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2023 Pittsburgh Steelers. Banged up team loses to Buffalo. Looking ahead to 2024 now (9 Viewers)

Hey!  Totally looking past my awesomely coached Bengals here!

(Okay yeah we're gonna lost that one by like 50.)

Anyway gaming things out as you guys mention it's virtually certain that Cleveland has to be level with the Steelers for Week 17 to be the decider.  I think the only way Cleveland would have a chance if a game behind you would need these exact results:

Pit: Beat Buff lose to Cincy and Indy

Clev: Beat Balt and win one of Giants or Jets.

Then the head-to-head and divisiom tiebreakers would he level (assuming Clev win in week 17) and the Browns would have the next tiebreaker: Common games.

I guess the Browns also have the tiebreaker if:

Pitt Beat Buff and Indy but lose to Cincy

and Clev win all 3 of Balt, Giants, Jets

So yeah the Browns need the Steelers to lose to both Buffalo and Indy because as mentioned above the Bengals will lose by what will hopefully be a fireable amount.

-QG
It's a shame because if Burrow was playing, I think it would be a much closer outcome than last time around.  But yeah if the Steelers lose to your Bengals, it's all pretty much moot at that point.

 
The way the Steelers are playing right now a win against Buffalo looks unlikely although it will be good to have Pouncey and Conner back. 
 

 
As bad as I was expecting, that was somehow worse. Just gross.

Need to get the run game going, stop the drops, and get healthy in a hurry. Trending in the wrong direction right now in all facets of the game.
No Pouncey and no Connor.  Only 4 days between games -- just tough to do anything after an NFL game with so little recovery/prep time.

Glad to get the loss out of the way.  Expect another one in here somewhere.  The lack of a true bye week is catching up to the team.  Need more strategic rest.

 
Only 4 days between games -- just tough to do anything after an NFL game with so little recovery/prep time.

 The lack of a true bye week is catching up to the team.
5 days.  And they had a mini-bye week by the Baltmore game moving from Thursday to Wednesday.

 
5 days.  And they had a mini-bye week by the Baltmore game moving from Thursday to Wednesday.
A "mini-bye?"  How so?  They practiced as if the game was being played, as scheduled on Thanksgiving.  Then they find out it was postponed to Sunday, so they practiced as if the game was going to be on Sunday.  Then they find out it was being moved to Wednesday, so they continued to practice for the game on Wednesday.  

When exactly was this mini-bye where they were able to get some time off, rest, refresh, etc?

 
5 days.  And they had a mini-bye week by the Baltmore game moving from Thursday to Wednesday.
Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday  is four days between games.

That is not a mini-bye week.  They didnt get days off -- the had to prepare for a game that they thought was Thursday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday.

 
So following an embarrassing loss to the WTFs (and I’m saying that as a Skins fan) is this the week Tomlin finally talks some sense into audible happy sandlot QB Big Ben and the Steelers try to establish the run instead of passing it 55+ per game?

Their D is losing players by the minute, Buffalo D  is much more vulnerable to the run, and because of Pitt’s banged up defense maybe they should try to control TOP so Allen doesn’t carve them up like a Christmas goose. All this being said, the most likely outcome is glory boy Ben will just keep chucking and play right into the Bills preferred game plan.

 
Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday  is four days between games.

That is not a mini-bye week.  They didnt get days off -- the had to prepare for a game that they thought was Thursday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday.
You got a problem with Wednesday?

 
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A "mini-bye?"  How so?  They practiced as if the game was being played, as scheduled on Thanksgiving.  Then they find out it was postponed to Sunday, so they practiced as if the game was going to be on Sunday.  Then they find out it was being moved to Wednesday, so they continued to practice for the game on Wednesday.  

When exactly was this mini-bye where they were able to get some time off, rest, refresh, etc?
If you don't think 10 days between games was enough for them to rest and recover, then I guess I'm just arguing with myself.

 
Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday  is four days between games.

That is not a mini-bye week.  They didnt get days off -- the had to prepare for a game that they thought was Thursday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday.
Do we say that when a team plays a game on consecutive Sundays that they have six days between games?  No, they have seven days between games.

They played on Wednesday.  Thursday-Monday is five days.

 
If you don't think 10 days between games was enough for them to rest and recover, then I guess I'm just arguing with myself.
What 10 days?  They practiced continually during that time period, because they kept getting told "you have a game in 4 days."

If you don't understand that, then you are just arguing with yourself, because it's obvious.

During an actual bye, players don't to to meetings every day, they don't practice every day, they actually get time off to rest, relax, recover, etc.  When they are preparing for a game, they're doing the opposite. During the fictitious mini-bye you're alluding to, they were preparing for a game the entire time. 

 
What 10 days?  They practiced continually during that time period, because they kept getting told "you have a game in 4 days."

If you don't understand that, then you are just arguing with yourself, because it's obvious.

During an actual bye, players don't to to meetings every day, they don't practice every day, they actually get time off to rest, relax, recover, etc.  When they are preparing for a game, they're doing the opposite. During the fictitious mini-bye you're alluding to, they were preparing for a game the entire time. 
Yes, in-season practice sessions are so strenuous.  It's impossible to believe that 10 days between games would allow their bodies to heal due to all the hard-hitting ### kicking practices they have to endure for 16 hours every non-game day.  Yep, you're right.

 
Yes, in-season practice sessions are so strenuous.  It's impossible to believe that 10 days between games would allow their bodies to heal due to all the hard-hitting ### kicking practices they have to endure for 16 hours every non-game day.  Yep, you're right.
So you're creating a straw-man to avoid acknowledging that CONSTANTLY preparing for a game is not a "mini-bye" then?

 
So you're creating a straw-man to avoid acknowledging that CONSTANTLY preparing for a game is not a "mini-bye" then?
The mini-bye week is what the Steelers got stuck with in Week 4.  They got robbed of their extended time off that they would have had from Thanksgiving until the following week, and instead get to play 3 games in 12 days.

 
The mini-bye week is what the Steelers got stuck with in Week 4.  They got robbed of their extended time off that they would have had from Thanksgiving until the following week, and instead get to play 3 games in 12 days.
If that's what @tangfoot is referring to, I still disagree, but it's more defensible, as the Steelers were told earlier on in the process that they'd have no game that week.  While they started their preparation for that game, they were able to "stop" their prep after the schedule change.

The "thanksgiving" game, however, is what I believe @tangfoot is posting about, and he's just wrong.  They spent the entire period that he's calling a "mini-bye" preparing for a game, which is the exact opposite of what teams do during their bye week.  He seems to be suggesting that because they weren't actually playing a game during those 10 days that it is basically a bye, ignoring the fact that because they didn't know they weren't playing a game, they had to prepare for a game (like they do every week).  Following that logic, EVERY week a team doesn't play a TNF game is a mini-bye, since they have 6 days where they aren't playing an actual NFL game, even though they are preparing for one.

 
You guys ready to lose your first game to Washington next week? ;)

Kidding, you guys are awesome, I love watching this offense, especially owning Diontae and Claypool in so many leagues. 
I know right!  :)

Funny how the NFL is.  Not For Long.  It took a suddenly tough Redskins team not that much to make us one dimensional and beatable.  Interested in how we react to this.

 
On the fence with Gabriel Davis against this defense. Probably not enough targets to justify it but if the Pit defense has slipped a little then it makes him more appealing. 

It's a shootout on paper.

 
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Pouncey activated.  Hayden and Spillane and Vince Williams are OUT.   The Steelers are a M*A*S*H unit on defense right now.

 
Stick a fork in this team.  
It's a shame injuries have robbed the Steelers of legitimate opportunities of deep playoff runs over the last 2 years.  Last year the D was so dominant they finished 8-8 with you and me at QB.  Then this year injuries to the LB corp and the oline are going to rob this team of any SB hopes.  Sucks.

 
It's a shame injuries have robbed the Steelers of legitimate opportunities of deep playoff runs over the last 2 years.  Last year the D was so dominant they finished 8-8 with you and me at QB.  Then this year injuries to the LB corp and the oline are going to rob this team of any SB hopes.  Sucks.
It's not just the last 2 years.  This team is cursed.  Injuries have derailed their season for quite a few seasons in a row.  

 
The problems on offense aren't because of injury.  
Not sure I agree completely. Ben isn't right. His knee is an issue and the past few games prove that out. Can't move or set to throw with pace or the deep ball. Did anyone else notice him limping in the tunnel before the game started? Now the running game is another story. What happened? Did they just forget how to run block? 

 
The problems on offense aren't because of injury.  
I think the injuries on defense are the bigger issue.  That defense when healthy could have carried this team to the Super Bowl.  Now they're a shell of themselves and likely a first round playoff loss.  On offense, Ben isn't an elite QB anymore IMO and the offensive line is not very good.  They do have talent at the receiver position but they're dropping the ball at critical moments.  

 
Ben's knee injury is clearly worse then they are leading on. Thus, teams know the deep pass isn't a threat, and are honing in on the short passes and run game. I don't know how to fix it at this point, guess we root for the Ravens tonight, as a win next Monday night would wrap up the division in that case...then maybe sit Ben out until the playoffs? Hell, I say maybe even put Rudolph out there next week at this point...if you can't win on Monday against Cincy, then the playoffs would be one and done anyways.

 
I am not panicking yet, Bills are obviously a good team, and WFT are on fire right now, so I figure some games that they easily could have lost earlier in the season are coming back to balance out. Remember the Steelers were driving before halftime with a 7-3 lead before the pick 6. We will get Haden and Spillane back shortly, and Williamson will only improve as he gets more live reps in the system. TJ was literally the only threat of the LB corps, and Buffalo took advantage of that and neutralized him.

If they lose Monday, then sound the alert. I live in Cincy, and this team has absolutely no business winning on Monday, I don't even care about the "rivalry" factor, or the fact that they are playing for nothing. I will say they don't think twice about going for it on 4th down...field position/down and distance/game situation be damned, which is scary and difficult to account for.

 
Not sure I agree completely. Ben isn't right. His knee is an issue and the past few games prove that out. Can't move or set to throw with pace or the deep ball. Did anyone else notice him limping in the tunnel before the game started? Now the running game is another story. What happened? Did they just forget how to run block? 
While I agree that Ben's knee is a concern he can still throw deep, certainly deeper than he has been.  The problem is there is zero push from this offensive line and the lack of the running game is allowing defenses to concentrate on stopping these short passes.  The drops aren't helping either.

Let's not forget this team just played 3 games in 12 days and they aren't banged up and exhausted.   I like that we get a somewhat longer week to rest a bit, hopefully get a little healthier on defense, and hopefully have an easy time of it on Monday night.  

 
I guess your definition of "fraud" at 11-2 concerning an NFL team is dependent on your expectations.  If the goal of the Steelers was to make the AFC title game then they are still a legit contender and still likely to make it.  But after that I don't see this at all.   Connor coming back helped a little but it is clear they aren't changing this dink and dunk style of play.   Plus everyone mentions how Brady can't throw the deep ball but Ben is so much worse at this point.  

I really can't see this team being strong in the playoffs against teams like the Chiefs and now the Bills.   With Buffalo we are hoping that Josh Allen has that game we think he is going to have every week but doesn't really have anymore.    Hell I am not that sure the Steelers could handle the Titans right now

 
I guess your definition of "fraud" at 11-2 concerning an NFL team is dependent on your expectations.  If the goal of the Steelers was to make the AFC title game then they are still a legit contender and still likely to make it.  But after that I don't see this at all.   Connor coming back helped a little but it is clear they aren't changing this dink and dunk style of play.   Plus everyone mentions how Brady can't throw the deep ball but Ben is so much worse at this point.  

I really can't see this team being strong in the playoffs against teams like the Chiefs and now the Bills.   With Buffalo we are hoping that Josh Allen has that game we think he is going to have every week but doesn't really have anymore.    Hell I am not that sure the Steelers could handle the Titans right now
We will find out if they can even handle Cleveland or Indy.  If not, we are running out of teams that they can beat in the playoffs.  I agree with Penguin that getting Spillane and Haden back for the playoffs could be big.  

 
No panic yet.  The team was missing 4 starters on defense (5 if you count Spillane), which caused a rookie to start at OLB plus a guy they traded for from an 0-7 team two weeks ago at ILB, and a safety-converted-LB who has barely made the team since being drafted at the other ILB.  Then at one point we chewed through 8 o-linemen and our starting RB just got back from Covid.

P.S. -- anyone see Vince Williams tweet about his Covid:  " Lungs feel like I smoked 8 packs of Newports 3 Black and Milds and a Russian Cream.'

 
No panic yet.  The team was missing 4 starters on defense (5 if you count Spillane), which caused a rookie to start at OLB plus a guy they traded for from an 0-7 team two weeks ago at ILB, and a safety-converted-LB who has barely made the team since being drafted at the other ILB.  Then at one point we chewed through 8 o-linemen and our starting RB just got back from Covid.

P.S. -- anyone see Vince Williams tweet about his Covid:  " Lungs feel like I smoked 8 packs of Newports 3 Black and Milds and a Russian Cream.'
This is true and I forgot about that.  

 
If Feiler and Dotson are going to miss time, any way we can get Stefan Wisniewski back, or will he stay with KC?  Saw he was elevated from the practice squad, but I think he goes back down today per covid rules.

 
I doubt anyone is panicked about the D. They played with what they could last night, and made a game of it. I think everyone is panicked about the paper tiger offense, and rightfully so. Ben all season long is underthrowing deep balls, making them contested jump balls instead of what should be. Washington and Claypool can get separation deep, but Ben can't hit them in stride at all. The five to ten yard throwing offense has been figured out, and teams now crowd the line. They can't run, nor can they run block. They don't have any backs that make tacklers miss, so the issue is magnified. 

All told, only a healthy D can get this team anywhere, but they look like a one and done to my eyes. I struggle to see who they can beat, besides the AFC North teams, come playoff time. 

 
Not sure I agree completely. Ben isn't right. His knee is an issue and the past few games prove that out. Can't move or set to throw with pace or the deep ball. Did anyone else notice him limping in the tunnel before the game started? Now the running game is another story. What happened? Did they just forget how to run block? 
I'm convinced that Ben operates out of the shotgun so much because it's hard to move and turn to make hand-offs and drop back properly.  

 
What a great game last night and now a victory against the Bengals and we win the division.   I know everyone is down on the Steelers but I am hopeful they will be able to right the ship in time for the playoffs.

 
Morally I cannot bet the Steelers against my Bengals but I assume all of your mortgage payments are laying the 11 1/2 this week.  I mean 24 points should be more than enough to cover that number.

If the Bengals are forced to start Finley make sure you hammer any and all over numbers related to sacks that you can find.  Dude has dropped back all of 26 times in relief duty this year and has managed to get sacked 7 times.

I do ask that you allow us some field goal attempts so we can get a look at Seibert.  Thanks.

-QG

 
Presume Ben decides to hang it up after the season. What would you like to see from the organization at QB for next year? I wouldn't mind seeing Stafford in black and gold while they groom a young QB.

 
I think they're just all beat. I'm hoping at this point that we can make the last week irrelevant, and rest some of our starters. We've lost so many to injury:

  • Devin Bush
  • Bud Dupree
  • Robert Spillane
  • Joe Haden
  • Zach Banner
  • Matt Feiler
  • Diontae Johnson's Hands
  • Big Ben's Deep Ball
I'm still very hopeful that we can turn things around but the Defense is tired and the offense is complete and utter crap. It's so stale and has 0 innovation. Our offensive line has no ability to push or make holes in the running game. I'm not sure if it's due to age (Pouncey), injuries piling up (DeCastro), or mediocrity (Alejandro, Feiler, Chuks), but I'm hoping that we can get some young talent to step up and surprise. If not, it might be time to use high picks on O-line again in the next few years. I don't place the blame fully on the RBs, we pretty much only run on 1st down and there's no holes for the RBs to attempt. 

Overall, still hopeful for this season, but they have serious issues that need to be turned around. 

 
geneyus said:
Presume Ben decides to hang it up after the season. What would you like to see from the organization at QB for next year? I wouldn't mind seeing Stafford in black and gold while they groom a young QB.
When Ben retires I'd rather the Steelers just get a solid Journeyman, like they had in Charlie Batch. Someone who's been around a while, and is ok, and can help keep a young QB focused, but is in no way competition for them. Also, we're in salary cap hell, I don't want them spending any money on QB until they resign a rookie. The ONLY exception, is if they think they can sign an amazing talent at a reasonable price (like the Saints did with Brees back in the day, but that situation is very, very rare). 

I think our best bet is to go all out while we have Ben (maybe 1-2 more years), and then trade up in the draft to get a QB the team likes. I can't see us drafting top 5, even without Ben. But, a lot of our team needs to be resigned in the next season or 2.

List of starters not signed for next season: Dupree, Villanueva, Conner, Juju, Feiler, Zach Banner, Alualu, Avery Williamson, Mike Hilton, Jordan Berry. Our current Cap Allocation is $201 million, aka potentially $25 million above the salary cap... Big Ben - $40 mil, Joe Haden - $15.6 mil, Steven Nelson - $14.4 mil, Vance McDonald - $8 mil, Decastro $14.3 mil, Pouncey - $14.5 mil.  I could see extensions for some of the guys above just to make some cap space for next year, but not sure how many good years Haden & Pouncey have left. 

After next season (2021) things start to look weird. The players we have signed for 2022:

  • QB - 0
  • RB - Snell & McFarland
  • FB - Derek Watt
  • WR - Claypool, Diontae
  • TE - Gentry
  • OL - Dotson
  • DL - Tuitt, Heyward, Buggs, Carlos Davis
  • LB - Devin Bush, Alex Highsmith, Ulysees Gilbert
  • S/CB - Justin Layne, James Pierre
  • Sp T - Bos
That's both crazy, and a huge opportunity for the team. The amount of potential turnover in the next 3-4 years could be huge, but it could finally free up our cap space (assuming Ben retires in the next 2-3 years which seems probable). I think we'll resign Minkah and TJ Watt, at least I hope so. And hopefully Bush bounces back from this ACL and leads our D for many years to come. 

I wonder if Colbert steps aside in the next year or 2 and lets Omar Khan craft the next iteration of the Steelers. I hope we can close out this version with a Super Bowl!

 
geneyus said:
Presume Ben decides to hang it up after the season. What would you like to see from the organization at QB for next year? I wouldn't mind seeing Stafford in black and gold while they groom a young QB.
While I also would like to see Stafford in PIT I doubt their cap situation allows for it.

 
Talk has begun about moving on from Fichtner after this year, hope they do. I have never been a fan of his playcalling or decision making in clutch situations. I hope they get someone innovative if they replace him but I worry they'll just promote from within and it'll be more of the same...

 
Talk has begun about moving on from Fichtner after this year, hope they do. I have never been a fan of his playcalling or decision making in clutch situations. I hope they get someone innovative if they replace him but I worry they'll just promote from within and it'll be more of the same...
My money is on Matt Canada

 

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