Steelers- Bengals post game thoughts.

[zulater]

Is it always best to defer on the kickoff? Maybe it was a play to the elements, but honestly against the Bengals I would have preffered to lead with the offense.

Of course if Lamar doesn't go offsides that first posssession is a 3 and out, and we did score on the opening possession of the 3rd quarter, so i guess Tomlin can't be faulted. My bad.

I predicted that Ben would go without the shield in the second half, honestly, just ask my son Scott.

Seriously I could tell it was bothering him on some level, I really expected him to go without it in the second half.

What the hell does it take for the refs to call roughing the passer when in favor of Ben? Maybe if an opposing player violated Ben with the pointed end of the first down marker 5seconds after Ben delievered the ball? Nah, that wouldn't do it. Ben is fair game, at any point, any time. I'm just waiting for him to be sacked going to the sideline on a called timeout, and not have it called.

That catch Randle El made today is as good as catch as I've seen a Steeler make since Lynn Swann retired.

I love you Troy, but please, no pitch out's ok?

btw did you notice LeBeau's reaction to Troy after that play? Here's Tomlin all happy and high fiving Troy, and LeBeau went right over and chewed Troy's ass out. ( rightfully so imo, not hating on Tomlin, I just thought LeBeau had the right reaction)

Antonio Brown, don't try fielding that punt!!??!!

I thought Mendenhall had a good game today. Maybe not on the stat sheet, but he ran hard today, and made every yard available to him, plus some.

Hines Ward, washed up? Don't think so. Every time they try to write Hines off, he jumps up and has a great game.

How lucky are we to get two quality kickers like we did in season? Great find FO.

Nice to see Ryan Clark have a good game.

Great game Lamarr! I see that contract drive kicking in.

[Godfather]

btw did you notice LeBeau's reaction to Troy after that play? Here's Tomlin all happy and high fiving Troy, and LeBeau went right over and chewed Troy's ass out. ( rightfully so imo, not hating on Tomlin, I just thought LeBeau had the right reaction)

Well, they needed to go good cop-bad cop for a play like that, so that's probably just how they divided it up.

Tomlin reamed Hines a few weeks back for celebrating during a play.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Those two near-turnovers could've been HORRIBLE. (Troy's lateral and Brown trying to field that Bouncing Betty )

[zulater]

Jonathan Scott leads the league in holding penalties, despite only playing about 1/3 of the offensive snaps of the team? How the hell could Essexx be any worse?

[HometownGal]

Nice assessment of the game, Zu.

That catch Randle El made today is as good as catch as I've seen a Steeler make since Lynn Swann retired.

I agree totally. That catch was a vision of beauty! Maybe that catch will shut some of the El doubters up.

I love you Troy, but please, no pitch out's ok?

OMG I thought I was hallucinating or somethin' when I saw Troy lateraling that ball. Lebeau was right, imho, for chompin' on his ass on the sidelines.

With all of the rain coming down, I was pleasantly surprised that there were no fumbles on our side of the ball. Not so pleasantly surprised that the Bungles didn't cough it up but I'll take the 2 Cartoon Pick-6's.

The Bungles did what the bungles do best - they bungled.

[Wallace108]

What the hell does it take for the refs to call roughing the passer when in favor of Ben?

I've been seeing this same sentiment all over the board. Based on what we've seen lately, the hits on Ben SHOULD have drawn flags. But there were also a few hits on Palmer that should have drawn flags (based on the new and not improved NFL). And I think it was Clark who hit T.O. (same hit as in the Bills game) and no flag was thrown.

We've all been bitching that the NFL is turning into a wuss league. Then today, there were no flags for "illegal" hits ... on EITHER team. And yet everyone is bitching. I thought today's game was EXACTLY how it should be called.

[Dino 6 Rings]

Lots of work needs to be done with the Red Zone offense. Penalties are also hurting us in big spots in these games. Need to get those 2 things worked out in the next 3 weeks. Gives us something to improve upon and focus on.

The Defense is Championship Caliber, sure, the Secondary has been torched a couple times this season, but as long as Troy is on the field, I can believe in a big spot, in a big game, our D will make a Big Play.

Running game seemed a little speradic today, would like to see more push from the oline and more agressive run calls, like when they know you're running, just run it at them anyway. But I've wanted that for a while now. Mendy looks good out there, as long as he's holding onto the rock and not letting it pop out, he's in my good graces.

Ben is a freaking beast. Like, seriously...somewhere in his heritage there was a Viking...the guy is a warrior.

Ward. I've been trying to figure out what jersey to get my 1 year old boy. I've made up my mind, Hines...you're a freaking champion.

coaches, I liked the agressive attacking defense even with the lead, there was a sniff of a prevent at the end there but Troy made a play to lock up the game at the end. No suprise there.

Kicking game was good enough, return game, not bad. One muff, he'll not do that again after an arse chewing in the film room.

Great game over all, plenty to fix and improve upon, but a win is a win and this was a Divisional/Conference win and helps in the long term goal of getting to the playoffs.

Beat the Teams you are Supposed to Beat. Great Job Steelers!

[Akagi]

We've all been bitching that the NFL is turning into a wuss league. Then today, there were no flags for "illegal" hits ... on EITHER team. And yet everyone is bitching. I thought today's game was EXACTLY how it should be called.

[zulater]

I've been seeing this same sentiment all over the board. Based on what we've seen lately, the hits on Ben SHOULD have drawn flags. But there were also a few hits on Palmer that should have drawn flags (based on the new and not improved NFL). And I think it was Clark who hit T.O. (same hit as in the Bills game) and no flag was thrown.

We've all been bitching that the NFL is turning into a wuss league. Then today, there were no flags for "illegal" hits ... on EITHER team. And yet everyone is bitching. I thought today's game was EXACTLY how it should be called.

I understand what you're saying, but at the same token I thought the Bengals got away with a few that were way more over the line than anything the Steelers did today. Ben again got smacked in the face mask, no flag. Then the play where Ben got his ankle rolled up on, he clearly had gotten rid of the ball, the defender clearly saw it, yet still went ahead and took down Ben, injuring him in the proccess.

[BigNastyDefense]

I've been seeing this same sentiment all over the board. Based on what we've seen lately, the hits on Ben SHOULD have drawn flags. But there were also a few hits on Palmer that should have drawn flags (based on the new and not improved NFL). And I think it was Clark who hit T.O. (same hit as in the Bills game) and no flag was thrown.

We've all been bitching that the NFL is turning into a wuss league. Then today, there were no flags for "illegal" hits ... on EITHER team. And yet everyone is bitching. I thought today's game was EXACTLY how it should be called.

I agree that the new rules suck and that it's the "new and unimproved" NFL.

However, if the NFL wants the QB's protected, then they should protect all the quarterbacks in the same way. Not just Brady/Manning/Brees/etc. I know Ben is hard to bring down and is the toughest son of a bitch on the field today. But when he releases the ball and gets hit well afterward, throw the fucking flag. If he's being roughed up after a sack, throw the fucking flag. If he is being hit in the head, throw the fucking flag.

I think all we are asking for is that the refs make the calls consistently. If it's a foul on one QB, then it should be a flag on all QB's.

[zulater]

Did OchoStinko and T.O play in the second half today?

[Wallace108]

Did OchoStinko and T.O play in the second half today?

[Devilsdancefloor]

Jonathan Scott leads the league in holding penalties, despite only playing about 1/3 of the offensive snaps of the team? How the hell could Essexx be any worse?

he plays better at LT Scott is just making all of us mad

[BuddhaBus]

It is time for Jonathan Scott to be voted off of Steeler Island IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!

[SteelerFanInStl]

It is time for Jonathan Scott to be voted off of Steeler Island IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!

Yep, he sucks.

[Steeldude]

pathetic is the red zone as usual.

woodley makes an appearance. i doubt he'll make another one very soon. what's the rate at? 1 good game then 6 invisible games? i am still not impressed with woodley. he needs to show some consistency. especially when TEs are blocking him. i wish a lone TE would block harrison instead of a lineman, TE and a RB.

as for the O-line. they all suck. didn't kemo have 4 holding penalties last week? the line is clueless and very untalented. pouncey is the only bright spot for the future. the rookie(pouncey) and the dinosaur(adams) are the best the steelers have.

BR showed great toughness, but still holds the ball too long. does arians call pass plays that are too deep or does BR have trouble reading the field?

mendenhall looks to have shed the "i am afraid to get hit" routine. he was running hard.

the refs totally ignored the late hits on BR and the hit in the head on BR. will anyone get fined? no. would harrison be fined for those hits? yes.

what have the steelers needed since 2002? O-line talent or at least some marginal effort put forth into assembling a good O-line.

[zulater]

BR showed great toughness, but still holds the ball too long. does arians call pass plays that are too deep or does BR have trouble reading the field?

From the best I can remember, Ben was guilty of holding the ball too long on only one occasion today, the first of the back to back sacks that took us out of fg range on the possession that immediatly preceeded Woodley's TD.

http://www.steelerslounge.com/2010/12/woodley-hurries/

Speaking of woodley, I think your assesment of his play is a bit too harsh. He's having a better year than most people realize.

.

[zulater]

I think it's fairly evident that LeBeau is mixing up his coverage schemes better since the Patriot debacle, also he's dialing up the blitzes better too.

[zulater]

Despite not scoring a single offensive touchdown, the Pittsburgh Steelers cruised to an easy 23-7 victory over the hapless Cincinnati Bengals yesterday. It was far from a pretty, at least offensively speaking, but this Steeler team has clearly learned from last year’s mistakes. They find a way to win the games they should win instead of playing to level of their competition.

Although when it comes to the Bungles, it’s almost impossible to play that low.

Cincy scored on their opening drive which would be their one and only fleeting moment of competence. And even that was tainted by massive assistance from a clearly biased officiating crew. Had they not been gifted 20 yards and a spot on the 1 yard line thanks to a ridiculous pass interference penalty against Ike Taylor, the Bungles wouldn’t have crossed mid-field until late in the fourth quarter. The only question was how long the Steelers sputtering offense would allow them to hang around before putting the game away.

Ben Roethlisberger is made of iron. Or steel. Or adamantium. Whatever your super-strong metal of choice. I don’t think even Ivan Drago could break him.

Big Ben took the kind of beating usually reserved for pinatas or Tom Cable’s ex-wives. Cincy’s four sacks don’t begin to convey the number of hits this man absorbed, most of which were so very very late I could time them with an hourglass. The amount of filthy and illegal shenanigans the Bengals got away with was absolutely disgraceful. The Steelers got so fed up a mini-battle royal erupted after the game. Although nobody was victimized more than Big Ben. Following one sack, a cowardly Bengal attempted to knee his broken nose. Later, another sacker fell on his broken-sprained ankle. On just a single play, Ben was smacked upside the helmet (again), then horsecollared (again) when he escaped to discover not a single flag from the refs (again).

To prove they did indeed have yellow hankies in their pockets, the officials threw them quite often on the Steelers offensive line. LT Jonathan Scott is now the 2nd most penalized linemen in the NFL. Unfortunately, most of these flags are justified. Even though I did appreciate Steeler Nation greeting the officials with a “Refs, You Suck!” chant. That began shortly after two consecutive holding penalties turned a 1st and 10 at midfield into a 1st and 30 deep in our own end.....read more...http://nicepickcowher.com/