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2023 Pittsburgh Steelers. Banged up team loses to Buffalo. Looking ahead to 2024 now (13 Viewers)

Same old arrogance.  Listened to the media and seeing their issues with COVID and didn't take as serious 

This is a Tomlin loss more than a Ben loss

 
So are we all happy with Tomlin and his great regular season record? Is that enough? I mean, 3-7 in the last 10 playoff games, means what? What has he done without Cowher's players? What is the goal? Aside from a semi-successful 2016 run, what do you see in the last 10 years? Many questions that need to be answered. I'm not one who thinks successful regular season records are enough, especially for such an historic franchise. I know it's harder now, but something is amiss come playoff time. It needs to be fixed. 

2011, 12-4, and lose to a Tim Tebow led team

2014, 11-5, and get trounced by Ravens

2015, 10-6, and survive an AJ McCarron led team and lose to Den

2016, 11-5, and beat up on a Matt Moore led team, survive an Alex Smith led team, then get smoked by NE

2017, 13-3, and lose to a Blake Bortles led team that hung up 45 on you

2020, 12-4, and lose to a Baker Mayfield led team that hung up 48 on you

 
Thought they had a slim shot for one of greatest comebacks ever before Tomlin decided to punt on 4th and 1 to close the 3rd quarter.  Probably not what lost the game, but certainly felt that killed off the momentum the team was building at the time. You go for it and if you convert and ultimately score you've made it a one score game to a team with no playoff experience and you got ALL the momentum and ALL the pressure on Cleveland. Instead you punt instead of trying to pick one freaking yard.

 
Thought they had a slim shot for one of greatest comebacks ever before Tomlin decided to punt on 4th and 1 to close the 3rd quarter.  Probably not what lost the game, but certainly felt that killed off the momentum the team was building at the time. You go for it and if you convert and ultimately score you've made it a one score game to a team with no playoff experience and you got ALL the momentum and ALL the pressure on Cleveland. Instead you punt instead of trying to pick one freaking yard.
I think they had to go for it there just like you said. A TD would have put pressure on CLE. Instead he put pressure back on PITT.

 
I think they had to go for it there just like you said. A TD would have put pressure on CLE. Instead he put pressure back on PITT.
Going for it was a no brainer there.  Put the game on the line to get 1 yard and not rely on a pretty bad defense to make another stop.  Steelers had all the momentum at that point and can you imagine how tight Clevelands' sphincters would have been if the Steelers drove down the field again to score?  Also, Tomlin's decisions on 2 vs 1 point was a little arbitrary to say the least.  Doesn't seem like h really has a thought process for those decisions.

Regardless, Tomlin was not the biggest issue last night.   Ben stinks and the defense fell apart after the injuries to Dupree and Bush (and Haden).  

Let's face it - the team on the field last night was not a legit playoff team.  They would have gotten their ### handed to them by any of the other AFC playoff teams.  Cleveland was probably the only team they had a shot against (and that was just because of injuries).  

 
On one hand, I'd love to know what the defense would've done if healthy. Having Marsh, Williams, and Spillane out there most of time left us unable to stop them from running anywhere and those guys are all lost in pass coverage. None can blitz effectively either. For a defense built around LB strength, that was a death blow.

On the other, this team was never going to legitimately contend with the worst running game in the league. I don't care how good the WRs/Ebron are, without balance it just won't work. Not even the THREAT of a running game except those stupid draws to nowhere that get 3 yards at a time. Unless they can get a more explosive RB and address the OL, this team isn't going to win next year even if Ben comes back if he's forced to throw it 40 times per game.... especially without JuJu. JuJu may not be their best WR, but he's their most reliable with by far the best hands. Losing him is going to hurt no matter how good Claypool ends up.

I don't think Ben stinks. But I think his lack of mobility has become a huge issue, and it's made worse when the defense can just rush at a spot without respecting him handing it off or leaving the pocket.

It's going to be a rough offseason and I don't know for sure if I want Ben to come back. Not because they'll be better without him, but because I think that in a division with Jackson, Burrow, and Mayfield in it and in a conference that has Mahomes and Allen, the Steelers are going to need to make quite a splash at QB to be relevant in the near future.

 
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Going for it was a no brainer there.  Put the game on the line to get 1 yard and not rely on a pretty bad defense to make another stop.  Steelers had all the momentum at that point and can you imagine how tight Clevelands' sphincters would have been if the Steelers drove down the field again to score?  Also, Tomlin's decisions on 2 vs 1 point was a little arbitrary to say the least.  Doesn't seem like h really has a thought process for those decisions.

Regardless, Tomlin was not the biggest issue last night.   Ben stinks and the defense fell apart after the injuries to Dupree and Bush (and Haden).  

Let's face it - the team on the field last night was not a legit playoff team.  They would have gotten their ### handed to them by any of the other AFC playoff teams.  Cleveland was probably the only team they had a shot against (and that was just because of injuries).  
100% agree. Tomlin dropped the ball punting on 4th and 1, but this game is 100% on Ben's shoulders (and Pouncey). You shouldn't win a game when you lose the turnover differential 5-0. 

 
I have finally reached the point where I view Ben as a liability instead of an asset. It's time for the team to make some tough decisions, and I think they should finally start "retooling" or whatever they want to call it. I've covered it in a few previous posts, but our cap situation is not great next year, but we have almost no players signed for 2022 so our salary cap could be cleared up within 1 season if we're willing to make difficult decisions.

  1. Ben is owed $41.25 million next year and at this point he's not worth it. The ONLY reason to keep him, is if we draft a QB in the 1st or 2nd round in April and want Ben to mentor him. They can't extend Ben to decrease his cap hit, that will kill us moving forward. Retire him or keep as mentor for 1 year. (Save $19 million if cut)
  2. Draft WR and RB. Can't afford to resign Conner or Juju. I hate that we have to let Juju go, I still believe he's an asset, and that a competent OC could find a way to get explosive plays out of him again. We need to draft RB because Snell is not the answer, and in the WR room we lose Washington in 2022. 
  3. Cut at least 1 TE. If we draft TE early, cut both Ebron and McDonald. If we don't just cut McDonald. Save $5 million cutting Vance. (Cutting Ebron saves $6 mil but he's been more useful in our offense)
  4. O-Line: Draft a Tackle and Center. Resign Feiler for cheap if you can, extend DeCastro by 2-3 years to reduce cap hit, let Big Al walk, resign Banner if healthy, try Chuks or Feiler or Banner at LT/RT and Dotson at LG. Cut Pouncey. Pouncey has played like trash. They won't let him go while Ben plays, but I hope they don't resign him. Save $8 million if let go. 
  5. D-Line: Would love for Alualu to come back but idk how we could afford it. Move forward with Heyward, Tuitt, Buggs, Davis and Mondeaux. Probably draft more depth. 
  6. OLB: For the love of all that is holy, extend Watt. Preferably backloaded with lots guaranteed, maybe even reduce cap hit next year a little. Dupree is gone, sucks but no way we can afford him. Highsmith looks like the real deal, but we need depth. Marsh was so crappy last night, he couldn't get off a single block by the OT. Not sure why we used him instead of Ola.
  7. ILB: Spillane is a ERFA, they need to lock him up, not to be a starter, but for depth. Bush is an allstar, but we need someone new next to him. Vince Williams is pretty good against the run, but a coverage liability. Could see us drafting someone. 
  8. CBs: Haden played well this year, but even though his cap hit is $15.6 million next year, I hope they don't extend him to reduce the hit. I'm just not sure how many years he has left and I'd rather get out early than late. Nelson wasn't great this year, but his contract next year is $14 million, cut him and save $8 million towards the cap. Hilton and Sutton are free agents, I'm not sure we'll be able to afford to keep either of them, but if possible keep 1 with the savings from releasing Nelson. 
  9. S: Give Minkah the 5th year guarantee, NOT Edmunds. So many long plays this year are a direct result of Edmunds being out of position or missing a tackle. He's just mediocre and not worth resigning. Use a draft pick here to groom for a year. 
  10. Special teams: Bos redeemed himself this year, in my eyes at least. Resign Berry to multi-year contract for as cheap as possible. 
Current Cap Allocation for 2021: $202 million with 35 players signed. 

Current allocation for 2022: $56 million with 19 players signed.

The next few years could get us out of salary cap hell and lock in key defensive talent like Watt, Minkah, and Bush. We'll have to make hard decisions, but if we cut Pouncey, Vance, and Nelson, and extend DeCastro we can remove ~$27 million in Salary Cap. That gets us to $175 million, the approximated salary cap for 2021... So we'll just need more cuts or restructures if we want to sign any rookies or vets. 

 
Thought they had a slim shot for one of greatest comebacks ever before Tomlin decided to punt on 4th and 1 to close the 3rd quarter.  Probably not what lost the game, but certainly felt that killed off the momentum the team was building at the time. You go for it and if you convert and ultimately score you've made it a one score game to a team with no playoff experience and you got ALL the momentum and ALL the pressure on Cleveland. Instead you punt instead of trying to pick one freaking yard.
and in the previous three plays, all passes had been completed.

 
I have finally reached the point where I view Ben as a liability instead of an asset. It's time for the team to make some tough decisions, and I think they should finally start "retooling" or whatever they want to call it. I've covered it in a few previous posts, but our cap situation is not great next year, but we have almost no players signed for 2022 so our salary cap could be cleared up within 1 season if we're willing to make difficult decisions.

  1. Ben is owed $41.25 million next year and at this point he's not worth it. The ONLY reason to keep him, is if we draft a QB in the 1st or 2nd round in April and want Ben to mentor him. They can't extend Ben to decrease his cap hit, that will kill us moving forward. Retire him or keep as mentor for 1 year. (Save $19 million if cut)
  2. Draft WR and RB. Can't afford to resign Conner or Juju. I hate that we have to let Juju go, I still believe he's an asset, and that a competent OC could find a way to get explosive plays out of him again. We need to draft RB because Snell is not the answer, and in the WR room we lose Washington in 2022. 
  3. Cut at least 1 TE. If we draft TE early, cut both Ebron and McDonald. If we don't just cut McDonald. Save $5 million cutting Vance. (Cutting Ebron saves $6 mil but he's been more useful in our offense)
  4. O-Line: Draft a Tackle and Center. Resign Feiler for cheap if you can, extend DeCastro by 2-3 years to reduce cap hit, let Big Al walk, resign Banner if healthy, try Chuks or Feiler or Banner at LT/RT and Dotson at LG. Cut Pouncey. Pouncey has played like trash. They won't let him go while Ben plays, but I hope they don't resign him. Save $8 million if let go. 
  5. D-Line: Would love for Alualu to come back but idk how we could afford it. Move forward with Heyward, Tuitt, Buggs, Davis and Mondeaux. Probably draft more depth. 
  6. OLB: For the love of all that is holy, extend Watt. Preferably backloaded with lots guaranteed, maybe even reduce cap hit next year a little. Dupree is gone, sucks but no way we can afford him. Highsmith looks like the real deal, but we need depth. Marsh was so crappy last night, he couldn't get off a single block by the OT. Not sure why we used him instead of Ola.
  7. ILB: Spillane is a ERFA, they need to lock him up, not to be a starter, but for depth. Bush is an allstar, but we need someone new next to him. Vince Williams is pretty good against the run, but a coverage liability. Could see us drafting someone. 
  8. CBs: Haden played well this year, but even though his cap hit is $15.6 million next year, I hope they don't extend him to reduce the hit. I'm just not sure how many years he has left and I'd rather get out early than late. Nelson wasn't great this year, but his contract next year is $14 million, cut him and save $8 million towards the cap. Hilton and Sutton are free agents, I'm not sure we'll be able to afford to keep either of them, but if possible keep 1 with the savings from releasing Nelson. 
  9. S: Give Minkah the 5th year guarantee, NOT Edmunds. So many long plays this year are a direct result of Edmunds being out of position or missing a tackle. He's just mediocre and not worth resigning. Use a draft pick here to groom for a year. 
  10. Special teams: Bos redeemed himself this year, in my eyes at least. Resign Berry to multi-year contract for as cheap as possible. 
Current Cap Allocation for 2021: $202 million with 35 players signed. 

Current allocation for 2022: $56 million with 19 players signed.

The next few years could get us out of salary cap hell and lock in key defensive talent like Watt, Minkah, and Bush. We'll have to make hard decisions, but if we cut Pouncey, Vance, and Nelson, and extend DeCastro we can remove ~$27 million in Salary Cap. That gets us to $175 million, the approximated salary cap for 2021... So we'll just need more cuts or restructures if we want to sign any rookies or vets. 
IMO they need to ask Ben to retire (cutting him would be awful) to save the $19 million in cap space and just eat the $22 million dead money for 2021 only.  Go with Rudolph and Dobbs next season and take your lumps or try to sign one vis FA.

I agree that JuJu is gone and really I think it is best for both parties.  Conner also needs to go unless he wants to sign for league minimum,  I'm not sure what the RB class is like but I would not be opposed to taking one early in the draft but I think you need to look at OT to replace Villanueva, he was awful this year.  

I agree with pretty much every thing else you wrote.

 
I'm not sure what the RB class is like but I would not be opposed to taking one early in the draft.
It doesn't look great at RB this year, the last thing I saw was 5 RBs ranked in the top 100 upcoming rookies. I would prefer the Steelers use a 3rd or later on RB just because we have so many other needs (Hubbard maybe?). The Steelers frequently try to draft at positions where they are losing people the following year (I.E. Highsmith to replace Dupree). That said, we're losing so many in the next 2 years that there's so many positions open. I could see them going QB, TE, WR, C, OT, ILB, S, or CB in the early rounds. In many past years we could get some kind of idea where they're going, but this year feels like BPA all the way, unless they are really sold on a QB. 

The WR class is crazy good again this year, it feels like we should try and nab one in the 2nd or 3rd to take advantage of talent falling, especially since Juju is gone this year and James Washington could be gone after next year. I know it won't happen, but my hope was Kyle Pitts. His talent is undeniable, but I think that he'll go in the top 15 picks.

Because we need so many pieces, unless a star falls to 24, I'd definitely be interested in trading back to 30-32 and picking up extra picks. 

 
steelers1080 said:
It doesn't look great at RB this year, the last thing I saw was 5 RBs ranked in the top 100 upcoming rookies. 
Actually the RB talent looks to be better than last year and maybe the strongest in several years. 

 
Team needs an injection of youth and toughness in the trenches. With the current cap situation, it's time to build from the foundation, which is OL and DL.

 
steelers1080 said:
It doesn't look great at RB this year, the last thing I saw was 5 RBs ranked in the top 100 upcoming rookies. I would prefer the Steelers use a 3rd or later on RB just because we have so many other needs (Hubbard maybe?). The Steelers frequently try to draft at positions where they are losing people the following year (I.E. Highsmith to replace Dupree). That said, we're losing so many in the next 2 years that there's so many positions open. I could see them going QB, TE, WR, C, OT, ILB, S, or CB in the early rounds. In many past years we could get some kind of idea where they're going, but this year feels like BPA all the way, unless they are really sold on a QB. 

The WR class is crazy good again this year, it feels like we should try and nab one in the 2nd or 3rd to take advantage of talent falling, especially since Juju is gone this year and James Washington could be gone after next year. I know it won't happen, but my hope was Kyle Pitts. His talent is undeniable, but I think that he'll go in the top 15 picks.

Because we need so many pieces, unless a star falls to 24, I'd definitely be interested in trading back to 30-32 and picking up extra picks. 
I agree with that last part x100

Too many pieces required 

 
Who? Etienne and Harris at the top, but with all our needs an RB in 1st or 2nd seems crazy. 
Yes Travis Etienne and Najee Harris top the list, depending on who you listen to. Other players I like are Javonte Williams and Kylin Hill. Micahel Carter, Chubba Hubbard and Trey Sermon have a chance to be good.

To be clear, I was only responding to the question about the incoming rookie class. I am not advocating the Steelers take a RB early. 

 
hammerva said:
No ####### excuses. This was exactly like the Jaguars playoffs where they didn't take the game seriously and their opponent and got beat up. 

Sorry Juju but same old Steelers so far.  I am begging for at least effort 
That first quarter was just a disaster.  Bad snap.  Bad INTs.  Field position put D in a bad spot, but they needed to do better.  Spillane looked terribly slow -- they should have had him and Feiler dressed as backups and kept the rotation from last week in tact.

 
The way Ben and Pouncey stayed on the bench crying last night, I think they may both retire.
It definitely looked like Ben, Pouncey, and Juju all knew it was their last game as Steelers. Juju and Claypool just sat together on the bench for like 10 minutes after the game was over. It is definitely the end of an era, one to mostly be celebrated. We didn't get a Super Bowl in the last 10 years, but we had a lot of really talented teams and got to watch more excellent football than most fanbases. 

Why was MARSH out there so much?  The few plays Ola was in on that side, the D seemed to perform better.
I was yelling this at the TV at one point. Ola only came in when Watt went out, pretty much. And every single play Marsh was getting manhandled by the OT on the left side. The only thing I can guess is that Marsh played better in practice so they thought he gave them a better shot, but it looked obvious to me. 

Spillane looked terribly slow -- they should have had him and Feiler dressed as backups and kept the rotation from last week in tact.
100% this. Spillane wasn't back to 100% healthy and should have been the backup. And I thought Dotson looked better the last few weeks than Feiler ever did when healthy, but maybe my eye test was missing things. I would have preferred Feiler at RT, Chuks at LT, and Dotson at LG, but that's just because I think Big Al is a blob who can't block backup pass rushers... which he again failed to do last night. 

 
As if things weren't bad enough in general, losing to the Browns in back to back weeks to start 2021 was not how I wanted to get a fresh start. Like the Jags playoff game, it was one of those games that makes you question your fandom and if it is worth it. It just really isn't fun anymore.

Being dramatic yes, but makes me wonder if my energy is better spent elsewhere. Pittsburgh sports is just depressing right now.

 
As if things weren't bad enough in general, losing to the Browns in back to back weeks to start 2021 was not how I wanted to get a fresh start. Like the Jags playoff game, it was one of those games that makes you question your fandom and if it is worth it. It just really isn't fun anymore.

Being dramatic yes, but makes me wonder if my energy is better spent elsewhere. Pittsburgh sports is just depressing right now.
Hey it happens to every city from time to time.  As a city, we have had way more ups than downs over the past 3 decades compared to most other cities (and that’s with us forced to acknowledging the Pirates).  It’s going to get ugly for a few years but no need to switch allegiances.  Lots to be proud of.

 
Hey it happens to every city from time to time.  As a city, we have had way more ups than downs over the past 3 decades compared to most other cities (and that’s with us forced to acknowledging the Pirates).  It’s going to get ugly for a few years but no need to switch allegiances.  Lots to be proud of.
I'm not so sure it'll even get that ugly. We played all of last year with Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges, and if 7 teams made the playoffs we would have been the 7th...

That's both a blessing and a curse as a Steelers fan. We're always fighting and hardly ever have a losing record, but as a result we won't pick high enough to get a guaranteed superstar (I know nothing is guaranteed, but you know what I mean). 

If the Steelers go after QB in this year's draft, I think the two within reach are Trask from Florida and Mac Jones from Bama. Early mocks have Lawrence, Fields, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance all going in the mid-early 1st. I'm not a huge fan of Mac Jones, but I think Trask is a potential Franchise QB. I don't think he's worth trading up for in the 1st, and might still be there late in the 1st or in the 2nd. We'll see how FA and Draft Season shake things up over the next 3+ months. 

 
Report out that Pouncey plans to retire: From Steelers Wire USA Today

He previously said he would retire when Ben does, but I think that's reading a bit much into it. Pouncey has been an amazing Steeler and has had as amazing a career as any of us could have hoped for when he was picked. Wish we'd gotten more Championships while we had an All-Pro center, but it just didn't work out that way. 

 
Report out that Pouncey plans to retire: From Steelers Wire USA Today

He previously said he would retire when Ben does, but I think that's reading a bit much into it. Pouncey has been an amazing Steeler and has had as amazing a career as any of us could have hoped for when he was picked. Wish we'd gotten more Championships while we had an All-Pro center, but it just didn't work out that way. 
As a fan, this sucks.

 
It sucks for the way he went out, as I'm not sure why some hang on to the bitter end. You could see the writing on the wall last season, but he still stayed for that and another. As a fan, we are all grateful for his amazing years of service. There was a stretch between 2014 to 2018 when he was one of the best at his position, and a deserving all-pro.

 
Out_Dupree, JuJu, Villa, Connor

Prime Cuts_Ben and Pouncey (if they don't retire), Vance, Haden, Williams

Restructure or Cut_DeCastro, 

Re-sign_Sutton, Hilton, Williamson, Spilane, Feiler (only if they move him back to compete with Chuks at RT)

Oh, and replace Fichtner pronto please.

My preferred draft picks would be OL/RB/OL/ILB first four rounds. Mind you, if players drop that cannot be ignored, then go ahead, but that will change who you cut and re-sign. It comes down to BPA vs need vs value.

 
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Ben deserves one more year.  Hopefully he takes the offseason seriously and gets in the best shape of his life.

 
Ben deserves one more year.  Hopefully he takes the offseason seriously and gets in the best shape of his life.
Maybe a new OC can reinvigorate him, but if the Steelers keep Fichtner we're done. If we keep Ben we need to go all in on OL in the draft, and probably go OT, C, RB in the first 3 picks. If we move on to a younger QB, they'll have to be more mobile than Ben and can extend the play when the OL crumbles.

If Mason Rudolph is our starter next year, the best we can hope for is 9-7 IMO. Also, his contract is up soon and he'll be owed money (if he does adequate), it's cheaper, and I think a better idea, to get a rookie instead. 

 
Report out that Pouncey plans to retire: From Steelers Wire USA Today

He previously said he would retire when Ben does, but I think that's reading a bit much into it. Pouncey has been an amazing Steeler and has had as amazing a career as any of us could have hoped for when he was picked. Wish we'd gotten more Championships while we had an All-Pro center, but it just didn't work out that way. 
Apparently someone jumped the gun. A beat writer speculated that Pouncey might retire, and another writer took that and wrote "Pouncey to retire." So, still definitely possible, but the original source has stated that he still thinks he will retire, but that it is definitely not official: Beat Writer Source

The video of Ben apologizing to Pouncey really makes it look like both are done, but it's super emotional after a tough loss in a playoff game. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if they both try to come back, or if they both retired. I do think that they showed in 2020 that they can have glimpses of greatness still, but also that they can be liabilities. If they don't retire on their own, the Steelers might make that choice for them.

In front office news, Colbert has been signing 1-year contracts recently and is only signed through 2021. I wonder if he chooses to retire as well after this draft and let one of the younger guys in the wings to take over. The current favorite appears to be Brandon Hunt, I always thought it would be Omar Khan after the amazing salary cap work he's been able to manage for the last 10 years. That might be why Khan is taking so many GM interviews, he knows he won't be the one taking over when Colbert leaves. If somehow both Hunt and Khan are snatched up in the GM hiring carousel, that would be a disastrous loss. 

 
Maybe a new OC can reinvigorate him, but if the Steelers keep Fichtner we're done. If we keep Ben we need to go all in on OL in the draft, and probably go OT, C, RB in the first 3 picks. If we move on to a younger QB, they'll have to be more mobile than Ben and can extend the play when the OL crumbles.

If Mason Rudolph is our starter next year, the best we can hope for is 9-7 IMO. Also, his contract is up soon and he'll be owed money (if he does adequate), it's cheaper, and I think a better idea, to get a rookie instead. 
Geez...weren't you guys like 11-0 or something before the covid stuff hit?  I know Ben didn't have a great game this week, but he did throw for a gazillion yards.  I may be off base, but if the guy takes the off season seriously I think he has one more decent year in him.

 
I think that if Ben and Pouncey retire, that they will promote Canada to OC; draft o-line, RB, and ILB in the first three rounds and let Mason start next season as a "prove-it" year.  If he sucks, we get at top 10 pick in 2022 for a new QB.

Having said that, apparently Haskins has started following all of the Steelers on IG just within the last week or so.  Perhaps he is brought in as a flyer/competition.  

They need to figure out a way to not waste Watt, Bush, and Fitz.  

This really was our year -- how we got treated with Covid scheduling and just too many injuries killed the season.

 
So are we all happy with Tomlin and his great regular season record? Is that enough? I mean, 3-7 in the last 10 playoff games, means what? What has he done without Cowher's players? What is the goal? Aside from a semi-successful 2016 run, what do you see in the last 10 years? Many questions that need to be answered. I'm not one who thinks successful regular season records are enough, especially for such an historic franchise. I know it's harder now, but something is amiss come playoff time. It needs to be fixed. 

2011, 12-4, and lose to a Tim Tebow led team

2014, 11-5, and get trounced by Ravens

2015, 10-6, and survive an AJ McCarron led team and lose to Den

2016, 11-5, and beat up on a Matt Moore led team, survive an Alex Smith led team, then get smoked by NE

2017, 13-3, and lose to a Blake Bortles led team that hung up 45 on you

2020, 12-4, and lose to a Baker Mayfield led team that hung up 48 on you
Yep, long time since a playoff win

 
Geez...weren't you guys like 11-0 or something before the covid stuff hit?  I know Ben didn't have a great game this week, but he did throw for a gazillion yards.  I may be off base, but if the guy takes the off season seriously I think he has one more decent year in him.
We were 11-0 and Big Ben was a huge part of that, but starting in Week 11, opponents shifted how they defended us. They started keeping more defenders close to the line of scrimmage to prevent our short passing attack. In that week and the ones following we scored 19, 17, 15, and 17. We started to turn things around a bit against the Colts when we had a huge 2nd half, but that was because we switched to the no huddle and Ben passed a ridiculous amount. My main point was that if Ben AND Fichtner are back, we don't have a hope of going all the way next year. Fichtner didn't alter the game plan for over 4 weeks, and the only reason we won the Colts game was because Ben started calling plays at the line. If we bring back Ben and have a new OC, we definitely have a shot. 

It's hard to tell if Ben is washed, or if the season situation was the cause of his struggles. He was 1 season removed from serious elbow surgery, so they had to go to quick passes to avoid hits and that worked really well for a while (until it didn't). But he also ended up throwing more and more as the season went along, probably tiring out his arm. He averaged 36 passes a game in the first half of the season, and 48.5 passes per game in the 2nd half. That amount just doesn't seem sustainable for an older quarterback. 

All season long his deep ball has been crap, he's been either overly tentative throwing the ball 3 yards out of reach, or he's thrown the ball 2 yards short and it was usually broken up. He was on target with a couple balls early in the season that helped fuel Claypool's breakout, but in the 2nd half of the season that mostly went away. He also threw the ball high all season causing WRs to try and catch balls while jumping and leading to a couple INTs that could have been avoided with on target throws. 

His quick passes worked well until the Ravens figured out a scheme to stop it and every other opponent copied them. The OC needs to go and if we bring back Ben we need to invest in O-Line, RB, and TE so that we have a better running game and he doesn't need to pass so much. And so we can provide 2 targets for dump off passes while our speedy WRs go further down field. 

 
Tomlin needs to once and for all, stop this garbage culture. Didn't he learn after AB? JuJu dancing gone wild this season, and his trash talk before the loss, and now I see a Claypool tweet trashing the Browns after being embarrassed.

Maybe it's just me and my old school ways, and maybe I just don't get the new generation of players that always resort to these actions. Respect, and being humble, seem too much now.

 
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Tomlin needs to once and for all, stop this garbage culture. Didn't he learn after AB? JuJu dancing gone wild this season, and his trash talk before the loss, and now I see a Claypool tweet trashing the Browns after being embarrassed.

Maybe it's just me and my old school ways, and maybe I just don't get the new generation of players that always resort to these actions. Respect, and being humble, seem too much now.
I don't like it either but good luck trying to keep 50+ players respectful and humble.  Look at what the Ravens did in Tennessee.  I am 60 and therefore an old guy ("keep off my lawn!") so maybe it is a generational thing.

That said I don't think it has much to do with winning/losing.  The Steelers turned the ball over 5 times and had 0 takeways on defense.  That was pretty much the whole story against Cleveland.

 
I don't like it either but good luck trying to keep 50+ players respectful and humble.  Look at what the Ravens did in Tennessee.  I am 60 and therefore an old guy ("keep off my lawn!") so maybe it is a generational thing.

That said I don't think it has much to do with winning/losing.  The Steelers turned the ball over 5 times and had 0 takeways on defense.  That was pretty much the whole story against Cleveland.
I think I just don't get it being in my 50s. I think this generation resorting to social media to "vent" their frustrations in unusual ways might be something I can't get used to. After the AB fiasco though, you would think the team would be on high alert and stomp out these types of actions before they spiral into something else. 

 
I know it's a tough call on Ben, but it all comes down to the direction Steelers want to take. There's 19m to free up if they want. Ben staying at his salary puts the team in a very bad cap situation, which means I wouldn't be surprised if they re-structure an extension if he wants to stay. 

 
Now that our offseason has started, I've already fallen into the trap of NFL Big Boards and Mock Drafts. There's already a player I'd like the Steelers to nab in the 3rd or 4th, but by the time the draft rolls around he'll probably go in the 2nd to one of our rivals. Elijah Moore from Ole Miss looks like the perfect slot WR for the Steelers to grab to replace Juju. Idk about his character or work ethic, but simply his play on the field is electric from the slot. With Diontae and Claypool on the outside, he'll probably usually see 1 on 1 coverage, and with this ridiculous WR class he's hardly being talked about even though he was made First Team All-American. 

 
I know it's a tough call on Ben, but it all comes down to the direction Steelers want to take. There's 19m to free up if they want. Ben staying at his salary puts the team in a very bad cap situation, which means I wouldn't be surprised if they re-structure an extension if he wants to stay. 
If Ben wants to come back he's going to need to be flexible with his contract.   I know there are limitations to what can be done but  you can't take a $44 million cap hit and still sign the players needed to field a competitive team.

I think he probably does have a decent year left in him but not at that price tag.

 
If Ben wants to come back he's going to need to be flexible with his contract.   I know there are limitations to what can be done but  you can't take a $44 million cap hit and still sign the players needed to field a competitive team.

I think he probably does have a decent year left in him but not at that price tag.
Some people are talking about voidable years to lessen the hit in 2021, but that worsens our situation in 2022 and beyond. I hope they either take the full hit this year, or let him go.

Dulac apparently stated that Big Al is not being resigned, not sure if speculation or a source, but not really surprised. He may not have been our weakest link on the O-line, but he definitely was not an asset. I thought he was just ok outside of the 1 pretty good year he had. Chuks was drafted to play LT, but I'm not sure how the front office feels about Chuks at LT and Banner at RT (assuming healthy and cheap to resign). It should be a no brainer to use a top 3 pick on OT. 

 
Reported: Lions are going to hire away Colbert to be their GM!

Also Reported: The Lions have not requested permission from the Steelers to talk to Colbert, which is required because he is under contract through the 2021 draft. 

So, watch out for nonsense headlines in the offseason...

 

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