Comments on: Steelers Suffer Offensive Letdown in 18-12 Setback to Bengals

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:06 +0000

Dr. George,
I know all the words too, brah, have an English degree and yada, yada, yada…Okay, you don’t need to edify anything, sometimes you need to know the rules before you break them (referencing grammar here. You obviously know the rules (of grammar and lexicon/vocab.)so break away, McMannus (Usual Suspects reference)…otherwise shut up and talk football!

By: mark

mark — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:07:15 +0000

Hi DrGeorge.I have to say that I would like to see the Steelers ,from inside the ten, try running on all 3 downs against the Chiefs if they have the opportunity. I’m serious, I think it would bolster confidences and give teams something to think about. No doubt the team has the talent up front and in the backfield to accomplish this. I say move the chains on the ground and lets see how much that opens the passing game up. We have been down this road before. I believe that had the Steelers run MORE against the Bengals, regardless of complete success, the passing game would have eventually gotten into sync. That was what was missing last Sunday. A flow of successes.Yes, the Bengals defense had something to do with that. But, continuing to throw at a team that is doing well stopping the pass, was a strategic mistake. RUN! Also, I am tired of hearing that the Bengals “beat the Steelers at their own game” Where and when did they do that exactly? They didn’t “pound” the Steelers with the run, they certainly did not have gaudy pass or run stats. So, other than a kick return, what exactly did the Bengals do better than the Steelers? Steelers had more 1st downs, time of possession,I am sure that passing and rushing stats were similar. So, what was it?
?

By: DrGeorge

DrGeorge — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:23:51 +0000

Mark, your analysis is right on. Take a look at the PostGazette.com article today featuring an interview with Kemoeatu, who hopes the Steelers begin running more. Apparently, the offensive focus in practice is on the run this week. The rushing attempts against Cincy were only slightly below the 60% pass v. 40% NFL average. But rushing statistics can be misleading. The number of rushes is less significant than whether a team can rush when it needs to — in the red zone and on short yardage conversions. The Steelers have not demonstrated that ability to date, and mere statistics — Mendy running for 155 yards, for example — is really irrelevant.

A good team can run the ball into the end zone from inside the ten. The Steelers have more than enough O-line talent to do that, but the coaching staff is simply not committed to the run. And without the will to run effectively, on demand, the whole offense suffers.

And Jay, I regret that my inept attempts at precise expression seem pompous in print. It’s been decades since I actually played the game and revelled in the hairy-chested banter of the gridiron. In my day, not all players dragged their knuckles on the ground. In future, I’ll try to remember to rant wildly on occasion and throw in a vulgarism, cliche, or vituperative remark, just now and then, to edify the locker room set.

By: mark

mark — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:31:54 +0000

Jay, balance is a thing of beauty in football. Our defense tends to show more of it than our offense over the past few seasons. I think one problem with the current Steelers is that Ben LOVES Arians. Of course he would, Arians has given Ben the keys to a Ferrari. We know the offense has pass play studs. I mean, Holmes,Ward, Miller, Moore and now Wallace can all make plays. Tomlin is not about to upset the apple-cart. In this case, the Ben-Bruce relationship. A happy franchise QB, is a productive franchise QB. Until there is a disaster in Pittsburgh (6-10) season or Arians gets a head coaching job. I dont think much is going to change. Like it or not, the NFL is a pass happy league now.By embracing it, the Steelers have delivered 1 Super Bowl and are still contenders for another. When they are not contenders, maybe there will be change. However,what does needs to change immediately is the special teams play. Horrid is the only word.

By: jay

jay — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:14:10 +0000

I was at the game, first game actually…spent a lot of money this weekend with my wife just to see them lose…she had more fun than me…now, about the game…Everyone has salient comments (although I did have to break out my pompous to english dictionary to understand Dr. George…and I’m in a masters program for sports management for cryin’ out loud…sheesh!), anyway, I digress….THIS LEAGUE-WIDE FASCINATION WITH PASS-HAPPY FOOTBALL PLAIN AND SIMPLY SUCKS, FUCKING PERIOD!!!!!! I’m ashamed to see that OUR Steelers have jumped on board with this nonsense type of offense….#^%$ Bruce Arians! You win by playing smashmouth and defense….I don’t care how antiquated that sounds! It’s like pussy football or something, dinks and dunks, deep down, the field…I thought Bruce Arians, like Bill Belicheat, was a joke in Cleveland (isn’t everyone?) but as soon as the Colts’ Manning and Belicheat’s Brady do it, now everyone does it? or at least tries to?!?!?!?! Don’t forget two things, people, there’s only one Manning, as much as I find him to be a pouting, fragile, cliche, he is good; no one has figured him out yet AND New England CHEATED!!!!!! There’s no reason to copy this ridiculous, overrated, boring, deflating, gimmicky nonsense PASS BULLSHIT!!!! Mendenhall is averaging 5.7 yards per carry and you only give it to him 13 times….WHEN are we going to get an offensive coordinator who actually enhances our HIGH round picks on offense….Whisenhunt was too conservative and Arians is way too pass happy….Balance!!!! Now, I know we tend to overreact as Steelers fans but this was big and could’ve been a season defining loss….Yeah Reed should’ve made a better than futile attempt at the tackle, yeah the special teams coverage units should not have let it gotten that far (3 times now) and yeah, ben should’ve played WITHOUT his head up his ass as well as the o-line but Bruce Arians, you sir are a joke and let me just say that anyone can say, “Well what about when the Steelers win by passing!” yeah, ya know what I say when that happens…I say, “Phew, we won on DEFENSE and DESPITE the fact we threw the ball all over the field!” I can’t wait until Reed and Arians are no longer a part of this franchise and I can’t wait until Tomlin grows some balls and puts his foot down and demands a running attack! Maybe then I’ll come back and drop $1200 on tickets, hotel room and food which I don’t have…Thanks, Steelers for making my stay SUCK….Beautiful city though especially from the top of mount washington….Oh, P.S. I live just 50 miles north of Philly in Allentown and am mercilessly exposed to another Arians-type of asshole in Andy Reid who loves to throw the ball and look where it’s gotten the Eagles (perennially bailed out by their defense much like us and sporadic offensive outputs in spurts; sometimes explosive, sometimes futile but never balanced much like what we’re becoming)!
FUCK THAT!

By: Arian Nation

Arian Nation — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:07:59 +0000

Bengals fans love Bruce Arians. The tough, physical running game is a thing of the past. The passing game is where it is at now. Keep up the good work.

By: Bo

Bo — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:42:44 +0000

Gosh awful.

I’m getting a little tired of Tomlin saying that the team is “in development.” He inherited a Super Bowl Team for crying out loud. And when he won another SB with essentially the same team and gets some additional talent in the off season they’re still “in development?” They should be in the third stage rocket phase.

How about fixing the special team’s problem? The stats are awful. Make serious adjustments. Maybe they should put Arians on the problem since he likes the ball in the air so much.

And on the topic of Arians – maybe he lacked confidence in our offensive line with so many defenders on the other side of the line all day. OK, how about using more quick dump plays in the flat? Four words: Moore, Miller, Spaeth, Ward – in that order.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:22:27 +0000

WHO-DEY steeler nation…maybe next time!

By: mark

mark — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:40:24 +0000

I agree with both Mike and DrGeorge. I put the blame directly on the neglected running game and the eternally awful special teams. Can anyone explain how this coverage unit is so bad for this long? I have also had it with this Stefan Logan experiment. Sure he is fast, but he runs sideways more than ahead and thats a lot of running to only get to the 15 yard line. He keeps taking the ball out of the endzone and then doesn’t reach the 20! Enough of this now too. I also saw him run by the ball carrier on the TD return, so he has overstayed his welcome in my opinion.
Ben picked a bad day to be so off. He played like he stayed out too late last night. Without the running game that he SHOULD have had, Ben looked as out of sync as everyone. When Ben is bad, so goes the offense. It was a bad game all around but Arians and Tomlin’s neglect of the running game and passing all the time against a secondary that is carrying their team, it was a recipe for disaster. They got what they deserved today. Special teams needs a coaching change. Period. Their play actually lost them the game today and in 1993 we had the same problem until Cowher finally lost a playoff game because of Special Teams and fired John Guy. Is Tomlin going to wait that long?

By: Dan Kreider's ghost

Dan Kreider's ghost — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:50:37 +0000

How’s that running game treating you Arians?