Wk 9... vs IND

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I can't get behind this tweet. Haley had Ben throughout his tenure here. Fichtner had Ben last year and we had the 6th ranked offense last year in PPG and the 2nd ranked passing game in the league. This year, he's left with a 2nd year, 2nd string QB and an undrafted rookie 3rd string QB. I can't completely fault Ficht for the offense this year. Any offense would be struggling with all these injuries and having to resort to their 2nd and 3rd string QBs.

We got some looks at Haley without Ben behind center, but he did have a top 3 O-line and a supporting cast of pro-bowlers to work with. He was a good OC between the 20s, but his main shortcomings were in the RZ where it counted.

Fichtner doesn't deserve all the blame, but he deserves an equal portion of it. But seeing his general scheming each week and predictable playcalling, I really don't see how you can't say he's a bad OC. What other OCs in the league call 3 of the exact same run plays in a row against one of the best front 7's in the NFL (@SF)? What other OCs think running a wildcat offense is an effective offense in 2019? What other OCs allow their RB to throw a wildcat option pass on their own 20yd line? Theres too many examples to list that make me want to bang my head against a wall.

Last year's stats were skewed because they passed the ball almost 700 times last season. They led the league in attempts and were a fairly 1-dimensional offense. They had a few games of rushing prowess, but overall it was a passing team.

If Ben had retired then there is no way that Fichtner ever becomes the OC. His hiring was simply an appeasement to the HOFer to keep him around. Ficthner shouldn't be an OC at the NFL level, on any team.

 

[Bridgeburner]

^^^ I'm always wrong so you guys can thank me later.

You're all welcome.

 

[Myles]

Matt Moore is a vet who has 10 years under his belt and has been a starter for most of that. He's experienced.

Matt Moore has a total of 32 starts in his 11 year career. Hardly a starter for most of his career.

Heck, the Colts started the season with Brissett as the QB and now we are down to Hoyer. I think you should be happy with Rudolph. 66% completion. 10 TD's and 4 INT's. 95 QB rating. 3-2 in 5 starts. Those are great numbers.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Matt Moore has a total of 32 starts in his 11 year career. Hardly a starter for most of his career.

Heck, the Colts started the season with Brissett as the QB and now we are down to Hoyer. I think you should be happy with Rudolph. 66% completion. 10 TD's and 4 INT's. 95 QB rating. 3-2 in 5 starts. Those are great numbers.

The problem with those stats are 2-fold...

1) These stats don't equate to an effective offense.
2) His air-yards per completion or whatever its called... I'd feel confident in saying that >75% of his passes are within 3-5yds of the LOS. He's a checkdown specialist, and the offense suffers from it.

 

[Myles]

The problem with those stats are 2-fold...

1) These stats don't equate to an effective offense.
2) His air-yards per completion or whatever its called... I'd feel confident in saying that >75% of his passes are within 3-5yds of the LOS. He's a checkdown specialist, and the offense suffers from it.

I can definitely understand that. Remember my team has had Brissett as the starter. He's the same way, short passes.
The upside is that it can be used very efficiently if the coach uses it correctly.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Another next-gen/All-22 stat worth mentioning...

Diontae Johnson is 2nd best receiver in the NFL in "Separation Yards Per Route". And that's a stat against 1-1 coverage thanks to Juju drawing double-teams every week. Washington has seen a similar jump in getting open more frequently. The main problem is that the QB is failing to let their routes materialize. They need a QB that can consistently find them, or simply trust that the receiver will be open where the route ends up (ie anticipation throws).

If Mason isn't going to anticipate his throws then he needs to trust himself to throw more contested passes. Especially in the RZ area. Too many times has this offense settled for FGs because of Mason scrambling out of the pocket, failing to get the ball out quickly enough and throwin it away.

These WRs are good, and we've seen many flashes of it. They need to get more opportunities to show it.

@SteelersPride @thedddd

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I can definitely understand that. Remember my team has had Brissett as the starter. He's the same way, short passes.
The upside is that it can be used very efficiently if the coach uses it correctly.

Agreed. Steelers haven't found that formula for success yet. The OC & the QB just aren't on the same page. The OC tries to open up the passing game giving him good reads downfield but Mason is too quick to dump the ball off. He's a doe in headlights in the pocket. So when that happens the OC tries to overcompensate to get him in rhythm by doing more roll-out passes near the LOS. And when the defensive safeties suck down into the box it makes life miserable for the run game.

I don't mind the checkdown passes if they can move the chains. My biggest problem with Mason is that he's not a smart passer. Too many 3rd & 8 situations where he dumps the ball off behind the LOS and gives the offense almost zero chance to get the 1st down. Or he's not quick enough in getting the ball out. That 4th & 2 shovel pass yesterday was a great example of that. He waited forever & a second to get that ball into Juju's hands and the defenders had ample amounts of time to snuff out the play before it materialized. But I've also seen the OC fail to put his receivers in position in those 3rd down situations. For example if its 3rd & 10 he has the receiver run a 5yd hitch or out-route. Why they don't put the route past the chains to get the 1st down is beyond me.

The OC & the QB share an equal amount of blame in the offensive struggles for the Steelers. They simply have no identity or rhythm and they compound eachother's shortcomings because of it. It's an ugly recipe going on.

 

[Myles]

The OC & the QB share an equal amount of blame in the offensive struggles for the Steelers. They simply have no identity or rhythm and they compound eachother's shortcomings because of it. It's an ugly recipe going on.

I think you can put more on the OC since Mason is a rookie who just started his 5th NFL game. In college Rudolph had a much higher yard per attempt. The OC needs to figure out how to use him. At least he is better than Trubisky!

 

[SteelersPride]

Rudolph at best in his NFL career will be Alex Smith, the king of check downs.
He can't control his inability to throw a ball over 20 yards That is something he should already be able to do) and part of the blame does go on Sphincter and his inability to protect the running game to the benefit of Rudolph.

Alex smith isn’t a bad thing. He was way better than he gets credit for.

 

[SteelersPride]

My statement was stated: "2nd year, 2nd string QB and undrafted rookie 3rd string QB". So no, not just any 2nd and 3rd string QBs. You have to take things into context. How many offenses have been through what our offense has been through? Lose our starting QB for the year, have RB1, RB2 and RB3 miss multiple games due to injury, our starting TE missing games due to injury and our WR2 missing games due to injury. The comparison of Haley and Fichtner just isn't a fair one in my opinion and we were a top 10 offense last year in Fichtner's first year. Are we just forgetting about that now?

Twist twist twist

 

[SteelersPride]

I think you can put more on the OC since Mason is a rookie who just started his 5th NFL game. In college Rudolph had a much higher yard per attempt. The OC needs to figure out how to use him. At least he is better than Trubisky!

He’s not a rookie

 

[Superbelt]

You're all welcome.

Do your powers work on other teams?

Can you tell us how the Patriots will bounce back and sweep their remaining games?

 

[thedddd]

Alex smith isn’t a bad thing. He was way better than he gets credit for.

Oh yeah was thinking more of his ceiling if anything else.

 

[thedddd]

Jones is under contract, thank God

Put Duck back in and run the fuckin ball. Quit making the RBs the sacrificial lambs of the shitty pass game.

Remember it is just a XFL contract so it has the NFL out clause written into it.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Week 9 recap

Off the top...you've probably heard the saying, it's better to be lucky than good sometimes...I think this was one of those times.

Secondly...if you haven't heard me say it before...I'm happy with Fitz as our 2020 1st round pick!

HC...C+, got the W Tomlin, but why would you risk a TO on that PI challenge on Steven Nelson? Granted, it was a terrible PI call...there was contact, but the player was looking back for the ball as was the receiver. That said, you can't risk your TO there imo...assuming he makes the FG you have a 1:11 left to answer....with one less TO.

OFC...C, again a lot of small ball. I'm convinced now that Rudolph is just not going to go down field very much. The pick was off Juju's hands, other wise a lot of high percentage passes...credit to Washington for making 2 of those completions happen with great acrobatic catches. This one is on Fichtner...the next to last possession of the game. They started the possession with 3:59 on the clock...two runs to Edmunds and a 3rd down incomplete pass. They didn't even take the clock down to the two minute warning, and they didn't force IND to call a TO...terrible play call sequence...imo he didn't give Rudolph plays that would make a 1st down...your DEF got all of a minute 10 seconds rest.

DEF...C+, IND controlled the ball on the ground, and back up Hoyer made some plays in the passing game after Brissett went down...The Steelers were pretty good on 3rd down (4 for 12), but were great with pressure and taking it away. IMO the play of the game was the 96 yd pick 6...PIT is facing 17-3 deficit if they get 6 which even that early puts Rudolph and the OFC in more predictable down. Not consistent throughout his dropbacks, but 5 sacks and numerous other QB hits kept the Steelers in this game until the OFC finally got on the board in the 3rd Qtr.

ST...C+, Boswell has done a complete 180 from last yr...return coverage was not always a clean as you'd like, 2 long ones I remember. Kicking game was very good. I've started to wonder why Switzer has a role on this team now...held on to it , but gets drilled on one punt return where he clearly should've signaled for a fair catch.

Summary....500 again! It was a solid win, but if we're being honest, they got a gift with the missed FG. Who knows what Rudolph would've done with a 1:05 or so needing a FG to win it, but it's great that we don't need to know now.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

There's just no way they can sustain a competent team with this current formula. Settling for FGs >75% of RZ trips and praying for defensive turnovers. The offense must figure out how to move the ball with consistency. Fichtner & Mason both share an equal amount of the blame for those problems. Fichtner tries too hard to cover up for Mason when he gets shellshocked. The 1st series INT was on JuJu, not Mason. But immediately after that they go full conservative mode with dump passes and runs. But Mason missed some open routes today that could have provided a spark. He's way too quick to dump the ball, and not smart enough to NOT hold onto the ball for too long while standing in his own endzone. Accuracy issues, field awareness issues, zero confidence. From the overall body of work that we've seen from Mason, I think I can confidently say that Mason ain't in folks. I'm ready for Devlin Hodges.

Mason Rudolph looks like a more athletic Landry Jones, but in a "deer in headlights" sort of way.

Thank God the defense created points because they should have lost today. A wins a win, but you absolutely cannot hang any sort of confidence on it. This team looked putrid today.

The one in his endzone was 100% on him.

I'm not ready to change to Hodges yet though because I still think Rudolph is a better player just not comfortable yet. Maybe you're right and he's already revealed who he is as a QB. But Fichtner is calling the game in such a way that you feel one INT that wasn't his fault he's ready to crawl back into a shell.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Interesting matchup to watch today... Pierre Desir was announced as inactive for the 2nd straight game today. This means the Steelers will see a lot of rookie CB Rock Ya-Sin in coverage. Many will remember that name as one of Tomlin's favorite DBs in the draft this past offseason. He was heavily vetted/recruited by the Steelers in the offseason. Also worth mentioning, he struggled last week vs. Denver & Joe Flacco. Mason should be able to exploit that matchup.

@SteelersPride @ATL96Steeler

Yeah I remember him...with only 12 of his 35 targets went to WRs...so...not much work for the young Ya-Sin yesterday in coverage.

 

[Superbelt]

Bud Dupree is putting together, easily, his best season as a pro. If he learns how to use his arms in 1 on 1 blocks, he'll be a true terror on the field. Pricing himself into a blockbuster contract. Would have to wonder if he is actually putting it all together, or if he reverts to mean after getting paid.

Minkah Fitzpatrick is worth all the first round picks. Fuck. Yeah.

J. Samuels is very talented, but he doesn't have the stamina to be the feature back yet. He works best change of pace / swiss army. Still a huge asset.

Thanks for showing up Washington! Keep it going!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The one in his endzone was 100% on him.

I'm not ready to change to Hodges yet though because I still think Rudolph is a better player just not comfortable yet. Maybe you're right and he's already revealed who he is as a QB. But Fichtner is calling the game in such a way that you feel one INT that wasn't his fault he's ready to crawl back into a shell.

The safety was brutal to watch. As soon as he took the 5-7 step drop you knew he was in trouble after the first read. He was poised like he was standing on the 50yd line and not in danger of giving up points. No field or pocket awareness. The brain clock shoulda been alarming as soon as he hit his 5th step in the dropback. That's a huge mistake that a smarter QB wouldn't let happen. I get that he's young, but he's showing too many red-flag type characteristics for me to feel confident in him moving forward. He has moments where you think, "wow that was a good play" but too few & VERY far between. Overall you watch a QB struggle mightily through 4 quarters of play with sprinkles of adequacy throughout. The scary thing is that its a weekly thing for Ficthner & Mason. What are they doing in practices to figure this out? Sure seems like nothing at all but sticking to the failing program. Fichtner surely isn't finding out better ways of getting him into rhythm. And if he is, Mason isn't taking the step forward to give himself that confidence. They just aren't working well together. Either Fichtner needs to switch up his approach with Mason, get shown the door, or change to Devlin Hodges who has more confidence in throwing downfield.

Someone needs to prove they can do their job effectively.