NFL 2013-2014 Season!

[ddxgrsd]

A few notes after stewing over the loss for awhile:

+probably not a 4-12 team, our o-line has improved over the offseason, Rivers made 3 good TD passes (that first one to Matthews was overthrown pretty badly, was more of a great play on Matthews' part), Weddle is still Weddle, pass rush was decent for most of the night. Oh, and the biggest point of all, our schedule is pretty soft.

-Prevent defense is atrocious, people not named Weddle and sometimes Cox in the secondary seemed to forget their assignments mid play. Rivers started throwing ground balls in the 4th. We have no definite #1 receiver, just a large group of #2 and #3 receivers. McCoy is already in my doghouse for trying to "ice" the kicker at the end of the game.

Of course, this is just one game, against a team who probably should have blown us out, during National Overreaction Week.

[Anacybele]

Tomlin's job is pretty safe. The lack of talent in the offensive line, the receiver and RB depth, and both the age of the defense and the injuries is not completely his fault. Tomlin's been a solid coach for his entire tenure at Pittsburgh, it's up to the GM and Tomlin to patch up the team from Ye Olde Days and bring it up to speed. 2012 highlighted the weaknesses, 2013 looks like a rebuilding year, and maybe their 2014 will be solid again.

It isn't Tomlin's fault that for the first time in the team's history the Steelers have less depth at WR/RB/QB than the Ravens and Bengals. That just happens from time to time. This dude survived a season with Tommy Maddox as the starting QB among other things that happened before the 2005 season (remember that the Steelers have had 1 Super Bowl appearance between the 70s and 2005) and I'm pretty sure Tomlin was an HC during that time. I don't he'll be gone until he retires from the NFL or something.

I'm not sure about what Todd Haley does badly exactly but didn't he run the 2008 Cardinals offense? The one with Boldin, Fitzgerald, and Warner? (Then again he wasn't their OC in 2009 so I guess)

I never said it was totally Tomlin's fault. I more so blame Todd Haley. Our offense didn't start going down the drain until he stepped in. But you're right. I don't expect the Steelers to get to the Super Bowl this season, but I do think they can at least make the playoffs again.

And actually, Tomlin didn't become Pittsburgh's coach until season 41, after Cowher coached one final time in Super Bowl 40.

Also, Haley was the head coach of the Cardinals, not the offensive coordinator. His ideas might have worked for them, but every team is different. Haley just does not seem to properly use the talent the Steelers have. For example, before Haley stepped in, Ben and Mike Wallace did a lot of successful deep passes that net them TDs like crazy. Heath Miller also got lots of passes. Now, this doesn't happen much anymore and because of that, Wallace couldn't function right and he left the team. Ben even got on Haley's case about his silly ideas, though they eventually came to terms. But now look at this team's offense. It's next to trash.

Yeah but bringing up the Steelers every five seconds and talking about them like you do becomes intolerable, especially because their news isn't particularly interesting or big as other teams these days. Refusal to talk about the faults of your team and refusal to engage in reasonable discussion with regards to your team - one recent example is your baseless point that the Steelers are one of the best teams of the AFC and then later refusal to acknowledge that the Steelers played like complete shit. And then when people bring it up you either take it personally and assume rivalry (btw I'm not jumping on Randa as much as I am jumping on you even though he's a fuckin Patriots fan - I hate the Patriots far more than I dislike the Steelers, for reference, so it's definitely _not_ bias) instead of trying to make discussion - that's stifling it. The fact that you talk about no other teams makes it a lot worse.

Refusal to talk about the faults in my team? Refusing to acknowledge that the team played like shit? WTF, I spent like a whole page raging about the offense being piss poor in that game against the Titans. They certainly did not look like one of the best teams in the AFC that day. They aren't one of the best right now, but that can and should change.

Also, you're exaggerating. I don't even post in here every five seconds, let alone do I talk about the Steelers that much.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Anacybele

[Helios]

I think Randombobman's first part about Rivers is the truth. The guy is a talented QB, but he lacks clutch right now, and has for the last couple years. They had a stat on MNF showing Rivers's QBR (quarterback rating 1-100). The last two years his 4th quarter QBR has been 7.7, and on MNF his QBR was 0.02 in the fourth. He overthinks the situation and ends up becoming turnover prone. I wouldn't ditch him though; all he needs is one good COMPLETE game or one comeback win to give him back his confidence. When he gets his confidence back in clutch time, he'll be back to being the borderline elite QB that he was 3-5 years ago.

[Lord Raven]

QBR is the dumbest stat especially considering a team chokes the game, not just the QB. I still think he is the borderline elite QB, I think the problem in the first half is that Houston didn't get the pressure on him they were supposed to get as opposed to Rivers being on fire. Not only that but Schaub is a serviceable starter with an elite WR to throw to that blows all of Rivers' targets out of the water.

Furthermore their offensive line was breaking far faster in the second half than the first half. At that point Houston more or less realized that Rivers got a decent amount of time in the pocket for Rivers to make these ridiculous passes, so they decided to jump on his ass constantly. Considering their defensive line has JJ Watt and they have Brian Cushing on linebacker, as well as Foster and Johnson on offense, then you'll quickly realize that the Chargers were outmatched from the getgo. Chargers definitely have the better quarterback, but Houston has a much better overall team in every other respect (except the secondary).

It doesn't help that a secondary lead by Eric Weddle kept blowing coverages against Andre Johnson. Are we really going to play the blame game with just Phillip Rivers here?

In summary;

San Diego's great secondary blew coverages against Houston receivers

Houston's amazing defensive line learned to keep blitzing Rivers because they realize how weak their secondary still is and how Rivers kept burning them

Houston's line kept blitzing Rivers because they knew his pocket would collapse in less than a second (two if he's lucky) and the plays wouldn't have time to develop

Houston's line killed the running game in the second half.

Everyone can be blamed for poor play in the second half, but cutting Rivers is not the solution. In fact, cutting Rivers opens up a whole new can of worms that will cause San Diego to be further from recovery. But what do any of us know? He had a shitty team last year and so far only one San Diego game has occurred this year - against a more or less elite AFC team. It also takes two to catch a ball and drops are always a bitch, especially when you have to play to keep from losing the game.

And actually, Tomlin didn't become Pittsburgh's coach until season 41, after Cowher coached one final time in Super Bowl 40.

I definitely thought I fixed that, guess I left that in. I brought up Cowher's career much later after looking it up so read that part. Tomlin's job is safe considering how safe Cowher's was. Edited September 11, 2013 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

I definitely thought I fixed that, guess I left that in. I brought up Cowher's career much later after looking it up so read that part. Tomlin's job is safe considering how safe Cowher's was.

Alright, I hope that's true then. I think Tomlin's a fun dude and has done good for this team. He might not be as well-versed as Cowher yet, but he'll get there.

[nflchamp]

The end of the Jets-Patriots game was ridiculously stupid.

Talib was an ass and should never have danced around. The Jets player probably shouldn't have hit him (but it wasn't that bad either). Everything after that was pointlessly idiotic and there probably should have been a couple of Patriots ejected too. I don't care if they were retaliatory punches - punches are punches and if you throw one you're gone.

[Anacybele]

There was some fist fighting going on? Dang. o.o

I'm looking forward to seeing how the Steeler offense does against their former ace LB James Harrison on Monday. If they get their crap together, that is. I do NOT want a repeat of week 1. If they do play a much better game this time, this'll be awesome. :D

Edited September 13, 2013 by Anacybele

[MRDRHAWK]

There was some fist fighting going on? Dang. o.o

I'm looking forward to seeing how the Steeler offense does against their former ace LB James Harrison on Monday. If they get their crap together, that is. I do NOT want a repeat of week 1. If they do play a much better game this time, this'll be awesome. :D

RIP Roethlisberger.

That Bengals front 7 is fire.

[Lord Raven]

^ Yeah that's a game I'm avoiding at all costs, Roethlisberger can't keep going like this at the rate he gets sacked/hit

The end of the Jets-Patriots game was ridiculously stupid.

Talib was an ass and should never have danced around. The Jets player probably shouldn't have hit him (but it wasn't that bad either). Everything after that was pointlessly idiotic and there probably should have been a couple of Patriots ejected too. I don't care if they were retaliatory punches - punches are punches and if you throw one you're gone.

Just the end? It was a pretty bad game all around - rain, dropped passes, and Edelman being the most targeted receiver in the game because the only other guys that could've been targeted were Dobson and Holmes. And Holmes slipped on some routes, and a dropped Jets pass lead to an interception. Brady didn't even break 50% completion in the game or something.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

Wow, way to ruin my excitement. >_>

But if the Bengals defense is so good, why'd they also lose in week 1?

[Life]

Wow, way to ruin my excitement. >_>

But if the Bengals defense is so good, why'd they also lose in week 1?

Because to win, you usually need to score more points than the other team (I could be completely wrong). Note: If your D holds a team to a touchdown, that means nothing in the win column if your offense refuses to cross the 50 yard line.

Bills are crap this year.

[nflchamp]

^ Yeah that's a game I'm avoiding at all costs, Roethlisberger can't keep going like this at the rate he gets sacked/hit

Just the end? It was a pretty bad game all around - rain, dropped passes, and Edelman being the most targeted receiver in the game because the only other guys that could've been targeted were Dobson and Holmes. And Holmes slipped on some routes, and a dropped Jets pass lead to an interception. Brady didn't even break 50% completion in the game or something.

Well, the rest of the game was played atrociously. The end was just stupid.

[Anacybele]

Because to win, you usually need to score more points than the other team (I could be completely wrong). Note: If your D holds a team to a touchdown, that means nothing in the win column if your offense refuses to cross the 50 yard line.

I'm aware of that, obviously. What I mean is if the Bengals' defense is so good, why couldn't they prevent their opponents from getting the points they needed to win?

[Life]

I'm aware of that, obviously. What I mean is if the Bengals' defense is so good, why couldn't they prevent their opponents from getting the points they needed to win?

That's a terrible double standard. If the Steelers D is so good, why do they lose games too?

[Anacybele]

That's a terrible double standard. If the Steelers D is so good, why do they lose games too?

Well, you all made it sound like the Bengals had the perfect defense is all.

[Life]

Well, you all made it sound like the Bengals had the perfect defense is all.

No I didn't. Go back over what I said.

Reading comprehension is important.

[nflchamp]

If the Steelers can keep Roethlisberger on his feet, they can win against the Bengals.

That idea is pretty hilarious right now.

[Anacybele]

No, if the whole offense can stay head to head with that defense, the Steelers can win. It's not just Ben. Everybody on it needs to step up. And Miller needs to come back. And Bell too. I'm not expecting Pouncey to return yet though. He had to go to the hospital and stuff.

[Lord Raven]

If the Steelers can keep Roethlisberger on his feet, they can win against the Bengals.

They probably need like 8 linemen (at least) and 2 receivers and then they can keep Ben on his feet.

I'm not sure how this could result in a good thing. He won't get sacked though! Well, he might even still.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

Yeah, who knows. And Ben can be happier if Miller comes back because he was always Ben's favorite target. Miller is a TE rather than a WR, but that guy is huge and can plow through any pile.

PLEASE COME BACK HEATH MILLER. D:

Edited September 13, 2013 by Anacybele

[shadykid]

even the very best defenses can rarely stop a good offensive team from scoring the whole game, that's an absurd standard....

[Hawk King]

The Patriots suck. I dont want to hear lame excuses about developing chemistry with the receivers and all that bullshit. They have had a month of training camp and Brady just looks bad.

They have scored 3 TDs this season. The 2 against the Bills came from drives that started in the Bills side of the field because of turnovers. And their only TD last night was because the Jets decided to not cover the receiver at all.

I would be shocked if they win more than 9 games. Sadly 9 wins might be enough to win this division.

[Randa]

Actually Brady didnt look bad. Our recievers just couldn't catch a damn pass. If I remember right thompkins and Dobson dropped a combined 17 passes. It was ridiculous. Had nothing to do with Brady. If you watch the game they dropped a lot of passes and overan their routes. It was a shit show from the receivers. On a happier note the defense looked good.

[Lord Raven]

The Patriots suck. I dont want to hear lame excuses about developing chemistry with the receivers and all that bullshit. They have had a month of training camp and Brady just looks bad.

They have scored 3 TDs this season. The 2 against the Bills came from drives that started in the Bills side of the field because of turnovers. And their only TD last night was because the Jets decided to not cover the receiver at all.

I would be shocked if they win more than 9 games. Sadly 9 wins might be enough to win this division.

A month of practice != a month of actual playing against teams with defenses. The actual game is much much different to practice drills, and it's still fairly difficult, especially when you have a bunch of turnover at the position since the year before.

Furthermore, the Jets game was ugly all around - it was raining, slippery, wet etc. They were also missing four receivers - Amendola, Gronk, Sudfield, and Shane Vereen (who is also in the backfield). On top of that, the third string receivers kept dropping passes, and this was also a short week from Sunday (so they had all of three days to practice with more or less backup receivers). Give it time, two weeks under those conditions are hardly a gauge for the rest of the season.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Lord Raven

[Anacybele]

even the very best defenses can rarely stop a good offensive team from scoring the whole game, that's an absurd standard....

It can still happen though. I've seen it. But yes, you're right, it's rare.