Week 1 @ CLE

[Psych-Ward]

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Post game thoughts.

Played well enough in spots to win, but should've and deserved to lose by 14...football 101, you can't turn the ball over that many times and win.

Fortunately it was the Browns and they couldn't do much with it either that wasn't gift wrapped.

Kudos to Sutton rebounding from some bad plays. Connor made a major turnover, but showed he can carry the load. OL...struggled in spots, Ben, same thing.

Bottomline...won't be too critical on the play in the slop in week one....but I will say this, health matters but the timing you get from those PS games helps coming out the gate.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Still feel pretty gloomy over the game and I'm hesitant to give my thoughts... But here goes nothin

Offense... Conner is the animal we all wanted him to be. Kudos for him stepping up to the plate. Poor timing on the fumble, but you bet your ass he learned from that mistake. My biggest gripe is with Ben. I'm at a loss for words with how terrible he looked yesterday. The first 2 INT's were laughably bad throws. First he throws a beeline into TRIPLE coverage with 2 defenders underneath AB (like seriously? I think a pop-warner QB woulda known better). Second one he channels his inner Joe Flacco by pulling a heave-and-pray hoping that AB would bail him out. No dice. Third INT I can forgive him for because Jesse James gift-wrapped it. Then he fumbled the ball twice. His last was purely his fault for holding the ball too long. Other one was debatable. All of that was simply what showed up on paper. What doesn't show up are the 3-4 other INTs that were dropped by CLE defenders. Ben looked atrocious yesterday, and that painful performance overshadowed a lot of other good things that other players were doing. Shame on him.

Defense... Sort of a mixed bag here. While I was encouraged with the overall performance, there were still a handful of plays that were painful to watch. Dupree was frustrating to say the least. Multiple batted balls & even a strip sack, but I saw him overrun plays too many times making him look foolish. He relies far too much on pure speed to beat his opponents instead of using pass rush moves. Artie Burns is a hothead. Decent game by the secondary, but still a few blown coverages that need to be cleaned up. D-line looked a tad out of shape, but overall good performance. Liked what I saw from the 3-safety sets with Burnett in the box. Although 1 play he lost contain on the RB dump that picked up 15 yds. Huge props to TJ Watt. He's an animal out there.

ST... A ton of miserable punts, but thank GOD he redeemed himself with his final 2. 1 of which deserves a big thanks to Peppers for calling a fair catch lol. Still think Berry needs to go. Pathetic consistency. Shitty conditions for Boz to work with and bummed he missed that game-winner, but he has bailed this team out too many times for me to be upset with him. Coverage units were solid. Dirty Red proves every game on ST why the team keeps him around.


Overall... Its a shame that a terrible performance by Ben sort of overshadows the good deeds of others. Shitty conditions are not an acceptable excuse. All I can hope is that this game serves as a wakeup call for those that needed it. Browns are vastly improved talent-wise, but they are clearly still the undisciplined team they have always been. Sadly the Steelers looked worse. They should be happy they didn't lose by 20 points. The superbowl window doesn't appear to be as "open" as it once was.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I think one major factor that is getting too overlooked with this game is conditioning. Seemed like the Steelers were dominating the trenches through 3 quarters, but then suddenly a deflated balloon took the field in the 4th. Sure didn't help that the offense was turning the ball over constantly putting the defense back on the field.

@ATL96Steeler

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Still feel pretty gloomy over the game and I'm hesitant to give my thoughts... But here goes nothin

Offense... Conner is the animal we all wanted him to be. Kudos for him stepping up to the plate. Poor timing on the fumble, but you bet your ass he learned from that mistake. My biggest gripe is with Ben. I'm at a loss for words with how terrible he looked yesterday. The first 2 INT's were laughably bad throws. First he throws a beeline into TRIPLE coverage with 2 defenders underneath AB (like seriously? I think a pop-warner QB woulda known better). Second one he channels his inner Joe Flacco by pulling a heave-and-pray hoping that AB would bail him out. No dice. Third INT I can forgive him for because Jesse James gift-wrapped it. Then he fumbled the ball twice. His last was purely his fault for holding the ball too long. Other one was debatable. All of that was simply what showed up on paper. What doesn't show up are the 3-4 other INTs that were dropped by CLE defenders. Ben looked atrocious yesterday, and that painful performance overshadowed a lot of other good things that other players were doing. Shame on him.

Defense... Sort of a mixed bag here. While I was encouraged with the overall performance, there were still a handful of plays that were painful to watch. Dupree was frustrating to say the least. Multiple batted balls & even a strip sack, but I saw him overrun plays too many times making him look foolish. He relies far too much on pure speed to beat his opponents instead of using pass rush moves. Artie Burns is a hothead. Decent game by the secondary, but still a few blown coverages that need to be cleaned up. D-line looked a tad out of shape, but overall good performance. Liked what I saw from the 3-safety sets with Burnett in the box. Although 1 play he lost contain on the RB dump that picked up 15 yds. Huge props to TJ Watt. He's an animal out there.

ST... A ton of miserable punts, but thank GOD he redeemed himself with his final 2. 1 of which deserves a big thanks to Peppers for calling a fair catch lol. Still think Berry needs to go. Pathetic consistency. Shitty conditions for Boz to work with and bummed he missed that game-winner, but he has bailed this team out too many times for me to be upset with him. Coverage units were solid. Dirty Red proves every game on ST why the team keeps him around.


Overall... Its a shame that a terrible performance by Ben sort of overshadows the good deeds of others. Shitty conditions are not an acceptable excuse. All I can hope is that this game serves as a wakeup call for those that needed it. Browns are vastly improved talent-wise, but they are clearly still the undisciplined team they have always been. Sadly the Steelers looked worse. They should be happy they didn't lose by 20 points. The superbowl window doesn't appear to be as "open" as it once was.

I'm a little hesitant to dive too deeply into the game.

OFC...Ben, I have to say it, there was some rust there, 2 of the INTs were all on him. But I saw it a lot yesterday...can't blame HCs for wanting their stars ready for the season, but 2 or 3 Qtrs in preseason with part of the team is not good enough. With KC coming up, they need to fix it quick.

DEF...yes, they held Taylor to < 200 yds passing, and offensively, CLE didn't do enough to win, but not being able to control the QB on breakdown rushes, and two big pass plays, coupled with the turnovers, that was enough to lose the game...fortunately they got away with a tie.

ST...Switzer was a real find, Weather was brutal, but Berry was the best punter in camp? We know Bos will redeem himself.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I'm a little hesitant to dive too deeply into the game.

OFC...Ben, I have to say it, there was some rust there, 2 of the INTs were all on him. But I saw it a lot yesterday...can't blame HCs for wanting their stars ready for the season, but 2 or 3 Qtrs in preseason with part of the team is not good enough. With KC coming up, they need to fix it quick.

DEF...yes, they held Taylor to < 200 yds passing, and offensively, CLE didn't do enough to win, but not being able to control the QB on breakdown rushes, and two big pass plays, coupled with the turnovers, that was enough to lose the game...fortunately they got away with a tie.

ST...Switzer was a real find, Weather was brutal, but Berry was the best punter in camp? We know Bos will redeem himself.

Switzer... Forgot to mention Switzer in my post. Indeed, a real find. 10-15yd returns don't sound very exciting, but those add up in the field position battle. Plus he looks to be 1 missed tackle away from taking anything to the house on every return. It's exciting. He's a nifty-shifty runner out there. Was excited to see Fichtner get him involved on gadget plays on the offense. I have a feeling we are just seeing the surface with him.

Berry... Wondering if they are giving him the benefit of the doubt because of his chemistry with Boz. Don't want to upset the delicate balance with kickers. But I have to imagine that Berry is testing their patience. Their camp competition, Matt Wile, was just as abysmal. If Berry manages to survive the season, I have to imagine that they get better competition for next year, if not wipe the slate clean since Berry is a FA in '19.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I think one major factor that is getting too overlooked with this game is conditioning. Seemed like the Steelers were dominating the trenches through 3 quarters, but then suddenly a deflated balloon took the field in the 4th. Sure didn't help that the offense was turning the ball over constantly putting the defense back on the field.

@ATL96Steeler

Supposedly a fairly cool day in CLE, but going from almost no reps to 80+ snaps is a big change.

 

[Psych-Ward]

Still feel pretty gloomy over the game and I'm hesitant to give my thoughts... But here goes nothin

Offense... Conner is the animal we all wanted him to be. Kudos for him stepping up to the plate. Poor timing on the fumble, but you bet your ass he learned from that mistake. My biggest gripe is with Ben. I'm at a loss for words with how terrible he looked yesterday. The first 2 INT's were laughably bad throws. First he throws a beeline into TRIPLE coverage with 2 defenders underneath AB (like seriously? I think a pop-warner QB woulda known better). Second one he channels his inner Joe Flacco by pulling a heave-and-pray hoping that AB would bail him out. No dice. Third INT I can forgive him for because Jesse James gift-wrapped it. Then he fumbled the ball twice. His last was purely his fault for holding the ball too long. Other one was debatable. All of that was simply what showed up on paper. What doesn't show up are the 3-4 other INTs that were dropped by CLE defenders. Ben looked atrocious yesterday, and that painful performance overshadowed a lot of other good things that other players were doing. Shame on him.

Defense... Sort of a mixed bag here. While I was encouraged with the overall performance, there were still a handful of plays that were painful to watch. Dupree was frustrating to say the least. Multiple batted balls & even a strip sack, but I saw him overrun plays too many times making him look foolish. He relies far too much on pure speed to beat his opponents instead of using pass rush moves. Artie Burns is a hothead. Decent game by the secondary, but still a few blown coverages that need to be cleaned up. D-line looked a tad out of shape, but overall good performance. Liked what I saw from the 3-safety sets with Burnett in the box. Although 1 play he lost contain on the RB dump that picked up 15 yds. Huge props to TJ Watt. He's an animal out there.

ST... A ton of miserable punts, but thank GOD he redeemed himself with his final 2. 1 of which deserves a big thanks to Peppers for calling a fair catch lol. Still think Berry needs to go. Pathetic consistency. Shitty conditions for Boz to work with and bummed he missed that game-winner, but he has bailed this team out too many times for me to be upset with him. Coverage units were solid. Dirty Red proves every game on ST why the team keeps him around.


Overall... Its a shame that a terrible performance by Ben sort of overshadows the good deeds of others. Shitty conditions are not an acceptable excuse. All I can hope is that this game serves as a wakeup call for those that needed it. Browns are vastly improved talent-wise, but they are clearly still the undisciplined team they have always been. Sadly the Steelers looked worse. They should be happy they didn't lose by 20 points. The superbowl window doesn't appear to be as "open" as it once was.

I think we can all agree Ben has at least one game like this every year.

Let's hope he's getting that WTF game out of the way early!!!!

Damn, and I forgot about the Artie Burns thing....what I bitch move, you got owned for one play and you decide to get all triggered.....real childish.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I think we can all agree Ben has at least one game like this every year.

Let's hope he's getting that WTF game out of the way early!!!!

Damn, and I forgot about the Artie Burns thing....what I bitch move, you got owned for one play and you decide to get all triggered.....real childish.

Ben.. I sure hope so. They obviously need him to play smarter, not necessarily better, if they want any chance at winning the division this year. There are a lot better defenses on the schedule this year that will make him pay dearly if not.

Burns... Very childish. I didn't have as much of a problem with the pushing or fighting or whatever, but taking the helmet off like he's some sort of tough guy wannabe gangster is utterly stupid. If I were his teammate out there I probably would have socked him in the rib. Grow up young man. Jarvis Landry would kick his ass if they were on the street & he pulled somethin like that.

 

[Wamu]

Ben.. I sure hope so. They obviously need him to play smarter, not necessarily better, if they want any chance at winning the division this year. There are a lot better defenses on the schedule this year that will make him pay dearly if not.

Burns... Very childish. I didn't have as much of a problem with the pushing or fighting or whatever, but taking the helmet off like he's some sort of tough guy wannabe gangster is utterly stupid. If I were his teammate out there I probably would have socked him in the rib. Grow up young man. Jarvis Landry would kick his ass if they were on the street & he pulled somethin like that.

Hey I just figured out what positive the Browns can take from yesterdays game. Finally BigBen didn't beat them!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Hey I just figured out what positive the Browns can take from yesterdays game. Finally BigBen didn't beat them!

What is he now? 22-2-1 vs the Browns? lol

 

[Wamu]

What is he now? 22-2-1 vs the Browns? lol

That sounds about right.

 

[SJ20]

Joe Haden made a great play breaking up that potential TD. He's a really good CB and our best by far. And they picked on Sutton after Haden got injured. He seems to get hurt too often. We need this guy to stay healthy. Hopefully he can stay on the football field this season.

 

[Psych-Ward]

Ben.. I sure hope so. They obviously need him to play smarter, not necessarily better, if they want any chance at winning the division this year. There are a lot better defenses on the schedule this year that will make him pay dearly if not.

Burns... Very childish. I didn't have as much of a problem with the pushing or fighting or whatever, but taking the helmet off like he's some sort of tough guy wannabe gangster is utterly stupid. If I were his teammate out there I probably would have socked him in the rib. Grow up young man. Jarvis Landry would kick his ass if they were on the street & he pulled somethin like that.

Yea, I can see the throw down thing, but the helmet bullshit......stupid.

The thing the that worries me with Ben is, how hard is AB pushing to get catches???
Connor and Juju really need to step up their game to garner more coverage. Seems with one assholes hold out, it's freeing up an extra guy to cover or at least oversee AB. And the targets for AB aren't their with the extra eyes on him. TE, we really need McDonald back, I feel he is a big threat than Double J..... but seriously is Ben making bad choices because he's not wanting to deal with the tantrums????

 

[Psych-Ward]

................AND........................

I'm in no way saying we need shit stain back......

Juju and Connor need to establish themselves as threats!!!!!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

................AND........................

I'm in no way saying we need shit stain back......

Juju and Connor need to establish themselves as threats!!!!!

What more does Conner need to do to establish himself? I thought he did that, and more.

JuJu I can agree. But he’s not going to take people off AB when he’s lined up opposite. Whomever works in the slot & TE needs to do that.

 

[Psych-Ward]

What more does Conner need to do to establish himself? I thought he did that, and more.

JuJu I can agree. But he’s not going to take people off AB when he’s lined up opposite. Whomever works in the slot & TE needs to do that.

They have both done outstanding jobs.....but it's only one game.

They need to make teams realize that if you cover AB like a blanket, we (Juju and Connor) will destroy you.
Connor was awesome....but who in the NFL respects him as a big game threat???
Juju is the mojo man, no doubt but he needs to get in the neighborhood of 200 yards if AB is going to get shut down.

I'm not putting either of their efforts down, I'm just saying if AB is going to get double and triple covered, those two guys needs to go ape fucking Shit on the opponent. It was obvious the browns game plan was to shut AB down, and they did. So Juju and Connor should be offended by this and have a Fuckin heyday on whomever......

See what I'm saying????

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

They have both done outstanding jobs.....but it's only one game.

They need to make teams realize that if you cover AB like a blanket, we (Juju and Connor) will destroy you.
Connor was awesome....but who in the NFL respects him as a big game that???
Juju is the mojo man, no doubt but he needs to get in the neighborhood of 200 yards if AB is going to get shut down.

I'm not putting either of their efforts down, I'm just saying if AB is going to get double and triple covered, those two guys needs to go ape fucking Shit on the opponent. It was obvious the browns game plan was to shut AB down, and they did. So Juju and Connor should be offended by this and have a Fuckin heyday on whomever......

See what I'm saying????

Clear as mud my man!

I hear ya though. There were multiple plays where Ben couldn’t find an open receiver and they were putting double & triple teams on AB. That means the schemes aren’t taking advantage. We touched on it last year when Haley’s schemes were struggling but then he started incorporating rub routes that helped free players up. When you put the players in 1on1 situations you leave yourself vulnerable to zone coverages. I have a feeling Fichtner is just getting his feet wet. He & Ben will work things out.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Also doesn’t help when their main hash guy was Jesse James during that game. He’s very unathletic by TE standards and DBs aren’t going to key on him. Most LBs can single cover him with ease which means an extra DB can neutralize AB.

 

[Psych-Ward]

Clear as mud my man!

I hear ya though. There were multiple plays where Ben couldn’t find an open receiver and they were putting double & triple teams on AB. That means the schemes aren’t taking advantage. We touched on it last year when Haley’s schemes were struggling but then he started incorporating rub routes that helped free players up. When you put the players in 1on1 situations you leave yourself vulnerable to zone coverages. I have a feeling Fichtner is just getting his feet wet. He & Ben will work things out.

Mud....Shut yer cake hole. Lol

One thing that pissed me off was when Ben started to line up no huddle....And that fuck wad from Cleveland acts like he's dying, then tries to call time out....then when he realized they had no time outs, and after walking around for a block or two, decided he was hurt again.
And Tomlin should of been going ape shit even more so than I was!!!!