Earth to Steeler Nation - we are 8-3 if Ben doesn't get hurt

[LayingTheWoodley56]

This is my first time logging on here since yesterday's admitted debacle, and all it takes is a quick scanning of the threads to see that everyone is reacting with predictable panic and pessimism.

THE ONLY REASON WE LOST THESE TWO GAMES IS BECAUSE BEN WAS INJURED!

And that would happen with any star quarterback in the NFL; if Aaron Rodgers got injured right now the Packers would be in the same or worse shape as we are. Same with Brees and the Saints, and so on and so forth. Look at what happened to the Bears last year when Cutler went down. The vehicle can't work without it's engine.

That being said, we still control our own fate in terms of our playoff destiny and given last Sunday's performance I would have to assume that Ben will play Sunday. The play of our defense the last two games has me very encouraged that we will recover and make a playoff run, hinging entirely on whether or not Ben returns.

To be honest, I don't even want to read any of what is being said. We were a mess Sunday, plain and simple. I expect something very different Sunday with #7 back under center.

[AndyWitmyer]

Originally Posted by LayingTheWoodley56

This is my first time logging on here since yesterday's admitted debacle, and all it takes is a quick scanning of the threads to see that everyone is reacting with predictable panic and pessimism.

THE ONLY REASON WE LOST THESE TWO GAMES IS BECAUSE BEN WAS INJURED!

And that would happen with any star quarterback in the NFL; if Aaron Rodgers got injured right now the Packers would be in the same or worse shape as we are. Same with Brees and the Saints, and so on and so forth. Look at what happened to the Bears last year when Cutler went down. The vehicle can't work without it's engine.

That being said, we still control our own fate in terms of our playoff destiny and given last Sunday's performance I would have to assume that Ben will play Sunday. The play of our defense the last two games has me very encouraged that we will recover and make a playoff run, hinging entirely on whether or not Ben returns.

To be honest, I don't even want to read any of what is being said. We were a mess Sunday, plain and simple. I expect something very different Sunday with #7 back under center.

Aside from death and less sex after marriage, nothing in life is 100% certain. But, I do agree that had Ben been under center we would have had a very excellent chance to have won at least one of the last two...and a decent chance that we would have won both. And, I'd rate it as highly unlikely that we would have still lost these games. Still..we're talking about football - so - ya never know!

[pittpete]

And the only reason we barely beat KC was because Ben was injured also...
Oh wait, Ben played in that game :-B

[AndyWitmyer]

Originally Posted by pittpete

And the only reason we barely beat KC was because Ben was injured also...
Oh wait, Ben played in that game :-B

Yeah...my point exactly. Assuming that he's not hobbling around on a broken foot, Ben gives us probably the greatest chance of winning any given game. That still doesn't guarantee a win. Ben's my favorite QB, but he's played some seriously bad games in his time - some of these games were wins only because of a tremendous defensive effort (Ben's first Super Bowl anyone?)

[desertsteel]

So who was playing QB when the Raiders and Titans beat us???

There's no guarantees in this league. You can't count your wins on paper or we'd be 14-2 every year.

[Fire Arians]

You turn the ball over 8 times, even with ben in the lineup, and you'll probably still lose. The cleveland game you can not put solely on the quarterback. If we don't turn the ball over 8 freakin' times, I think we win that game.

Turnovers are the result of undisciplined football, that last game is on tomlin and his coordinators obviously not getting the team focused for that week

[ZoneBlitzer]

Agreed with AndyWitmyer and desertsteel. Under Tomlin's watch this team has consistently struggles against weaker clubs. Given the current state, I would never pick the Steelers to ever blowout a below .500 club. I'll just pray from now on that they somehow get it done and no one gets hurt.

[AndyWitmyer]

Originally Posted by ZoneBlitzer

Agreed with AndyWitmyer and desertsteel. Under Tomlin's watch this team has consistently struggles against weaker clubs. Given the current state, I would never pick the Steelers to ever blowout a below .500 club. I'll just pray from now on that they somehow get it done and no one gets hurt.

Zone, I was just thinking that earlier! It's as though...when we face a team with a good record and a lot of hype, we pull off a win...but when we face a team that we're "expected to destroy"...well, the joke is usually on us.

Seriously, the Steelers probably fall for the textbook "trap game" more than most other teams in the NFL! Any time some analyst says: "the Steelers are going to have a very weak schedule", it scares the hell out of me!

[Twentyvalve]

Those losses for on the D. Ben played great those games.

Originally Posted by desertsteel

So who was playing QB when the Raiders and Titans beat us???

There's no guarantees in this league. You can't count your wins on paper or we'd be 14-2 every year.

[AndyWitmyer]

"Those losses for on the D. Ben played great those games."

Agreed. It's been a strangely lopsided season. With the exception of maybe one game, this year's team has been entirely unbalanced: dropped balls by certain receivers aside, the offense *was* playing far better than anyone could have ever expected - in spite of all the speculation about our QB would probably struggle under Haley's "rosetta stone" playbook, Ben was actually playing some of his best football in years - in fact, before the injury, it seemed as though a career season was imminent.

Meanwhile, the D was seemingly in a tailspin. Despite having 4th quarter leads (leads that in previous seasons, we might have described as being "comfortable"), many of our earlier losses ended with an opposing team's late game rally going almost entirely unchallenged - they apparently forgot that a football game lasts four quarters.

Now, the D is playing much, much better - but what does it matter when you have an offense that can barely score? The run game has never come together in any consistent manner - and without Ben, the entire offense seems lost.

Don't get me started on special teams - with the exception Suisham, whose proven to be exceptionally accurate when he's not being forced to kick career long 53 yard field goals, they've been a trainwreck - the quality of our offense and defense aside, regardless of which one is playing well or which one is sucking,you can always count on our special teams to do their best to give our opponents a good chance to win.