Week 7 vs Texans

[dare2be]

#MackTruckInterception

Trend it.

 

[SJ20]

A very shocking turn of events. About time this defense stepped up!

 

[dare2be]

Haha, what a joke that play had to be overturned. Bad call on the field all the way.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Defense played better than I expected

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Force turnovers and good things happen. Here’s a few notes before I forget them:

*Martavius Bryant is going to make this offense that much better. Big, fast, and can go up for a ball. He looks to be everything JB couldn’t offer us. Wheaton had another night to forget. Ben really needs to get Wheaton back on track.
*I need to go back and watch McCullers snaps more, but he seemed to be getting down the line pretty well, even on double teams. Didn’t pile up a ton of sacks, but they collapsed the pocket and forced a lot of bad throws. If they can keep doing that then turnovers will keep coming.
*McCain should be the starter from here on out. Cortez has a big hole to climb out of now. The debate whether it’s Troy bringing him down is nullified when McCain didn’t seem to make the same mistakes.
*Timmons had a yack-to-sack. At least that's what I'm calling it. He threw up and then got a sack moments later. That replay was gross lol. All around strong performance, per usual by Timmons.
*Bell… This kid is something special! He was their saving grace through most of the 1st half, and finished strong. Heath Miller is no longer the safety valve!
*AB... Yet another strong performance. Refs screwed him on that TD that they reversed. What "irrefutable" evidence did they see on the replays that no one else saw? I've seen a lot of poor officiating during Steelers games this season.
*DeCastro & Beachum will be thankful they don’t have to match up against Watt again in the near future. They got pushed around quite a bit.
*Heath disappeared again. Pretty stupid that he isn't being utilized more. Lookin at you Haley!
*Blount was trying to dance too much tonight. He needs to remember that he is being paid to hit the hole hard on short yardage situations and not play like Mendenhall/Redman/Dwyer.
*That’s probably Ben’s best game of the season considering the pressure/duress he was under. The O-line didn't have a great night, but considering the task they had I would say they did about as good as we could have hoped. Adams came in and played alright after Gilbert got a concussion. But the offense had it's best success when they took Haley out of the equation (no-huddle). I don't get why they don't go full bore no-huddle sometimes. Clearly Haley is not getting the job done and his players are having to save his ass (Le'Veon "safety-valve" Bell).
*Tuitt needs to get more playing time. He provided some good pressure tonight.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Forgot to mention Spence... A couple solid stops in the second half.

Also Mitchell... 1 forced fumble in 2 straight games. That's something I like to see.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

[MEDIA=twitter]524417209242632192[/MEDIA]/photo/1

 

[element1286]

[MEDIA=twitter]524417209242632192[/MEDIA]/photo/1

Crazy they couldn't get that angle on the review. From all the replays I say he looked clearly out, but that picture says it all.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Swiss cheese defense.

It looked that way for a long time SJ...I'm thinking de ja vu...then they decided to go 8 in the box and go after Fitz.

Refreshing to see the old style Steeler DEF resurface.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Crazy they couldn't get that angle on the review. From all the replays I say he looked clearly out, but that picture says it all.

Live I thought it was good...then I felt it was too close to overturn.

That said...we finally saw Lebeau get aggressive, bringing 8 in the box to stop Foster and bump n run coverage outside, single high S...that and ST play really changed the game...got the crowd back into it.

I know it was just one game, but Bryant has to play over J. Brown...Ben to Wheaton is still not working and what can we say about Bell...the kid is a difference maker...and to think...we still have yet to see anything of note from Archer.

Also...the big fella was an anchor in the middle...he was not being moved...I hope McCullers gets more time.

Wasn't dominant, but nobody was expecting it to be...Got the W...hope we don't see another letdown next week.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

A letdown against Indy next week would get ugly real fast. Ben and AB both said it after the game last night, they need to start stringing together wins.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Force turnovers and good things happen. Here’s a few notes before I forget them:

*Martavius Bryant is going to make this offense that much better. Big, fast, and can go up for a ball. He looks to be everything JB couldn’t offer us. Wheaton had another night to forget. Ben really needs to get Wheaton back on track.
*I need to go back and watch McCullers snaps more, but he seemed to be getting down the line pretty well, even on double teams. Didn’t pile up a ton of sacks, but they collapsed the pocket and forced a lot of bad throws. If they can keep doing that then turnovers will keep coming.
*McCain should be the starter from here on out. Cortez has a big hole to climb out of now. The debate whether it’s Troy bringing him down is nullified when McCain didn’t seem to make the same mistakes.
*Timmons had a yack-to-sack. At least that's what I'm calling it. He threw up and then got a sack moments later. That replay was gross lol. All around strong performance, per usual by Timmons.
*Bell… This kid is something special! He was their saving grace through most of the 1st half, and finished strong. Heath Miller is no longer the safety valve!
*AB... Yet another strong performance. Refs screwed him on that TD that they reversed. What "irrefutable" evidence did they see on the replays that no one else saw? I've seen a lot of poor officiating during Steelers games this season.
*DeCastro & Beachum will be thankful they don’t have to match up against Watt again in the near future. They got pushed around quite a bit.
*Heath disappeared again. Pretty stupid that he isn't being utilized more. Lookin at you Haley!
*Blount was trying to dance too much tonight. He needs to remember that he is being paid to hit the hole hard on short yardage situations and not play like Mendenhall/Redman/Dwyer.
*That’s probably Ben’s best game of the season considering the pressure/duress he was under. The O-line didn't have a great night, but considering the task they had I would say they did about as good as we could have hoped. Adams came in and played alright after Gilbert got a concussion. But the offense had it's best success when they took Haley out of the equation (no-huddle). I don't get why they don't go full bore no-huddle sometimes. Clearly Haley is not getting the job done and his players are having to save his ass (Le'Veon "safety-valve" Bell).
*Tuitt needs to get more playing time. He provided some good pressure tonight.

Didn't see this earlier Face...

My thoughts.

Bryant...ditto. Just keep working hard in practice and Ben will feed you like Thanksgiving every game.

Wheaton...might be losing some confidence...not every target was a good one...on target still to replicate Sanders #s, but not the dynamic upside...I can see him moving to the slot (by the bye) if Bryant can turn it up a notch (certainly next season).

McCullers... I was watching him closely...held point of attack well, even on dbl teams...I did see his man moving backwards on the short yardage plays...I like what I saw. Want to see him get more time.

McCain...he was more aggressive, gave less ground, but A. Johnson is not the same player either. Allen didn't sulk, played hard when he was in there...I don't see McCain as being permanent just yet, but hopefully he showed Allen something.

Ben...yeah...the corner/safety blitzes...okay element of surprise, but front 7...aside from Watt they're just okay...no way he should ever get sacked by that big NT...he still wants to hold the damn ball though...just won't give up on the play until it's too late.

 

[element1286]

Live I thought it was good...then I felt it was too close to overturn.

That said...we finally saw Lebeau get aggressive, bringing 8 in the box to stop Foster and bump n run coverage outside, single high S...that and ST play really changed the game...got the crowd back into it.

I know it was just one game, but Bryant has to play over J. Brown...Ben to Wheaton is still not working and what can we say about Bell...the kid is a difference maker...and to think...we still have yet to see anything of note from Archer.

Also...the big fella was an anchor in the middle...he was not being moved...I hope McCullers gets more time.

Wasn't dominant, but nobody was expecting it to be...Got the W...hope we don't see another letdown next week.

McCullers held up well, which is about as good as we could expect from him at this point. Keisel did play well, but I'm worried he is still playing too much at this point. He played 71% of defensive snaps.

I'm glad they decided to get after Fitz and Foster, if they get the running game going and they get play action working Texans put up 30 easily.

A letdown next week is if they get blown out, I'm not expecting them to beat the Colts who are legitimately good.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

McCullers held up well, which is about as good as we could expect from him at this point. Keisel did play well, but I'm worried he is still playing too much at this point. He played 71% of defensive snaps.

I'm glad they decided to get after Fitz and Foster, if they get the running game going and they get play action working Texans put up 30 easily.

A letdown next week is if they get blown out, I'm not expecting them to beat the Colts who are legitimately good.

Agree on McCullers...let these young, hungry guys play

Keisel...agree 100% there...he made a big play obviously, but when you look at the details play in play out...not really that great imo...Tuitt should be getting more snaps

Lebeau...I think the crowd booing and Foster gashing them for nearly a 100 in the 1st half got him more aggressive.

Colts...If no let down, I like the Steelers chances in this one...IND has played 4 home games already...granted they did look impressive vs CIN, but I'm gathering that CIN is banged up and not as good as I previously thought.

2-1 on road, but giving up points. Only JAX didn't go north of 20 on them. If the OL can pick up the blitz I think the OFC can move the ball and score 28 to 30 against them. Aside from Hilton...their OFC doesn't flat out scare me...Bradshaw/Richardson are not the best RB tandem we've seen this year.

I'm cautious but will be projecting another win in the vs Colt thread.

 

[element1286]

I've heard this talked about around town the past few weeks, but one of the criticisms of this offense is that Ben is shying away from intermediate and deeper routes down the middle of the field. He is worried about turning the ball over, and that is why we are seeing so many sideline routes.

Whether that is exactly true, I don't know. But the numbers are interesting.

2014 Middle: 57.9 Comp%, 5.68 Yards/A, and 63.0 Rating
2014 Total: 65.9 Comp%, 7.37 Yards/A, and 96.0 Rating

2013 Middle: 64.8 Comp%, 7.37 Yards/A, and 110.2 Rating
2013 Total: 64.2 Comp%, 7.30 Yards/A, and 92.0 Rating

I'm guessing this has something to do with the loss of Cotchery, but it's definitely something to look for.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I've heard this talked about around town the past few weeks, but one of the criticisms of this offense is that Ben is shying away from intermediate and deeper routes down the middle of the field. He is worried about turning the ball over, and that is why we are seeing so many sideline routes.

Whether that is exactly true, I don't know. But the numbers are interesting.

2014 Middle: 57.9 Comp%, 5.68 Yards/A, and 63.0 Rating
2014 Total: 65.9 Comp%, 7.37 Yards/A, and 96.0 Rating

2013 Middle: 64.8 Comp%, 7.37 Yards/A, and 110.2 Rating
2013 Total: 64.2 Comp%, 7.30 Yards/A, and 92.0 Rating

I'm guessing this has something to do with the loss of Cotchery, but it's definitely something to look for.

Interesting...I've never really known Ben to target the deep middle much...never had that big TE target with the speed to attack the deep seam, but could be something to the shallow middle...that was Cotchery zone and Ward before him.