Santonio Holmes and the WR situation

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 1:18 PM EDT Comment 60 comments

Here are the 3 game statistics for passes intended for Santonio Holmes:

Game	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yards	YPA	TD	Int	Rating
TEN	9	11	82%	131	11.9	1	1	108.7
CHI	5	14	36%	83	5.9	0	0	56.5
CIN	1	5	20%	18	3.6	0	1	2.5
Total	15	30	50	232	7.7	1	2	59.3

Here are the 3 games statistics for passes intended for all other receivers:

Game	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yards	YPA	TD	Int	Rating
TEN	24	32	75%	232	7.3	0	1	81.8
CHI	18	21	86%	138	6.6	1	1	90.1
CIN	21	26	81%	258	9.9	1	0	120.8
Total	63	79	80%	628	7.9	2	2	105.6

The stats largely speak for themselves, but since interceptions are such non-repeatable phenomena (i.e. the stats don't tell you about hail mary's, missed reads, etc), I'll look at each of them specifically. Roethlisberger has thrown 4 interceptions on the year. One was a hail mary at the end of the half in the Tennessee game ("intended" for Mike Wallace) that no one should take the blame for. One was on the deep ball to Wallace; we can argue what would have happened if Ben hadn't been hit or that Wallace didn't adjust to the ball very well, but it's hard to say that interception is primarily on anyone other than the blocking, specifically Max Starks, who got beat inside when he had outside help. The only interception that was clearly completely Ben's fault was the pass he overthrew to a covered Holmes in the Tennessee game. The fourth interception was in the Cinci game when Holmes missed a hot read and ran his normal route instead of a slant. So that's 1 interception on the QB, 1 on Holmes, 1 on the OL, and 1 dong interception.

I'm often hesitant to conclude very much from football statistics ("by employing linear extrapolation we can tell that Roethlisberger will put up a -634.7 passer rating while passing to Holmes in week 15"), but it's pretty obvious that Holmes was absolutely wretched in weeks 2 and 3 and a big part of why we lost both games. It should also be noted how positively Reggie-Wayne-like he was in week 1: if you take away the interception that was all on Ben, he gave his QB a rating of 146.6. He's one of the main reasons we won that game.

In my opinion, this offense can only be great if Santonio Holmes is great. The rest of our roster of pass catchers is filled with upside guys, complementary pieces, and veteran leadership. Ward, when he's not committing "pass interference" (emphasis on the quotes), can still get open, but he's no longer a big threat with the ball in his hands. Miller is a similar threat. Moore is a great outlet receiver, but he's not the centerpiece of an offense. Wallace is extraordinarily promising, but, like the rookie he is, he still misses downfield blocks and steps out of bounds for no reason. Sweed can apparently get separation anywhere on the field but even drops the balls he catches.

Holmes is the only player on our roster who is ready now to be both a go-to-guy and a scoring threat on any given play. Who else on the roster could catch 9 passes and yield a 11.9 YPA in a given game? Who else can attack all levels of the secondary like Holmes? When Ben has thrown to receivers other than Holmes, he has an amazing 80% completion percentage, but that has only given him a much less amazing 7.9 YPA and a downright boring 10.0 yards per completion (Holmes has a career 16.5 YPC). Wallace, or even Sweed, could turn into a threat like Holmes, but they're not there yet.

I have no idea if Holmes' problems over the past 2 games are simply a lack of concentration, the result of a vague wrist injury, or something completely different, but we need Holmes to be "great", like he was in the playoffs last year and like he was in week 1. The defense may not be quite as good as it was last year, but when Polamalu gets healthy, it will be fine. The offensive line has been better than expected (better than I expected, anyway), Roethlisberger has been outstanding, and even the offensive playcalling has improved some over last year. The missing piece (other than a miraculously resurrected running game) is a consistently dynamic playmaker on offense that can score from anywhere on the field. If Holmes can fill that role in the offense on a week to week basis, we can play with any team in the NFL. If not, however, no one else is ready to step into that role and we'll continue to struggle to put teams away.

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Injury

Considering that Holmes has never had the drops like he has recently, I’m thinking the wrist injury i affecting him more than the Steelers are letting on.

He’s been pretty dependable his whole career.

by Cols714 on Sep 30, 2009 1:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Great work BMF

Catch rates are a product of four things: Reliability by the WR, general accuracy by the QB, communication with the QB and the kinds of patterns the WR runs. Last year, Holmes was one of the worst starting wide receivers in the league in terms of catch rate, at 48 per cent. The only starting WRs with a lower percentage were Braylon Edwards and Roy Williams, and Williams’ numbers were affected by him being airlifted into a new offense. His two previous years in the league, Holmes had a respectable catch rate of 61 per cent in his second year and 57 per cent as a rookie, which was okay. But overall, despite having good hands and showing he can hold onto the ball when hit, he has not been a consistently reliable WR at the same level of difference makers around the league.

Is Holmes ready to be the guy we all think he can be? I thought so. The playoff run and the SB game in particular seemed to be signs he was ready to take the next step. He started off against Tennessee the way he left off against Arizona. The last two games he’s taken a step back. This offense is only a small step from being explosive and Holmes can be the catalyst for that if he plays up to the level that he thinks he is already at.

Even without him playing at that level, I think the Steelers can play with anyone in the league. They’re not getting blown out so far and I don’t see them as clearly inferior to any team, even at 1-2. On one other point, I agree that as a rookie, Wallace cannot be expected to be a difference maker. But he’s not playing like a rookie in terms of catching the ball. He’s playing like a guy who can turn a game around at any given moment. The normal rookie rules might not apply to him.

by steeler.lifer on Sep 30, 2009 2:03 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

“A step back” is a drastic understatement. Very good insight otherwise though.

I agree with you on Wallace as well. I have kept an eye on him for most of the games and I still cannot believe he is a rookie. Excluding the two step outs and the blocking down field, he has looked very very promising. With his speed and ability to get separation from the defender, there is no reason he cannot be a difference maker.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by Johnny_S on Sep 30, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Awesome Stuff Bad….these numbers are shocking to me!

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by drinkyourmilkshake on Sep 30, 2009 2:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank you Bad

Great post!

I actually posted a bit of this before and was surprised that people did not seem to notice these numbers.

For all the panicked yelling about Sweed it’s Holmes has been the much bigger problem for our offense in our two losses.

Steeler.Lifer, thank you for pointing out the stats from last year. Those have me really worried about Holmes reliability. Do you have a link to where you found them? I am curious to see how the rest of our WR’s stack up over time.

by SteelerBuddha on Sep 30, 2009 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Football Outsiders has the best resource for catch numbers … www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/

by steeler.lifer on Sep 30, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

thanks!

by SteelerBuddha on Sep 30, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll give Holmes

credit for having the other team’s best corner covering him, but he seems to be getting open and just dropping catchable passes. We do need Holmes playing well for the O to be effective. Without his down field threat, the short passes to Hines and Heath will dry up. I envision Santonio stepping up this Sunday night which should open up the running game too.

by qwikdoc on Sep 30, 2009 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wr's situation

The wide receiver situation is very good. Santonio had a few drops, some in the rain, but we know that is not the norm. The reason the WR situation is good is that we all are realizing that Wallace has a lot more talent and is a lot more ready that we did 3 weeks ago. On his long reception last week his separation in moving down the sideline away from first round draft pick Jonathan Joseph speaks for itself. Ben is going to need a while to learn just how far to lead this kid when Mike really cuts into 5th gear 30 to 40 yards down field. But also impressive is the triple move he put on Joseph to get open by 5 yards on the slant-in to gain 6 yards before the long reception. The annoucers commented that he had some shake and shimmy on that move. I have had to slow that move down on my DVR and watch it 3 times before I had an idea what Mike did. I think he actually did a triple move in a flash before finally veering inside toward the hashmark. If this kid can shake people off near the line, when they already fearful of him going long, he will be a real force. I know I am getting excited before has really earned it, but he may end up the year as a legitimate complement to Hines or Santonio. Sweed has pretty well blown it as far as playing time until someone gets injured and gives him another chance. Maybe we could trade him for a 3rd or fourth pick or use him in a trade to move up in the draft next spring. It would help his value if he could get a few long catches in the season.

by buddydial on Sep 30, 2009 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Great point buddy

Wallace has shown the ability to someday (maybe soon) be a complete receiver at all levels. He has caught passes over the middle in tight coverage, taken hits, made catches in clutch situations, and used his speed deep. In preseason he was also running reverses and it would be great to see that again, too. The other parts of the WR position have to be learned: blocking, understanding zone coverages, knowing what to do when Ben starts scrambling. But his talent level is very high. Once again props to Datruth4life who had this guy pegged even before the draft.

by steeler.lifer on Sep 30, 2009 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I could be wrong but

Haven’t two of his big catches been on BB scrambles. I’m thinking specifically of the clutch play in the Tenn game and one ball in the Cinci game. He seems to move well on “second chance” plays.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by Johnny_S on Sep 30, 2009 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not sure about the Cincy game because I was watching it on a vid-stream and I missed some things. But the big catch vs. Tennessee was on a designed rollout to the left by Ben

by steeler.lifer on Sep 30, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

RobertEthan also loved Mike Wallace, which I find amusing.

You sure Ike isn’t reacquainting himself with his fingers, he certainly doesn’t use them for catching. - Brian (DaBolts) on "Face Me Ike"

by steelguy99 on Sep 30, 2009 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess old RE is pretty sad the cardinals didn’t get him, then….

by acrollet on Sep 30, 2009 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just to clarify

I’m not hating on Mike Wallace. He’s already about as good as Nate Washington ever was for us. However, he’s still a rookie, and he cannot do all the little things that you’d expect from a #1 WR. Blocking down the field, better route running (even though it’s better than expected) on all types of routes, and fighting for yards for starters. Then let’s think of all the things we haven’t asked him to do which he almost certainly would need time to learn – option routes, hot reads, and body control for sideline catches. He came awfully close to stepping out of bounds on his deep pass against the Bengals and they may have won if they had challenged it. Also, he hasn’t had issues with drops yet, but he catches the ball with his body sometimes and I think he will have some issues with them before the year is up. Obviously he’s not the mental case that Sweed is, though.

My point in all of this is not to bash on Wallace – he has greatly exceeded expectations for a rookie 3rd rounder and he has all the upside in the world. Still, he is not going to be as good as Reggie Wayne in 2009. Holmes, if he can focus or be healthy or whatever he did in the Super Bowl and the opener, is the only one on our roster that could be that good this year. And as we’ve seen in the first 3 weeks, the Steelers with a dynamic threat at WR are better than the Steelers without that threat.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Point taken

Never considered you were badmouthing Wallace. I’m just suggesting that Wallace’s ceiling while unknown could be very high, and his production this year might only be limited by the number of looks he gets as the No. 3 WR rather than his status as a rookie. In terms of performance he is looking every bit as good as Eddie Royal and Donnie Avery did as rookies, and both of them were instant play-makers who forced defenses to account for them.

by steeler.lifer on Sep 30, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh yeah, Eddie Royal. Good stuff.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great info but what about D?

Do you think the defenses are leaning towards Holmes after his success in the Tennessee game?

by betelgeuse on Sep 30, 2009 3:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The defenses didn’t make him miss a read or drop catchable balls. And for what it’s worth, Charles Tillman, the Bears #1 CB, was on Mike Wallace deep instead of Holmes on the play that Ben got hit. I don’t think there’d be a huge difference in how he would be covered as the result of one game.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I remember someone bringing up a point.

Something about how Santonio in last season started off slow but progressively became better towards the end. Is it possible that the same phenomena is happening again?

This is Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu getting knocked around by the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii yesterday...
Minutes later, Troy caught the ocean going over the middle and smacked it right in the mouth. The ocean fumbled, Troy recovered and ran it into the endzone. The ocean never messed with Troy again.

by paulamalu on Sep 30, 2009 3:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Repeat of last year

Holmes made the biggest catch in Steelers history last year. I’ll add that on the play before, he made what would have been the biggest drop in Steelers history.

In the first third of last season, Nate Washington had replaced Holmes as the #2 receiver. Holmes was dropping passes and breaking off his routes. He began improving after the bye and ended up on fire in the postseason.

But Holmes did not perform for a complete season last year and is having the same problems to start this one. He’s dropped passes and ran the wrong route on the pick six at Cincy.

Holmes will likely ‘wake up’, as he did last year, and the offense will improve. But Holmes is not yet one of the top NFL receivers.

by upabob on Sep 30, 2009 3:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

HOLMES $ COMPANY

Good points on all side especially about having the #1 corner on him. But Holmes has been open he is dropping balls because he is classicaly thinking about the run before the catch I would like to see him get more screens and quick hits instead of deep balls so he can get in open space he is a baller & Wallace looks great deep so is old faithful #86 still picking up big 1st downs he just needs more plays called to him.The O feeds off Hines just like they used to with the bus. Would love to see Holmes and Wallace running back punts and kickoffs I like little man but again we have speed return men what we dont have is a 3rd down road grater on the roster would love for Redman to get a chance another 3rd and 1 killing us like Ben needs more hits doing QB sneaks! I saw today that Coach T will sit Sweed for Mcdonald. I am disgusted that the 08 & 09 drafts did not include the O-line early we will pay in the future for that both Mendenhal and Sweed should have been 3rd rounders and although I like Hood so far that was not a necessity like the O-line. Forte would have been a great Steeler really sad we took Mendi instead hope the staff learns from there mistakes they are looking too much at potential and personality instaed of proven talent early in the draft. BTW where has Woodley and Harrison been they look like there thinking too much which makes for a slow rush instead of the wild animals from last year!

by Darold L on Sep 30, 2009 3:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Interesting Poast

While I sit here, and consider Troy Polamalu’s absence the reason for our problems, its actually quite possible that it depends more on Holmes being on his A game.

I have to wonder if its the wrist thing too because he typically has great hands and that ball just sticks instantaneously when he touches it. And yet lately he’s been kinda off.

But the bad hot route INT was stupid and cost us the game too.

by Mechem on Sep 30, 2009 4:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think we miss both other-worldly Polamalu and other-wordly Holmes. Their replacements, Tyrone Carter and pot-head Holmes both suck.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

drugs are bad mmkay....

by Mechem on Sep 30, 2009 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1000

by TheHumbleOne on Oct 1, 2009 5:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting Numbers...

Terrific breakdown, it’s pretty apparent after looking at these just how much we missed Holmes in the Bear and Bengal games. From watching the games you could tell that there was a disconnect with Holmes; the numbers really jump out and tell a story.

Here’s to hoping Santonio’s wrist heals quickly, and that Wallace continues to develop as well as he has so far.

A number of posts included Sweed here….I’m just not sure how he fits in at this point. The drops are obviously a huge issue, and I’m as down on him as anybody at the moment. On the other hand, it’s really hard to ignore just how much separation he’s capable of getting. The drops stick out because of that very fact. If we could get him some Lester Hayes stick ’um, imagine what that passing game would look like…..

by dawgs144 on Sep 30, 2009 4:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I like his run after the catch

Holmes has done a good job with the quick pass down the line of scrimmage. He seems to be a strong runner and usually gets decent yards. Unless of course Hines can’t disguise his pick and we get backed up 10 yards. Hines also is effective in that play but doesn’t have the burst Holmes has. I think they should let Ben audible that play when the coverage is favorable

by qwikdoc on Sep 30, 2009 4:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

One other point that I realized while writing this post is that Ben leads the league in completion percentage. Pretty incredible if you consider how poorly his #1 WR played in 2 of the games and how poorly the offense in general seemed to perform. If we can figure out how to score touchdowns we could have a lot of success.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 4:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

question

I noticed Holmes was in the top 10 through two weeks on Football Outsiders DVOA metrics and 22nd through Week 3. Ward is in the top 10. I just don’t see exactly where he’s been underperforming outside of his bad route that led to the pick six. Interesting post BMF.

Freel free to email me anytime at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc, or to just say what's up. -Michael Bean (Blitz)

by Blitzburgh on Sep 30, 2009 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’s uncharacteristically dropped some crucial passes the past 2 weeks. He’s getting open, just not holding onto the ball.

by qwikdoc on Sep 30, 2009 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the point is

That Ben is 80% to all other receivers, and 50% to Holmes.

by SteelerBuddha on Sep 30, 2009 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A couple things

A lot of it is more the disparity between week one and weeks 2 and 3. I mean he dropped over ten spots in one week!

One other thing that you have to look at is that while he’s 22nd in DYAR (overall value), he’s he’s only 32nd in DVOA (value per play). A lot of that is because of his excellent week 1 and because Ben is going to him a lot. Interestingly enough, he’s still “above average” per play, again largely because of his excellent first game and also because he has an above average QB throwing him the ball.

Top WR’s catch more than 50% of their passes, and they’re more than a little bit above average. After the playoffs and week one, a lot of people were hoping to see Holmes elevate his play from “good but inconsistent” to consistently great. On average, he’s been far from great or consistent in three games so far this season. Actually, he’s been “good but inconsistent”, like the rest of his career. That’s not performing under the standard of his career, but it is performing under the standard of a guy we were hoping would finally put everything together and emerge as a star this year.

He still has time to have a great year, but he’s not having one so far.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think some of us might be confusing Holmes with Sweed

Holmes has dropped a few, but let’s not think of him as we think of Sweed. He will get his act together sooner than later. As much as we throw the ball now, he has to if he wants to have that 1,000 yd. season.

by StoneColdSteel on Sep 30, 2009 5:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The difference between Holmes and Sweed is that we expect Holmes to perform like a top WR, whereas we have almost no expectations of Sweed after what he did last year.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

One other difference is that

Sweed has had a total of about 15 passes thrown his way over his entire career. (Holmes had that many in one game.)

The fact that they are coming at big moments in big games, with two memorable and terrible moments thrown in there – is skewing our sense of him and his potential.

Unlike most of you, I am not ready to give up on Sweed. I don’t think benching him for a week or two is a bad idea per se, but the guy still has potential.

As for Holmes – he has had two bad weeks. I am now very curious to look at his numbers historically. As Lifer pointed out a catch rate of 48% may not be what we want out of a number one receiver.

by SteelerBuddha on Sep 30, 2009 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just an FYI from a Sweed basher;
I am not ready to give up on him either. He has upside. I just state emphatically that the best 45 be hatted on game day. IMO I don’t think he’s one of the best 45. I think he should grab some sweats and hang with the PS & IR gang for a while until someone is injured and he is really needed.

Had Shaun McDonald been on the field last year against SD or Baltimore or this past week against Cinci, Ben would have 3 extra TD passes on his resume and the Steelers would be 2-1. Of course if pigs had wings they’d be eagles…

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on Sep 30, 2009 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and...

if rats had wings, they’d be Ravens.

breathe in deep feel your heart beat, just to know that life's worth livin'. feel your feet on the earth, better love it while it's still here spinnin'.

by NoCal-SteelCity on Sep 30, 2009 7:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Assuming McDonald could get the separation down the field that Sweed was able to get…

I agree, though, that he shouldn’t be in there if he can’t catch the ball. I don’t know what will get him over that hump – getting a lot of playing time didn’t help, and neither did an off-season of practice. I’d think the solution would be to have him succeed in a real game, but I don’t know how many more opportunities we can give him, or how much those opportunities are going to cost the team.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He will get opportunties. At some point there will be an injury. Even barring that, there are a number of games coming up that SHOULD be easy wins. Best situation would be for the Steelers to be up a couple TDs (yes, it will happen), give Hines a rest, put Sweed out there for 3-4 series and put him to work.

by steeler.lifer on Sep 30, 2009 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sweed should go in next week

I dont think a Benching is gonna help him. He needs more reps. I truly think he catches and holds onto the next deep shot.

What we fail to think about is the positive. Lets say Sweed sucks at getting open on that long play. He fails to do so. Ben cant throw the ball. He gets a sack that breaks his leg because he was looking around for an open man for 6 seconds….

He just dropped a pass. A pass that many people wouldnt have been able to even have thrown their way. He’s fixable. Put him right back in there. Hit him on some short routes early to loosen him up.

by Mechem on Sep 30, 2009 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Doesn't seem it's going to go that way

Sadly I think that Sweed is heading to the bench. Short term its the right decision. McDonald was sure handed and reliable. He’s a vet. He will show up on game day and he will catch 2-4 passes. He will help us win. But we leave a guy on the bench who has the potential to be a real dangerous WR in this league. I just hope that he get’s to develop a bit. 6-4 guys with speed are not that easy to find.

He may never turn into a stud or even a decent third string guy, but I think you have to give the guy more than 4-5 games to find that out.

by SteelerBuddha on Oct 1, 2009 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

playcalling

What I don’t understand is the complete throwing out of trick plays. I know that we don’t need them in a lot of cases because Ben is running the offense very well, but we are terrible on the goal line and and the o-line is no by no means great. Wouldn’t it help the 1. the running game 2. the o-line 3. goal line situations, if they brought back at least a couple of gadget plays? Wouldn’t the threat of a trick play at least make the defense think a little bit? What happened to the direct snap Ward? What about a reverse? Why not use Dixon at least once in a game? Didn’t the Steelers win a super bowl on a trick play not so many years ago? Just like the defense uses deceptive blitzes to make it work, the offense needs some deception too or better personnel.

by copperwv on Sep 30, 2009 6:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

we do have an intricate offense

I dont usually quote Phil Simms, but he himself said the Steelers have one of the most complex offenses in all of football just last week. All those bunch formations are just one example of how our offense keeps defenses off guard.

Anywa, I don’t disagree though. A little extra something at the right time might help get some actual points up there on the scoreboard.

Freel free to email me anytime at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc, or to just say what's up. -Michael Bean (Blitz)

by Blitzburgh on Sep 30, 2009 6:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The two goal-line plays vs. Chicago were not necessarily trick plays, but they were somewhat unusual and both ended up as TDs. Both had Ben using his legs outside the tackle, one on a throw to Spaeth at the back of the end zone, the other a counter bootleg to the left. The success of those plays made it even more surprising to me that Tomlin did not go for it on fourth down against Cincinnati. I think we’ll see Wallace or Holmes on a reverse in the near future, again not necessarily a trick play but probably more effective than some of the gadget garbage we’ve seen in the past from Arians and Tomlin (the QB sweep vs. Jacksonville, the fake punt with Ryan Clark I believe running the ball, the pseudo wildcat in the SB that lost yards).

by steeler.lifer on Sep 30, 2009 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I think that they should just sneak it everytime we go to the 1 yard line. Bens friggin 2 yards tall and a big dude and strong as an LB. He gets it basically every time. He’s never satisfied!

So why we kicked the pussy FG to start the game was beyond me. That was actually a bad day for Tomlin in general I felt.

by Mechem on Sep 30, 2009 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ll agree with that. Even if your conversion rates suck, it’s still usually better to give it a shot and if it doesn’t work out, they’re offense gets it on the 1. Or the 4 if we try a handoff. Whatever, though.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Oct 1, 2009 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ability to score more important

Not sure you are proposing that more balls should be thrown to Holmes because he can get better yardage or Holmes had been dropping passes lately and therefore should get less looks from Roethlisberger? Steelers need a better running game if it is to get more wins. I’m sure Roethlisberger will be the first one to speak up and yell if Holmes is not up to it.

by Richard L on Sep 30, 2009 6:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m not proposing either of those things. I’m calling out Holmes. He said he wanted to be great. We need him to be great if we are going to be a great team. He had a great post-season last year, but great players are great in week 3, too.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Sep 30, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Better running game.....

SportsMumboJumbo.com
The Steelers ran the ball pretty well last week with Willie almost going for 100. I think they need to get Sweed more involved. He has to much talent as seen from his days in Texas.

by EricFeld on Sep 30, 2009 6:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

talent in college doesn’t necessarily translate into talent in the pros…(VY, Leinart, etc…)
Last time Sweed got a chance to be involved, he dropped a wide open, game-clinching TD pass.

breathe in deep feel your heart beat, just to know that life's worth livin'. feel your feet on the earth, better love it while it's still here spinnin'.

by NoCal-SteelCity on Sep 30, 2009 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey Leinart is still really good at picking up chicks dont be hating.

by Mechem on Sep 30, 2009 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Would you stop it with the sportsmumbojumbo promoting?

if it was your sig line, wouldn’t be so bad.

by SteelersVT on Oct 1, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mendy v Sweed

Sweed is actually trying too hard. You can see his latest drop he’s trying to cradle the ball and his whole physiology is screaming “don’t drop the ball”…I am extremely frustrated with his drops but since, by all accounts, he is a hard worker and is generally liked, he will get some more opportinities. Although, I completely agree with the decision to have McDonald be the 4th receiver.

Mendy is in a different predicament. Not only has he shown next to nothing, aside from the 2 “big” plays v. Bears, he has not practiced hard and been lost mentally. Not a good combination.

Tomlin clearly is perterbed with both of them. But I think Mendy shortcomings have been more eggregious.

by SteelerMike on Sep 30, 2009 9:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You wouldn’t like Tomlin when he’s Perturbed….

by Mechem on Sep 30, 2009 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Anyone notice Sweed on the sideline after he dropped that TD?

He actually looked like he was in pain and was going to cry. You don’t often see that in the NFL after a botched play. I would rather he had that look like, “Shoot, I dropped that one but I’m going to make up for it the next time I get my hands on the ball.” That showed me this dude has ZERO confidence right now.

I think Tomlin’s first duty is to put players on the field that is going to help this team get W’s, not repairing Sweed’s confidence. This is the NFL, son. If you can’t catch the ball, there are plenty of people out there who can and want your job. He better reach down and grab a pair. You’ve got to be mentally tough to play on this team. The coach demands it.

by datruth4life on Oct 1, 2009 11:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess that's better than sitting in the end zone crying.

by SteelersVT on Oct 1, 2009 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

R. Harris just released; will he be back in Pittsburgh?

Hope he makes it back home.

by datruth4life on Oct 1, 2009 11:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed. Dump Eason. It’s not like he won’t be available if we have a DL injury.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Oct 1, 2009 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Many problems, lots to do, lots to fix

1. I don’t know how many of you could know this, but that kind of 4th and 1 shiete, settling for FG over forcing a TD? been going on since the early 80’s, no matter who is coaching…..must be in Steelers’ play calling bible and Tomlin and Co had to swear to it before getting the job. How many AFC playoff games did we lose with Cowher, with home field advantage and all that pomp and circumstance to see the same jackass play over and over again lose us the game…

2. Our defense blows, but I can say too, our offense dropping passes is inexcusable…Imagine if Sweed Catches the ball, or Holmes completes the route like he is supposed to, as far as Holmes is concerned we would have won in Chicago….Sweed, in Cincinatti…..no one would really be examining our defense
would they, a W in a column does not necessarily mean you are a championship caliber team, but it keeps you from being under the microscope….
Super Bowl or no last year, our defense looked bad in Arizona, if you hadn’t noticed the yardage Warner put up against us…I can appreciate very much the offensive effort in Cincinnati Sunday, Our offense had a lot of different looks, different views…..Steeler haters in Seattle accusing us, still to this day, of stealing that superbowl from them? This is what dropped passes mean to a game….

3. You are a loser until you start winning….Last season our defense delivered the goods for all games for all 4 quarters….our offense would sputter for three quarters and wake up to play the last. But we won…we weren’t consistent or dominating on offense, Ben always managed to pull it out.miraculousness..incredible actually….Now the offense is playing 3 quarters and sleeping in the 4th…..defense, kind of the same…..uninspired? too many new faces on the team, chemistry, complacency…?

for some athletes, getting to the top just one time, some look around beyond and behind and wonder where else there is to go, and generally won’t find the passion in themselves to repeat…unfortunately there are other men on the team who don’t feel the same, with that kind of dynamic, sometimes a team is doomed..

you can thank Ben for keeping us alive at times when all seemed lost..you can’t do that as a methodology, or write that script week to week, or train for it….but that is the case of our playoff run last year….it was our defense that kept it close, our offense has always looked sketchy…..our defense showed promise against TN and hasn’t done squat since…

by Cray Morrison on Oct 1, 2009 3:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs