Big Snack & Dookie

[DACEB]

I'm pretty much just recovering from the game now. I must say that I'm very proud of the guys. Hey, bad kickoff coverage, bad playcalling at the end, and bad officiating , and we still only lost by 2.

I wanted to share something that I noticed to see how you'all felt.

First off, Najeh looked really tired early on, and he did nothing.

Secondly, as much as I hate to say this but I thought Hampton played poorly. I thought he looked tired and was not applying any pressure at all on passing downs. The first play for Jax was the 1yd TD, Hampton was manhandled by one man (albeit with hands to his face). On several passing downs he had no push whatsoever, as if he were the QB spy (yea right).

Hampton is too big to do anything other than occupy two men on the O-line, and provide a push up the middle on passing downs. I understand that is his job, but thats just it, he is not doing his job if he is not occupying two men at all times.

This same thing was brought up I believe after the Denver game, I dunno maybe it's just me.

[Lord Stiller]

I thought they would let Holmes return the last kick. Dookie was worn out by that point

[ShutDown24]

Originally Posted by DACEB

First off, Najeh looked really tired early on, and he did nothing.

Surprise, surprise...

[Atlanta Dan]

Najeh played like a career backup.

Hampton had an off year - whether it is the start of a slide is one more concern for 2009

[19ward86]

hampton had a good year i thought, hampton also doesnt play on 3rd downs unless it is a running situation. najeh is tired becuase he is a backup, not like michael turner or chester taylor, he gets the ball when willie is done for the day or when he needs a break.

[jjpro11]

hampton has been just a tad inconsistent this season. its understandable considering his size and stamina issues. but maybe thats something he needs to work on in the offseason. i remember him making some great plays this year where he single handedly blew up plays and dominated the LOS.

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by DACEB

First off, Najeh looked really tired early on, and he did nothing.

You kidding? We were better off without Willie and having Najeh start: http://forums.steelersfever.com/show...ghlight=Willie



As the playoff loss to Jax shows, when your OL sucks out loud, you could have Earl Campbell and Jim Brown in their prime back there and guess what? They're gonna get stuffed.

[PINDEL1]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Dan

Najeh played like a career backup.

Hampton had an off year - whether it is the start of a slide is one more concern for 2009

You got that right! Mop up duty against weak teams only.

Davenport is a decent RB to have on the team but he is not a #1 or #2 back answer for the Steelers. Why do I say that >> If he was on the Jags team I do not think he could beat out either of the #1 and #2 backs.

So with that said he was our #1 back in that game. <<< That puts our running game in trouble before the game even started.

critical series w/ 3:43 left in the game.
At this point in the game Davenport has a pathetic 14 carries for 21 yards. His longest carry is 10 yds. Take that out and you have 13 carries for 11yds. For the record he finished with 16 carries for 25 yds.

So what do the coaches decide?

Here is were playing calling is on the friggin line.

They decide to give the ball to Davenport. 1st down he gains 5 yds. << Really not that bad. Its the 2nd & 3rd down calls that sink them. On 2nd down Davenport loses 1 yard. Now 3rd and 6 Ben in shotgun, runs left tackle for 1 yard. Then Dan punts a measly 40 yards. Well you know the rest of the story.

Both games with the Jags were decided in the last 5 minutes by a field goal. They found away to win.

[Galax Steeler]

I would love to see us get a running back in the draft to back up parker when he is out.

[DACEB]

Originally Posted by galax steeler

I would love to see us get a running back in the draft to back up parker when he is out.

We have one, his name is Russell.

IMO, Russell played well from what I saw in his limited action. He seemed to know his assignment and actually chipped the DE better than Najeh when he caught the dropoff pass for the 1st down. He also showed he wanted to be on the field because he had a big STs tackle also.

I don't think we subbed enough all season. FWP should have been spelled more often. IMO, Keisel and Hampton should have been spelled more also. Maybe thats why Hampton looked out of it. Keisel was much more disruptive when he used to come in and spell Kimo (don't get me wrong, I'm not badmouthing Keisel). This all goes back to our lack of quality depth on the D-line though.