Game Ball vs Browns

[pepsyman1]

James Connor was awesome today.

The pass rush was relentless. They hit Mayfield all game long. The defense played well today.

Bud Dupree had a very good game today with a lot of pressures, a sack, and a forced holding penalty in the end zone for a safety. He gets killed when he doesn't do much. He deserves praise when he plays well.

I have NO IDEA what got into Dupree today. Was the most effective and aggressive game from him I've seen. He looked like he had some strength for a change. If he played like that regularly you'd believe he was a worthwhile draft pick

[Shoes]

Tomlin said Tuesday that Burns' play time would be decided in the way that Burns would be good or not in the practice week .....The fact that he did not have a snap today means he was not very good in practice this week!

If they trade Bell, I give Burns away for free. If they don't trade Bell, I'd still give Burns away for free.

[Shoes]

^ Valid point.
I don't know if anybody else noticed, but this is the first time this year our secondary didn't get victimized like the new kid at sodomy camp. Our LBs blitzed constantly and left the DBs exposed. And most of the time, Haden was *not* detailed to the deep threat.
We basically dared them to test Sensabaugh and he acquitted himself well.

Not saying he's pro- bowl caliber or anything crazy like that, but I have no complaints about how he performed today.

Best,
-Slashy

P.S. Some love to "Thor" McDonald. Dude was clutch today.

My feelings also. I'm not a fan of Sensabaugh, but I like him over 3rd talent Dong Burns who is a hot head, a grabber and doesn't seem teachable. I fact he doesn't seem to care if he is traded according to some articles posted this week. I'd be happy to grant his wish.

[Craic]

Game Ball Offense
Conner. Of course.
MacDonald. Of course.
Brown. While he didn't show up big on the stat board today, he had catches at clutch moments that seemed to spark the Steelers.

HM.
Ben. Not because he had a great game, but just the opposite. He seemed to have a mediocre game, but kept it under control and willed the offense down the field a few times, hitting 3rd down passes when necessary, and throwing checkdowns when necessary as well. He had a very good mental game today.

Game Ball Defense
Dupree. First time he's made the list. Let's hope it's not the last time.
Coaching. For the first time this year, it looked like the entire defense was swarming to the ball.
Haden. Nice INT. Almost had a second one.

Gameball, but Stuck on the Horns of a Goat
Special teams. Several times they did a great job getting down there and stopping any kind of runback. They also threw some nice blocks to spring runbacks and the first run back against them was due to holding. However, gotta draw the goat on the ball first because that freekick mistake was about as ugly as it gets.

[AtlantaDan]

I bet Switzer never makes this mistake again. Harsh lessons make for long memories.
What I found even more astonishing is how many of the announcers got it wrong as well. Tunch Ilkin didn't get it. Lefty Leftwich didn't get it. Chris Collinsworth didn't get it.
A Safety is a "free kick", not a kickoff. Either team can recover it, but the kicking team cannot advance it after recovery. The Browns ST understood that, but nobody else seemed to.

Perhaps - but Switzer allegedly screwed up another free kick six weeks ago in the Chiefs game

That game featured a special kick combo platter of screwups for Danny Smith's crew (the obvious fix is for the Steelers to avoid scoring safeties)

Steelers Seemingly Had Back-To-Back Special Teams Blunders On Free Kick

After the safety, the Chiefs had to perform a free kick from their own 20-yard-line and it’s obvious the Steelers receiving team wasn’t sure how to line up. This confusion resulted in Steelers running back Stevan Ridley being penalized 5 yards for an illegal formation and that wiped out a 20-yard return by wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Pittsburgh 47-yard-line....

If that penalty wasn’t bad enough, what happened on the re-kick is something else I hope Smith and head coach Mike Tomlin are asked about this coming week when each meet with the media next.
NFL rules state that a free kick, just like a kickoff, can’t go out of bounds untouched without it resulting in a penalty. Colquitt’s re-kick was a booming punt to the left sideline from the Chiefs 25-yard-line and Steelers wide receiver Ryan

Switzer fielded it right at the Steelers 15-yard-line but also right near the sideline. He then returned it 15 yards. Had Switzer not fielded that free kick, would it have gone out of bounds? It’s hard to say for sure via the television angle, but it sure looks like that would’ve been the case. ...

According to the NFL rules on free kicks, which I’m also including below, the penalty for a safety kick out of bounds is that the receiving team may elect to take possession of the ball
30 yards from the spot of the kick or at the out-of-bounds spot. In this particular case on Sunday, 30 yards from the spot of the kick would’ve been the Steelers 45-yard-line, or 15 yards further up the field than Switzer’s return.

https://steelersdepot.com/2018/09/st...-on-free-kick/

Danny Smith must have compromising photos or financial information on Tomlin to keep his job

And note that it was Ridley who lined up incorrectly

After his "fumble" today (which the refs wanted no part of reviewing) Ridley no longer played on offense and seems to be in the doghouse

[GoSlash27]

If they trade Bell, I give Burns away for free. If they don't trade Bell, I'd still give Burns away for free.

I'm not sure if Burns is unable to learn or our secondary coach is unable to teach, but either way it's not doing us or him any good. Dude is a project, not a starter. I don't know if "giving him away" is the right answer... but I don't know that it isn't, either.

[DesertSteel]

I’m gonna come out and say it. I’ve been thinking it for a couple weeks. James Conner is a better Running Back than Le’veon Bell. Just better. He’s got what Bell has plus an extra gear for long runs. If Bell comes back he’s an 8-10 carries back at best because Conner gets better as the game wears on and he keeps getting fed the ball.

Cliffs: Conner > Bell.

[polamalubeast]

Perhaps - but Switzer allegedly screwed up another free kick six weeks ago in the Chiefs game

That game featured a special kick combo platter of screwups for Danny Smith's crew (the obvious fix is for the Steelers to avoid scoring safeties)

Steelers Seemingly Had Back-To-Back Special Teams Blunders On Free Kick

After the safety, the Chiefs had to perform a free kick from their own 20-yard-line and it’s obvious the Steelers receiving team wasn’t sure how to line up. This confusion resulted in Steelers running back Stevan Ridley being penalized 5 yards for an illegal formation and that wiped out a 20-yard return by wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Pittsburgh 47-yard-line....

If that penalty wasn’t bad enough, what happened on the re-kick is something else I hope Smith and head coach Mike Tomlin are asked about this coming week when each meet with the media next.
NFL rules state that a free kick, just like a kickoff, can’t go out of bounds untouched without it resulting in a penalty. Colquitt’s re-kick was a booming punt to the left sideline from the Chiefs 25-yard-line and Steelers wide receiver Ryan

Switzer fielded it right at the Steelers 15-yard-line but also right near the sideline. He then returned it 15 yards. Had Switzer not fielded that free kick, would it have gone out of bounds? It’s hard to say for sure via the television angle, but it sure looks like that would’ve been the case. ...

According to the NFL rules on free kicks, which I’m also including below, the penalty for a safety kick out of bounds is that the receiving team may elect to take possession of the ball
30 yards from the spot of the kick or at the out-of-bounds spot. In this particular case on Sunday, 30 yards from the spot of the kick would’ve been the Steelers 45-yard-line, or 15 yards further up the field than Switzer’s return.

https://steelersdepot.com/2018/09/st...-on-free-kick/

Danny Smith must have compromising photos or financial information on Tomlin to keep his job

And note that it was Ridley who lined up incorrectly

After his "fumble" today (which the refs wanted no part of reviewing) Ridley no longer played on offense and seems to be in the doghouse

Last year in KC, the chiefs had also recover a free kick I think....It's ridiculous!

[Hawkman]

So glad we’re keeping this thread on “game ball”.

[polamalubeast]

[polamalubeast]

Conner has a pro bowl season and if he continues, he could be an excellent candidate for one of two spots for the first team all-pro RB with Gurley.

[teegre]

he could be an excellent candidate for one of two spots for the first team all-pro RB with Gurley.

#30 will be first-team All Pro


And... neither will be playing in the Pro Bowl (because, they’ll be facing off in Atlanta the following week).

[polamalubeast]

#30 will be first-team All Pro


And... neither will be playing in the Pro Bowl (because, they’ll be facing off in Atlanta the following week).

Many on twitter find it ridiculous that some steelers fans think Conner is better than Bell right now.

It was the same thing in the situation of Mike Wallace vs Antonio Brown in 2012 ....

[Iron Steeler]

LOL I was livid when that happened. Like the whole team did not understand.

Attention to details, that is one thing the steelers do not do well.

Conner for sure, with an honorable mention to Keith Butler. Way to keep the hammer down! ST gets the goat for not knowing what "free kick" means.

[DesertSteel]

It was the same thing in the situation of Mike Wallace vs Antonio Brown in 2012 ....

As we did then, we are keeping the right guy.

[polamalubeast]

What I like about the steelers right now is that the steelers have a lot less drama in the last month outside of the Le'Veon Bell situation.

Yes, it helps when you win, but last year, the steelers had drama almost every week despite our 13-3 season.

[Mojouw]

Yup. It is lack of drama that is doing it. Not the fact that the offensive line has turned into one of the most dominating units in the entire league. Providing Ben with enough time to check his email before throwing a pass. Opening lanes for Conner into the second level and beyond. The ability of all 5 (or even 6-7) of the OL to pull and move is something that I don't see any other team having.

If the Steelers beat the Ravens next week - watch all the talk of "drama" start up around here again. Why? Bell comes back. And the team will be 5-2-1 with a strangle-hold on the division and suddenly the national media will pay attention again.

Talk will start up as the Steelers being the 3rd best team in the AFC. Can they beat the Pats? Slow down the Chiefs? What about the locker room? How did Mike Tomlin get his team to respond after a slow start? Stick enough microphones in faces and someone will say something dumb. Then we can all freak out about that!

[86WARD]

Feiler. It’s all you need to know...lol

[SteelMember]

James Conner

...and special mention for the throwbacks. nice.

[DesertSteel]

I didn't care much for the throwbacks. With today's smaller shoulder pads those numbers looked gigantic.

[Fire Goodell]

Vance McDonald has been impressive. It's almost as if his stiff arm on Conte transferred all his injury proneness out to him. Poor fella lol

[polamalubeast]

[pczach]

Yup. It is lack of drama that is doing it. Not the fact that the offensive line has turned into one of the most dominating units in the entire league. Providing Ben with enough time to check his email before throwing a pass. Opening lanes for Conner into the second level and beyond. The ability of all 5 (or even 6-7) of the OL to pull and move is something that I don't see any other team having.

If the Steelers beat the Ravens next week - watch all the talk of "drama" start up around here again. Why? Bell comes back. And the team will be 5-2-1 with a strangle-hold on the division and suddenly the national media will pay attention again.

Talk will start up as the Steelers being the 3rd best team in the AFC. Can they beat the Pats? Slow down the Chiefs? What about the locker room? How did Mike Tomlin get his team to respond after a slow start? Stick enough microphones in faces and someone will say something dumb. Then we can all freak out about that!

I say dumb shit all the time and I don't have microphones sticking in my face.....ever.

Maybe that's why I don't freak out. I hear dumb shit constantly so it doesn't affect me.

[DesertSteel]

Yup. It is lack of drama that is doing it. Not the fact that the offensive line has turned into one of the most dominating units in the entire league. Providing Ben with enough time to check his email before throwing a pass. Opening lanes for Conner into the second level and beyond. The ability of all 5 (or even 6-7) of the OL to pull and move is something that I don't see any other team having.

If the Steelers beat the Ravens next week - watch all the talk of "drama" start up around here again. Why? Bell comes back. And the team will be 5-2-1 with a strangle-hold on the division and suddenly the national media will pay attention again.

Talk will start up as the Steelers being the 3rd best team in the AFC. Can they beat the Pats? Slow down the Chiefs? What about the locker room? How did Mike Tomlin get his team to respond after a slow start? Stick enough microphones in faces and someone will say something dumb. Then we can all freak out about that!

The players were commenting on the drama late last season and early this season as much as fans. Maybe you should have a team meeting with the players when Bell comes back? While it’s not the cause of losing, it is the effect of losing and sometimes the tail starts wagging the dog.

[polamalubeast]

Yup. It is lack of drama that is doing it. Not the fact that the offensive line has turned into one of the most dominating units in the entire league. Providing Ben with enough time to check his email before throwing a pass. Opening lanes for Conner into the second level and beyond. The ability of all 5 (or even 6-7) of the OL to pull and move is something that I don't see any other team having.

If the Steelers beat the Ravens next week - watch all the talk of "drama" start up around here again. Why? Bell comes back. And the team will be 5-2-1 with a strangle-hold on the division and suddenly the national media will pay attention again.

Talk will start up as the Steelers being the 3rd best team in the AFC. Can they beat the Pats? Slow down the Chiefs? What about the locker room? How did Mike Tomlin get his team to respond after a slow start? Stick enough microphones in faces and someone will say something dumb. Then we can all freak out about that!

If the steelers do not have the drama in the coming months like last year, I'll be happy

I mean, last year, remember Antonio Brown and the gatarade in Baltimore ... Bryant's comments on JuJu and his role ..... Ben's comments after his game of 5 interceptions .. ..The situation of James Harrison ..... Bell and his contract

It was ridiculous!

[teegre]

Vance McDonald has been impressive. It's almost as if his stiff arm on Conte transferred all his injury proneness out to him. Poor fella lol

Best thing that I’ve read in a while.

[polamalubeast]

[stillers4me]

Honorable mention to this guy...

[steel striker]

No doubt James Connor and, what a INT for Hayden and, it would be nice if the special teams could have a good game. Atleast BOZ made all of his kicks.