Steelers Thump Bengals Early, Surive Furious Late Charge to Improve to 6-2

idk, i semi-disagree with your assessment of the 3rd down shotgun run. that play gets 10-20 yards if Legursky makes his block in the hole. that was a great call to surprise them with a shotgun run, I’m not sure we gain significant yards with a straight run, Cincy had just blown up the play before and everybody would have expected run if we lined up in an i formation. that was a case of execution foiling the play. not the play call being shitty, which actually is a welcome(?) relief.

He had a horrible game in truth. 17 points were scored by luck or good field position, not his play calling. I saw nothing but single back and shotgun formations. I saw the same bubble screen thrown like 5 times, each time only getting at most 5 yards. I saw the same run with Ward in motion over and over again, and each time it was dialed in on. I saw a bland, vanilla, game plan that shouldn’t be praised simply because we won.

The points we scored, Mendenhall’s production, were all individual effort and luck, not the result of proper play calling. How many of those Mendy passes were Ben doing an audible? Deep shots at the right time, yes, but how many really worked? Why didn’t they? Because we rarely ever called a PA. That 3rd down run was a horrible decision. Actually, running Mendy all 3 downs after that much production, without one PA call is inexcusable. Palmer was showing us how important PA passes were all night long.

It’s REALLY time for this team to invest in a fullback and learn about the I formation.

on the third down play they ran. There was a glaring hole and legursky got unlucky and missed a block but it was also a freakishly lucky tackle by the bengals CB against a great RB with a huge guard running at him. Had mendenhall been in there i think they would of made the first down as mendy looked too tired to make that one guy miss. Im glad the steelers won but im still very critical on them, i want them to close out games more and i sincerely think i will never see another defensive effort like the one in tenessee which is dissapointing. Im also a bit dissapointed with the run blocking, mendy is a great back but he often has to stall and make moves at or behind the LOS. if he had more holes that he can hit with acceleration he would be in the top 5 rushers. Just some observations…

Hall got turned around, and Wallace adjusted to the ball better than he did. Touchdown.

Legursky didn’t get unlucky, he missed a block. Several times. There’s no way this team feels secure with its offensive line, and that’s not bad luck, it’s bad execution.

Especially divisional opponents. Especially on the road. Especially after you just finish playing two road games. I’m not surprised that Cincy came back. Look at their games, they do this all the time. Against New England and Atlanta, on the road, the team was down for the count but mounted furious come backs late. So why wouldn’t they do the same at home? They were helped out by a Ben turnover and some fortunate penalties on one drive. This is not the same cincy team that we’re used to dogging 35-7 every year. They have talent and they have proven it. This year things just haven’t gone their way, they haven’t been able to put it together, get the ball rolling sooner. Yea, we let them back in the game with the turnover and penalties but we still won.

We needed this game. We needed to have an opponent make a comeback late. This only makes us better. You might say you need to shut the door and close out a game. True. But how many games are we going to be up 27-7 in the 4th quarter if we make the playoffs? Playoffs are almost always tight games and we need to be used to playing them. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, just like in 2008. Yea it sucks trying to watch it but at least we were up. That was a another desperate team with their season on the line. This time we came through. The team proved to itself that last year was an aberration and not the beginning of a trend. We needed this kind of win. Coaches love these types of wins because you can rip into the players without having suffering a loss.

I hate the penalties, I don’t think either one of them should have been called, we’re in agreement on the Hampton call. I think TO had the cause of the alligator arms and tried to play it off as Ike hooking him. I didn’t get a good look but I didn’t see it. But it was a veteran move and a good WR trick -acting like you were interfered with even if you weren’t. But I loved that the Steelers said, we’re not going to make excuses like so many other teams, we’re going to win despite bad calls. That is what champions are made out of.
As I said above I liked the draw play, it should have worked.

As soon as they mention Pouncey playing ever down this year, he gets hurt and misses downs. My heart sank because at that point we were playing 3/5 backups on the line with 1 of the 2 starters that plays like a backup. We ended up having a fumble on that play but I can’t get mad at hines – ever. He just plays so hard you accept those few mistakes he does make.

And Mike Tomlin is showing Jeff Reed why he doesn’t deserve a big contract. I think tomlin is saying to Reed, you want more money? Well go out there and win us some football games. Reed is failing this test.

I thought it was one of his better called games, especially the opening calls. BB was throwing more on 1st down, making the set not as predicable, setting up the running game. Not only is the defense getting tired in the 4th quarter, I think BA is also tired. BB should call all the plays in the 4th.

Is why keep Mendenhall in there for that many consecutive carries? They showed a quick shot of his face just before the final carry and he was clearly huffing and puffing. They spent all last week trying to “divide up the carries” by giving Moore more touches. Then, when it makes most sense to sub out Mendy they kept him in. He should have been subbed out for Redman (mighta been injured) or Moore with fresh legs.

Small critique

This can’t go on forever.

Without Harrison’s miraculous breakup on last Bengals offensive play we’re wearing a big ugly L.

This run defense is on the brink of being one of the best units in the history of the NFL.

Woodley’s 2 sacks
Chad’s meltdown (he’s a 3rd fiddle on that team now, behind shipley)
Holding Benson to a paltry 54 yards with a long of 8
ARE’s Arm
How we didn’t collapse when 3 OL suddenly went out (I know I did)

Everyone else covered a lot of the stuff I didn’t like- but the ticky tack call on big snack made me livid. Huge gift.

The team just makes me nervous, they bend way too much against a good passing game. TO was getting open withe ase during the 1st half, and I believe after the 1st TD, he said “All day” I dont read lips but it seemed like he said something like “we got that all day, all day” and I believe they could have gotten that a few more times

BA’s play calling seems predictable. I understand that he needed to simplify as a result of injuries, but his timing is off, regardless if it sets up another play later in the series.It seems opposing D’s always have his number, and individual play and effort is what bails him out, but I ain’t no expert. I’m on the fence with BA…maybe I’m influenced by all the bruce haters….

Oh, and the interception was all on ben. He has been under throwing receivers all season. If he had thrown it over millers shoulder toward the sideline, it would have been an incomplete pass at worst.

Once a team is up by 20 points in a 4th quarter, the only way the team that is behind can come back is by a complete self-destruction by the opposition. At that point, the worst enemy to the team that is trailing is the clock. Their best friend? An offensive coordinator that doesn’t recognize this fact and continually dials up passing plays that a) provide a much greater likelihood for a turnover (REALLY bad) and b) stop the clock if incomplete (nearly as bad). Even if the Steelers run straight into the line and go 3&out on each possession with a 20 point lead, they are still going to take, at a minimum, nearly 3 minutes off of the clock per possession. They will punt the ball away, and likely force the opposing offense to drive 60+ yards for a touchdown…forcing them to burn precious time off of the clock as well. You start slinging the ball around, stopping the clock and turning it over inside your own territory…well, that provides a fantastic opportunity for the opponent to mount a most egregious and improbable comeback. Following the horrendous interception thrown by Roethlisberger, me thinks the play calling on that last drive was a mandate from the head coach…something to the effect of “you call a single pass play, you can clean out your office tomorrow”. You have one of the best backs in football, THE best defense in football…you run the ball AT LEAST EVERY SINGLE 1st and 2nd down when up by more than 10 points in the 4th quarter. Who cares if the defense knows it’s coming? Sure it would be nice to score more points, but you need to take care of the ball, burn the clock and give your defense a chance to rest. Additionally, there is nothing more demoralizing to a defense than the inability to stop the run when they know it’s coming…it’s the ultimate nail in the coffin. If the Steelers lost this game, it was on Ben Roethlisberger and Bruce Arians. Do you think Arians would have been dialing up pass plays with Chuck Batch in that game in the 4th quarter? Nope. Additionally, the game likely wouldn’t have come down to a 4th down stand with under a minute to go.

I think Mendenhall needs to touch the ball between 25-30 times every single game. He is far and away the best offensive player on the team. Prior to that last drive, he only had 16 carries in a game where the Steelers were ahead by at least 10 points for the majority of the night. I think that stat is absolutely preposterous. I think Ben Roethlisberger gives the Steelers a better chance to win games in which they need to throw the football (or in the 2 minute offense)…but this team is just as good (if not better) when focusing on a simple, more disciplined gameplan based on clock control, ball security, “splash plays” and suffocating defense. If the concern is burning out Mendenhall, you have three more than capable tailbacks on the roster…use them. At 6-2, it’s tough to be critical, but this team was 6-2 last year as well. I’m starting to see the same fundamental cracks in the team that led to their demise last year. This team has the personnel to drop the hammer and pound the opposition into submission when up by more than 10 in the 2nd half…they need to utilize that.

Having to play musical chairs, with guys named Legursky playing 3 different positions (if you count FB at the goal line) is not easy. Kudos to the O line. Without their heroic play last night Mendenhall does not shine and Bennie would have gotten dirty.

Arians called a great game until he got distracted celebrating his own genius in drawing up (or copying from Whiz) the El pass. Seems like he fell asleep until the O line and Mendenhall took over with 6 minutes left.

The Steelers can’t make a change at mid season so we’re going to have to dance with who brung us. But, can somebody sober up the fat drunken kicker? With the way the Steelers play offense we’re going to need Skimpy. We can’t have this mess of a kicker costing us a game in January. On a side note, 2 great holds on high snaps by Robo Punter last night.

1. His vision at the first level is awful. There is no other way to describe it. The thing about this is that its not something you can correct either, you either have it or you don’t. Last night on the 3rd down shotgun run, if he’s patient and let’s Legursky set his block, cutback, he’s gone for 20 yards. Instead, its a one yard gain, and that has happened throughout his career. No complaints about 2nd level vision though. Once he gets to the secondary he’s solid.
2. He is a bit of a sissy, especially for a dude that big. I think last night was one of the first times I actually saw him deliver a blow. This he can work on and man up with some tough love from the coaching staff.

Steeler fans have been howling for a more aggressive, pin-your-ears-back defensive style in the 4th quarter for the better part of a year. Yesterday, we saw a lot of that, and most of the time it worked.

In the 4th quarter, the Bengals:
1) narrowly escaped a turnover on a strip-sack
2) were the beneficiaries of two pass-interference penalties (one of which was questionable)
3) got a free personal foul when Casey Hampton got tossed squarely into Palmer’s legs after the ball had been thrown
4) were gift-wrapped an interception from Ben trying to do too much, and were aided on the same play by a moronic Flozell Adams personal foul
5) started with nice field position after a missed Reed field goal
6) got incredibly lucky on a tipped pass from Farrior (who looked like he was playing for the pick instead of batting the ball down).

In between, there were a lot of good stops, clean secondary play, bona fide QB pressure, and sacks to put the Bengals. But all of this pales in comparison to one key stat: they won.

I feel pretty good about saying last year’s defense doesn’t make that 4th down stand. For those of you tearing your hair out in the closing minutes – this team is playing better. Be patient.

It’s easy to forget how many close nail-biters the 2008 won on the way to the super bowl. The difference between that team and 2009’s disappointment was one key stop per game. We got that one key stop this game.

I think it’s funny