8 In The BOX

[JIMBO]

A healthy Ben with a terrible O line releases the ball like it is burning his hand. Ben with a bad wing and the same O line and no running game could be facing 10 in the box on Sunday. Our best offense against the Bengals could be Percy Harvin and what is left of the defense. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm liking my +4 Bengals a LOT.
As an aside why is Matt Canada still the OC if he says that Ben can call whatever he wants to call. Seems like a worthless hire to me or is it that Ben has too much power. I'm not a Tomlin hater by any means, but I have to see a lot more out of Canada and Klemm for that matter. Watching a rookie Davis Mills toss it around last night ( even though he lost ) reminded me of how slow and stodgy this offense is. Some things need to change. This has to be Ben's last year no matter what!!

[Northern_Blitz]

A healthy Ben with a terrible O line releases the ball like it is burning his hand. Ben with a bad wing and the same O line and no running game could be facing 10 in the box on Sunday. Our best offense against the Bengals could be Percy Harvin and what is left of the defense. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm liking my +4 Bengals a LOT.
As an aside why is Matt Canada still the OC if he says that Ben can call whatever he wants to call. Seems like a worthless hire to me or is it that Ben has too much power. I'm not a Tomlin hater by any means, but I have to see a lot more out of Canada and Klemm for that matter. Watching a rookie Davis Mills toss it around last night ( even though he lost ) reminded me of how slow and stodgy this offense is. Some things need to change. This has to be Ben's last year no matter what!!

I think that this was also the issue with Fitchner.

And I think not giving Ben that control is what got Haley fired.

Hopefully we'll figure out how to beat single high sometime in the near future.

[NorthCoast]

Harris has only faced 8 or more in the box on 4% of his attempts... near the bottom of the league (contrast that with someone like D. Henry who faces 8+ almost 50% of carries).
Opponents apparently don't need to stack the line to stop Harris, which is another concern.

I'm not gonna dump on Canada at this point. And it's impossible to say whether Roethlisberger is audibling out of a bunch of play calls or if he is merely running what's been called and they haven't worked.

[Steel Maniac]

We found the answer to , “ what comes first ? The chicken or the egg?”

Having a good O-line is the first ingredient you need to establishing a running game.

Trying to fix the O-line with bargain basement additions has failed. Colbert has to take the hit for that.

Couple that with the fact that our QB is a shadow of what he used to be and that is why our offense is poor.

Mix in that experts say we have the toughest schedule in the league this year as well.

It is what it is fellas. Buckle up because we are in for a bumpy ride.

[Northern_Blitz]

We found the answer to , “ what comes first ? The chicken or the egg?”

Having a good O-line is the first ingredient you need to establishing a running game.

Trying to fix the O-line with bargain basement additions has failed. Colbert has to take the hit for that.

Couple that with the fact that our QB is a shadow of what he used to be and that is why our offense is poor.

Mix in that experts say we have the toughest schedule in the league this year as well.

It is what it is fellas. Buckle up because we are in for a bumpy ride.

I think we knew this was the answer before the season.

Hopefully the OL improves

[NJ-STEELER]

Harris has only faced 8 or more in the box on 4% of his attempts... near the bottom of the league (contrast that with someone like D. Henry who faces 8+ almost 50% of carries).
Opponents apparently don't need to stack the line to stop Harris, which is another concern.

I'm not gonna dump on Canada at this point. And it's impossible to say whether Roethlisberger is audibling out of a bunch of play calls or if he is merely running what's been called and they haven't worked.

depend on what you define as "in the box"

technically that is correct but i believe it was depot or someone on twitter who showed a lot of raider defensive formations with 7 "in the box" but the safties not far behind (6-7 yards off the LOS) and they're not exactly worried about a long ball getting behind them.
if it is a pass play, they're covering the short throws which we've seen since the middle of last year

defenses are still crowding the LOS/10 yard off the LOS

[NorthCoast]

depend on what you define as "in the box"

technically that is correct but i believe it was depot or someone on twitter who showed a lot of raider defensive formations with 7 "in the box" but the safties not far behind (6-7 yards off the LOS) and they're not exactly worried about a long ball getting behind them.
if it is a pass play, they're covering the short throws which we've seen since the middle of last year

defenses are still crowding the LOS/10 yard off the LOS

True. I googled the definition of 'in the box' and one site defined it as the outside shoulders of the LT and RT and 6 yds past LOS. And until Roethlisberger and the receivers can consistently connect on outside throws I expect defenses to continue doing what they have. This offense was solved many months ago. And now with his pec injury you can bet the long throws won't be there this weekend.
Ok, I need to stop typing. I'm getting more depressed with each sentence.

[Eich]

Trying to fix the O-line with bargain basement additions has failed. Colbert has to take the hit for that.

Two games in and you’re ready to call the line a failure?

[Northern_Blitz]

Two games in and you’re ready to call the line a failure?

They have been a failure so far.

Doesn't make it their destiny for the future. But it's the smart bet until they show us otherwise IMO.

[Mr.wizard]

They have been a failure so far.

Doesn't make it their destiny for the future. But it's the smart bet until they show us otherwise IMO.

I don't know if I would call them a failure as much as a work in progress.

[Northern_Blitz]

I don't know if I would call them a failure as much as a work in progress.

I agree that they are a work in progress.

But I do think they were below the line (i.e. a failure) in the last two games.

This is maybe just us having different definitions of "failure"?

Or maybe it's me being too pessimistic after a bad loss and two bad offensive performances. I'm hoping it's me being wrong.

[NJ-STEELER]

first 2 drives and a 3 penalties to shoot themselves in the foot.

2 on the OL

[NorthCoast]

first 2 drives and a 3 penalties to shoot themselves in the foot.

2 on the OL

Make that 4 offensive penalties

[skyhawk]

Wow. This is one of the worst teams in the league. Kinda sad. Ben's last 10 years totally wasted. I'll never forgive this front office and coaching staff.

[Northern_Blitz]

Wow. This is one of the worst teams in the league. Kinda sad. Ben's last 10 years totally wasted. I'll never forgive this front office and coaching staff.

It's good that you're able to forgive Ben who also bears responsibility for the last 10 years.