The defining moment of the game...

[Psycho Ward 86]

That scramble by Ben, with a foot sprain, for an 18 yard pickup to keep a drive alive in the 4th quarter that led to a key field goal was absolutely epic. Not to mention he barely got the 1st down and he trucked a couple of Bills on the tail end of that run. This play just screamed "desire to win" to me, and I think everyone really overlooked this play. Tough moments like these don't build character, but they sure REVEAL character. Damn are we blessed to have a quarterback with some blood, guts, and cahones.

What do you guys think?

[Merchant]

Classic Ben. Don't forget his scramble on 3rd & 8 in Overtime to find Wallace and extend the drive. Ben was clutch today even though the stats may not show it.

[tube517]

.....was when Stevie dropped the ball. :heh:

[#1Steelersbabe]

That scramble by Ben, with a foot sprain, for an 18 yard pickup to keep a drive alive in the 4th quarter that led to a key field goal was absolutely epic. Not to mention he barely got the 1st down and he trucked a couple of Bills on the tail end of that run. This play just screamed "desire to win" to me, and I think everyone really overlooked this play. Tough moments like these don't build character, but they sure REVEAL character. Damn are we blessed to have a quarterback with some blood, guts, and cahones.

What do you guys think?

I think you are 100% correct..Go Ben!!!! You are awesome!!!

[Craic]

That scramble by Ben, with a foot sprain, for an 18 yard pickup to keep a drive alive in the 4th quarter that led to a key field goal was absolutely epic. Not to mention he barely got the 1st down and he trucked a couple of Bills on the tail end of that run. This play just screamed "desire to win" to me, and I think everyone really overlooked this play. Tough moments like these don't build character, but they sure REVEAL character. Damn are we blessed to have a quarterback with some blood, guts, and cahones.

What do you guys think?

I said a similar thing in another thread. It really reminded me of the first down he got against Seattle in the SB. He wasn't doing well passing, but there was no way he wasn't going to contribute to the team. In this game, he was definitely throwing better. Its just that he had to make a decisions and run.

[NCSteeler]

I know some would say let it go, but to me the defining moment was Harrison wrong called for roughing the passer. It totally deflated the defense, we were lucky to win that game.

[BlastFurnace]

That scramble by Ben, with a foot sprain, for an 18 yard pickup to keep a drive alive in the 4th quarter that led to a key field goal was absolutely epic. Not to mention he barely got the 1st down and he trucked a couple of Bills on the tail end of that run. This play just screamed "desire to win" to me, and I think everyone really overlooked this play. Tough moments like these don't build character, but they sure REVEAL character. Damn are we blessed to have a quarterback with some blood, guts, and cahones.

What do you guys think?

I thought so too. It seemed to give the entire team a lift. Very gutsy play. You could tell he was hurt, but he did what he could to get the yardage.

[Edman]

But hey, Ben is a big old meanie doo-doo head who is hated by his teammates.

[fansince'76]

But hey, Ben is a big old meanie doo-doo head who is hated by his teammates.

And who also hates kids (unless they have "boobs")! :chuckle:

[Edman]

Yeah, I mean when Seymour punched him in the Raiders game no Steeler came to his defense even though they did. Ben's a big jerk, as BSPN and everyone else said.

[SMR]

That scramble by Ben, with a foot sprain, for an 18 yard pickup to keep a drive alive in the 4th quarter that led to a key field goal was absolutely epic. Not to mention he barely got the 1st down and he trucked a couple of Bills on the tail end of that run. This play just screamed "desire to win" to me, and I think everyone really overlooked this play. Tough moments like these don't build character, but they sure REVEAL character. Damn are we blessed to have a quarterback with some blood, guts, and cahones.

What do you guys think?

:salute:

[solardave]

I know some would say let it go, but to me the defining moment was Harrison wrong called for roughing the passer. It totally deflated the defense, we were lucky to win that game.

I thought the non-call interference in the 4th. The defender has his back to (was it Wallace?) our receiver,never turns around and knocks him down but that's not interference? Gimme a break.

[7willBheaven]

Agreed...after been got all twisted around/etc (after the play was over too, haha) and then he ran that I was like...DAMN! hahaha

[GodfatherofSoul]

I know some would say let it go, but to me the defining moment was Harrison wrong called for roughing the passer. It totally deflated the defense, we were lucky to win that game.

QFT

That seemed to suck the life out of the defense and that was when the Bills started making their run (the penalty also extended their drive).

[NCSteeler]

I thought the non-call interference in the 4th. The defender has his back to (was it Wallace?) our receiver,never turns around and knocks him down but that's not interference? Gimme a break.

I think that was heath. When he turned for the ball the defender basically ran right thru him. Even Ben looked surprised of the no call and he rarely shows much emotion about that.

[HometownGal]

I think there were several defining moments in yesterday's game and NC is right - the bullshit call on Silverback gave the Jills new life and momentum. However - Ben has re-emerged as the leader of that O unit and he knew in that split second he had to make a play and he did - and what a play it was! :applaudit: :drink: to Big Ben!

[Raleigh Steel]

i gotta say, i disagree with you guys. i thought after the harrison penalty the defense intensity picked up. it looked like they had a little extra step and aggression after it. it just happened that the bills caught the steelers over-pursuing and hit them with a little middle screen and once jackson got past the first wave of defenders he was gone.

oh well...i thought the hit on harrison was indeed a penalty, but i've seen ben get hit like that in the front and the back with no flag thrown. that's the beef i have with it. it seems like we are playing with a different set of rules than everyone else.

but in the end, we overcame the penalties, bruce arians (yes he absolutely sucked today), and a plucky bills team for the victory. but this team is far from a super bowl contender at this point.

[steeldawg]

i gotta say, i disagree with you guys. i thought after the harrison penalty the defense intensity picked up. it looked like they had a little extra step and aggression after it. it just happened that the bills caught the steelers over-pursuing and hit them with a little middle screen and once jackson got past the first wave of defenders he was gone.

oh well...i thought the hit on harrison was indeed a penalty, but i've seen ben get hit like that in the front and the back with no flag thrown. that's the beef i have with it. it seems like we are playing with a different set of rules than everyone else.

but in the end, we overcame the penalties, bruce arians (yes he absolutely sucked today), and a plucky bills team for the victory. but this team is far from a super bowl contender at this point.
How was that hit a penalty??? He wasnt late, there was no helmet to hemlet, it was completely clean it was just a hard hit.

[X-Terminator]

i gotta say, i disagree with you guys. i thought after the harrison penalty the defense intensity picked up. it looked like they had a little extra step and aggression after it. it just happened that the bills caught the steelers over-pursuing and hit them with a little middle screen and once jackson got past the first wave of defenders he was gone.

oh well...i thought the hit on harrison was indeed a penalty, but i've seen ben get hit like that in the front and the back with no flag thrown. that's the beef i have with it. it seems like we are playing with a different set of rules than everyone else.

but in the end, we overcame the penalties, bruce arians (yes he absolutely sucked today), and a plucky bills team for the victory. but this team is far from a super bowl contender at this point.

Yeah, I knew it was just a matter of time before someone blamed Arians. So it was Bruce Arians who dropped more passes yesterday? It was Bruce Arians who committed FIVE holding penalties that killed drives and wiped out big plays? It was Bruce Arians who fumbled the ball that led to one of the Bills' scores and would have lost another fumble if it were not a penalty? How is ANY of that Bruce Arians' fault?

And the Harrison hit was NOT a penalty. I've seen worse than that not get called. If a QB can't take a hit like that, then we may as well put flags on them and be done with it.

[Raleigh Steel]

let's see: our o-line couldn't pass block but we were still going shot gun with 5 wide and running 15 plus yard routes. we were running the ball well and then all of a sudden we are in shotgun 5 wide again and drives stall.
how about lining up in a run formation and play action out of that? we did it once, with huge success, never to be seen again.
how about that slant pass to wallace (aka, williams)? again we saw it once, with good success, never to be seen again.

face it, we have a banged up line but do we try to get the ball out quickly? HELL NO! wanna know why ben pump fakes all the time...because his guys haven't come out of their break yet and they aren't open. our entire passing game is based on ben scrambling and finding guys open. HIGH RISK, LOW REWARD. look at the pass ben made to wallace in OT on 3rd and 8...was that a bruce call, or was that both players made a play when one wasn't there.

terminator, if you are happy with bruce's offense...good for you. i for one see a total cluster fuck every sunday and i'm beyond tired of it. and i will continue to bitch about it and him whether you or anyone else likes it or not. we had the ball for 80% of the time in the first half and could only muster 13 points. why? because of dumb play calling that ends drives. yes, we had turnovers and penalties...that happens every game to every team, yet some how other teams are able to still put up points. the bills are giving up 27 points a game, it took us almost 5 qrts to put up 19.

and the harrison hit, by the letter of the law, was a penalty. it doesn't have to be a helmet to helmet hit. he hit him with the crown of his helmet. now, i've seen it many times where it wasn't called so i think that because it was harrison it was called. but you can't hit a QB now with the crown of your helmet, whether it's in the head or chest. it's not james fault, he didn't intentionally lead with his helmet, but he hit him with the crown and IT IS A PENALTY.

[fansince'76]

we had the ball for 80% of the time in the first half and could only muster 13 points. why? because of dumb play calling that ends drives.

IMO, it had more to do with long, time-consuming scoring drives churned out mostly on the ground, which is ostensibly what people who complained about Arians being "pass happy" wanted. An eight-minute TD drive still only nets you seven points at the end of the day. On top of that, we had a nine-minute drive in the second quarter that ended in a punt thanks to another untimely hold by Kemo that wiped out a gain from about midfield to right around the Bills' 20-yard line. Hard to rack up a large number of points when you kill 6-8 minutes of clock on almost every drive. We still need to improve our red zone efficiency and come away with more TDs and fewer FGs when we get inside the opponents' 20, however.

[stillers4me]

How about a nice mixture of calling the right plays for the right situation??????

[steelpride12]

It's no surprise that Ben comes up with a big, game changing play or drive that ends in a W for the Steelers. Thats why he is the leader of this offense and team and will be till the day he retires.

[fansince'76]

How about a nice mixture of calling the right plays for the right situation??????

IMO, we had that yesterday. How many HUGE gains did we have wiped out by stupid penalties again? :noidea:

[steel striker]

Yeah Ben was clutch when it was time and, we left alot of plays out there. Blasted holding calls that killed us from winning the game in regulation. Still that scramble by Ben was classic and, it saved us the game. We have holes just like every other team in the league. We had some big drops as well lapes in coverage but, look Troy mad a huge pick plus we still won the game time to move on to the ravens.

[SteelerFanInStl]

Yea, that was a big time scramble by Ben. I'm just glad that it was fat ass Stroud chasing him instead of someone fast. :lol:

[GodfatherofSoul]

Damn, people are still blaming Arians? The first half was classic Steelers football. Grinding out yardage and eating up the clock. My problem was we went away from the running game in the second half and allowed the Bills to get the ball back quickly. That was until crunch time when we went back to the running game.

[HometownGal]

IMO, we had that yesterday. How many HUGE gains did we have wiped out by stupid penalties again? :noidea:

Ding, ding, ding - WE HAVE A WINNER. :applaudit:

This scapegoating BA bullshit for every little faux pas that the offense makes is absolutely nauseating anymore. BA didn't fumble the ball, he didn't drop the pass and he didn't draw the penalties that killed legitimate drives that most likely would have resulted in at least 10-13 more points. The guy has done a good job with the O this year and has mixed it up as these haters wanted and they STILL bitch and moan. :doh:

[stillers4me]

Yea, that was a big time scramble by Ben. I'm just glad that it was fat ass Stroud chasing him instead of someone fast. :lol:

That was one ugly run... :lol:

[X-Terminator]

let's see: our o-line couldn't pass block but we were still going shot gun with 5 wide and running 15 plus yard routes. we were running the ball well and then all of a sudden we are in shotgun 5 wide again and drives stall.
how about lining up in a run formation and play action out of that? we did it once, with huge success, never to be seen again.
how about that slant pass to wallace (aka, williams)? again we saw it once, with good success, never to be seen again.

face it, we have a banged up line but do we try to get the ball out quickly? HELL NO! wanna know why ben pump fakes all the time...because his guys haven't come out of their break yet and they aren't open. our entire passing game is based on ben scrambling and finding guys open. HIGH RISK, LOW REWARD. look at the pass ben made to wallace in OT on 3rd and 8...was that a bruce call, or was that both players made a play when one wasn't there.

terminator, if you are happy with bruce's offense...good for you. i for one see a total cluster fuck every sunday and i'm beyond tired of it. and i will continue to bitch about it and him whether you or anyone else likes it or not. we had the ball for 80% of the time in the first half and could only muster 13 points. why? because of dumb play calling that ends drives. yes, we had turnovers and penalties...that happens every game to every team, yet some how other teams are able to still put up points. the bills are giving up 27 points a game, it took us almost 5 qrts to put up 19.

and the harrison hit, by the letter of the law, was a penalty. it doesn't have to be a helmet to helmet hit. he hit him with the crown of his helmet. now, i've seen it many times where it wasn't called so i think that because it was harrison it was called. but you can't hit a QB now with the crown of your helmet, whether it's in the head or chest. it's not james fault, he didn't intentionally lead with his helmet, but he hit him with the crown and IT IS A PENALTY.

Well hey, you know what I'm tired of? I'm tired of every time the offense makes one little mistake, it's BA's fault. I'm tired that whenever the defense shits the bed and blows leads, it's BA's fault. In other words, the endless bitching and moaning every time something isn't done to the haters' satisfaction has gotten to be more than tiresome. Why not just blame him for global warming, the snowstorm in the Midwest, the plague and wiping out the dinosaurs while you're at it?

They held the ball for almost the entire half on long drives that would have ended in more points had the damn OL not committed dumb holding penalties that killed drives and wiped out at least 3 big plays, including one that would have sealed the game in regulation. Sanders dropped a pass that could very well have been a TD, and instead they had to settle for a FG. But you want to somehow blame BA for that? Please.

They also ran the ball more often than they passed - I think 54-46. Something that the BA B and M'ers complained about ad infinitum last season. Does he get credit for that? Nope. Because God forbid BA does something right and get credit for it from the haters.

No, I am NOT happy with all aspects of BA's offense. But the LAST thing I'm going to do is sit around and constantly whine about it, especially when there are other factors that goes into the failure (or success) of the offense. It's NOT always all about coaching...except to the BA haters.

[Psycho Ward 86]

let's see: our o-line couldn't pass block but we were still going shot gun with 5 wide and running 15 plus yard routes. we were running the ball well and then all of a sudden we are in shotgun 5 wide again and drives stall.


Inconsistently. We were running the ball inconsistently. 1st half and OT is where Mendenhall turned it on the most, but even then, he was very inconsistent, even if the 4.2 yard average and 150+ yards dont show for it. He put us in 2nd and 3rd and long numerous times. To his credit though, we had god knows how many holding calls that wouldnt have affected some of his long runs AT ALL. Which sucked.

[X-Terminator]

Inconsistently. We were running the ball inconsistently. 1st half and OT is where Mendenhall turned it on the most, but even then, he was very inconsistent, even if the 4.2 yard average and 150+ yards dont show for it. He put us in 2nd and 3rd and long numerous times. To his credit though, we had god knows how many holding calls that wouldnt have affected some of his long runs AT ALL. Which sucked.

He had a 42-yard run that was wiped out by an admittedly shitty holding call. But that was one of several big plays wiped out by penalties that would have put them in better position to score rather than punt.

[Psycho Ward 86]

He had a 42-yard run that was wiped out by an admittedly shitty holding call. But that was one of several big plays wiped out by penalties that would have put them in better position to score rather than punt.

Yeah, like i saw saying...

[X-Terminator]

I'd also like to add...here's yet ANOTHER thread that really has nothing to do with Arians, and who do we end up talking about...again? That's the one thing I'm sick to death of the most. It's one thing to talk about him in a thread about the offense, but why do people constantly bring him up in unrelated threads? I had to mention this in another thread 2 weeks ago! :doh:

[Raleigh Steel]

I'd also like to add...here's yet ANOTHER thread that really has nothing to do with Arians, and who do we end up talking about...again? That's the one thing I'm sick to death of the most. It's one thing to talk about him in a thread about the offense, but why do people constantly bring him up in unrelated threads? I had to mention this in another thread 2 weeks ago! :doh:

just so we are clear here...all i said was the BA sucked today. that was it. YOU chose to expand on that one teeny tiny comment...so i responded. YOU could have just let it go, and ignored it if it bothered YOU so badly. but YOU chose not too. it was YOU who turned the thread about BA by wanting me to explain myself. i didn't go off about him, in my original post. i thought he did a poor job, stated it, and moved on.

oh and for the record...had it ever occurred to anyone that successful plays being brought back by penalties wouldn't have been successful without said penalties? think about that for the moment.

I'M A BA HATER...AND PROUD OF IT!

[X-Terminator]

just so we are clear here...all i said was the BA sucked today. that was it. YOU chose to expand on that one teeny tiny comment...so i responded. YOU could have just let it go, and ignored it if it bothered YOU so badly. but YOU chose not too. it was YOU who turned the thread about BA by wanting me to explain myself. i didn't go off about him, in my original post. i thought he did a poor job, stated it, and moved on.

oh and for the record...had it ever occurred to anyone that successful plays being brought back by penalties wouldn't have been successful without said penalties? think about that for the moment.

I'M A BA HATER...AND PROUD OF IT!

Look man, I have no intention of getting into an argument with you. I actually enjoy most of your posts and your write-ups at Sal's site. The BA hatred is over the top, plain and simple. He gets blamed for things that aren't even his fault, and when he actually does do things well, he rarely gets credit for it. Now to your credit, you did give him props last week for the game he called against the Raiders. But FAR too many Steelers fans will not even do that, no matter how much they dislike him. If more of them did, and actually consider other factors that affect the offense positively and negatively rather than constantly scapegoating BA, then there would not be so much angst from people like me.

Honestly, I hope he isn't brought back for the simple fact that it'll end this back and forth bickering once and for all.

And that's the last I'm going to say on this matter.

[Count Steeler]

Been thinking about the game on Sunday. I pick the punt by Sepulvada from the endzone in OT and the ensuing forced fumble and near recovery at the Bill's 35 yard line. Turned the tide emotionally in the game and the defense got pumped and the O went back to the ground game and wore down the Bills.

[Psycho Ward 86]

I'd also like to add...here's yet ANOTHER thread that really has nothing to do with Arians, and who do we end up talking about...again? That's the one thing I'm sick to death of the most. It's one thing to talk about him in a thread about the offense, but why do people constantly bring him up in unrelated threads? I had to mention this in another thread 2 weeks ago! :doh:

Big deal. We used to flame BA's ass all season in '09 and all of a sudden a lot more people are acting like he can't be criticized anymore. The Bruce Arians Offense is still a piece of crap in situationally important times. Our 3rd down and red zone offense still suck wad. It also sucked wad in '09, and '08. '07 was the only year we were actually pretty good on 3rd down (48%). And of course all 3 of those years, our short yardage conversion ability was a joke. So there are some of your staples in the Bruce Arians offense: Poor redzone TD %, mediocre 3rd down conversion ability, and a pretty nice plethora of splash plays, although that comes with a lot of stalled drives.

[HometownGal]

We used to flame BA's ass all season in '09 and all of a sudden a lot more people are acting like he can't be criticized anymore.

Because a lot more people are realizing how idiotic they sound blaming him for things that realistically and logically are not his responsibility, i.e. the OL, ST's and the D, but yet when those units screw up (as both the D and ST's did last season and ultimately cost us a playoff spot) the finger was pointed at him.

I have no problem wanting to punch him in the head when the situation warrants it, but many times last season, as well as this season, the situation simply does NOT warrant it. To say that BA's game plan sucked in Buffalo is not only absurd but - sorry - idiotic. As I said in another thread - he wasn't out there being called for holding at almost every turn, he didn't fumble the ball on a legitimate drive and he wasn't dropping passes. Those fubars came at very inopportune times when we were on the move. He also didn't give up 16 unanswered points to Fitzpatrick and the Bills O in 30 minutes.

I didn't want to belabor this ongoing disagreement but I will never apologize for simple logic.

Imho - the man has done a good job overall but in the end, it isn't my decision or any other fan's decision whether or not he is retained at season's end. It is the Steelers FO's call and in particular - Art II and in that I trust their judgment, whatever they decide I will be OK with.

I agree with XT, however - this thread has gone way off topic and what I will apologize for is my part in continuing to move it away from the OP's intended topic.

[Raleigh Steel]

Look man, I have no intention of getting into an argument with you. I actually enjoy most of your posts and your write-ups at Sal's site. The BA hatred is over the top, plain and simple. He gets blamed for things that aren't even his fault, and when he actually does do things well, he rarely gets credit for it. Now to your credit, you did give him props last week for the game he called against the Raiders. But FAR too many Steelers fans will not even do that, no matter how much they dislike him. If more of them did, and actually consider other factors that affect the offense positively and negatively rather than constantly scapegoating BA, then there would not be so much angst from people like me.

Honestly, I hope he isn't brought back for the simple fact that it'll end this back and forth bickering once and for all.

And that's the last I'm going to say on this matter.



hey man, it's all good. i'm not trying to ruffle any feathers around here...just pointing out how this thread got off track. i should have clarified my position a little better. i actually thought he didn't do a bad job in the first half but went back to his old ways in the second half. even my buddies, who think i'm insane for my constant BA bashing, were yelling at him...and they like the guy.

i will give credit all day long for anyone. like willie gay played a great game and i've dogged him out more than anyone. i've even given BA credit when a lot of others were bashing him...i don't just blindly hate on anyone, i'm a realist. i call 'em like I see them. that's all.

oh well...like i said, it's all good. time to focus on the ravens...pre-game article coming soon.

:peace: