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The ***OFFICIAL*** 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers Thread (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Evilgrin 72
- Start date
Godsbrother
Footballguy
belljr correctly pointed out that we play the Bengals in week 17. I think we'll beat the Bengals but I don't see how we avoid the 5-game losing streak leading up to it. As fallible as the Pats are, the Steelers are in for a real beating next week and they have virtually no chance to beat the Saints on the road.
Steelers will finish 8-7-1 and miss the playoffs by 1/2 game.
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Steelers4Life
Footballguy
Yep, another in a long history of poor in-game decisions by Tomlin. "Flow of the game" bull####, really?
A slip on a kick is partly Boswell's fault, partly not, but it's been an ongoing thing with him all year and he can't really be counted on right now.
They're going to need to beat either Patriots or the Saints to get in, and I don't see either happening. Coaching and defense are too much of a liability.
A team that ties the early season Browns, blows a 23-7 lead at home to the Chargers, and loses to the Raiders doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs. Despite the talent on offense, this team just doesn't have the defense to be consistent or the coaching to make them better than they are.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
Cutting Boswell will result in something like a $5M cap hit next year from what I have read. I say send him to IR, sign another kicker, and give Boswell the shot again next year. If he starts out poorly again let him go. He has a mental block/confidence issue right now but is too good of a kicker to cut outright.
Ben not getting back in when he was cleared is inexcusable. It is time to let Tomlin go unfortunately. They were in the flow of the game...that comment would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad.
Ben not getting back in when he was cleared is inexcusable. It is time to let Tomlin go unfortunately. They were in the flow of the game...that comment would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad.
Buttonhook
Footballguy
Exactly. So much talent on the offensive side, and we finally have an OC that gets it. Which makes it so hard to watch us struggle, even though a lot of it feels like bad luck.
These last four games have been SO hard to watch. Even the JAX game we won was tough. I swear I'm taking years off my life caring so much about these games, and feeling beat up and defeated in the end.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Yeah I actually forgot about the Jax game. That was one we should have lost. That feels like so long ago. After that win, I really thought this team was going to end up with a bye.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
It's really frustrating that we haven't been able to take advantage of all of this offensive talent. How long is the window? I guess until Ben decides to retire. I will say that in general we are probably one of the most fortunate fanbases. Other than the Patriots, not many teams have had this level of sustained success.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
I think it's actually $6M dead money, with a $2.8M loss of cap space. If he's a post-June 1st cut after the season, he would cost $1.2M in dead money but save $2M against the cap. That's why I don't think he's going anywhere. He'll likely get the rest of the season to figure it out. They may bring in a street free agent to compete for the job, seeing as they have cap space with Le'Veon not reporting, but I don't see Boswell getting cut until the offseason at the earliest.
irish eyes
Footballguy
Tomlin is a dope, plain & simple. No defense for what he did or said. At least we won't have to endure another humiliating playoff defeat. They may lose by 30 or 40 to both the Pat's & ssints.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
We do? Seems to me this OC has to figure out that sometimes it is okay to have a running game.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
This team hasn't been blown out all year. I think their worst loss was to Baltimore. That's the frustrating thing - they have the talent to beat anyone in the league. But here we are with 3 bad losses in a row and a good chance to miss the playoffs.
Steelers4Life
Footballguy
Agreed. The offense has too much talent, with or without Conner, to get blown out by anyone.
I fully expect the Steelers to lose both games by giving up 30+ points and just not scoring enough to win, with the normal amount of undisciplined penalties and lack of adjustments that usually accompany losses to good teams
Buttonhook
Footballguy
While I agree we should be running the ball more, particularly as we get into December, here's some improvements I've seen this year:
We're less predictable from a play-calling standpoint.
Better RZ efficiency.
Spreading the ball around more and not forcing it to AB.
Innovative play-calling that has guys more open and better YAC.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
Buttonhook
Footballguy
Agreed, definitely a head-scratcher from a playbook standpoint, and just as aggravating that DHB still gets PT on our offense.
steelers1080
Footballguy
I don't normally bad mouth Tomlin and generally think he's a top 8 coach in the league, but this weekend has me starting to second guess that. He's always been terrible on the west coast (well, the team under him) and they've always played down to bad opponents, but I let that slide because overall we did what we needed to in order to make the playoffs and push for a Super Bowl. This team is too talented to waste, and missing the playoffs is 100% a waste.
I do think the team is hampered by weakness in the secondary and middle of the D, a huge hole from the loss of Shazier, but the team seems to constantly under perform (except against Carolina) and his time management and challenge management is questionable at best.
Not putting Ben back in until the team was losing is terrible coaching. He thought they could coast without risking their #1 QB, but you can't take any team for granted. This team doesn't have a winning mentality at all, they have a "don't lose" mentality. They almost never put the pedal to the metal to put a team away, they just get a lead and then change gameplan to try and stop the other team from winning, instead of trying to take the win. I believe that part of the reason the Pats win so much is that they try to just score more and more, and never let up. When you start changing the plan at the end of the game it never ends well. Being cautious is one thing, but being cowardly is another.
I don't think we should fire Tomlin this year, but I do think that 2019 should be looked at as a probationary year. If we don't make the AFC Championship next year (assuming Big Ben is healthy), then I think Tomlin should go. I don't care if we go 16-0, results are what matters and right now we're not getting it done.
That said, there's still time to turn things around. I think if we somehow go 2-1 that we can still make the playoffs and compete, I just don't think it's likely.
I do think the team is hampered by weakness in the secondary and middle of the D, a huge hole from the loss of Shazier, but the team seems to constantly under perform (except against Carolina) and his time management and challenge management is questionable at best.
Not putting Ben back in until the team was losing is terrible coaching. He thought they could coast without risking their #1 QB, but you can't take any team for granted. This team doesn't have a winning mentality at all, they have a "don't lose" mentality. They almost never put the pedal to the metal to put a team away, they just get a lead and then change gameplan to try and stop the other team from winning, instead of trying to take the win. I believe that part of the reason the Pats win so much is that they try to just score more and more, and never let up. When you start changing the plan at the end of the game it never ends well. Being cautious is one thing, but being cowardly is another.
I don't think we should fire Tomlin this year, but I do think that 2019 should be looked at as a probationary year. If we don't make the AFC Championship next year (assuming Big Ben is healthy), then I think Tomlin should go. I don't care if we go 16-0, results are what matters and right now we're not getting it done.
That said, there's still time to turn things around. I think if we somehow go 2-1 that we can still make the playoffs and compete, I just don't think it's likely.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
Maybe the team isn't as talented as we think it is and it isn't so much of a case of under performing as it is not being very good.
Steelers4Life
Footballguy
I think Tomlin is just another coach. If he has top talent, he can win with them. If he doesn't, his game management and strategic decisions aren't going to make the team better than the sum of its parts like top coaches will. And when the talent level slips even a little bit, his decisions are amplified and can be the difference between winning and losing a close game once or twice every season. I'm not sure if that makes him middle of the pack or slightly below, but I think he's far more replaceable than some people would want to believe he is.
Not putting Ben back in was terrible, as was not calling timeout when the Raiders got to the 7 yard line and allowing them to run the clock down. But, it's what we've come to expect from him. Lack of a killer instinct to put teams away, and that was on full display when they blew a 23-7 lead at home last week. For the first half yesterday, I was outside with friends watching our kids playing in the snow, and I told my buddy that I didn't really need to watch the Steelers figure out a way to lay and egg and lose to the Raiders... he laughed.
I think they're more likely to lose their last three games than they are to beat either New England or New Orleans, which means the Steelers will have gone from 7-2-1 to missing the playoffs. I don't know what it'll take for the Steelers to seriously consider making a move, but years of having a HOF QB and a generally weak division with no sub-.500 seasons has probably given him a lot of leeway with ownership whether he deserves it or not.
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fred_1_15301
Footballguy
I think they're one of the most talented teams in the AFC. They had a pretty impressive 5-6 week stretch. Even in their losses to Denver and San Diego, they looked impressive for a lot of those games. Hell they should have beaten San Diego who is one of the top teams in the AFC. Losing to Oakland (whether it be on the road or at home) is underperforming. No excuse for that with the division on the line. We can all blame the kicker (and he must take the brunt of it) but how are we in a position where a couple missed field goals ends up being the reason for a loss to that team? I see so much talent on this team and that's why the last few weeks have been so frustrating. It's certainly not all bad coaching as I think we've also had some bad luck (San Diego game was an example of that). Even the defense for all of its faults can get pretty good pressure on the QB.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
I'm not letting Tomlin or the defense off the hook here by any stretch, but Boswell has already cost us two games by missing easy field goals he should have made. I'm not going to hang it on the kicker if he misses a 46 yarder outdoors in the wind with the game on the line, but if Boswell is the Boswell of last year, we would have won yesterday and won week 1 at Cleveland, despite 6 turnovers. In this alternate universe, we're 9-4 right now with a 2-game lead on the division with three to play and none of this "sky is falling" talk would be very loud.
That said, this defense can't cover anybody and can't get a stop late in games to save their lives. I mean, all we had to do was prevent a TD when the Raiders got the ball back with 2:55 left and 1 timeout and we couldn't do it. It seems week after week, teams are able to roll down the field with the game on the line and that just can't happen. We need help at safety, corner, ILB, and OLB. The window is open now. I know the Steelers aren't typically big players in FA, but I think at least two of those positions are going to need to be addressed this offseason, and I'm not talking about bargain acquisitions like Burnett and Bostic. Use that Bell money to improve a couple of spots with established playmakers that fit Butler's system. Draft picks can go that way too, but there's such a risk with late 1st round picks in the secondary especially. I'd be fine with using the draft to get an ILB/OLB, but we need more guys like Haden who can actually cover (although he hasn't been terrific the last few weeks either.) Ideally someone who can catch a little too - both Davis and Hilton had easy picks yesterday that they dropped that could have flipped the field at least, if not been defensive TDs.
That said, this defense can't cover anybody and can't get a stop late in games to save their lives. I mean, all we had to do was prevent a TD when the Raiders got the ball back with 2:55 left and 1 timeout and we couldn't do it. It seems week after week, teams are able to roll down the field with the game on the line and that just can't happen. We need help at safety, corner, ILB, and OLB. The window is open now. I know the Steelers aren't typically big players in FA, but I think at least two of those positions are going to need to be addressed this offseason, and I'm not talking about bargain acquisitions like Burnett and Bostic. Use that Bell money to improve a couple of spots with established playmakers that fit Butler's system. Draft picks can go that way too, but there's such a risk with late 1st round picks in the secondary especially. I'd be fine with using the draft to get an ILB/OLB, but we need more guys like Haden who can actually cover (although he hasn't been terrific the last few weeks either.) Ideally someone who can catch a little too - both Davis and Hilton had easy picks yesterday that they dropped that could have flipped the field at least, if not been defensive TDs.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
I am thinking the problem on defense is not just the players but the defensive scheme.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Steelers4Life
Footballguy
Because he didn't have time yet to think it through and come up with something that might be somewhat believable.
I call BS. People get pain killers at halftime and come back to play all the time, and it never takes them 25 minutes of the second half to make that determination. What painkiller takes almost an hour and a half to kick in? If someone sits out 25 minutes of the game, they don't come back with 5 minutes left. He tried to keep Ben out because they had the small lead and figured they could beat the Raiders without him. And then, when the Raiders took the lead, he coincidentally all of a sudden was determined to be ready to get back out there? Doesn't pass the smell test.
This is a little more defensible as far as why Ben didn’t go back in right away. If they can’t identify if there is possible damage to the lung you certainly don’t want to put someone out there like that. Honestly sounds like a bit of a crap shoot they even put him back in. Also, #### Oakland and #### that stadium. What a joke in 2018.
irish eyes
Footballguy
Is this guy for real? I mean is he kidding. Let's see they didn't like my first answer so I better think of something else. What a joke.ThaPenguin said:
steelers1080
Footballguy
Ok, I've had time to calm down, still not happy about how last weekend went, but I'm not sharpening the pitchfork either.
I still think the team plays down to opponents, and that Tomlin needs to work on his time management and replay reviews, ideally hiring a specialist. But I'm less "the sky is falling" and more, "We need to rebuild".
We lost the last 3 game on final drives, bad calls, and a major injury. We could and probably should be 10-2-1, but our D couldn't handle a quick offense and gave up last minute scores to fall behind. I think that is mostly because of a lack of talent, and not a lack of scheme. You can only do so much with what you've got. The Steelers came into last week leading the league in sacks, that's nothing to scoff at. We don't have a ton of turnovers, but we've gotten some bad calls and bad luck as far as that goes with fumbles bouncing out of bounds or right back into the hands of the ball carrier. On offense we have great talent on the O-line, QB, and WR, but we have no WR depth and without Conner our running game is nothing. Our D needs to improve in the secondary and linebacking corps. Our ILBs are tasked with being versatile and have to fall into coverage at times. They usually do fairly well, but late in the game they often begin to fall behind. Also, who would we put on them instead? Burns or Burnett? The secondary is easy to blame, but that's because they've been rough. Haden and Hilton have been excellent, but even great players make mistakes once in a while. Davis, Edmunds, Burnett, Burns, Sensabaugh, etc. all need to improve or be replaced next year.
I don't like our chances against New England or New Orleans, but this team has showed the ability to stay close in games even against tough opponents. If they can keep it close and somehow get the ball in Ben's hands with a final drive, I think we could close. If we have to rely on a kick or our D to close out a game, we have little chance.
Also, fire Boswell. He might be a good kicker sometime in the future, but right now he's not pro quality.
I think we end 8-7-1 and need help getting into the playoffs.
I still think the team plays down to opponents, and that Tomlin needs to work on his time management and replay reviews, ideally hiring a specialist. But I'm less "the sky is falling" and more, "We need to rebuild".
We lost the last 3 game on final drives, bad calls, and a major injury. We could and probably should be 10-2-1, but our D couldn't handle a quick offense and gave up last minute scores to fall behind. I think that is mostly because of a lack of talent, and not a lack of scheme. You can only do so much with what you've got. The Steelers came into last week leading the league in sacks, that's nothing to scoff at. We don't have a ton of turnovers, but we've gotten some bad calls and bad luck as far as that goes with fumbles bouncing out of bounds or right back into the hands of the ball carrier. On offense we have great talent on the O-line, QB, and WR, but we have no WR depth and without Conner our running game is nothing. Our D needs to improve in the secondary and linebacking corps. Our ILBs are tasked with being versatile and have to fall into coverage at times. They usually do fairly well, but late in the game they often begin to fall behind. Also, who would we put on them instead? Burns or Burnett? The secondary is easy to blame, but that's because they've been rough. Haden and Hilton have been excellent, but even great players make mistakes once in a while. Davis, Edmunds, Burnett, Burns, Sensabaugh, etc. all need to improve or be replaced next year.
I don't like our chances against New England or New Orleans, but this team has showed the ability to stay close in games even against tough opponents. If they can keep it close and somehow get the ball in Ben's hands with a final drive, I think we could close. If we have to rely on a kick or our D to close out a game, we have little chance.
Also, fire Boswell. He might be a good kicker sometime in the future, but right now he's not pro quality.
I think we end 8-7-1 and need help getting into the playoffs.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
The General
Footballguy
Conner didn’t practice today. He’s not playing this weekend.
starks
Footballguy
Just wondering why we never heard any practice notes on him. Thought we would....inquiring minds want to know
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
Man In The Box
Footballguy
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
I don’t like their odds if the game is close. 4 reasons why:steelers1080 said:
1. Coach and QB not good at clock management
2. Defense can’t make a key stop
3. Kicker can’t hit the broad side of a barn
4. Their offensive strategy is to maintain a high risk offense in the red zone and they have a QB who is turnover prone
Now anything is possible and they could win a close game but I wouldn’t like their chances at all. Hopefully they can somehow pull off a 14+ point lead going into halftime (although even that isn’t a guarantee for a win). Unfortunately I don’t think 8-7-1 gets them in. This week is a must win.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
he didn't practice but has not been ruled out yetMan In The Box said:
Have a feeling this game will be a tale of two halves. The Steelers are going to be fired up at home in a must-win game and stake themselves to a double-digit lead at halftime. But coaching will win this one, and the Hoodie will, as usual, coach rings around the Steelers with the Pats dominating the second half and winning 38 - 31.
Buttonhook
Footballguy
Steelers haven't come out and said it, but a lot of people are convinced Conner has a high-ankle sprain, which means he's definitely not playing this week.
These two stories are both embarrassing:
https://twitter.com/alex_kozora/status/1073288754637537281?s=21
https://twitter.com/akinkhabwala/status/1073275670334201862?s=21
https://twitter.com/alex_kozora/status/1073288754637537281?s=21
https://twitter.com/akinkhabwala/status/1073275670334201862?s=21
Buttonhook
Footballguy
Even more embarrassing is putting Hilton on the scout team this week, and promoting Artie Burns. WTF?
https://steelersdepot.com/2018/12/mike-hilton-reduced-to-scout-team-cam-sutton-runs-as-starting-nickel-corner-wednesday/
https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/Article/Artie-Burns-gets-1st-team-reps-on-Wednesday-126302337/
Godsbrother
Footballguy
I am sure that Artie will do just fine against the pathetic Patriots passing attack.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
Reports are that Boswell will kick vs. New England. Had they not signed him to a long-term deal before the season, I'm reasonably confident that Kai Forbath would have been the kicker this week.
Not knocking the Steelers for signing him, he was clutch AF last year, but man... kickers suck.
Not knocking the Steelers for signing him, he was clutch AF last year, but man... kickers suck.
Buttonhook
Footballguy
Kicker seems like the only position in the NFL where you can go from best to worst in the league in one year.
Shows how much of their game is mental, much like golfers.
Maybe Boz needs to try nailing some Perkins' waitresses.
irish eyes
Footballguy
Steelers sealed their fate. Artie burns is going start, season over. That should also seal Tomlins fate, hopefully. Who am I kidding, he apparently is untouchable.
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fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Burns starting? I was actually feeling ok about the matchup but I now have very little confidence that this team can pull off a win. Another Pats win coming up.
Franknbeans
Footballguy
I am secretly hoping that Rooney gave Tomlin an ultimatum that he had to win this week to keep his job just to see what cockamamie coaching moves he makes.
I might be right.
I might be right.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
Tomlin is not going anywhere this season or next. Beyond that, we'll see
steelers1080
Footballguy
Realistically, the Steelers need to start playing as though the playoffs start right now and I just don't get that sense from all the news coming out. We'll see if they play with an intense focus, or just squander another lead.
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