The Driveby Report: Guaranteed Win Edition

2. Hard to say anything that hasn’t already been said about Gay. Yesterday might have been his worst game of the season.

5. It was a good call people. Get over it.

7. I think we started out the game with 6 or 7 designed pass plays in a row. What is Mendy doing wrong that he isn’t getting the rock? Last week you said he was making advances in turning his shoulders and going up field. Yesterday, besides the called back TD, he seemed to do too much dancing instead of the fore-mentioned tactic.

8. Tyrone Carter should be gone after this year. 2 HORRIBLE plays led to two 2 TDs. The one you mentioned and the terrible angle he took on the Grant TD. I hope Troy is back next week?

9. Ike had a great game. I don’t remember seeing him at all in coverage. That is a good thing. It means his WR was bottled up for the most part.

10. That hit Timmons had on Rodgers…I didn’t think Aaron was going to get up.

12. +92

14. Not sure who changed the offense up this week, Ben or BA., but FINALLY! Check downs and utilizing Miller. Both Mendy and Heath had huge games. We need that more often.

15. I am getting a Wallace jersey.

16. Ok. I just remembered this and I thought it was really impressive. A lot of times Tone runs with the ball ‘unsafely’ and I always think he is just one hit away from a fumble. On that one reception with the big YAC he had yesterday he did that. The defender saw it and grabbed onto the ball. I expected him to rip it out. Instead Tone swung his arm around and threw the defender over his shoulder and kept possession of the ball. My jaw dropped.

17. Foster sucks! =P

19. I was made into a believer last night. With Troy back…who knows what could happen.

22. Hines Ward appears ageless. Another huge game and a ton of hugely important receptions. Gotta love that.

I really do enjoy your post game summaries!

This has 4 recs and still isn’t in the recommended fan posts section

I forgot about the Carter miss in my post, but, yeah I can’t believe he just ran by the receiver. I saw the catch and the safety right there where he could have just unloaded on the receiver. I had visions of Ronnie Lott separating the WR from the ball, but then Carter missed him. That was just infuriating.

Like I said on Blitz’s post, I’ll just enjoy this one (IMO, the best game of the year) and not worry too much about playoffs. I would really hate to get swept by the stinkin’ Ravens, though.

I have to give Aaron Rodgers some credit. I’ve seen himtwo games this year and I think he’s a better fit at Green Bay than a 40 year old Favre would be. He’s no slouch.

Rush-hard can block.

Heinz field is an added player in the field goald kicking department.

Can someone on the team kick off further than 55 yards?

Could Holmes return punts please?

Haven’t read all the fanposts, but I ran all the way through the game and post game threads and was (slightly) amazed to see no one mention hypocycloid. Okay, maybe it was just an ordinary screen pass, but we had three receivers out wide on one side, then ran Logan from the backfield into the fourth point on the diamond. It was cycloid-esque. Little Stevie got five yards out of it. I need to watch the game once more to see what went wrong… well, Logan got tackled, that’s what went wrong… but, like the quick pass to Holmes or Ward on the edge, I like this variant for 1st downs. It’s a relatively safe way to pick up a few yards, but also gives us some big play potential.

Oh, and a word on #3. I was cursing up a storm at Willie Gay as I watched the game. Willie made some plays but he did more harm than good. Then Burnett started showing up in the rotation… and I quickly started to wonder why Gay wasn’t back on the field.

I suspect Burnett has more upside. His physical skill set seems like a step up from Gay. And I wouldn’t expect a rookie CB to be ready for a starter slot. All that understood, he’s not the answer. At least, not for this season.

1. May I have another please?
2. I’ll be nice, I just won’t say anything
3. I like that he got some time. Didn’t see too much either way…which I’d catagorize as good
4. Farrior with the no-look helmet deflection, I think he was saving this manuver
5. Shocking
6. It was nice to finish a game
7. Or more flea flickers. That was awesome
10&11. These guys have been bringing it
13. I liked switching up to Parker. Fresh legs in the cold weather would’ve givin him an edge. If the passing game wasn’t so explosive this game, that could have been crucial down the strecth. I hope we see him rotate in more with a more balanced run/pass attack.
15&16. I love our WR crew
19. I hear ya but, shame on you
22. I’m saving this bullet for next week because if we lose, I’m going to have to shoot myself twice

aint a win great!?

I dont mind sneakin in the playoffs and gettn beatn by the colts……if we can bxtchslap who dey first. : )

I’m glad I missed most of the “Fire Tomlin” posts and see mostly sensible ones now, three cheers for my lack of internet access lately.

Nice driveby and agreed on most counts. One important point you touch upon is the similarity of the last drive to the superbowl one. All year long, and I mean all year, Ben and our offense have had the chances to win the games. Every single game this year could have been won, and half of them weren’t. There have been 3rd and longs, there have been 4th downs, and almost all of them in the last 2 minutes have failed this year.

This game our offense showed that it still has some of last years magic. This game showed me that when there is 2 minutes left and the steelers are down by 6 I can still hope. This game showed me that our quarterback, receivers, and offensive line can still be counted on to carry us to 9 wins and miss the playoffs. This game showed us that we will continue to play like crap against bad teams and beat the playoff contenders. Most importantly, the offense showed us that next year it can win those close games as they will inevitably be.

The steelers are the best and worst team in the league.

because now that he’s healthy it seems obvious to me that he can still run hard. I see a man fighting for his livelihood and BA just isn’t giving him enough carries. He’s running harder than I’ve seen him do since he broke his leg in 07. He should be getting more carries a game with as hungry as he looks.

Holmes is money in the clutch. When we need a third down, I look to Holmes or Heath every time. I don’t know why I ever see holmes run deep routes because every one of his best catches I see are 10 yard slants (or less) that he jukes his way down the field for 50 yards. He’s making some of the “best” linebackers and cornerbacks in the game look like theyre standing still and does it week in and week out, in my opinion.

I would love to see the Steelers play the Colts because it would mean (a) we made the playoffs and (b) we won our first playoff game. That is my definition of a successful season. Also, I agree with euwolfie that the Colts could fall hard in the playoffs. Hey, it worked in 2005!

is it just me or does mike wallace look like a young john stallworth,he made a couple of thats how you be great catches,but gay is gay and the secondary sucks there playin like a bunch of gays,,we should make a polamolu statue leave it in the locker room and have the secondary praise it before and after everygame cause he is there savior, without him showed how much talent they really have,[ NONE ] and wats up with slow a@# carter his legs look like there movin real fast but hes not going nowhere he cant even get good angles on tackles,and to the secondary try and go for an interception once in a while dont worry about getting burned,cause your TOAST anyway,clark your my boy but you keep saying the fans and media are being to hard on you guys,well wat the hell do you want us to say good job,getta a GOTDAM INTERCEPTION CAUSE A FUMBLE,dont just wish the reciever slips and falls or drops a pass or the QB overthrows or underthrows a reciever,coach dick your the genious,use your MAJIC

Thanks Arn, good stuff again this week.
1) Yes, I sweated it.
2) Is Gay better off as a safety? I keep hearing those comments, so when Carter is history, do we slide him over?
3) Burnett on the field is a good thing. The speed alone should help with growing pains, and while I yelled at the late TD he gave up, the replay clearly showed him slipping and stumbling. Tough to get too angry there. But it does beg the question of where is K. Lewis, and why he continues to be inactive? Something’s going on there and I’d like to know what it is.
4 – 6) agreed. While it hurt to hear Coach T call out the D, it’s tough to give him grief since he was right the Packers marched right down and scored. Gulp.
7) Amen. Although, and you and I traded on previous posts, the play action (while rusty!) was great to see. I guess we actually do have it in the playbook.
8) See W. Gay.
9) Yes, good game Ike. I forgive him for the on-sides, lord knows his hands are made of concrete.
10) Wow, burst of speed or what?
11 – 13) Agreed
14) Not to sound like a broken record, but as discussed previously, if Rashard can catch the ball and get yardage, why do we not use that play more than once a game? It was great to see the check down and hey, we’ve got a guy out of the backfield with speed who can catch. I’m liking him more and more each week! Running and catching.
15 – 16) Good deal on both. I like it.
17) Watching the choppy feed on the computer (here in Philly the Eagles delayed start bumped the Steelers) didn’t allow for a whole lot of ‘clean’ viewing, but I don’t remember hearing Foster’s name at all. For an o-lineman, that means great job to me. I’m starting to feel like we’ve got a keep here…..so I’ll toss this out also: Hills? Urbick? Where do they fit in?
18) He’s going to get beat occasionally. The edge rushers always get there at some point. I’m still very much impressed with how Starks has played this year.
19) I’m torn here. I was in favor of IR’ing Troy. Now I’m not so sure because if they make it, and Troy can come back, then I’m not scared of the Colts (or anyone). Just his presence changes the game. I sure as hell want the play-offs.
20) Agreed
21) I’m still not in favor of the Air Force Offense. It’s quick strike potential is awesome, no doubt. But I am a firm believer that part of why the 4th Q has become so troublesome is because the D is on the field way too much. Part of the beauty of the run game is the time the O stays on the field, grinds up the clock and keeps the D fresh. Not happening this year and that’s why I think the tired legs are showing up in the 4th.
22) My bullet is this: I’ve seen some National Media guys saying that James Harrison has fallen off. I don’t think so at all. From what I watched, I saw a number of times he was held (as called out above) and when there were coverage issues James was the guy who dropped off into coverage to help (Ike at least once). He’s playing differently this year, partly because Troy and Aaron are out, and partly because the holding calls are not going our way this year when he rushes. But his tackles have to be way up…..

I’d love to see Fox out there more often, he sure looks like a player that I’d like to have on the field a little more. I’m not really sure what they have in Frazier or Bailey, so they may not be the answer, but I think I’d like to see them pick up another LB in the draft this year. We couldn’t afford to keep Foote, just the same I wasn’t ready to let him go and I think our depth is a little shallow. Especially this year when we’ve not controlled the clock.

I’ve been circling around this in my head…maybe it’s time to toss it out for another opinion….why do you think they’re leaving so many DL as inactive? If we’re getting tired in the 4th, wouldn’t it seem to make sense to get some fresh legs in there? Eason is nice player, not great but he’s not going to hurt you either. So if Harris got good marks out of camp and he ends up back here anyway, why not get him on the field?