We beat the Bengals in a meaningless game and finish 8-7-1
Here’s one
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wfltikFvhWc
8-7-1 is probably the record they'll get. Even that might be enough to win the division.
Merry Christmas
60 percent of the defense wouldn’t start for several other playoff teams and might not make the roster of at least 4 of the potential playoff squads.
Haden, Watt, Tuitt, Heyward, and Hargrave are sure-fire starters. Everyone else, depends on the team.
Several rosters that Fort, Bostic, VW, Sensabaugh, and a few other key role players don’t make.
If we go 8-7-1 I hope we don't make the playoffs, that'd just mess with our draft position
We will never know. That’s essentially like trying to prove a negative.
The flaws in many of the players can be schemed around to some point but their physical limitations are still gonna be there.
None of the linebackers can play in space. None of the DBs have ball skills. That’s not changeable.
While a better coach than Butler might have the entire unit playing better, nothing changes the fact that the individual parts are pretty flawed.
According to the players and coach, their playoffs started yesterday (and ended as well).
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
Ask me if I'd be surprised. Go ahead. Ask me.
To be honest, I could see Ravens beating the Bolts...and coming home and losing to the Browns. They play Baltimore tough almost every time, no matter how bad they suck. And this year they are better than most.
I'm trying to look at this logically. The Bucs have nothing to play for. The Chargers certainly do, as do the Saints and the Patriots. The Bengals have nothing to play for but pride against a division foe, as do the Brown. My "logical" side says the Ravens should go 2-1 over the next three games, whereas the Steelers could go 1-2. But this is a strange season.
It will be an interesting three weeks.
I think Fort makes most rosters because of special teams, which is why he makes our roster. Bostic makes any team that has a LB injured and out an entire year. He's better than the average backup, but not invest-your-money-in good. As for the others... meh. VW makes most teams if he comes up with them like he did us. I don't think he makes teams now as a FA.
I said a couple weeks ago that I dont think Ben will win another Super Bowl in his career and I stand by it. This team is not a Super Bowl contender this season, so I just want them to with the division and make the playoffs. Not really expecting a playoff spot, but hope to see one.
All of this plays right into the type of coach Tomlin is. He handles adversity well and rallies his team when things get bad. But when that has run its course he gets exposed for the mediocre coach that he is. Now that he has botched three games in a row, it's time to do the unexpected and beat NE and NO... then get ousted in the first round of the playoffs.
Maybe this team really just wasn't that good? If you look at our schedule, our most impressive wins were against not so great teams. We beat Baltimore who's 7-6, and only dominant win vs Carolina who's a team that is on a 5 game skid. We escaped against Jacksonville who's so bad they don't look like they can even beat themselves. Other wins that were considered quality wins at the time (TB, ATL, CIN), just ended up being crap teams as the season unfolded. So much for Denver being legit, they showed their true colors dropping to the 49ers who are almost as bad as the Raiders.
Yeah. We can quibble on the #'s and roles, but the bottom line is that the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers defense has guys starting that would struggle to carve out playing time on many other rosters. It has guys in key back-up/rotational roles that would struggle to make the final 53 for more than a few teams.
I think that Butler needs to go, but that isn't a magic wand solution. Large swathes of the defensive roster are a wasteland devoid of playmaking ability. That is really really hard to overcome.
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I don't disagree. I was just trying to not have another is Haden good or not argument. I said this summer that Haden was way overpaid versus performance.
Hilton seems to have regressed. He isn't breaking on the ball as much and giving ground at the goal line was Artie Burns level dumb.
Along with other posters here I thought going into the season the problems from last season had not been solved and that this was a middle of the pack team
Other than Conner, who had been erratic even before his ankle injury, the Steelers actually have been fairly lucky with injuries, with Gilbert the only long term absence
Of course it was unlikely Bell would miss the entire season, but the bigger flaws at ILB and the secondary were known going into the season
Only real unexpected disappointment other than Bell not reporting was Washington failing to develop as the #3 WR after a very good preseason
So for me it is hard to say this roster grossly under performed given its abilities
I think along the same lines. That is why I am not in favor of tossing Tomlin over. But I DO favor tossing Butler aside.
Butler took chicken crap and made chicken crap. Unfortunately, the Steelers need a DC who can make chicken salad out of all the misfit toys they call a defensive roster. Not sure if it is all Butler's fault, since the parts are sub-standard -- but his schemes did no one any favors.
Agreed on Butler - I was not kidding when I posted in the game day thread yesterday that the shot of Butler holding up the 3x5 card as opposed to the dinner menu we see other coordinators placing over their face while they call out the formation was a fitting symbol of the lack of imagination Butler has brought to addressing the personnel shortcomings on defense
fansince76 summed it up well in his reply post yesterday - it is LeBeau Lite
Which would be great and work well if teams were still running the ball 25 times a game and/or throwing West Coast style hitch routes out of 2 WR sets.
Butler's inability to defend empty sets and multiple vertical routes at the same time is just impossible to wrap your head around. Like you know it is coming because that is what everyone does now. Still no viable plan to stop it.
i think were looking at ravens going 9-7 as almost a sure thing. (beat the buccaneers and browns, lose to the rams)
and i think were looking at the steelers going 8-7-1 as almost a sure thing (lose to the patriots and saints, win against the bengals)
if a tie counts as half a win, the ravens winning percentage will be 0.5625 and ours will be 0.53125, leaving us out of the playoffs
can someone double check this? this looks like its what it comes down to. we need to go 2 for 3. and most likely no Connor against the patriots. a Tomlin led team down a workhorse RB at the worse possible time. this is starting to become a Tomlin tradition