Big Ben asked to do too much

[feltdizz]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

Let me ask you all this, since everyone now believes that our offense is magically delicious. We put up 37 point on the Pack. Why could we only manage 6 points against the 4th worst rushing defense in the league? This team was built around the blue collar, hard working men and women of Pittsburgh. Now, thanks to this genius OC (heavy sarcasim) we are trashing that identity and becoming posers to follow in the footsteps of the liberal media accpeted teams we all hated before, (The *Pats, The Colts, the newly inducted Chargers) Now we want to emulate them? Pathetic! But never mind me. You all can continue to hang off of Arian's nut bag all you want. I am not buying in. 1 win in 6 games and things are golden offensively? This guy is killing Steeler football as we have all known and grown to love, but by all means, go ahead and continue your love fest for this walrus looking a$$ clown. The best coming day in the storied Pittsburgh franchise will be the day that this moron is shown the door.

No one is hanging on Arians nuts.. everyone just loves seeing Ben put up huge numbers so they can win fantasy games and run around screaming how Ben is just as good as Manning and Brady.

I understand exactly where you are coming from and agree 100%. 500 yards and we were 3 seconds away from losing another game where Ben had great stats. I used to defend Arians because our D was losing late leads but now I see where people are coming from.

The D sucks azzz, we all know this.. but relying on the pass to set up the run is a recipe for disaster IMO..

it's not like we have a gimpy FWP either.. we have 3 healthy RB's and Mend is running hard but besides the Denver game I have yet to see us try to grind out a win and burn clock with him.

Also consider the sacks.. we give up so many sacks it forces us to pass.

Yeah, it sure hasn't been successful for the Colts or Patriots.

This is too easy... The Colts are a prime example of failure when the playoffs start..they won a SB when they finally ran the ball.

The Cheats... need I say more.

The teams that are able to pass are better then the teams that are able to run in the 2009 season. Why is it so hard for people to understand that the league is a passing league now? The rules favor the passing game. More points come out of big plays in the passing game. Most of the teams that run the ball try to cover up for deficiencies at the QB position. The one exception of the top teams are the Saints. Make no mistakes, everything the Saints do is based on their ability to pass.

Running the ball is nice when it is effective. More times then not, it is not consistently effective to win in today's NFL. I think it is easier to shut down a run game then it is a passing game. The passing game is a more effective option when teams have those weapons at their disposal.

Coaches usually have a decision to make based on the players they have. Will they slightly favor the run or the pass? The Steelers favor the pass. I believe the practices lean more towards the passing game. Who can blame them when they have the weapons at QB and WR's?

I don't care how the Steelers win. There is more then one way to win SB's. The people that are set on arguing run/pass point think their way is better. One thing is certain, the Steelers won't win anymore SB's if they continue to play like this on defense heading into the future.

I think we all know the league favors the pass... it's more exciting so the rules favor it.

But when our D is as bad as it is.. ball control is key and less possessions for the other team maximize our chances to win.

I respectfully disagree though on 2009 as proof the pass is the way to go...
you cannot use one season by the Saints as proof, nor use the Colts as proof when they look like a disaster in the playoffs because they abandoned the run until their SB run...

Pass happy teams tend to make every game a shootout... The Colts are undefeated but they have also trailed in the fourth quarter 6 to 7 times this year..

they are getting the lucky bounces and the great nut up call of billicheat helped as well but I wouldn't be surprised if they leave the playoffs early.

you need balance in this league because the Pats season the other year is not going to be repeated.. not the undefeated aspect but the 50 passes every game.

[stlrz d]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

This isn't the first game we led in ToP while throwing more than running.

[code]Final Score 36 Final Score 37
Time of Possession 24:38 Time of Possession 35:22[/code]

[SteelAbility]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

At 10.9 YPA (even with all the attempts), I can't argue with abandoning the run. 8 YPA is normally dominant.

[feltdizz]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

This isn't the first game we led in ToP while throwing more than running.

[code]Final Score 36 Final Score 37
Time of Possession 24:38 Time of Possession 35:22[/code]

understood... but I still think balance is needed in a full season of football...
and even with this TOP we needed a miracle... I wonder if we run more in the second half do we limit GB's possessions in the 4th? If we run a few times in the redzone do we get a TD and 3 more minutes off the clock instead of 2 incompletions and a FG? Does a few more rushes with Mend make the TOP 38 minutes to 22 and we win by 7?

while fumbles happen with runs... I think the possibility of miscommunication with WR's, players slipping, INT's, sacks, incompletions etc.... decrease your chances for success over a season.

Now if we had 100% execution on every play then passing would be ideal 50 times a game. However in football that rarely happens..

I'm not saying we need to run more than pass.. we paid Ben tons of money for a reason..
but i think if we went back in time this season...or if Arians wasn't our OC.. we win 3 more games because we aren't lining up 4 wide on 3rd and 1 followed by a punt.

Last year we had no running game and we committed to the run much more than necessary... this year we have a good running back and we aren't getting him enough touches IMO.

[BURGH86STEEL]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

This isn't the first game we led in ToP while throwing more than running.

[code]Final Score 36 Final Score 37
Time of Possession 24:38 Time of Possession 35:22[/code]

understood... but I still think balance is needed in a full season of football...
and even with this TOP we needed a miracle... I wonder if we run more in the second half do we limit GB's possessions in the 4th? If we run a few times in the redzone do we get a TD and 3 more minutes off the clock instead of 2 incompletions and a FG? Does a few more rushes with Mend make the TOP 38 minutes to 22 and we win by 7?

while fumbles happen with runs... I think the possibility of miscommunication with WR's, players slipping, INT's, sacks, incompletions etc.... decrease your chances for success over a season.

Now if we had 100% execution on every play then passing would be ideal 50 times a game. However in football that rarely happens..

I'm not saying we need to run more than pass.. we paid Ben tons of money for a reason..
but i think if we went back in time this season...or if Arians wasn't our OC.. we win 3 more games because we aren't lining up 4 wide on 3rd and 1 followed by a punt.

Last year we had no running game and we committed to the run much more than necessary... this year we have a good running back and we aren't getting him enough touches IMO.

Your opinion is that you think balance is needed. There is no doubt that in an ideal situation, every team will be balanced. What is your idea of balance? 50/50?

It is nice to have balance. How many teams can maintain that balance over the coarse of a season and win? I don't believe there are many.

Running the ball a few more time would not had made any difference against GB. Especially, when all they needed were a few plays to score. GB had an opportunity to attempt to run out the clock but they did not. Scoring is not easy in the NFL. Best to take advantage of those opportunities when they are there.

Let's be honest, the Steelers run game has been awful in the red zone. They have also been pretty bad running the ball in short yardage situations.

The run game was going no where fast against the Packers. When the Steelers had consistent success with the run this season, they stuck with it longer. There are other factors. Penalties and mistakes in some games killed more rush opportunities. The offense is 3rd in the league in TOP. That is without the help of the defense creating turnovers.

The bottom line is that there is more then one way to win in the NFL. Teams have won leaning on pass or run. What ever strategy those teams used on offense, they played good defense when necessary. That is something this team is not getting this year. Rushing the ball more often would not help this defense. They are not getting a consistent pass rush and giving up to many big plays.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

I don't think the goal should be 50-50 for every game. Certainly, we should have thrown more often against the Packers, to take advantage of some of the injuries to their secondary. Same is true this week against Baltimore...we should pass more against their depleted DB's. But the week before the Packers game, when we played the Browns, all indications screamed for a successful run game (injuries up the middle at each level of their defense...Shaun Rogers, D'Qwell Jackson, Brodney Pool) and an unsuccessfull pass game (extreme cold and high winds). Run more when you are up...pass more when you are behind. Things should come close to evening themselves out in the long run. One major issue we all have it with formations that indicate immediately to the defense "WE ARE PASSING!!!" (shotgun empty backfield) or "WE ARE RUNNING!!!" (triple TE heavy package). We should be able to run or throw out of every formation, so that the defense is always on its heels, not knowing what to expect. An effective run game can help our passing game (which we know by looking at our insanely good numbers when using the play-action pass) but that threat is eliminated when there are no RB's in the backfield.

[SteelAbility]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

This isn't the first game we led in ToP while throwing more than running.

[code]Final Score 36 Final Score 37
Time of Possession 24:38 Time of Possession 35:22[/code]

This can be a bit deceiving. Our D has been susceptible to big plays which reduces the other teams' TOP.

[feltdizz]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

We are 7-7 this year and we abandoned the run a ton in 5 of our losses. If we were 10-4 or 11-3 then I think the pass happy crowd would have a point.
However when you lose to 3 of the worst teams in football
struggle against the Lions...
Watch Mendenhall run for a 50 yard gain against Chicago and Never touch the ball again..
Have Mendenhall average 5 yards a pop yet only have one or two game with over 25 touches

and also have a 3rd string QB with one NFL pass almost beat the ravens at home when you rely on your running game to protect Dixon...

I don't know... I think it shows why running the ball helps win games and is needed to balance out a game. In the Denver game Mendenhall was killing them.. yet some seem to believe we should still pass more because the rules favor the pass? No..

I'm also not sure our ground game is that bad in the red zone... I think we just ignore it in favor of the pass.

[feltdizz]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

I just thought of this... I watched a Dave Chappelle interview on why he walked away from 50 mill... He said as soon as he got the deal the jokes that made him famous all of a sudden weren't funny enough and everyone wanted to change the show.

I think the same thing is happening to our Offense with Arians and Ben... We didn't pay Ben because he won games throwing 40+ in his first 5 years... So why would Arians try to over indulge on the passing?

Just sayin... It's like paying FWP and then asking him to catch 40 passes or running him until the wheels fall off when he was most successful as a situational RB with 15 to 20 carries a game.

[NorthCoast]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

With the current condition of our WR corp we should see more running....unless it just isn't in our blood anymore. RBs are built to take a lot of hits, WRs not so much (at least not 40 times a game).

[Steeler Mafia]

Re: Big Ben asked to do too much

Your opinion is that you think balance is needed. There is no doubt that in an ideal situation, every team will be balanced. What is your idea of balance? 50/50?

Right now we are about 94/6 (pass vs run). I wouldn't be looking for a 50/50 split, but I would settle for at least 70/30 or 60/40. That, in my mind would give us balance, at least from an offensive look standpoint. While I am at it, let me say....PLEASE, NO MORE EMPTY SETS IN THE REDZONE!!!!!!!