Why Can't the Steelers............

[focosteeler]

How many timing patterns where Brady drops back and throws to a spot do you see Brady throw a game? 20? You see Ben throw zero unless it is a stay pattern. You telling me Wallace couldn't run 10 yds down field with a CB giving a 10 yd cushion and starting to backpedal at the snap and turn on a dime only to find a Big Ben rifled pass waiting for him?

Why don't we run more timing patterns? Ben? WR's? Stupid OC's? Directives from the front office?

Probably ben. Why run timing patterns when Ben will hold the ball too long waiting for the homerun shot.

[squidkid]

coaching,,

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

3) Danny Woodhead goes down, they have a highly serviceable replacement who plays smart and with urgency - the replacement is not a liability

I disagree here. I think that every Steeler RB played just as good as the others.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

I heard the Pats TE say in a post game interview that they keep trucking if someone goes down because each of them know all the offensive positions.

[lloydroid]

I heard the Pats TE say in a post game interview that they keep trucking if someone goes down because each of them know all the offensive positions.

Yea, and our team says kind of the same thing: Next man up. The standard is the standard. But that crap only flies for so long. We were on our what? 4th of 5th OT at one point? 4th string RB? A CB who we signed off the street actually started?

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Yea, and our team says kind of the same thing: Next man up. The standard is the standard. But that crap only flies for so long. We were on our what? 4th of 5th OT at one point? 4th string RB? A CB who we signed off the street actually started?

No, they know the OTHER positions jobs.

[feltdizz]

The Pats throw their players out there and see if they can swim.....

We put our players over in the kiddie pool with the floaters on their arms.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

It's an excellent question- they seem to get excellent production from moderate skill players all the time. The answer is probably a combination of the things mentioned in here already- the Patriots put a lot of emphasis on both Lines in the draft. The result is they often dominate on both sides. This allows the lesser skill players more room to do what they can do, without having to worry about blockers, or defenders in the backfield. Tom Brady is excellent at the LOS too. His reads of play are out of this world. The result is, that system seems to chug along with ease. Their F.O., if you remove the cheating, is one of the best. They identify quality players that fit a system. All the players seem to know their role, the importance of doing their role. It's a well run machine. And, as much as it pains Chadman to say it- they are inovators. One step ahead at all times. Which team first spread the Steelers Defense out, taking away the constant pass rush pressure, opening up holes, & gave up on running against us? the Patriots. Which team made everyone scratch their heads & wonder if there was any kind of plan involved in drafting both Gronkowski & Hernandez in the same draft? Who drafts 2 TE's early? Idiots! Oh.... that'd be the Patriots too. They are a step ahead, and not only because of sneaky videos.

Sounds to me as though you're saying the Patriots' coaching and F.O. are way better than the Steelers' coaching and F.O..

[feltdizz]

Sounds to me as though you're saying the Patriots' coaching and F.O. are way better than the Steelers' coaching and F.O..

how did you come to that conclusion? lol

[Chadman]

Sounds to me as though you're saying the Patriots' coaching and F.O. are way better than the Steelers' coaching and F.O..

Yes & no. The Steelers have a long history of getting it right. Take away 8-8 this season, and we wouldn't even question if they are on par or close to the Patriots.

For all the innovation the Pats bring to the game, the Steelers have found ways to continuously tinker with older systems & make them work- so that's innovation in itself. The real differences have been, of late (last 5 years) that the Steelers current coaching group is still 'finding it's feet' in some ways. Tomlin came into the NFL with what was a pretty good team. He learned early not to mess with what he had, just tinker away, and he was very successful doing that. Now he faces a new challenge- creating a new group of core players- and we are about to see over the next year or two if the current coaching group can adjust. The Patriots group aren't new to this. And Bellicheck has had far more failure in his career than Tomlin. But he's obviously learned from his mistakes, and has become a very astute HC. Tomlin is starting to enter the areas of his career that produce new challenges, and potential failures. Maybe 2012's 8-8 is the steepest learning curve he's faced. we'll see by the draft/FA period, and then by how TC is run.

Success isn't generally about luck. It's about facing hurdles & knowing how to overcome them. The 'knowing' part is the hard part- the bit that causes the most pain- because generally to get to 'knowing' the right way- you have to learn it from doing it the wrong way.

Here's betting 2013 isn't 8-8.