Bi-Polar Observations for a Bi-Polar Team....

[Steel Life]

1. That game sucked - no way to sugar-coat it. Why does it seem like the team plays one stinker game every year?
2. That said, despite a bad start the defense played well enough to win & that's getting lost by by both fans & analysts alike.
3. And that said, I know I speak for many when I say - STOP PLAYING THE DB's 8 YARDS OFF!
4. Given that, all the analysts are saying how great the Ravens are on defense. Perhaps they forgot last year's "body-bag" game at Heinz field (I know Reed & Scoot have ), aka "Silverback's Coming Out Party"! ([url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UtOpqynaOI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UtOpqynaOI[/url])
5. I'm loving what BMAC & Gay have shown so far. Conversely, I am saddened by the fact that Anthony Smith seems to be a "million-dollar talent, ten-cent head". This guy might actually be the most physically talented player, but the fact he just doesn't seem to get it sucks.
6. Somewhat lost in the angst of the game was that Mendenhall wasn't given a chance. I know the fumbles are a concern, but he was the team's top draft-pick for a reason - the guy has skills. RB is the easiest position in the NFL to step into & Matt Forte & other rookie running backs are showing it by having an impact - so why is playing Rashard so concerning? Are the other rookie RB's better than him?
7. And another guy who needs to see the field more?!? - TIMMONS!!! The guy is faster than both Farrior & Foote put together & his presence alone might make the dump-off or swing-pass useless against us. But more than anything else, I want more weapons on defense.
8. Now that I've brought up Timmons & Mendenhall, there's something else that bugs me - Why does it seem like our rookies sit out more than others? Are our schemes really that hard or nuanced or do we draft nit-wits?
9. Speaking of the draft...would it be crazy to draft an offensive lineman with every pick?
10. Speaking of drafting linemen...the Eagles have two good young defensive tackles in Patterson & Bunkley - wouldn't it be nice to say the same thing about the Steelers?
11. All things considered, the ultimate difference in the game may have been the Eagles punter - Rocca. That's the kind of threat we're missing with Sepulveda out.
12. I'm not convinced that O-linemen that the Steelers tend to like (big & strong), fit a zone-blocking scheme that favors smaller, more mobile players.
13. Speaking of schemes...the inability of Arians to adjust his play-calling is maddening & potentially lethal to our "franchise" QB. And people say that Martz's offense get QB's killed...
14. BTW...What happened to the "no-huddle" offense that was worked on so much during camp? You can't tell me that going 5-wide & going "no huddle" wouldn't have gassed the defense a bit. You limit substitutions, force the action & put the defense on their heels.
15. For those who say that Ben holds on too long, that's splitting hairs because a QB like Ben lives on the edge & that same quality has made him one of the best in the league. But if you look at the highlights you'll see that in many instances he doesn't have time or there's just too much traffic around him for getaways or reasoned throwaways. In the end it almost always comes down to this - either the line does it's job or the whole damn opera falls apart.
16. All of this considered, you can keep this in perspective by remembering that the Steelers just don't win in Philly for some reason. So let's chalk it up to the "will of the gods", move on & focus on beating the crap out of the Ravens. STEELERS - 21 / RAVENS - 10
17. Lastly...any reasonable person can see the chickens are coming home to roost for Colbert. The lack of young talent & quality depth on both lines is becoming more & more evident. Compounding the issue is that a number of these players are free agents at the end of the season. Compounding it even FURTHER are the stupid decisions to sign Mahan & re-sign Simmons & Starks to ridiculous contracts, which only compromises the ability of the team to go after top-tier free-agent linemen. Now certainly some of these guys will be retained, but it could argued that most of these guys are average to below-average & unless Colbert plans on drafting or signing some starters, then we'll see more of the same mediocrity protecting Ben for years to come. ([url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjiUrh_aR64&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjiUrh_a ... re=related[/url]) It's obvious it's time for Colbert to go & to find a GM that believes in what Tomlin wants to do.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Nice observations. All in all I think that we as fans need to have a wait and see attitude towards this game. A lot of issues will be on display Monday night and the most important one is how does this team bounce back from a game like that. Before we go firing our entire coaching staff, cutting all of our linemen, forfeit the rest of the season, and turn off the TV for good, lets first at least watch the fourth game of the season.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Nice observations. All in all I think that we as fans need to have a wait and see attitude towards this game. A lot of issues will be on display Monday night and the most important one is how does this team bounce back from a game like that. Before we go firing our entire coaching staff, cutting all of our linemen, forfeit the rest of the season, and turn off the TV for good, lets first at least watch the fourth game of the season.

[proudpittsburgher]

AGreed, very nice observations. Here were a couple of points I had thoughts about . . .

<<6. Somewhat lost in the angst of the game was that Mendenhall wasn't given a chance. I know the fumbles are a concern, but he was the team's top draft-pick for a reason - the guy has skills. RB is the easiest position in the NFL to step into & Matt Forte & other rookie running backs are showing it by having an impact - so why is playing Rashard so concerning? Are the other rookie RB's better than him?>>

There is very little question that he is better than the other backs on the team not named Willie Parker, but I wouldn't have given him carries in the Eagles game of the Browns game for the simple fact that both games were close, and Rashard needs to show he can hang on to the damn ball. I'm just not comfortable with him toting the rock right now in games where one turnover can swing the balance of the game.

<<14. BTW...What happened to the "no-huddle" offense that was worked on so much during camp? You can't tell me that going 5-wide & going "no huddle" wouldn't have gassed the defense a bit. You limit substitutions, force the action & put the defense on their heels.>>

I was talking to a buddy of mine on the phone, and he asked the same question. But the Steelers very rarely go into a no-huddle unless one of two things happen. 1. they get a nice play and a first down to start the no-huddle. and 2. they get the defense on the field they feel comfortable facing. I can't say either happened on Sunday, unfortunately.

BTW, agreed completely about Ben. He had zero time to do anything on Sunday. Not to mention the fact that when the Eagles forced him out of the pocket, there were other defenders on the outside waiting, so Ben couldn't even get out of the pocket to throw it away without getting flagged for intentional grounding.

Now, on that intentional grounding/safety call . . . my question is wasn't Ben out of the pocket, thus allowing him to throw it away? The argument I heard was that he didn't get it back to the line of scrimmage, but the ball was tipped, so that could have easily been looked at on replay. Not to mention that there WAS a receiver in the area, a couple of yards away from the ball. three yards max. so I still say

[birtikidis]

wouldn't have mattered if they would have picked the flag up and waved it off. as soon as that happened, Andy Reid would have thrown the red flag and challenged the call. Since Ben's knee was down they would have gotten the safety anyway.

[proudpittsburgher]

wouldn't have mattered if they would have picked the flag up and waved it off. as soon as that happened, Andy Reid would have thrown the red flag and challenged the call. Since Ben's knee was down they would have gotten the safety anyway.

Yes, you are correct, I should have put that in my post, I just didn't get why it was called and then not allowed for it to be reviewed, because unless there was something that I wasn't seeing, it didn't look like it shouldn't have been called.

[Ozey74]

Nice observations. All in all I think that we as fans need to have a wait and see attitude towards this game. A lot of issues will be on display Monday night and the most important one is how does this team bounce back from a game like that. Before we go firing our entire coaching staff, cutting all of our linemen, forfeit the rest of the season, and turn off the TV for good, lets first at least watch the fourth game of the season.

I agree with you. Thank goodness this game happend in Week #3. This game may be a blessing in disguise. Let's hope this game gave our team a wake up call to get the kinks addressed and corrected while the season is still early!!

[Jigawatts]

2. That said, despite a bad start the defense played well enough to win & that's getting lost by by both fans & analysts alike.

I totally agree with that. Our D was the shiznit.

5. I'm loving what BMAC & Gay have shown so far. Conversely, I am saddened by the fact that Anthony Smith seems to be a "million-dollar talent, ten-cent head". This guy might actually be the most physically talented player, but the fact he just doesn't seem to get it sucks.

"There's nothing sadder in life than wasted talent."

8. Now that I've brought up Timmons & Mendenhall, there's something else that bugs me - Why does it seem like our rookies sit out more than others? Are our schemes really that hard or nuanced or do we draft nit-wits?

I don't think we're as desperate as most teams that "need" to play the rooks.

13. Speaking of schemes...the inability of Arians to adjust his play-calling is maddening & potentially lethal to our "franchise" QB. And people say that Martz's offense get QB's killed...

I've worn out the word "adjust" in this forum. I couldn't agree with you more.