stupid fuckin play 2 more times??? And Ben, Dude I understand about AB, but fuckin pick someone else. He is doubled and you aren't getting shit to him, stop looking that way, stop thinking that way, just fuckin stop!!!!

So fuck our O....D
Because they were a better D than the Patriots D!!!!!

 

[MISKO]

Congrats to Steelers and fans for a good year. Better luck next year. Stay classy my friends!

good luck the rest of the way

 

[Bridgeburner]

Said it in the preview, if Butler does any of that pattycake bullshit then Brady is going to have a field day. Coached with very little aggression today and they let the Pats have their way.

I can't believe the game plan was to play a soft zone and rush three against Tom Brady. We weren't just "outcoached" we were embarrassed on that end. I'm not at all sure we can win a title with this staff. I have to believe at this point they are all idiots. Like box of rocks type deal. It was painfully obvious what we needed to do and they did they opposite.

 

[Bridgeburner]

OFFENSE: C. Ben played better than his numbers show but everyone else probably got a D.
DEFENSE: Incomplete. They weren't allowed to defend in this game by design so I'm not sure how to rate.
COACHING: F. Only because I can't go lower. This is really a Z.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I can't believe the game plan was to play a soft zone and rush three against Tom Brady. We weren't just "outcoached" we were embarrassed on that end. I'm not at all sure we can win a title with this staff. I have to believe at this point they are all idiots. Like box of rocks type deal. It was painfully obvious what we needed to do and they did they opposite.

Agreed. The coaches should be taking a long look in the mirror this week because the excuse that "they just played better than us today" isn't going to cut it. That was flat out embarrassing how outcoached the Steelers were. And that starts at the top with Tomlin. I know Tomlin has his fingerprints all over this defense, so the refusal to give up the zone coverage has every bit to do with him as it does Butler.

 

[Bridgeburner]

Agreed. The coaches should be taking a long look in the mirror this week because the excuse that "they just played better than us today" isn't going to cut it. That was flat out embarrassing how outcoached the Steelers were. And that starts at the top with Tomlin. I know Tomlin has his fingerprints all over this defense, so the refusal to give up the zone coverage has every bit to do with him as it does Butler.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[MISKO]

http://www.steelers.com/videos/videos/Harrison_Im_not_done/6870eb90-893f-48cd-b295-b49f4499c86a

debo wasnt happy but the silver lining is he aint done

 

[MISKO]

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Wow, you are the generous one....a C????
Fuck that, D, and I will tell you why.
Ben and Haley did absolutely nothing to cover, hide, or fool any offensive set ups.
Example, James's TD is pulled after review. However it was a first down. Haley runs a no receiver set....I get it you have confidence in the guys up front....BUT when that failed, why the fuck did you run the same stupid fuckin play 2 more times??? And Ben, Dude I understand about AB, but fuckin pick someone else. He is doubled and you aren't getting shit to him, stop looking that way, stop thinking that way, just fuckin stop!!!!

So fuck our O....D
Because they were a better D than the Patriots D!!!!!

I'm with you on Haley for certain....this is just one example of why this guy doesn't seem to have what it takes to win big games consistently.

They have a 2 TE pkg out there with Johnson and James...okay, that's a run look to NE, especially with Johnson on the field...a pass play might catch them off guard a bit. What does he call...a pass in the flat to Johnson that goes for 2 yds. Why throw a pass in the flat to your slowest TE? What kind of RAC can you expect from him?

If you're going to use him in the passing game, why not let him get down field, why not on 1st down in that same two TE set when you're on the 6" line? That same 2 yd gain is a TD.

I know this is Monday morning QBing, but shit...I just didn't get some of his calls...granted, his players didn't help with all the drops, but

 

[Psych-Ward]

I'm with you on Haley for certain....this is just one example of why this guy doesn't seem to have what it takes to win big games consistently.

They have a 2 TE pkg out there with Johnson and James...okay, that's a run look to NE, especially with Johnson on the field...a pass play might catch them off guard a bit. What does he call...a pass in the flat to Johnson that goes for 2 yds. Why throw a pass in the flat to your slowest TE? What kind of RAC can you expect from him?

If you're going to use him in the passing game, why not let him get down field, why not on 1st down in that same two TE set when you're on the 6" line? That same 2 yd gain is a TD.

I know this is Monday morning QBing, but shit...I just didn't get some of his calls...granted, his players didn't help with all the drops, but

I wouldn't say Monday morning QBing when I could see what at least 60% of the plays were before the snap.
There was no surprise, or cover up to any of our plays.

As for Ben, you knew and could see when he was looking AB on a play, and yes AB is a talent that is unheard of in the NFL today......But Belicheck always takes your to one or two guys out of the game, and AB is not gonna beat a double team. As great as he is, it isn't happening. Which is why I said Green would of been a huge factor in destroying the Patties game plan..... but this guy obviously needs to move on!!!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Agreed. The coaches should be taking a long look in the mirror this week because the excuse that "they just played better than us today" isn't going to cut it. That was flat out embarrassing how outcoached the Steelers were. And that starts at the top with Tomlin. I know Tomlin has his fingerprints all over this defense, so the refusal to give up the zone coverage has every bit to do with him as it does Butler.

There are no excuses imo, but the reality is NE made the plays when they were there on OFC...very few were dropped. The Steelers didn't, and it was across the board...Coates can't catch it unless he's wide open, if the defender is within a ft of him and makes any kind of a play, he loses concentration...and these are balls that hit his hands!

On DEF...I agree. Butler is the man in charge, but it does have to start with Tomlin...he knows the game plan on both sides of the ball going in and to sit in zone vs an experienced QB and expect to tackle and keep the play in front of you was a death wish. At some point in that 1st half, they needed to man up on the WRs and go after Brady with 5 and 6 players some...shake him up, hit him, speed up his clock...aside from Hargrave making a nice play and the sack by Davis, they did nothing scheme wise to disrupt what NE wanted to do.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I wouldn't say Monday morning QBing when I could see what at least 60% of the plays were before the snap.
There was no surprise, or cover up to any of our plays.

As for Ben, you knew and could see when he was looking AB on a play, and yes AB is a talent that is unheard of in the NFL today......But Belicheck always takes your to one or two guys out of the game, and AB is not gonna beat a double team. As great as he is, it isn't happening. Which is why I said Green would of been a huge factor in destroying the Patties game plan..... but this guy obviously needs to move on!!!

I did think he would play, but I never thought Green was going to be a big factor...I thought James was going to be the main TE. Once it was determined that Green was not going to play, I really thought Grimble was going to play and make a few plays. If he played a snap on OFC I missed it.

Even if he had Bell and Bryant, I don't think Haley is a very good big game OC, or when a team knows his scheme...imo he will always struggle vs BAL and he's not going to beat NE when it matters.

 

[Psych-Ward]

I did think he would play, but I never thought Green was going to be a big factor...I thought James was going to be the main TE. Once it was determined that Green was not going to play, I really thought Grimble was going to play and make a few plays. If he played a snap on OFC I missed it.

Even if he had Bell and Bryant, I don't think Haley is a very good big game OC, or when a team knows his scheme...imo he will always struggle vs BAL and he's not going to beat NE when it matters.

You have seen my opinion of Green all year.....
I think if he would of been in the game it would of made a difference underneath, for some reason Ben has a thing for this guy that he don't have with the other TEs. But he would of done damage underneath and maybe even opened up the line a bit for D-Will.....who knows.....The guy just needs to go.

And I agree on the haley thing.....

 

[ATL96Steeler]

You have seen my opinion of Green all year.....
I think if he would of been in the game it would of made a difference underneath, for some reason Ben has a thing for this guy that he don't have with the other TEs. But he would of done damage underneath and maybe even opened up the line a bit for D-Will.....who knows.....The guy just needs to go.

And I agree on the haley thing.....

The way they were handling him, I thought he would be mostly a decoy if he played.

I have no issues with Green, he can't help that he has a soft head or whatever, but not everybody can play in the NFL...he's one that shouldn't be playing. Cut bait, save that cap money, and maybe look at the TE kid from Bama if he's on the board and no pass rushers are.