Tomlin said, Jets game will define us....

[Sword]

[URL]http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2014/11/05/Tomlin-worries-about-letdown/stories/201411050092[/URL]

Well, what does it say about us now...we cannot beat losing teams?
This is on the coaches game plan, preparing to play losing teams...
How many times have we seen this the last several years?

[WindyCitySteel]

First, it's "losing". 2nd, his record in this regard is indefensible. Here is a snapshot of some of the season crushing losses this team has endured under Tomlin's hand.

2014: 0-3 (now 1-8 ) Bucs, 1-8 Jets
2013: 0-3 (5-10-1) Vikes, 2-4 Raiders
2012: 0-2 (4-12) Raiders, 1-4 Titans, 2-8 Browns, 4-8 Chargers
2009: 1-11 Browns, 2-7 Chiefs, 3-8 Raiders
2007: 1-8 Jets

[feltdizz]

It says we haven't turned the corner yet. Most of us hoped we got rid of the "playing down to lesser opponents" mentality but we are still the same old Steelers of the last 3 years.

We have a team who doesn't realize the games against the bad teams are the ones that show the true character of a team.

[WindyCitySteel]

Agreed, fd. I drank the Kool Aid and expected them to roll the Jets, which was foolish on my part. Now I just hope they can find a way to beat the awful Titans, but I'm sure Tennessee is licking their chops for a get well game while we get to hear "we don't look at records, they get paid too, not overlooking anyone, blah blah blah" all week again.

A loss Sunday and they go into Unleash Hell Tailspin Mode.

[BURGH86STEEL]

If the offense gives the ball away 4 times again this team will probably lose.

[Ghost]

First quarter: Jets 164 yards - Steelers 5 yards. That's pathetically embarrassing and shows a team totally unprepared to play from the start. All the talk about not having a let down from the head coach inspired no one.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

First quarter: Jets 164 yards - Steelers 5 yards. That's pathetically embarrassing and shows a team totally unprepared to play from the start. All the talk about not having a let down from the head coach inspired no one.

But brad wing didn't punt very often!!!!!

Everything is fine!!!!!

[Slapstick]

If the offense gives the ball away 4 times again this team will probably lose.

Yep. This is an easy recipe to lose in the NFL...

[squidkid]

looks like tomlin finally has put his stamp on the team

[WindyCitySteel]

Why do the Steelers always turn the ball over against these bad teams? Could it be that they're playing tight? That was a conservative game plan on both sides of the ball, as if the coaches thought they could just line up and impose their will.

It was obvious the team was pressing after it fell down early and the Jets were chewing clock.

[hawaiiansteel]

Ron Cook: No simple explanation for loss, or is there?

November 11, 2014
By Ron Cook/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



On behalf of Steelers fans everywhere, not just in Pittsburgh but around the world, the question was posed to veteran defensive end Brett Keisel, probably the wisest head, not to mention grayest beard, in the locker room.

So how can the Steelers look so terrific in beating good teams such as the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens and look so awful in getting licked by a bad team such as the 1-8 New York Jets?

“It happens every week. It happens in college. It happens in the pros,” Keisel said. “It’s crazy. Sometimes, you play the game and things just don’t work out.”

That’s fine, but it really doesn’t answer the question. It doesn’t explain how the Jets, who had forced three turnovers all season, forced three by the Steelers in the first half and four for the game in their stunning or sickening — depending on your point of view — 20-13 win Sunday. It doesn’t explain how Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, coming off the two greatest consecutive regular-season games in NFL history, can play a pedestrian game against a lousy pass defense and throw two interceptions. It doesn’t explain how the Steelers, who averaged 41.3 points in a three-game winning streak against the Houston Texans, Colts and Ravens, couldn’t score a touchdown until 1:16 was left on an 80-yard pass to wide-open wide receiver Martavis Bryant. It doesn’t explain how the Steelers defense, which forced seven turnovers in the winning streak, couldn’t force one against the Jets, who had committed 18 coming in.

“Everyone talks about NFL teams’ records, but, bottom line is, they’ve got a lot of good football players over there,” Keisel said, taking another shot. “That’s how it usually is every week. Everyone has a good team. They might not just be putting it together.”

I’ll buy that. The other guys get paid, too. They are professionals. “People are going to look at our record and say, ‘Oh, the Jets [stink],’” linebacker Calvin Pace said. “We lose games by a matter of three-to-five plays that determine the game. This is the NFL. It’s hard to win. I don’t care who we’re playing. It really is hard to win.”

OK, let’s stipulate to that point. Good teams do lose to teams with bad records. But the problem is the Steelers do it more often than most. This season, despite their 6-4 record, they have lost to the Jets and the 1-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last season, when they finished 8-8, they lost six times to teams that missed the playoffs. In 2012, when they also went 8-8, they lost four games to teams with a losing record.

“If there was a pattern, we would find a way to fix it,” Roethlisberger said.

It must be poor coaching, right? Blame Mike Tomlin. The Steelers aren’t prepared for games against inferior — or alleged inferior — competition. That must be it.

“I think guys prepared well,” Keisel said. “We had a good week of practice. We did. I wish I could put a finger on exactly what it was. I don’t think it was that. I think guys prepared. I just think, for one reason or another, it wasn’t our day.”

The reality is it’s more a matter of turnovers than bad coaching. Turnovers are the common denominator in the Steelers’ worst defeats. In their losses to Tampa Bay and the Jets this season, to Minnesota and Oakland last season and to Oakland and Cleveland in 2012, they committed 19 turnovers and forced just five.

“If you turn the ball over, it will kill you,” Roethlisberger said.

There is another possible explanation here, you know? There is another possible reason the Steelers lose so many games to losing teams. Could it be they aren’t a very good team themselves? That they are just a mediocre bunch? That they are headed to another 8-8 season, which is the definition of mediocrity?

Keisel wasn’t buying that, of course.

“I still have confidence and faith in our team to respond. That’s all you can do. You can’t turn back the clock. You can’t jump in a time machine and come back and play this thing again. You can’t sit there and whine about it. ‘We should have done this. We should have done that.’ You’ve got to accept it. You’ve got to deal with it. You’ve got to move forward. That’s just being a pro.

“The bottom line is everyone in here understands we have a good team. That’s the biggest thing. Everyone is upset because we know we’re better than how we played.”

The Steelers remain very much in the AFC North Division race, which Keisel described as a “jumbled mess.” Cleveland is first with a 6-3 record and is followed by Cincinnati at 5-3-1. The Steelers and Baltimore share last place at 6-4.

Here’s the kicker, though, and I don’t mean Shaun Suisham:

The Steelers’ next game is Monday night at Tennessee. The Titans are 2-7.

Look out.

[URL]http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2014/11/11/Ron-Cook-No-simple-explanation-for-loss-or-is-there/stories/201411110095[/URL]