It's NOT Over!!! (Steel Curtain Strikes Back!)

[Butch]

-Dinosaur.
-3 yards and cloud of mediocrity.
-Defense used to win championships "old timer"

- - - Updated - - -

OK, what if the Steelers make the playoffs with a 10-6 record, Rudolph at QB and a bunch of injuries to RB's and the 28th ranked offense? Does Tomlin get credit, or is it a dong?

I have been down on Tomlin, especially the not winning in the playoffs and playing down to lesser teams. We have had many years of under achieving and that was IMHO on Tomlin. Remember when he held Ben out of the Oakland game because he didn't want to interfere with the flow of the game? Some of his challenges were head scratching to say the least. These were all reasons I was ready to move on from Tomlin.

That being said I also have to give him credit for the team's performance this year. When Ben went down I did not expect much, mostly just wanted to see what we have in Rudolph. I wanted to see him progress but wasn't expecting much. I figured 500 would be a success, and anything beyond that was out of the realm of possibilities. The drafting of Busch and bringing in Minkah has really paid HUGE dividends and has transformed this team.

Our Offense has been leaned on hard to win us games. Scoring was not an issue but the D could never seem to get off the field when we needed it the most. We invested dearly in the Offense, were willing to break the bank for Bell and not sure if we could have kept AB we would not have done the same. I think losing those 2 actually worked in our favor. The injuries also seem to have been more of a blessing than I would have thought, but hopefully those are over. I am excited to see what this years team does and even more excited to see what Ben can do when he comes back next year.

I am willing to give credit for what he has done this year, maybe this is the year we over achieve for a change.

[Rotorhead]

I have been down on Tomlin, especially the not winning in the playoffs and playing down to lesser teams. We have had many years of under achieving and that was IMHO on Tomlin. Remember when he held Ben out of the Oakland game because he didn't want to interfere with the flow of the game? Some of his challenges were head scratching to say the least. These were all reasons I was ready to move on from Tomlin.

That being said I also have to give him credit for the team's performance this year. When Ben went down I did not expect much, mostly just wanted to see what we have in Rudolph. I wanted to see him progress but wasn't expecting much. I figured 500 would be a success, and anything beyond that was out of the realm of possibilities. The drafting of Busch and bringing in Minkah has really paid HUGE dividends and has transformed this team.

Our Offense has been leaned on hard to win us games. Scoring was not an issue but the D could never seem to get off the field when we needed it the most. We invested dearly in the Offense, were willing to break the bank for Bell and not sure if we could have kept AB we would not have done the same. I think losing those 2 actually worked in our favor. The injuries also seem to have been more of a blessing than I would have thought, but hopefully those are over. I am excited to see what this years team does and even more excited to see what Ben can do when he comes back next year.

I am willing to give credit for what he has done this year, maybe this is the year we over achieve for a change.

Pretty much sums up what I am thinking. Each W this season is just bonus at this point. I line the way Mason is progressing, love the way the Def is playing and the fact that we are in the playoff discussion after the hardest part of our schedule is a testament to Tomlin.

here’s hoping that we can get our walking wounded healed up for a playoff run.

[teegre]

If the receivers stop dropping the ball, we win these past two games handily... and win one other game.

Yesterday, they dropped a pass that would have given us another FG (instead of a punt) which would have made the end of the game faaaar less stressful. They gave the Colts a short field last week (tipped for an INT). They fumbled away the victory against the Ravens.

That is three more receptions that would have been huge... and they are making more than one drop per game.

SUMMATION:
If those "4 drops per game" dwindles down to "2 drops per game" for the regular season, we should be formidable. If they dwindle down to "0 drops per game" I would say that we would be nearly unstoppable.

[cubanstogie]

There is no denying that Tomlin has made some recent gambles that could have got him fired but appear to be paying off. Not gonna deny we miss AB but getting rid of him is justifiable with his behavior since. As Butch mentioned trading up for Bush, and getting MF when some were ready to pack it in was very questionable although I was fired up.going on 4th last night was sort of out of character but made a huge statement. As bad as this team has looked at times, had it not been for a fumble by conner or JuJu , a Moncreif drop falling into DB's hands this team could easily be 7-2.

[Fire Goodell]

I did predict over this last 3-game home stretch that if they could go 2-1 I like their chances of the playoffs.

They won all 3, now they have to beat AFCN opponents on the road. This game vs the Browns is tough, but for some reason I'm predicting 2-1 over this 3 game stretch again. I honestly feel confident in the Steelers' ability to beat the Browns / Bengals, but because of the history of this team to have a couple "WTF games", it's always a possibility.

Hopefully again, they'll win all 3

[Iron Steeler]

I did predict over this last 3-game home stretch that if they could go 2-1 I like their chances of the playoffs.

They won all 3, now they have to beat AFCN opponents on the road. This game vs the Browns is tough, but for some reason I'm predicting 2-1 over this 3 game stretch again. I honestly feel confident in the Steelers' ability to beat the Browns / Bengals, but because of the history of this team to have a couple "WTF games", it's always a possibility.

Hopefully again, they'll win all 3

I am so nervous for the next three games. Part of me thinks we a due for our clunker and get caught napping. The other part of me is optimistic that things start clicking for Mason and finally gets into a groove .

Side note: We don't know how Ben would have looked with this WR corps. They are all collectively growing as a unit, and there is no security blanket go to guy that Ben had for about 10+ Years. Im sorry Juju is not there yet.

I'm not trying to coddle Mason, but I think he hears all the chirps and the criticisms and I know he is hungry for people start taking him seriously as a starting QBs in this league.

Realist in me says we go 2-1 , Pessimist in me says we go 1-2, the dreamer in me wants 3-0!!

[Craic]

I did predict over this last 3-game home stretch that if they could go 2-1 I like their chances of the playoffs.

They won all 3, now they have to beat AFCN opponents on the road. This game vs the Browns is tough, but for some reason I'm predicting 2-1 over this 3 game stretch again. I honestly feel confident in the Steelers' ability to beat the Browns / Bengals, but because of the history of this team to have a couple "WTF games", it's always a possibility.

Hopefully again, they'll win all 3

Honestly, I'm with you. It seems as though this team just finds ways to pull out wins from losses. Usually, from the defense, but the offense also gets it together long enough to make sure we get the W. Funny, while I wouldn't claim the defense is as good as 2008 and the offense, all said and done, is probably at the same level or just a step higher, this season is really starting to feel like that season with a defense that is beginning to feel special.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

If the receivers stop dropping the ball, we win these past two games handily... and win one other game.

Yesterday, they dropped a pass that would have given us another FG (instead of a punt) which would have made the end of the game faaaar less stressful. They gave the Colts a short field last week (tipped for an INT). They fumbled away the victory against the Ravens.

That is three more receptions that would have been huge... and they are making more than one drop per game.

SUMMATION:
If those "4 drops per game" dwindles down to "2 drops per game" for the regular season, we should be formidable. If they dwindle down to "0 drops per game" I would say that we would be nearly unstoppable.

I was curious who leads the team in drops. Maybe no surprise.

-Dionte Johnson 4
-Moncrief 4
-Samuels 3
-JuJu, Washington, McDonald all have 2

[teegre]

I was curious who leads the team in drops. Maybe no surprise.

-Dionte Johnson 4
-Moncrief 4
-Samuels 3
-JuJu, Washington, McDonald all have 2

Coming out of college, DJ had a high drop rate. He also made unbelievable catches. As I said back in April: he’ll drop one in every 11 targets, but 2 of those catches will be phenomenal (and make up for the one drop).

That said... I know that two of the balls which he dropped, he had no business being anywhere near catching: diving back & trying to scoop the ball off of the ground. I wonder if those count as “drops”. If so, not too bad.

Then again, in the Rams game, I know he had an “actual” drop (on third down?) which was a d’oh moment. But, again, I’m pretty sure that DJ will make up for it.

Regardless, thank you for those stats.

[HollywoodSteel]

Honestly, I'm with you. It seems as though this team just finds ways to pull out wins from losses. Usually, from the defense, but the offense also gets it together long enough to make sure we get the W. Funny, while I wouldn't claim the defense is as good as 2008 and the offense, all said and done, is probably at the same level or just a step higher, this season is really starting to feel like that season with a defense that is beginning to feel special.

You’re right. I remember in 2008 I just expected the defense to make a splash play to win games, and they usually did. For the first time in a long time I have had that same feeling this year towards the end of games.

Like when our offense turtled and failed to close it out, I wasn’t actually as worried as I was in the same situation over the past few years. I EXPECTED a splash play.

This defense really is something special. And let’s not forget how money Bos has been. Man, if we’d had this last year I believe we would have been Super Bowl bound.

[st33lersguy]

The problem with this team is the formula to beating them is simple, don't give up a defensive TD and don't commit multiple turnovers, that's it. This team isn't going to score defensive TDs every game

[Rotorhead]

Well, it was a good run, defense is a bright spot. Too many injuries on offense to think we can win many more. Good news is it is a long week and then we have Cindy, so maybe some will get healthy before the Browns rematch.

[Fire Goodell]

I predicted 2-1 over this 3 week stretch, with this one of course being the most likely one we'd lose. How they bounce back will be important

[HollywoodSteel]

We just don’t have a QB. Ben has had some bad games but at least he bounces back because he’s actually good at at his job.

At this point I wouldn’t even get pissed if we picked up Kaepernick. Everyone and their mother is going to point out that he’s better than Rudolph, and they’ll all be right. Maybe he could at least run the ball, since none of our other players can.

But I guess there’s really no point. He’d have no one to throw to anyway.

[Rotorhead]

Our only hope is that Juju comes back after a long week (I doubt DJ will be back anytime soon) and maybe the extra practice will help our WRs and MR get comfortable enough with each other to be a little more productive. I don’t see Conner back for the foreseeable future. We currently have 3 WRs who are healthy on our roster, looks like we will be looking for more WRs to help today!

[Fire Goodell]

If we're starting Washington, Coleman, and Holton next week, and Conner also out, they won't even beat the bengals

[86WARD]

Conner...in/out. He’s not a difference maker.

[Shoes]

Conner...in/out. He’s not a difference maker.

Conner has the Nix injury bug

[DesertSteel]

It's time to bring in a RB off the street. Who's out there??

[Steeler-in-west]

It’s not over but without Conner, Nix, Juju, and DJ, it doesn’t look good

[Fire Goodell]

It's time to bring in a RB off the street. Who's out there??

Jay Ajayi? I mean worth a tryout to see if he's healthy. Can't be worse than what we currently have. I'm VERY disappointed with Samuels, that guy looks average in every sense of the word.

[Mojouw]

Jay Ajayi? I mean worth a tryout to see if he's healthy. Can't be worse than what we currently have. I'm VERY disappointed with Samuels, that guy looks average in every sense of the word.

Signed with the Eagles earlier today.

[Fire Goodell]

Colbert humps the dog again

[tube517]

Jay Ajayi? I mean worth a tryout to see if he's healthy. Can't be worse than what we currently have. I'm VERY disappointed with Samuels, that guy looks average in every sense of the word.

Samuels isn't an everydown back. He's more of a 3rd down receiving back/occasional RB.

Trey Edmunds runs like a practice squad RB and blocks like Dri Archer.

But, yeah, they fell asleep and let Jay Ajayi go back to the Iggles.

[Rotorhead]

Any other RB’s available? JaySam has definitely been a disappointment, but maybe that has more to do with the OL than his ability right now, and the fact that teams are just stacking the box because they know we have no WRs that can catch!

[Fire Goodell]

Any other RB’s available? JaySam has definitely been a disappointment, but maybe that has more to do with the OL than his ability right now, and the fact that teams are just stacking the box because they know we have no WRs that can catch!

Yeah honestly I wish they'd stop trying to throw it to Holton entirely. 50/50 catches with him are more like 0/100

[teegre]

No Conner.
No Nix.
No JuJu.
No DJ.
No Pouncey.

SUMMATION:
The Steelers will simply have to score (or, at least, set up scores) with their defense.