Notebook: Ben wants to light up scoreboard

[fansince'76]

Sigh. Here we go again.

1st down. Dang it Arians! You should have ran the ball.
2nd down. Dang it Arians, you should have passed the ball.
3rd down. Dang it Arians, you should have passed the ball.
4th down punt.

Next series.
1st down. Come on Arians, you should have passed the ball.
2nd down, come on, you hsould have run the ball.
3rd down. Come on, you should have run the ball.
Punt.

Next series.
1st down Damn you Arians. RUN the ball.
2nd down Damn you Arains, RUN the ball.
3rd down Damn yo uArians, Run the ball.
punt

Next series.
1st down DAMN IT! I said PASS IT!
2nd down DAMN IT! PASS THE BALL!!!!
3rd down. DAMN YOU! PASS IT!

Next series.

1st down: 70-yard TD run up-the-gut by Mendenhall.

WOOHOO! Awesome call, Ben!

Fire Arians!

It's going to be a long season if this starts up.

Fixed.

[suitanim]

Great minds think alike.

[steeldevil]

I don't mind Arians at all like a lot of people. The ONLY time I ever cursed him or anything was when we threw the ball about 5 times in the game @Cleveland in 09. Ya know.... the one we lost that we should all try to forget about. It was like 0 degrees and 30 MPH wind and we throw the ball 50 times? First 2 plays were runs by Mendy for 9 yards. 3rd and 1 we go shotgun empty with 5 wide.... Really? Other than that he has been fine the last few years in my eyes.

[The Duke]

Sigh. Here we go again.

1st down. Dang it Arians! You should have ran the ball.
2nd down. Dang it Arians, you should have passed the ball.
3rd down. Dang it Arians, you should have passed the ball.
4th down punt.

Next series.
1st down. Come on Arians, you should have passed the ball.
2nd down, come on, you hsould have run the ball.
3rd down. Come on, you should have run the ball.
Punt.

Next series.
1st down Damn you Arians. RUN the ball.
2nd down Damn you Arains, RUN the ball.
3rd down Damn yo uArians, Run the ball.
punt

Next series.
1st down DAMN IT! I said PASS IT!
2nd down DAMN IT! PASS THE BALL!!!!
3rd down. DAMN YOU! PASS IT!

Next series.

Fire Arians!



It's going to be a long season if this starts up.

And at the end of the game- "We won! But in spite of arians...."

[Steeldude]

What if that's done and a player simply fails to make a play? For example, Ben badly underthrowing a wide open Wallace in the Super Bowl, which would have been a sure TD? Or Sweed dropping a sure TD pass in the 2008 AFCCG (which thankfully didn't cost us the game), and then making matters worse by faking an injury and costing us our final timeout of the first half and a chance to at least salvage 3 points out of it? Not to mention Sweed dropping another sure TD pass against the Bengals the following season which did wind up costing us that game? How does that fall on poor play calling?

it depends in the situation. of course players still a have to execute, but calling predictable plays or plays that are difficult to execute for the current situation is not good. for example, running on 4th and long, it puts the players in a very difficult situation to execute.

seems to me people are saying/implying the players should execute any play called regardless of the situation.

[Steeldude]

i wonder if arians will prepare the offense to go against nickel defenses. before he never game planned for 3-4 defenses. maybe it's a baby step program.

[HometownGal]

seems to me people are saying/implying the players should execute any play called regardless of the situation.

Not 100% of the time - of course not, but these plays are all diligently worked on in practice and if not executed successfully, I doubt BA is going to call them in a game situation, ya big crab!

for example, running on 4th and long, it puts the players in a very difficult situation to execute.

They're not getting paid the big bucks for their looks.

Father, Suit, Duke and Gary - Spot ON!

[suitanim]

LOL at "Sunny" and his usual (incorrect) doom and gloom.

You want to see Arians success against a 3-4 defense? Look no further than the AFCCG last year, when the Steelers lines up, and smashed the football right down the Jets top 5 rushing defenses throat. They ran 64 plays, 43 were rushes for 166 yards. Nobody had done that to the Jets until Arians did it. He mixed up the plays, and, most importantly, we were 6-11 converting 3rd downs.

Interestingly, here is a breakdown of just how successful the Steelers were in that 2009 season against the 3-4. 6-2 against 3-4, 3-5 against 4-3. But you know, these are just facts, and not to be mixed up with the ever-important uninformed and biased opinions of people who hate the OC.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2010/08...-3-4-defenses/

As far as Arians not game planning against the nickel, that statement is so absurd I really can't even address it...

Finally, if the Steelers actually ran the ball on 4th and 12 (and I can't recall a time they've done that), I'd have to know the circumstances. My guess would be that they were well outside their own territory, lined up in some kind of spread and ran a draw. Regardless, the only reason to try something like running on 4th and long would be the element of surprise.

[suitanim]

By the way, that was an exceptionally well called game last night offensively. I especially liked the use of the middle screen to neutralize the Eagles aggressive defense. Nice mix of run/pass with a few shots down the filed mixed in.

[Count Steeler]

The way the offense looked last night, Ben should get his wish fulfilled. He has depth at WR, solid TE, depth at RB. If the OLine can stay healthy, wow.

[Edman]

No better case in point, today's debacle.

Anyone still like this fancy pants offense? Just cut out the crap and stick to what you do best, Ben.

[86WARD]

Glad they stuck with Scott and Legursky...exploring McKinnie would've been silly.

[stillers4me]

Ben wants to light up scoreboard

Still waiting.

[X-Terminator]

No better case in point, today's debacle.

Anyone still like this fancy pants offense? Just cut out the crap and stick to what you do best, Ben.

It would be fine if they had an OL worth a damn. They are the reason why the offense will never reach its full potential. All that talent being wasted because the "hogs" can't block for shit.

I say bench Colon and Legursky and put Gilbert and Essex in next week. What do they have to lose? They couldn't possibly be any worse.

[Edman]

It would be fine if they had an OL worth a damn. They are the reason why the offense will never reach its full potential. All that talent being wasted because the "hogs" can't block for shit.

It doesn't need to reach it's full potential. It doesn't need to light up the scoreboard every week. It just needs to get the job done. Our O-Line is crap, but it could also help if our "Skill players" didn't fumble the ball, throw interceptions, and show it's complete ineffectiveness in the Red Zone.

[X-Terminator]

It doesn't need to reach it's full potential. It doesn't need to light up the scoreboard every week. It just needs to get the job done. Our O-Line is crap, but it could also help if our "Skill players" didn't fumble the ball, throw interceptions, and show it's complete ineffectiveness in the Red Zone.

That may be, but I also recall Ben having to run for his life back there because there were 2 guys in his face not long after he took the snap. No, it doesn't excuse his poor throws right to Ed Reed or Moore fumbling in the red zone, but it is what it is.

[Count Steeler]

What was his quarterback rating today?

[86WARD]

Ugh...you really want to see that?