Joe Greene on Steelers Offense Under BA

As you say, alot of what the discussions were on this site. Even the armchair coaches saw what Mean Joe did.

He’s a trusted member of the Steeler family, and would not wander of the reservation on a matter like this.

Joe Greene is Steeler Legend and Hall of Famer but is is also a special assistant in the Steelers personnel department. Did anyone really think he would say the move was wrong when you look at his role in the front office. Yes the Arians haters have a lot to love about this article. But there are a lot of red flags in the article too.

Again to me, all the Steelers had to do was say we are not not renewing his contract we wish him well. The more I here members of the Steelers front Office speak about this the more I go “Really!?” like Kyle from South Park. To me every time someone opens thier mouth more questions come up. Mean Joe just added a lot more to the pile:

1. If the Steelers had smart play calling in offense they would be in the Superbowl this year. Really!?
2. When someone asks you if you agree with something you answer you do not disagree with it. Really!?
3. The 32nd run offense runs the ball “pretty good”. Really!?
4. Arians is slamed for not running when obvious, but the Patriots are praised for running on 3rd and long out of shotgun. Really!?
5. Offensive Play Calling was the reason for missing the playoffs in 2009. Really!? (Here is a link to replays from 2009. It still hurt to look.)

They wanted him gone he is gone. They should stop saying things that undermine thier decision. To me the problem with the run game is not about playcalling, fullbacks or hiding the fact that you want to run. For some reason, even before Arians, the Steelers have had problems with 3rd and short and 3rd and goal. Remember the Divisional Playoff game against the Colts and the Goldline plays against the Seahawks in the SB. QB sneak was easy solution but Ben hurt means it is not an answer. To me it is not about hiding you want to run. It is about running when they know you want to run and getting the one to three yards you need. What is sad right now is that a WR sweep on the goal line not a trick call but the right call. The running stats show a commitment to the run. The problem is the return on the commitment is not as good as it could be. It is more about execution than play selection.

On 1/18 the Steeler were sceen has 12-1 favorites to go back to the SB next year. Only 3 other teams had better adds an NE was the only other AFC team before team. The front office did not make it clear how this move helps them better thier odds and at this point because of how they have handled this I do not think they can. To me 12-4 and wait and see do not mix.

The biggest problem with Arians wasn’t that he wanted to air it 40 plus times in bad weather with a crappy offensive line or that he completely forgot Heath Miller was on the field, or that Rashard Mendenhall and before him Willie Parker were good RBs…no, those were the 7th, 8th, and 9th things wrong with Arians.

The biggest issue with Arians is that he became Big Ben’s enabler. He let Big Ben do pretty much anything he wanted without any repercussions. There was no accountability. None of us have to hear every week when Big Ben takes one coverage sack after another, “oh that is just Big Ben trying to make a play”. Sometimes, it took the Steelers out of legitimate scoring opportunities, other times, it got him seriously injured like against the Browns.

Arians’s relationship with Roethlisberger got so big that even the head coach could not dismiss the assistant. No, the damn owner had to “retire” the assistant coach. That speaks volumes of the situation.

Say what you want about Arians winning a Super Bowl and getting to another. How many head coaching jobs is he up for? Heck, the only job he could get is a lateral move with Indy, who is likely not gonna be good for a while given their current situation.

The pressure is on Big Ben this year. Whiz and Big Ben did not get along because Big Ben is a drama queen who wants to be the center of attention. He does not want someone telling him no, which Whiz did often times. I bet Arians told him no a handful of times in the last five seasons. We won because of Whiz and the great defense in 2005 and we won in 2008 in spite of Arians and the defense and the QB always bailing him out. Did Arians call the play to Holmes in the end zone? I seriously doubt it. Did Arians call the play for Big Ben to scramble around for 5 seconds, shake off 2 DEs, and find Mike Wallace 40 yards downfield? I doubt it. If backyard football is your best offense, you need to consider an alternative.

Giants’ offensive game plan was the difference in SB XLVI

http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/story/09000d5d826b07b0/article/giants-offensive-game-plan-was-the-difference-in-sb-xlvi?module=HP11_content_stream

The Patriots were so concerned with the Giants’ explosive passing attack that they routinely aligned in Cover 2 on early downs to protect their corners from being exposed in isolated matchups. The tactic certainly limited Manning’s attempts to attack down the field, but the Giants countered by repeatedly dropping the ball to running backs and tight ends in the flat following play-action fakes. The threat of off-tackle runs lured the Patriots’ linebackers to the line of scrimmage, while the vertical routes by the outside receivers forced the cornerbacks to vacate their responsibilities in the flat. As a result, the fullback or tight end was repeatedly left unguarded in the vacant area, leading to short gains that helped keep the Giants in manageable situations on second and third down.

This is one of my beefs with BA and Big Ben – He just wants to go long.

The Giants stayed patient with the running game. New York finished the regular season ranked 31st in rush offense, but made it a point to establish the run in the Super Bowl. The Giants opened the game with 16 runs in their first 35 plays, and featured an assortment of off-tackle powers to attack the Patriots’ vulnerable edges.

Our running game is so predictable – The formation dictates the play call.

Gilbride took advantage of the Giants’ favorable matchups in the passing game. When evaluating its personnel prior to the game, it was evident New York’s receivers enjoyed a sizeable advantage over their Patriots defenders. Gilbride exploited those matchups when the game was on the line. He featured Hakeem Nicks prominently in the game plan to take advantage of his superior size and speed against Kyle Arrington and Devon McCourty in base formations. Nicks was targeted repeatedly on shallow crossers and square-ins over the middle, and he hauled in a few quick screens that isolated him against cornerbacks on the outside. When New England used its dime package with a bracket on Victor Cruz, in particular, the Giants instructed Manning to go to Nicks against Antwaun Molden on the outside. As a result, he finished the night with 10 receptions for 109 yards with several key third-down conversions.

Ben forces the pass and does not take what the defense gives him. This falls on the OC and QB coach being able to coach him and not be his friend.

I’m afraid Ben might not have IT! I agree, Arians was an “Enabler”, Buddy type. We’ve had The Tools. They just were NOT used right. Hopefully, that will change. I don’t see Bean as a Mature Man, ready to Lead a team, though. Scary!

Expect a BIG problem between Ben R. and Todd Haley. It is going to happen.

How many Steeler fans remember that Giants OC Gilbride was the OC for the Steelers for one year — I think it was 2003? He was pass happy, the Steelers stunk that year, going 6-10 or something like that. Cowher fired him. The good news was that the Steeler’s bad season earned them a high draft pick and they drafted Ben R.

You see 6 Lombardi Trophies not yardage trophies.

The bottom line in football is scoring. The Steelers ranked 27th in points per yard gained. That is the problem. We racked up yards, but very few points for the effort.

The play calling was predictable. Yes they ran the ball, but had trouble in the red zone.
Were there reasons for the problems this year, yes. But these same problems were there the last 4 years as well. Ariens has not addressed them – OL, BB getting sacked & injured, predictable play calling, Ben holding the ball too long, Ben throwing long to Wallace when he can’t move or the wind is blowing etc and not taking what the defense gives them, etc.

Ben and Arians may be best buddies. This is not a good relationship between boss and subordinate. Do I think that Haley may be an over reaction, possibly, but he has gotten a lot out of those players in the past. I do not care if the two of them vacation together, I care about results.

Tomlin now has an OC that will give it to him straight and not tell him what Ben wants.

“We could throw the ball when we had to, and we could run it when we had to. That’s football! You do what you have to do when you have to do it — run it when you need to, throw it when you need to. It’s not all one way. I think that’s what we didn’t get.”

Exactly, Mean Joe. Considering how the season ended, everyone in this organization should be expecting and embracing change. It wasn’t like anything that this team did last year was good enough or up to its standards.

When you line up 3 WR you can gurantee a bubble screen is coming, He was not using the WR and TE’s the way he should and Mendenhall has good hands and should have seen screens to him or 20 plus yards. WE are stocked at RB too in Mendenhall,Redman, Clay, Dywer, and Batch. Best play I seen was against Denver when the run was coming instead Wallace going accross the front and a pass where he walked in. Him and Ben became to much as friends and BA was not improving his QB play, Ben can be a great QB not just a top 10.