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

[Chicoman]

Well I knew would be the toughest opponent the rest of the season our Steelers would face and it would be a defensive battle and a low scoring game. I thought our Steelers would pull out a close one at home but I was wrong as they fall to the Bills 17-10. I know some looking at the stat sheet tonight will probably say DUCK killed us this game......I don't know if you can say that. I do think he hit a wall tonight against a very good borderline great Bills Defense...tossing the 4 INT's. He made some poor reads out there...especially his 3rd INT in the endzoneat the 2 minute mark that was picked off by Poyer. If Hodges had the experience to survery the field he would have saw James Washington running clear across the field with no one behind him as the Bills were in a single high safety package. Duck makes that throw this game would have been tied. Unfortunately he's a rookie and you can only expect so much. I honestly thought the Steelers should have ran the football a little more tonight only 14 running plays. I hope Tomlin doesn't hit the panic button and bench Hodges....I still think he's a better option than Rudolph. There was certainly plenty of blame to go around tonight for the loss of this game. The offensive line tonight seemed to really struggle especially Pouncey who got blown off the line of scrimmage more than once tonight by Jordan Phillips. Jordan Berry really put our Defense with our backs against the wall with his 22 yd punt that put the Bills on our own 40yd line. The one glaring weakness I see on this Defense is Terrell Edmunds and it's obvious to me this kid doesn't fill the role at Safety. Maybe the Steelers would be better served moving Edmunds to ILB and letting him bulk up 10-15 lbs in the offseason. He certainly plays the run well and moves through traffic to find the ball carrier (10 tackles tonight).....I just don't think this kid can play safety at an NFL level. That was evident tonight! Maybe the Steelers move Cam Sutton to Safety? He's certainly a great tackler and coverage guy.


Per Tomlin Post Game:
Some bumps and bruises associated with play but no serious injuries


Game Balls:
James Conner - 8 carries 42yds 4 rec 9 yds 1 TD - He ran hard tonight....I just wish he would have gotten some more carries....he certainly was our best RB on the field tonight but only 8 carries....wonder if they were limiting him?
TJ Watt - This guy makes everyone else on this Defense better! He's an absolute monster out there and I'm going to enjoy watching him. He could be Defensive Player of the Year!
Cam Heyward - He was strong tonight especially on one series where he completely took it to the Bills.
James Washington - Really has taken that next step this season to becoming a quality WR in the NFL

Game Goats:
Maurkice Pouncey - Jordan Phillips really gave Pouncey fits all night blowing up running plays and getting into the backfield with 2 sacks and 2 TFL.
Jordan Berry - He put us behind the 8 Ball early tonight with a 20yd Punt giving the Bills the ball on the Steelers 40 yd line
Terrell Edmunds - Stats will show he had 10 tackles tonight...he did....he flows to the run great but he absolutely sucks in pass coverage and shouldn't be playing Safety in the NFL. He needs to bulk up 10-15 lbs and play ILB for the Steelers. He has the ability and physical tools to play that position much better than he does at Safety. He has zero ball skills tracking the football when it's in the air. Move him to ILB.
Devlin Hodges - 4 INT's tonight....yup he threw them but the Steelers should have ran the ball a little more....I don't think you take your Rookie QB and put it all on him and make him throw 38 passes against the best secondary in the NFL, while only running the ball 14 times and Conner was averaging 5.3 YPC. I also didn't see much play action passing tonight. The Bills just kept sending the house at Hodges all night.

FU's:
FU LeVeon Bell - You Generational *****....were coming after your *** next week!

 

[Hoot]

FU needs to go to Randy F. That game plan was awful. Or maybe it wasn't a plan and he was wingin' it. Either way, it was awful...just plain awful. I coulda drawn that **** up with sidewalk chalk on my driveway and had a better plan that that.

 

[CharlesDavenport]

I'm giving the game ball to all you Steeler fans who did not grow up during the most incredible period of team excellence ever witnessed in the NFL. Be patient with those of us who did, because the bar was set forever for us, and we measure everything from that bar.

 

[Litos]

We all knew it had to be a mistake free game on O to win it:
- 2 fumbles lost
- 3 int thrown, I'm not even counting the game ending one.
- Berry gave them a completely ridiculous short field.

And still the D kept the team in the game. Sphincter needs to create a real game plan , one where the run and screen passes take most of the snaps. The duck shouldn't throw more than 25 passes per game, create a game plan based on that. And yeah, **** the wildcat.

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[stuntmanmike]

damn what's that like 8 0r 9 picks in 2 primetime games. man duck showed a side tonite. we knew it was possible but damn those were some ugly throws. like mason totally in over his head, he looked like he completely lost confidence in his arm at the end. this short passing game bullshit is done. our oc seems to think he's a genius goes out there with the worse game plans I think I've ever seen a steeler team try to excuse. a good tough running game with some play action throws down field and we would have had a chance to win with either qb. but no we go out and run like 13 times?? with a rookie undrafted qb?? running stupid gadget plays?? if they don't fire randy boy after firing other coordinators like tom Moore this is all a sham and the Rooneys don't give a **** about winning. dandy randy has a trifecta of duck throwing to Washington and johnson and its funny but i know none of them right now as we type could start at ohio state and neither would ohio state hire any of our coaches least of all randy if they were available tomorrow. says alot about the state of affairs in steeler land. are we really serous about winning??

 

[SteelerSask2]

Duck and Rudolph are really about the same. You can dice it and slice it any way you want. A few different circumstance and people would be wearing a Rudolph nose instead of a duck hat.

 

[wig]

Look. Hodges is a nice guy, and it's a neat story, but he isn't an NFL quarterback.

The fact that he is apparently the BEST option at QB speaks to the monumental failure of the coaching staff to teach the position.

Hire a real ******* QB coach to help your clown-car QBs.

 

[mdk2]

Duck and Rudolph are really about the same. You can dice it and slice it any way you want. A few different circumstance and people would be wearing a Rudolph nose instead of a duck hat.

The only thing I think separates the two is Duck’s somewhat mobility except he didn’t use it at all tonight. I think this game was a little too big for him and Bills defense is as good as ours, if not better. Our defense gets the turnovers but theirs doesn’t give up the yardage.


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[steeltruckin]

Look. Hodges is a nice guy, and it's a neat story, but he isn't an NFL quarterback.

The fact that he is apparently the BEST option at QB speaks to the monumental failure of the coaching staff to teach the position.

Hire a real ******* QB coach to help your clown-car QBs.

I hope they listen to you and get a qb coach, because Rudolph and Duck don't have a clue how to move in the pocket.

 

[CharlesDavenport]

We don't teach, we motivate. We believe that if they are an NFL player, they already know how to play their position. Our job is to get them all excited about being a Steeler. We've noticed that their skills fade, so we'll keep getting talent from other teams and ride them on the way down the Steeler talent slide. Our hope is that the ownership doesn't notice how much I suck.

 

[antdrewjosh]

The duck does not have the arm. The Washington deep ball where he caught it should of been a easy TD if the pass is out in front of him.

 

[Steelmann]

Look. Hodges is a nice guy, and it's a neat story, but he isn't an NFL quarterback.

The fact that he is apparently the BEST option at QB speaks to the monumental failure of the coaching staff to teach the position.

Hire a real ******* QB coach to help your clown-car QBs.

To be honest here,yes they should have a qb coach,but really I don’t think,from what I have seen they would have made much of a difference.
I really believe these Two guys just don’t have the arm strength for the nfl. Even the long completions tonight,as usual they were waiting a second for the ball. How many times did you hold your breath tonight when he passed? You could see the picks coming from a mile away.

But my point here isn’t to bash Rudy and the Duck. They are what we have for the season. In retrospect,the biggest mistake the front office( no not just CMT) made was not having a quality experienced backup. As Big Ben slowly but surely got older,I think not having one was a big mistake. When was the last time we had a quality backup? Would you say Charlie? And as much as I liked him,that’s debatable. If you look at New Orleans with Teddy Bridgewater,can you imagine how that would have worked out for us? I bet it would have added 4 wins,and a hell of a lot less drama. Would he have been worth the reported 7 mill he signed for? I think the Ravens signing RG3 was a great move as well. There are other examples if you look around. Do we simply not have the cap space or too cheap not to sign a little more quality.......or just rolling the dice hoping like hell Ben doesn’t get hurt?

I know this is all easy to say now.....but moving forward if Ben comes back strong next season we better take a serious look at different options. The Duck or Rudy is at best a 3rd option.

 

[Steelmann]

My FU is the offensive play calling. The first half was atrocious. A couple nice runs....that was it. So predictable. So amateurish. Then I thought to myself,here come the halftime adjustments that apparently have been happening the last few games. Duck came out throwing....rolling out,moving down the field. And I thought.....there the coaching staff are doing their thing,have faith. Lol. With 3 minutes to go that 4th and 7. Why the end Zone? Why not try for the first down,take a little time off the clock. Double TE,we even used them for a change. I just don’t get it.

 

[steelcan58]

My FU is the offensive play calling. The first half was atrocious. A couple nice runs....that was it. So predictable. So amateurish. Then I thought to myself,here come the halftime adjustments that apparently have been happening the last few games. Duck came out throwing....rolling out,moving down the field. And I thought.....there the coaching staff are doing their thing,have faith. Lol. With 3 minutes to go that 4th and 7. Why the end Zone? Why not try for the first down,take a little time off the clock. Double TE,we even used them for a change. I just don’t get it.

The play worked. Duck didn't see the receiver open for a TD.

 

[Steelmann]

The play worked. Duck didn't see the receiver open for a TD.

I will have to look at the replay,I was so choked I didn't even notice. I guess I had tunnel vision too.

 

[MTC]

The play worked. Duck didn't see the receiver open for a TD.

He locked in. Washington was wide open.
Duck is still learning. Was a fun win streak. With this defense, anything can happen.

 

[MTC]

To be honest here,yes they should have a qb coach,but really I don’t think,from what I have seen they would have made much of a difference.
I really believe these Two guys just don’t have the arm strength for the nfl. Even the long completions tonight,as usual they were waiting a second for the ball. How many times did you hold your breath tonight when he passed? You could see the picks coming from a mile away.

But my point here isn’t to bash Rudy and the Duck. They are what we have for the season. In retrospect,the biggest mistake the front office( no not just CMT) made was not having a quality experienced backup. As Big Ben slowly but surely got older,I think not having one was a big mistake. When was the last time we had a quality backup? Would you say Charlie? And as much as I liked him,that’s debatable. If you look at New Orleans with Teddy Bridgewater,can you imagine how that would have worked out for us? I bet it would have added 4 wins,and a hell of a lot less drama. Would he have been worth the reported 7 mill he signed for? I think the Ravens signing RG3 was a great move as well. There are other examples if you look around. Do we simply not have the cap space or too cheap not to sign a little more quality.......or just rolling the dice hoping like hell Ben doesn’t get hurt?

I know this is all easy to say now.....but moving forward if Ben comes back strong next season we better take a serious look at different options. The Duck or Rudy is at best a 3rd option.

I do think it’s time to start prepping for the franchise without Ben.
The thing is too, Ben has taken a beating through out his career, he’s not getting younger. One more injury could end him for good.
Time to start having the backup ready, perhaps the new franchise QB.

I don’t think it’s Duck or Mason.
But it is time to start considering and seriously looking for the next guy.

 

[Sarge]

You can add Nelson to the GOATS. John Brown stole his lunch money. Repeatedly.

 

[str8liner]

How about a FU to the Oline who can't seem to open holes for a run game consistently, and can't keep the pass rush off our rookie QB's.

Hell, Pouncy even forgot how to hike the damn ball...

 

[Super Dave]

The immediate difference between Duck and Rudolph was that Duck would go through his reads where Rudy would freeze,like a statue.

Last night, Duck was a one read QB, is that because of the tutelage of Fichtner, (my fear), or a porous OL vs a great D ?

I am so over Fichtner, he does our QB no favors by coaching cowardly........., hey, instead of the Wild cat, how about fooling the defense by throwing to the TE??

Do we practice clocking the ball, is that in the Fichtner playbook? I see we found the page where the QB sneak is, it must be under the sub heading "4th string QB in game".

Ducks first interception was inconsequential.

Berry's 22 yard Punt was a Killer.

Fichtners asinine Wildcat, goal to go, decision that cost the team points was a killer.

Pouncy's errant snap was a killer.

And those guys are not 4th string QB's from Division 3 schools starting in their 4th NFL game.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

FU to Fictner.
People bitching about Duck, he made some good throws but the simple fact is the Bills have a better defense than we've seen in a while. Remember the first game when we had all our starters and didn't even score a TD against the Pats, they held us to 3 points.

 

[TDX27]

The game plan was terrible. No dump offs at all to the RB's in the 1st half. No quick passing. No Duck roll outs. No answer the entire game for 3rd and long (just about every series we ended with a 3rd and long) where the Bills would rush 5 to 7 guys, yes up to 7 guys. If someone can't run a quick crossing pattern or get open quickly, then they shouldn't be playing. Or, if someone is one on one, just lob the ball out there and let the WR run and get it.

Speaking of shouldn't be playing....Holton saw the field way too much again. Play Diontae, Washington and either Jones or Cain but not Holton. And, Chicklets was seeing the field far too often on D. Why the **** would you not have your best players on the field for a 4th and 5ish? Chicklets was in there. Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! If Dupree leaves in the offseason, they better bring someone in to replace him because Chicklets has improved to nothing more than an average backup. He is not a starter.

Even with all of that, Duck was still bad. His accuracy was terrible. He was missing open guys. And, he made some terrible throws. Now, the question is...what does Tomlin do. My guess is Duck gets the next start but like Rudolph, if he sucks things up again, Rudolph might be back in sooner than anyone anticipated.

Another thing I noticed. Ben got fired up at one of the coaches//assistants on the sidelines after one of our bad offensive plays. Not sure if he was mad at the play call or what but you could tell he wasn't happy and was letting someone know about it.

 

[TDX27]

Adding to Pouncey's goat status would be his multiple bad snaps once again.

 

[Troglodyte]

I don’t want to excuse Hodges completely, but I’m not sure Ben or any QB without a great ability to scramble would have had a much better game.

 

[Sarge]

I think the problem is playcalling more than anything. You can pretty much tell what the Steelers are going to do based on formation and personnel. Then add to it that Fichtner has no imagination or rhythm to his play calls, and this is what you get. Getting yourself into 3rd and long then going empty set is sure fire way to tip your hand to the defense. And the Steelers do it over and over and over. It is frustrating to say the least.