Facing fourth-and-1 at the Indianapolis 11

[Sword]

Had to be my favorite play all season so far....play to win!!!!
That is how you do it Tomlin and Haley!!

"Roethlisberger checked to a pass, rolled right and found tight end Heath miller for his sixth touchdown in the game"

Well Done!!!!

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

I think this week they will be so busy covering AB, #10 and #11 that Heath will be wide open a bunch of times just like that.

HERE WE GO!!

[papillon]

I wonder what everyone would be saying if the play failed? There is euphoria and a sense of playing to win, because the play succeeded and the Steelers won because of it. If Ben had taken the snap and moved the pile for the yard necessary everyone would have been saying what a great call it is to use your 250 pound quarterback to make a yard. Failure, in all likelihood, would have had many asking "Why pass the ball? You have a 250 pound quarterback let him lean forward." or if the sneak failed many would have been asking, "Why do you sneak it, play to win, put the ball in Ben's hands."

Success is a strong elixir.

Pappy

[K Train]

I wonder what everyone would be saying if the play failed? There is euphoria and a sense of playing to win, because the play succeeded and the Steelers won because of it. If Ben had taken the snap and moved the pile for the yard necessary everyone would have been saying what a great call it is to use your 250 pound quarterback to make a yard. Failure, in all likelihood, would have had many asking "Why pass the ball? You have a 250 pound quarterback let him lean forward." or if the sneak failed many would have been asking, "Why do you sneak it, play to win, put the ball in Ben's hands."

Success is a strong elixir.

Pappy

Dont wonder, look back a few weeks. Had it failed the coaches should be fired lol

[Slapstick]

It is a ballsy call that should inspire an increased level of confidence in the offense. It was daring and risky, but, because it worked so well, will pay dividends down the road, IMO.

[Ghost]

Reminded me of a few years back when the Steelers were playing the Jets in a playoff game and the entire world thought the Steelers would run and Ben hit Miller for a 1st down late in the game. I think it basically clinched the game. If I remember they even caught Rex Ryan on camera saying something along the lines of "I can't believe they f'n threw it".

I'm OK with putting the ball in the hands of two of your best play-makers. And going forward, its another wrinkle teams have to possibly prepare to deal with!

[Flasteel]

I wonder what everyone would be saying if the play failed? There is euphoria and a sense of playing to win, because the play succeeded and the Steelers won because of it. If Ben had taken the snap and moved the pile for the yard necessary everyone would have been saying what a great call it is to use your 250 pound quarterback to make a yard. Failure, in all likelihood, would have had many asking "Why pass the ball? You have a 250 pound quarterback let him lean forward." or if the sneak failed many would have been asking, "Why do you sneak it, play to win, put the ball in Ben's hands."

Success is a strong elixir.

Pappy

The first point would be that going for it was the right call to make, win or lose. I don't see you debating that, so I'll move on to the 2nd point.

As soon as I saw the offense get up to the line, the defense had those A gaps shut down. I was yelling "sneak...SNEAK" at the TV until I saw the defense loaded up in the middle. I kind of froze thinking about whether to take the play outside and by the time I started thinking clearly, we had snapped the ball and Ben was rolling to his right.

If we had run a sneak in that spot, I doubt it would have worked and I would have been screaming something more obscene at my TV. Credit Ben for recognizing the situation, calling the audible, and making the right call.

[Sword]

The first point would be that going for it was the right call to make, win or lose. I don't see you debating that, so I'll move on to the 2nd point.

As soon as I saw the offense get up to the line, the defense had those A gaps shut down. I was yelling "sneak...SNEAK" at the TV until I saw the defense loaded up in the middle. I kind of froze thinking about whether to take the play outside and by the time I started thinking clearly, we had snapped the ball and Ben was rolling to his right.

If we had run a sneak in that spot, I doubt it would have worked and I would have been screaming something more obscene at my TV. Credit Ben for recognizing the situation, calling the audible, and making the right call.

Was that play an audible?

[Captain Lemming]

Had to be my favorite play all season so far....play to win!!!!
That is how you do it Tomlin and Haley!!

"Roethlisberger checked to a pass, rolled right and found tight end Heath miller for his sixth touchdown in the game"

Well Done!!!!

Situational call, not ALWAYS right.
Ben was throwing 80 percent......as hot and as accurate as he has EVER been.
This was the right call.

We are blocking well inside but have been getting STUFFED in these situation. If it was how the Cowboys are running inside and Ben is not on fire? Different call.

[Iron City Inc.]

Ask Atlanta who went into a shell at the end of the second quarter up 21 how that worked for them.
I would rather loose being aggressive and taking a shot at the dagger then conservative try not to loose approach. Today's rules are designed to score so you need to score and not take your foot off the pedal.

[RuthlessBurgher]

My father told me right after that TD that he HATED this call, regardless of the outcome. Knowing the outcome allows people with 20-20 hindsight to applaud the plays that work and complain about the plays that don't.

On the post-game talk shows that we were listening to on the ride home, people were railing against the Ben punt that was blocked, saying that we should have kicked the FG instead. Well, it would have been a 50+ yard FG attempt toward the open end of Heinz on a somewhat windy day. If they miss that FG, then the Colts get the ball not at the line of scrimmage, but even further back to where the kick was made, 7-8 yards behind the LOS. A FG attempt by Suisham under the above conditions was likely a 50-50 proposition, while a punt block was much less likely, percentage-wise (even though in this particular case, the punt was, in fact, blocked).

[Discipline of Steel]

My father told me right after that TD that he HATED this call, regardless of the outcome. Knowing the outcome allows people with 20-20 hindsight to applaud the plays that work and complain about the plays that don't.

On the post-game talk shows that we were listening to on the ride home, people were railing against the Ben punt that was blocked, saying that we should have kicked the FG instead. Well, it would have been a 50+ yard FG attempt toward the open end of Heinz on a somewhat windy day. If they miss that FG, then the Colts get the ball not at the line of scrimmage, but even further back to where the kick was made, 7-8 yards behind the LOS. A FG attempt by Suisham under the above conditions was likely a 50-50 proposition, while a punt block was much less likely, percentage-wise (even though in this particular case, the punt was, in fact, blocked).

OK, but why not an actual punt in that situation? I realize BB has pooched it before...

[AxnJxn]

Situational call, not ALWAYS right.
Ben was throwing 80 percent......as hot and as accurate as he has EVER been.
This was the right call.

We are blocking well inside but have been getting STUFFED in these situation. If it was how the Cowboys are running inside and Ben is not on fire? Different call.

Big, big point on the situational call. That's what a lot of people seem to miss on here. They'll point to a play in a very different situation, and ask why people didn't want the same play. Case in point was the running play at the end of the Tampa game, or the long passes on 3rd and short in recent games.

This was a higher percentage play than the long passes - Ben had the option of running for the first down, too, if there wasn't anyone open. The Tampa running play was also a low percentage play for that situation - Tampa was expecting run in that situation. The reason this was a good call was the situation, not necessarily the play called.

[RobinCole]

Maybe it's just me but I've noticed that in short-yardage situations anywhere on the field, if the offense lines up in the "we're going to impose our will and run it down your throat" mode, the TE is always open if you simply fake the handoff and flip the ball to him.

[steelsnis]

Big, big point on the situational call. That's what a lot of people seem to miss on here. They'll point to a play in a very different situation, and ask why people didn't want the same play. Case in point was the running play at the end of the Tampa game, or the long passes on 3rd and short in recent games.

This was a higher percentage play than the long passes - Ben had the option of running for the first down, too, if there wasn't anyone open. The Tampa running play was also a low percentage play for that situation - Tampa was expecting run in that situation. The reason this was a good call was the situation, not necessarily the play called.

I absolutely LOVED the 4th & 1 call. You have to go for it in this situation. You're already up 10 and kicking a field goal and going up 13 is not really all that helpful. I loved Tomlin's response when asked about it. We've been WAITING for the team to stay on the gas pedal. You can't just turtle up like you could during the 90's. Teams are routinely coming back from huge deficits every week.

As far as the pass goes, I loved it as well. 4th and short QB sneak or fullback dive is so predictable, I loved the pass to Miller. Takes some cajones to call it, but IMO it's a great call.