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View Full Version : Steelers David DeCastro leads by reaction through 15-yard penalty



Count Steeler
09-23-2014, 04:58 PM
Bad can be good. Wrong can be right.

But don't expect Steelers (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/pittsburgh-steelers) coach Mike Tomlin to echo these sentiments. Perhaps the immortal wisdom of Hickory High School boys basketball coach Norman Dale can be substituted instead.

Rade was a stubborn wing player who had been benched twice during Hickory's regular season, once for shooting before the ball was passed four times (one of Dale's least-inspiring strategic decisions) and once for speaking in the huddle.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/nfl-pittsburgh-steelers-news/2014/9/22/6827645/steelers-david-decastro-leads-by-reaction-through-15-yard-penalty

HollywoodSteel
09-23-2014, 06:04 PM
I understand the sentiment of this article, and sure, in retrospect it's easy to talk about a spark and all that, but I still think DeCastro made a situational mistake. I like that he defended a teammate but you can do that by getting in a guy's face and not taking a penalty that puts you out of FG range at the end of a half in a close game like this. We ended up overcoming the penalty and getting the FG anyway, but again, that only makes it worthwhile in a retrospect. I very much doubt it was some calculated move on DeCastro's part - considering all angles and deciding it was worth it - but nothing more than him losing his cool. If he had the chance to take it back right after the flag was thrown, do you doubt for a second that he wouldn't have immediately done so? Or do you think he would have still gone for the strategic "spark"? No way.

We can try to paint this as a "Jack Lambert moment" but it was very different. For one, we were winning at the time here (barely) and were not in desperate need of a momentum changing spark. We needed points. Also it's different to take the penalty in Lambert's situation, after a missed kick when you're behind and need a spark more than you need the yards. Going into halftime, a penalty that cost us points (if it had done that) would have given us zero momentum coming into the next half.

SteelerFanInStl
09-23-2014, 06:14 PM
DeCastro barely touched Kuechly. He took a big dive. The official should have seen that. Kuechly is the one that deserved the flag.

I don't fault DeCastro one bit and I was glad that he did it.

HollywoodSteel
09-23-2014, 06:18 PM
DeCastro barely touched Kuechly. He took a big dive. The official should have seen that. Kuechly is the one that deserved the flag.

I don't fault DeCastro one bit and I was glad that he did it.

To be fair, I was in my car listening to it on the radio so I didn't see what DeCastro actually did. Still, it's easy to say you're glad he did it since we got the FG anyway, but if it had cost us points at the end of the half and that downer affected us going into the 2nd half, nobody would be saying that it was objectively the right move.

polamalubeast
09-23-2014, 06:18 PM
I admit I was pissed on the penalty...It almost costed 3 points.


And the game was very close at this time.

SteelerFanInStl
09-23-2014, 06:24 PM
To be fair, I was in my car listening to it on the radio so I didn't see what DeCastro actually did. Still, it's easy to say you're glad he did it since we got the FG anyway, but if it had cost us points at the end of the half and that downer affected us going into the 2nd half, nobody would be saying that it was objectively the right move.

Of course you never want a penalty but in this situation DeCastro was simply getting Kuechly off of Bell. The official should have thrown a flag on Kuechly for delay of game, but they decided not to do their job.

Craic
09-23-2014, 06:34 PM
I admit I was pissed on the penalty...It almost costed 3 points.


And the game was very close at this time.

At the time I was upset as well, but then, I thought about what he was really doing. That little activity sent a big message. Although it's not on the same stage, or has the same intensity as what Lambert did in the SB, it's the same idea. Sometimes, a penalty is a good one.

Count Steeler
09-23-2014, 06:45 PM
I understand the sentiment of this article, and sure, in retrospect it's easy to talk about a spark and all that, but I still think DeCastro made a situational mistake. I like that he defended a teammate but you can do that by getting in a guy's face and not taking a penalty that puts you out of FG range at the end of a half in a close game like this. We ended up overcoming the penalty and getting the FG anyway, but again, that only makes it worthwhile in a retrospect. I very much doubt it was some calculated move on DeCastro's part - considering all angles and deciding it was worth it - but nothing more than him losing his cool. If he had the chance to take it back right after the flag was thrown, do you doubt for a second that he wouldn't have immediately done so? Or do you think he would have still gone for the strategic "spark"? No way.

We can try to paint this as a "Jack Lambert moment" but it was very different. For one, we were winning at the time here (barely) and were not in desperate need of a momentum changing spark. We needed points. Also it's different to take the penalty in Lambert's situation, after a missed kick when you're behind and need a spark more than you need the yards. Going into halftime, a penalty that cost us points (if it had done that) would have given us zero momentum coming into the next half.

I was one of the few that patted DeCastro on the back right away. Check the game thread. This was not about points, nor keeping your attitude in check. This was Steelers football, through and through. Keuchly was being a dick, plain and simple, and DeCastro came in to defend Bell and give Keuclhy the business. I thought of 3 other situations right away. Joe Greene throwing the football into the stands. Lambert taking out the Dallas douchebag. Colon giving the carpet rub to Burfect. Yeah, DeCastro got a penalty, but he sent a message to the Panthers and, more importantly, to Steeler Nation. Intensity has returned to the Steelers.