Now can we put away Arians vs. Haley?

[Craic]

So, what did we learn to night?

1. Ben missed a simple pass that would have been seven points. We settled for three.

2. We had a couple drops, that would have put a different face on drives.

3. We had a few penalties that called back good plays, or put the offense in a bad position.

4. In the end, we scored 19 points, just like last year.


Conclusion:

Haley called bad plays. He called good plays.
Arians called bad plays. He called good plays.

Sometimes players don't execute, turning a good play into a bad play.
And sometimes, injuries on the line really hurt an OC's game plan.

SO can we just leave it alone from this point forward? I say that because inevitably, we're going to either see a "Haley Sucks" thread, or a "Arians Sucks, thank god for Haley" thread (completely ignoring this game) soon.

[fansince'76]

The common thread? A craptastic OL! It all starts up front.

[polamalubeast]

I liked the offense when it was the no-huddle

The Steelers have scored 2 TD and 2 field on the next four drives, but it is the defense which cost the game

[SteelerEmpire]

Yea. Haley pulled an Arians tonight. Long story short, this team is VERY unpolished. The coaching staff had no answers...total deer's in headlights...

[Craic]

Yea. Haley pulled an Arians tonight. Long story short, this team is VERY unpolished. The coaching staff had no answers...total deer's in headlights...

Sigh, and this is what I mean. Why not "Arians" pulled a Haley while he was here? My point is, it is very easy being a armchair OC, but what both OC's are having to deal with, is far, far more than we can ever imagine.

[Devilsdancefloor]

Preacher if you get a chance watch the colts game from today that will tell you alot of the differences plus i think we went away from the short passing to soon, but it is one game im not ready to get my pitchforks out yet

[polamalubeast]

The offense will be good if he plays the no-huddle

[Edman]

Not even close, Preacher. Try again.

Haley went into this game with an incredible gameplan. Slow the game down and leave Manning on the Sidelines to help the Defense. We were moving the ball and chewing up clock, quick passes to neutalize the Broncos rush, Slants, and use of motion and playaction. The Offense just didn't execute in the Red Zone, and the Defense just wasn't even there that it didn't even matter.

Until I see bullshit gameplans like throwing the ball 40-50 times in bad Cleveland weather, Haley is nowhere near Arians. We've seen one game of Haley's line of planning, and he's already light years ahead of Arians.

[fansince'76]

Not even close, Preacher. Try again.

Haley went into this game with an incredible gameplan. Slow the game down and leave Manning on the Sidelines. We were moving the ball and chewing up clock. The Offense just didn't execute in the Red Zone, and the Defense just wasn't even there that it didn't even matter.

Until I see bullshit like throwing the ball 40-50 times in bad Cleveland weather, Haley is nowhere near Arians.

At the end of the day - 19 points total. Same as last year.

Completely dominate in time of possession in the third quarter, yet still got outscored in that quarter. Same as last year.

[SteelerEmpire]

The run was stopped, the D was stopped, the O-line was out-gunned as well. Suisham was the most consistent and impressive Steeler tonight... never thought I'd ever say that

[HollywoodSteel]

The key now is to see if Haley will learn from his mistakes, if so that will make him an upgrade over Arians. It should always be about playing to your strengths. Our strength is Ben and our playmaking receivers. Sprinkle In some runs to keep them on their toes but don't run every first and second down. And more play action. It almost always works.

[tube517]

Arians, Haley, it won't matter if the defense sucks and we have to sign up guys off the street for our always healthy OL.

[Craic]

Not even close, Preacher. Try again.

Haley went into this game with an incredible gameplan. Slow the game down and leave Manning on the Sidelines to help the Defense. We were moving the ball and chewing up clock, quick passes to neutalize the Broncos rush, Slants, and use of motion and playaction. The Offense just didn't execute in the Red Zone, and the Defense just wasn't even there that it didn't even matter.

Until I see bullshit gameplans like throwing the ball 40-50 times in bad Cleveland weather, Haley is nowhere near Arians. We've seen one game of Haley's line of planning, and he's already light years ahead of Arians.

Let's see if I got this right. . . .

Run, run, 3-9 and throw long for a first down, is a much better game plan than pass, pass, 3-10 throw long for a first down.

Gotcha.

[X-Terminator]

At the end of the day - 19 points total. Same as last year.

Completely dominate in time of possession in the third quarter, yet still got outscored in that quarter. Same as last year.

And I thought that was the main reason why pretty much every fan wanted Arians booted? That they didn't score enough points? Well, let it be known that Arians' offense scored more points than Haley's offense this week.

[zulater]

I think I'll probably give Haley a few more weeks before I suggest we scrap the offense.

[polamalubeast]

And I thought that was the main reason why pretty much every fan wanted Arians booted? That they didn't score enough points? Well, let it be known that Arians' offense scored more points than Haley's offense this week.

In fact...no since 7 of the 21 points of the Colts was a pick 6

[X-Terminator]

In fact...no since 7 of the 21 points of the Colts was a pick 6

Noted. All I saw was the 21 by the Colts...didn't look at the stats.

Anyway, I certainly am going to give Haley plenty of rope. He did have a good game plan tonight, but execution was lacking, just like it has been for most of the past 5 years. Having a patchwork OL...again...certainly does not help. What I DO want to see out of him is realizing that they will not be able to run the ball behind that OL and use more of the short passing game that was working pretty well tonight.

[zulater]

Noted. All I saw was the 21 by the Colts...didn't look at the stats.

Anyway, I certainly am going to give Haley plenty of rope. He did have a good game plan tonight, but execution was lacking, just like it has been for most of the past 5 years. Having a patchwork OL...again...certainly does not help. What I DO want to see out of him is realizing that they will not be able to run the ball behind that OL and use more of the short passing game that was working pretty well tonight.

I think the running game will get better when the backs get their rythm.

[bayz101]

If your worried about Haley after this game, I've got bad news for you....The offense wasn't the problem tonight. It was the defense. Granted a defense without Clark, but it was them nonetheless.

And oh --- don't blame Troy. He had Manning nearly shit himself TWICE in a span no less than 20 seconds. To the point that he called a timeout!

[Count Steeler]

We need to do something about the O Line. Might be worth considering getting rid of Kugler just to break the pattern of injuries. I don't know how serious Foster and Gilbert are yet, but if they are out for 1-2 games or longer, we are in serious trouble.

[suitanim]

The first few possessions we were VERY predictable. The formula was run-run-pass. When we got into goalline situations, it went pass-pass-pass (or pretty close). There were some nice play calls, but the offense was largely MORE predictable than last year. Which is irrelevant, actually, because as Preach points out, it is EXECUTION that counts. For waht it's worth, I liked Haley's game plan, just wish it was better executed. The blocking up front was suspect, we definitely NEED Mendenhall, Wallace and Ben need to work together a little more, and I think we'll be just fine.

Also, let's not dismiss Denver's defense. You know, they have a DC who put together a game plan too, and his was pretty effective. They upgraded their D from last year, an they are definitely going to be (barring major injuries) a HUGE factor in the AFC title race. And Denver is a tough place to play, and hasn't been kind to us.

This loss is just one "L". No need to panic. There was plenty of good to build on.

[Butch]

So, what did we learn to night?

1. Ben missed a simple pass that would have been seven points. We settled for three.

2. We had a couple drops, that would have put a different face on drives.

3. We had a few penalties that called back good plays, or put the offense in a bad position.

4. In the end, we scored 19 points, just like last year.


Conclusion:

Haley called bad plays. He called good plays.
Arians called bad plays. He called good plays.

Sometimes players don't execute, turning a good play into a bad play.
And sometimes, injuries on the line really hurt an OC's game plan.

SO can we just leave it alone from this point forward? I say that because inevitably, we're going to either see a "Haley Sucks" thread, or a "Arians Sucks, thank god for Haley" thread (completely ignoring this game) soon.

It's only week one Preach the jury is still out. Give Haley some time to either sink or swim. At least he didn't put in a passing attack against a team that was the worst rush d in the league...yet.

[Devilsdancefloor]

quick passes steeler nation needs to channel this to haley

[Pristas]

If your worried about Haley after this game, I've got bad news for you....The offense wasn't the problem tonight. It was the defense. Granted a defense without Clark, but it was them nonetheless.

And oh --- don't blame Troy. He had Manning nearly shit himself TWICE in a span no less than 20 seconds. To the point that he called a timeout!

Ha, I loved that, then they got a delay of game penalty!!!

I blame the thin air for our defense's lack of performance. It is mile high after all. Ben was spectacular. He was putting passes in places that maybe three other QB's in the league could. Brown and Wallace both looked great, so did Sanders. Give credit to Pryor. He broke up several key plays for us. He played lights out! For most of the game, Starks did a great job. Once Legursky took over at RG, is when the dam started to break. Dwyer is our best back right now. And he got far too few carries. I don't know why we used a roster spot on B Batch. One major problem of the night is that we didn't run any screens to Rainey. He wanted the ball so badley he almost burst! He was trying to field a kick buy jumping up in the back of the endzone. Man is crazy, but in a good way. Haley needs to make sure his o-line is working before he calls 80% run plays in the first half. Maybe they aren't quite ready for that. I will say this, most of you are wrong with the stuff, stuff, pass for 10. Redman typically ran for about 3-5, twice and that brought us a 3rd and 3 or 3rd and 5. Ben converted a lot of those with his arm, but all he needed was a short pass. Manning was simply Manning, and he loves to beat us, so his ego is bigger.I so wanted to wipe that coy smile off his face all second half. With even a slightly improved o-line, we would have won this game, on the road, at mile high, against Manning and a great Bronco defense. We are easily still a 12-4 team.

[Chidi29]

And I thought that was the main reason why pretty much every fan wanted Arians booted? That they didn't score enough points? Well, let it be known that Arians' offense scored more points than Haley's offense this week.

Despite the fact that anti-Arians' argument doesn't even hold much water. That for an eight week span last year when Ben wasn't hurt and when the team wasn't rusty off the lockout, we were a top five scoring offense.

[cold-hard-steel]

I liked the offense when it was the no-huddle

The Steelers have scored 2 TD and 2 field on the next four drives, but it is the defense which cost the game

Amen!!!!

[cold-hard-steel]

Arians has no biz being mentioned in this loss.

[cold-hard-steel]

We lossed the first game,i'm over it.Time to move on.

[pepsyman1]

Despite the fact that anti-Arians' argument doesn't even hold much water. That for an eight week span last year when Ben wasn't hurt and when the team wasn't rusty off the lockout, we were a top five scoring offense.

What 8 games were those? Lol. We only broke 25 points 5 times all year and they were all spread out.

[Craic]

It's only week one Preach the jury is still out. Give Haley some time to either sink or swim. At least he didn't put in a passing attack against a team that was the worst rush d in the league...yet.

Not what I was saying, Butch. I was just pointing out that the same issues exist in a different form. All I can really blame Haley for, was the run, run, pass offense in the first quarter. Even there, I think he was trying to get our guys used to running the ball again, and establishing a mentality since it's the first game. So despite the fact it was predictable, I understand it.

If your worried about Haley after this game, I've got bad news for you....The offense wasn't the problem tonight. It was the defense. Granted a defense without Clark, but it was them nonetheless.

And oh --- don't blame Troy. He had Manning nearly shit himself TWICE in a span no less than 20 seconds. To the point that he called a timeout!

ANd my point was that last year, Arians would have been ripped apart for the team only scoring two TD's with four trips to the redzone. So if the offense wasn't the problem tonight, then it wasn't the problem last year either. It's the exact same problems, with a different look. Or, if you will, it's the same pig with a different shade of lipstick.

I think I'll probably give Haley a few more weeks before I suggest we scrap the offense.

Really has nothing to do with what I was saying.

The first few possessions we were VERY predictable. The formula was run-run-pass. When we got into goalline situations, it went pass-pass-pass (or pretty close). There were some nice play calls, but the offense was largely MORE predictable than last year. Which is irrelevant, actually, because as Preach points out, it is EXECUTION that counts. For waht it's worth, I liked Haley's game plan, just wish it was better executed. The blocking up front was suspect, we definitely NEED Mendenhall, Wallace and Ben need to work together a little more, and I think we'll be just fine.

Also, let's not dismiss Denver's defense. You know, they have a DC who put together a game plan too, and his was pretty effective. They upgraded their D from last year, an they are definitely going to be (barring major injuries) a HUGE factor in the AFC title race. And Denver is a tough place to play, and hasn't been kind to us.

This loss is just one "L". No need to panic. There was plenty of good to build on.

Couldn't have said it better myself - on all fronts.

Arians has no biz being mentioned in this loss.

I really don't think you read the original post.