Game Balls and Goats @ Bengals

[Edman]

Steelers win 24-20, move to 9-5 on the season, setting up a showdown on Christmas Day against the Ravens for the AFC North.

Heroes: Whole team Second Half, but Eli Rogers, Chris Boswell. Jeremy Hill are specific ones.

Goats: Whole team First Half. Sammie Coates continues to be useless.

Please Cincy, don't fire Marvin Lewis.

[st33lersguy]

Heroes: Boswell, Bell, 2nd half Ben

Goats: Offense first 3 quarters, refs

[tube517]

Heroes: Boz, Green, Rogers, 2nd half defense, the Terrible Towel.

Goats: 1st half defense, Weak officials, Danny Smith

[Count Steeler]

Boz is the Wiz today.

[Hawkman]

Boz is the Wiz today.

Great time to go 6 for 6.

[Count Steeler]

Great time to go 6 for 6.

I was routing for the 7th field goal, just because.

[teegre]

Boswell gets all of the game balls.

[Mojouw]

I actually want to throw a bit of love Coates' way here. Does he frustrate the hell out of me by never outmuscling anyone for a deep ball - yup BUT...

..BUT look at all that room over the middle for Green, Bell, and Rogers today. Wanna guess why? Coates running go routes down the boundary. Plus he drew a couple of flags and should've drawn about 3 more.

Gameball, no. Not a goat either.

[teegre]

I was routing for the 7th field goal, just because.

I called it early: 7 FGs and a 21-20 victory.

I'll take what actually transpired, but yeah, I wanted the Steelers record for Boswell.

[Mojouw]

LT Walton and Javon Hargrave. Both came up big in a bad situation today. Walton continues to look like another Coach Mitchell find.

[Count Steeler]

I actually want to throw a bit of love Coates' way here. Does he frustrate the hell out of me by never outmuscling anyone for a deep ball - yup BUT...

..BUT look at all that room over the middle for Green, Bell, and Rogers today. Wanna guess why? Coates running go routes down the boundary. Plus he drew a couple of flags and should've drawn about 3 more.

Gameball, no. Not a goat either.

To be fair, my recollection is that the deep balls to Coates were under thrown. It seemed like Coates had to slow down and come back for the ball. Something to be worked on with Ben.

[BlackAndGold]

nsfw language

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[Mojouw]

To be fair, my recollection is that the deep balls to Coates were under thrown. It seemed like Coates had to slow down and come back for the ball. Something to be worked on with Ben.

That is my memory of it too. But Coates waits for the ball to come from him. He doesn't seem to attack the ball/work back for it.

You're right, though. Practice and reps can fix that.

[pczach]

I actually want to throw a bit of love Coates' way here. Does he frustrate the hell out of me by never outmuscling anyone for a deep ball - yup BUT...

..BUT look at all that room over the middle for Green, Bell, and Rogers today. Wanna guess why? Coates running go routes down the boundary. Plus he drew a couple of flags and should've drawn about 3 more.

Gameball, no. Not a goat either.


Great post by someone that understands the game and the effects players have on the rest of the field. It matters when he's on the field.

He also had a very good kickoff return that turned into the first Steelers score.

[Count Steeler]

That is my memory of it too. But Coates waits for the ball to come from him. He doesn't seem to attack the ball/work back for it.

You're right, though. Practice and reps can fix that.

They were connecting the first 3 or 4 games, before Coates got injured, so I am sure this will get cleared up by the time the playoffs are here.

[Shoes]

Ball - Boz and the D

Goat with horns- Sammie Coates is not a wide receiver. I could care less what he did in school, he can't catch, he doesn't fight for the ball and rarely extends his arms away from his body to catch a ball. Besides that he runs like a stiff 2x10 down the field. I sure hope Bryant gets back.

We also need a real TE in the draft!

[tube517]

I actually want to throw a bit of love Coates' way here. Does he frustrate the hell out of me by never outmuscling anyone for a deep ball - yup BUT...

..BUT look at all that room over the middle for Green, Bell, and Rogers today. Wanna guess why? Coates running go routes down the boundary. Plus he drew a couple of flags and should've drawn about 3 more.

Gameball, no. Not a goat either.

Coates had a nice return, BTW.

I still think J.Gilbert should be one of the 2 returners.

[SteelerFanInStl]

That is my memory of it too. But Coates waits for the ball to come from him. He doesn't seem to attack the ball/work back for it.

You're right, though. Practice and reps can fix that.

Yes, he needs to use his size and strength to go after the ball. He waits for the ball to come to him.

[Craic]

Gameballs:

Bell. I gotta give one to Bell. Almost had a hundred yards on a very tough day against the team that likes to injure him.

Boswell. Way to keep us in the game!

Second half defense. Talk about stepping up to the plate and getting it done.

HM

Decastro for legally knocking the snot out of Burfict.

4th quarter Offense - for settling down, not retaliating, and getting the job done in the fourth quarter.

Goats

REFS. And yeah, that's bolded. Those who have been around here know I seldom blame refs for bad calls. But today . . . it was horrible. I mean . . . people in 27 states and the District of Columbia are found guilty of molestation for less than the Bengals CBs did today.

Defense. First half. Ten points up front to the Bengals simply for Steelers penalties.

Offense. First three quarters. That did not look like a playoff-caliber offense. Sure, this may be the most amped game and team we'll play this year up to the SB due to the Bungles misguided belief we're some kind of rivals, but still . . .

Coaches. Again, anyone who has been around here know I very seldom if ever call out the coaches. But when we are FOUR points up in the game, why are you going for two? Take the better statistical chance of getting one. Then, make the other team score a TD AND a 2 point conversion to extend the lead to two positions. Don't hand it to them on a silver platter.

[stillers4me]

Games balls to Boz and Jeremy Hill! (his career is over...he just doesn't know it yet!)

[cubanstogie]

Coates made a few plays earlier in year before hand injury. Honestly I think they had more to do with Ben throwing perfect long balls to him. During the game I noticed I have never really seen him make a play, such as diving catch , or sideline snag getting two feet down. If Ben places the ball perfectly to him he does ok otherwise no productivity. Im probably going to get stoned for this, or maybe people just think im stoned but Heyward Bey a little better when healthy.

[GBMelBlount]

Game ball Boz...honorable mention to the Bengals defense for 4 straight penalties in the 4th quarter to lose their Superbowl. Hysterical.

[Bluecoat96]

I'm not sure is this is the right place, but I thought this picture of Boz was hilarious.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161219/039409163a849864ebca52015513abf8.jpg

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[ALLD]

The Boz gets the GB. Refs need to go to Lenscrafters.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/23/76/1e/23761e6af4519b9f8d63489fa8f45743.jpg

[Psycho Ward 86]

Boswell. Dont even think twice about. I dont tihnk people actually understand how good he was today. 6/6, with 5/6 of them being 40 yard field goals or more outside in the winter. 2 of them were from 49 yards and cleared it easily.

He gave us an additional TD saving tackle down the sideline. If the stakes were just as high, that tackle could have been on par with ben's shoestring tackle in 2005

[dislocatedday]

Boz gets one......and whomever the fan was that threw the Terrible Towel on the field after Jeremy Hill''s TD. The bait was laid and Hill took it, and he and the Bengal's paid the price.

[Moose]

Great come from behind must win !
GAME BALL - no doubt about it---BOZ !
Goat - our Defense for giving the bunholes 20 points !

[Butch]

Boswell. Dont even think twice about. I dont tihnk people actually understand how good he was today. 6/6, with 5/6 of them being 40 yard field goals or more outside in the winter. 2 of them were from 49 yards and cleared it easily.

He gave us an additional TD saving tackle down the sideline. If the stakes were just as high, that tackle could have been on par with ben's shoestring tackle in 2005

My thoughts exactly!!!

[Steel Peon]

Do I need to say the name Boswell? MVP all the way today. The offense did enough to win today I guess, but they'll need to do more down the stretch (no shit, right?). The other ball I want to give would be to James Harrison for being a DE disguised as a LB for most of his career, and then actually playing that position today, with great aplomb as well. I don't think I've posted anything anywhere about the possibility of Harrison playing DE either as a sub or permanently, but I've had many conversations about it over beers with fellow fans, and so now I have to thank James for proving me right! You rock!

As goats go, no one really played horribly, unless you want to count the refs, who wouldn't call anything in our favor early on, but then completely reversed course later. The closest thing the Steelers had to a goat was Tomlin's decision to go for 2 when it was barely logical to do so, especially when considering how much the offense struggled at putting anything in the end zone today, no matter how close we were. I would have preferred that we prepared (by kicking the 1 pt try) for the possibility the Bungholes could score a TD (like earlier when they were doing that easily), and then be ready to drive down the field and kick the game winning FG, rather than the game tying FG. Or, Cinci doesn't score a TD, but then we kick another FG (as we'd been doing), which then forces them to score a TD plus a 2-pt conversion just to tie it. Either way, going for it made less sense than not.

[86WARD]

Game Balls - The Boz and Kirkpatrick.

Goats - Offense. Gotta score TDs...

[Iron Steeler]

Ok lets play coaching scenerio here. You just scored a TD And went up 24-20 with 8+ minutes to go. Do you kick the extra point or go for 2?

Goats: tomlin for not kicking the XP.
Burns: On a bonehead rookie Pass interferance to set up a Bengals TD.
Bell: Chopp block took the Antonio Brown TD away
Refs: I counted a no call on 2 face masks (one on Coates to prevent a TD), 2 pass interferences, and ONE CLEAR AS DAY HELMET TO HELMET PENALTY .

Heroes: Tomlin for keeping the troops focused
Team: full team effort here. This was the character win that this team needed.

[Craic]

Ok lets play coaching scenerio here. You just scored a TD And went up 24-20 with 8+ minutes to go. Do you kick the extra point or go for 2?

Goats: tomlin for not kicking the XP.
Heroes: Tomlin for keeping the troops focused


Yep. Really does earn both.

[teegre]

Ok lets play coaching scenerio here. You just scored a TD And went up 24-20 with 8+ minutes to go. Do you kick the extra point or go for 2?


Up by 5 or up by 6???
There's not really a "right" answer. My dad was all for going for 2 ("Bell can get two yards in his sleep"). So was Dan Fouts ("6 points is two FGs"). My brother was all for going up by 5 ("Add another FG, and you're up by 8").

All that I know is, both the Eagles and Titans went for 2 instead of going for the tie. One team lost, and the other should have. Now... THOSE are examples of bad 2-point conversion attempts.

[Steel Peon]

You just scored a TD And went up 24-20 with 8+ minutes to go. Do you kick the extra point or go for 2?

See my post for the correct answer.

[Psycho Ward 86]

before idiots go around blindly defending Tomlin's 2 point attempts, be aware that were currently well under the league average for 2 point conversions. tell me what the fuck the point is again? but omgggg most of those were the cowboys game.

YEAH. And kicking XP's might have won us the game. going for it constantly on the other hand, has never won us jack.

[teegre]

before idiots go around blindly defending Tomlin's 2 point attempts, be aware that were currently well under the league average for 2 point conversions. tell me what the fuck the point is again? but omgggg most of those were the cowboys game.

YEAH. And kicking XP's might have won us the game. going for it constantly on the other hand, has never won us jack.

Never?

[teegre]

Now... math.

NFL average for 2-point conversions: 41.5%

Steelers average for 2-point conversions: 37.5%


Under? Yes.
Well under? Hardly.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Never?

when were the successful 2 point conversions the determinant factor in any of our games?

you literally only need to look into Tomlin's 1st season here to find a game where we ended up with an L instead of a possible W if we went for XP's instead of 2 point conversions (the jaguars playoff game where we would have tied them at worst in regulation if we didnt keep going for it). if not for the fact that we would have been slaughtered by the pats that year anyways if we advanced/if not the fact that we won it all next season in the most satisfying fashion, i would have been mad. luckily thats not the case. im concerned that this stupidity is going to carry into the playoffs or a game with playoff implications like next week and cost us the actual game.


Ever notice how Tomlin seems to go for 2 less frequently against the better defenses? Gee, i wonder why that is. And ever notice how no one else is as trigger happy about 2 point conversions as us? if its such a huge strategic advantage why are 31 other teams NOT doing it? Tomlin doesnt exactly have an offensive mastermind background so im not going to assume he knows so much more than everybody else on this subject

[teegre]

when were the successful 2 point conversions the determinant factor in any of our games?

you literally only need to look into Tomlin's 1st season here to find a game where we ended up with an L instead of a possible W if we went for XP's instead of 2 point conversions (the jaguars playoff game where we would have tied them at worst in regulation if we didnt keep going for it). if not for the fact that we would have been slaughtered by the pats that year anyways if we advanced/if not the fact that we won it all next season in the most satisfying fashion, i would have been mad. luckily thats not the case. im concerned that this stupidity is going to carry into the playoffs or a game with playoff implications like next week and cost us the actual game.


Ever notice how Tomlin seems to go for 2 less frequently against the better defenses? Gee, i wonder why that is. And ever notice how no one else is as trigger happy about 2 point conversions as us? if its such a huge strategic advantage why are 31 other teams NOT doing it? Tomlin doesnt exactly have an offensive mastermind background so im not going to assume he knows so much more than everybody else on this subject

Harrison being held on 4th-&-2 (when he would have tackled Garrard for a loss, thus winning the game) probably had a more direct effect on that loss.

You only have to go back one season to the San Diego game to see a game-winning 2-point conversion.

Why would you go for two against better defenses??? That is pretty self explanatory. Kudos to Tomlin for not going for two in those situations.

Other teams should go for 2 more often. Just as more teams should go for it on fourth down (as opposed to punting). Maybe other teams don't go for 2 more often, because they don't have a RB like Bell and/or a QB like BB.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Harrison being held on 4th-&-2 (when he would have tackled Garrard for a loss, thus winning the game) probably had a more direct effect on that loss.

You only have to go back one season to the San Diego game to see a game-winning 2-point conversion.

Why would you go for two against better defenses??? That is pretty self explanatory. Kudos to Tomlin for not going for two in those situations.

Other teams should go for 2 more often. Just as more teams should go for it on fourth down (as opposed to punting). Maybe other teams don't go for 2 more often, because they don't have a RB like Bell and/or a QB like BB.

so by that logic, why go for 2 at all? if your offense should just be able to sufficiently score against a lesser defense outright, thats what your relying on anyways. 2 point attempts utilized on regularity are just stupid unless MAYBE you have an all-worldly offense, in which case you're scoring a ridiculous clip anyways and the extra points wont even matter.

we dont have those things. we have the best RB in the game, the best WR in the game, a top 5 O-line (could easily argue higher), a top 5 QB (could easily argue higher) and the past 3 seasons we still cant score 30 PPG, when we should be doing it EASILY. There are 25 teams in nfl history who have done it. and many of them were certainly NOT as talented as we were in the past 3 seasons

[Steel Peon]

To clarify why the 2-pt try was bad (in my mind), I'll give you the simple version. There were 3 most likely outcomes after the TD score, which were: 1) Bungholes score a TD, 2) Bungholes don't score a TD, 3) Bungholes score a FG. Of course the 2 points benefit any of the 3 scenarios, but the 1 point try benefits the first 2 out of 3, which basically has a 99.9% of success. This brings us to:


Steelers average for 2-point conversions: 37.5%Which is a priceless statistic, and something that needs to be considered when deciding when to go for 2 points

So then, you factor in how inconsistent our offense had been at scoring all game, plus acknowledging how scenario #3 requires Cinci to score an additional FG after the first one, then I'd say the smart odds go with the 1-pt try. I don't want to get too overly critical here, but some forward thinking math skills might help certain people, and especially those who have previously struggled with clock management.

[cold-hard-steel]

Games balls to Boz and Jeremy Hill! (his career is over...he just doesn't know it yet!)

This......as soon as i witnessed that act of terribleness inflicted on the towel,a sense of calmness came upon me such as a warm down jacket on a cold blustery day.Just can't explain how much more at ease it made me feel.

[Iron Steeler]

Do I need to say the name Boswell? MVP all the way today. The offense did enough to win today I guess, but they'll need to do more down the stretch (no shit, right?). The other ball I want to give would be to James Harrison for being a DE disguised as a LB for most of his career, and then actually playing that position today, with great aplomb as well. I don't think I've posted anything anywhere about the possibility of Harrison playing DE either as a sub or permanently, but I've had many conversations about it over beers with fellow fans, and so now I have to thank James for proving me right! You rock!

As goats go, no one really played horribly, unless you want to count the refs, who wouldn't call anything in our favor early on, but then completely reversed course later. The closest thing the Steelers had to a goat was Tomlin's decision to go for 2 when it was barely logical to do so, especially when considering how much the offense struggled at putting anything in the end zone today, no matter how close we were. I would have preferred that we prepared (by kicking the 1 pt try) for the possibility the Bungholes could score a TD (like earlier when they were doing that easily), and then be ready to drive down the field and kick the game winning FG, rather than the game tying FG. Or, Cinci doesn't score a TD, but then we kick another FG (as we'd been doing), which then forces them to score a TD plus a 2-pt conversion just to tie it. Either way, going for it made less sense than not.

I agree the extra point give you more insurance

[Hawkman]

How about starting a 2 pt vs extra point thread if you are going into all these arguments about the two and leave it out of the, " heros/goats thread......please.

[Born2Steel]

I did not get to see the game since it was not on in my area. Plus the only updates we got were at the halftime break and then once the game was over. The strange thing about the ticker at the bottom this year, it doesn't show who currently has the ball. So I was completely in the dark as this game progressed.

Don't really care how many bad calls there were. Don't care if we missed kicks or 2pt conversions. All I care about is 1-0 this week. Great game because we won.

[teegre]

so by that logic, why go for 2 at all? if your offense should just be able to sufficiently score against a lesser defense outright, thats what your relying on anyways. 2 point attempts utilized on regularity are just stupid unless MAYBE you have an all-worldly offense, in which case you're scoring a ridiculous clip anyways and the extra points wont even matter.

we dont have those things. we have the best RB in the game, the best WR in the game, a top 5 O-line (could easily argue higher), a top 5 QB (could easily argue higher) and the past 3 seasons we still cant score 30 PPG, when we should be doing it EASILY. There are 25 teams in nfl history who have done it. and many of them were certainly NOT as talented as we were in the past 3 seasons

Here's why: most teams can only afford to be good on ONE side of the ball (offense or defense). Against the Saints, Packers, and Falcons, you go for two, because a) their defense sucks, and b) you'll need as many points as possible (they score in the high 20's on a consistent basis). Against the Ravens, Broncos, and Seahawks, you go for one, because a) their defense is good, and b) every point is hard to come by (they score in the high teens/low 20's on a consistent basis).


As far as the offense goes, that is a separate topic... which I have indeed discussed in another thread (where I agree that this season being only 11th in scoring is not acceptable).

[teegre]

To clarify why the 2-pt try was bad (in my mind), I'll give you the simple version. There were 3 most likely outcomes after the TD score, which were: 1) Bungholes score a TD, 2) Bungholes don't score a TD, 3) Bungholes score a FG. Of course the 2 points benefit any of the 3 scenarios, but the 1 point try benefits the first 2 out of 3, which basically has a 99.9% of success. This brings us to:

Which is a priceless statistic, and something that needs to be considered when deciding when to go for 2 points

So then, you factor in how inconsistent our offense had been at scoring all game, plus acknowledging how scenario #3 requires Cinci to score an additional FG after the first one, then I'd say the smart odds go with the 1-pt try. I don't want to get too overly critical here, but some forward thinking math skills might help certain people, and especially those who have previously struggled with clock management.


In that situation, you have a valid point. My brother would agree with you 100%.

I still dont see this as cut-&-dry as some are making it. There are indeed some head-scratching decisions that have been made, but this one has a huge grey area. 5 vs. 6... not very obvious either way.

My dad (the eternal pessimist about this defense LOL) wanted 6, so that "when Cincy scores two more TDs, we are only down by 8". :lol:

One last stat:
Over the past two seasons, the Steelers are 11/19 for two-point conversions... which is 22 points vs. only 19 points. Tomlin is 3 points ahead of breaking even. If one takes out the Dallas fiasco, they are 11/15... which is 22 points vs. only 15 points, wherein Tomlin is up by 7 points (an extra TD on the two seasons).

[steel striker]

Boz and, the offense for keep plugging away. Like usual the bungals imploded and, the first the refs missed some calls that's for sure. I thought the Timmons pick was huge as well.

[teegre]

How about starting a 2 pt vs extra point thread if you are going into all these arguments about the two and leave it out of the, " heros/goats thread......please.

Sorry, man.

I think that we're all a little too ADHD to transfer our thoughts to a different thread. :lol:

[Psycho Ward 86]

Here's why: most teams can only afford to be good on ONE side of the ball (offense or defense). Against the Saints, Packers, and Falcons, you go for two, because a) their defense sucks, and b) you'll need as many points as possible (they score in the high 20's on a consistent basis). Against the Ravens, Broncos, and Seahawks, you go for one, because a) their defense is good, and b) every point is hard to come by (they score in the high teens/low 20's on a consistent basis).


As far as the offense goes, that is a separate topic... which I have indeed discussed in another thread (where I agree that this season being only 11th in scoring is not acceptable).

uh so what do you do against a team that scores a lot and has a good scoring defense? seems to me Tomlin just doesnt give a fuck because even against the cowboys he didnt treat points like they were at a premium. They were a top 10 scoring defense back then, and they're still 5th right now. you cant just take our scoring offense out of the equation regarding the 2 point conversions. the importance of the 2 are mutually inclusive with each other.

[Psycho Ward 86]

In that situation, you have a valid point. My brother would agree with you 100%.

I still dont see this as cut-&-dry as some are making it. There are indeed some head-scratching decisions that have been made, but this one has a huge grey area. 5 vs. 6... not very obvious either way.

My dad (the eternal pessimist about this defense LOL) wanted 6, so that "when Cincy scores two more TDs, we are only down by 8". :lol:

One last stat:
Over the past two seasons, the Steelers are 11/19 for two-point conversions... which is 22 points vs. only 19 points. Tomlin is 3 points ahead of breaking even. If one takes out the Dallas fiasco, they are 11/15... which is 22 points vs. only 15 points, wherein Tomlin is up by 7 points (an extra TD on the two seasons).

why go back 2 seasons when you can just talk about this season? those are 2 completely different teams. Coates didnt have a role back then, Martavis was serving as the actual #2 we dont currently have, and Wheaton was turning it on this time of year. None of that is happening right now. Not to mention the 3 rookies on the other side killing it.

this season, were 3 for 9 at 33.33%. We're leading the league in 2 point conversion attempts and only 18th in success rate.

Assuming this thing is up to date: https://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-two-point-conversion-statistics/2016/

[Mojouw]

Uggggghhhh. I just spent several minutes trying to find it but couldn't - so I gave up. What can I say too many participation trophies growing up or something.

We've had the two point conversion argument like 16 times before. The math is on Tomlin's side. Basically you should almost never kick unless that one point gets you the win at the buzzer so to speak.

That being said, I can't figure the "math" that Tomlin was working from yesterday. Only scenario where it seems like 2 pts gets you anywhere is the following:

26-20 Steelers
26-27 Bengals
26-34 Bengals
34-34 Overtime (assuming a second 2 point conversion)

Anything short of 2 Bengals TD's and the 2 point conversion doesn't positively change the combination of FG's and/or TDs the offense would need to win. That being said, it also didn't negatively change the outcome either. So...?

[Steel Peon]

How about starting a 2 pt vs extra point thread if you are going into all these arguments about the two and leave it out of the, " heros/goats thread......please.

Coincidentally, I already did a few weeks ago, so it might be time for a bump: http://www.steelersuniverse.com/forums/showthread.php/26423-On-the-subject-of-2-point-conversions



My dad (the eternal pessimist about this defense LOL) wanted 6, so that "when Cincy scores two more TDs, we are only down by 8". :lol:

Now THAT is some forward thinking, lol! Even though I wouldn't have gone that far forward, you can hardly fault his logic......it was that kind of day, and you gotta know where your team is on any given day.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Personally I don't see what the big deal is over going for 2 yesterday. I probably would have went for the 1 and put us up 5 and later if we get a field goal best they could do is tie us at 8. I can also see the logic in going for 2 and if it worked and we got a field goal later we would be up 9 and a two score lead. Either way regardless it came down to the Bengals needing a TD since we was up on them by 4 before the call.

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The main thing is give the coaching staff credit to still airing it out and getting the first downs. Instead of running every down playing it safe and most likely giving them one more chance getting the ball back!

[Mojouw]

Personally I don't see what the big deal is over going for 2 yesterday. I probably would have went for the 1 and put us up 5 and later if we get a field goal best they could do is tie us at 8. I can also see the logic in going for 2 and if it worked and we got a field goal later we would be up 9 and a two score lead. Either way regardless it came down to the Bengals needing a TD since we was up on them by 4 before the call.

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The main thing is give the coaching staff credit to still airing it out and getting the first downs. Instead of running every down playing it safe and most likely giving them one more chance getting the ball back!

Good points. I didn't think about the two score thing. That's obviously why Tomlin refused to live in his fears and went for the 2 point attempt.

On the late passing for first down stuff, I think we all saw why they went out and got Ladarius Green. Ideal weapon in just that situation.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Good points. I didn't think about the two score thing. That's obviously why Tomlin refused to live in his fears and went for the 2 point attempt.

On the late passing for first down stuff, I think we all saw why they went out and got Ladarius Green. Ideal weapon in just that situation. Yep and hope LG is a go this week!

[tube517]

Boswell. Dont even think twice about. I dont tihnk people actually understand how good he was today. 6/6, with 5/6 of them being 40 yard field goals or more outside in the winter. 2 of them were from 49 yards and cleared it easily.

He gave us an additional TD saving tackle down the sideline. If the stakes were just as high, that tackle could have been on par with ben's shoestring tackle in 2005

NFL record. Nobody has ever done that before.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

NFL record. Nobody has ever done that before. Yep very pleased we have him since last year. After he made the second 49 I felt he can do this all day with ease and pretty much had too.

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Ps wouldn't trade him for anyone and even the great one we face this week.

[DesertSteel]

Yep very pleased we have him since last year. After he made the second 49 I felt he can do this all day with ease and pretty much had too.

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Ps wouldn't trade him for anyone and even the great one we face this week.

Nothing more I'd like to see than a game winning FG go through the uprights with no time left on the clock. I'd probably rather see that than a blowout. It wouldn't seem like a Steelers game unless it was a nail biter.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Nothing more I'd like to see than a game winning FG go through the uprights with no time left on the clock. I'd probably rather see that than a blowout. It wouldn't seem like a Steelers game unless it was a nail biter. Would be cool with that but prefer a less stress Christmas day and bring on the blowout! Anyhow we are blessed having such a clutch and young kicker for years to come.

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Oh and am predicting a blowout and Pitt winning 5 in a row are not even talk about much at all. This will be there statement game saying look out for us in the playoffs. My opinion of course.

[teegre]

uh so what do you do against a team that scores a lot and has a good scoring defense? seems to me Tomlin just doesnt give a fuck because even against the cowboys he didnt treat points like they were at a premium. They were a top 10 scoring defense back then, and they're still 5th right now. you cant just take our scoring offense out of the equation regarding the 2 point conversions. the importance of the 2 are mutually inclusive with each other.

Against teams that are both good on defense AND on offense, you play it by ear.

Yep. You have Bell... and I'd give him the ball at the 2-yard line every chance that I could. Last year, it worked: the Steelers were 8/11 (16 points instead of 11 points)... probably because they were 4th in scoring last season.

Admittedly, this season, the offense isn't clicking as well as last season... but, to use an analogy: just because BB has had a few bad games this season, I'm not gong to shy away from having him throwing it. Likewise, last season proved that this team has the potential to convert 72% of its two-point conversions... they are merely in a funk.

[teegre]

why go back 2 seasons when you can just talk about this season? those are 2 completely different teams. Coates didnt have a role back then, Martavis was serving as the actual #2 we dont currently have, and Wheaton was turning it on this time of year. None of that is happening right now. Not to mention the 3 rookies on the other side killing it.

this season, were 3 for 9 at 33.33%. We're leading the league in 2 point conversion attempts and only 18th in success rate.

Assuming this thing is up to date: https://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-two-point-conversion-statistics/2016/

You don't want to go back to last season... but, you bring up 2007. :rofl2: That's rich.

As far as the rest goes, read the above post.

[Psycho Ward 86]

You don't want to go back to last season... but, you bring up 2007. :rofl2: That's rich.

As far as the rest goes, read the above post.

Uhhhh dont believe i brought up 2007 in that post. try again.

[teegre]

Uhhhh dont believe i brought up 2007 in that post. try again.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=F8Hw3D08cUk

[zulater]

Boy this thread doesn't fit the title! :doh:

Game balls. Chris Boswell of course. 6 fg's, 3 of them from 49 yards on a cold day on a grass field. Throw in a touchdown saving tackle and this is probably the best regular season game by a kicker in Steelers history.

On offense I'm giving it to Ben. I understand his stats weren't overwhelming. But in leading the Steelers to those 24 points how many 3rd down and long yardage situations did he convert? The last posession of the first half andfirst drive of the 2nd half were perfect examples. Last drive 2nd quarter. 2nd and 11 from our own 14 still over 2 minutes on the clock. Ben completes a 13 yarder to AB for 13 yards and the first. If we have to punt it from that territory the way the Bengals offense was going at the time they might very well have put it away. Then the all important first possession of the 2nd half. After a unsportsmanlike penalty on DeCastro the Steelers are facing 3rd and 17 from their own 18. Ben hits Ladarius Green with a 23 yard pass to keep the drive alive. Both these possessions end in fg's and a 20-6 lead was reduced to 20-12. But more important, if he doesn't make those plays you're punting and more than likely giving the Bengals field position near midfield. Those sort of plays changed complexion of the game. Also don't forget he had a td pass taken off the board due to a chop block call on LeVeon, and was denied another td opportunity by a blind ref who couldn't see an entire hand in Sammy Coates' facemask. Lastly that near 6 minute drive that ended the game in the victory formation was supplemented greatly by Ben's 28 yard 3rd and 8 pass to Green. Don't make that and you're punting from your 29 with just under 5 minutes on the clock.

Honorable mention Eli Rogers and Ladarius Green.