Game Thread: Week 8... @BAL

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Man, that 7-0 feelings feel mighty good right now!

Getting to 7-0 with Ben... Against the Ravens...

Hollywood couldn't write a script this good.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Woo! Undefeated.

Man I hope Cam and Alualu are ok. Losing either of those big boys is going to be brutal.

Seeing Alualu on the sidelines standing didn't look too bad. But Cam limping off was scary. He was cramping up hard, so hopefully that was all it was.

 

[Bridgeburner]

Told you guys we would win.

 

[Superbelt]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Yo Tee]

Show me the lie. That's why Tomlin is as good as he is. Even with a win over a division rival and a big 0 in the L column 1/2 way through the year, we ain't perfect. Secondary needs to get better, I feel like a broken record, but that's how it is. But yeah, great victory but still improvements needed. I think one of the stars today...Jordan Berry. Dude was pretty perfect today.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Show me the lie. That's why Tomlin is as good as he is. Even with a win over a division rival and a big 0 in the L column 1/2 way through the year, we ain't perfect. Secondary needs to get better, I feel like a broken record, but that's how it is. But yeah, great victory but still improvements needed. I think one of the stars today...Jordan Berry. Dude was pretty perfect today.

Indeed. Agreed with everything but the Jordan Berry perfection comment. He shanked a 34yd punt inside the opponents red one setting up BAL with a short field. But the next 2-3 punts were great.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Animal!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Coaching... Sloppy sloppy game, but credit to Tomlin for not blinking in the face of adversity. He rallied the troops and made the necessary adjustments to right the ship when all seemed lost. Not going to fault the team for some of the penalties as there was some awful officiating going both ways & against both teams. Randy Fichtner was awful this week, so awful that Ben took the reins in the 2nd half by going no-huddle and suddenly the offense had a pulse. LOVED seeing Butler jawing with his defense on the sideline in the 1st half. He & TJ looked like they were very heated with each other, but I love a coach that is feasting on his players' asses when they're playing like shit. Defense needs to look itself in the mirror this week as they got tormented in this game. C+

Offense... Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde style of game. 1st half was an abortion of a football game in terms of offensive schemes & output. Ben tied a career low for a half of football in 223 career games lol. 4/10 for 24yds or something like that. Yikes. But Ben got it righted in the 2nd half storming the field to the tune of 17/22 for 158yds & 2 TDs. Quite a difference once Sphincter was removed from the equation lol. Offense still wasn't as polished as those passing number indicated, but all that matters is 3/3 in the RZ. They got it done when they needed to. Run game was a mixed bag. Couple of missed opps by Conner when it looked like he failed to get outside or get leverage on his lead blockers. But credit to Ravens D. They were a stifling group. Gotta love the WRs' grit in this game. Juju especially. C

Defense... What started off as an apparent feast, quickly turned sour as the Steelers D had no answers for the Ravens' ground game & to a lesser extent their passing attack. The secondary is still suspect, but the bigger issue at hand was the D-line. They lost Alualu early on, but the dropoff in play shouldn't have been as steep as it was. The Raven's O-line lost 2 of its starters early in the game, and Heyward & Tuitt were getting abused. That didn't make any sense. They made an impact in the passing game, but the rushing game was ugly for the front 7. They got no push and the BAL O-line dominated the lateral blocking. Steelers D reverted back to their old "bend but dont break" style as they relied on Jackson making mistakes to bail them out. The rushing defense tightened up a little better in the 2nd half, allowing 86yds on 19 attempts. But that has a lot to do with Baltimore foolishly continuing to pass the ball. Still, Buggs finally started making plays in the 2nd half. DL depth is very concerning. C-

ST... Berry had an early 34yd shank but quickly redeemed himself with a couple of 47-50yd punts. The late game 56yd boomer was as clutch as we've ever seen from Berry. So that is definitely cause for optimism. Boz was an unofficial 5/5. Coverage teams continue to be good to great. Can't ask for much more. McCloud averaged over 24yds on KR. A-

Overall... The Ravens dominated this game. They doubled the Steelers' offensive output, and IIRC had over 10 minutes more TOP. It's debatable that the Ravens gifted this game away due to turnovers & penalties, but when have these PIT-BAL games ever been a well-played game? They are always dogfights with largely sloppy play. These are the type of games we should expect a less than desirable product, and just hope they pull off a W. Finding ways to pull of wins in the face of adversity is a big time indicator of a championship caliber team. The jury is no longer out, and the Steelers now hold a 2-game lead on their division & are in the driver's seat for January. It's their momentum to lose should they take any weeks off. C+

Outlook... Staying on the road for the 3rd week. But a reeling Cowboys team may just be what the doctor ordered. If they can continue to ride momentum & avoid a landmine game then they'll be in great shape to take on the Bengals for their 1st homes game in over a month. Really hoping to see the Steelers get back to being a balanced group on both sides of the ball. This is the perfect game to do it against a decimated Cowboys team. It should be a fluffer type game, but I fear it will be close for comfort in the early goings lol. I'd like to see the offense get better rhythm going and get Ben back to Mr. November status.

 

[Superbelt]

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

Motherfuuuuuhhhh

 

[Superbelt]

Alualu to miss some time.

We're in the creampuff part of the schedule, right now. So that's good.

Still, seems like a good time to get Quinnen.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I don't think this is necessarily about the Ravens per se, because this is Ben's go-to with no-huddle offense.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Superbelt]

He's like JJ Watt. When he's on the field, he's an unstoppable monster.

But he's not on the field all that much, so the national hype doesn't get going.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

He's like JJ Watt. When he's on the field, he's an unstoppable monster.

But he's not on the field all that much, so the national hype doesn't get going.

Well if he can cash in a 16-game season he's a shoe-in ALL-PRO!