Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 27 of 27

Thread: Steelers Report Card: Final grade for the season

  1. #21
    Hall of Famer

    User Info Menu

    4 games of horrific play thanks to Haley's play calls, and terrible zone blocking. It was the worst display of blocking I have ever seen. No QB is going to be on during that mess (no pass blocking - no running game). The first guy to tell you he could've played BETTER would be Ben himself. But, Ben is a proven playmaker. There's no way to pin this on him at all. That OLINE and defense performance was just plain terrible.

    Once the Steelers went to no huddle, got rid of Pouncey, inserted Velasco, put Beachum at LT, etc, things went well. 110 receptions by Brown and 10 TDs by Cotchery would have never happened if changes hadn't been made.

  2. #22
    Hall of Famer

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by papillon View Post
    Well, indirectly it did, because the offense was given long fields and point deficits to try and overcome. Ben played bad, there is no doubt, but I think a potion of his bad play was due to trying to cover up defensive inconsistencies and poor play.

    Overall, Ben played very good to great (IMO) this year (save for the beginning), I hope he can carry the last half of the season over into next year and start great right out of the gate.

    Pappy
    You're right!! The inability of this defense to make plays or get turnovers has given Ben long fields for the last 5 years!

  3. #23
    Legend

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by skyhawk View Post
    4 games of horrific play thanks to Haley's play calls, and terrible zone blocking. It was the worst display of blocking I have ever seen. No QB is going to be on during that mess (no pass blocking - no running game). The first guy to tell you he could've played BETTER would be Ben himself. But, Ben is a proven playmaker. There's no way to pin this on him at all. That OLINE and defense performance was just plain terrible.

    Once the Steelers went to no huddle, got rid of Pouncey, inserted Velasco, put Beachum at LT, etc, things went well. 110 receptions by Brown and 10 TDs by Cotchery would have never happened if changes hadn't been made.
    Haley's playcalls had nothing to do with it. It is the inability of a terrible Off Line to execute that scuttled the first four games.No OC in the NFL could be successful with that OL play
    "My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"

  4. #24
    Hall of Famer

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Oviedo View Post
    Haley's playcalls had nothing to do with it. It is the inability of a terrible Off Line to execute that scuttled the first four games.No OC in the NFL could be successful with that OL play
    Oh we all know it had something to do with it. But I don't think any other OC would have been successful either!!

  5. #25
    Hall of Famer

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by skyhawk View Post
    4 games of horrific play thanks to Haley's play calls, and terrible zone blocking. It was the worst display of blocking I have ever seen. No QB is going to be on during that mess (no pass blocking - no running game). The first guy to tell you he could've played BETTER would be Ben himself. But, Ben is a proven playmaker. There's no way to pin this on him at all. That OLINE and defense performance was just plain terrible.

    Once the Steelers went to no huddle, got rid of Pouncey, inserted Velasco, put Beachum at LT, etc, things went well. 110 receptions by Brown and 10 TDs by Cotchery would have never happened if changes hadn't been made.
    I agree that changes were made and they helped. Many of those changes were by Ben himself. Go back to the 1st half of 2012 and Ben was playing lights out with a still horrible offensive line. Then Ben got it in his head he didn't like the "dink and dunk" offense. He basically said it in the press. He got stubborn and refused to get rid of the ball quickly. With our bad offensive line he and the offense looked horrible.

    He starts out 2013 the same way he ended 2012, horrible, and then all of a sudden a light bulb goes on. Yes, going no-huddle helps and letting him call the plays helps even more but what's interesting is he is now running a "dink and dunk" offense ... and calling the plays himself. The offense goes from a Prius type to a Camaro type. Don't be fooled into thinking the O-line is fixed ... it's not. Pouncey went down on the 8th play so Velasco wasn't the fix. He's just cheaper and plays as well as Pouncey.

    The change was all in the play of Ben and it all took place in his head. Getting rid of the ball faster, in rhythm, made the opponent wary and they couldn't always send the house after Ben. That's what made the offensive line look better in pass blocking. The defense had to back some players off the line of scrimmage to protect against the pass so we were able to run the ball better. That's what made the offensive line look a little better in run blocking. Don't be fooled by that because we were still horrible in short yardage situations.

    Again, the offense goes as Ben goes. Horrible the first half of the year and great the second half. That's why Ben gets a C+ grade. It averages out.
    As many on this site think ... The Rooney's suck, Colbert sucks, Tomlin sucks, the coaches suck, and the players suck.

    but Go Steelers!!!

  6. #26
    Hall of Famer

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by ikestops85 View Post
    I agree that changes were made and they helped. Many of those changes were by Ben himself. Go back to the 1st half of 2012 and Ben was playing lights out with a still horrible offensive line. Then Ben got it in his head he didn't like the "dink and dunk" offense. He basically said it in the press. He got stubborn and refused to get rid of the ball quickly. With our bad offensive line he and the offense looked horrible.

    He starts out 2013 the same way he ended 2012, horrible, and then all of a sudden a light bulb goes on. Yes, going no-huddle helps and letting him call the plays helps even more but what's interesting is he is now running a "dink and dunk" offense ... and calling the plays himself. The offense goes from a Prius type to a Camaro type. Don't be fooled into thinking the O-line is fixed ... it's not. Pouncey went down on the 8th play so Velasco wasn't the fix. He's just cheaper and plays as well as Pouncey.

    The change was all in the play of Ben and it all took place in his head. Getting rid of the ball faster, in rhythm, made the opponent wary and they couldn't always send the house after Ben. That's what made the offensive line look better in pass blocking. The defense had to back some players off the line of scrimmage to protect against the pass so we were able to run the ball better. That's what made the offensive line look a little better in run blocking. Don't be fooled by that because we were still horrible in short yardage situations.

    Again, the offense goes as Ben goes. Horrible the first half of the year and great the second half. That's why Ben gets a C+ grade. It averages out.
    I don't think that's right at all.

    Why would Ben, "playing lights out", suddenly decide to change what is working so well? The fact was that he just got hurt, taking a hit vs. KC. The O-line was not as bad as it was at the start of this year. It actually took the O-line a few games to gel, after what was the biggest single personnel mistake of the entire season.

    That was, playing Mike Adams at LT. The line wasn't great, and Adams made them garbage. They had issues themselves, and needed time during the season to come together. But what made them go from middling, to an abject disaster, was the play of their LT. Anyone who paid attention, could see how horrible Adams was. The D-lineman on his side would practically meet Ben on his 5th step!

    Once they benched Adams (and continued to gel), you can easily see the progression that occured. Did it coincide with the no-huddle, and giving Ben more autonomy? Sure. But there again, how much of that was a by-product of having extra tenths of seconds, and not having to worry about getting crushed)?

  7. #27
    Backup

    User Info Menu

    The loss to the Titans was on the offense, though not specifically Roethlisberger. The primary culprit was the offensive line, though losing Maurkice Pouncey probably had a lot to do with that, since he called the blocking schemes.

    The loss to the Bengals was on Todd Haley. The offense didn't appear to be organized at all, and Roethlisberger was visibly upset with the lack of coordination. The only TD scored that game was when the offense went no-huddle.

    The loss to the Bears was on Roethlisberger. His performance was a disaster, and he turned the ball over four times, including a "pick-six." The defense was repeatedly put in a bad spot by all the turnovers.

    The loss to the Vikings was on the defense. They allowed a 60-yard TD run by Adrian Peterson and a 75-yard TD pass from Matt Cassel to Percy Harvin. Roethlisberger was the only reason the Steelers were even in the game.

    The loss to the Raiders was on everybody. The defense allowed the longest TD run by a QB in NFL history on the first play from scrimmage; Shaun Suisham missed two FG attempts, and the offense was out of sync.

    The loss to the Patriots was on the defense. People forget that the Steelers were only behind by three at the start of the fourth quarter, but the defense allowed 28 points that quarter, and the most points ever in a game as a result.

    The loss to the Ravens was on the defense and Emmanuel Sanders. The Ravens only punted once that game, which means most of their drives ended in scores. And drops by Sanders killed at least one drive and failed to tie the game late.

    The loss to the Dolphins was on the defense. The Dolphins hadn't scored 30 points in a game all season, until they played the Steelers. Roethlisberger got the Steelers the lead twice in the fourth quarter, but the defense gave it back both times.
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/DBR96/PGH061Asmall.jpg
    Pittsburgh, PA: City of Champions.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •