A reminder of what I said in July….
"A sidenote - compare and contrast what two teams with major needs along their
OL did this offseason, the Chiefs and the Steelers. The OL cost the Chiefs a
Super Bowl, so they went out and got Orlando Brown from the Ravens via trade,
Joe Thuney, Kyle Long and drafted Creed Humphrey. Meanwhile, the Steelers
weren’t really that aggressive at all, despite the holes that appeared both in
season and after the season. The drop-off from Pouncey and DeCastro to
Hassenauer or Finney and Trai Turner is massive. Everywhere else is a question
mark. Joe Haig is nothing more than depth. They have to hope that Zach Banner
and Okorafor are the answer at tackle. The cap impacted things, but the
difference in the way the Chiefs aggressively addressed their need whilst the
Steeler took a needle and thread to theirs is the difference between success
and failure sometimes in this league.
I don’t think there is a team in the league with as many wild scenarios about
how their season could go than the Steelers have. It is just as feasible that
Ben has one last revival, the new OL clicks and an innovative scheme under
Canada becomes really productive, the running game is rejuvenated, the return
of Devin Bush energises the defense, the young DB’s step up to replace the loss
of Nelson and Hilton and the team makes a deep playoff run than it is that the
OL doesn’t gel and Ben and the running game gets a battering, the lack of depth
along the defense gets exposed and they wind up going 6-11. I wouldn’t be
surprised by either happening, though, as always, the truth will always lie
somewhere in between. What is different this year is that it’s not just the
Steelers and the Ravens battling it out. Cleveland can lay claim to the “best
roster in football” label, Cincinnati has the best young QB in the game
returning and although I have questions about Zach Taylor, they still have a
lot of talent on offense and a young, up and coming defense. I doubt the
Steelers will finish last, but again, the proud record of Tomlin never having a
losing season is under the spotlight here, especially as the depth is so, so
thin."
This offense right now has absolutely no positive features right now, with the
possible exception of Harris, though even he dropped 4 passes yesterday and
can’t do it all by himself. The line is mess, individually and collectively,
penalties, lack of attention to detail, missed blocks, I see nothing in that
group that is redeemable at this stage. The wisdom of firing an OL coach and
then hiring his assistant needs to be examined. The receivers are banged up and
it seems that every one of them had at least one drop yesterday. The QB has
zero confidence at all, mechanically, he isn’t setting his feet or striding
into his throws, he is either forcing everything or checking down to whatever
is in front of him. The offensive co-ordinator, whose innovation got him the
job and his commitment to pre-snap speed motion and misdirection and receivers
running combination routes to confuse secondaries is the standard in modern
football, has abandoned absolutely everything he believes in already, leading
to a dump off pass on 4th and 10 from the Cincinnati 11, down 14 points.
Defensively, they’ve been killed by injuries in the front seven, that much we
know, but the lack of quality depth has always been lurking. Cam Heyward and a
bunch of undrafted FA’s yesterday on the DL, LB’s signed off the street, a
secondary in continuous flux (and again, with Minkah wanting big money, Edmunds
and Haden heading for free agency, there’s another ticking bomb that’s about to
go off). It’s not that they are bad, it’s the fact that this was all, too
predictable. Granted, no one saw the injuries coming in the numbers of players
that have been out after just three weeks, but the depth was never there in the
first place.
Where do they go from here? Depends who’s healthy of course. Do they wait for
Ben to get injured too before putting Mason in, or do they decide to cut the
cord now? Ben won’t be able to take this punishment for much longer. Banner
might be back this week, but what difference will that make? Who knows where
Tuitt is right now. Hell, even Boswell yesterday missed from a distance where
he is usually automatic.
It’s a disaster…. and it would be in keeping with this silly situation and this
silly team that they went on the road to Green Bay next week…. and win…...
On 27 Sep 2021, at 02:34, Steve Rhoton <sprhoto@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I don’t think Ben is ok at all. You can frame it as a combination of factors,
but I think the end result is he’s done. For example, in that 4th down play
at 3 minutes left, he had someone wide open in the end zone (can’t remember
who), but decided to flair it out to Najeh. You can say it’s lack of
confidence in his oline, you can talk about the scheme being wrong, but he
has to know that ball needs to be in the end zone. I see someone who is
panicking and has a deer in the headlights look. He’s missing a lot of open
looks. It’s like he’s suddenly a mental rookie. Again, I’m not saying it’s
just him, and trying to learn a new scheme at 39 is damn hard, but I think we
are done being an effective offense with him in control. Just my two cents.
On Sunday, September 26, 2021, Scott H <blitzum@xxxxxxx
<mailto:blitzum@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
I don’t think Ben is cooked, I think he is feeling his mortality. Every
report is that he is making every pass in practice. I think he doesn’t trust
his O line and is hesitant. He doesn’t like the new offense but is trying to
do his best to be brave and put on a happy face. The play calling is bad, the
execution is worse and Ben is conflicted.
Sadly the passing game goes like this:
1. O line gives Ben no time and is rushed
2. Ben’s accuracy is off
3. WR and Ben aren’t on same page
4. Ben makes great pass and it’s dropped
5. The play called is a bubble screen or quick pass to the line when we are
3rd and long
I could go on and on but you get the idea
I think if we had a stud O Line Ben is stacking TDs and yards with our
weapons BUT we don’t so he has to step up his play , trust the line and take
a beating. I don’t think he really wants to do that.
Scott in Jersey
On Sep 26, 2021, at 6:23 PM, Steve Rhoton <sprhoto@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:sprhoto@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
There is a lot wrong with this team. But I will say, Ben looks cooked. Pair
that up with that oline and injuries, and this is not good at all. Also,
does Matt Canada’s playbook look like Fincher’s because he just can’t do
anything else, or because it’s the same playbook?
Thanks,
Steve
On Sunday, September 26, 2021, Scott H <blitzum@xxxxxxx
<mailto:blitzum@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
Every year I am cautiously optimisitic after camp. This year I really
thought Highsmith/Ingram would be an uprgade over Bud, Harris over Conner
and the O-line would be no worse tbhan last year.
Now all I want is Dave's way too early evaluations of QBs and to go 1-16. I
don't want a 6-11 or 7-10 useless season.
The first half of the season was supposed to be the "easier" part of the
schedule.
Too many things to go into , but much sooo much wasted talent, bad play
calling, poor execution it is almost amazing.
I do believe that they will get better, but I see no way that Ben's last
season is Tomlin's first losing season.
Scott in Jersey