Big FO mistake

[finesward]

Fart time hear this

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by WickedSteel

Don't throw my age at me or question my intelligence. I have watched the Steelers for 20 years and have seen the best of the best and the worst of the worst. .

If you have been watching the Steelers for 20 years I estimate you started watching around the time Cowher arrived - in which case you have some fairly inflated expectations and apparently assume 2 Super Bowl wins, 4 Super Bowl appearances and 8 AFC championship game appearances since 1992 is what is to be expected for a properly run franchise - it's not - it is truly exceptional

Since you obviously regard yourself to be a pretty smart guy, you no doubt are familiar with the statistical theory of of reversion to the mean - consider the possibility that it has some applicability to the performance of pro sports teams and that absent some inherent advantage over competitors (e.g. - in baseball some teams consistently can buy up more talent) the success of the Steelers over the past 2 decades, which you apparently regard to be expected, is an outlier that is unlikely to continue indefinitely for reasons other than an "incompetent" FO

P.S. - some of us started watching the NFL before you did. Unless you were watching during the late Noll years (1 playoff appearance in his last 7 seasons - 1988 was a particular lowlight) you have not seen the worst of the worst when it comes to Steelers football over the last 4 decades

[Bayz101]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Dan

If you have been watching the Steelers for 20 years I estimate you started watching around the time Cowher arrived - in which case you have some fairly inflated expectations and apparently assume 2 Super Bowl wins, 4 Super Bowl appearances and 8 AFC championship game appearances since 1992 is what is to be expected for a properly run franchise - it's not - it is truly exceptional

Since you obviously regard yourself to be a pretty smart guy, you no doubt are familiar with the statistical theory of of reversion to the mean - consider the possibility that it has some applicability to the performance of pro sports teams and that absent some inherent advantage over competitors (e.g. - in baseball some teams consistently can buy up more talent) the success of the Steelers over the past 2 decades, which you apparently regard to be expected, is an outlier that is unlikely to continue indefinitely for reasons other than an "incompetent" FO

P.S. - some of us started watching the NFL before you did. Unless you were watching during the late Noll years (1 playoff appearance in his last 7 seasons - 1988 was a particular lowlight) you have not seen the worst of the worst when it comes to Steelers football over the last 4 decades

No disrespect to anyone, but in my honest opinion. How long you've watched the Steelers play, doesn't matter. Because every September starts off a new season, and with that, the past is no longer relevant. I look forward to each and every year of Steelers football, and my eyes are on what we can do this year, not what we could have done last year.

[Bayz101]

Although I can admit, looking back on those 6 superbowls is a beautiful sight.

[TRH]

Originally Posted by WickedSteel

They should have been quietly addressing this issue over the past two seasons. How they can sit there and allow their $100 million QB to get destroyed game after game while keeping the same inept, patchwork O line and expecting different results is beyond me.

The other high paid QBs in the league have good O lines and game plans that have them get rid of the ball quickly to avoid even taking a hit let alone a sack. Ben has been SACKED 14 times in 4 games and hit dozens more. How many times has Brady been sacked? ONCE.

We're too busy signing linebackers to worry about putting a high-caliber OL on the field. Why would you want to protect a $100 million QB?
I'd love to see Brady play behind this line. Now THAT would be funny.

[solardave]

Has anyone heard Ben complain about the line? I haven't. We have injury problems and I think it's time to plug Ziggy and Heyward into the system so we can get some production out of our "over paid LBs". Some of you guys sound like you believe we should cut Woodley and Timmons to clear up the o-line problem. Doesn't make sense. You make them worth the money they're being paid. It's been said Ben is a 100 mil QB. Is he playing like one? Hell no. It's the supporting cast up front that needs to play better. Look at the Packers last year. They won it all with like 5 players on IR. The guys in line stepped up. Ours need to too.

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by Bayz101

No disrespect to anyone, but in my honest opinion. How long you've watched the Steelers play, doesn't matter. Because every September starts off a new season, and with that, the past is no longer relevant. I look forward to each and every year of Steelers football, and my eyes are on what we can do this year, not what we could have done last year.

My point is that if you are going to claim you have seen the worst of the worst it helps your argument if you actually have seen it

I am not saying having watched the Steelers for a longer period of time somehow makes you a better fan

[Truman_sparks]

Back to my original point. The team thought they could replace Starks at LT with Jon Scott.. Huge mistake. They ended up bringing him back in anyway. Then Colon goes down, and they look for no help on the line, just move Gilbert, a rookie, over. He's probably going to be good, but isn't now - and Ben is getting killed.

Yes, you can't be great at every position, but isn't the O line more important to be solid on an NFL team than having 6 dozen freaking linebackers! This team has more money invested in LB's than any other position, at the expense of others. Baltimore brought in two of the highest touted FA O linemen, we ignored ours, in fact, let two starters walk.
My whole point is the FO failed when they again didn't address the O line, and when Colon went out, a guy they were highly counting on, they DID NOTHING!

[WickedSteel]

That's right. Ben doesn't need an elite O line, just a decent one. He can escape the pressure most of the time when it's only one guy getting through. The high paid LBs need the D line to be play strong in order to be productive. The D line isn't gobbling up blocker like they have in the past and the LBs are ineffective now.

[dcsteel5804]

In general, the thing that bothers me most about this forum is the criticism posters get when questioning the Steelers FO. Look, this line is crap. The FO has not invested enough money / high draft picks in the line to protect their 100M dollar man. I don't care how you slice it, its true. If someone wants to gripe about it, this should be his forum. If you don't like it, there's a back button, use it. If you disagree, state why you disagree, but responses like "the sky is falling", and "what are you complaining about, we have 6 rings" are just default home answers. Get a brain and think. Why do you disagree? The people complaining are presenting arguments on why they think the line sucks and have stats and data to back that up. If you can't respond with a coherent answer that refutes the complaint, just keep it moving and STFU... That is all...