Reasons For Optimism

[NorthCoast]

Early reasons for optimism:

Todd Haley - I know I will get ripped, BUT Haley actually had a good gameplan to get A Brown freed up and he made some nice plays. The middle passes to the RB also had success. Mixed success in running between the tackles though, but in general I like Haley's play calling.

A Brown - simply cannot be shut down for a game, no matter what the defense does. One of the hardest workers in practice and it shows on the field. Has become Ben's security blanket. Aren't you glad the Steelers made the right choice between him and Wallace?

LeVeon Bell - Looks even better than last season. Maybe not Marshawn Lynch strong, but his patience and sudden burst will give defenses fits all season.

J Jones - not a JH and still needs to get stronger, but has been modestly improving each time I see him.

R Shazier - it was a tough night for him trying to cover the TEs, but didn't expect perfection this early and he showed good recovery on a few tackles.

Also, Wing's punting was decent for the most part, which is better than we could say most of last season.

[K Train]

Early reasons for optimism:

Todd Haley - I know I will get ripped, BUT Haley actually had a good gameplan to get A Brown freed up and he made some nice plays. The middle passes to the RB also had success. Mixed success in running between the tackles though, but in general I like Haley's play calling.

A Brown - simply cannot be shut down for a game, no matter what the defense does. One of the hardest workers in practice and it shows on the field. Has become Ben's security blanket. Aren't you glad the Steelers made the right choice between him and Wallace?

LeVeon Bell - Looks even better than last season. Maybe not Marshawn Lynch strong, but his patience and sudden burst will give defenses fits all season.

J Jones - not a JH and still needs to get stronger, but has been modestly improving each time I see him.

R Shazier - it was a tough night for him trying to cover the TEs, but didn't expect perfection this early and he showed good recovery on a few tackles.

Also, Wing's punting was decent for the most part, which is better than we could say most of last season.

Haley had a great game plan...only gripe i had was rushing antonio outside on 3rd and 5 inside the 20...bad call

Bell is a stud and the oline is playing the best its played in a decade, gilbert got raped a few times but DeCastro was AWESOME, beachum shut suggs down (he really frustrates pass rushers), pouncey and foster were both good, and gilbert....well, he played pretty bad for the most part

[SteelerOfDeVille]

Offensively, the team moved the ball decent to have played a good defense like the Ravens. Minus turnovers, this is a different game. Not a huge fan of our red-zone offensive play calling. Apart from shooting itself in the foot, I'm actually excited about this offense. By season's end, it may well be the highest scoring offense we've had in some time.

Most of my concern is with the defense and the lack of ability to... well, stop the run... or the pass... well, to basically play defense.

[bostonsteeler]

I lay the blame for the O more on the players' inability to hold on to the ball and Ben's random throwing (what was his rating for the game? 50?), than on coaching.
The D on the other hand is seriously worrisome. The fact that they've come out year after year since the SB against Az and laid increasingly larger turds, and the fact that there seems to be no ability to correct it, is worrisome.

[fezziwig]

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[fezziwig]

What the hell is up with my computer and this site ?

[Shoe]

what the hell is up with my computer and this site ?

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[fezziwig]

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Not hardly

[bostonsteeler]

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Come again??

[eniparadoxgma]

Come again??

"The offense really doesn't bohm(?) as much as the defense. If the defense could actually do its job, the offense could be so much better."

Am I in the ballpark, fezz?

[bostonsteeler]

"The offense really doesn't bohm(?) as much as the defense. If the defense could actually do its job, the offense could be so much better."

Am I in the ballpark, fezz?

I believe the "bohm" is "bother me"..

[eniparadoxgma]

Good catch. I was thinking John Bonham or Helena Bonham Carter...Neils Bohr... All of which are awesome in their own right. They just didn't seem to fit the context.

[fezziwig]

"The offense really doesn't bohm(?) as much as the defense. If the defense could actually do its job, the offense could be so much better."

Am I in the ballpark, fezz?

Excellent !

[B&GinNC]

Brad Wing's performance... the tiniest little things can often have a huge impact on winning. I can't tell you how many times I've watched the team play, exchange 3 and out drives with punts, and lose 20 yards of field position. Having a punter who can drop a kick inside the 20 when you're at midfield and boom one 50 + when you're backed up is huge. It seems the Steelers have had a long procession through here of guys who do the opposite - pad the distance stats with touchbacks and hit them 35 from the shadow of their own goal post. Reverse that trend and one of the hidden stats that has caused the team to lose more than it should despite cranking out a ton of yardage on offense and generally stopping people on defense goes away.

[Oviedo]

Brad Wing's performance... the tiniest little things can often have a huge impact on winning. I can't tell you how many times I've watched the team play, exchange 3 and out drives with punts, and lose 20 yards of field position. Having a punter who can drop a kick inside the 20 when you're at midfield and boom one 50 + when you're backed up is huge. It seems the Steelers have had a long procession through here of guys who do the opposite - pad the distance stats with touchbacks and hit them 35 from the shadow of their own goal post. Reverse that trend and one of the hidden stats that has caused the team to lose more than it should despite cranking out a ton of yardage on offense and generally stopping people on defense goes away.

I kinda like what Wing has been doing!!!!