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Pizza Bagels, Genius! (1 Viewer)

Defense was primed to do big this year IMO and we lose Tuitt.  Last couple years same story but on offense.  Just can't seem to catch a break.

 
fred_1_15301 said:
Defense was primed to do big this year IMO and we lose Tuitt.  Last couple years same story but on offense.  Just can't seem to catch a break.
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I think Alualu can hold down the fort, especially when Dupree comes back.  Bigger concern is if Haden can round back into shape and if the safety position is solid.

 
fred_1_15301 said:
Actually rum for me today.  The reason I hate life could also be due to having a 1 year old and 3 year old who were especially cranky today.   :shrug:   
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I feel ya.  My two-year-apart siblings are done and grown.  You're in for one hell of a ride.

Switch to whiskey.  The extra sugar in rum is doing you no good -- for your waist or your hangover.  A good burn also slows down consumption.

 
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Haden got the game ball because it was his first career opening day win. He was 0-7 with Cleveland. More trolling the Browns than performance related.

Just gotta hope for the best with Tuitt. Injuries happen but still frustrating...the ink on his $60 mil contract is barely dry and he makes it through 3 plays.

 
kyoun1e said:
I think he had less than 5 carries in the first half.

That's ridiculous.
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And what was his YPC in that first half?  They were committing 8 or sometimes 9 to the box with a good front 7.  Why keep beating your head against the wall?  Or is this fantasy football related?

 
Predictions on number of crap games from Bell before the run game gels?

I'm assuming the consensus here is that his poor performance was due to the preseason holdout?

 
Cookiemonster said:
And what was his YPC in that first half?  They were committing 8 or sometimes 9 to the box with a good front 7.  Why keep beating your head against the wall?  Or is this fantasy football related?
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They never even attempted to establish a run game.  Bell wasn't on the field for a substantial part of the game.  The play calling in the first couple of series was also beyond putrid and Ben was not too sharp early on either.  I realize that preseason games are a joke and they pose an injury threat but it was obvious they were out of sync.  Hopefully this game was enough to shake off the rust.

 
Godsbrother said:
They never even attempted to establish a run game.  Bell wasn't on the field for a substantial part of the game.  The play calling in the first couple of series was also beyond putrid and Ben was not too sharp early on either.  I realize that preseason games are a joke and they pose an injury threat but it was obvious they were out of sync.  Hopefully this game was enough to shake off the rust.
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Not a Steelers fan (and I am cringing a little bit even typing this out) but could this have been a form of "benching" Bell without literally benching him? I find it hard to believe that he blew off camp and preseason, reported Sept 1 and everyone just  kissed and made up.

 
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habsfan said:
Not a Steelers fan (and I am cringing a little bit even typing this out) but could this have been a form of "benching" Bell without literally benching him? I find it hard to believe that he blew off camp and preseason, reported Sept 1 and everyone just  kissed and made up.
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I think its more likely that there was a game plan designed to not have to depend on Bell given lack of time to synchronize the run game....I don't believe staff would try to "punish" the player for holding out when wins and losses are on the line...particularly since this staff is not inclined to take a hard line with players (other than the hard line taken on negotiating more money).

 
Is Jesse James going to continue to be used like yesterday or was that just a fluke?  I drafted Ebron and he had a turd of a game.  Ebron does nothing but disappoint every year.

 
Hawkeye21 said:
Is Jesse James going to continue to be used like yesterday or was that just a fluke?  I drafted Ebron and he had a turd of a game.  Ebron does nothing but disappoint every year.
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It is hard to tell.  Right now I would expect James to be somewhat of a roller coaster where it is difficult to know which game to start him.

 
Godsbrother said:
It is hard to tell.  Right now I would expect James to be somewhat of a roller coaster where it is difficult to know which game to start him.
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That's what I was guessing and why I was going to wait before I make a move.  Wouldn't have surprised me if I dropped Ebron for James and they ended up having opposites types of games in week two.

 
That game was atrocious. Some takeaways:

  • Bell was not in sync with the offense. They left him on the sideline on key drives and used Conner instead who was meh.
  • Our O-line looked terrible. Absolutely horrendous. Hoping that the Browns D is just way better than we thought and that our line just needs a little more time to gel. Ugh. Villanueva especially imo.
  • Haden wasn't great. He got burned a couple times, but mostly in a bend but don't break kind of way. I think Cockrell would definitely have done worse. Just got the game ball because he'd never won and opener and they played the Browns. If not, AB or Watt would have gotten it. Or Matakevich. Without him we might have lost.
  • Big Ben, gross. He looked HORRIBLE. He overthrew or underthrew so many passes! Then he would throw his hands in the air, so maybe he thought they were going to do something else, or it was frustration with himself? Idk. But there were tons of passes where WRs or TEs or RBs were trying to leap for the ball or it hit off their fingertips. He looked really, really bad. They need to tighten up before the Vikings game or we'll get crushed by their D.
  • AB looked good and Bryant got screwed. After a certain point Ben only looked for Brown, even if Bryant was wide open. On one toughdown pass he threaded the needle to James, which was great, but Bryant was wide open about 5 yards from him, he just never looked that way. Bryant dropped 1 pass in tight coverage, but Ben really let him down.
  • Our pass rush looked great. If they can keep it up all season we'll be in good shape.
  • For how awful our Offense looked I think some can be attributed to our playing down to worse teams, playing bad on the road, not being up to speed on their synchronization, and Bell not knowing the playbook well enough.
  • Our D looked ok but definitely can improve on 3rd and long.
  • Tuitt got hurt, and the speculation is a bicep tendon tear and he's out for the season. BUT THAT IS NOT CONFIRMED. Some doctor on twitter (I know, not to be trusted) said from looking at the tape of when he got injured that it didn't look like the worse tear. Also, some of his teammates said it wasn't that bad, and he left the stadium carrying his bag in his "injured" arm. Also, no sling, and usually they wear one for a major tear. We'll see later today. Fingers crossed!
  • Wilcox got injured bashing his helmet into someone and he might have a concussion.
  • The play calling was abysmal. They started the game screen, screen, screen, punt. I get trying screens if they stack the box, but don't try almost identical plays 3 times in a row. That's bad play calling. Also, if you have the best RB in in the game, why not use him in the screen? Just a thought.
  • Our special teams looked good for the first time in forever.
Overall, the team looked mediocre. I'm chalking it up to first week jitters. Hopefully they get their s**t together and Bell is on the same page next week. If he gets less than 15 touches next week we're going to lose. 

 
steelers1080 said:
That game was atrocious. Some takeaways:

  • Bell was not in sync with the offense. They left him on the sideline on key drives and used Conner instead who was meh.
  • Our O-line looked terrible. Absolutely horrendous. Hoping that the Browns D is just way better than we thought and that our line just needs a little more time to gel. Ugh. Villanueva especially imo.
  •  
  • Big Ben, gross. He looked HORRIBLE. He overthrew or underthrew so many passes! Then he would throw his hands in the air, so maybe he thought they were going to do something else, or it was frustration with himself? Idk. But there were tons of passes where WRs or TEs or RBs were trying to leap for the ball or it hit off their fingertips. He looked really, really bad. They need to tighten up before the Vikings game or we'll get crushed by their D.
  • AB looked good and Bryant got screwed. After a certain point Ben only looked for Brown, even if Bryant was wide open. On one toughdown pass he threaded the needle to James, which was great, but Bryant was wide open about 5 yards from him, he just never looked that way. Bryant dropped 1 pass in tight coverage, but Ben really let him down.
  •  
  • For how awful our Offense looked I think some can be attributed to our playing down to worse teams, playing bad on the road, not being up to speed on their synchronization, and Bell not knowing the playbook well enough.
  •  
  • The play calling was abysmal. They started the game screen, screen, screen, punt. I get trying screens if they stack the box, but don't try almost identical plays 3 times in a row. That's bad play calling. Also, if you have the best RB in in the game, why not use him in the screen? Just a thought.
  •  
Overall, the team looked mediocre. I'm chalking it up to first week jitters. Hopefully they get their s**t together and Bell is on the same page next week. If he gets less than 15 touches next week we're going to lose. 
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I attribute a large portion of that to the new pre-season approach: the 1st team offense played very little in any of the pre-season games (and, obviously, none at all as an entire unit because of Bell).  In past years, they always played more, especially in game #3.  Now, the fear of injury prevents that, so they have almost no game-speed reps and regular season game #1 looks like pre-season levels of execution.

 
steelers1080 said:
  • AB looked good and Bryant got screwed. After a certain point Ben only looked for Brown, even if Bryant was wide open. On one toughdown pass he threaded the needle to James, which was great, but Bryant was wide open about 5 yards from him, he just never looked that way. Bryant dropped 1 pass in tight coverage, but Ben really let him down.
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Apparently Ben has little or no concern about my subscription contest entry.  The nerve.

 
steelers1080 said:
  • The play calling was abysmal. They started the game screen, screen, screen, punt. I get trying screens if they stack the box, but don't try almost identical plays 3 times in a row. That's bad play calling. Also, if you have the best RB in in the game, why not use him in the screen? Just a thought.
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I thought this as well.  The WR screens early in the game was driving me nuts.  Also I don't get why they went to open sets on some of the short yardage situations.  It seems to me that you are needlessly giving away the fact that you're going to pass.  Having a RB back there makes the defense have to respect the run, help out with protection, and can always release or go in motion before the snap to add another receiver.  It is also one of Bell's strengths.

Hopefully they do a better job next week

 
Don't want to scoop "The Hank" but he just texted me that Ian Rapoport is saying Tuitt's injury is NOT season ending and is "week-to-week"

Ha Ha -- looks like I didn't scoop Hank afterall!!!!

 
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habsfan said:
Not a Steelers fan (and I am cringing a little bit even typing this out) but could this have been a form of "benching" Bell without literally benching him? I find it hard to believe that he blew off camp and preseason, reported Sept 1 and everyone just  kissed and made up.
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Have to admit, this thought did cross my mind yesterday. Then I thought he would get much heavier use in the 2nd half, but it never really materialized. Didn't help that the o-line got called for holding every time he carried the ball in the 4th QTR.

I wonder if the game plan was to try and put the Browns away early with a "shock & awe" passing attack, but forget that Big Ben was away from Pittsburgh and couldn't pull it off.

All conspiracy theories aside for now, Bell's "football" conditioning may still be getting up to NFL RB standards.

 
Dizzy said:
Have to admit, this thought did cross my mind yesterday. Then I thought he would get much heavier use in the 2nd half, but it never really materialized. Didn't help that the o-line got called for holding every time he carried the ball in the 4th QTR.

I wonder if the game plan was to try and put the Browns away early with a "shock & awe" passing attack, but forget that Big Ben was away from Pittsburgh and couldn't pull it off.

All conspiracy theories aside for now, Bell's "football" conditioning may still be getting up to NFL RB standards.
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Considering the possibility Bell could move on in 2018, PIT will likely give Bell all he can eat this season.  

Terrible week 1 start was a combination of Bell not getting enough reps in practice (due to the holdout) and that team up north appeared to game plan the D for crashing toward Bell to take him out of the game.  I'd say that plan was very effective.  

 
Hawkeye21 said:
Is Jesse James going to continue to be used like yesterday or was that just a fluke?  I drafted Ebron and he had a turd of a game.  Ebron does nothing but disappoint every year.
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Vance hasn't been in camp long enough to learn the playbook and gain Ben's trust.  Running the wrong route in the middle of the field could be disastrous.

After Vance gets acclimated, I wouldn't be surprised to see Vance's # called for the stretch plays between the 20's then replace him with JJ in the red zone.  Need a better blocker and sure hands in the smaller field.  

 
Grid71 said:
Considering the possibility Bell could move on in 2018, PIT will likely give Bell all he can eat this season.  

Terrible week 1 start was a combination of Bell not getting enough reps in practice (due to the holdout) and that team up north appeared to game plan the D for crashing toward Bell to take him out of the game.  I'd say that plan was very effective.  
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Not to nitpick but technically Bell did not hold out.   He was not under contract and so no obligation to report.    I know, same result, just wanted to clarify.

On another note I think the Steelers are going to have their hands full Sunday.    I know it was at home against a crappy defense but Minnesota looked pretty good last night.  No rust was showing on their offense.

 
Godsbrother said:
Not to nitpick but technically Bell did not hold out.   He was not under contract and so no obligation to report.    I know, same result, just wanted to clarify.

On another note I think the Steelers are going to have their hands full Sunday.    I know it was at home against a crappy defense but Minnesota looked pretty good last night.  No rust was showing on their offense.
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7 point favorites. Seems a bit too high.

 
Godsbrother said:
Not to nitpick but technically Bell did not hold out.   He was not under contract and so no obligation to report.    I know, same result, just wanted to clarify.

On another note I think the Steelers are going to have their hands full Sunday.    I know it was at home against a crappy defense but Minnesota looked pretty good last night.  No rust was showing on their offense.
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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000831108/article/rooney-expects-bell-to-join-steelers-before-week-1

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/08/09/kevin-colbert-leveon-bell-is-hurting-himself-with-holdout/

Hi GB,

Agree 100% about the Steelers having their hands full with the Vikes this weekend. That offense didn't show much rust. Here's hoping PIT starts firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, Tomlin was spot on when he foreshadowed consequences of Bell not being there with his teammates in camp. I'm just glad it didn't cost the team a W.

If you're fishing about the nitpick, I guess I'll bite. Even Mr. Rooney and Kevin Colbert were quoted from different sources saying "hold out" in the links above. Bell chose not to join his teammates in camp; I think we are all fully aware there wasn't a contract negotiation hold out.   

So you don't confuse me as a Bell hater either, do I blame Bell for waiting until the last minute to sign?  Heck no!  It's how the NFL bargaining agreement is structured. Thus Bell took advantage of the opportunity and held himself out, skipped, dodged, took a pass, was busy washing his hair, went looking for Brady's phone (pick one) instead of reporting to camp.  

If you were fishing, congrats. You landed one. If not, just grab a brew and lighten up Francis. 

 
Grid71 said:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000831108/article/rooney-expects-bell-to-join-steelers-before-week-1

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/08/09/kevin-colbert-leveon-bell-is-hurting-himself-with-holdout/

Hi GB,

Agree 100% about the Steelers having their hands full with the Vikes this weekend. That offense didn't show much rust. Here's hoping PIT starts firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, Tomlin was spot on when he foreshadowed consequences of Bell not being there with his teammates in camp. I'm just glad it didn't cost the team a W.

If you're fishing about the nitpick, I guess I'll bite. Even Mr. Rooney and Kevin Colbert were quoted from different sources saying "hold out" in the links above. Bell chose not to join his teammates in camp; I think we are all fully aware there wasn't a contract negotiation hold out.   

So you don't confuse me as a Bell hater either, do I blame Bell for waiting until the last minute to sign?  Heck no!  It's how the NFL bargaining agreement is structured. Thus Bell took advantage of the opportunity and held himself out, skipped, dodged, took a pass, was busy washing his hair, went looking for Brady's phone (pick one) instead of reporting to camp.  

If you were fishing, congrats. You landed one. If not, just grab a brew and lighten up Francis. 
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I guess it is just a matter of semantics.  I was under the impression that to holdout meant that you had a signed contract and not reporting because you are looking for more.   In Bell's case he had no contract and the terms of the tender were set.  Ultimately it doesn't matter what you call it so I probably shouldn't have even brought it up.

As far as lightening up and having a brew -- I plan on doing that tonight at my weekly beer & cigar gathering!    :banned:  +   :hot:

 
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