Silver lining. It's not over. Part II

[Iron Steeler]

HERE WE GO!

Great win tonight against a divisional opponent.

I wanted to focus on the improvements.

1.Offensive play calling
- I love the insert of Jaylen samuel. He was a swiss army knife in NC State. I cut from the cloth of types like Hines Ward. Just a great football player in multi dimensional player.
2. Mason Rudolph looks good. I know they mostly were short passes but look up Ben's first few games ever. The coaches are trying to gradually ramp of his confidence. We caught a glimpse of improv skills, kept his head down field and made a great 3rd down pass to vannett to pick up the first. I'd like to think the coaches will let him air it out as the seasons progresses. (I can see the NFL media making this "yards in the air" meter count a thing) . Who cares? If the RB open , pass it to him let your playmakers make plays.
3. Front 7
- I think we have one of the best front 7 in the league. They were on fire tonight.
4. Secondary.
-A slight improvement on 3rd down balls being batted down.

And finally the best silver lining:

We can be on top of the AFC North next week!
If we take care of business against the Ravens and if the Browns lose at 49ers, POOF , were #1 in our division.

Because we will all be 2-3 and if we beat the Ravens we would hold the tiebreaker with wins against a divisional opponent.


ITS NOT OVER!
HERE WE GO STEELERS!

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Good post!

[Fire Goodell]

[fansince'76]

Hopefully they can start stacking some wins. Would love to have that Conner fumble in SF back.

[Hawkman]

Hopefully they can start stacking some wins. Would love to have that Conner fumble in SF back.

I’ll bet Conner would too.

[AtlantaDan]

Hopefully they can start stacking some wins. Would love to have that Conner fumble in SF back.

Looking on the bright side, it is not as if any of the losses were to bad teams with the week 2 and 3 losses being winnable games.

But Sunday is a must win. Ravens opened as 3&1/2 - 4 point favorites before last night's game and that line has not moved significantly after the beat down last night.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds...te/10-06-19#CW

Ravens obviously are beatable, although the weakness of the Ravens defense primarily has been on passing (although Chubb torched them this past Sunday). So far either Fichtner has not been inclined to turn Rudolph loose or, as Fichtner claimed last Friday, Rudolph is hesitant to throw downfield regularly.

[steel striker]

If the Steelers can win against the Ravens the AFC North will be up for grabs.

[Rotorhead]

Looking on the bright side, it is not as if any of the losses were to bad teams with the week 2 and 3 losses being winnable games.

But Sunday is a must win. Ravens opened as 3&1/2 - 4 point favorites before last night's game and that line has not moved significantly after the beat down last night.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds...te/10-06-19#CW

Ravens obviously are beatable, although the weakness of the Ravens defense primarily has been on passing (although Chubb torched them this past Sunday). So far either Fichtner has not been inclined to turn Rudolph loose or, as Fichtner claimed last Friday, Rudolph is hesitant to throw downfield regularly.

Also, the Ravens wins weren’t against good teams (Miami and Arizona). If we beat them next week they probably beat the Bungles, then I can see them losing 6 of the next 7 after (Seahawks, Cheats, Texans, Rams, 49ers, Bills with the lone win against the Bungles a second time).

[JnK]

I’ll bet Conner would too.

Definitely. He sure seemed to be running with a chip on his shoulder last night.

[Born2Steel]

I want to see a win against the Ravens before I relax a bit. I’m just not overly impressed with beating the Bengals at home. Not taking anything away from that much needed win at all. The defense impressed me more. If not for a fumble setting up their FG this game is a shutout. That’s a big feather in the cap to all involved with the defense. If the Steelers climb to a 3-way tie for 1st in the division next week I can feel like they’re making some ‘real’ progress.

[teegre]

This week, Bince returns to the lineup.

Soon, McDonald & Nix will return to the lineup.

[pczach]

This week, Bince returns to the lineup.

Soon, McDonald & Nix will return to the lineup.

That's correct!

When are AB, Bell, and Big Ben going to return???

[Iron Steeler]

This week, Bince returns to the lineup.

Soon, McDonald & Nix will return to the lineup.

Yessss , we are missing rosy on those 4th and inches runs.

Also I have no clue how to respond back to a reputation comment, haha, but I am definately going to keep this going!

[Six Rings]

I think we'll know if its over or not sometime after 4:00PM on Sunday. 1-4 = no recovery. 2-3 = HOPE.

[Born2Steel]

I think we'll know if its over or not sometime after 4:00PM on Sunday. 1-4 = no recovery. 2-3 = HOPE.

May want to recheck your math on that. 16 games, possibly up to 7-8 losses could still win the division, 1-4 does not equal no recovery. I get that it gets that much harder with each loss. Have you never seen Mighty Ducks, or The Bad News Bears, or Little Giants, or maybe Sandlot 2? Until we’re OUT, we’re still IN.

[Craic]

May want to recheck your math on that. 16 games, possibly up to 7-8 losses could still win the division, 1-4 does not equal no recovery. I get that it gets that much harder with each loss. Have you never seen Mighty Ducks, or The Bad News Bears, or Little Giants, or maybe Sandlot 2? Until we’re OUT, we’re still IN.

How dare you miss the greatest of them all?

[Edman]

It wasn’t over before, well It’s likely over now. Especially with Rudolph out.

[Mach1]

[Edman]

If the Steelers had won, there was some slight hope.

Losing Mason Rudolph and losing the game officially means it’s over.

2019 is a complete formality at this point. Time to play out the string and enjoy our Sundays.

[fansince'76]

1-4? Yeah, it's pretty much over, even though the rest of the AFCN is no great shakes either.

[Rotorhead]

At least our def showed up for 2 games in a row, they are looking like the real deal and I am excited for them moving forward. MFF was a huge addition, Bush is playing faster, Watt and the DL are dominating, DBs are looking solid. Rudolph is getting good experience and our third stringer will get some experience also. Our young WRs are getting good experience as well. I am hopeful for next year with a healthy and rested Ben back.

[Mojouw]

At least our def showed up for 2 games in a row, they are looking like the real deal and I am excited for them moving forward. MFF was a huge addition, Bush is playing faster, Watt and the DL are dominating, DBs are looking solid. Rudolph is getting good experience and our third stringer will get some experience also. Our young WRs are getting good experience as well. I am hopeful for next year with a healthy and rested Ben back.

All of this.

[Steeler-in-west]

If the Steelers had won, there was some slight hope.

Losing Mason Rudolph and losing the game officially means it’s over.

2019 is a complete formality at this point. Time to play out the string and enjoy our Sundays.

This. They need to look into the coaching staff changes. Too many questionable play calls, too many costly penalties. The ironic thing is as fansince76 basically said, the division was really up for grabs. The only dominant team in the afc is a team led by a 42 year old qb, and the season is still young.

[tube517]

1-4 with a 3rd (4th in the preseason) string QB? Yeah, it's pretty much over, even though the rest of the AFCN is no great shakes either.

Fixed.

[Born2Steel]

PLUS... We still got Paxton Lynch!

[AtlantaDan]

Last time I recall a Steelers team starting 1-4 after a loss in which their QB was knocked out of the game was when Turkey Jones tried to kill Bradshaw in 1976

That team ran off 9 straight wins to make the playoffs so hope remains alive (assuming this defense raises its game to the level of the 1976 Steel Curtain)