Offensive Line Finally Gelling...

[katmandu]

OL had a great day today!

Looks like they've found a combo that is going to work.

[polamalubeast]

Steelers o-line is very good since 3 week

[stillers4me]

Ben was on the ground alot. He just managed to do what he always does to make the plays. He makes a mediocre oline look good.

[Godfather]

Ben did get knocked around today, but the O-line still looked better than it has.

I never realized how valuable Starks was until this year.

[katmandu]

The do need a lot of work in the Run blocking department.

[7willBheaven]

The weak link right now is Kemo...seen him on his ass too many times and his DUMB DUMB mental mistakes (late hit/etc). I hope when Legursky is back they put him back in there...they played better with Legs.

And while Ben got whacked/hit/etc...they were generally as the play was ending for the most part...and only i think 2 sacks (one of which Kemo pushed Haggans right into Ben)...they didnt play bad.

[fansince'76]

Coulda fooled me - Ben pulled a ton of plays out of his ass today under extreme duress.

[Merchant]

Starks has played extremely well considering he was sitting on the couch a few weeks ago.

[The Duke]

Starks has played extremely well considering he was sitting on the couch a few weeks ago.

instead it's Kemo who looks like he's been sitting in the couch all year

[86WARD]

enough with the dumb penalties.

[Psycho Ward 86]

o line gelling? More like Ben pulling some serious hat tricks out of his ass.

[Steeldude]

the O-line didn't look that good to me. run blocking was below average. BR was hit quite a lot, but some of that has to do with the long developing plays. the steelers don't block well enough for 7-step drops.

i guess you can say the O-line looked better, but it still needs a lot or work

[steel striker]

They did better but, Ben got hit alot made a ton of plays. Not many openings for the rb's and, thank god Ben & wr's played great. Hopefully the o-line will get better each week.

[SteelerFanInStl]

Coulda fooled me - Ben pulled a ton of plays out of his ass today under extreme duress.

Exactly. The OL didn't look particularly good to me today. Poor job run blocking and Ben was running for his life most of the day. Not many plays made from the pocket today.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Coulda fooled me - Ben pulled a ton of plays out of his ass today under extreme duress.Exactly, I thought the line took a step backwards. Pouncey missed a block on Washington bad. kemo missed Harrans for a sack and the cards d line pushed them around

[zulater]

I didn't realize until just now that Marcus Gilbert played the entire game at right tackle. He did a good job on pass protection, but his run blocking had it's ups and downs. No doubt the kid has game and if he stays healthy he should start on this team for a number of years. My guess is that he'll be moved to left tackle next season.

Pouncey had a great game against the Cardinals. He's back to All Pro form, I'm guessing his ankle is finally right.

Max Starks played pretty solid, but he needed help from a back or tight end a couple times. All in all we can win with Max. He's not an All Pro, but he's a legitmate NFL starting left tackle. Foster was ok, nothing special, but he didn't make any major gaffes that I saw either. Kemo wasn't as bad as I thought he was going to be, but he's got to stop taking stupid penalties!

[zulater]

Exactly, I thought the line took a step backwards. Pouncey missed a block on Washington bad. kemo missed Harrans for a sack and the cards d line pushed them around

Really, then how the hell did we produce 44o yards of offense against them?

[BigNastyDefense]

They looked no worse than the offensive line in 2008 when we won SB43, and that's an upgrade over how they looked against the Ravens and Texans.

If this is them as a gelled unit, then Ben is going to have to keep doing what he does so well.....break tackles and make plays on the run.

[The Duke]

I didn't realize until just now that Marcus Gilbert played the entire game at right tackle. He did a good job on pass protection, but his run blocking had it's ups and downs. No doubt the kid has game and if he stays healthy he should start on this team for a number of years. My guess is that he'll be moved to left tackle next season.


Does he look small at all to you?

For a 6'6 guy I think he's missing some more muscle. Though without offseason workouts that's probably expected

Kid's playing good though. Might just have to draft a Florida guard to get the trifecta

[Psycho Ward 86]

Really, then how the hell did we produce 44o yards of offense against them?

Ben played insane from a mobility standpoint.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Really, then how the hell did we produce 44o yards of offense against them?

- 1 play of 95 yards in the air
-quick passes and receiver RAC yards (see Antonio Brown's 102 yards)
- Ben scrambling to stay alive and extending the play

You rewatch the games normally don't you. I seem to remember the TV analysts remarking on how Ben was able to avoid unblocked players and still complete TD passes.....not how the O line was giving him lots of time to pass the ball or controlling the Arizona Defensive line.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Might just have to draft a Florida guard to get the trifecta

I'd feel better if we drafted a guard or LT from Stanford this year instead.

[Devilsdancefloor]

Does he look small at all to you?

For a 6'6 guy I think he's missing some more muscle. Though without offseason workouts that's probably expected

Kid's playing good though. Might just have to draft a Florida guard to get the trifecta

We have the trifecta already with max back plus i agree with gonzo id like to see a standford OL drafted

[86WARD]

They looked no worse than the offensive line in 2008 when we won SB43, and that's an upgrade over how they looked against the Ravens and Texans.

If this is them as a gelled unit, then Ben is going to have to keep doing what he does so well.....break tackles and make plays on the run.

This...

[suitanim]

I guess they are playing better, but let's be honest. The best equivalent would be like saying "Hey, my 1987 Yugo is really running well right now".

It's getting me from point A to point B, but that's about it...

[zulater]

- 1 play of 95 yards in the air
-quick passes and receiver RAC yards (see Antonio Brown's 102 yards)
- Ben scrambling to stay alive and extending the play

You rewatch the games normally don't you. I seem to remember the TV analysts remarking on how Ben was able to avoid unblocked players and still complete TD passes.....not how the O line was giving him lots of time to pass the ball or controlling the Arizona Defensive line.

The thing is on most of those plays where a guy came in relatively unblocked, I wasn't seeing major breakdowns along the line. A couple of pressures I would attribute to our backs ( 1 Redman, 1 Mendy) misreading the blitz. A couple other were just well timed, well disguised defense by the Cards. For the game along the line I didn't see many major breakdowns. Hat on a hat I don't know that there were 5 badly missed blocks combined for the o-line for the game? :noidea:

Individually I thought Pouncey played a terrific game in all facets. Gilbert was solid in pass protection from what I saw, but there was a noticeable drop off as far as setting the edge for the running game. Believe it or not, or at least in my opinion, Jonathan Scott did a good job last week giving Mendenhall that avenue he likes to have to bounce out the play to if the initial hole isn't looking good. Or in other words I'm not sure our best unit for the time wouldn't have Scott starting at right tackle.

I think I need to rinse out my mouth after saying that out loud. :yuck:

Outside of that Foster played good, I didn't see any standout plays for him good or bad.

Kemo's another story. Far and away he had the worst game among the o-line. (imo) And even he wasn't awful.


t

[zulater]

I think we've got a decent offensive line finally! Max Starks has really stablilized this unit and left tackle has gone from liability to assett. Maukice Pouncey is playing like an All Pro again, so we're above average at two positions! Kemo didn't suck last night. Foster had a couple misteps but overall he was ok. Gilbert got through an entire game without injuring himslef, and played pretty good too, except for one glaring play. All and all this unit has come around pretty well and wont hold us back.

[fansince'76]

Night and day difference from just a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully we don't sustain any more injuries on the OL. :pray:

[Edman]

On a night where the Steelers Offensive Line finally gels, the Defense takes a back seat.

I went into last nights game believing that if the Ravens won, it would because of their Defense. Certainly didn't expect what we saw.

[SteelGhost]

I guess they are playing better, but let's be honest. The best equivalent would be like saying "Hey, my 1987 Yugo is really running well right now".

It's getting me from point A to point B, but that's about it...

Maybe when Legursky returns we can get to point C :noidea: