Bye Week Changes Needed

[NorthCoast]

This game highlighted some needed changes for this team:

• Bush - Bush was so bad it made my eyes water; weak at the point of attack, constantly over/under running gaps, and bad tackling for a LB. Starting to think Spillane might be a better option at ILB. Hell, I'd give VWill a call to see if he'd come back out of retirement.
• McCloud - as a receiver is no threat to anyone. The Steelers should consider another option like White or Bussey.
• Claypool - it might seem very early but I don't think the Steelers need to consider a second contract for this guy. Never seen a guy with his physical traits come up so small in games. It was his chance to shine with Juju out and he did nothing with it for the most part.
• Wormley - Steelers need to decide if the future is now with Loudermilk cause Wormley isn't. Dude is inconsistent as the Santa Ana winds.
• Freirmuth - still need to argue about this pick in the draft?! I shiver thinking what the offense would look like without him. He needs to see more targets at the expense of Claypool.
• Heyward - how are the Steelers gonna get this guy some rest cause I don't know how he can continue at the pace is going right now?? True leader of the defense in every way.
• Canada/Roethlisberger - please work on play designs where the ball gets thrown between 10 and 20 past the LOS. Defenses are still not respecting the pass game.
• DJ - more DJ, less Claypool
• Washington - more Washington, less Claypool
• Norwood - in the slot is better than Maulet or anyone else; guy has a highlight in almost every game he gets significant time playing
• Fitz - he might think he is headed for bag this off-season but the Steelers might be better off thinking about a trade for a high draft pick. He's not that good around the LOS but the Steelers seem intent on trying to use him that way.
• RB - the Steelers need a change of pace RB that can fly because defenses are too keyed on Harris at this point

OK... maybe too much ranting but this game was a good learning point on both sides.

[Northern_Blitz]

Crossing all fingers and toes that Tuitt is back on the field after the bye. I think that will help spell Heyward.

I also think we should practice tackling this week.

[Starlifter]

Devon certainly had a down game. I don't necessarily subscribe to it - but with coach Jerry not there and Butler doing double duty with the Linebackers, is it possible that had an impact on the game?

Oh and specifically bad for Devon - trying to run after recovering the fumble in OT and almost coughing it back up was a spectacularly bad decision.

[flippy]

Lots of valid comments.

Im glad we’ve got a bye at this point. It’s a good spot to get back to work and fix a lot. We’ve reached 3-3 and have some positives to build on.

Offensively, we can continue to build around a solid foundation of our developing OLine, Najee, TEs, and DJ. The soft play of our WRs on the outside is frustrating, but the 800 lb gorilla is our QB imho. God love him and what he’s done for us over the years, but even in OT when he went down to down the ball for Boz to kick the game winner, it was so awkward and I just don’t see how he holds up for the season.

There’s a lot to sort out on D, but I think between TJ, AH, Cam, and eventually Tuitt, we’ll be able to get pressure and force mistakes with good enough coverage on the back end.

But the problem is if our O can’t put up points and force other teams to pass, we’re gonna struggle if teams can just run against us. This is a problem that carries over from last year. And I’m not sure the D can fix this as much as the O can help scoring points.

Which takes us right back to Big Ben. If he’s not going to push the ball downfield and get D’s to defend the entire field, we’re going to continue struggling along and keeping games close and allowing teams to stay balanced and run against us goes against our strength.

This is the crux of the problem with a franchise QB. At some point, that guy has to carry the team.

Does anyone believe Ben can carry us right now?

[papillon]

None of that outweighs the fact that there is exactly one running play in the playbook and that is the inside handoff to Harris or whoever is in at RB.
Ben threw the ball 40 times, that's way too many for Ben at this point in his career.
Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Chargers and Cincinnati are the next 5 games after that they get the Ravens twice, Titans, Chiefs, Browns and Vikings, they need to take advantage of the next 5 games.
I'm convinced the offense isn't getting any better this season so 20-23 points a game will have to hold up that puts all pressure on the defense and Boswell.

Pappy

[Ghost]

This list is incomplete without adding Ben to it. He's bad. Can't throw the ball down the field consistently. Won't throw the 10 - 20 intermediate ball. Can't move. Dumps off for loss or 2 yard gain all the time. Three times he hit Seahawks in the hands and they dropped it (much like the Denver game). The Seattle defense is on pace to be historically bad in allowing yards per game and it almost overwhelmed the O.

People blame Canada for his game planning and play calling but what if its being done to cover for the deficiencies of the QB?

Sadly, I don't know how this can be corrected with the bye week.

[SidSmythe]

Claypool and Bush are very disappointing.
Minkah has been very underwhelming at times too.

[crushedspirit]

Don't know what people expected out of Ben this season. He is a wider version of the 2019 Eli Manning.

[papillon]

Don't know what people expected out of Ben this season. He is a wider version of the 2019 Eli Manning.

I didn't expect that he would forget how to make a sound football decision on the field and that seems to be his biggest problem.

Pappy

[SteelBucks]

Claypool and Bush are very disappointing.
Minkah has been very underwhelming at times too.

The only two on defense that are playing at a high level are Watt and Heyward.

I don’t know what is up with Bush. He had a serious injury last year but he looks lost out there.

[feltdizz]

Washington

did he get any snaps last night? I don’t remember seeing 13 on the field or hearing his name.

Bush was bad last night. Tons of arm tackles.

Minkah? What happened?

[Jooser]

-Agreed on the points made about Bush earlier, seems weak on tackling and not in position most times

-Edmonds, wow. Where to even begin? Has this dude even sniffed a pass breakup or interception in the last few years? He can't tackle either, just a useless waste of a 1st round pick. Let Carl Joseph on the field and let's see how it shakes out.

-Fitz, agreed that he is declining. He came on like a Hurricane when we traded for him, but haven't seen much value in him since late last season. Could Edmond's weak play be contributing to that? Possibly.

-Dan Moore Jr. just isn't cutting the butter at left tackle. Guys have been running around him all season, probably is contributing to Ben's rushed throws at times....

-Harris.... I feel bad for him, he's getting hit in the backfield so often that he has no run rhythm. He's second guessing where to go on every play. I haven't seen a Steelers OL this bad since Frank Pollard was looking for holes in the 80's.

-Big Ben's decision making. He's older and slower, you expect his physical prowess to decline. What you rely on in keeping an older vet like him around is his ability to analyze and make plays effectively based upon his experience. I see him forcing throws and making a lot of bad choices, didn't expect his mental state within the game to decline so rapidly. He's taking a beating, and I still wonder if he'll have the stamina to finish the season.




My .02 of a dollar,
-Joos, out

[SteelBucks]

Washington

did he get any snaps last night? I don’t remember seeing 13 on the field or hearing his name.

Bush was bad last night. Tons of arm tackles.

Minkah? What happened?

Washington had a catch last night. He needs to be more involved in the offense.

[pittpete]

Wormley is really really bad.
Every time he was in game they ran his way.
Not sure if this caused Schoebert to be washed out constantly but he was just as bad as Bush.
We are still forcing Harris to run like Bell.
Bens RPO decision making was horrendous last night.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Agree on Claypool. For his size he should come down with almost everything tossed up his way. He loses out on balls against much smaller defenders. My hope is that with experience and coaching he will learn.

Listened to the second half on radio last night as I took my son back to school, watched the first half with him, then drove back. From the sounds of it, after Moore went down and Haeg went in, Najee's run production improved running behind him. Does that sound right?

The run D gets gashed regularly since TA went down. We need Tuiit in there to help stabilize.

FWIW when I noticed Green last night it was usually in a good way. He seemed to be getting downfield and blocking a second man, instead of always being pushed back.