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

[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.

[Sword]

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?

Exactly!!!! Our problems start with Coaching and Discipline which, the pats have down to a science.... please Steelers watch and learn....

[SidSmythe]

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.

Yep Yep Yep!!

[DBR96A]

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.

Only on defense. Roethlisberger got thrown into the pool. Granted, there were unusual circumstances, but thrown in the pool he certainly was.

[supersteeler]

Bens turkey bowl or backyard football served him well with three SB appearances, Brees, P. Manning,Rogers, all considered better than Ben by the media have one stinking ring.

Ben won't wow anyone with stats, or how he plays the game, but he has the hardware (rings) saying his brand of football might not be pleasing to fans but his goal is winning Super Bowls.

Btw, He is without a doubt the toughest QB out there, if all these other QB's played with the lines Ben had they wouldn't of lasted.

I get what your saying Mr. Pittsburgh and its a valid question but this offense isn't geared for tha ttype of offense neither is Ben.

[Slapstick]

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.

The Pats also limit the roles of these players to do what they do well...

They don't worry about a "workhorse, bread-and-butter" RB...the put the guys they hav in situations to succeed...

They do the same on defense as well...always have since Belichick became coach...

[feltdizz]

Only on defense. Roethlisberger got thrown into the pool. Granted, there were unusual circumstances, but thrown in the pool he certainly was.

I'm not talking about circumstances where you are forced to play a guy...

The Pats throw guys in on day one and see what they can do and if they can't handle the pressure they cut them or send them on their way the next year and replace them and do it all over again.

[feltdizz]

The Pats also limit the roles of these players to do what they do well...

They don't worry about a "workhorse, bread-and-butter" RB...the put the guys they hav in situations to succeed...

They do the same on defense as well...always have since Belichick became coach...

a guy like Worlids wouldn't sit on the sidelines... he would be on the field rushing the QB on situational downs from day 1. Lewis, Brown, Allen would already be on the field or kicked off the field by year 2.

On offense... Rainey and Batch would have been in space on day 1 abusing LB's and nickels instead of running between the tackles.

[Slapstick]

a guy like Worlids wouldn't sit on the sidelines... he would be on the field rushing the QB on situational downs from day 1. Lewis, Brown, Allen would already be on the field or kicked off the field by year 2.

On offense... Rainey and Batch would have been in space on day 1 abusing LB's and nickels instead of running between the tackles.

I agree...

[phillyesq]

a guy like Worlids wouldn't sit on the sidelines... he would be on the field rushing the QB on situational downs from day 1. Lewis, Brown, Allen would already be on the field or kicked off the field by year 2.

On offense... Rainey and Batch would have been in space on day 1 abusing LB's and nickels instead of running between the tackles.

Rainey and Batch aren't nearly as talented as the Pats* running backs. Rainey was put in some situations to see if he could break a play, but he was never able to separate from defenders and went down at first contact. He's no Woodhead.

The Pats* do use situational players better than the Steelers do, and better than the rest of the league.

Everybody talks about playing rookies like it is great, but sometimes rookies need development time. Would you have trotted Adams out there on day one, or played Starks/Gilbert, a solid vet and the Steelers ROY? DeCastro was going to start before his injury. Spence likely would have seen the field before year's end.

With the Pats*, for all their accolades, they've missed on a lot of high picks. They get a lot out of guys like Ninkovich, but have had a lot of high picks that are complete busts.

[bowldog]

Even with all the injuries we had this year we still have a championship caliber defense. It's the OFFENSE that needs to open up (have some diversity) like no-huddle more often. Even though Denver lost, you see Peyton in the no huddle with the play clock down to less than 5 seconds before they snap the ball. Ben is far more creative in that type of offense. The only problem is you can't have injuries to the line because they more than ever have to be in sync. IMO skill position players are easier to replace than linemen so load up on your linemen with multiple skillsets.