Colts @ Steelers Game balls & goats

[Butch]

I know. But maybe one thing we need to remember is that Samuels did score a TD in this game that was called incorrectly. And Tomlin didn’t challenge a call he would have actually won.

So many bad calls and bad decisions and unlucky bounces in that game, I still can’t believe we won.

I am not so sure about that this is the same officiating crew that screwed up the PI call to keep the colts in the game.

[teegre]

I know. But maybe one thing we need to remember is that Samuels did score a TD in this game that was called incorrectly. And Tomlin didn’t challenge a call he would have actually won.

So many bad calls and bad decisions and unlucky bounces in that game, I still can’t believe we won.

True. I do not blame Tomlin for not challenging that, because the refs could have easily said that a wee, small portion of Samuel's leg was on the ground.

If Trey Edmunds goes left on that next play, he WALKS in for an easy TD. Instead, he goes straight ahead and gets stuffed.

SUMMATION:
Vision is huge asset for a RB. And, you know, following your lead blocker.

[86WARD]

Game Balls - Minkah, Dupree, Boswell, Samuels.

Goats - Fichtner is a big one, Offensive Line is a big one, Rudolph is a little one...this guy needs to strap on his red nose and start flying.

[DesertSteel]

Sure wish we had that first round pick instead of Minkah.



Not.

- - - Updated - - -

Goats - Fichtner is a big one

I couldn't agree more. The problem is that Fichtner goes into the locker room after a win like today feeling like Bill Belchick. He thinks he outsmarted the world with that conservative game plan. I literally feel like puncturing my eyeballs watching that stuff.

[Mojouw]

Steelers build a pass focused offense to maximize their HOF QB and "star talent" and everyone moans about moving away from "Steeler Football" and how a heavy dose of the run game is surely a cure all.

Now the team trots out a run and screen heavy gameplan to mask their injuries and the QBs inability to challenge defenses vertically in the NFL. Guess what? Everyone still moans.

Almost like running the ball without an aggressive and proficient passing offense is both pointless and typically wildly ineffective.

No one saw that coming. No one.

[Craic]

Sure wish we had that first round pick instead of Minkah.



Not.

It was a risk. I'm still not sure I would have taken it. Hindsight is too much of a benefit in decisions such as these. Go back to that moment in time. We have two big issues. One is needing a game-changing defensive player, the other is needing a franchise QB because ours just went down and at his age, it may or may not be the end of his career. We're already in the hole with our record, and now we're about to bring out our unproven 2nd years QB to dig ourselves out.

In that scenario, I would say the safer bet is to keep the first round pick. The QB has a much larger affect on a football game than a safety. So, keep the first round pick. The higher it is the better, and it looks to be pretty high at this point of the season (game... 2? Can't remember exactly). Even if there isn't a QB that we want. We can trade out and pick up next year's first round pick. That gives us to first round picks to pair and move even higher if we need to do so. Because, again, Franchise QBs are more important than very good safeties.

Now, did Mike's gamble pay off with that trade? Maybe so. We're climbing back up the standings so we're not losing nearly the value in that first round pick that we thought we might have in the first few weeks. I'm almost happy at this point that he took it. But, let's not let hindsight cloud the context of the deal.

[Mojouw]

The MF trade was always a good gamble.

MF is a better FS than anyone on the roster or in the 2020 draft.

The QBs available around pick 5-10 in this draft look "not impressive" to " I guess, we need to draft someone".

Ben is starting 2020 Week 1. A FS helps that team more than a QB.

IF Ben is toast AND Rudoplph stinks, it's going to be 2021 draft until they're ready to pluck a replacement.

This trade is good as long as MF plays well.

[GoSlash27]

HAHAHA an idiot reporter at the Colts' presser actually questioned Frank Reich's decision to kick the 3 to win the game.

[AtlantaDan]

Steelers build a pass focused offense to maximize their HOF QB and "star talent" and everyone moans about moving away from "Steeler Football" and how a heavy dose of the run game is surely a cure all.

Now the team trots out a run and screen heavy gameplan to mask their injuries and the QBs inability to challenge defenses vertically in the NFL. Guess what? Everyone still moans.

Almost like running the ball without an aggressive and proficient passing offense is both pointless and typically wildly ineffective.

No one saw that coming. No one.

If they have concluded after 5 starts that Rudolph cannot challenge defenses vertically then however their record ends up the season is a partial success since they know Rudolph is not the successor to Ben. In that case they do not have to worry about locking him into a long term deal before the last year of his rookie contract since Ben and Rudolph probably will both be leaving the Steelers no later than after the 2021.season

I am not certain that is where they are at. Steelers problem is they do not want the rest of the roster to be told this season is a lab experiment to find out what Rudolph can do and are trying to salvage this season by implementing a minimal risk offense. Great to know Tomlin may preserve his record of never having a losing season with a long shot at making the playoffs

But assuming their goals are higher than franchises like the Bills, even if they have decided Rudolph is not the guy by running this offense they also will not know if JuJu is worth what he is demanding going into the last year of his contract in 2020.

Today’s game was entertaining and I am always glad when they win. But in terms of achieving long term goals this offense is like investing for retirement by placing all your money in a low interest savings account - very low risk and unlikely to be something to build on to reach those goals.

[Mojouw]

If they have concluded after 5 starts that Rudolph cannot challenge defenses vertically then however their record ends up the season is a partial success since they know Rudolph is not the successor to Ben. In that case they do not have to worry about locking him into a long term deal before the last year of his rookie contract since Ben and Rudolph probably will both be leaving the Steelers no later than after the 2021.season

I am not certain that is where they are at. Steelers problem is they do not want the rest of the roster to be told this season is a lab experiment to find out what Rudolph can do and are trying to salvage this season by implementing a minimal risk offense. Great to know Tomlin may preserve his record of never having a losing season with a long shot at making the playoffs

But assuming their goals are higher than franchises like the Bills, even if they have decided Rudolph is not the guy by running this offense they also will not know if JuJu is worth what he is demanding going into the last year of his contract in 2020.

Today’s game was entertaining and I am always glad when they win. But in terms of achieving long term goals this offense is like investing for retirement by placing all your money in a low interest savings account - very low risk and unlikely to be something to build on to achieve long term goals.

That's assuming the results we see on TV are sourced to the play call. Almost everything I've seen and read in the past 12 days argues that bigger plays are being schemed up and are there for the taking but Rudolph can't or won't pull the trigger.

Was that the case today? No idea yet.

[AtlantaDan]

That's assuming the results we see on TV are sourced to the play call. Almost everything I've seen and read in the past 12 days argues that bigger plays are being schemed up and are there for the taking but Rudolph can't or won't pull the trigger.

Was that the case today? No idea yet.

Fichtner, who IMO has the Arians gene for blame shifting, may give his side as he did earlier in the season if he catches blame again for the play calling. And he has the perfect QB for that in Rudolph, who Fouts said during the broadcast takes the blame for every unsuccessful play whether it is his fault or not.

A few weeks ago the OL went public with their position Fichtner needed to let Rudolph do more. Rudolph is not going to say that so I will be interested if we hear from AV and Foster again.

On to the Rams

[NCSteeler]

That's assuming the results we see on TV are sourced to the play call. Almost everything I've seen and read in the past 12 days argues that bigger plays are being schemed up and are there for the taking but Rudolph can't or won't pull the trigger.

Was that the case today? No idea yet.

Best I could tell he looked hesitant and often looked like he pulled it down off his first read. Now is that receivers not getting open or him just not feeling it and wanting to be safe.

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[DesertSteel]

It was a risk. I'm still not sure I would have taken it. Hindsight is too much of a benefit in decisions such as these. Go back to that moment in time. We have two big issues. One is needing a game-changing defensive player, the other is needing a franchise QB because ours just went down and at his age, it may or may not be the end of his career. We're already in the hole with our record, and now we're about to bring out our unproven 2nd years QB to dig ourselves out.

In that scenario, I would say the safer bet is to keep the first round pick. The QB has a much larger affect on a football game than a safety. So, keep the first round pick. The higher it is the better, and it looks to be pretty high at this point of the season (game... 2? Can't remember exactly). Even if there isn't a QB that we want. We can trade out and pick up next year's first round pick. That gives us to first round picks to pair and move even higher if we need to do so. Because, again, Franchise QBs are more important than very good safeties.

Now, did Mike's gamble pay off with that trade? Maybe so. We're climbing back up the standings so we're not losing nearly the value in that first round pick that we thought we might have in the first few weeks. I'm almost happy at this point that he took it. But, let's not let hindsight cloud the context of the deal.

I was 110% happy about it when the deal was made and I'm 110% happy about it now. How's that hindsight by any definition? You're overthinking it. Minkah was the 11th pick last year and played great as a rookie. Where's the guesswork? All the guesswork was in the pick, not the player.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Best I could tell he looked hesitant and often looked like he pulled it down off his first read. Now is that receivers not getting open or him just not feeling it and wanting to be safe.

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Combination of both, Fichnter's play calling is safe but when Rudy is allowed to look down field he is to hesitant. Also doesn't help when Fichtner calls 2 run plays and leaves Rudolph 3rd and 8 to pass.

[Devilsdancefloor]

hero : fitzpatrick, watt

Goat: 4 minute offense

[BlackAndGold]

Dupree needs praise also. 2 sacks.

[Born2Steel]

Dupree needs praise also. 2 sacks.

Dupree's strip sack with fumble recovery lead to the winning TD. Bud definitely gets a gameball today. The entire defense played well and Butler dialed in when he needed to. Great defensive gameplan IMO.

[Steeler-in-west]

Steelers build a pass focused offense to maximize their HOF QB and "star talent" and everyone moans about moving away from "Steeler Football" and how a heavy dose of the run game is surely a cure all.

Now the team trots out a run and screen heavy gameplan to mask their injuries and the QBs inability to challenge defenses vertically in the NFL. Guess what? Everyone still moans.

Almost like running the ball without an aggressive and proficient passing offense is both pointless and typically wildly ineffective.

No one saw that coming. No one.

They should open up the playbook and have Rudolph throw downfield. We’re not going anywhere with this conservative game plan so might as well open it up and see what Rudolph has. He only thrown a few downfield passes with partial success, some overthrows, but nothing terrible.

[DesertSteel]

Goat: Dan Fouts. He is completely incompetent not to mention half-blind. Please let him retire.

[pczach]

Goat: Dan Fouts. He is completely incompetent not to mention half-blind. Please let him retire.

Couldn't agree more. He is constantly making definitive statements about things on the field, then is proven to be 100% wrong when the video is shown.

He is very hard to listen to.

[teegre]

We all agree on the game balls.

Here are a few goats:

JuJu: That INT went right off of both hands. Then, on that 4th-&-2, he has momentum, but tries to cut it back... which allows the DE to stop him for no gain. You needed 2 yards, JuJu!!!... keep running forward!!!

Mark Barron: Every time he was on the field, I cringe. He blew coverage on one TD, leaving his man uncovered. The announcers said it was Minkah, but just because Minkah was the “closest” Steeler doesn’t mean it was his responsibility. That said, it was Barron’s “best” game (which is sad, considering he allowed a gimme TD).

The refs: Duh. As bad as the PI call on Nelson was, the personal foul (on the Colts) on the punt was equally as awful.

Switzer / special teams: The opponents routinely return it to the 35, while we seem to barely get past the 15. Thankfully, Switzer made up for it by getting hurt.

Epstein: Didn’t kill himself.

Fichtner: That turtling with four minutes left would have made Cowher proud. Except, Cowher has The Bus (to kill the clock).

[86WARD]

We all agree on the game balls.

Here are a few goats:

JuJu: That INT went right off of both hands. Then, on that 4th-&-2, he has momentum, but tries to cut it back... which allows the DE to stop him for no gain. You needed 2 yards, JuJu!!!... keep running forward!!!

Mark Barron: Every time he was on the field, I cringe. He blew coverage on one TD, leaving his man uncovered. The announcers said it was Minkah, but just because Minkah was the “closest” Steeler doesn’t mean it was his responsibility. That said, it was Barron’s “best” game (which is sad, considering he allowed a gimme TD).

The refs: Duh. As bad as the PI call on Nelson was, the personal foul (on the Colts) on the punt was equally as awful.

Switzer / special teams: The opponents routinely return it to the 35, while we seem to barely get past the 15. Thankfully, Switzer made up for it by getting hurt.

Epstein: Didn’t kill himself.

Fichtner: That turtling with four minutes left would have made Cowher proud. Except, Cowher has The Bus (to kill the clock).

Does the return game goat go to Switzer or would it go to special teams blocking scheme? I man how many years have the Steelers been shit for years...is ypthat a coincidence that all these return guys have sucked or is it something bigger?

[teegre]

Does the return game goat go to Switzer or would it go to special teams blocking scheme? I man how many years have the Steelers been shit for years...is ypthat a coincidence that all these return guys have sucked or is it something bigger?

It’s 90% Danny Smith and 10% Switzer not being able to do the one thing he’s on the team to do.

AB had some good returns (which is why I don’t put all of the blame on Danny Smith).

[teegre]

Dupree's strip sack with fumble recovery lead to the winning TD. Bud definitely gets a gameball today. The entire defense played well and Butler dialed in when he needed to. Great defensive gameplan IMO.

Bust Dongpree 2018 (16 games):
5.5 sacks
13 QB hits
1 Forced Fumble


Bust Dongpree 2019 (8 games):
6.0 sacks
9 QB hits
2 Forced

[Craic]

Bust Dongpree 2018 (16 games):
5.5 sacks
13 QB hits
1 Forced Fumble


Bust Dongpree 2019 (8 games):
6.0 sacks
9 QB hits
2 Forced

So, now the question is . . . is this (A) Contract-year Dupree whom we'll not see again? (B) New-Scheme Dupree who will show up every season now? or (C) Finally Healed Dupree, whom we would have to worry about getting injured again?

Of the three, the first one concerns me the most. If the front office knows he's been playing through injuries and now we're finally seeing what he can do along with being schemed properly, then I'm okay with him sticking around. However, if B and C are both true, then I'm not so sure I want him next year.

[Lamberts_Lunatic]

I'm looking forward to this week's 'Dong Report'.

HERE HERE!!!

[86WARD]

It’s 90% Danny Smith and 10% Switzer not being able to do the one thing he’s on the team to do.

AB had some good returns (which is why I don’t put all of the blame on Danny Smith).

Did AB return kicks past his first couple seasons? I can’t recall him doing it but maybe?

I was only referring to kickoff returns...they have been horrendous...I can’t remember the last guy to return a kickoff for a TD (Antwan Randle El)?

[teegre]

Did AB return kicks past his first couple seasons? I can’t recall him doing it but maybe?

I was only referring to kickoff returns...they have been horrendous...I can’t remember the last guy to return a kickoff for a TD (Antwan Randle El)?

AB’s first touch as an NFL player was a kickoff return for a TD.

[AtlantaDan]

So, now the question is . . . is this (A) Contract-year Dupree whom we'll not see again? (B) New-Scheme Dupree who will show up every season now? or (C) Finally Healed Dupree, whom we would have to worry about getting injured again?

Of the three, the first one concerns me the most. If the front office knows he's been playing through injuries and now we're finally seeing what he can do along with being schemed properly, then I'm okay with him sticking around. However, if B and C are both true, then I'm not so sure I want him next year.

If Dupree would have been playing like this last season Steelers would have had a decision to make whether to lock him up with a new contract in 2019 before he could hit free agency in 2020

But edge rushers are a prized commodity and some other team with cap space to burn will overpay for Dupree while taking the risk he will revert to pre-contract year Dupree

Steelers then will go bottom feeding for an OLB in free agency as they have for ILB the past two seasons with predictably poor results

[teegre]

So, now the question is . . . is this (A) Contract-year Dupree whom we'll not see again? (B) New-Scheme Dupree who will show up every season now? or (C) Finally Healed Dupree, whom we would have to worry about getting injured again?

Of the three, the first one concerns me the most. If the front office knows he's been playing through injuries and now we're finally seeing what he can do along with being schemed properly, then I'm okay with him sticking around. However, if B and C are both true, then I'm not so sure I want him next year.

Bince was on Twitter saying that Bud has been fighting through injuries for years, and that this is the first time that Bud has been healthy.

That is a double-edged sword.

It’s good, because it means that there is potential there. It’s bad, because it means that he’s injury prone. And, as Bill Parcells used to say: “A player’s most important ability is avail-ability.”