The Sky isnt Falling but...

[moedap]

1. Our receivers arent running their routes with conviction which is attributing to Big Ben holding the ball for so long. There were 3 occasions where they showed our recievers running double move routes and the Denver CB's never bit because the fake by the reciever was half hearted. Ben needs to hit his checkdowns a lot quicker.

2. The playcalling seems to come without rhyme or reason. Like they are saying okay lets try this now. I wish they would try more slants and outs rather than looking to go 10 to 15 yards a pass.

3. Sean Mahan has problems snapping to Ben in the shotgun formation.

4. The offense only seems to show a desire to score when behind when on the road.

[MasterOfPuppets]

there's one glaring stat , that seriously needs addressed.....70 %.... that was denvers 3rd down conversion percentage. 7 outta 10 !!! and these weren't 3rd and one...most were 3rd and 8 +.....obvious passing downs. you got 2 options. bring an all out blitz, or suffocate the recievers with db's. it seems to me,givin denvers injury riddled line the blitz should have been effective.

[HometownGal]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

it seems to me,givin denvers injury riddled line the blitz should have been effective.

What blitz? Other than late in the 3rd Q and occasionally in the 4th, I saw it, but it was virtually MIA last night.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

What blitz? Other than late in the 3rd Q and occasionally in the 4th, I saw it, but it was virtually MIA last night.

yup ,i noticed that. i just wanna know where all these innovated blitzes and schemes are, that we read about in the 100 articles during preseason.

[X-Terminator]

Originally Posted by moedap

1. Our receivers arent running their routes with conviction which is attributing to Big Ben holding the ball for so long. There were 3 occasions where they showed our recievers running double move routes and the Denver CB's never bit because the fake by the reciever was half hearted. Ben needs to hit his checkdowns a lot quicker.

2. The playcalling seems to come without rhyme or reason. Like they are saying okay lets try this now. I wish they would try more slants and outs rather than looking to go 10 to 15 yards a pass.

3. Sean Mahan has problems snapping to Ben in the shotgun formation.

4. The offense only seems to show a desire to score when behind when on the road.

I agree with most of your points, especially the O running more slants. One of the very few slants they attempted last night was to Cedric Wilson on their final TD drive that got them a first down on 2nd or 3rd and long. Santonio Holmes with his speed would be very effective in slant patterns - he'd have a chance to take one to the house if he got enough separation. I'd also like to see more 3-step drops from Ben, so he can get rid of the ball quicker since the OL is so porous. Making more use of the no-huddle shotgun formation in other situations than the 2:00 offense or when we're behind wouldn't hurt either. Ben obviously runs it very well - why not use it more often?

[SteelerFanInCA]

The D definitely had an off night. I figure any time the Offense puts up 28 points we should be able to win that game.

Hopefully Tomlin will make the proper adjustments and the fix the problems this week.

[DACEB]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

yup ,i noticed that. i just wanna know where all these innovated blitzes and schemes are, that we read about in the 100 articles during preseason.

That's what I was thinking. I kept waiting for the sacks and they never came. Is it possible we're saving them for division games?!?

[Rotorhead]

I agree with MasterOfPuppets, the third down def we had was atrocious. That and the fact that after the first half FWP was averaging 11 ypc . . . . and we didnt run it very often. I am not sure why we didnt blitz, maybe it was cause Denver whooped us with that short passing game! That is a glaring weakness we need to address or other teams will watch that film and we will be in trouble. Fortunately, that game is not of major concern, our next 2 definately are!

[DACEB]

Too many negative plays in the running game and passing game. I refuse to believe our O-line is that bad, these guys need to be put in position to succeed.

I don't think that the team is prepared well enough for what to expect week to week, team to team. There appears to be a problem recognizing what the defense is doing and reacting with a protection audible or play audible.

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

yup ,i noticed that. i just wanna know where all these innovated blitzes and schemes are, that we read about in the 100 articles during preseason.

On the bright side, we will not be seeing the return of that nonsensical "best Steelers defense ever" thread.

While watching the game I was talking with someone who agreed we may see Tomlin's will being asserted with the D becoming more Cover 2 (which was apparently played a great deal in the Seattle game) and less zone blitz.

Not to be underestimated was the loss of Aaron Smith early - if Smith is out next week the Steelers are going to need to score in the 30s to win at Cincy.

As for the long term, the Steelers still are probable to win the division and highly unlikely to finish ahead of New England or Indy, so the greatest effect of last night probably is to confirm that if the Steelers are going to make any noise in the playoffs it will be on the road after the first weekend.