BA is not the problem and should return

[feltdizz]

After some thought... I guess I am still a BA apologist...LOL!!!
Here's why:

- we put up points and TOP is pretty good.
- we have had leads in 12 of 15 games in the fourth quarter and the D has blown 5 of those games.
- while numbers are for fantasy games the stats are damn good and we were winning most of our games until the stank D or ST's blew it.
- how many points does BA have to put up to win games now? is it really his fault we can't keep a 10 point lead more than 1 minute?

Now I hate the empty backfield sack formation and the shotgun on 3rd down...
But the guy has kept us in a ton of games without key players and a young and often hurt OL

half of Bens success is his sandlot style.. So what does it matter if we have better situational play calling? Half the time it's dirt in the grass and when t doesn't work and some people blame Ben we get the "Ben is Ben". I don't think a few more runs or effiency in the redzone can correct the real problem this year.... The stinking D!!!

The D is so bad this year it shows all of our weaknesses. Ben is great but if he has an off game and throws an INT or we have a fumble the D would be good for a stop or would get us the ball back. Our D won. a ton of games last year or gave Ben extra chances to put points on the board. We also need to stop acting like more points would win games this year.. It just gave more chances for the D to suck.

At first I was pizzed at Ben for throwing out stats with our record being so bad... But if our D stepped up just one time in the fourth quarter in a few games against the worst teams in football we are 11-3 and the board is happy.

Imagine what we would be right now if BA was as bad as they say he is on here... With our greal legendary DC's execution we would be 4-11. Sarcasm people... but the way people ignore our D and blame the OC for our woes is classic lazy board chatter.

[Djfan]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

Fix the D and BA is still lame. How about the great redzone offense we have?

He sucks. He might not go, but if I were the decision maker he would.

[cruzer8]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

Where's the stat for situational play calling?

That's what so many of us seem to be concerned with. He just doesn't seem to understand that. Add in the empty backfield and and "for sale" signs planted in his front yard are completely justified in my opinion.

[Shawn]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

I went through some of the stats of our QB, RB and 3 WRs...not to mention our TE. They are an elite group. I'm not sure how anyone could argue against that. We have a franchise QB...a guy I wouldn't give up for anyone. We have 3 good-great WRs. Ward is still playing top notch ball, Holmes is clipping off 15+ per catch and our rookie is looking great at 18+ ypc. Mendenhall has stepped up and proven he is a great RB...4.6 ypc is better than every running back in the top 5 other than Johnson. Miller is always solid. As a group...they are well rounded and terrific. The OL gets way too much heat...overall they have played better than average this year despite what some think.

Even with all of this we continue to stuggle in the red zone. We continue to be predictable. We continue to leave points on the field...game in and game out. BAs play calling is horrific at best. We have a good O despite BA...not because of BA.

[Oviedo]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

BA has done what he needed to do...transition this offense ionto one that can match the other elite teams in the league. He has probably taken this as far as he can and a fresh perspective coming in to fine tune it would not be a bad thing. The obvious wildcard is the relationship that he and Ben have. That alone might save his job.

[SteelCrazy]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

We'll see how good Arians is with the all the offers that come pouring in for a Head Coaching position. With a talent like this, what team could go wrong?

[feltdizz]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

Fix the D and BA is still lame. How about the great redzone offense we have?

He sucks. He might not go, but if I were the decision maker he would.

I would love better red zone efficiency... But what good is 10 more points a game if the D can't stop KC? Mendenhall dropped a perfect TD pass... it's football and the players had to execute too. Ben takes a few sacks or misses on a throw high... It happens.

Again I ask... If we scored 2 TD's instead of kicking field goals last game we score 8 more points... We still have to kick off and our D still has to stop the ther team. everyone who screams for more points act like the other team will call the exact same plays. They will adjust too you know...

If our D was playing at a high rate or at a decent level then you BA bashers would have a point. However the D is so bad and the 4th qtr point level is so high by other teams it's crazy to suggest more points would fix our team.

[msp26505]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

Even with all of this we continue to stuggle in the red zone. We continue to be predictable. We continue to leave points on the field...game in and game out. BAs play calling is horrific at best. We have a good O despite BA...not because of BA.

Agree completely.

We have the tools (with the possible exception of OL)...just not the brains at OC to be a good offense.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

Even with all of this we continue to stuggle in the red zone. We continue to be predictable. We continue to leave points on the field...game in and game out. BAs play calling is horrific at best. We have a good O despite BA...not because of BA.

Agree completely.

We have the tools (with the possible exception of OL)...just not the brains at OC to be a good offense.

Oh, come on now. I think we can all agree that we have a tool at O.C. as well.

[feltdizz]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

We'll see how good Arians is with the all the offers that come pouring in for a Head Coaching position. With a talent like this, what team could go wrong?

how good can any OC be if the D is giving up 3 TD's to the Raiders in the 4th qtr?
how good can any OC look if KC marches on you? If the Lions carve up the D to tie the game?

Jeez... It's like the stat about our D blowing 5 leads doesn't exist. What games are you watching?
..and if I'm an owner I wouldn't be too quick to hire an OC who has Ben, Brady, Peyton or Brees... My thinking is the best QB's in football will make them look like geniuses... The best OC's are the ones who make lemonade out of lemons.

i doubt McDaniels is the HC in Denver if he didn't work magic with Cassel. Whiz looks great... With Warner... but we have yet to see if he can work magic with Leinart.

[feltdizz]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

Even with all of this we continue to stuggle in the red zone. We continue to be predictable. We continue to leave points on the field...game in and game out. BAs play calling is horrific at best. We have a good O despite BA...not because of BA.

Agree completely.

We have the tools (with the possible exception of OL)...just not the brains at OC to be a good offense.

Oh, come on now. I think we can all agree that we have a tool at O.C. as well.

All BA jokes aside... Do you truly believe a better OC would win more games with our ST's and D play this year?

I seriously doubt it... The other teams we envy this year are stopping teams on D. However the Saints are looking like the aint's now that they need a win and the Colts look like the Rams without Peyton the other day.

We don't blame St Lebeau... we can't blame Ben... Can't blame the OL or the drops or lack of excution... Yet we can always blame the BA. What a joke.

I don't like everything about are offense but I wish we demanded a fraction of what we expect from BA when the D takes the field in the fourth with a lead.

We weren't blowing teams out a few years ago... We just had a D that played defense late in games. We also had the best pulling guard and a RB who was 300 pounds but light on his feet. Lol

[msp26505]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

We'll see how good Arians is with the all the offers that come pouring in for a Head Coaching position. With a talent like this, what team could go wrong?

how good can any OC be if the D is giving up 3 TD's to the Raiders in the 4th qtr?
how good can any OC look if KC marches on you? If the Lions carve up the D to tie the game?

Jeez... It's like the stat about our D blowing 5 leads doesn't exist. What games are you watching?
..and if I'm an owner I wouldn't be too quick to hire an OC who has Ben, Brady, Peyton or Brees... My thinking is the best QB's in football will make them look like geniuses... The best OC's are the ones who make lemonade out of lemons.

i doubt McDaniels is the HC in Denver if he didn't work magic with Cassel. Whiz looks great... With Warner... but we have yet to see if he can work magic with Leinart.

I think we all agree that the D has been the MAIN problem.

But most Steeler fans probably also understand that big stats and quick strike capability, while fun at times, are not as efficient as balance and clock control in maintaining leads and winning consistently.

If it weren't for this quick-strike O, we would have been unable to come back a couple of times this year. However, if the O were more consistently able to milk clock, teams would not have had the chances to come back that we saw, either.

I would love to have THIS offense with a few additions:

-More commitment to the run more of the time, including a fullback...especially when they have the lead.
-Better OL play overall (though they have shown improvement this year, they are middle of the pack at best).
-Better situational play calling.

[Iron Shiek]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

We'll see how good Arians is with the all the offers that come pouring in for a Head Coaching position. With a talent like this, what team could go wrong?

how good can any OC be if the D is giving up 3 TD's to the Raiders in the 4th qtr?
how good can any OC look if KC marches on you? If the Lions carve up the D to tie the game?

Jeez... It's like the stat about our D blowing 5 leads doesn't exist. What games are you watching?
..and if I'm an owner I wouldn't be too quick to hire an OC who has Ben, Brady, Peyton or Brees... My thinking is the best QB's in football will make them look like geniuses... The best OC's are the ones who make lemonade out of lemons.

i doubt McDaniels is the HC in Denver if he didn't work magic with Cassel. Whiz looks great... With Warner... but we have yet to see if he can work magic with Leinart.

I think we all agree that the D has been the MAIN problem.

But most Steeler fans probably also understand that big stats and quick strike capability, while fun at times, are not as efficient as balance and clock control in maintaining leads and winning consistently.

If it weren't for this quick-strike O, we would have been unable to come back a couple of times this year. However, if the O were more consistently able to milk clock, teams would not have had the chances to come back that we saw, either.

I would love to have THIS offense with a few additions:

-More commitment to the run more of the time, including a fullback...especially when they have the lead.
-Better OL play overall (though they have shown improvement this year, they are middle of the pack at best).
-Better situational play calling.

However when this happens, people kill BA for turtle ball. Everyone wants different things from the offense, I just want someone who knows what to do when the situation commands some flexibility. I don't think BA has that quality.

And I definitely agree the defense has royally screwed us all season.

[feltdizz]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

MSP... I agree... I would love to run the ball more.. but it doesn't matter this hear cause our D stinks and as we have seen... regardless of TOP if the other team gets a kickoff and/or 3 plays they can score on us this year. Weare actually defending an onside kick with a 2 point lead. If that doesn't convince the bad word LeBeau apologist nothing will.

With a D I agree with all points you stated but I have to add... when exactly is the situational play calling better or worse if you have a QB who is obviously better or prefers sandlot ball.

Ben is 60% sandlot, hold the ball make something happen, so that leaves 40% and half the time those plays work. So people are bashing 20% IMO... Pretty low if you ask me. We all scream what the hell on some play calls but when they work people say "all Ben baby" amd when they don't work we scream BA sucks.

[Iron Shiek]

Re: BA is not the problem and should return

I always applaud BA when a nice quick slant is run.

No, literally. I stand up in my living room and give him an ovation.