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Game Balls, Game Goats, & FU's.......................vs Bears

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Chicoman

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For all of us working folk who have to get up early we should have expected a Monday Night Heart Attack Game! Coach Tomlin's 150th career win 4th quickest to hit that mark and surpassing Bill Cowher with 149 career wins as Head Coach in 15 seasons. I don't know where to start on this game but the play calling the entire game just felt off. It might have been the worst play calling I've seen all season. I use to hate the bubble screen but I actually think that WR handoff when Ben is under center is even worse! They need to kill that play as the Bears really had that figured out. Late in the game after Ben was sacked it was 2nd & 19 and you run with Benny Snell for no gain, when they needed about 10 yds to get into comfortable FG range....UGH. Luckily Freiermuth plucked the 3rd down play off the turf to put the Steelers in FG Range for Boswell to make a 52 yd FG giving the Steelers a 6 point lead. The Steelers O-line really struggled today to open up lanes in the running game and protecting their QB and Dan Moore really struggled the most and Dotson, Green & Turner didn't look good either. It was really nice to see Pat Freiermuth have a breakout game with 2 TD's. He was the only guy on offense to really have a great game tonight. Defensively TJ Watt was once again a Game Wrecker with 3 sacks and Cam Heyward keeps bringing it week in, week out.....had a nice INT in the first half today that led to the Steelers 2nd TD. I hope a close game like this vs a team that you had a 14 point lead on to start the 4th QTR....20-6 will keep this team focused next week as the Detroit Lions (0-8) will be coming into town next week. Keep em focused Tomlin! Bears lost this game tonight more than the Steelers won it. Penalties by the Bears really helped the Steelers this game....over 100 penalty yards by the Bears. After last week I thought the Steelers started to turn their season around and the arrow was pointing up after beating Cleveland on the road. After tonight I'm not so sure.....I almost blacked out on that last ditch 65 yd FG attempt as it sure as hell looked like it had a damn good chance to make it but it hit off the crossbar as time expired and with it we add another one to the win column. I'll take the win anytime but this team needs to be ready next week vs Detroit.

Per Tomlin's Post Game:
Chase Claypool - Being evaluated....no information as of yet...more tomorrow on his injury and others in game

Game Balls:
Pat Freiermuth - 5 rec 43 yds 2 TD's - He's a great target in the RedZone
Ben Roethlisberger - Gotta put him up here tonight 21 for 30 205 yds plus the game winning drive in the end to bring the Steelers from behind once again for the 50th time.
Chris Boswell - Gotta give him credit despite a missed XP he kicked 2 FG's over 50 yds for the first time in Heinz Field History....3 FG's and a fumble recovery.....all this after a concussion last week.
TJ Watt - 3 sacks, 3 tackles for loss.....he was a Game Wrecker tonight
Cam Heyward - 1 INT in the first half tonight....think the ball was deflected by Chris Wormley....2 tackles. Wasn't his best game by a long shot but still deserve a game ball
Minkah Fitzpatrick - 8 tackles tonight....he was all over the field

Game Goats:
Offensive Line - As a group they were below the line tonight. Green, Dotson & Moore all struggled...BIG TIME....Turner wasn't much better. Okorafor was ok from what I saw.
Devin Bust - This guy is a BUM! Taco Charlton has more tackles in spot duty tonight and he's been on the team for 2 games! Cmon Bush.....gotta be better.....yeah he had a pass breakup...should have been an INT.
Terrell Edmunds - Looked really bad at times tonight in pass coverage....he's the weak link in our Secondary
Pressley Harvin - Terrible tonight....2 punts tonight under 40 yds.....longest punt tonight 46 yds....NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
Ray Ray McCloud - Cmon son....your fumble tonight allowed the Bears back into the game....thats 2 fumbles in 2 games.


FU's:
Officiating was terrible tonight but honestly I think they helped the Steelers get the W tonight....perhaps I should give them a Game Ball.
 
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They were praising Edmunds up and down in the post-game presser withbMT. I didn't see glaring mistakes but nothing to gush over either.
 
That one jagoff announcer on ESPN made that kick sound like it was super ******* close, but from the other angle they showed, I think Santos was a good ten yards shy as thag ball died just as it hit the goal line. But got damn, I felt the same as you, at least initially, especially with that prick getting all giddy like he couldn’t wait for the bears to be vindicated or something.

Another thing, on the Marsh taunting penalty, they never brought up how he carried out his stupid sack dance, and strutted towards the Steelers sideline. After he got Ben down, he did a kick in the air, then strutted towards the sideline. Nobody in the league gets away with carrying it out. AB had it called a few times, I believe Watt had one a couple years back, and I’m sure we all famously remember Will Gay after his pick-6 against the bungholes(and his half hour celebration). Anyways, Marsh is a jagoff. Go watch him in his postgame presser. He stole Ray-rays fur coat from 2001. Mother ****** is a taxi squad player.
 
We need to start giving game balls to Joe Haden, I literally keep forgetting he's even on the team because no one throws at him. He had a nice break up in in the end zone tonight and other than that I don't think they called his name the rest of the game. He's been a shut down corner all year.
 
SteelerSask2 said:
They were praising Edmunds up and down in the post-game presser withbMT. I didn't see glaring mistakes but nothing to gush over either.
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Didn't like his game at all
 
Steelers already miss Ingram. Pass rush wears down unless you have a good rotation. But he was a frowny face so better ship him off for peanuts. Taco Charlton is probably secretly awesome

it’s no accident that Fields had more success as the game progressed. Better hope Watt never gets tired ever. That’s probably a good plan.
 
Heyward batted that ball and then intercepted it. Maulet gets a FU. He was terrible on that drive where the Bears took the lead. Why the **** did they leave him in there. Was someone hurt? Dude should not be on the field. I thought we had better options.

I don't know what the **** the officials were doing. They were absolutely horrible on both sides of the ball. They could have called holding, PI, facemask, etc. on pretty much every play against the Bears and the announcers were complaining because the Bears had so many penalties. Well, when you line up in the neutral zone 3 times and then were given a pass on an obvious 4th time, WTF are they supposed to do? The call for the block outside the TE against them was pretty bogus and our D did take some liberties in pounding Fields that should have been called. But, the Bears easily could have been called for a penalty on just about every play. They have absolutely no discipline.

Harvin had a couple nice pins inside the 20 but he needs to get rid of those shanks. He had 2 bad punts when we were pinned back that gave them great field position. He can't keep doing that every week.
 
That was a mess. Take the W and run. We scored 29 (should have been 30) and felt the offense played poorly. Seemed like they played better last week at Cleveland and scored 18. That bunch formation is hard to watch. Seeing 9-10 D in the box is frustrating. Every catch seems to be hard fought. Hard to believe Ben led the league in passing 3 years ago? Perhaps a screen?? Get Najee in space!

For all those NFL conspiracy theorists, this game had a bad smell. The Bears are poorly coached but we definitely got away with a few calls.

Sharpen up for the Lions. They have absolutely nothing to lose.

Go Steelers.
 
Steelers blow a 4th qtr lead? That's the one thing they have been consistent with the last few years.
 
One more 4th quarter comeback / game winning drive for Ben. 3rd all time, right behind Manning and Brady.
Ben takes the all-time lead in career times sacked over Brady... in 2,804 fewer pass attempts.

I thought early on last night, after the 14-0 lead, the o-line might be actually turning the corner... boy was I wrong. They were complete **** the rest of the game. Green really got man-handled last night. I thought he should have been given some help, but the guards were too busy getting man-handled themselves. The announcers talked about the young line having time to "gel". "Gel-ling" and getting crushed on every one-on-one block attempt have nothing to do with each other. These guys just aren't good enough, and I don't know if any of them will ever be.

We ran 6 WR end-arounds! The shocking thing was, though, most of them were at least semi-successful, and seemed to surprise the Bears.

I remember always hearing in football and baseball, you have to be strong up the middle defensively. Well, we have a pretty good defense, but we have 2 first round busts up the middle. Sad to even think we traded up to pick Devin Bust. Edmunds is playing like the rookie 6th round pick he is... wait, what?

Maulet? Are you kidding me? Not only does this guy suddenly get on the field, but he covers their best receiver one on one?

Minkah was laying some hits last night. Well done, and legally.

Like someone else said, Watt is Watt. We're getting spoiled.

Keep working hard, Najee. Looking good, kid. Someday you'll have some blockers in front of you.

MUUUUUUUUTH!!!!
 
My very favorite part of the play calling is the run-it-up-the-middle philosophy on 2nd down and very long, followed by a pass short of the line to gain on 3rd down, followed by a punt. It happened three times yesterday:

1) 2nd-and-15 (set up by yet another sack allowed when Moore was beaten cleanly around the edge). Najee up the middle for 2. Ben throws a **** pass nowhere close to Washington on 3rd-and-13; even if he throws accurately, they're still 6 yards short. Punt.

2) 2nd-and-18 (set up by yet another holding penalty on Dotson which negated a nice gain by Harris). Najee up the middle for 4. Ben throws a pass two yards behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-14 to Freiermuth, gains 7. Punt.

3) 2nd-and-19 (set up by yet another miscommunication on the o-line, as Turner allows an unblocked linebacker to sack Ben). Snell up the middle for 1. Ben throws a **** pass high and behind DJ on 3rd-and-18; even if he throws accurately, they're still 4 yards short. Punt.


A dishonorable mention goes to Tomlin for not conserving time at the end of the first half when the Bears had 1st-and-goal with about a minute left, resulting in the Steelers kneeling on the ball and taking their last timeout into the locker room. He still has no ******* clue how to manage the clock after 15 years.
 
topseed said:
My very favorite part of the play calling is the run-it-up-the-middle philosophy on 2nd down and very long, followed by a pass short of the line to gain on 3rd down, followed by a punt. It happened three times yesterday:

1) 2nd-and-15 (set up by yet another sack allowed when Moore was beaten cleanly around the edge). Najee up the middle for 2. Ben throws a **** pass nowhere close to Washington on 3rd-and-13; even if he throws accurately, they're still 6 yards short. Punt.

2) 2nd-and-18 (set up by yet another holding penalty on Dotson which negated a nice gain by Harris). Najee up the middle for 4. Ben throws a pass two yards behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-14 to Freiermuth, gains 7. Punt.

3) 2nd-and-19 (set up by yet another miscommunication on the o-line, as Turner allows an unblocked linebacker to sack Ben). Snell up the middle for 1. Ben throws a **** pass high and behind DJ on 3rd-and-18; even if he throws accurately, they're still 4 yards short. Punt.


A dishonorable mention goes to Tomlin for not conserving time at the end of the first half when the Bears had 1st-and-goal with about a minute left, resulting in the Steelers kneeling on the ball and taking their last timeout into the locker room. He still has no ******* clue how to manage the clock after 15 years.
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The Steelers have been running on second and very long since at least Noll was coaching. I think it's a rule or something.
 
Friermuth is the Steelers best receiver.

Canada needs to call more fly routes to keep the defense honest and open up the running game.

Give Johnson another shot as a punt returner.
 
FatsHolmes said:
The Steelers have been running on second and very long since at least Noll was coaching. I think it's a rule or something.
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AKA running on 2nd down because you should have run in 1st down.
 
topseed said:
My very favorite part of the play calling is the run-it-up-the-middle philosophy on 2nd down and very long, followed by a pass short of the line to gain on 3rd down, followed by a punt. It happened three times yesterday:

1) 2nd-and-15 (set up by yet another sack allowed when Moore was beaten cleanly around the edge). Najee up the middle for 2. Ben throws a **** pass nowhere close to Washington on 3rd-and-13; even if he throws accurately, they're still 6 yards short. Punt.

2) 2nd-and-18 (set up by yet another holding penalty on Dotson which negated a nice gain by Harris). Najee up the middle for 4. Ben throws a pass two yards behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-14 to Freiermuth, gains 7. Punt.

3) 2nd-and-19 (set up by yet another miscommunication on the o-line, as Turner allows an unblocked linebacker to sack Ben). Snell up the middle for 1. Ben throws a **** pass high and behind DJ on 3rd-and-18; even if he throws accurately, they're still 4 yards short. Punt.


A dishonorable mention goes to Tomlin for not conserving time at the end of the first half when the Bears had 1st-and-goal with about a minute left, resulting in the Steelers kneeling on the ball and taking their last timeout into the locker room. He still has no ******* clue how to manage the clock after 15 years.
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Either Tomlin doesn’t trust his 2:00 offense or doesn’t understand that timeouts can be used on defense to preserve clock for the offense.
 
The play calling was definitely ridiculous most of the game.

And, yes, the refs did have a few iffy calls in our favor but they literally had 10 times that many they could have / should have called on the Bears. The Bears were as undisciplined a team I have witnessed in a long time. Multiple holdings on every play. Lining up in the neutral zone constantly. PI and D holding on every play. The Bears could have conservatively had 25 penalties last night and that number easily could have been 30. The refs were giving them a pass on most plays because they were so bad.

And, when a ball rolls from the front of a person's hand to the back of their hand, that is NOT control of the football. The ball was moving and he lost it when he hit the ground. That call and the review were ridiculous. If that were a Steelers player, I guarantee they would have called that a "no catch".
 
GILBERT said:
That was a mess. Take the W and run. We scored 29 (should have been 30) and felt the offense played poorly. Seemed like they played better last week at Cleveland and scored 18. That bunch formation is hard to watch. Seeing 9-10 D in the box is frustrating. Every catch seems to be hard fought. Hard to believe Ben led the league in passing 3 years ago? Perhaps a screen?? Get Najee in space!

For all those NFL conspiracy theorists, this game had a bad smell. The Bears are poorly coached but we definitely got away with a few calls.

Sharpen up for the Lions. They have absolutely nothing to lose.

Go Steelers.
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I agree with this 100%
 
Game Ball - Watt, Heyward, Boz, Muth, The Bears for being so sloppy.
Goat - Maulet? Got abused not sure why he is on the field?
Oline was pretty bad. Najee was getting blown up in the backfield, Ben took a few big shots, just not a good performance by several.
FUs - Coaching. Playcalling failed to adjust, Maulet shouldn't see the field, Ray Ray shouldn't be returning etc etc.

The Lions are bad but still make me nervous
 
I really think the o-line is hurt by the play calling. In baseball, if a pitcher keeps throwing in the same part of the strike zone the hitters zone in and he is in trouble. If all of our plays are within 5 yards of the LOS then the area is packed and you won't be able to run anywhere because the middle is crammed with people close to the line and runs to the outside will be screwed as well. Run or pass, if they are mostly with 5-7 yards it's easy to defend. We have to do a better job of mixing up areas of the field we target to keep the defense from focusing on a small area. We went over the middle the last few games and it worked. Throw in some deeper outs. RB screens. Muth can catch! Throw it to him all over the field, especially the middle. We seem to never consistently go there. I don't know if it is the play calling or if Ben just locks into to certain areas, but mixing it up and I think we would be surprised how much this helps our line as well. I don't know how many times vs the Bears that all 22 men on the field were in a very tight area.
 
TDX27 said:
The play calling was definitely ridiculous most of the game.

And, yes, the refs did have a few iffy calls in our favor but they literally had 10 times that many they could have / should have called on the Bears. The Bears were as undisciplined a team I have witnessed in a long time. Multiple holdings on every play. Lining up in the neutral zone constantly. PI and D holding on every play. The Bears could have conservatively had 25 penalties last night and that number easily could have been 30. The refs were giving them a pass on most plays because they were so bad.

And, when a ball rolls from the front of a person's hand to the back of their hand, that is NOT control of the football. The ball was moving and he lost it when he hit the ground. That call and the review were ridiculous. If that were a Steelers player, I guarantee they would have called that a "no catch".
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If he'd had control, he wouldn't have lost the ball the moment he hit the ground. Easy enough to see. In super-slow motion, it looks like he's "managing" the ball but in full speed, he clearly doesn't have control.

Ben GOT that ******* 1st down. By the time his knee hit, the ball was definitely past the line of gain. The ref took at least a half yard, maybe more away from him.

On the first TD to Muth, Washington was being mauled by his defender. Ben wanted to go to him at the 1st level, but he was being held. No call even though Washington's jersey was clearly stretching as he was held.

Griese was just being a complete *****. Sure Fields took a couple hits. He's a rook. If he chooses to slide late or to stay in bounds, he's going to get trucked and he hasn't earned that "judgement call" yet from the officials. Now Brady? Rodgers? They're going to get those calls. But not a ******* rookie who's too dumb to get down or get out of bounds.
 
Strydur said:
I really think the o-line is hurt by the play calling. In baseball, if a pitcher keeps throwing in the same part of the strike zone the hitters zone in and he is in trouble. If all of our plays are within 5 yards of the LOS then the area is packed and you won't be able to run anywhere because the middle is crammed with people close to the line and runs to the outside will be screwed as well. Run or pass, if they are mostly with 5-7 yards it's easy to defend. We have to do a better job of mixing up areas of the field we target to keep the defense from focusing on a small area. We went over the middle the last few games and it worked. Throw in some deeper outs. RB screens. Muth can catch! Throw it to him all over the field, especially the middle. We seem to never consistently go there. I don't know if it is the play calling or if Ben just locks into to certain areas, but mixing it up and I think we would be surprised how much this helps our line as well. I don't know how many times vs the Bears that all 22 men on the field were in a very tight area.
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I just can't believe that Ben instantly became garbage. As somebody else pointed out, the year before his injury he lead the league in passing yards. Now all of a sudden he won't throw the ball more than 4 yards in the air 90% of the time? I don't buy it. He aint that hurt.

I think it must have been a philosophy thing after his injury comeback to protect him and now they can't seem to get out of the ******* mindset. It doesn't help that the line literally can't hold a block more than 2 seconds anymore.
 
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Goats: Keith Butler and the DB’s.
I’m convinced Tomlin and Butler like to keep it close against bad teams so as not to hurt their feelings.
 
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