Wk 5 vs BAL 1.

[Bridgeburner]

Next level is having emergency pants and underwear in your office.

I've got them here.

That is so fucking obvious I'm embarrassed I never thought about it.

I shit myself like once a month too. Sometimes I'm drunk.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Coaching... Team looked flat & undisciplined out the gate. More squandering situational football & gameclock management on display by Coach T, but that is the standard. He got lucky with the OT call. I'd love to see a stat of how many coaches win the OT toss & deferred. VERY RARE, and for good reason. It's not smart even if your kickoff teams have sucked. He claims to never coach in his fears, but that was definite fear. The offense certainly opened things up a little more, but the overall playcalling was again problematic and lacked balance. Lots of factors to account for, but in short: Offense got 3 short fields & kicked 3 FGs. Just a mere microcosm of the shitshow. They simply couldn't capitalize off anything, and kept shooting themselves in the foot. Heavily penalized in this game. But that doesn't excuse shoddy playcalls sprinkled throughout the game. Lots of passes at the LOS again, and some in critical 3rd down situations. I'll never understand running a 2-3yd route when you are in a 3rd & 5 situation. Put your players at the sticks every time or your setting yourself up for failure. Just plain dumb. And please knock it off with the wildcat bullshit. Running a RB pass from the wildcat inside your territory resulting in a INT was laughable. Where was the reward to that risk? Absurd. Or the 2nd & 1 down 10 on the 7 yd line going in with a big package lmao. Fichtner just doesn't get it in situational football. Have to question whether he was ever qualified for this job, and merely a hire to satisfy Ben. Because it certainly looks that way. Defense looked subpar early but clamped down late in the 1st half, and smothered them in the 2nd half. Good mix of zone & man coverages. Still some absurd scheming on display, but as we feared they finally have the talent to overcome it. Saw lots of LBs in man cover situations. Be thankful that Lamar Jackson isn't very good. Also getting annoyed with the zone blitzes. One of the BAL TDs was a direct result of how bad that scheme is. Vince lined up over the WR then blitzed, and the DBs were too slow to pickup the open receiver. Haden was a step behind making that play, but still we have seen issues from that play call too many times. C-

Offense... Mason overall didn't play very well. Still looked scared for the most part with downfield throws, and struggled to get through his progressions in a more timely manner. Couple sacks were definitely on him. He also keeps sailing the long ball. Hated those ones he threw out of the EZ to end the 1st half. Dude was in single coverage, give the guy a chance to make a play. The 2nd throw out of the EZ was more understandable because there was only 5-7s on the clock so he had to make a very quick read or else lose out on the FG opportunity. Still would have been nice had he given the player a chance, or if Tomlin called the TO to give his offense more time lol. Hodges looked like a good football player, and played tremendously in the situation he was thrust into. Great pocket presence, no fear throwing downfield, calm, poised, and accurate. Not a lot of zip on the ball but that's fine with me if he's making the right reads. I love what I've seen so far and honestly would have zero problems starting him over a healthy Rudolph. Conner was averaging 5ypc at one point and yet they were refusing to run the ball. Sickening. Loved the 2 TE packages, but they weren't being used effectively. In most of the 4th quarter McDonald was on the sideline for some absurd reason, with Vannett playing. Diontae Johnson is still struggling to be consistent. That go-route that Mason sailed over his head he clearly gave up mid route until he saw the ball in the air then tried to make up ground. It was as if he didn't think the ball was coming his way. Gotta run your route the way the play is designed regardless of the expected read. Not going to invest much thought into JuJu's fumble. Shitty outcome, and he certainly needs to wrap up the ball in critical situations, but it's not a reflection on the type of player he is. Plus that was an amazing heads-up play by Humphrey. C+

Defense... As I said before, things got much better after the first couple drives. Everybody clamped down and the Ravens struggled to move the ball until way late in the game. They were especially good when they held the Ravens to FGs on short field turnarounds. The secondary is becoming a strength to this unit. They are 4 deep at CB with an emerging Cam Sutton, a resurgent Mike Hilton, and a really solid duo outside in Haden & Nelson. Throw in a field general FS in Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is incredibly young & talented... No matter how the trade turns out for Miami, I think Minkah was a phenomenal acquisition. This secondary is stout. They forced a couple of coverage sacks in critical situations. Terrell Edmunds is still a very questionable piece. Especially in regards to his run coverage. He reminds me of Mike Mitchell with the terrible angles he takes. And Kam Kelly got caught out of position numerous times. Not a big fan of that big dime package with him in there. Sutton needs to be that guy over Kelly. And for the love of God can somebody please figure out how to defend the TE position. Too many wide open TEs out there. B+

 

[SJ20]

The Steelers had better go after RB Lamar Jackson next game vs the Ratbirds. Same exact way Thomas went after Rudolph. Stand up for your teammates or go play for another team.

 

[SJ20]

Goodell and the Ratbirds owner are good friends.

 

[Pure Steel]

Now this loss stings more with the Browns getting trampled last night......

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Now this loss stings more with the Browns getting trampled last night......

Yep. Division is still wide open, and NOBODY looks good. We could very well be looking at a 7-9 AFCN team limping into the playoffs.

 

[Superbelt]

This is another big hit.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Now this loss stings more with the Browns getting trampled last night......

This is another big hit.

Yep...when it rains it pours huh.

Now we get to see just how inadequate or how good Snell Jr really is.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Snell yea.

 

[thedddd]

Yep...when it rains it pours huh.

Now we get to see just how inadequate or how good Snell Jr really is.

Wonder how well he throws a football?

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Wonder how well he throws a football?

Wildcat might be on the shelf with Samuels for a while...passing out of it, might be permanently on the shelf.

 

[wings-pens2166]

Wildcat might be on the shelf with Samuels for a while...passing out of it, might be permanently on the shelf.

I see you’re a silver linings kinda guy

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I see you’re a silver linings kinda guy

I can be pretty pessimistic at times as well...but don't expect the rookie to be making many pass attempts

 

[Pure Steel]

Tuitt fined $21K for a shove in the back....Thomas $21K for h2h shot.....seems about right....