Game balls and what I liked and didn't like today.

[zulater]

Hey folks, it was an NFL game. It counted in the standings. You only get 16 of these a year, so to me it counts.

So my game ball goes to Ben. Yeah I know he wasn't amazing, and the Browns are the Browns. And a lucky turnover was probably the only reason the game didn't go to the wire. But he did a good job avioding killer sacks, and he didn't turn the ball over. And he produced in the red zone.

Too little too late? sure. But it's a win and it beat the hell out of going into the season on a losing streak. Or at least to me it does.

Also I'm glad they won for all the veteran that wont be here next year. So give a game ball to Casey Hampton, and Max Starks and Larry Foote.

One other positive I took from today is that I think Plaxico Burress earned a contract for this team next year.

With the strong possibility that Heath Miller is going to miss multiple game to begin next season, we need Plax as a red zone target. The TD that Plax caught today no one outside of Heath has a chance to make on this team. Make him a regular part of the red zone offense and Ben is going to hit Plax on that play 6-10 times.

What I didn't like. DeCastro was unimpressive again today prior to getting hurt. I hope they make him earn the starters spot and don't just hand it to him because he was a number 1 pick.

Also Drew Butler is about worthless. They better bring in someone good to challenge him in camp.

I'm not saying he wont get better. But you can't assume he will either. He needs to earn his roster spot.

Outside of that I'm just glad that we got a win. All wins that count in the standings matter to me.

[Psycho Ward 86]

i thought ben was just there for the ride today for the most part today. shouldve scored plenty more than 24 points off of 4 turnovers. ill give it to one of the guys on defense, maybe timmons or allen

boy does allen look promising for next year. he's been a real treat to watch the past 2 games

[zulater]

i thought ben was just there for the ride today for the most part today. shouldve scored plenty more than 24 points off of 4 turnovers. ill give it to one of the guys on defense, maybe timmons or allen

boy does allen look promising for next year. he's been a real treat to watch the past 2 games

Ben was "just there for the ride?" You see the pass protection he was getting?

Also losing a perfectly thfrown 40+ yard bomb to Antonio on a hold sucked too.

I think I would have faked an injury early and let Charlie go in the way the offensive line played in the first half.

I do agree however that Timmons played another strong game and was game ball worthy.

[crcsnail]

I'd give Clark a game ball . Also an end of season game ball to swish .i'm glad to say, He proved me wrong this year .great consistency in his kicking this year.

[stillers4me]

Cortez Allen. Welcome to the Steelers. :drink:

Troy Polamalu. Welcome back!

Plax. Welcome home! Now behave yourself.

[oneforthetoe]

Timmons has been great all season. He and Heath could split the years ball.

I thought Ben played fine. Also our hot and cold running backs ran hard today.

And if Troy could just stay healthy he can still make an impact.

Craziest thing heard during the game - The Browns o'line has apparently been together the whole season save for one position. Seriously? I know they are the Browns and all, but ........ how does one do that it.

[zulater]

Timmons has been great all season. He and Heath could split the years ball.

I thought Ben played fine. Also our hot and cold running backs ran hard today.

And if Troy could just stay healthy he can still make an impact.

Craziest thing heard during the game - The Browns o'line has apparently been together the whole season save for one position. Seriously? I know they are the Browns and all, but ........ how does one do that it.

By not having the Steelers strength and conditioning coach! :heh:

Or just being lucky? :wink02:

[steelerdude15]

I'd gotta give my game ball to Cortez once again for the turnovers.

[zulater]

Another thing I liked today. Ben not force feeding Wallace the ball when he's clearly covered. Oh yeah I realize Mike didn't play. And that's exactly the point. Maybe Ben's been doing too much to try to emphasize the importance of Wallace? All I know is today on plays where the pocket didn't immediatly collapse, Ben didn't seem to have much trouble finding open receivers.

And also notice the last two games Ben's hit Antonio Brown perfectly in stride with deep passes. ( of course today's 40+ yarder was called back on a hold) Funny how he doesn't underthrow him? Maybe it's the quality of the pattern being run?

OK I know I'm beating up on 17. :heh: But honestly anyone who thinks he's irreplacable hasn't been paying attention. I'm dead serious when I suggest addition by subtraction. I honestly believe Ben's been forcing the ball to wallace to try to prove an invalid point to management.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Another thing I liked today. Ben not force feeding Wallace the ball when he's clearly covered. Oh yeah I realize Mike didn't play. And that's exactly the point. Maybe Ben's been doing too much to try to emphasize the importance of Wallace? All I know is today on plays where the pocket didn't immediatly collapse, Ben didn't seem to have much trouble finding open receivers.

And also notice the last two games Ben's hit Antonio Brown perfectly in stride with deep passes. ( of course today's 40+ yarder was called back on a hold) Funny how he doesn't underthrow him? Maybe it's the quality of the pattern being run?

OK I know I'm beating up on 17. :heh: But honestly anyone who thinks he's irreplacable hasn't been paying attention. I'm dead serious when I suggest addition by subtraction. I honestly believe Ben's been forcing the ball to wallace to try to prove an invalid point to management.

are you saying you think you know what's best for Ben as far as what receivers he should have on the field? Ben knows that best. Maybe haley. But only those 2

[zulater]

are you saying you think you know what's best for Ben as far as what receivers he should have on the field? Ben knows that best. Maybe haley. But only those 2

I'm saying Ben's better when he's distrubuting the ball evenly to open receivers as opposed to forcing it repeatedly to a single covered one. Make of it what you will.

- - - Updated - - -

4 wr's today, all targeted 3 times apiece. Each with 2 catches that mattered.

[oneforthetoe]

By not having the Steelers strength and conditioning coach! :heh:

Or just being lucky? :wink02:

Maybe fighting off the Staph made them stronger?

[zulater]

No fumbles today. Which just makes you wonder all over again where this team's mindset was when they went to Cleveland 5 weeks ago or whenever it was?

Through the year this team lacked discipline and focus. Week to week you never knew what team would show up.

[Hawkman]

I'd gotta give my game ball to Cortez once again for the turnovers.

Same here. In the past two games he has accounted for 25% of the entire year's turnovers.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Same here. In the past two games he has accounted for 25% of the entire year's turnovers.

and that is sad as hell.

[SteelerFanInStl]

and that is sad as hell.

Yes, very sad for this year but not for the future.

The one big thing that I'm taking into this offseason is the play of Cortez in these last few games. I've had big doubts about these young CBs and his play has given me hope and even gotten me excited to see more from him.

[Edman]

Another thing I liked today. Ben not force feeding Wallace the ball when he's clearly covered. Oh yeah I realize Mike didn't play. And that's exactly the point. Maybe Ben's been doing too much to try to emphasize the importance of Wallace? All I know is today on plays where the pocket didn't immediatly collapse, Ben didn't seem to have much trouble finding open receivers.

And also notice the last two games Ben's hit Antonio Brown perfectly in stride with deep passes. ( of course today's 40+ yarder was called back on a hold) Funny how he doesn't underthrow him? Maybe it's the quality of the pattern being run?

OK I know I'm beating up on 17. :heh: But honestly anyone who thinks he's irreplacable hasn't been paying attention. I'm dead serious when I suggest addition by subtraction. I honestly believe Ben's been forcing the ball to wallace to try to prove an invalid point to management.

I also notice how Ben was distributing the ball around instead of always forcing things to 1-2 guys 15-20 yards downfield. Ben actually looked like he did early in the year, and the best game he played in weeks.

Mike Wallace is a detriment and needs to go.

[86WARD]

Either between Ben or Timmons. I'd give the edge to Ben

[Psycho Ward 86]

ben threw his lowest passing yard output in 4 years. no.

he only managed to get us 10 points until the defense went ape shit and essentially put him in the redzone

[Craic]

Hey folks, it was an NFL game. It counted in the standings. You only get 16 of these a year, so to me it counts.

So my game ball goes to Ben. Yeah I know he wasn't amazing, and the Browns are the Browns. And a lucky turnover was probably the only reason the game didn't go to the wire. But he did a good job avioding killer sacks, and he didn't turn the ball over. And he produced in the red zone.

Too little too late? sure. But it's a win and it beat the hell out of going into the season on a losing streak. Or at least to me it does.

Also I'm glad they won for all the veteran that wont be here next year. So give a game ball to Casey Hampton, and Max Starks and Larry Foote.

Disagree here, in that I think Foote comes back. I'm not so sure about Starks. He may or may not, though if he does, it'll probably be a one or two year deal with little in the way of a signing bonus so we don't get stuck with dead money.


One other positive I took from today is that I think Plaxico Burress earned a contract for this team next year.
.

With the strong possibility that Heath Miller is going to miss multiple game to begin next season, we need Plax as a red zone target. The TD that Plax caught today no one outside of Heath has a chance to make on this team. Make him a regular part of the red zone offense and Ben is going to hit Plax on that play 6-10 times.
I thought about that as well. I think he'll be brought into camp. I'm not sure if he'll leave camp with the rest of the team, though


What I didn't like. DeCastro was unimpressive again today prior to getting hurt. I hope they make him earn the starters spot and don't just hand it to him because he was a number 1 pick.

I'm not worried about him for 2 reasons. 1. James Harrison is proof - you don't come back from knee surgery and have all the strength in your leg the same year. He was playing with a knee and leg was weaker than he's used to. It's a physical limitation that he now has 8 months to work on before next season (7 before camp). You can bet he's going to get it done. 2. He came back and basically played his first two or three games as a pro, at the end of the season when other teams are geared up and in sync. The games at the end of the season are much faster than at the beginning. So he not only has to take a full step up in level from college to pro, but also a half step from opening day or early season, to late season, playoff caliber football (Bengals).


Also Drew Butler is about worthless. They better bring in someone good to challenge him in camp.

I'm not saying he wont get better. But you can't assume he will either. He needs to earn his roster spot. I ran out of patience with him as well. Then again, we saw what one off-season did for Suisham, so who knows?


Outside of that I'm just glad that we got a win. All wins that count in the standings matter to me.
Yep. I wasn't that emotionally involved in the game, but you're right, it still counts.

[zulater]

ben threw his lowest passing yard output in 4 years. no.

Yeah, but he also lost a 40+ yard completion on a hold that had nothing to do with the play. After the first couple possessions I thought for the most part Ben threw the ball well and made good decisions. His low yardage output was influenced by cashing in those short drives. The defense turns the ball over to you in the your own territory and you score in a couple plays the other team gets the ball back, so your total number of plays is limited. We had 52 offensive plays yesterday, lowest this season, and we only attempted to pass on 25 of them ( sacks + pass attemtps) so of course the passing yardage was down. And yes I know YPA was also low, but when you throw 1 yard TD passes that happens. I wish it would happen more in fact.


he only managed to get us 10 points until the defense went ape shit and essentially put him in the redzone

The point is he cashed in those turnovers, something that didn't happen last week. So again while not estatic I'm satisfied with the offensive production yesterday.

[zulater]

Disagree here, in that I think Foote comes back. I'm not so sure about Starks. He may or may not, though if he does, it'll probably be a one or two year deal with little in the way of a signing bonus so we don't get stuck with dead money.

Honestly Preach, I don't know who is or isn't coming back next season for sure. All I know is that the guys I mentioned and several others I didn't are guys who aren't sure what their future status with the Steelers will or wont be. Guys who have given this organization a lot of quality football and contributed to a lot of important wins. So for them, whoever they may be, I'm glad they go out on a win. And I doubt it was a meaningless win in their eyes.

That's all I'm saying.

[Craic]

Honestly Preach, I don't know who is or isn't coming back next season for sure. All I know is that the guys I mentioned and several others I didn't are guys who aren't sure what their future status with the Steelers will or wont be. Guys who have given this organization a lot of quality football and contributed to a lot of important wins. So for them, whoever they may be, I'm glad they go out on a win. And I doubt it was a meaningless win in their eyes.

That's all I'm saying.

Ahh.

I thought you were hinting that you think those guys would be gone either do to performance, cap, retirement, etc. Sorry for the misread!

I agree though, I'm glad they went out on a win as well - though I'd rather of had it be a SB win. Of course, I think you'd agree with that too.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Yeah, but he also lost a 40+ yard completion on a hold that had nothing to do with the play. After the first couple possessions I thought for the most part Ben threw the ball well and made good decisions. His low yardage output was influenced by cashing in those short drives. The defense turns the ball over to you in the your own territory and you score in a couple plays the other team gets the ball back, so your total number of plays is limited. We had 52 offensive plays yesterday, lowest this season, and we only attempted to pass on 25 of them ( sacks + pass attemtps) so of course the passing yardage was down. And yes I know YPA was also low, but when you throw 1 yard TD passes that happens. I wish it would happen more in fact.



The point is he cashed in those turnovers, something that didn't happen last week. So again while not estatic I'm satisfied with the offensive production yesterday.

you know its bad when excuses have to be made for why Ben, a top 5 quarterback was so horrible against the 25th ranked pass defense that he put up only 134 yards. Good thing it was because he's still injured. if he was healthy and pulled that crap that would be something to worry about

[zulater]

you know its bad when excuses have to be made for why Ben, a top 5 quarterback was so horrible against the 25th ranked pass defense that he put up only 134 yards. Good thing it was because he's still injured. if he was healthy and pulled that crap that would be something to worry about

He had a passer effeciency rating of 120 , a QBR rating of over 80. So how the hell do you call that a horrible game?

Throw in the fact that he lost a 43 yard completion to an offensive hold and factor in how much higher each of those ratings would have been then.

3 touchdowns with no fumbles or interceptions is never a horrible game for a quarterback.

[SteelerFanInStl]

3 touchdowns with no fumbles or interceptions is never a horrible game for a quarterback.

Damn straight!

[Psycho Ward 86]

He had a passer effeciency rating of 120 , a QBR rating of over 80. So how the hell do you call that a horrible game?

Throw in the fact that he lost a 43 yard completion to an offensive hold and factor in how much higher each of those ratings would have been then.

3 touchdowns with no fumbles or interceptions is never a horrible game for a quarterback.

Did you see the first 49 minutes of that game? we had a very atypical performance from the defense and thats the only reason ben had 3 touchdowns. they forced 4 turnovers and even then we only turned 2 into points. Ben only had to advance the ball 18 yards on his 3rd TD and 24 yards on his 1st TD. Only because the defense forced turnovers essentially in the redzone. Ben was basically in the redzone starting both of his scoring drives that broke the tie. youre easily amused if you thought he was efficient

[zulater]

Did you see the first 49 minutes of that game? we had a very atypical performance from the defense and thats the only reason ben had 3 touchdowns. they forced 4 turnovers and even then we only turned 2 into points. Ben only had to advance the ball 18 yards on his 3rd TD and 24 yards on his 1st TD. Only because the defense forced turnovers essentially in the redzone. Ben was basically in the redzone starting both of his scoring drives that broke the tie. youre easily amused if you thought he was efficient

Maybe it's because I remember how the 2nd half started the week before against the Bengals that I appreciated cashing in those turnover into touchdowns as opposed to losing yards and punting 3 plays later without so much as a point.

Again if you read the OP I never claimed Ben had an overwhelmingly good day. He got the job done, and that works for me.

[zulater]

On a side note. Can anyone remember the last time the Steelers successfully defended a fake punt? :doh:We never come close to stopping that!

[Psycho Ward 86]

didnt mike tomlin have a couple practices at training camp his rookie season that were dedicated exclusively to special teams? maybe we need to run that shit again