Funny how we view success

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Against any other team, this board would be full of complaints about the offense following yesterdays game.

"sure we dominated them but we settled for four FG attempts."

"This will not fly against a good team"

"That game reminded me of the Houston game of '06"

"Thanks to the inefficient O we let them have the ball back on the last drive with a chance to win"

"A good QB would have capitalized on all of our missed opportunities"

"We can't always count on our D to save us"


Yet against the worst D in the league it seems that all is okay with four FG attempts. Twice we were inside the ten, once inside the 20, and the missed one we were down at the 26.

[LouSteel]

Re: Funny how we view success

The Pats may have the worst pass D overall, but they have a strong run D and are middle of the pack (17th) in scoring D.

Even a terrible pass D looks better when you only have to cover 20 yards at a time

I'm not happy with 4 FGAs, especially since I still believe we have an incredibly unreliable kicker. But when the other team has a very good run D and is efficient at preventing scoring, you take what you can get.

4 FGAs against a team like, say, the Colts -- second to last against the run, terrible against the pass, and dead last in scoring D -- THAT would be something to worry about...

... OH WAIT, we DID attempt 4 FGs against a terrible team ([url="http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2011092514/2011/REG3/steelers@colts#menu=highlights&tab=analyze"]http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201109251 ... ab=analyze[/url]).

Maybe THAT's why we've all been worried...

[flippy]

Re: Funny how we view success

Against any other team, this board would be full of complaints about the offense following yesterdays game.

"sure we dominated them but we settled for four FG attempts."

"This will not fly against a good team"

"That game reminded me of the Houston game of '06"

"Thanks to the inefficient O we let them have the ball back on the last drive with a chance to win"

"A good QB would have capitalized on all of our missed opportunities"

"We can't always count on our D to save us"


Yet against the worst D in the league it seems that all is okay with four FG attempts. Twice we were inside the ten, once inside the 20, and the missed one we were down at the 26.

Good point. I wasn't thrilled by the performance, but glad we finally beat NE.

The score differential should have been much greater.

Ben did take 5 sacks despite not seeing much pressure.

And we just didn't convert as well as we need to in the redzone.

And we don't have a kicker that we can trust beyond 35 yard FGs.

But we won, so I'll take it.

Hopefully we keep getting better.

And we did a lot with a lot of young guys which bodes well for the future.

[Eich]

Re: Funny how we view success

I think we're all just so thrilled with the fact that our coaches finally put all the players in the best position to win a game against a team that we all hate and against a team that is actually very good.

This team took a major step in the right direction yesterday. We finally did what Mike Tomlin said he wanted to do a few years ago.... play to exploit the weaknesses of the other team.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Funny how we view success

The Pats may have the worst pass D overall, but they have a strong run D and are middle of the pack (17th) in scoring D.

Even a terrible pass D looks better when you only have to cover 20 yards at a time

I'm not happy with 4 FGAs, especially since I still believe we have an incredibly unreliable kicker. But when the other team has a very good run D and is efficient at preventing scoring, you take what you can get.

4 FGAs against a team like, say, the Colts -- second to last against the run, terrible against the pass, and dead last in scoring D -- THAT would be something to worry about...

... OH WAIT, we DID attempt 4 FGs against a terrible team ([url="http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2011092514/2011/REG3/steelers@colts#menu=highlights&tab=analyze"]http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201109251 ... ab=analyze[/url]).

Maybe THAT's why we've all been worried...

If we are in the same situation next week - putting the opposing offense back on the field late with a chance to win - then all we will hear about is how the game was too close because we couldn't seal the deal on offense. And that would be against the Ravens who are significantly better in all phases of D than the Pats.

Our O did what they should, but the D stepped up by holding one of the league's most explosive offense to 213 total yards (avg. 437.1 ypg) and 17 points (28.9 ppg), and these numbers have averaged down after this game, they were higher before.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Funny how we view success

Ben did take 5 sacks despite not seeing much pressure.

FWIW, two of those sacks were not real sacks, they were almost QB kneel plays. I think that Ben dropped back and only if a receiver was given a completely free release he would have thrown, otherwise he was just going down cradling the ball.

The end really showed how little faith we have in our kicker. Coming out of the 2 minute warning we had 2nd and 11 on the Pats 28. From there it was a 45 yarder. Traditional logic would dictate that you run the ball two more times and hopefully get a first, but if you don't then maybe you move the ball 5 or 6 yards closer to attempt a 40 yarder and make the game a 9 point game which would put it away. Nothing to gamble, but just a couple of tries and maybe we get lucky and break one for a first down.

Tomlin didn't even want to tempt himself to try it. It was like he didn't want to get it to 4th and 1 at the 18 and have to hold his breath on a 35 yard attempt. He would rather rely on his D to close out the game by backing up and punting it.

[williar]

Re: Funny how we view success

Against any other team, this board would be full of complaints about the offense following yesterdays game.

"sure we dominated them but we settled for four FG attempts."

"This will not fly against a good team"

"That game reminded me of the Houston game of '06"

"Thanks to the inefficient O we let them have the ball back on the last drive with a chance to win"

"A good QB would have capitalized on all of our missed opportunities"

"We can't always count on our D to save us"


Yet against the worst D in the league it seems that all is okay with four FG attempts. Twice we were inside the ten, once inside the 20, and the missed one we were down at the 26.

As thrilled as I am that we finally showed we can beat a team with an elite QB and a great offense, I am very concerned we didn't put this team away with several opportunities we had to do so. It was crazy for me to be biting my nails with 2 minutes to go with only a 6 point lead. I kept thing how poetic justice it would be for the pats to score and beat us for us kicking all of those damn field goals and not scoring touchdowns.

Our offense played great ball control which was a thing of beauty, however you still got to score touchdowns to be successful...

[papillon]

Re: Funny how we view success

I hear what everyone is saying about not putting the Patriots away when we had an opportunity. On the other hand, they are a good football team and well coached, so you aren't going to necessarily blow them out even when you out play them. The Steelers goal now has to be able to play consistently like they did today and they will be a tough out in the playoffs.

Pappy

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Funny how we view success

I hear what everyone is saying about not putting the Patriots away when we had an opportunity. On the other hand, they are a good football team and well coached, so you aren't going to necessarily blow them out even when you out play them. The Steelers goal now has to be able to play consistently like they did today and they will be a tough out in the playoffs.

Pappy

Don't get me wrong, my point is more about the fans than about how the team played. It seems that the fans are taking it easier today because it was NE than they would against any other D if the same results happened.

[Slapstick]

Re: Funny how we view success

You are right...

The Steelers did a lot of the same things against a "good" team that they did against a "bad" team and still won by 8 points...

Perhaps the difference between a "good" team in the NFL and a "bad" team isn't as great as some fans (and media talking heads) make it out to be...

[Notleadpoisoned]

Re: Funny how we view success

You are right...
Perhaps the difference between a "good" team in the NFL and a "bad" team isn't as great as some fans (and media talking heads) make it out to be...

That Saints/Rams game yesterday pretty much proves your point here.

[Keyplay1]

Re: Funny how we view success

All of the above, but as Flippy said "[color=#40FFBF]And we did a lot with a lot of young guys which bodes well for the future."

Since there were so many positives in this game, the "youth movement" [albeit forced] has been overlooked somewhat. We knew both Ward and Farrior would be out so Antonio Brown and Sly Sylvester would play but frankly I was surprised to see how much C. Allen and Chris Carter contributed. With Ziggy Hood starting and probably Heyward and McClendon spelling the starters and with younger players like Keenan Lewis being visible and probably a couple others getting in on ST/s, it was possible that at times the Steelers had one of the youngest teams in the league on the field.

Reason I mention this was, last night I spent a couple hours looking at what the major sports media had to say about the game. I checked out Pro Football Weekly, The Sporting News, CBS Sportsline, Sports Illustrated, Fox etc.

Anyway a lot was made of the "old and slow" theme. That was buried for sure. Overall, the reports were I thought glowing. Maybe a bit too glowing.

[Eich]

Re: Funny how we view success

I don't get why fan reaction is a surprise here.

We beat a 5-1 Pats* team that has had our number for years and is consistently one of the top teams in the league. And we did it by playing an aggressive game on both sides of the ball.

All we heard all week long is how bad our record is against them and now dangerous Bellichick is with 2 weeks to prepare.

How is this win not more impressive and satisfying than squeaking by the Manning-less Colts?

[Slapstick]

Re: Funny how we view success

I'm not a big Herm Edwards fan, but I do believe that he was right when he said, "It's the NFL. Everybody's good. It's just hard to win."

[ikestops85]

Re: Funny how we view success

It is funny how we view success. Take a guy like Willie Gay. He had a good rookie season ... a bad sophomore season ... an up and down 3rd year ... and so far a great 4th season. I hardly remember his name being called in the last few games and that is a good thing for a defensive back.

Everybody who wanted Gay cut going into this season raise your hand. Yes, mine is in the air. As fans I think we forget that it takes time for these young guys to learn their craft at the professional level. When they have a bad few games or a bad season we consider them a 'bust'. Lewis is another example of a guy many thought was a failure.

We fans need to remember that it takes time for some to be considered a 'success'. I don't know whether Gay and Lewis will continue their good play this year but it sure looks brighter than it did last year. I hope we remember this when it comes to Allen and Brown (if he gets on the field).