Play around with this? http://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/machine
Play around with this? http://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/machine
looks like i was right. except i mistakenly thought the ravens play the rams instead of the chargers. changes little with the scenarios. i think the ravens win the division and the colts take that 6th seed ahead of us. we have the least manageable schedule by far. and its going to be a doozy to get the patriots to drop 2 in a row, especially such an embarrassing ending to their game/and no Connor.
This seasons feels an awful lot like 2009.
Steelers 1st Ballot HoF QB Big Ben , all world WR's in AB and JuJu perhaps the best O-Line in the league and a Team record setting RB and we are about to be 8-7-1 for the year ... nice work @CoachTomlin still no losing seasons #rollseyes
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
Since Tomlin took the helm in 2007, the Steelers are 6-5 straight up in road games where they've been favored by nine points or more. The rest of the NFL is 52-10.
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
"With love, with patience, and with Faith
....She'll make her way" ~ Natalie Merchant
game plan and play calling can be a big part of player performance too...
case in point Raiders worst team in NFL vs the run and we run it 17 times by design and twice Dobbs ran as a second option ... Horrible game plan ....
also Ben was 25 of 29 -282 yards 2 TDs and NO INTS ........
Raiders tossed us another 130 yards in penalty yardage ....
Tomlin lets 35+ seconds evaporate while hanging on to 2 time outs on the raiders last pos .... how big is 35 more seconds when we get the ball ? its the difference in attempting a FG and taking a couple more shots at the end zone .. and when the qb is 25 of 29 one might say its the difference in winning and losing
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
Ok. I agree that the last 3 games have looked bad. But what’s the difference in the end?
Since the season started, few have expressed confidence in the 2018 Steelers beating the Saints or the Patriots. For many that has multiplied the angst over the recent ugly losses.
But if there is zero confidence that you can beat playoff teams during the regular season, why care about playoffs or playoff seeding? Clearly there was already a general sense that this version of the team wasn’t beating multiple SB caliber teams.
9-7 or 10-6 was about what the board landed on as projection. That’s not the projection of a SB champion or even a participant.
Even as the two seed, did anyone even 4 weeks ago truly see this team beating 3 of these teams in a row:
Chargers
Pats
Chiefs
Rams
Saints
As I fan I would’ve rooted hard and hoped for the best, but in all honestly, I’ve never seen that happening. In particular once Burnett and Burns imploded.
its also hard for them to win when you let time run off the clock in the games final moments while you sit with time outs in your pocket ....
its also hard to win when you get caught up in the flo of the game when your franchise QB sits on the bench and you have 4 drives of nothingness and do not make the change because well I was caught up in the moment .... gtfo
and a def like the Raiders who also handed you 130 penalty yards , your QB had a rating of 130+ and the opposition is even in the game ???? unfuckingbelievable
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
When Butler goes he needs to take Porter with him. As much as we all credit munchack with being able to coach up a third string tackle or hell even have the input to draft the guy , we need to give that much credit to defensive position coaches. Porter has been given high draft pick after high draft pick and he has done NOTHING with it.
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Merry Christmas
Here's my realistic expectation - Artie Burns played his last season with the Steelers. Probably picked up by Arizona
Been trying to explain since preseason. This is not a good Steelers team. I agree the offense should be more productive but this defense does not have the personnel yet. I think the coaches have done better than most on here it seems. If not for the DL and OLBs playing so well this season could be over a month ago.
I expect both the Steelers and Ravens to lose next week and the Steelers clinch the North against the Bengals in week 17.
From there............. I'll wait to see which team shows up, the 6-0 one or the 1-5-1 team.
I agree. To be fair, if you can limit the big plays in the secondary, then a stout front 4 seems to be the only consistent answer across the league right now on defense. No one is winning with smothering DBs. The Rams trot out Talib, Peters, and Joyner -- a set of DBs that most Steelers fans would kill for -- and Big Nick Foles roasted them.
I'm not saying that this defense gives me any confidence or anything, but in 2018 if I can only do one of two things on defense -- rush the passer or cover 1 on 1 -- I'm gonna take rush the passer every time and just hope and pray on the rest.
Which is why, although I still think Butler and Porter need to get on with their life's work, I do support some part of the defensive coaching job. The big plays have largely been limited and the pass rush has been prioritized. It is to their (limited) credit that they didn't decide to drop 7+ into coverage every down in order to respond to getting torched early in the season.
I don't expect the Steelers to win in NO, but I didn't expect them to beat NE yesterday either. NE is in regress mode I think and while I'm happy for the win I don't think they would have beat a good NE team. The Steeler have much more talent on their roster. I just want the issues on the team to be fixed in the off season.
Do they? Only at WR and OL do I think the Steelers have an obvious superiority. I would be willing to go with the DL as well, but not by as much as the other two. Then at almost every other position grouping, I give the roster talent edge to the Pats or at best it is a push.
But I am in total agreement that something needs to be changed this off-season.
I still think that if the Steelers committed to the run game vs the Broncos and Chargers that both of those games are W's and the Steelers would have clinched the division by now.
Sure, the talent level isn't the greatest. The ILB situation consists of 2 slow and average player and IMO the D line has been allowing huge rush lanes for opposing RB's. But, I think if the Steelers didn't decide to cover opposing teams best WR's with ILB's and ran the football more against poor run defenses, the W column is better than currently is.
Committment(lack of) to the run is maybe why this offense is less productive than most feel they should be. We have the ability to run on just about any team consistently. Running the ball eats clock which gives the other guys less time with the ball. Running the clock out and scoring in the process is a motivator for your team and demoralizing to the other team. We should have beaten the Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders. Our 2nd half offense has been terrible since the Jax game.
I think this defense has an outstanding front 5. The middle and back end is struggling mightily. If the Steelers can get a big enough lead to make the other team one dimensional and have to throw early, this defense can look a hell of a lot better. Blitzes and the pass rush can be dominant for this team again. I put the ‘let down’ squarely on the offense. Even against the Pats we only put up 3 in the second half. Not good enough.
They can play "situational" defense. Meaning, when they have to defend the whole playbook, they can get beat. The long 3rd quarter drive by the Pats as an example. But when the offense gives the defense a 2 score lead and then the other team can only run a portion of their offense, they can be really successful.
I think a recognition of this reality is why the Steelers "abandon" the running game. They are trying to put up points as quickly as possible passing the ball in order to place the defense in the only situation it has demonstrated it can consistently play well -- 10-20 points ahead and rush the passer out of nickel or dime looks all day.
Pats RBs and QB is better. Pats TEs are better. Steelers better at OL and WR. So 3 out of 5 units on offense go to the Patriots.
Pats LBs and DBs are better overall. Steelers DL. So 2 out of 3 goes to the Patriots. Might be able to give the edge to the Steelers at LB if you want to prioritize pass rush.
Special Teams isn't even close - giant edge to the Patriots.
The best I can get to in a position group by position group analysis is these teams being a push. Most ways I look at it (and what do I know?!) has the Patriots with a slight to moderate talent advantage.
I don’t think their backs are better than the Steelers and the Steelers as a group have better TEs. The Pats have an aging, falling apart Gronk and then nothing. Brady’s on a decline as well...he hasn’t looked great this year. I think all of those are much more debatable than one would think...
Steelers just won their SB against the Pats. You might not want to watch next week in NO. If they make the playoffs it will be from sliding in backwards because the division is so weak. Then it's 1 and done in the wildcard.
All Defense!
37 Ben > 41 Brady. By a little.
I expect the Steelers to win the division and actually expect them to win this week (they have the talent and they seem to be winning and losing in bunches this year) after that in the playoffs I’m not expecting a deep run as I don’t see them getting past the chiefs or pats in foxhoro, but again, this team has proven to be hard to predict
I admit I am not overly confident in winning at N.O. this week. I believe it can be done just don’t feel good about it. And I would feel better about the Bengals game if it were on the road. I will predict finishing 9-6-1. Taking the 3 seed from the Pats and playing at home Vs the Ravens for the wildcard round. After that win Steelers travel to Houston as underdogs and completely dominate the Texans before playing the Chargers in L.A. for the AFC championship. Steelers win this time and make their 9th trip to the SB. In the SB Steelers face the Bears. That’s how you build a stairway to 7.