Originally Posted by
Mojouw
Sorry, I refuse to buy the whole "distracted", "looking past", and "bulletin board material" stuff. I truly believe that is over-hyped media driven narrative because all the folks covering the NFL need something to talk about. What about all the times teams talked about this or that and then went out and backed it up? That happens too and would seem to destroy the easy story line that saying anything is a path to defeat due to the brittle mindsets of the average NFL player...I don't get it.
The Jaguars ran 61 offensive plays and NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM WENT FOR NEGATIVE YARDS! That's the story. Their front won the battle at the line of scrimmage. Why everyone has to be on a constant search for more complicated and deeper answers at every turn is really beyond me. Start with the obvious - the Pittsburgh Steelers got dominated upfront. Move to the next obvious question? Why and How did that happen? Unfortunately for the instant answer media age we all live in, the real answers to the second question require some detailed analysis and discussion. In short, a complex answer. But that answer doesn't fit the 5 minute deadlines we all run on now. So what do we get? We get "distractions", "came out flat", "poor preparation" (with no details on what was poor - just, you know preparation and stuff), "looking past the opponent", etc.
All of that are answers in search of a question. Ever notice how all these reporters and talking heads that come out and instantly provide an "analysis" of why a team loses are never heard from again when the question shifts to "what should be done next"? That's because all they have is hot air and cliches -- not actual answers.
One just has to hope that the decision making apparatus of the Pittsburgh Steelers takes the time and gets into the details enough to come up with actionable solutions.