What’s Wrong With This Team?

[flippy]

Any ideas????

[SteelBucks]

Start at the top and work your way down.

[ff1085]

best offense line in nfl? worst secondary in nfl? poor time management no adjustments in game. anything else?

[SteelBucks]

Going for it on 4th and 1 at midfield when up by 4 with your backup QB. Didn’t result in Raiders points but you have to question the decision. In game decisions are poor.

[Terrapin]

1. The Rooneys. for continuing to stick with this poser Tomlin. 3 playoff wins in 7 years, and several humiliating loses.
2. Tomlin. Way way way too much drama, year after year. Horrible game manager. Never has his teams ready. Makes zero adjustments. Horrible draft and personnel decisions. I could go on but what's the point?
3. Colbert. See above for draft and personnel. How many first round picks are they going to whiff on?
4. Lev Bell. I can blame the above for this too, but Bell royally screwed the team. Drama aside, everyone thought he'd be back at some point this year.
5. Boswell. There are at least 3 games that he's responsible for losing. Obviously not solely, but he could have won games by making easy field goals and extra points. Do you damn job.
6. Big Ben. For the most part he's been great this year. But too many picks and fumbles. The Denver pick was inexcusable for a rookie, let alone someone like Ben. And he almost did the same exact thing today.
7. Defense. Top to bottom. I"m not gonna name everyone but i could. They all suck. Hayden is probably the best. The rest either underachieved or flat out suck.
8. Special teams. They're 'special' alright.

I was going to list 10 but who cares. The team sucks and will never win anything with Tomlin running it.

[Furious]

best offense line in nfl? worst secondary in nfl? poor time management no adjustments in game. anything else?

Logic in excess. I think you need to apply for the HC position. Anything is better than watching our team self destruct year in and year out.

[drprwnap]

best offense line in nfl? worst secondary in nfl? poor time management no adjustments in game. anything else?

I used to buy into that "best offense line in the nfl" but no more. The Raiders gave up over 5yrd/run average this year. What did we average today? 2? This is NOT the best line in football by a long shot.

[drprwnap]

Any ideas????

Too many issues to list, but #1 lack of a head coach with any working brain cells.

[Mr.wizard]

Defense can't get stops in the 4th quarter and our kicker can't make a kick.

[MCHammer]

There is a consistent lack of focus on this team and that is the overall reason for the consistent underperformance. There are also way too many egos careening around the locker room and that is the main reason for all the drama, including Bell leaving. He could have made a ton of money here and won super bowls, but would rather leave. Guy might be a head case, but there is a distinct lack of "team" in this team. The Bell situation is emblematic of that. As is Roethlisberger taking off the the majority of the 2nd half today when he was capable of playing.

We needed to win today and we needed Ben on the field to ensure it happened. He should have been back in a lot earlier, not coming in at the very end like a glory hound. Ridiculous.

[Ernie]

i think bens got one foot out the door.. if nothing else I'll enjoy these final 3 games because I think Ben is hanging it up after this

[Furious]

If Ben hangs them up this year, I pray its Rudolph that replaces him. I have a feeling that next year will be a year long job interview between Dobbs and Rudolph. Eeks.

[Ernie]

If Ben hangs them up this year, I pray its Rudolph that replaces him. I have a feeling that next year will be a year long job interview between Dobbs and Rudolph. Eeks.

I'm wondering if we take a rd 1 QB if one falls to us in the mid 1st

[Terrapin]

I'm wondering if we take a rd 1 QB if one falls to us in the mid 1st

Maybe, but it's more likely we take a physically gifted 'project' to play a position he's never played before

[Decleater]

There is a consistent lack of focus on this team and that is the overall reason for the consistent underperformance. There are also way too many egos careening around the locker room and that is the main reason for all the drama, including Bell leaving. He could have made a ton of money here and won super bowls, but would rather leave. Guy might be a head case, but there is a distinct lack of "team" in this team. The Bell situation is emblematic of that. As is Roethlisberger taking off the the majority of the 2nd half today when he was capable of playing.

We needed to win today and we needed Ben on the field to ensure it happened. He should have been back in a lot earlier, not coming in at the very end like a glory hound. Ridiculous.
I haven't posted here in awhile but after today's debacle felt it necessary to throw in my two cents. This team can be so good and yet suddenly devolve into something that barely resembles an NFL team. Why? For one, all the reasons given above, plus an unusually high number of boots in the team's posterior by lady luck. This leads me to believe she's not a lady, let alone a fair one. Gentlemen, what we are dealing with here is a demon in disguise that needs exorcised!

[squidkid]

simple. this team is soft and unfocused.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Going for it on 4th and 1 at midfield when up by 4 with your backup QB. Didn’t result in Raiders points but you have to question the decision. In game decisions are poor.

I hated that. I said as I was wathcing that I wanted to see Nix in the backfield for that play. Even if you run the same play, you would have so many defenders in the box that there might be some open field on the play fake.

[Steel Maniac]

There is a consistent lack of focus on this team and that is the overall reason for the consistent underperformance.

When it is consistent like that, that's a reflection of the head coach. This "lack of focus" has been for the last 4-6 years. The only thing that is consistent over that period of time is Tomlin.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

I'm wondering if we take a rd 1 QB if one falls to us in the mid 1st

I just can't see how they can afford to with all the holes on defense this team has

makes last year's draft a real head scratcher and one that could come back to bite this team badly

[Oviedo]

I just can't see how they can afford to with all the holes on defense this team has

makes last year's draft a real head scratcher and one that could come back to bite this team badly

I think the only major hole this teams has is at ILB. We have no ILB who can cover a TE. I think many fans fail to really grasp how big a loss Shazier was and how much he did for this defense. Need Shazier 2.0 in this upcoming draft.

[Northern_Blitz]

best offense line in nfl? worst secondary in nfl? poor time management no adjustments in game. anything else?

Turns the ball over a ton on offense.
Gets no turnovers on defense.

[Northern_Blitz]

I used to buy into that "best offense line in the nfl" but no more. The Raiders gave up over 5yrd/run average this year. What did we average today? 2? This is NOT the best line in football by a long shot.

Part of that is us playing our 3rd and 4th options at RB.

I think RBs are more replaceable than they were 10 years ago. But they are not infinitely replaceable.

[Northern_Blitz]

If Ben hangs them up this year, I pray its Rudolph that replaces him. I have a feeling that next year will be a year long job interview between Dobbs and Rudolph. Eeks.

I don't think either of our QBs will be the long term answer.

If Ben hangs them up, the best thing for the team is probably to be terrible for a year or two.

[Oviedo]

Turns the ball over a ton on offense.
Gets no turnovers on defense.


You do realize that going into yesterday's game we were the 8th ranked defense in the NFL?????

[Northern_Blitz]

You do realize that going into yesterday's game we were the 8th ranked defense in the NFL?????

Our O and our D are both great except for the turnovers.

We're currently tied for 25th in takeaways with 13 (5 teams worse than us).

That's not great because we're tied for 7th in giveaways with 21 (6 teams worse than us).

Our differential (-8) is tied for 27th (with Buffalo). There are 4 teams that are worse than us in differential:
27. Buffalo (-8). Record: 4 - 9
27. Steelers (-8). Record: 7 - 5 - 1
29. Arizona (-9). Record: 3 - 10
30. Jags (-10). Record: 4 - 9
31. Tampa (-17) Record: 5 - 8
32. San Fran (-21) Record: 3 - 10

I think it's actually kind of a good achievement to be as good as the Steelers are with such a terrible turnover ratio.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

I think the only major hole this teams has is at ILB. We have no ILB who can cover a TE. I think many fans fail to really grasp how big a loss Shazier was and how much he did for this defense. Need Shazier 2.0 in this upcoming draft.

i think people know how valuable shazier was but how long can you beat that drum? it's been a full off-season and now season and nothing looks any better. all of our ILBs are bums

our secondary is absolutely devoid of any meaningful talent imo. numerous holes to fill. can you argue that any one of them is better than average at best?

the defense is in big trouble and can't be fixed in one offseason, imo

[Northern_Blitz]

i think people know how valuable shazier was but how long can you beat that drum? it's been a full off-season and now season and nothing looks any better. all of our ILBs are bums

our secondary is absolutely devoid of any meaningful talent imo. numerous holes to fill. can you argue that any one of them is better than average at best?

the defense is in big trouble and can't be fixed in one offseason, imo

I think we can reasonably complain that losing Shazier hurts the D as long as his contract counts against the salary cap.

After that, his absence has the same impact of missing on a 1st round pick in 2014. For context, we drafted J.Jones in 2013.

[squidkid]

I think the only major hole this teams has is at ILB. We have no ILB who can cover a TE. I think many fans fail to really grasp how big a loss Shazier was and how much he did for this defense. Need Shazier 2.0 in this upcoming draft.


we needed shazier 2.0 in this years draft but decide to be cute and draft a tweener and a useless wr.
everybody knew bens time was runnimng out and had to make a push this and next year. well, this year is almost gone and the arrow is not pointing up for next year

[pittpete]

You do realize that going into yesterday's game we were the 8th ranked defense in the NFL?????

Please stop with the defensive rankings, they dont mean crap.
Its like Tomlins winning % people keep touting.

[Northern_Blitz]

Please stop with the defensive rankings, they dont mean crap.
Its like Tomlins winning % people keep touting.

I think the D is better that it gets credit for and the O is over rated. But expectations were polar opposites for those units

Both have big issues with turnovers and that's hard to overcome. It also hurts that our kicker and punter shank balls at a pretty good pace.

Execution is not the strong suit of this group

[AzStillers1989]

Our O and our D are both great except for the turnovers.

We're currently tied for 25th in takeaways with 13 (5 teams worse than us).

That's not great because we're tied for 7th in giveaways with 21 (6 teams worse than us).

Our differential (-8) is tied for 27th (with Buffalo). There are 4 teams that are worse than us in differential:
27. Buffalo (-8). Record: 4 - 9
27. Steelers (-8). Record: 7 - 5 - 1
29. Arizona (-9). Record: 3 - 10
30. Jags (-10). Record: 4 - 9
31. Tampa (-17) Record: 5 - 8
32. San Fran (-21) Record: 3 - 10

I think it's actually kind of a good achievement to be as good as the Steelers are with such a terrible turnover ratio.

^^^THIS^^^^ is the difference between 10-3 or 11-2 and our current 7-5-1 record.....even so, we are in 1st in the division and have now made this next game the start of our playoffs.

Its gut check time. I love it!

[pittpete]

Sorry Blitz i dont agree
Please tell me you actually watch the games.
If so you should still have a fresh memory of the last 2 games where the defense totally shlt the bed.
You also might want to know we had 1 gimme takeaway in the last 4 games.
This defense can't be counted on for anything.
Take the 3rd down from the goaline yesterday when we blitzed at the end of the game and forced Carr to throw the ball away.
The 4th down play we go all soft and gave him tons of time.
Please tell me the last time one of our safeties made a play on a ball and broke up a pass?
We have 6 INT's in 13 games but people want to say we're ranked #8 in the NFL...
This defense stinks bad and nothing was done this year while they played games with Bell.
Tomlin is always so confident that the next guy up can do the job, but he's only fooling himself as is evident by this season

[steelz09]

I think we can reasonably complain that losing Shazier hurts the D as long as his contract counts against the salary cap.

After that, his absence has the same impact of missing on a 1st round pick in 2014. For context, we drafted J.Jones in 2013.

This has nothing to do with Shazier and/or Bell.

This crap was happening when both were playing.

[Disco1981]

Our O and our D are both great except for the turnovers.

We're currently tied for 25th in takeaways with 13 (5 teams worse than us).

That's not great because we're tied for 7th in giveaways with 21 (6 teams worse than us).

Our differential (-8) is tied for 27th (with Buffalo). There are 4 teams that are worse than us in differential:
27. Buffalo (-8). Record: 4 - 9
27. Steelers (-8). Record: 7 - 5 - 1
29. Arizona (-9). Record: 3 - 10
30. Jags (-10). Record: 4 - 9
31. Tampa (-17) Record: 5 - 8
32. San Fran (-21) Record: 3 - 10

I think it's actually kind of a good achievement to be as good as the Steelers are with such a terrible turnover ratio.

And Ben is the biggest culprit...With his one( minimum ) pick a game...Usually at crucial times..Because he STILL will just not yhrow the ball away, and live for another down

[steelz09]

I stopped reading after "our O and our D is great"?

Our D is great? Are you watching the same games I am the past several years?

[fordfixer]

This has nothing to do with Shazier and/or Bell.

This crap was happening when both were playing.
Unfortunately there’s some truth too what you are saying.

[Chadman]

It’s not a talent problem.

Too many turnovers. Too many mistakes. Too many penalties. Too much distraction. Too little preparedness.

It’s a mental issue. Chadman has always supported Tomlin. Chadman supported Cowher. The last year under Cowher, things started to unravel. That is happening here. Tomlin is not a bad HC. Cowher wasn’t a bad HC.

Drafting has been somewhat hit & miss on ‘great success’ players. But the draft’s have not been horrible either.

Too many distractions though. From AB & the Instagram thing last year, to Blount & Bell getting busted, to Bryant getting busted, to Ben vs Haley, to Haley getting canned, Ben calling out players, Shazier’s injury, Dupree & VW trying to get ‘revenge’ on Bengals because of Shazier, Porter getting in the middle of Bengals players, Bell and his rubbish this year, Ben throwing increasing amounts of INT’s, Defensive players out of position, ILB’s covering WR’s, Boswell and the misses, Switzer not knowing the fair catch rules......the list goes on & on & on....penalties, OLinemen calling out Bell, JJ Wilcox & the repeated ST penalties....looking ahead to NE games...

These are the things that stop the Steelers.

They are playing as if talent alone will get them through. They play ‘entitled’, like they ‘deserve’ to be there.

How is this fixed? It might be too far gone. Obviously Tomlin has to take the brunt of the blame. But this attitude has seeped into the team ‘leaders’- Ben, AB, Ramon Foster, Pouncey, Bell etc.

The Steelers, in Chadman’s opinion, might be better served being less talented & more focused. You can’t sack Tomlin and expect things to be fixed. Every team has it’s prima donna players, it’s ‘drama’ players. But they are not generally the guys you lay the future in their hands.

Is Mason Rudolph the answer at QB? Hope so! You have to at least see. Connor looks the goods. Juju is a star. DeCastro, AV, Hayward, Watt- these all seem solid character guys. Tuitt & Hargreave. Fieler. McDonald & James.

Play focus needs adjusting. Attitude needs adjusting. Talent only needs minor upgrades in most areas.

How do you ‘fix’ the Steelers?

You rip the bandaid off.

[Ghost]

I'm curious, after the Steelers scored with just under 3 minutes, how many you had a first thought of, hopefully there's enough time left for the O to score again after Oakland scores? I know I did. Sadly my first thought was the D won't be able to hold. I thought the Raiders scoring was a given.

During this three game streak - the Steelers defense has given up drives of 73, 75, 79, 79, and 64 yards in the 4th Q including 2 game winners. This is what's wrong with the team.

[Oviedo]

I'm curious, after the Steelers scored with just under 3 minutes, how many you had a first thought of, hopefully there's enough time left for the O to score again after Oakland scores? I know I did. Sadly my first thought was the D won't be able to hold. I thought the Raiders scoring was a given.

During this three game streak - the Steelers defense has given up drives of 73, 75, 79, 79, and 64 yards in the 4th Q including 2 game winners. This is what's wrong with the team.

Yes to this. The defense can't close out games. Plays well but they haven't been able to get the kill shot at the end of games

[Steel Maniac]

Listen..

I was listening to Travis Clay ( Fox Sports network) today and he had Mark Schlereth as a guest. Schlereth said that the Pittsburgh Steelers are an emotional immature team and have been that way for years.

Travis Clay asked Schlereth who does he take down the stretch to win the AFC North? Schlereth said , " I wouldn't take the Steelers to the nearest IHOP."

[Northern_Blitz]

I stopped reading after "our O and our D is great"?

Our D is great? Are you watching the same games I am the past several years?

I think by doing this you missed the point (or maybe I just didn't make it clear enough).

How about instead of "great" (which was a bit sarcastic), we say "better than expected by yards and points".

I expected our D to be terrible this year. Instead, they look pretty good by yards allowed and average by points allowed. But they suck at generating turnovers.

Now, I expected the O to be dominant this year but in the back of my mind I also thought we'd still struggle in the red zone. Instead, we look great by both yards for and points for. But they suck at protecting the football.


​

[Ghost]

I think the D has been terrible this year.

Allowed 14 4th Q points to the Browns.
Mahomes threw for 326 yards and 6 TDs
Fitzpatrick threw for 411 yards and 3 TDs
Flacco threw for 363 yards and 2 TDs
Allowed a 16 point 2nd half lead to not hold
During this three game losing streak - the Steelers defense has given up drives of 73, 75, 79, 79, and 64 yards in the 4th Q including 2 game winners.

[Eich]

I expected our D to be terrible this year. Instead, they look pretty good by yards allowed and average by points allowed. But they suck at generating turnovers.
​

BUT, they also suck at stopping LONG TOUCHDOWN drives in very critical situations. That is far worse, IMO, than not generating turnovers. With a minute left in the game and the other team needing a TD to win, I have ZERO confidence in this defense.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

What's wrong with this team? The don't realize that there is more game to play after the third Q.

After 3 ..........................Final

Pitt 21 - Cle 7 ............... Pitt 21 - Cle 21
Pitt 30 - TB 13 .............. Pitt 30 - TB 27
Bal 17 - Pitt 14 ..............Bal 26 - Pitt 14
Jax 16 - Pitt 6 ................Pitt 20 - Jax 16
Pitt 17 - Den 17 .............Den 24 - Pitt 17
Pitt 23 - LAC 15 .............LAC 33 - Pitt 30
Pitt 14 - Oak 10 .............Oak 24 - Pitt 21

The Steelers are -31 in the 4th Q this season. They have only once taken a deficit after 3 and turned it into a win (Jax). 3 times they entered the 4th with a lead and either lost or tied. Once they entered tied and lost that game. One time they took a 17 point lead and let it dwindle to 3 before winning (TB) and against the Ravens they were down 3 before losing by 12.

After going through this I have researched it one step further:

Steelers 21st in the league with 6.3 4th Q PPG (7.3 in 2017 - tied 10th)
Steelers 28th in the league with 8.7 4th Q PPGA (4.6 in 2017 - tied 4th)

Add that to the turnover differential stat and I think we have found some answers.

[Northern_Blitz]

What's wrong with this team? The don't realize that there is more game to play after the third Q.

After 3 ..........................Final

Pitt 21 - Cle 7 ............... Pitt 21 - Cle 21
Pitt 30 - TB 13 .............. Pitt 30 - TB 27
Bal 17 - Pitt 14 ..............Bal 26 - Pitt 14
Jax 16 - Pitt 6 ................Pitt 20 - Jax 16
Pitt 17 - Den 17 .............Den 24 - Pitt 17
Pitt 23 - LAC 15 .............LAC 33 - Pitt 30
Pitt 14 - Oak 10 .............Oak 24 - Pitt 21

The Steelers are -31 in the 4th Q this season. They have only once taken a deficit after 3 and turned it into a win (Jax). 3 times they entered the 4th with a lead and either lost or tied. Once they entered tied and lost that game. One time they took a 17 point lead and let it dwindle to 3 before winning (TB) and against the Ravens they were down 3 before losing by 12.

After going through this I have researched it one step further:

Steelers 21st in the league with 6.3 4th Q PPG (7.3 in 2017 - tied 10th)
Steelers 28th in the league with 8.7 4th Q PPGA (4.6 in 2017 - tied 4th)

Add that to the turnover differential stat and I think we have found some answers.

That's some pretty interesting work. I wonder if our play callers get stale late in games?

[Steel Maniac]

We got swept by the entire AFC West. Wow.

[brothervad]

What's wrong with this team? The don't realize that there is more game to play after the third Q.

After 3 ..........................Final

Pitt 21 - Cle 7 ............... Pitt 21 - Cle 21
Pitt 30 - TB 13 .............. Pitt 30 - TB 27
Bal 17 - Pitt 14 ..............Bal 26 - Pitt 14
Jax 16 - Pitt 6 ................Pitt 20 - Jax 16
Pitt 17 - Den 17 .............Den 24 - Pitt 17
Pitt 23 - LAC 15 .............LAC 33 - Pitt 30
Pitt 14 - Oak 10 .............Oak 24 - Pitt 21

The Steelers are -31 in the 4th Q this season. They have only once taken a deficit after 3 and turned it into a win (Jax). 3 times they entered the 4th with a lead and either lost or tied. Once they entered tied and lost that game. One time they took a 17 point lead and let it dwindle to 3 before winning (TB) and against the Ravens they were down 3 before losing by 12.

After going through this I have researched it one step further:

Steelers 21st in the league with 6.3 4th Q PPG (7.3 in 2017 - tied 10th)
Steelers 28th in the league with 8.7 4th Q PPGA (4.6 in 2017 - tied 4th)

Add that to the turnover differential stat and I think we have found some answers.

That would seem to indicate it just ain't the Defense that is a problem here. Not wishing Haley back but it does appear the Fitcher OC ain't all that and a bag of chips either.

Just one question which one is point given up vs points scored? I assume the 4.6 is points given up by Steelers D and 7.3 is points scored by Steelers O (probably should just say Steelers because of TO returned for 6).

brothervad

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Let's continue on this. See if there is a continuing trend...

Offense
First Half: 15.8 PPG (5th)
Second Half: 12.5 PPG (8th)
Overall: 28.2 PPG (4th)

Defense
First Half: 10.1 PPG (4th)
Second Half: 13.5 PPG (27th)
Overall: 23.5 PPG (16th)

Only one outlier here that sticks out like a sore thumb. In the second half, this team gives up the 27th most points of any team. The quick analysis based on this and by watching the team is

a) The Steelers are in games at halftime, either leading and forcing the opposition to try to score, or in a close game and not allowing the opposition to slow the game down. Teams who are leading big at the half typically try to grind the game down and run the clock. Steeler opposition has not been in a position to do that.

b) The opposition has managed to do a better job of coming up with half-time adjustments. The D in general has not been as bad as some think. It is the second half D, and the lack of takeaways. I haven't looked at the turnover numbers against the rest of league but know that it is awful.

I will look further into something interesting, and post again, but I believe that in the 5 losses and 1 tie that the Steeler did not trail in one of those games going into the half. That is a tough pill to swallow.