Initial Thoughts on the Atlanta game

[troymania]

I thought Fields was good, not spectacular. A good game manager if you will. Najee ran well but just missed some long runs. I was watching the Offense and they kept running this strange play. The Quarterback would fake handing the ball off to the Running Back and then throw it freezing the defense and the Tight End catching the ball. I can't remember what that play is called. Anybody? TJ Watt is a Beast and was not offside you blind NFL ref pricks.

 

[SteelerSask2]

I dont think they put Fields in very good positions with play calls. Specifically Jet sweep to Pickens and Toss to Najee in situation where they looked to be driving. But Smith was better then their guy.
Defense was elite in second half.
They need to spread ball around.
The refing was beyond bad. 3 maybe 4 game changing **** ups. Steelers should have won by double digits.
Missed face mask helmet removal
Ticky tack OPI on Pickens
I won't even over argue offsides on Watt
Broderick Jones got a penalty for taking multiple punches.
How was Pickens down on thst deep ball? Not within 2 yards.
Wouldn't have gotten first down I think but the call on their guy blowing up punters knee was beyond baffling.

 

[stillwright]

I dont think they put Fields in very good positions with play calls. Specifically Jet sweep to Pickens and Toss to Najee in situation where they looked to be driving. But Smith was better then their guy.
Defense was elite in second half.
They need to spread ball around.
The refing was beyond bad. 3 maybe 4 game changing **** ups. Steelers should have won by double digits.
Missed face mask helmet removal
Ticky tack OPI on Pickens
I won't even over argue offsides on Watt
Broderick Jones got a penalty for taking multiple punches
Wouldn't have gotten first down I think buy the call on their guy blowing up punters knee was beyond baffling.

Agreed on everything. Nice post.

 

[MT~Forged]

I thought that Fields played fairly well once he settled down and quit trying so hard. Relax young man, don’t try too hard, just relax.

TJ Watt is who we think he is. He is a one man wrecking crew. He is also one of the most handicapped players, as the refs allow him to be held constantly. The NFL knows that the refs screwed the pooch on the offsides, that is why there was no televised down the line replay. It is past time to start fining refs for their ineptitude.

I like what I saw from Washington, I don’t understand why you don’t play him at least 80% of the snaps. He is that 6th lineman that benefits everything, and a couple catches a game keeps D’s a bit more honest.

Until another WR steps up, Muth should be fed the ball at least 8-10 times a game. I believe he could be a receiving threat paired up with GP.

GP is an incredible athlete, he is going to cost a TON to sign to a new deal. He needs to learn that Steeler stars are watched so much harder than everyone else in the league, and will be penalized at a much higher rate. I am just going to enjoy watching him for as long as he is here.

Payton Wilson is going to be the LB they have been looking for. Pairing him with Queen will pay off huge for the next few years. The problem is going to be, how do you deploy 5 big time LB’s

Tomlin still continues to make brain dead decisions, after 17 years that is unacceptable. This team needs to employ an in game manager for game days.

What more can be said about The Wizard of Boz? The man is money. He should have choice of tubs after today.

 

[bigben]

Fields looked like fields. Don't trust him protecting the ball but the kid plays with heart. Looks slightly more accurate than Pickett. They need to let him run it as much as possible.
Harris played well, ran angry today. But I believe it was Derrick Henry and not Arthur Smith. Running game did not look much better if at all. Pickens is an elite talent stuck in a bad offense.
Defense looked great loved the ballhawks in the secondary. Still we are in trouble if TJ goes down.
Overall more of the same with it coming down to winning the turnover differential to win a close game against a bad team.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

A win is a win but the TFC is probably happy that they won a game without scoring a touchdown instead of it being cause for concern.

 

[Sarge]

It doesn't seem like they trusted Fields to do much beyond play action and some shots to Pickens.

He wasn't bad by any stretch, but I still feel the passing game will be limited with him, especially on obvious passing downs.

I prefer to see what the offense looks like with Wilson.

The OL performed well, I thought. Frazier could be a great one.

Time will tell, but it looks like they may have finally fixed the holes at ILB and DB that have plagued them for years now. Couldn't ask for a much better debut from Donta Jackson, though he did have the face mask penalty that negated a 3rd down sack by Watt.

Speaking of Watt, it is business as usual from him. Fans who are still reluctant to view him as one of the greatest Steelers ever need to loosen their grip on the past a little bit. He's approaching Greene and Lambert territory with his dominance.

No other player has led the league in sacks three times.

It's just a shame he may never whiff a Superbowl, to little fault of his own.

Jack Lambert is my all time favorite player, but Watt has long since surpassed him on the ladder of greatness, at least on an individual level.

 

[madinsomniac]

https://x.com/MarkKaboly/status/1832885478049157629

 

[Sarge]

For me, this game was pretty “meh.” Nothing to be overly excited about, nothing to get too down about.

Aside from a lack of touchdowns, I felt the overall execution of the offense was better. The defense was on their game today.

Not a sexy win, but it was a stout defensive performance and the offense did enough. They all count the same in the standings. The arrow is definitely pointing up at this point.

 

[Litos]

How much does kirk cousins collect compared to Fields?

 

[Buster]

For me, this game was pretty “meh.” Nothing to be overly excited about, nothing to get too down about.

Aside from a lack of touchdowns, I felt the overall execution of the offense was better. The defense was on their game today.

Not a sexy win, but it was a stout defensive performance and the offense did enough. They all count the same in the standings. The arrow is definitely pointing up at this point.

I think we are going to lose several games this year where we hold opponents to 13 points or less.

 

[SteelerFan448]

It doesn't seem like they trusted Fields to do much beyond play action and some shots to Pickens.

When is the last time they've trusted a QB to do anything, including Ben at the end of his career? Maybe 2020? 2019 before Ben was injured?

 

[GMC]

https://x.com/MarkKaboly/status/1832885478049157629

****

 

[Jim Bob]

No major surprises. Pussywillow Wilson rather be making movies than playing football. But he came cheap, so that and the Rooney Rule is all this organization seems to care about these days. Mission accomplished.

Smith may be a slight upgrade over the loser that we had last year, but I wouldn’t count on any post season play with this offense.

Justin Faileds played it safe. Not surprised that we didn’t find the end zone. A slight upgrade over crybaby Pickett, but we don’t have a coaching staff that is capable of building him up. Refer to paragraph 1 if you need reminded where our priorities lie.

Tomlin appears to be the same clueless, poor play calling numb-nuts that he’s been for the past 18 years. Thanks Art for that extension. No really. Thanks.

Another moron move extending Old Man Hayward. “He can be a mentor in the locker room”. Yeah .. sure.

Boz looked good. Watts looked good. I don’t have high hopes, but at least we won’t finish 0-17 this season.

 

[Frosty]

How much does kirk cousins collect compared to Fields?

Falcons social media sites ripping Cousins to shreds.

Every other team in our division scored at least one TD. They all lost.

 

[jitter77]

For me, this game was pretty “meh.” Nothing to be overly excited about, nothing to get too down about.

Aside from a lack of touchdowns, I felt the overall execution of the offense was better. The defense was on their game today.

Not a sexy win, but it was a stout defensive performance and the offense did enough. They all count the same in the standings. The arrow is definitely pointing up at this point.

Im more optimistic after this game than i thought. Fields had all day to throw most of the time which was shocking after the pre-season. The defense helds Pitts in check and the secondary w/o JPJ played very well. Robinson was a bit of an issue, but he is a pretty elite player. We didnt turn the ball over, dropped an int, and had some terrible calls against us. We had 6 scoring drives and only a few punts and short drives. Im not saying we are going to be world beaters, but the offense had some sense of rhythm. If we can covert a TD or 2 and the refs make the correct calls it would have been a blowout.

 

[stillwright]

Fields looked like fields. Don't trust him protecting the ball but the kid plays with heart. Looks slightly more accurate than Pickett. They need to let him run it as much as possible.
Harris played well, ran angry today. But I believe it was Derrick Henry and not Arthur Smith. Running game did not look much better if at all. Pickens is an elite talent stuck in a bad offense.
Defense looked great loved the ballhawks in the secondary. Still we are in trouble if TJ goes down.
Overall more of the same with it coming down to winning the turnover differential to win a close game against a bad team.

Our OL isn't the Titans of when Henry was there. Not saying Harris is as good as Henry...just stating a fact.

 

[madinsomniac]

So there are quite a few boneheaded coaching decisions i didnt agree with today, but three stood out to me...

1. Going for it on 4 th and 1, in FG range, up 5 late in the 4th... textbook take the points situation... Tomlin plays it safe then sporadically takes huge gambles... its counterproductive... if you ALWAYS take the gambles.... the odds favor you in an offensive weighted league.. but just occasionally taking them doesnt play out like that... it was a very stupid one to take there... ifcthe D was playing poorly, fine... but it wasnt... take the points and make Rusty Cousins get a td and a 2pt conversion just to tie

2. Right before that play they ran a pass play to jefferson with Pickens and i think austin blocking... jefferson is your best wr blocker... CA your fastest runner, pickens the guy with the most size and with moves.. i dont understand why it wasnt austin getting the ball or pickens... jefferson should have been blocking...

3. On the deep pass to pickens when they called him Down by Contact, why not challenge. He was clearly untouched and it was a free win and a few more yards...

 

[madinsomniac]

This site doubleposts from iphones too much now

 

[stillwright]

So there are quite a few boneheaded coaching decisions i didnt agree with today, but three stood out to me...

1. Going for it on 4 th and 1, in FG range, up 5 late in the 4th... textbook take the points situation... Tomlin plays it safe then sporadically takes huge gambles... its counterproductive... if you ALWAYS take the gambles.... the odds favor you in an offensive weighted league.. but just occasionally taking them doesnt play out like that... it was a very stupid one to take there... ifcthe D was playing poorly, fine... but it wasnt... take the points and make Rusty Cousins get a td and a 2pt conversion just to tie

2. Right before that play they ran a pass play to jefferson with Pickens and i think austin blocking... jefferson is your best wr blocker... CA your fastest runner, pickens the guy with the most size and with moves.. i dont understand why it wasnt austin getting the ball or pickens... jefferson should have been blocking...

3. On the deep pass to pickens when they called him Down by Contact, why not challenge. He was clearly untouched and it was a free win and a few more yards...

Keep that challenge in your back pocket for a challege on a play that has zero chance of being overturned later in the game....obviously.

 

[Steeltime]

I will say this ... offenses around the NFL are struggling today. Defenses are just ahead of the curve so far.

 

[Punxsutawney]

When is the last time they've trusted a QB to do anything, including Ben at the end of his career? Maybe 2020? 2019 before Ben was injured?

They seemed to turn Rudolph loose a bit toward the end of last season, but in general, we definitely have not seen it much in recent years

It just figures that they so easily move on from the guy who gave them the best QB play they've had in a long time.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

I'd say the reason for 1, besides the normal Tomlin conservative mess the past few years, is because of 2.

I miss the days of Ben in his prime airing it out to AB. The offense was great, but the defense often wasn't. If I had to chose, I'd probably go with something like today where the defenses is smothering, but the offense does just enough to win, but not lose the game.

However, the problem with that approach in today's NFL is one just above 500 season after the next. You can't turn into a dynamic offense in games where you are down a bunch or against the teams in the NFL with elite passers without actually at least practicing to play like that.

The Tomlin ultra conservative method has proven to be serviceable in the regular season as they face a parity filled league and his style can consistently get to that 6th-7th best in AFC range

The problem is there is virtually zero margin for error which does not work in a win or go home scenario playing against the better teams in the league as the parity has been weeded out to the cream of the crop. Usually the margin of error bites him the first chance it gets in the playoffs, but is almost impossible to play perfectly conservative 4 games in a row vs these better teams

So he’s got a mold that bakes perfectly formed above average regular season cookies (10-7, 9-8) that get very stale very quickly come playoff time (0-1)

 

[Fiji Mariner]

It doesn't seem like they trusted Fields to do much beyond play action and some shots to Pickens.

If he’s struggling with reads throw to the guy that doesn’t need to be “open” to make a catch
Good strategy

If he ain’t doubled he’s open
Sometimes when he’s doubled he’s still open
He’s that good-**** he made KP’s *** throws completions

 

[Punxsutawney]

The Tomlin ultra conservative method has proven to be serviceable in the regular season as they face a parity filled league and his style can consistently get to that 6th-7th best in AFC range

The problem is there is virtually zero margin for error which does not work in a win or go home scenario playing against the better teams in the league as the parity has been weeded out to the cream of the crop. Usually the margin of error bites him the first chance it gets in the playoffs, but is almost impossible to play perfectly conservative 4 games in a row vs these better teams

So he’s got a mold that bakes perfectly formed above average regular season cookies (10-7, 9-8) that get very stale very quickly come playoff time (0-1)

He produced similar records when he had a QB and offense that could score points.

He's basically "Mediocre Mike," regardless of the strategy involved.