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Shoes
12-09-2013, 08:41 PM
Pretty good grading on the game here.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1881946-dolphins-vs-steelers-full-roster-report-card-grades-for-pittsburgh

Dwinsgames
12-09-2013, 08:52 PM
Pretty good grading on the game here.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1881946-dolphins-vs-steelers-full-roster-report-card-grades-for-pittsburgh



The author of that article is a member here ( he is from my old board and long time friend ) he goes by BigCurt here and only posted a few times leading up to the draft last year in the draft forum

zulater
12-09-2013, 08:52 PM
And before anyone asks, yes it was tragic that wide receiver Antonio Brown stepped out of bounds on that last play. Brown got the corner on a slick field and missed his cut by an inch. It should have never come down to one fluke play to win that game, so Brown doesn’t take a big hit from me.


From the provided link.

Smartest thing I've seen said on that play yet.



I like and respect curt, but I think he was a little too generous on many of those grades.

I still haven't finished watching the game yet though, so I'll specify where I disagree later.

Shoes
12-09-2013, 09:00 PM
From the provided link.

Smartest thing I've seen said on that play yet.



I like and respect curt, but I think he was a little too generous on many of those grades.

I still haven't finished watching the game yet though, so I'll specify where I disagree later.

Agreed Zu. I would have liked to see coaching grades also.

zulater
12-12-2013, 08:06 AM
Short on time so I'm going to tackle this one at a time.

Starting at the top.

Big Ben. B+ I was originally thinking A, to A-, but two plays dropped it for me.
1. The 4th down run with 10 yards to go, second to last possession. I thought he should have kept his eyes downfield waiting for someone to break free. There's was just too many bodies for someone of Ben's limited speed to get the entire 10 yards there. I don't have the all 22 film so perhaps I'm off base here? But my initial impression was Ben took flight too early.


2. You can't take that sack on the last possession like that! :doh: It was a 2nd down play, you know it's 4 down territory, you had time and opportunity to throw the ball away. The clock is you biggest opponent at that moment. They started that possession with I think it was 1.04 to play. Given the starting field position I get it was unlikely, that the deck is stacked against you.But it's not impossible. that is until you take that sack. Taking a sack there cost you easily 3 plays. You can't take the sack on second down period! :doh:

Other than that I thought Ben played a brilliant game. Yeah he missed on a few passes, but it was a weather game, and you're going to have that. Plus no qb never misses an open receiver. Part of the game, lots of moving parts out there. Plus he had a few dropped and a few others that while not dropped could have been caught. I thought his decision making was sharp all game. ( I don't blame him for going downfield on the 3rd and 3, as I believe that was the call from the sidelines) He didn't put the ball in harms way. The fumble was a result of him being snuck up on from behind. I know some think he should have been protecting the ball better, but a qb can't turtle and refuse to try to make plays from a dirty pocket all game. He's completed 100's of passes in similar situations. He also got unlucky when Foster left the line early and negated a nice pass to Cotchery on the 3rd to last possession. That play stands and the Steelers most likely tack on the another score and win the game.

So I'd give Ben an A to A+ for the first 56 minutes, a C- for the last 4. But before someone jumps on that and says Ben isn't clutch, the truth is that this offense has improved, but is still not built to come from behind. Ben was hampered all game by the fact that Miller was pretty much taken out of the passing game on 70% or more of their passing attempts and was used as an extra blocker. This was done to help shore up their hideous OT's. Miller, and to a lesser extent Johnson and Spaeth were used to help out both tackles with their blocking assignments all game up until the last possession. Notice that's when Ben didn't have a clean pocket on any play despite the Dolphins only coming with a 4 man rush. If Beachum had played last week I think there's a good chance the Steelers put up 7-10 more offensive points.

zulater
12-13-2013, 09:27 AM
I'll give Leveon Bell A-. He dropped one pass,but other than that he seemed to get all the yards blocked at minimum. And just the fact he was out there tells you the kid's a gamer.

Antonio Brown. B. Yeah he stepped out of bounds, but that was more or less forced. But he did drop one. And he only caught 4 passes in reality. But one for a touchdown, so that's obviously good. Plus the deck was stacked against him as well as all the Steelers receivers. As the Steelers had to keep Miller and or Bell ( many times both) to help the offensive tackles most of the game. When you have to commit 6 or 7 to block a four man rush that leaves 7 guys in coverage on your 3 or 4 men in the pattern. Not easy to get open like that.

Emanuel Sanders. C+ yes he caught a touchdown, yes he moved the sticks a couple times. But the 3rd down drop at the end of the game was the second to last nail in the coffin of the game.

Jeremy Cotchery. A-. One drop, but another touchdown, and he had a critical pass taken away from him by an illegal down the field penalty on Foster. Had that play stood the game has a completely different ending, and most likely a happy one. Cotch always seems to be open when it matters most.

Heath Miller. B+ Only caught 3 balls, this after averaging 7 a game the previous 3 weeks, but this was a result of him being kept in to block on a majority of the passing downs in order to help out our pathetic tackles. Did a nice job keeping Ben secure. Hopefully this week with Beachum back will get back to helping more with his catching ability.

zulater
12-13-2013, 09:41 AM
Offensive line as a unit I give them a C. I realize it was a tough task with a new center.

Individually.

Foster took a critical penalty. He gets a B-

Gilbert was giving up critical pressures at the worst possible times. He was the guy who got beat for the strip sack, and also was like a turnstile on the Steelers last couple possessions.He gets a D


DeCastro gave up the sack on the last possession.( as much or more on Ben) But for the most part he did a good job, and was playing hurt. He gets a B.

And Wallace struggled all game. But that's to be expected. All things considered I'll give Wallace a pass and a B- for the game. The double clutch penalty hurt, but otherwise his snapping was above the line.

Which brings me to Mike Adams. I saw where Profootballfocus had him graded out highest amongst our linemen for this last game. To which I say, what fucking game were they watching? The Steelers hid Adams on 75% or more of the passing downs. They used running backs, tight ends, and even flip flopped Foster on the snap a time or two. Half the time he was either blocking air, or part of a double team. It's obvious the Steelers have no faith in this guy, and why should they? They can't cut this guy fast enough for me when the seasons over. I give him an I for incomplete, because he was incapable of doing the job himself.

GBMelBlount
12-13-2013, 09:56 AM
Troy got a D+. It' sad to see him in the twilight of his career.

Apparently other than the energizer bunny nut jab Cody Wallace was satisfactory. lol