PIT at CIN

[Buzz]

Each week more weaknesses on the defense are being exposed.
LBs excluding Watt were a mess tonight. Williamson is a good tackler after 5 yds of gain. Regardless of what the Steelers think, Allen at LB is just a guy.

Definitely weakness in the middle of our D (due to the injuries) that smart teams will exploit
no easy, good solution at this stage of the season, IMO

[feltdizz]

No doubt Ben played a horrible game but there’s plenty of blame to go around. Defense could of held them to field goals instead of TD’s after the turnovers. O line can’t run or pass block. After Pitt got it to a one score game the defense gave up a 80 yard TD drive. Play calling is crap. Defenses is sitting on the short game pass that also puts them in place to stop the run. Ben is only part of the problem.

our DL isn’t making plays. No one should be surprised the LB’s aren’t playing well, they are all knew besides Watt.

Ben is definitely a large part of why we lost. Fumbled snap, INT and throwing into triple coverage... and now defenses are just sitting and waiting to light up receivers.

If we can’t throw intermediate stiff we won’t win another game unless we really commit to the run with Snell. He was the lone bright spot today.

and can we please stop throwing every pass to DJ. 8 receptions for 55 yards at one point. Those are pathetic numbers.

[Buzz]

So is Highsmith. That TD was downright ugly.

Yeah. I'm hopeful that he will improve in the next couple of years, but right now, he's a long way from the level of the guy he replaced

[Buzz]

our DL isn’t making plays. No one should be surprised the LB’s aren’t playing well, they are all knew besides Watt.

Ben is definitely a large part of why we lost. Fumbled snap, INT and throwing into triple coverage... and now defenses are just sitting and waiting to light up receivers.

If we can’t throw intermediate stiff we won’t win another game unless we really commit to the run with Snell. He was the lone bright spot today.

and can we please stop throwing every pass to DJ. 8 receptions for 55 yards at one point. Those are pathetic numbers.

Reason is, he's consistently the one who's open the quickest

But I agree w/you, got to get some intermediate and a few occasional long passes to work or this offense is cooked

Snell ran well, but we're still looking for a real good short-yardage back, IMO

[NorthCoast]

Yeah. I'm hopeful that he will improve in the next couple of years, but right now, he's a long way from the level of the guy he replaced

In fairness it did take that guy 5 yrs to get it.
I think the Steelers will be forced to make a lot of changes next season.

[feltdizz]

Reason is, he's consistently the one who's open the quickest

But I agree w/you, got to get some intermediate and a few occasional long passes to work or this offense is cooked

Snell ran well, but we're still looking for a real good short-yardage back, IMO

I’m not sure Ben can get it there consistently anymore. Eli hit that wall too pretty quick. Just feels like the game may be too fast for Ben now.

Seeing Finley run for that TD was depressing.. first off it pretty much sealed the game but it also highlighted how old we are at the QB position. Really thought I would see Ben bounce back this game and put up some numbers.

[Northern_Blitz]

So...if there's a bright side:
1) They didn't quit in the 2nd.
2) Ben looked like an NFL QB in the 2nd half (but not enough to overcome how bad he was in the 1st).
3) If we can limit turnovers and drops and the D plays great we can still maybe win a game or two in the playoffs. Hopefully the middle of the D looks better if / when Vince can come back from Covid (and I think Spillane is supposed to be able to come back too).

Magic number is still 1 to win the division because the Browns division record is bad.

Maybe that second half is something to build off of? Although it's hard to put together a moral victory at this point.

[Buzz]

So...if there's a bright side:
1) They didn't quit in the 2nd.
2) Ben looked like an NFL QB in the 2nd half (but not enough to overcome how bad he was in the 1st).
3) If we can limit turnovers and drops and the D plays great we can still maybe win a game or two in the playoffs. Hopefully the middle of the D looks better if / when Vince can come back from Covid (and I think Spillane is supposed to be able to come back too).

Magic number is still 1 to win the division because the Browns division record is bad.

Maybe that second half is something to build off of?

I like it ... we've had our slide, now it's time to start on another long winning streak!

[Eich]

I love optimism. But I've run out of it. We're the worst team in the league. I'll be beyond shocked if we win another game this season.

It's so blatantly easy to game plan for this offense and we've shown no ability to counter despite knowing for 100% certain, what the defense is going to do against us.

At this point, this year's offense is worse than last year's IMO. Some of it is on the O-line. Some of it is on Ben. Some of it is on young receivers hitting a wall. But I've seen nothing coming from the play calling to help. Defenses know what's coming. We can't impose any kind of will.

I'd fire Fichtner if for no other reason than a change of scenery. Get someone young, hungry and creative.

[KYPITTFAN]

Tomlin: The standard is the standard. Tomlin: We have to be consistently, consistent. Tomlin: We have to be above the line. Tomlin has never dropped a pass, missed a tackle or threw a INT but all of these (his platitudes) can also be applied to his head coach position. Pittsburgh's standard is to lose games that they should not. Pittsburgh is consistently consistent in losing these games. Pittsburgh is not above the line. Everyone on this board knows we have had a Hall of Fame QB and a great cast of supporting players multiple years with no SB other than Cowards team to show for it. I'm from KY where we bleed KY basketball. We have the same now in coach Cal. Great seasons, you go to games knowing you most likely will see your team win but no championship. Coach Cal will not be at KY much longer. Tomlin for all his regular season success must go for us to someday win another SB.

[feltdizz]

Tomlin: The standard is the standard. Tomlin: We have to be consistently, consistent. Tomlin: We have to be above the line. Tomlin has never dropped a pass, missed a tackle or threw a INT but all of these (his platitudes) can also be applied to his head coach position. Pittsburgh's standard is to lose games that they should not. Pittsburgh is consistently consistent in losing these games. Pittsburgh is not above the line. Everyone on this board knows we have had a Hall of Fame QB and a great cast of supporting players multiple years with no SB other than Cowards team to show for it. I'm from KY where we bleed KY basketball. We have the same now in coach Cal. Great seasons, you go to games knowing you most likely will see your team win but no championship. Coach Cal will not be at KY much longer. Tomlin for all his regular season success must go for us to someday win another SB.

Kentucky basketball fans are like Texas Longhorn football fans. They think championships are owed to them because of the name on the jersey.

Steeler fans are the same way. This idea that Ben should have more hardware because he’s a HOFer is ridiculous.

Besides Brady name one modern era QB headed to the HOF with 3 rings. SB’s are hard, NE just made it look easy because they cheated and got a ton of head scratching calls during their dynasty run.

I would love more rings but look at all these other great coaches who have “wasted” their HOFer QB’s careers because they couldn’t get back to
more SB’s.

[Starlifter]

I've said multiple times - a successful season to me is making the playoffs. A long playoff run and a SB is just an added bonus.

Ben might be hurt, his arm might be dead and his time might be coming to an end sooner rather than later. But he's largely delivered successful seasons in most of his career. The Steelers chose wisely, they have the hardware to show for it and I'll never take for granted how much fun most of the last 18 years (with Ben) has been.

Doesn't mean the last 3 weeks haven't sucked - but that's a micro picture. Truthfully, this team has been on a roll nearly non-stop since Cowher took over. That's why so many lose their minds when we lose, it's just not common. I fall into the same trap - especially on gameday, but when Ben finally steps down - it won't be with me screaming to show him the door. I'll be toasting almost two decades of fun and winning football.

[Sly]

Kentucky basketball fans are like Texas Longhorn football fans. They think championships are owed to them because of the name on the jersey.

Steeler fans are the same way. This idea that Ben should have more hardware because he’s a HOFer is ridiculous.

Besides Brady name one modern era QB headed to the HOF with 3 rings. SB’s are hard, NE just made it look easy because they cheated and got a ton of head scratching calls during their dynasty run.

I would love more rings but look at all these other great coaches who have “wasted” their HOFer QB’s careers because they couldn’t get back to
more SB’s.

Good perspective. There are 32 NFL teams and other than New England, I'd expect that fans of the other NFL cities would love to have had the success of the Steelers in the 21st century. Winning a Super Bowl as a criterion for a successful season is not realistic. Winning a Super Bowl requires not only a talented team with outstanding coaching, but lots of luck. The following link rates the most successful NFL teams: https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/8s1riv/all_32_teams_ranked_by_21st_century/

[Northern_Blitz]

I like the breakdown videos that Alex K (from the Depot) does on Youtube.

Here's one on Ben in Cincy.

[Sly]

I like the breakdown videos that Alex K (from the Depot) does on Youtube.

Here's one on Ben in Cincy.

What the video illustrates is just how difficult it is to complete intermediate passes when the defense is not concerned with a team's running game or long passing threats. I can't recall linebackers ever dropping back so quickly into the intermediate passing lanes. It seemed every time Ben threw a pass, there were three Bengal defenders nearby.

100% certainty that the Colts will do the same with their defense.