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Thread: 6 Step Recovery Plan

  1. #11
    Legend

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn
    I agree that we need to play more physical ball. That's why I prefer backs like Mendy and Rice as opposed to Chris Johnson. It's why I believe in building from the trenches out. It's part of the reason I'm not happy with Ariens. It's why I like Ben...big physical QB who is back yard football tough. It's why I believe in playing with a FB. It's why I believe in imposing your will with a ball control offense which sets up the deep ball...and why I believe in a dominant D. We need to get back to Steeler ball. I don't recognize our current team. We are not the Pats, Colts or the Saints.
    We will never be those teams... but if you really like Ben then you have to respect his preference regarding the OC and O in general. It's not like Ben is requesting FB's and power running football and Arians is ignoring him.

    Ben is running this offense the way he wants to and looking at the last 5 years I think he earned the power he has.. How many guys are left from our first SB win? Not many...

    Ben runs this show. For all we know this may be it as far as SB's with Ben.. he may be more interested in putting up stats that get him mentioned in the Brady, Peyton conversations then getting back to the big game. Ask Marino, I know he would trade a few stats for a ring... I could see Ben wanting the stats to go along with his rings. Back yard football was not running up the gut.. it was scrambling for 10 seconds then throwing bombs... Ben loves bombs.
    I lost a bet about Najee gaining 1300 yards.

    "Our head coach has failed to win a playoff game for seven years in a row. His game day strategy, culture of divas, in game decisions, clock management, player evaluation, hires, and affinity with sub par starters at RB, P, and OL are holding the Steelers back. That standard remains the standard"



  2. #12
    Legend

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    Quote Originally Posted by feltdizz
    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn
    I agree that we need to play more physical ball. That's why I prefer backs like Mendy and Rice as opposed to Chris Johnson. It's why I believe in building from the trenches out. It's part of the reason I'm not happy with Ariens. It's why I like Ben...big physical QB who is back yard football tough. It's why I believe in playing with a FB. It's why I believe in imposing your will with a ball control offense which sets up the deep ball...and why I believe in a dominant D. We need to get back to Steeler ball. I don't recognize our current team. We are not the Pats, Colts or the Saints.
    We will never be those teams... but if you really like Ben then you have to respect his preference regarding the OC and O in general. It's not like Ben is requesting FB's and power running football and Arians is ignoring him.

    Ben is running this offense the way he wants to and looking at the last 5 years I think he earned the power he has.. How many guys are left from our first SB win? Not many...

    Ben runs this show. For all we know this may be it as far as SB's with Ben.. he may be more interested in putting up stats that get him mentioned in the Brady, Peyton conversations then getting back to the big game. Ask Marino, I know he would trade a few stats for a ring... I could see Ben wanting the stats to go along with his rings. Back yard football was not running up the gut.. it was scrambling for 10 seconds then throwing bombs... Ben loves bombs.
    I respect Ben's ability to play not to coach. While I want Ben to have freedom to make some calls at the line of scrimmage I want an OC to be an OC. And this shouldn't be about Ben's stats...it should be about winning games.
    Trolls are people too.

  3. #13
    Legend

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    Quote Originally Posted by Oviedo
    Quote Originally Posted by phillyesq
    Quote Originally Posted by feltdizz
    Decent article except for calling Tomlin a kid. Sounded like he has no respect for Tomlin..

    Anyways.. the guy is on crack.

    I'm sorry but he is.. he talks about winning a SB like it's a preseason game. We are spoiled fans in Steeler Nation. 2 SB rings with Ben and a ton of wins and exciting finishes. In 2009 the DPOTY is out, Aaron Smith is out, and he is crying like a little b!itch.

    The Ravens had 20 points off of TO's... I love how people are acting like the Ravens owned a Pats* team who was hot... I'm glad they won but c'mon.

    You don't tell Ben to hand off all day when he gave us the best 6 years of our lives since the 70's... Ben will do what he wants, when he wants and when he retires we will miss him and beg for his return if we end up with Mark Malone's son at QB.
    You mention the Ravens, but what about the Packers and Jets. The Jets are the team the Steelers used to be, built on a power run game and a strong D. They're going to the second round of the playoffs. Imagine that team with the weapons the Steelers have at WR and Ben. They'd be instant favorites.

    Conversely, look at the Packers. They are the NFC clone of the Steelers. Strong tradition, great fans, and now a team that relies on the pass with a QB that holds the ball too long at times while making great plays at other times. They were bounced in the first round.

    Re-emphasizing the power running game doesn't mean that the Steelers need to revert to run-run-pass. They can install a balanced offense. Forcing defenses to focus on the run as well as the pass will only make Ben more effective.
    They are a power running team because they have a QB who cannot be relied upon to win games. They didn't have one either before Sanchez so they had no choice but to stock up in RBs and build a run blocking OL.

    The Rooney's did not pay Ben $102M because he was good at handing off the ball. He got it because he can take the game into his hands and win a game through his own efforts.

    The plays the Jets call are to make sure that Sanchez isn't given a chance to lose the game.
    I adhere to the opinion that the hardest teams to stop should be teams that do both well. A team that can change up and impose their will upon the weaknesses of the opposing team will be the most successful. Why force balls into an elite secondary when you can run it down their weak front 7's throat?

    You might argue...hey what about the Colts and Pats. To that I would say a couple things. One is how many teams can dominate in both the running game and passing game? The Steelers are very very close. We need something (ie a new OC) to bring all this talent together. I have never seen this much offensive fire power on one Steeler team. There is no reason that this O can't be the best in the NFL.
    Trolls are people too.

  4. #14
    Legend

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn
    Quote Originally Posted by feltdizz
    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn
    I agree that we need to play more physical ball. That's why I prefer backs like Mendy and Rice as opposed to Chris Johnson. It's why I believe in building from the trenches out. It's part of the reason I'm not happy with Ariens. It's why I like Ben...big physical QB who is back yard football tough. It's why I believe in playing with a FB. It's why I believe in imposing your will with a ball control offense which sets up the deep ball...and why I believe in a dominant D. We need to get back to Steeler ball. I don't recognize our current team. We are not the Pats, Colts or the Saints.
    We will never be those teams... but if you really like Ben then you have to respect his preference regarding the OC and O in general. It's not like Ben is requesting FB's and power running football and Arians is ignoring him.

    Ben is running this offense the way he wants to and looking at the last 5 years I think he earned the power he has.. How many guys are left from our first SB win? Not many...

    Ben runs this show. For all we know this may be it as far as SB's with Ben.. he may be more interested in putting up stats that get him mentioned in the Brady, Peyton conversations then getting back to the big game. Ask Marino, I know he would trade a few stats for a ring... I could see Ben wanting the stats to go along with his rings. Back yard football was not running up the gut.. it was scrambling for 10 seconds then throwing bombs... Ben loves bombs.
    I respect Ben's ability to play not to coach. While I want Ben to have freedom to make some calls at the line of scrimmage I want an OC to be an OC. And this shouldn't be about Ben's stats...it should be about winning games.
    Why do you even acknowledge such ridiculous speculation?

    Ben, after his second title: That's two. I want five.

    Enough said right there. He's a winner and he wants to win.

  5. #15
    Pro Bowler

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    Quote Originally Posted by phillyesq
    Quote Originally Posted by feltdizz
    Decent article except for calling Tomlin a kid. Sounded like he has no respect for Tomlin..

    Anyways.. the guy is on crack.

    I'm sorry but he is.. he talks about winning a SB like it's a preseason game. We are spoiled fans in Steeler Nation. 2 SB rings with Ben and a ton of wins and exciting finishes. In 2009 the DPOTY is out, Aaron Smith is out, and he is crying like a little b!itch.

    The Ravens had 20 points off of TO's... I love how people are acting like the Ravens owned a Pats* team who was hot... I'm glad they won but c'mon.

    You don't tell Ben to hand off all day when he gave us the best 6 years of our lives since the 70's... Ben will do what he wants, when he wants and when he retires we will miss him and beg for his return if we end up with Mark Malone's son at QB.
    You mention the Ravens, but what about the Packers and Jets. The Jets are the team the Steelers used to be, built on a power run game and a strong D. They're going to the second round of the playoffs. Imagine that team with the weapons the Steelers have at WR and Ben. They'd be instant favorites.

    Conversely, look at the Packers. They are the NFC clone of the Steelers. Strong tradition, great fans, and now a team that relies on the pass with a QB that holds the ball too long at times while making great plays at other times. They were bounced in the first round.

    Re-emphasizing the power running game doesn't mean that the Steelers need to revert to run-run-pass. They can install a balanced offense. Forcing defenses to focus on the run as well as the pass will only make Ben more effective.
    The Jets chances are actually very stong, much stronger than 9*-7 (* for the IND game) would indicate. Reevis is single-handedly taking away half of the passing game and of course their run game. Sanchez has had problems in cold weather but seemed to be fine in Cincy. The only chance now for a cold-weather game for Sanchez is at Baltimore.

  6. #16
    Backup

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    There is no way the Steelers can afford to spend their first two picks on the OL. The Steelers have 4 guards on the roster under contract and they will go with those four again next year. This article completes ignores the fact that the Steelers have the oldest defense in the league and it is going downhill fast. This must be addressed early and often in the draft.

    I don't subscribe to the idea that you have to be a run first team in the playoffs. Cowher lost in the playoffs almost every year with run first teams. The Cards/Packers game just reinforces the fact that this is a passing league now. The Ravens and Jets will both lose this week if they are ineffective passing the ball like they were last week.

    Again, we would have won the division and most likely have been a two seed if the special teams had been average and the defense had performed to normal levels on third down and in the fourth quarter.
    The Steelers’ went through seven consecutive drafts (2003-09) without taking an offensive lineman in the first two rounds, the longest such streak by any franchise this century.

  7. #17
    Hall of Famer

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    I could see the Steelers drafting OL in the first two rounds. It wouldn't be ideal, but if good players fall, you need to take them. Trent Williams or Brian Buluga in the first and Mike Johnson in the second would be great.
    Even if Bill Belichick was getting an atomic wedgie, his face would look exactly the same.

  8. #18
    Legend

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    Re: 6 Step Recovery Plan

    Of course Wex and his know it all attitude wants to lessen Ben's role. He's a known Kordell apologist who wanted Leftwich to start last year's post season, and he's always taking cheap shots at Ben in his online world.

    Now he wants to blow up the OL? I guess he forgot who wrote this:

    A Motley Crew Shall Lead Them

    By Jim Wexell
    SteelCityInsider.com
    Posted Nov 12, 2009

    Bill Cowher’s first draft pick as coach of the Steelers in 1992 was a right tackle, and Leon Searcy certainly was a road grader, the kind of player upon whom Cowher leaned in fourth quarters with an 11-point lead, when the coach would “pound the rock.”

    Cowher was a fundamentalist, a guy who used premium picks (rounds 1-3) for eight offensive linemen in eight drafts from 1995-2002.

    Even in 2001, the only year in which Cowher didn’t use a premium pick on an offensive lineman during that stretch, he passed on quarterback Drew Brees to draft nose tackle Casey Hampton.

    That “fundamentalist” approach on draft day has changed, and it appears to have changed for the better.

    Let’s use late April, 2004 as the beginning of this philosophical shift. During the draft process that year, Russ Grimm fell in love with massive guard-tackle Shawn Andrews, and Cowher came to agree with his line coach. Word leaked late in the week that Andrews was the Steelers’ draft target with the 11th pick, but on draft day team president Dan Rooney walked into the war room to speak to Cowher and Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert.

    Rooney told them that he wasn’t going to meddle and tell them whom to draft. He just told them that he’d once passed on a franchise quarterback (Dan Marino) and it was one of the most difficult football decisions with which he ever had to live. Whether Rooney had a direct impact or not, the Steelers that day drafted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the first round. In the third round they drafted another massive tackle, Max Starks.

    The next draft – with panic bubbling among the media because the slow-footed Starks hadn’t played much and the Steelers had little depth behind a line consisting of three 1st-round picks and two 2nd-round picks – the Steelers passed on, well, my “expert” call for tackle Khalif Barnes or guard-tackle Marcus Johnson, and they selected tight end Heath Miller. The Steelers also chose guard-tackle Trai Essex in the third round and guard Chris Kemoeatu in the sixth.

    In the 2006 draft, fans and media believed the obvious choice was center Nick Mangold. Hobbled starter Jeff Hartings was entering his final season and it was unthinkable that the Steelers would allow their 40-year stretch of outstanding center play to come to an end. But when the Steelers traded up in the first round, they did not draft Mangold, but wide receiver Santonio Holmes. They drafted tackle Willie Colon in the fourth round.

    In 2007, the media could see what the Steelers could not: The offensive line was falling apart, rotting from the interior out. Free agent acquisition Sean Mahan was signed as a band-aid for the legacy at center, left guard Alan Faneca told the team he was leaving the following free-agent season, and right guard Kendall Simmons was just not cutting it. The Steelers had to trade down in the first or trade up in the second to draft one of the massive guards – Ben Grubbs, Justin Blalock, or Arron Sears – and maybe even use him as a true anchor at center against the massive AFC nose guards that had been giving the Steelers so many problems.

    Instead, the Steelers drafted linebackers Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley in the first two rounds in 2007. They also signed center-guard Darnell Stapleton as a rookie free agent after the draft.

    In 2008, tackle Marvel Smith was coming off another season of back problems, and he would soon be looking at free agency. So would Starks. The Steelers needed to draft a tackle out of a strong crop, but every other team seemed to have the same idea. Seven tackles were drafted before the Steelers’ pick at No. 23. They could’ve reached for tackle Duane Brown, or they could replace Mahan at center with Mike Pollak. Guard was still a need, so even big Chilo Rachal of Southern Cal would work. But the Steelers instead drafted running back Rashard Mendenhall in the first round. Later they addressed tackle with Tony Hills in the fourth round, and signed rookie free agent center-guard Doug Legursky after the draft. They also hoped that veteran free agent Justin Hartwig could replace Mahan at center.

    Of course, the Steelers won the Super Bowl after that 2008 season, but Starks, Kemoeatu, Hartwig, Stapleton and Colon had only gone along for the ride. The Steelers won in spite of their line, went the popular opinion. The only person who seemed to respect their work as a patchwork unit thrust together for the first time was Roethlisberger, who gave them a shout-out as soon as he took the podium to accept the Lombardi Trophy.

    That lack of respect from the media continued into this past draft. Center-guard Max Unger was available. So was tackle Eben Britton. But the Steelers instead drafted pass-rushing defensive tackle Ziggy Hood in the first round. They also took guard Kraig Urbik in the third, center A.Q. Shipley and hard-blocking tight end David Johnson in the seventh, and signed Ramon Foster as a rookie free agent after the draft.

    So, from an offensive line consisting entirely of premium draft picks, the Steelers have transitioned to a line consisting of third-rounders Starks and Essex, fourth-rounder Colon, sixth-rounder Kemoeatu, and street free agent Hartwig. Behind them on game days are Legursky and Foster, and behind them are game-day inactives Urbik and Hills. Shipley is on the practice squad and Stapleton is on injured reserve.

    It’s a group that’s not only playing well, as the 6-2 Steelers prepare for the first-place showdown Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, but it’s a group that won’t need much, if any, attention in the next draft.

    Still, the group has its die-hard critics. One of those critics wrote the following on our message board over at SteelCityInsider.com: “If we repeat, it certainly won’t be due to the O-line.”

    Oh, but it will be due to the O-line. While it’s unlikely that any of these guys will make the Pro Bowl, it’s their work as a unit, as a cheap unit, as a unit that allowed the drafting of Roethlisberger, Miller, Holmes, Timmons, Woodley, Mendenhall and Hood, that’s making it all possible.
    Anyone who pays money for that "Insider" content needs their head examined. Their are plenty of guys who post here and other boards who know more than this jerkoff ever will.

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