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Pizza Bagels, Genius! (1 Viewer)

BigSteelThrill said:
I think this will change and have Watt chasing QBs all the damn time next year. He needed to develop more rush technique, but his instincts and athleticism were off the charts and easily utilized in coverage.
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The base defense seems to be evolving away from the LeBeau zone blitz 3-4. Hargrave is more of a penetrator than a true nose, he plays more like a 3 tech in an even front than a true 0 like Hampton. A lot of the pass rush these days is coming from the line and from secondary blitzes rather than from the edge rushers. Heyward's 12 sacks is evidence of this. The way they've deployed Watt and Dupree this year is like a hybrid 3-4/4-3 OLB. 

Remember that Tomlin was always a 4-3 guy before landing in PGH. I think he's implementing some even front concepts into the base D to keep offenses guessing. Just one guy's opinion. 

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
The base defense seems to be evolving away from the LeBeau zone blitz 3-4. Hargrave is more of a penetrator than a true nose, he plays more like a 3 tech in an even front than a true 0 like Hampton. A lot of the pass rush these days is coming from the line and from secondary blitzes rather than from the edge rushers. Heyward's 12 sacks is evidence of this. The way they've deployed Watt and Dupree this year is like a hybrid 3-4/4-3 OLB. 

Remember that Tomlin was always a 4-3 guy before landing in PGH. I think he's implementing some even front concepts into the base D to keep offenses guessing. Just one guy's opinion. 
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I'm willing to bet he is the teams sack leader next year (health permitting for everyone)

 
BigSteelThrill said:
I'm willing to bet he is the teams sack leader next year (health permitting for everyone)
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It really depends. He's been so good in coverage this year, it's a big part of why the pass defense still ranks among the upper third of the league despite allowing so many big plays. They have him dropping on 40% of defensive snaps, if he's anywhere near that, he's going to have a really hard time hitting double digit sacks no matter how well he plays. Shazier returning or not will impact this as well, it's just too hard to say at this point. He certainly has the tools to do it, I just don't know if he'll have the opportunities. 

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
Watt hit the ground running. That's part of why I was banging the drum for him before the draft, but I think his ability to absorb the scheme and make an impact from day 1 exceeded the coaches' expectations. Add to this the fact that the defensive scheme is evolving and the OLBs are being asked to drop into coverage FAR more often than in past seasons, and Harrison was basically becoming a dinosaur. I'm sure they wanted him around as a mentor and a guy that could play a few downs as well as in case of an injury, but that's not what he signed up for. 

That's why I don't blame him for wanting to play elsewhere and he must have thought that acting like a 3 year old was the only way to achieve that. It worked, so congrats. Clearly, it was more important to him to end his career on the field than to be a Pittsburgh legend because he forfeited the latter. Just makes me want a win over NE and another Lombardi even more now. I don't want to see him get rewarded for throwing a temper tantrum. 

I don't hate him and I would never boo him. I'm not mad at you, James, just disappointed. 
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I think something that may be getting lost in all the chatter about this Harrison stuff is related to the bolded; It cuts both ways, James.

He wanted to play more so he acted like, well, himself (is anyone that surprised that Harrison pretty much removed all doubt that he's sort of a dickcheese? I'm not.  We've had a lot of data to support it.  I mean, I don't think he's Ray Lewis or anything, but he's been a headcase for pretty much his entire career) until they cut him.  Fair enough.  Then he immediately signs with NE, I'm sure at least partially in an effort to jam a thumb into Tomlin/etc's eye for what he perceives as whatever he perceived their treatment of him as.  I think that's kind of silly, but I understand how he may feel that way.  So, I get that. 

The NE linebackers basically suck out loud, so they take a flier on James and hope maybe they catch some lightning for a game/series or two at the right time in the playoffs, whether it's against Pittsburgh or not.  Plus, it's a head game (even if a minor one that is probably overhyped.  James knows some signals?  Those change pretty frequently) they can play with the Steelers basically "for free", just in case they play them again.  From that angle, I get it.   James, I'm sure, probably is hopeful he can get to meet Pittsburgh again in a few weeks and will be super motivated to be a contributor in helping knock them out of the playoffs.  I get that from his angle, too. 

What I think is maybe getting lost, is that he's probably given the 53 guys who will be suiting up for Pittsburgh another angle for motivation.  Minor, minuscule and meta as it may be, it's more motivation to want to drop the team he plays for.  All i'm seeing talked about is how bad this is for the Steelers because "he knows so much about their scheme!!!" etc.  Well, conversely, no one knows more about Harrison....and his current weaknesses...than Pittsburgh.  So, it's not like there can only be a negative outcome from the soap opera for Pittsburgh.  If the Patriots think signing 39 year old James Harrison is going to be the last brick in the wall for them to making a SB run...  We all know how much he has fallen off.

I loved watching Harrison play in his prime, and I will be eternally grateful for the SB he played such a huge part in helping them win.  I don't hate him.  I don't even think that differently about him (I've always thought he was basically an a$$hole who was good at football).  That said, I almost welcome the Patriots getting cute and trying to run him out there for more than a handful of plays if these teams meet up again in the playoffs.  Bell will eat his breakfast, lunch and dinner if they can isolate him on James in coverage.

 
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Going back to draft day. I loved the TJ Watt pick. Some were concerned that he wasn't athletic enough, I was not. I was totally right on that. 

I didn't like the JuJu pick. Didn't think WR was a position of need and was afraid JuJu wasn't fast enough to separate in the NFL. Many of you helped talk me down.  I was totally wrong on that. 

Bottom line, it's beginning to look like the FO CRUSHED this draft. If Sutton can turn into a solid starter in the secondary, this will prove to be their best draft in years. 

 
Divisional round game will be 1 PM Sunday. 

AFCC is the early game the following Sunday (3 PM, I think?) 

Not sure what I want to see happen next weekend. Only team we can't play is BUF. If they beat the Jags, they go to NE. I think I'd like to see that happen even though it means NE damn near gets a bye straight to the conference title game. I'd rather play the KC/TEN winner in 2 weeks, even though the Jags appear to be on a skid right now. KC could give the Pats problems though, they seem to be putting it back together of late. 

 
This seems to be the weakest crop of AFC playoff teams that I can remember in a long time.  Even the Patriots are very beatable.  This is the year for the Steelers to make the run.  

 
fred_1_15301 said:
This seems to be the weakest crop of AFC playoff teams that I can remember in a long time.  Even the Patriots are very beatable.  This is the year for the Steelers to make the run.  
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Agreed.

Of the four possibles there were to fill those WC spots, by far the two least threatening found their way in.  The Chargers and Ravens were both legit threats to beat any of the other five.  The Titans and Bills strike me as pretty slam dunk first round washouts.

 
I was more worried about the Ravens than any other team outside the Pats. Very happy how things turned out. I think we play the Jags, and I hope the Chiefs play the Pats because they have the best chance of winning in Foxborro. Would love to have a home game AFC Championship. Also, I think we can beat the Jags this time around, our team is better than it was and theirs is worse.

 
I haven't been keeping up with the Jags other than I know they lost their final 2 games of the season.  How is their team worse?

 
Godsbrother said:
I haven't been keeping up with the Jags other than I know they lost their final 2 games of the season.  How is their team worse?
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Well we always highlight Ben's woes on the road.  Take a look at Bortle's numbers in his past 4 road games.  He seems to be a different QB on the road compared to at home.  Even when they beat Pittsburgh earlier in the year, Bortles threw for less than a 100.  

If the Steelers protect the ball (which is a tall order against that defense), they should win the game fairly comfortably.  

 
fred_1_15301 said:
Well we always highlight Ben's woes on the road.  Take a look at Bortle's numbers in his past 4 road games.  He seems to be a different QB on the road compared to at home.  Even when they beat Pittsburgh earlier in the year, Bortles threw for less than a 100.  

If the Steelers protect the ball (which is a tall order against that defense), they should win the game fairly comfortably.  
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Okay.  I was thinking that maybe they had suffered some major injuries but they look pretty healthy from what I could see.  Bummer ;)

As far as Bortles goes it is encouraging that he has been struggling on the road, I wonder how he does when you throw in the cold too.  To be honest I am more concerned about the Jags running game though.

As awful as the Steelers offense was that day they were still winning in the third quarter before the back-to-back pick 6's and the doors fell off.   The Steelers offense is so much better now than it was in Week 5 that it is hard to imagine a repeat of that at home, even against the Jags defense.

In any case I am just going to sit back and enjoy the wildcard games this week and see what happens.  

 
Godsbrother said:
Okay.  I was thinking that maybe they had suffered some major injuries but they look pretty healthy from what I could see.  Bummer ;)

As far as Bortles goes it is encouraging that he has been struggling on the road, I wonder how he does when you throw in the cold too.  To be honest I am more concerned about the Jags running game though.

As awful as the Steelers offense was that day they were still winning in the third quarter before the back-to-back pick 6's and the doors fell off.   The Steelers offense is so much better now than it was in Week 5 that it is hard to imagine a repeat of that at home, even against the Jags defense.

In any case I am just going to sit back and enjoy the wildcard games this week and see what happens.  
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Fournette hasn't been nearly as effective down the stretch as he was earlier in the season.  There's some speculation (but only that) that he's not 100% physically.  Could just be the rookie wall, who knows?   We bottled him up pretty well early in the October game before he went bat ### in the 4th quarter.  If he is actually hampered by an injury and they can't really move the ball on the ground, they're going to have big trouble scoring points in the freezing cold of Heinz Field in January unless the Steelers' offense falls apart again and hands them the game like we did last time.

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
I still don't think we ever see him on the field again, but if he can walk again and live a normal life, that's enough for me.  Shame to see such a promising career cut short like this, if in fact it will be, though.
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I agree that he likely is done as a football player and say that even if he makes a full recovery.  

 
As long as we don't treat them like the sorry team they were today we should be fine.  But you never know with a Tomlin team how they were react 

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
Jags offense looked terrible. If we limit the turnovers next week, we will win convincingly. 
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I was a little more confident earlier in the week but this Jacksonville defense is so good and if AB isn't back, I think the game will be a nail biter.  I wish Bortles had played a great game today so that he would be "due" for a poor game next week.  The one good outcome is that the Patriots will have to get through either the steelers or Jaguars and that will not be an easy task.

 
I'm not worried about Bortles torching the secondary. Receivers are mediocre. Gap integrity and no blown assignments are the keys on defense. Of course, that has been a problem this year, along with tackling. If these guys wrap up and keep Fournette bottled up, the Jags offense isn't going to do much. Don't turn the ball over, get Bell going early, use play action. Run game is going to be the key to success on offense. Get ahead early and don't put Ben in a situation where he feels he needs to be a superhero against those corners. 

Forecast (I know, it's still 7 days out) calls for high around 20 degrees and chance of flurries. I like that. Jacksonville won't. 

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
Jags offense looked terrible. If we limit the turnovers next week, we will win convincingly. 
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They haven't looked good for 4 weeks. If Brown is 100% this should be a big win

 
I'm optimistic that the Steelers will win this week - I think the embarrassing beatdown by JAX earlier in the year actually plays in the Steelers favor.  The score was not indicative of the game - the game was close into the 4th quarter and Ben threw 5 picks.  If the Steelers don't turn the ball over they will win convincingly.  OTOH, I'm 2 whiskeys and 4 beers deep so far so that might play a part in my optimism :lol:  

 
The key for the Steelers will be to shut down the run.  If they do that and don't turn the ball over 5 times they will be fine cause Bortles is not a QB.

He was abysmal today at home in good weather.  I can't imagine how bad he will be on the road in 25 degree weather

 
fred_1_15301 said:
AB sure looks healthy in those videos that he posted.  I'm glad the game is Sunday so he gets another day of rest.
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Yeah I think he is going to be okay although doing it on the field in 20 degree weather verses a pretty good secondary is an entirely different thing.   AB is workaholic though and if anyone can do it he can.

The Jags defense is scary but assuming AB is healthy the Steelers offense is much better now than it was week 5.  I like our chances.

 
The big issue will be containing the run, both Fournette and Bortles. I don't have any confidence in our ILBs to spy Bortles and contain him in the pocket. I wouldn't be shocked if he had over 75 yards rushing. If we can contain, and get off the field on 3rd down, we should be fine on defense.

Ben just needs to not try and force the ball into triple coverage. If he takes the easy outs, we should be fine. We have great pieces other than AB with Juju, Martavis, and McDonald all stepping up in a big way, not to mention Bell. If Brown can take away Ramsey and a Safety, the rest of the field should be able to be picked apart.

Also, we need to give Leveon the ball a ton. Keep grinding out yards against their Run D to open up the play action. And the fans need to come alive and be a big part of this game. A handful of false starts would go a long way.

 
steelers1080 said:
The big issue will be containing the run, both Fournette and Bortles. I don't have any confidence in our ILBs to spy Bortles and contain him in the pocket. I wouldn't be shocked if he had over 75 yards rushing. If we can contain, and get off the field on 3rd down, we should be fine on defense.

Ben just needs to not try and force the ball into triple coverage. If he takes the easy outs, we should be fine. We have great pieces other than AB with Juju, Martavis, and McDonald all stepping up in a big way, not to mention Bell. If Brown can take away Ramsey and a Safety, the rest of the field should be able to be picked apart.

Also, we need to give Leveon the ball a ton. Keep grinding out yards against their Run D to open up the play action. And the fans need to come alive and be a big part of this game. A handful of false starts would go a long way.
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The bolded is huge.  If Bell can get going early and force Jacksonville to commit their safeties to run support, that will go a long way toward preventing that.  As will getting ahead, if the Steelers are playing from 10+ down, that's when Ben forces the ball WAY too much.

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
Jags offense looked terrible. If we limit the turnovers next week, we will win convincingly. 
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Very true but all of the people said the same thing about a certain Broncos team with an even worse QB and we all know what happened.   

 
hammerva said:
Very true but all of the people said the same thing about a certain Broncos team with an even worse QB and we all know what happened.   
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I don't think anyone should take this game lightly.  Losing to that Denver team was a joke.  That Denver team was awful.  This Jacksonville defense is very good and very capable of disrupting the Steelers offense.  Yes if the Steelers don't turn the ball over, they should be fine.  However, that's a lot easier said than done.  Ben is a great QB but he does take risks and Jacksonville has the corners to capitalize on those risks.  The Steelers offensive line has done a very good job of protecting Ben this year and they'll need to keep that up.  I agree that Bell needs to be a focal point in this game as that is probably the biggest weakness in the Jags D.  The good news is that the Jags offense (and Bortles) seems to be going in the wrong direction of late.  Let's hope for a win and no major injuries.  

 
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hammerva said:
Very true but all of the people said the same thing about a certain Broncos team with an even worse QB and we all know what happened.   
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That team was old and VERY banged up.  Half of the defense did not play.   I don't think that is true of this team.

 
fred_1_15301 said:
I don't think anyone should take this game lightly.  Losing to that Denver team was a joke.  That Denver team was awful.  This Jacksonville defense is very good and very capable of disrupting the Steelers offense.  Yes if the Steelers don't turn the ball over, they should be fine.  However, that's a lot easier said than done.  Ben is a great QB but he does take risks and Jacksonville has the corners to capitalize on those risks.  The Steelers offensive line has done a very good job of protecting Ben this year and they'll need to keep that up.  I agree that Bell needs to be a focal point in this game as that is probably the biggest weakness in the Jags D.  The good news is that the Jags offense (and Bortles) seems to be going in the wrong direction of late.  Let's hope for a win and no major injuries.  
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I don't take the game lightly but I feel pretty confident.   The key will be for the Steelers to put 8 men in the box to stop the run and keep Bortles in the pocket.  If they can do that I think good things will happen.

 
Steeler said:
I'm optimistic that the Steelers will win this week - I think the embarrassing beatdown by JAX earlier in the year actually plays in the Steelers favor.  The score was not indicative of the game - the game was close into the 4th quarter and Ben threw 5 picks.  If the Steelers don't turn the ball over they will win convincingly.  OTOH, I'm 2 whiskeys and 4 beers deep so far so that might play a part in my optimism :lol:  
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Still optimistic.  I really think the narrative about how the Jags blew out the Steelers earlier in the year will help them stay focused or whatever.  It's been discussed in this thread several times but the game was way closer than the score until the Steelers started turning the ball over.  The offensive talent on this team is sick and they are all healthy (I obviously know about AB but they are saying he will be ready to go):  Ben, Bell, Brown, JuJu, Martavis, Eli Rogers, V. McDonald, J. James and an o-line playing well.  The Jags D is for real and they can certainly beat the Steelers - but I'm thinking it's going to be a more comfortable victory that most are predicting (no alcohol consumption this morning :)  )

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
The bolded is huge.  If Bell can get going early and force Jacksonville to commit their safeties to run support, that will go a long way toward preventing that.  As will getting ahead, if the Steelers are playing from 10+ down, that's when Ben forces the ball WAY too much.
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Yep. Use the hammer (Bell) to slow the pass rush and hit JAX where they're "weak"...runs up the middle. JuJu and James will be key, IMO. Guessing they will have safety help dry humping Brown's leg all game. Take what they give you. 

JAX needs Bortles to regain superhuman status and Ben to revert to Interceptiberger to win this. I don't see it. PIT by double digits. 
 

 
If we can force Bortles to air it out, we should be ok. He was inaccurate as hell this past weekend. Tons of balls in the dirt. Their D is phenomenal, but they have been weakest when on the road and when cold. Some of their players are from the SEC and have only ever played in warm areas (Fournette) so they're slightly worse when playing in the freezing cold.

 
hammerva said:
Very true but all of the people said the same thing about a certain Broncos team with an even worse QB and we all know what happened.   
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It's FAR from a slam-dunk.  I was actually just trying to find a counterbalance to the "Jags beat these guys 30-9 IN PITTSBURGH" narrative with both this and the Miami reminder from last year.  I don't put very much into that result in early October.  This is a whole different game - the Steelers look different (for the better,) the Jags look different (not for the better,) it's Blake Bortles in his second playoff game, and his first road playoff game against an experienced postseason QB.  Add to this the January in Pittsburgh factor... Jags haven't played a real cold weather game yet.  I don't have temperature data, but just looking at their schedule - Cleveland in mid-November is probably as close as they've come.  Their road games since then have been at Arizona, Tennessee, and San Francisco.  They probably haven't felt 20 degree weather in a looooong time.

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
It's FAR from a slam-dunk.  I was actually just trying to find a counterbalance to the "Jags beat these guys 30-9 IN PITTSBURGH" narrative with both this and the Miami reminder from last year.  I don't put very much into that result in early October.  This is a whole different game - the Steelers look different (for the better,) the Jags look different (not for the better,) it's Blake Bortles in his second playoff game, and his first road playoff game against an experienced postseason QB.  Add to this the January in Pittsburgh factor... Jags haven't played a real cold weather game yet.  I don't have temperature data, but just looking at their schedule - Cleveland in mid-November is probably as close as they've come.  Their road games since then have been at Arizona, Tennessee, and San Francisco.  They probably haven't felt 20 degree weather in a looooong time.
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Current forecast has the high on Sunday in the teens with 10 mph winds.   The Steelers are used to playing in these conditions so it has got to be some kind of advantage.

I'll be in the stadium, wearing layers and well-lubricated.   I can't wait!   :towelwave:

 
Godsbrother said:
Current forecast has the high on Sunday in the teens with 10 mph winds.   The Steelers are used to playing in these conditions so it has got to be some kind of advantage.

I'll be in the stadium, wearing layers and well-lubricated.   I can't wait!   :towelwave:
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The Steelers may be used to these conditions  it but the Jags are kind of built for them.

Still glad to hear winter is coming, can't stand dome or nice weather playoff games.  Hope you have a great day. :towelwave:

 
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