Game day Thread: Steelers - Raiders

[feltdizz]

we punted with 8:30 left. That decision wasn’t the end of the game.

Not being able to get stops after our FG and our D looking lost without Haden is the reason we lost.

When Haden is missing in action the secondary looks pedestrian. Just like last year.. smh.

[BURGH86STEEL]

I said, IF the offense had show some rhythm. They hadn't. That was the point. You were 1 foot away from keeping a drive going that we desperately needed. That's why it was the wrong decision. The way the offense was playing, opportunities to keep advancing were limited. Your point is that the decision was correct because the defense stopped the raiders next possession - even though it squandered precious minutes. Well, my point is the Steelers gave the ball back to the raiders - ran out of time and LOST the game. The decision to punt directly led to that loss.

The decision to punt didn't directly lead to the loss. You assume that the Steelers would had converted on 4th down. I don't assume based on the inexperience on the Oline.

I don't believe any team should potentially conceed potential points in a tight game with 8+ minutes left.

It's less challenging to score a TD and a FG than it is to score two TDs with limited time left. If the offense didn't convert on 4th and 1, the Raiders could had potentially gone up 13 to 17 points. That's my thought process.

[Disco1981]

Adamantly defends his player who SPITS in an opposing players face...

HOF COACH!

[Disco1981]

There weren't any, which is why you bring in a legit veteran. Maybe there were good lineman in the 2nd round, but we chose to draft a TE (who has a cool 5 catches through 2 games btw).

I also notice nobody commented on Mike 'Lombardi' Tomlin's decision to dick around with 3 seconds left and get our top WR injured.

I did.........

[Eich]

we punted with 8:30 left. That decision wasn’t the end of the game.

Not being able to get stops after our FG and our D looking lost without Haden is the reason we lost.

When Haden is missing in action the secondary looks pedestrian. Just like last year.. smh.

We might have been able to survive the loss of Haden. But Haden AND Watt? That's a massive double-whammy. The threat of a signficant pass rush went bye-bye when he came up limp. Still, I was disappointed that we couldn't stop a 61 yard bomb at the end. We should be able to defend that a lot better. Minkah was fooled.

[feltdizz]

The decision to punt didn't directly lead to the loss. You assume that the Steelers would had converted on 4th down. I don't assume based on the inexperience on the Oline.

I don't believe any team should potentially conceed potential points in a tight game with 8+ minutes left.

It's less challenging to score a TD and a FG than it is to score two TDs with limited time left. If the offense didn't convert on 4th and 1, the Raiders could had potentially gone up 13 to 17 points. That's my thought process.

yeah.. People act like there was 4 minutes left in the game.

We had enough time, we just didn’t execute on D after the FG.

The amount of injuries to this defense is alarming.

[T.Ferguson]

Your only saying it was a bad decision because the defense didnt get the stop, we had enough time we just didnt execute. You would of complained the other way if we went for it and turned the ball over on downs right there.

Nope, I mentioned to my brother that the game was over at that point, I mean yeah technically Steelers could still win but the odds of that happening just dropped dramatically. Tomlin continually does crap like this, he did it last year against Cleveland and he never learns, it's maddening.

[feltdizz]

We might have been able to survive the loss of Haden. But Haden AND Watt? That's a massive double-whammy. The threat of a signficant pass rush went bye-bye when he came up limp. Still, I was disappointed that we couldn't stop a 61 yard bomb at the end. We should be able to defend that a lot better. Minkah was fooled.

yeah.. Minkah was toast on that play.

Great call and great throw by Carr. He hung in there and took a shot.

[Starlifter]

we punted with 8:30 left. That decision wasn’t the end of the game.

Not being able to get stops after our FG and our D looking lost without Haden is the reason we lost.

When Haden is missing in action the secondary looks pedestrian. Just like last year.. smh.

Both this and DK's points above are why I believed going for 4th down was the correct strategy. We had lost HALF our starting defense and playing the percentages by putting them back on the field against Carr who was sitting around a 75% competition rate at that point is the wrong choice when you're 1 foot away from keeping the ball.

But so be it. The punt decision was not the sole reason the Steelers lost that game, there were more reasons than can be counted.

Truth be told, didn't this game unfold the way many of us predicted before the season started? The O-line would be bad. The offense would struggle. The defense would keep the game close and we'd need a few breaks/splash plays to win the game. Even though I've focused on the 4th down a bit - in reality it's losing 4 starters on Defense that I think was the most important factor. Nothing Tomlin could do about that. We needed our Defense to be one possession more stingy and keep it within a one score game.

That's going to likely be the same script next week as well. This offense isn't going to put up 35 points anytime soon. Our Defense needs to keep the Bungles under 20 points for us to have a chance.

[feltdizz]

Nope, I mentioned to my brother that the game was over at that point, I mean yeah technically Steelers could still win but the odds of that happening just dropped dramatically. Tomlin continually does crap like this, he did it last year against Cleveland and he never learns, it's maddening.

I mean.. technically the game was over after the 61 yard bomb while half our freaking starting D watched it in street clothes.

but sure.. if you hate on Tomlin the decision to punt from your 30 with 8:30 left was the main reason we lost.

[Starlifter]

The decision to punt didn't directly lead to the loss. You assume that the Steelers would had converted on 4th down. I don't assume based on the inexperience on the Oline.

I don't believe any team should potentially conceed potential points in a tight game with 8+ minutes left.

It's less challenging to score a TD and a FG than it is to score two TDs with limited time left. If the offense didn't convert on 4th and 1, the Raiders could had potentially gone up 13 to 17 points. That's my thought process.

I don't assume anything, I'm not saying your thought process is wrong (in a typical game). I think its 50/50 they convert and absolutely agree if they don't, the game is over at that point with 8 minutes left. But as I just said above, when half your starting defense is on the sideline, opportunities are fading and you're 1 foot away from continuing a drive that's really needed with time fading - hey, let's not live in our fears.

And at this point - I'm on to cincy..........

[flippy]

I don't assume anything, I'm not saying your thought process is wrong (in a typical game). I think its 50/50 they convert and absolutely agree if they don't, the game is over at that point with 8 minutes left. But as I just said above, when half your starting defense is on the sideline, opportunities are fading and you're 1 foot away from continuing a drive that's really needed with time fading - hey, let's not live in our fears.

And at this point - I'm on to cincy..........

Maybe some of Tomlin’s thought process at that point is he still trusted our D and ST to make a play vs our O making a play.

And that may not be that unreasonable with half our starters missing.

I also think it sends a signal for the long term that he trusts the D. That will pay dividends for the remainder of this season. It’s a long season and we’ve got young guys and vets that will continue to develop together.

[feltdizz]

Both this and DK's points above are why I believed going for 4th down was the correct strategy. We had lost HALF our starting defense and playing the percentages by putting them back on the field against Carr who was sitting around a 75% competition rate at that point is the wrong choice when you're 1 foot away from keeping the ball.

But so be it. The punt decision was not the sole reason the Steelers lost that game, there were more reasons than can be counted.

Truth be told, didn't this game unfold the way many of us predicted before the season started? The O-line would be bad. The offense would struggle. The defense would keep the game close and we'd need a few breaks/splash plays to win the game. Even though I've focused on the 4th down a bit - in reality it's losing 4 starters on Defense that I think was the most important factor. Nothing Tomlin could do about that. We needed our Defense to be one possession more stingy and keep it within a one score game.

That's going to likely be the same script next week as well. This offense isn't going to put up 35 points anytime soon. Our Defense needs to keep the Bungles under 20 points for us to have a chance.

I didn’t plan on our D being this fragile this early.

I expected the O to take some time to gel because the OL is young and Ben is old.. lol.

But I also expected more passing plays designed for Najee and more creativity in play design.

I think teams will dare us to beat them deep until we prove we can.

[Northern_Blitz]

just thought of a question

which radio broadcast did you listen to?

what did thy say on the INT intedend for DJ.

the TV crew pointed out how DJ stopped his route looking for a call making it an easy INT for the raider DB.
wondering if the radio crew mentioned something similar

Looking at the highlight pack now.

Int at ~ 0.52

It does look like DJ slows down.

But I wonder who the intended target is here. I think DJ is probably the intended target, but it could be Juju too.

Seems odd to have Juju and DJ both there.

Juju is actually closer to it when it comes down. Maybe because DJ pulled up? Maybe DJ pulled up because he didn't want to run his defender into Juju's route?

Maybe Ben said who he was throwing to in the presser?

I think we'd probably have fewer mistakes like whatever this was if we could have some level of success on 1st or 2nd down.

If Johnson keeps running he probably at least limits the yards after the pick.

[papillon]

Looking at the highlight pack now.

Int at ~ 0.52

It does look like DJ slows down.

But I wonder who the intended target is here. I think DJ is probably the intended target, but it could be Juju too.

Seems odd to have Juju and DJ both there.

Juju is actually closer to it when it comes down. Maybe because DJ pulled up? Maybe DJ pulled up because he didn't want to run his defender into Juju's route?

Maybe Ben said who he was throwing to in the presser?

I think we'd probably have fewer mistakes like whatever this was if we could have some level of success on 1st or 2nd down.

If Johnson keeps running he probably at least limits the yards after the pick.

Ok, I think we can officially say that Ben's arm is fine. I watched the entire montage and getting the ball to the intended target is not the problem. Ben is seeing the field and picking out open receivers and not one pass was thrown in over 3 seconds. The protection for the most part was good. Of course, this was a highlight reel so there weren't any bad plays during the 12 minutes. Anyhow, after watching the clips and seeing the ball delivery and time in the pocket I'm not as concerned about Ben. I think consistency is the problem. They don't have enough drives (even if they end up in punts) where the offense gets a couple 1st downs before the punt. It seems like its feast or famine on their possessions, they either score points or go 3 and out, there's no happy medium to gain consistency.

The offense doesn't seem to have fluidity to it right now.

Pappy