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Thread: Want to turn this around? This is how you do it.

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slapstick View Post
    Well, hopefully the players can fix that problem and then we'll see what we have...
    It would at least be a start.

  2. #12
    Pro Bowler

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn View Post
    The first goal is to realize this isn't a SB caliber team. They are lucky if they are a fringe wild card team. With that as your background, an eye towards the future you do the following...

    1) Cam "Lil Pricilla" Thomas should never ever sniff the field. I don't care if you need to start the water boy...you do not under any circumstances start Thomas. He was getting absolutely handled. It was embarrassing. In his place you alternate Keisel and Tuitt with Tuitt getting most of the PT. How else can we expect this to turn quickly unless our youth are getting serious PT?

    2) You sit McClendon and let him spell McCullers (yes after he heals from injury). Why? This DL can't keep the first round crew of linebackers clean. And like I said predraft, Shazier will struggle in the wash. Even Buckeye fans disagreed with me. In our system, with our current DL...no way Shazier can succeed unless you keep him clean. His physical skills are off the charts...but he is not a guy who can shed a 300 pound guard. You must have a guy who can handle the anchor. If not the 3-4 falls apart. In the 4-2 nickle it's even worse because you are giving up weight. You must beef up front. At the tail end of Ray Lewis' career do you know what he demanded of the Ravens office? A HUGE guy in the middle. Who did they get? And that's what the Steelers are missing. You are missing a mammoth of a man in the middle. And McClendon just standing there commands double teams. If he isn't the guy...this team is screwed anyway because that is the key to Steeler D success...one guy who takes 2 defenders. That's how you play the numbers game.

    3) Ok, our secondary sucks...shocker. News flash...our secondary has sucked for years....many years. Yet, the Steelers have won games and Super Bowls. This team isn't built around the secondary. It's built on stopping the run...it's built on the pass rush. We can't collapse the pocket...we cant stop the run. Then the aging crappy secondary looks worse because they are handcuffed by the play action. Why? Because they are getting gashed on the run. Stop the run...get some pressure...and watch the secondary improve.

    4) You MUST sit Troy when the Shark is healthy. The Shark is the future. You can not hold onto the past. I LOVE Troy...seriously have mad respect for the football player and man...but he is a LIABILITY. He isn't good. He can't cover...he can't tackle...he is bad. Now I know there will be apologists who say I have no clue...they will be silenced as the year goes on. Troy can't play the game anymore. He isn't strong enough to play linebacker, fast enough to be a situational pass rusher, or quick enough to cover WRs 8 years younger.

    5) Tell LeBeau after this season he needs to retire...give him a parade...mold a bust in his honor...talk him up to the team but let him know it's over.

    6) Give Munchak a pay raise and BEG him to stay! That Browns D is no joke...and Bell gashed them. We have been begging for a rushing game since forever. Not to mention the screen game has improved significantly. You might ask why should Munchak be given credit for the screen game. Well you have noticed how much better it is correct? Well that's because the OL is selling it. Ask our in house OL guru JPN...the OL sells the screen. Having Olmen washing out a screen is a recipe for disaster. So selling them on the inside rush is crucial. That's what Munchak brings...the savvy smarts is what a young OL desperately lacked. Our OL is only going to get better. I am stoked...despite some critical mistakes early.
    Funny, I made most of these same points before the season even started. But regardless, we are agreeing loudly now. Before a team can improve it has to establish something to build on, something to hang its hat on, and move on to improving what is broken. The things that ARE solid seem to be A. Brown, the rushing of Bell, Miller and letting Ben go no huddle. And the OL has shown some sparks, and some horrid play as well (see Gilbert, who the moronically resigned before his deal was even up). What isn't working is Haley calling plays, even when we are up by 24 in the 2nd half. He even F'd that up.

    Now, the many holes that need repaired....

    - DL play, especially NT. It is real simple. The only times this D has been bad is between having good NTs. When we lost Joel Steed, we took a big step backwards, then we picked up Casey and we were rock solid again. Now that Casey is gone, and we haven't found an adequate replacement, we are struggling again. Same story. Hopefully, McCullers can be that guy, but he isn't build like our traditional NT, with a low center of gravity and huge butt. But I agree it's time to try him, when he is healthy. Keisel is actually not playing that bad - better than everyone else, Heyward is on his way. Tuitt has to be the eventual real deal, from all the praise the coaches are throwing his way (or that could be more Rooney PR, to sell the draft picks they made, which they often do)>

    - The D, and team, is reliant on pass rush from the OLBs. They ain't getting it done. If JJ was the real deal, he'd be be showing flashes by now. I am starting to agree that the only time he gets in the backfield are on broken type of plays; I don't see him flat out beating the man in front of him. He takes a charge and then just gets planted, making no penetration at all. Worilds is playing out of position, trying to cheat to guess on the play call. I believe my earlier assertion that he is all about inflating his sack #s to get a big contract next year is at play.

    - ILBs will be fine with a big body in front of them. As mentioned, even Ray Lewis was lacking when he had to deal with OGs being able to get mitts on him. Once we take care of the middle, Timmons and Shazier will be great.

    - DBs are a mess. Troy is still taking risks, and guessing wrong. Yea, so he is flying around again - all in the wrong direction. In the movie, "Sea Biscuit," the horse owner, played by Jeff Bridges, asked the trainer upon watching the horse run the track, "Is he fast?" and the character played by Chris Cooper said, "Yea, in every direction," which is how I view Troy: showing flashes of great bursts, but never in the right direction at the right time. He has become embarrassing. And the way the refs are calling things, we are doubly doomed. What, was Dick sleeping the past few seasons? They are not going to allow us to hammer WRs anymore. When Ryan Clark was still here, he said, "In this defense, a hard hit is better than an interception." Well, the league won't allow for it anymore. Wake the F up. That may be the "Lubeae and Steeler way" but it is now outlawed, so make the adjustment, or keep getting flagged and fail. Mitchell, due to all the previous mention, is not showing much, other than a temper.

    Again, tack down what is somewhat solid and fix the other areas from there. With Ben calling plays, Bell really appears to be everything we thought he could be; he is a nice blend of power, speed, agility and a good receiver. Brown is awesome. OL could be OK if we find a way to get Gilbert off the field. Who is his primary back up? Put him in, whoever it is (unless it's Adams, the other giant FAIL of a 2nd round pick at OT).

    It ain't pretty. The largest holes are at NT, and OLB. Had those areas been solid, we'd not look as nearly as terrible right now. JJ not panning out to being an elite 3-4 OLB is going to kill us for years.

  3. #13
    Legend

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    First, Nose Tackle will continue to be a problem because when we had Joel Steed and Casey we were one of fewer than 25% of the league looking for that type of player. Now more than 50% want the same thing

    JJ is IMO still in the "show me" stage. Yes he got a sack, but he beat a very average blocking TE to get it. Still haven't seen him be able to beat a good Left tackle.

    ILBs won't be fine because we won't find that big NT anytime soon. If we can't control the LOS with three how about the radical idea of using four.

    I agree DBs are a total mess. No way to fix that soon except find a real pass rush again and get some free agent additions.
    "My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"

  4. #14
    Legend

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    Steelers Steve McLendon top PFF rankings in loss to Ravens

    By Neal Coolong on Sep 13 2014



    The positives weren't many but the negatives sure were in looking over the PFF grades in the Steelers' 26-6 loss to Baltimore.

    In a game with few positives, there weren't really many positives in terms of player rankings. Pro Football Focus, an NFL plays evaluation web site, agreed with that, by and large, giving only two Steelers players grades above 1.0 from Pittsburgh's 26-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Thursday night.

    Steve McLendon left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury, but not before having played a pretty solid game overall. Every member of the Steelers' defensive line shares some blame in allowing 125 rushing yards to Baltimore, but McLendon held his own individually. Perhaps the rough games from defensive end Cameron Heyward (-4.9, lowest of all Steelers) and Cam Thomas (-2.1) were larger contributory factors toward that.

    Wide receiver Antonio Brown missed a portion of the game, but recovered and managed to secure a 1.1 grade, his fifth consecutive game on the positive side dating back to last season. Brown had 90 yards on seven catches, giving him 18 consecutive games with at least five catches and 50 yards.

    After those two, it's all in the red for the Steelers. Along with Heyward's -4.9, the lowest of his career, cornerback Cortez Allen had a -4.5, and free safety added a -3.3 in one of the worst combined grades the Steelers secondary has had since the site's inception in 2007. That probably won't surprise any Steelers fans who have watched this team since then.

    The lack of pass rush is showing as well, as Jarvis Jones (0.8 overall) and Jason Worilds (0.3) combined for a -2.8 pass rush grade. The Steelers failed to register a sack or even a hit on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

    Offensively, WR Justin Brown's -3.5 was likely influenced by his fumble on the opening drive after his only catch of the game. Left guard Ramon Foster had a -3.0 and Ben Roethlisberger had a -1.9.

    [URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/nfl-pittsburgh-steelers-news/2014/9/13/6143643/steelers-ravens-report-card-nfl-week-2[/URL]

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