Game Thread: Week 9 @ Ravens

[MISKO]

go for it have to have a td here

 

[wings-pens2166]

this loss is squarely on Tomlin and Haley. Despite the painfully obvious fact the offensive game plan was not working, you wait until about a 1/3 into the 4th before opening it up? inexcusable! way too late at that point. by that point Balt was just teeing off after Ben.....that and Sammy fuckin' I couldn't catch a pass if you handed to me Coates.

other than the Wallace TD, the D actually played pretty well.

 

[wings-pens2166]

and that ladies and gentlemen was the perfect metaphor of the Steelers today

 

[Maximus Rex]

and that ladies and gentlemen was the perfect metaphor of the Steelers today

Nothing like kicking the ball into your own ankle to show that you REALLY mean it.

Horrible call, like most of the game. Try the onside kick, it works or it doesn't, no need to get cute about it. I always wondered why the kicker doesn't just blast it as hard as he can at the nearest guy. Oh well.

Bad coaching, bad execution, and all around bad playing today. I THINK they're better than this, but man, a lot of people need to get their heads out of their ass if this team is going to go anywhere.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

pardon the avi... lost a bet

At a loss for words again... Another gutless, punch-less team effort... Somethin's gotta give. 2 weeks to prepare and they still looked like they did prior to the bye? IMO they are still suffering from bad coaching & uninspired performances. Same shit, different season... Too little, too late, too many excuses, too many cute quotes from the coach, not enough leadership, and an overall inability to play to their talent level. Players & coaches need to step it up or they can kiss this season goodbye.

Coaching... More penalty yards than total offense in the 1st half, and not 1 3rd down conversion until the 4th qtr? What the f*ck was I watching today? Sure as hell wasn't football. The game plan was inept from the get-go, and the coaches did very little to adjust as the game wore on. Remember last year when I was calling out Haley for his predictability? Well today felt like 2015 all over again. That was atrocious. Outside of poor tackling from the secondary, the D was playing pretty well. They kept them in it. C+

O... Not trying to take anything away from the Ravens D, because I knew they were stout. But the offense was putrid & pathetic. Thought we would see Bell in the receiving game more since the run game was clearly getting nowhere, but that didn't happen. Ben deserves a lot of the blame. He looked panicked out there. Very poor decision making on his part through 3 quarters today. When the team was still in it late in the game and all the receivers suddenly 'caught' a case of the dropsies, that was inexcusable. D

D... Those big gashes could have been limited if Mitchell would have quit trying to arm-tackle like a 3-yr old girl dreaming of being a princess. Burns looked pretty decent. His cover 3 & man-2-man still needs work, but his flats work is pretty good. Tuitt looked pretty good. Couple times I thought he was getting blown off the ball early on, but he nutted up a better performance in the 2nd half. 2 TFL's and a couple QB pressures. Not the monster we need him to be quite yet, but he's making a difference. Linebackers all played pretty well. Ravens only had 50 yds combined rushing. Harrison channeled his youth yet again with a 2-sack performance. Could have been more if the OT's weren't holding him so much. C+

ST... A lot of people are going to be quick to point at the flawed performance from every phase of the ST units, but give me a break. This team has far worse problems than to be heaping blame on their ST's. If the offense was doing their job then hardly any of the mishaps would have occurred. Jusssssayin. F

Overall... Everyone seemed to know this was an important game. I read about it and watched countless interviews, pressers, etc about how everyone was concentrated on this week's game. And yet, they still played like garbage. Baltimore didn't play very well yet again, but they did plenty enough to beat the agonizing performance that the Steelers displayed. Its sad how overwhelmed this team has looked over the past 4 weeks. But we must move on and hope for a brighter future. That's all we can do as fans. D

Outlook... Steelers head home with their tails between their legs and will get the Cowboys next week. Cowboys have been looking good. Haven't kept a close eye on them but from what I can tell they are a pretty well balanced team. Offense is ground & pound but capable of high-flying attacks, and their defense is playing gritty football. Steelers are a team that are desperate for answers, and have been playing pretty well at home. So we could see a good rebound performance next week. But I won't hold my breath.

 

[Bridgeburner]

I don't even want to talk about it.

I may never want to talk about it.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I don't even want to talk about it.

I may never want to talk about it.

I was seriously thinking the same thing, but decided I would face the music.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

pardon the avi... lost a bet

At a loss for words again... Another gutless, punch-less team effort... Somethin's gotta give. 2 weeks to prepare and they still looked like they did prior to the bye? IMO they are still suffering from bad coaching & uninspired performances. Same shit, different season... Too little, too late, too many excuses, too many cute quotes from the coach, not enough leadership, and an overall inability to play to their talent level. Players & coaches need to step it up or they can kiss this season goodbye.

Coaching... More penalty yards than total offense in the 1st half, and not 1 3rd down conversion until the 4th qtr? What the f*ck was I watching today? Sure as hell wasn't football. The game plan was inept from the get-go, and the coaches did very little to adjust as the game wore on. Remember last year when I was calling out Haley for his predictability? Well today felt like 2015 all over again. That was atrocious. Outside of poor tackling from the secondary, the D was playing pretty well. They kept them in it. C+

O... Not trying to take anything away from the Ravens D, because I knew they were stout. But the offense was putrid & pathetic. Thought we would see Bell in the receiving game more since the run game was clearly getting nowhere, but that didn't happen. Ben deserves a lot of the blame. He looked panicked out there. Very poor decision making on his part through 3 quarters today. When the team was still in it late in the game and all the receivers suddenly 'caught' a case of the dropsies, that was inexcusable. D

D... Those big gashes could have been limited if Mitchell would have quit trying to arm-tackle like a 3-yr old girl dreaming of being a princess. Burns looked pretty decent. His cover 3 & man-2-man still needs work, but his flats work is pretty good. Tuitt looked pretty good. Couple times I thought he was getting blown off the ball early on, but he nutted up a better performance in the 2nd half. 2 TFL's and a couple QB pressures. Not the monster we need him to be quite yet, but he's making a difference. Linebackers all played pretty well. Ravens only had 50 yds combined rushing. Harrison channeled his youth yet again with a 2-sack performance. Could have been more if the OT's weren't holding him so much. C+

ST... A lot of people are going to be quick to point at the flawed performance from every phase of the ST units, but give me a break. This team has far worse problems than to be heaping blame on their ST's. If the offense was doing their job then hardly any of the mishaps would have occurred. Jusssssayin. F

Overall... Everyone seemed to know this was an important game. I read about it and watched countless interviews, pressers, etc about how everyone was concentrated on this week's game. And yet, they still played like garbage. Baltimore didn't play very well yet again, but they did plenty enough to beat the agonizing performance that the Steelers displayed. Its sad how overwhelmed this team has looked over the past 4 weeks. But we must move on and hope for a brighter future. That's all we can do as fans. D

Outlook... Steelers head home with their tails between their legs and will get the Cowboys next week. Cowboys have been looking good. Haven't kept a close eye on them but from what I can tell they are a pretty well balanced team. Offense is ground & pound but capable of high-flying attacks, and their defense is playing gritty football. Steelers are a team that are desperate for answers, and have been playing pretty well at home. So we could see a good rebound performance next week. But I won't hold my breath.

Good write up Face.

Call me a bad fan but I left to go hit balls after the 4th down overthrow...needed to blow off some steam...didn't see the last TD drive or the botched onside live.

But...it is what it is...a 4-4 football team right now with 4 consecutive losses to the Ravens...and this is not even a good Ravens team.

They won't be a whole lot different from yours, but here are my game grades and I'm starting at the top too.

HC...1 of 5...two weeks to get ready and damn near a 100 fucking penalty yds...C'mon Tomlin! That's piss poor.

OC...1 of 5...I've said at least a dozen times the Ravens gameplan for the Steelers better than any other team and it showed up loud and clear vs Haley's OFC. In a nutshell, Ben was clearly rusty, and BAL was not going to be beaten by AB or Bell...this was the game to give Coates, (yeah I know he dropped a TD), Grimble, Rogers...the bulk of the work early and gradually get AB and Bell involved....I'm convinced that Haley is spooked by this team.

DC...3 of 5...The Ravens are not a very good OFC so I'm not giving them any better than a 3 here...many of us have called MW a 1 trick pony...the one lone TD by their OFC just so happen to be on something other than a deep ball by Wallace...Mitchell HAS to make that tackle. Deebo clearly had his best game of the year as did Tuitt...J. Jones continues to play solid but not making any sacks...Burns got picked on and abused a little by S. Smith, but I thought he played a pretty good game as well.

ST...1 of 5...The 1st punt of the game (among many) traveled all of 28 yds!!! IDK if Davis was on the punt coverage team because DHB got hurt, but it was pretty clear he didn't know WTF he was doing...he played it like he was a gunner...never even made an attempt to block the guy. I agree with another poster on the onside kick...it's a 10-20% success rate play even with a good kick...trying to get creative just made them look silly.

As bad as they played...the Steelers are still tied for 1st with 8 games to go. From what I saw of the Ravens, and looking at their last 4 games 10 wins will go a long way to winning this DIV....PIT just needs to beat DAL Sunday and go from there.

 

[MISKO]

man I'm glad I worked yesterday and couldnt watch the game ..

 

[ATL96Steeler]

man I'm glad I worked yesterday and couldnt watch the game ..

It was painful...the worst about the entire game to me was the OFC playing calling and the blocked punt for 6...yeah Ben was just back from injury, not real sharp, but some of the stuff on 3rd down that Haley was dialing up was really, really mind blowing.

 

[Bridgeburner]

Call me a bad fan but I left to go hit balls

I didn't leave. And it was like getting hit in the balls.

 

[Bridgeburner]

HC - 0/10 Get your team prepared for a tough divisional matchup or pack your shit and get out.

OFFENSE - 1/10. Man up and show up. It's the Ravens. Stop with this all or nothing shit. Show up every week or find a new job.

DEFENSE - 5/10. They are what they are and they didn't stink any more than they usually do.

SPECIAL TEAMS - 0/10 Special Ed.

God damn it I'm so pissed. I almost wore purple today in protest but being a heterosexual male I just couldn't.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

HC - 0/10 Get your team prepared for a tough divisional matchup or pack your shit and get out.

OFFENSE - 1/10. Man up and show up. It's the Ravens. Stop with this all or nothing shit. Show up every week or find a new job.

DEFENSE - 5/10. They are what they are and they didn't stink any more than they usually do.

SPECIAL TEAMS - 0/10 Special Ed.

God damn it I'm so pissed. I almost wore purple today in protest but being a heterosexual male I just couldn't.

I DVRed the game and went back and watch the last little bit, and erased it right away.

All fair grades, I would go a little higher on the D on a 10 scale, but I feel ya...very disappointing day all around.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

bells smoking wackie tobackie again

AND he shared it with the entire offense and special teams including the coaches.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

 

[wings-pens2166]

It was painful...the worst about the entire game to me was the OFC playing calling and the blocked punt for 6...yeah Ben was just back from injury, not real sharp, but some of the stuff on 3rd down that Haley was dialing up was really, really mind blowing.

Haley (and by extension Tomlin as HC) was just awful yesterday. as you say, clearly the Balt game plan is put two on AB and stack the box against Bell. it was painfully obvious it wasn't working (more penalty yards than O yards & one 1st down I think in first half). and yet he's trying to run on 1st & 2nd down in the 3rd and early 4th Q? Not until the game was out of hand does he bother to try and open it up? I get Ben was bit rusty, but come on!

F you Haley. And F you too Tomlin. Sure Haley is the OC and calls the play, but Tomlin is the HC. maybe at some point you say, "hey Todd, maybe you should try something else?" And as was mentioned, two weeks to get ready and this is what you show? more penalty yards than offensive yards in the 1st half? that's squarely on the HC.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Haley (and by extension Tomlin as HC) was just awful yesterday. as you say, clearly the Balt game plan is put two on AB and stack the box against Bell. it was painfully obvious it wasn't working (more penalty yards than O yards & one 1st down I think in first half). and yet he's trying to run on 1st & 2nd down in the 3rd and early 4th Q? Not until the game was out of hand does he bother to try and open it up? I get Ben was bit rusty, but come on!

F you Haley. And F you too Tomlin. Sure Haley is the OC and calls the play, but Tomlin is the HC. maybe at some point you say, "hey Todd, maybe you should try something else?" And as was mentioned, two weeks to get ready and this is what you show? more penalty yards than offensive yards in the 1st half? that's squarely on the HC.

As a HC you should be aware and signoff of the OC and DC game plan for the week, but on game day you let them do their jobs...maybe at halftime you help look for options on either side...I'm more pissed at Tomlin over the penalties, sloppy play...clearly Davis did not realize he had to "block" someone on punt coverage...as it turned out...that was the game right there.

I think most people realize Haley was a Rooney hire that maybe Tomlin agreed to. But I'm not ready to fire anybody yet, they have 8 games to fix this...if they can't, some heads need to roll and it wouldn't bother me if Tomlin was one of them....4 straight vs the Ravens is BS.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

As a HC you should be aware and signoff of the OC and DC game plan for the week, but on game day you let them do their jobs...maybe at halftime you help look for options on either side...I'm more pissed at Tomlin over the penalties, sloppy play...clearly Davis did not realize he had to "block" someone on punt coverage...as it turned out...that was the game right there.

I think most people realize Haley was a Rooney hire that maybe Tomlin agreed to. But I'm not ready to fire anybody yet, they have 8 games to fix this...if they can't, some heads need to roll and it wouldn't bother me if Tomlin was one of them....4 straight vs the Ravens is BS.

The Rooney's will fire the DC and/or OC or insist they be fired before they fire Tomlin.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

The Rooney's will fire the DC and/or OC or insist they be fired before they fire Tomlin.

Agree. That's kinda typical of most teams.

Arians is a good example...I think Tomlin and Ben both were okay with Bruce, but Dan Rooney (publicly came out and said he wanted to see a better run game) was fed up with his pass happy OFC and decided to move on.

I really think Tomlin wanted to move on from Lebeau so they honored his wish and didn't renew his contract.