Initial thoughts on browns Game

[Avoid_Lloyd]

One of Tomlin's worst coaching performances, ever. I was expecting them to come out flat and low energy after the Ravens game on a Thursday night on the road, that was unavoidable to a degree.

There's no excuse for the in game coaching blunders tho, it paints a bleak picture for the future of the team under Tomlin, these type of mind numbingly dumb mistakes are what get you beat in the playoffs by better and smarter coaches, a few highlights from last night:

-going for it on 4th down from our side of the field in the first half when they were clearly getting no push, punt the bloody ball. Its amazing how Tomlin can be so conservative put pick the stupidest times to decide to be aggressive, and make the dumbest calls when trying to be aggressive

-we struggle to score TD's all night and last game too, then get down by 13 and go down the field and score touchdowns with ease to go ahead, allowing Wilson to throw the ball to all areas of the field. I wonder how frustrated Wilson is getting with this crap already.... This tells me Tomlin is micromanaging the offense in this game except for when we are way down. Once we go up by 1, the offense resets back to its rediculous brand of conservative but occasional stupid aggressive playcalling. I've given credit to Tomlin for trusting Smith to call some different things at times this year, but this was clearly Tomlin taking the wheel tonight, and I'd fully expect to see him do it again in the playoffs

-the slants and tight end seems in the middle of the field work all the time, yet they are few and far between unless we are behind

-throwing a 20 yard fade in a blizzard with Fields in at quarterback on 3rd and short. The infamous 3rd and short 50/50 fade ball has been a staple since the Fitchner years, only one man has been here all these years...its clearly something he stupidly believes in

Its depressing, they will recover and at least go .500 the rest of the year and Tomlin will be celebrated by the media, then this stupidity will rear its head in the playoffs and it will be a quick exit for us, then rinse and repeat until Tomin is ready to hang it up, whenever that is.

 

[IndySteel]

They kept running up the middle when Cleveland was stopping it consistently. It's like Canada was back.

 

[troymania]

That was intentional grounding all day 24/7. There was no ******* receiver in the direction he was throwing the ball. It hit a lineman. They should have called both. Illegal touching and intentional grounding and give Pittsburgh the choice of penalties. This alongside Pickens getting tackled on various pass plays. There refs should be stripped naked and staked to the fifty yard line in that snowstorm for the night. Asshats.

 

[johnsteeler]

They kept running up the middle when Cleveland was stopping it consistently. It's like Canada was back.

Exactly. Arthur Smith is a slightly better version of Canada. Nothing more.

 

[Confluence]

You forgot to add MG had more of a impact on the game then TJ had. MG played a chip on his shoulder. Double teams of TJ are starting to really impact this defense.

2 points:
Steelers left Dan Moore, the worst LT in the league the past two seasons, the reason the Steelers consecutively drafted 2 first round LTs, alone against Helmet Thug and he was a literal turnstile.

Secondly, TJ was always doubled or tripled, except for his TFL in the backfired. That means that the other side is underhanded or there are less receivers to cover. Herbig made one great play, but he and Preston were silent all other plays against backup OL.

 

[Avoid_Lloyd]

Exactly. Arthur Smith is a slightly better version of Canada. Nothing more.

Tomlin dictates and limits whoever is offensive coordinator to his brand of 18-16 run, run, pass football.

Smith is considerably better than Canada, its shown in the schemes this year, but Tomlin handcuffs him. It won't change until Tomlin is gone

 

[jitter77]

Fire everyone and Fire Tomlin twice. The sky is falling.

1st Place AFCN you sopping wet vaginas. Go to the bathroom and fire the retard in the mirror. Your family will love you for it.

I think we will lose the Bengals game and then win the Browns game. After that things will get dicey. Eagles, KC, Ravens, and Bengals again. I think our offense / playcalling is regressing. JPJ and Minkah have not been a good tandem. Minkah seems to be slow right now. JPJ passed him a receiver yesterday and minkah looked like he was stuck in mud. I know the weather didn't help, but he wasn't too great against the Ravens either. Not sure we are gong to get past 10 wins.

 

[Djfan]

Just infuriating time and game management by Tomlin at the end of both halves:

1) The Steelers correctly call timeout with 1:27 left in the half with the Browns at 3rd-and-7 from the 17. Cleveland runs it up the middle for one yard, and inexplicably, on 4th-and-6, Pittsburgh doesn't use a timeout, and Cleveland bleeds another 35+ seconds off the clock by somehow convincing Mikey that they were going to run a play from scrimmage...when it was totally obvious to any serious football fan exactly what they were doing.

2) Why on God's green (or white) earth would you give Cleveland an extra down on a long 4th-and-1, and accept a 5-yard penalty? They showed the kicker ready to come out on the field, FFS. Then Tomlin blows a crucial timeout with 1:55 left in the game prior to the play...with the clock already stopped! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

3) Once Cleveland has it first-and-goal on the 9 with 1:43 left, you let Chubbs score. You don't tackle him on the two yard line and let the Browns take another 40 seconds off the clock. You needed those precious seconds on the last drive.

I just cannot fathom that this guy has been a head coach in the NFL for 18 years now, and he still has NO CLUE how to manage the game in its most important moments. It's an embarrassment.

Solid post. I agree

 

[maowv]

Don't want to be overly emotional following a loss to the Stains but this Arhtur Smith offense really isn't much better than Matt Canada's offense. It's different but better? Not by much at all IMO.

Far too conservative. Far too predictable.
Everybody in the stadium know we're running between the tackles on 1st and 10.
Everybody in the stadium knows they're running between the tackles on 2nd and 8.
Everybody knows we're throwing it on 3rd and 7 so the play action is a waste of motion.
Everybody knows where the ball is going on 4th and 1 - which we simply cannot seem to ever get that needed 1 yard.

Maybe once in a while, run a play action pass on FIRST DOWN!!
If that is far too "out there" risky then maybe run a play action pass on SECOND DOWN??

I get that they want to be a power running team. But the power running game isn't working consistently. I think part of that is we a re running when EVERYBODY knows that we are running and EVERBODY knows where we are running it!!!!!

Stale would be compliment for this Arthur Smith offense. We appear to be allergic to the goal line this season, just like last season,

 

[maowv]

DK talked about my next pet peeve this morning. The O-Line.

This organization spent a lot of draft capital over the past couple of years on the O-Line. They sure do not look like it on the field.

Are we drafting the wrong guys? All of them are the wrong guy?

Or maybe after 4-5 years in a row, is it time to bring in a real offensive line coach and get these guys working up to their anticipated potential when they came out of college?

Broderick Jones had a 1st round grade by everyone. The Steelers have made him look like a high school kid with an anxiety disorder. How did they destroy a once-dominant athletic left tackle????

Seumalu was really good in Philadelphia. Has he ever looked the same here?

Daniels was good before coming to Pittsburgh. He's never been that player in black and gold.

We had Kevin Dotson who apparently wasn't good enough to play in Pittsburgh but then goes on to become a standout starter with the Rams who gave hm a 3 year $48 million contract.

Who was the last offensive lineman who outperformed expectations in Pittsburgh? Do we go back to Matt Fieler for that answer?

 

[Walt]

Could definitely use an upgrade on O-line coach. Since Grimm left they haven't been any good up front and they can't really develop guys. Rather it seems guys regress (see Broderick, Dotson, etc.).

You watch, Moore will leave via free agency and be great somewhere else.... or in a few years Broderick will leave and be an All-Pro tackle.

 

[Steelmann]

2 points:
Steelers left Dan Moore, the worst LT in the league the past two seasons, the reason the Steelers consecutively drafted 2 first round LTs, alone against Helmet Thug and he was a literal turnstile.

Secondly, TJ was always doubled or tripled, except for his TFL in the backfired. That means that the other side is underhanded or there are less receivers to cover. Herbig made one great play, but he and Preston were silent all other plays against backup OL.

I said it during gameplay. They miss Alex when he’s not playing. It was quite evident first time around as well.

 

[Steeler Pride]

They kept running up the middle when Cleveland was stopping it consistently. It's like Canada was back.

The real "Canada" never left.

 

[Steeler Pride]

Tomlin dictates and limits whoever is offensive coordinator to his brand of 18-16 run, run, pass football.

Smith is considerably better than Canada, its shown in the schemes this year, but Tomlin handcuffs him. It won't change until Tomlin is gone

million dollar post

 

[Steeler Pride]

DK talked about my next pet peeve this morning. The O-Line.

This organization spent a lot of draft capital over the past couple of years on the O-Line. They sure do not look like it on the field.

Are we drafting the wrong guys? All of them are the wrong guy?

Or maybe after 4-5 years in a row, is it time to bring in a real offensive line coach and get these guys working up to their anticipated potential when they came out of college?

Broderick Jones had a 1st round grade by everyone. The Steelers have made him look like a high school kid with an anxiety disorder. How did they destroy a once-dominant athletic left tackle????

Seumalu was really good in Philadelphia. Has he ever looked the same here?

Daniels was good before coming to Pittsburgh. He's never been that player in black and gold.

We had Kevin Dotson who apparently wasn't good enough to play in Pittsburgh but then goes on to become a standout starter with the Rams who gave hm a 3 year $48 million contract.

Who was the last offensive lineman who outperformed expectations in Pittsburgh? Do we go back to Matt Fieler for that answer?

It doesn't stop at OL...name me one position group outside of MAYBE WR, where this coaching staff has developed players to a higher level? There is a reason that Tomlin's coaching tree does not fork in the middle.

 

[TimesAreChanged]

I think we will lose the Bengals game and then win the Browns game. After that things will get dicey. Eagles, KC, Ravens, and Bengals again. I think our offense / playcalling is regressing. JPJ and Minkah have not been a good tandem. Minkah seems to be slow right now. JPJ passed him a receiver yesterday and minkah looked like he was stuck in mud. I know the weather didn't help, but he wasn't too great against the Ravens either. Not sure we are gong to get past 10 wins.

You're down coming off the L. One game at a time and they have time to rest and game plan. Minkah is on my list since Bills playoff game. JPJ is solid. I think they split and win the division and make a deep run. 10 months ago no one would have predicted this. Can't be unhappy brother

 

[SteveA]

I knew we were in trouble when it was snowing and my grandson said I want the Brownie’s to win…

 

[oicu8ad]

I can't watch this anymore. This team will drop at least five more games but Tomlin will get his non-losing season. The drop the Eagles, Chiefs, Ravens, and both of the Bengal games.

Come on! Have some faith. Our next game is just 9 days away on Dec 1st. We will not go gently. We WILL unleash hell in December. Because we have to. We won't go into a shell, we'll go into attack mode. Because that's what's required.

 

[KStilley]

I knew we were in trouble when it was snowing and my grandson said I want the Brownie’s to win…

Should we call child protective services?

 

[steel dino]

I knew we were in trouble when it was snowing and my grandson said I want the Brownie’s to win…

What’s wrong with that boy!

 

[bigben]

This game illuminates what we have in 2024. Or, more importantly, what we don't have.

In simplest terms, we don't have a franchise HOF caliber QB, in his prime. We are similar to the Jets in this regard.... We're playing a HOFer who's is well past his prime.

Thus, when you don't have the QB, you need to bring the dominant defense to compensate. We don't have that either. We have a good defense... Not great. Add in some special teams flops, and weather (being an equalizer), and the 8-2 team loses to the 2-8 team.

Questionable decisions from the sidelines for all 3 units. To me, most glaring was lack of pressure on Winston. Felt like with Browns running a backup o-line, they would be vulnerable to the 5 man rushes. Saw it maybe once... But need to watch again.

Lots of other items.... But still annoyed.....

You can't expect big things from any QB in those conditions, I do agree with the rest. The defense is overrated, TJ is great but he can't take over games 100% of the time. Its always the same story, if TJ doesn't play lights out we don't have enough talent to make up the difference.
We have the inability to run the ball in short yardage situations. The 230+ pound Harris is awful in those 3rd an 4th and short,
he's been so bad they don't even attempt it half the time, and that's supposed to be what he is good at? He was looking like a different guy for a short stretch but has shown us the past 3 games he still isn't the guy and never has been consistently. Think of the great Steelers snow games from Jerome Bettis running over Urlacher in the red zone, or Leveon Bell putting up 300 and 3 TD against the Bills.
Snow games are up to the run game and defense to win. Steelers Run game and defense are average at best.

 

[topseed]

What difference does it make that he was ready to as you say? Still nullifies your point since they weren't kicking anything. You were just rambling for nothing. You mean because the camera man panned to the kicker that means he was ready? No the cameraman panned to the kicker because he's the kicker o wise one. Doesn't mean Cleveland had any intentions of kicking anything.

It doesn't nullify shlt, and I wasn't rambling. As I said, there was a great deal of confusion going on. Cleveland very well may have thought it was still third down, and that's why the offense was on the field. Or as @jitter77 mentioned, they could have been lining up to try to draw the Steelers offsides. The point remains that it was better to decline the penalty and force the Browns to choose between going for it on a long 4th-and-1 or attempting a field goal, instead of giving them 2 shots at gaining 6 yards.

"The cameraman panned to the kicker because he's the kicker"? Thanks for that next-level insight.

 

[topseed]

I don’t know..
lost some sleep.. buts it’s always cool to watch an outdoor football game in a snow storm!
Just wish the results were different obviously.,

Are there any indoor games in snow storms?

 

[topseed]

When the anti-Minkah talk started a few weeks ago I was willing to give him a pass b/c I bought the argument that he's playing deep center field and taking away big plays.... and he's so good teams are afraid to throw near him. But the last two games he's had chances to make plays. Mark Andrews regularly beat him like a drum. He's not worth what he's getting paid. Maybe Khan could trade him for a WR this spring. Of course, knowing Khan he won't have a plan to find Minkah's replacement if he does move him.

I agree with most of what you said in that rather lengthy post, but Mark Andrews had 2 catches for 22 yards last week.

 

[speedicut]

Are there any indoor games in snow storms?

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