Big Ben played well!

[SteelCityMan786]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

It's nice to see some positive comments about Ben. He's been hammered by a couple of people the past few weeks. I, like Preacher, felt he should rest up this week but practice makes (almost) perfect and I thought Ben played fairly well today. It's obvious his shoulder isn't 100% yet, as he didn't attempt many long passes, but it seems to be coming along and that can only be a good thing!

I too, will commend Ben. He did very good today with his shoulder bothering him. Short Passes, and eventually it turned into a big gain because of his receivers. Good Work to Ben and time to get ready for the Bengals.

[steelpride12]

Ben and yes Arians shortened the field for Ben. The came into this game being kinda conservative with the pass lengths keeping them short.
Ben only went deep twice both which were incomplete, but his checkdowns came up big tonight so did Ward with over 100 yards and as well Spaeth.

He threw short and pretty accurate passing only missing 10 out of 41 and still managed 308 yards. Ben drove the team on the winning drive and won and redeemed himself for the loss last week.

[iloveben7]

I disagree with those that say there aren't Ben haters because there are. Ben did a great job today and obviously put all the haters to sleep because none of them are posting today. And it's not all his fault, he didn't throw a TD.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by Makaveli

There are still quite a few games left. And possibly the playoffs,.....

IMO there are no such thing as "Ben Haters",...just simply those whom stand for THE STEELERS and Ben's groupies whom will make excuses for and or coddle him to the bitter end. But this is nothing new,..it was the same case with Brister and Tinkerbell (Kordell)

Nope.

There are Steeler fans, and then there are people who think that the Steelers OWE THEM a WIN EVERY time the Steelers take the field, and that it is the FANS GOD GIVEN RIGHT to be an absolute ASS concerning the team if they don't.

There are those who criticize the team... and then those who love to hate on whoever the scapegoat of the day is.

Thank God Mahan is gone.

It would have been his fault the Steelers didnt' score a TD.

[ytsan2q]

The timing was definitely there today. What a difference practice makes.

[OneForTheToe]

Originally Posted by OX1947

No one should hate Ben. However, two ending INTs for both halfs, is things even Kordell Stewart never did. Those are dumb dumb dumb plays that cost the steelers a win. Thos were not practice problems, not injury problems. Those were moron problem and yes, a moron mistake is much different then a mistake. Mistake is trying to throw into double coverage at the 50 yard line. Moron, idiot mistake is having a 17-7 lead and the half is almost done and you throw an INT on your own 20.

Actually, I think those int's are from lack of practice. Ben has had no rhythm the last few weeks. Yes, it is hard to get into a rhythm when your o'line is like swiss cheese, but even last year Ben was able to get into that rhythm. He needs the practice time to get his timing down. If you notice today he had much better timing with his receivers, as evidenced by how many of his throws were right on the money.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Originally Posted by steelpride12

Practice makes perfect!

Actually.....Perfect Practice makes Perfect.

Ben still hung onto the ball a few times and got sacked instead of throwing it away. A couple times he threw long to Nate when Holmes was open underneath and on the 2nd last drive he took the sack instead of throwing to Hines on the sideline on 3rd and long.

If he completes that 3rd and long to Ward on the sideline short of the first down, he might have given Reed a chance at a go ahead FG and would not have needed to take it down to the final seconds. If he plays that game smarter, he puts up 14 or 17 on the board and wins easier......but that is the risk-reward you get with Ben.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by El-Gonzo Jackson

Actually.....Perfect Practice makes Perfect.

Ben still hung onto the ball a few times and got sacked instead of throwing it away. A couple times he threw long to Nate when Holmes was open underneath and on the 2nd last drive he took the sack instead of throwing to Hines on the sideline on 3rd and long.

If he completes that 3rd and long to Ward on the sideline short of the first down, he might have given Reed a chance at a go ahead FG and would not have needed to take it down to the final seconds. If he plays that game smarter, he puts up 14 or 17 on the board and wins easier......but that is the risk-reward you get with Ben.

Yep.

You don't always want the safe pass. The safe pass may get you off the field without points.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Originally Posted by Preacher

Yep.

You don't always want the safe pass. The safe pass may get you off the field without points.

Actually my point was the safe pass would have got 3 more points and got him in field goal range for Reed.

The 2nd down pass to nate he threw incomplete when he had Holmes open underneath would have setup a 3rd and about 3.

I loved the moment Ben was drafted and my kid has a #7 jersey, but what I am saying is that if Ben learns to take the high percentage pass, have an internal clock in his head in the face of a blitz and throw the ball away to live another play instead of takings sacks and losing yardage........he will be flat out dangerous on a consistent basis.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by El-Gonzo Jackson

Actually my point was the safe pass would have got 3 more points and got him in field goal range for Reed.

The 2nd down pass to nate he threw incomplete when he had Holmes open underneath would have setup a 3rd and about 3.

I loved the moment Ben was drafted and my kid has a #7 jersey, but what I am saying is that if Ben learns to take the high percentage pass, have an internal clock in his head in the face of a blitz and throw the ball away to live another play instead of takings sacks and losing yardage........he will be flat out dangerous on a consistent basis.

And will never take the chances that make him very dangerous.

Fact is, if he throws the ball away like everyone wants him to... he throws away the chance to hit the last second TD, which he has done, or the last second 1st down, which he has done.

That also means he has to be ABLE to get out of the pocket, or he risks an IG. It ALSO means that he has to throw it in an area of a receiver if he isn't out out of the pocket, and that means higher probability of an INT.

Naaa, I don't worry as much as you do about it. I actually Like Ben taking the long shots at times. BTW, Washington should have caught it.. so it was a good decision, and bad hands on Washington.