Initial thought is that the Packers made the necessary halftime adjustments. The Steelers actually made some changes (!) in their defensive plan (maybe MT was implementing those while he was watching film when Tony Dungy called him this morning...lol). They were blitzing and having some success with it. The Packers go in at the half, come out throwing with quick passes, and totally negate the blitz. Add poor tackling to that and you have what we saw in the second half -- complete domination by Green Bay. The Steelers just kept on blitzing the vast majority of the time, and continued to get burned. There really doesn't seem to be an answer against good offensive teams. The schemes are bad, and the players aren't making enough plays. They cannot pressure the quarterback with a 4-man rush, and no matter how they try and defend, they eventually get eaten alive.
Other thoughts:
1) The fix may have been in tonight. That non-offsides call was one of the most egregious I've ever seen. Then, on one of the few plays where Love held the ball and the blitz actually got there, he lobs it up, Kraft clearly pushes off, and they don't call pass interference. That was a huge moment in the game. And no offsetting penalties in that 4th quarter scrum?
2) TJ Watt is not the same player he's been for most of his career. I don't know if he's hurt, or already washed up, but he's a shell of what he was a few years ago. If he can't start getting to the quarterback again, this defense is complete toast. At least they're not paying him much, right?
3) I understand that Tucker Kraft is a great athlete, but at 6'5" and nearly 260 lbs., the fact that he can run away from Chuck Clark (who weighs 50 pounds less) is both sad and sobering.
4) They need to start rolling Rodgers out of the pocket more often. He's as old as dirt, but he can still move a little bit when it's designed into the play and he can get a head start on things. Having him sit back in the pocket and try and find somebody more than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage is just painful to watch most of the time.
5) Maybe it's time to get Roman Wilson some more snaps. He played well.
