^ Exactly. The days of Roethlisberger scoring 35 points every game are over. Good old days.
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And I'm concerned that Harris was a bit overhyped as a runner. It's not all the OL. He doesn't see the holes well.[/QUOTE]
What holes?
Anyone who thought we were going to roll through the first half of the season is/was kidding themselves. We all should have known Ben wasn’t going to carry this team on his back, it was going to be the defense (which was missing 4 key starters for most of the game). This team was going to need to rely on the defense for the first 5-6 games until the OL hopefully starts gelling and we can get our running game going enough to be average. At that point our offense would be average enough with an elite defense. You keep the 4 missing defenders in this game and we probably win, just like last week.
What holes?[/QUOTE]
Najee looks like a stud RB to me, and not overhyped. He has all the tools. Teams are stacking the box as there is no fear of downfield passing game. All his carries seem to come from shotgun which does not help him either.
So far the Matt Canada offense looks like the Randy Fichhtner offense, which tells me the offensive shortcomings are largely due to the play at the QB position.
Wow! To think that I could have been reading all this, when instead, I was out trying to ride a skateboard down steel handrails and dismounting on to my crotch every time….at age 60.
It's not the losing that's concerning, I don't think anyone was thinking we'd have it in the bag. Everyone knows the Raiders are a tough team and could very well win it.
It's the manner in which they lost. The offense looks like a dumpster fire and there's almost no positives to take from this. This team doesn't look like it's capable of scoring 20 points without the aid of a ST or defensive score. Sure, there'd be more room for hope if we just didn't lose Alualu for the season and TJ Watt for who knows how long (groin injuries tend to linger), and not to mention the other injuries on defense. For a team that was expected to lean on its defense to win games, well things are looking ugly from the get-go.
I figured we would be 1-1 after 2 games, I just figured it would have been opposite W’s and L’s. I also think we would have been 2-0 if we weren’t missing Hayden, Bush, Watt and Alualu.
I wouldn't trade TJ for any #1 unproven draft pick, bottom line is we need a change in the Qb position and the O coordinator needs a look at too.
I'd trade him for 2- #1 picks. The team is beyond terrible on offense and it's a 2 fold issue. QB and offensive line. Ben is capable of 2 types of throws, the 5 yard throw with RAC and the throw it deep and pray. The Offensive line is just as bad and a 1st round pick may help offset this. The funny thing is that a competent o line would help cover Ben's inadequacies and a young ,mobile QB would give the line some flexibility.
I wanted the Steelers to get Darnold in the off-season as insurance and to at least be a bridge qb. We could’ve had him for a draft pick, would’ve looked like a good move now. And he did outplay Winston today. Now, it’s either Ben bounces back or we get to see what Rudolph has got
We rode and died with Ben because he never died and he managed to right the ship in the past.
If he keeps stinking the joint up and I think there will be a change come November. The Steelers want to ride with Ben, but I also believe they are not going to tank the season to protect him.
Agreed, and I don’t see why that is such a problem honestly. Simply our OL isn’t all that good for anyone. Maybe people didn’t notice Ben out there running around fighting off defenders all game, getting hit almost every play. Our OL needs to grow, I am hopeful it can be a top 10 OL by the end of the season of playing together. If so, we have a great situation for a new QB to come into. And if what I think happens, happens, we will be playing for the AFCN with a solid running game and top defense this season.
For crying out loud, our offense goes against our D every damn day! Is the D told to hold back so they make the O feel good about themselves? Whatever happened to iron sharpens iron. There is no better way for the Oline to get better than going against our very own dline! Are they just walking through practice or are they actually getting after it?