Originally Posted by
Mojouw
Okay. I'll bite. I said I wouldn't but I will simply put some questions/thoughts out there:
1. It needs acknowledged that the Steelers think this issue is important because they basically talked Mitchell out of retiring so that he could be "dude in charge of player related life stuff and locker room bullshit". So I can no longer totally dismiss the issue - despite how much I would like to.
2. All pro athletes have been raised and incubated in the bubble of sports cliche coach-speak nonsense. Is it any wonder that they totally buy into it? So how much of this is Decastro having an actual tangible reason for a butt kicking and how much is because this is what coaches beat in to players heads after a loss?
3. No one has been able to draw the line between the "focus" and the actual loss. Bell and Mitchell ran their mouths the most and did very little to contribute to the team losing. It was the total disappearance of the defensive line and the complete inability of the linebackers to make a single play behind the line of scrimmage. VW was clearly jacked up for the game and was the only front 7 player I remember doing work at all. Vaunted "grit and focus" guys like Heyward, Walton, and Alualu were totally negated by the Jags offensive line. The DBs did yeoman's work attempting to step into the box and stem the tide, but it wasn't enough. On offense, the QB turned the ball over but other than that, it worked pretty damn well. The Steelers lost because their DL and LB level guys made about zero plays at or behind the line of scrimmage in an entire football game. Now I guess if they just said "no comment" to every question, deleted their social media accounts, and ate nails they would've changed that? I doubt it.
4. The SB is a perfect example of this. The Pats are taken to be the gold standard of focus and preparation. And it did not matter. Their front 7 was completely over matched by the schemes and formations the Eagles put out there. Additionally, on the other side of the ball the Pats offense moved through the Eagles defense (a successful group on the season) like a hot knife through butter by exploiting mismatches. What is my point? My point is that the Steelers LBs were isolated and exploited against the Jaguars over and over again. Why does the explanation need to be any more complicated? I mean if we can accept the Eagles are hoisting a Lombardi because they exposed and beat the Pats linebackers like a drum, why can we not accept the same conclusions regarding the Steelers?