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Grades: Week 8 @ Steelers


Superman

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Defense, D-: 81 plays, 639 yards, 34 first downs (25 passing, 7 rushing, 2 from penalty), 8/13 on third down, 1/1 on fourth down, 5/6 in the red zone, 2 turnovers, 42 points; Big Ben made our previously highly touted defense look like gutter trash

 
Defensive front: One bright spot on defense is that we did a pretty good job against the run. We're usually able to corral big, bruising backs, so long as we don't make any big mistakes. The tackling could have been better, but generally, Bell and Blount weren't hurting us. The problem is we had no pass rush. None. Out of 49 dropbacks, we only hit the man twice. We hurried him a few more times, but PFF has him at 9/12 against pressure, with a passer rating of 155, so the meager pressure we did get actually made him better. The biggest hit we got on him was at the end of the game where he tried to roll out for a first down, and Newsome popped him. Far too little, far too late. And it didn't matter whether we were sending 3 rushers or 8, there was nothing we could do to get to him. One particularly poor play, we managed to get some pressure, but he got away and found Antonio Brown for a huge gain, seven seconds after the ball was snapped. Unreal. We never flushed him out or forced him to throw under duress. Just terrible. The best pressure we got was on his punt attempt, which was blocked (by Newsome, again). I can live with playing a QB who gets rid of the ball quickly to avoid pressure, like Peyton Manning did in Week 1, but this was totally different. D-, pitiful scheme, worse execution

 
Pass defense: LOL, what pass defense? Can't cover guys for 4+ seconds in the NFL, and too often, the QB had that kind of time. And then, when he did throw quickly, we didn't have a defender in place to make a play (distinct visions of Heath Miller wide open in the middle of the field, with the nearest defender running away from him). The times we did have someone close, we weren't able to stop the receptions. Okay, we had a couple breakups -- Freeman and Gordy. But overall, this was a clinic. Everything they did worked, nothing we did worked. Davis might have played a little better on the outside, but he was part of a blown coverage before he left the game, so... The defense made some stops in the second half, and it was beginning to look like we might have a chance, and then the safety happened, and the rest is history. D, too many open receivers, 40 completions, 6 TDs, hurt by lack of pass rush

 

Offense, C: 57 plays, 448 yards, 26 first downs (17 passing, 2 rushing, 7 from penalty), 5/10 on third down, 1/3 in the red zone, 3 turnovers, 34 points (minus 9 for the returned interception and a safety); got killed on time of possession, which is usually the other way around

QB: Obligatory "too many mistakes, too many interceptions" comment. That's obvious. It's also obvious that he got his butt kicked practically all game, with a pressure basically every other play (21 out of 49 dropbacks). He also made his customary big plays, and hopefully has found another fancy target in Moncrief. For whatever reason, his timing with Nicks isn't there, and I'm losing all hope for that connection to be meaningful at any point. He also overthrew and underthrew some TEs and backs on plays that he should be able to make. And to take some of the blame away from the poor pass pro, he was just as bad on plays with no pressure. And after  All that said, he was still very productive in the face of less than ideal circumstances. C, carried the offense, but also contributed to the big deficit

Backs / receivers / tight ends, B:
Running game: No run game. Seven called run plays, because of the deficit, and it also looked like Luck checked out of a few along the way. When we did run, Bradshaw was productive, and did an especially nice job on the TD (and by the way, he's an absolute TD monster this season). But there wasn't anything going on here. Barely even worthy of a grade. B

Passing game: Moncrief and Hilton were monsters. Allen was underused, only 2 targets, not enough snaps. Bradshaw got his, and looked pretty good after the catch again. Nicks still can't get separation, and isn't on the same page as the QB. There was plenty of production, and not a lot of mistakes from the pass catchers, but the passing game was off rhythm because of the leaky protection. In the future, I think we'll be in good hands with Hilton and Moncrief. B

OL / blocking: Again, nothing to talk about with the run game. Maybe we should have been more patient with the offensive attack, continuing to run the ball, but then again, we gave up 51 points, so that's a tough argument to make. And in the pass game, the outside blockers gave up pressures, and the interior line got pushed back, so the QB didn't often have anywhere to step up. I still wish Luck would leave the pocket more often, but there wasn't a lot of time for him to make those decisions. And after they let him get beat up, they never defended him from the late hits and low shots that the Steelers were giving him. I saw James Harrison helping Luck up from the ground more than his linemen did. A returned late hit for the battering they were giving the QB would have been nice to see, and it never happened. Just a soft performance by the line, after a stretch of really hard fought games, and that's discouraging. D-, man up fellas

Special teams: Really good kicking and coverage, still no return game of our own, blahblahblah. I don't expect to have anythig to say here unless we pull off another onside kick or something. A-

Coaching / playcalling / game management, C-:
Offensive game plan was... undiscovered. We never got into it. The first drive stalled out, the second drive never got going, Luck threw the pick, and then we were in catch-up mode for the remaining 3 quarters of the game. I don't think the Steelers can stop our passing game, all things considered, and if we host them in the playoffs, it's a different outcome, I think. My only nitpick is that we might have been able to slow things down in the first half with some run plays, but again, the defense took that option off the table. B-

On defense, I don't know where the zone came from. I think it should go back. Receivers came open too easily, and when we blitzed, we left too much field for only 5 or so guys to cover. The blitzes generally didn't get anywhere near the QB. Just seemed like the absolute wrong gameplan for this team, and by the time we adjusted, it was too late. D

Game management was decent, but we wasted a couple timeouts. And overall, the entire staff failed to meet the challenge. We were thoroughly outcoached all game long. Matched with poor execution, the result speaks for itself. C

 

Game ball: Can't give out a game ball after such a terrible performance.

Next up, at the Giants, on Monday night. Need a big bounce back game.

GO COLTS!!! 

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Normally I agree with most of what you say but I think some of these grades were a little too generous.

 

This makes me wonder what you have to do to get E or F.

 

I also wonder if you took the penalty on a field goal attempt, that gave the Steelers a first and goal (ended up being a TD), when you gave the special team A-.

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"Just a soft performance by the line, after a stretch of really hard fought games, and that's discouraging." Whoa Superman, just called our O-line soft.

 

That's the worst thing a person can call a team: Soft. I get it. You're just trying to ignite their pride & competitive juices so as to not get steamrolled again. 

 

Games like this are good because you get knocked on your butt & embarrassed on Natl. TV. Only 1 way to go from here. Straight up. 

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Normally I agree with most of what you say but I think some of these grades were a little too generous.

This makes me wonder what you have to do to get E or F.

I also wonder if you took the penalty on a field goal attempt, that gave the Steelers a first and goal (ended up being a TD), when you gave the special team A-.

I didn't take off anything for the penalty. Perhaps I should have...

As for getting an F, think about the defense in the 62-7 game three years ago. There have been other games also where we basically gave up a TD every possession, couldn't tackle, etc. To me, it gets worse than last week's game on defense, but that's very rare. In this one, there was a stretch where the guys got off the field, forced a turnover, and suddenly we were in down 8, with the ball. It wasn't ALL bad...

Or for the offensive line, there was a game in 2010 against the Chargers where I thought the line deserved an F. Again, I think it gets worse. As a matter of fact, I graded more harshly than I think I needed to because none of the linemen stood up for the QB.

Not trying to be generous at all. I've just seen worse football than this.

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"Game ball: Can't give out a game ball after such a terrible performance."  Donate it or hand it over to the Steelers o-line because they gave Big Ben a clean pocket with outstanding protection. 

 

I must give some praise to RB LeVeon Bell because I under estimated how good he really is. 

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"Game ball: Can't give out a game ball after such a terrible performance."  Donate it or hand it over to the Steelers o-line because they gave Big Ben a clean pocket with outstanding protection. 

 

I must give some praise to RB LeVeon Bell because I under estimated how good he really is. 

 

Bell is really good. I thought he was just a minor annoyance in this game, with Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown being the major trouble makers.

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Only because of the stops in the second half that gave us a chance. Up until the safety, it was a game, and would have been a monster of a comeback. 

I would still give them an F.  They literally gave up record-setting numbers.  Big Ben is now the only QB in NFL history to have two 500 yard games under his belt.  600+ total yards is Madden-esque.

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I would still give them an F.  They literally gave up record-setting numbers.  Big Ben is now the only QB in NFL history to have two 500 yard games under his belt.  600+ total yards is Madden-esque.

 

That's a fair argument. 

 

But imagine if we didn't get those three stops in a row in the third quarter. The Steelers were knocking on the door on one of them. I'm just saying that I think there were a few not-so-dull spots (won't call them "bright"). And really, I think D- ought to get the point across. We stunk, but ironically, it could have been worse.

 

JMO

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That's a fair argument. 

 

But imagine if we didn't get those three stops in a row in the third quarter. The Steelers were knocking on the door on one of them. I'm just saying that I think there were a few not-so-dull spots (won't call them "bright"). And really, I think D- ought to get the point across. We stunk, but ironically, it could have been worse.

 

JMO

True.  I can see your point.  At least they did get a few stops in the 2nd half to salvage the effort and make it a game.

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The defense did get a couple of stops that gave us a chance. That safety seemed to take the life out of the team. I'll still give the defense a F. Ben went crazy on us. He literally could've sat down and gotten back up then throw the ball every play. That's how much time he had. I'll give the offense a B-. Special teams A. Coaching D -. 

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Bell is really good. I thought he was just a minor annoyance in this game, with Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown being the major trouble makers.

Yeah, your not wrong in saying that Superman since both men had a field day through the air against INDY. I guess the older I get the more I appreciate a reliable running back who keeps a defense off balance.

 

Bell made the most of his limited carries & he showed me that he still has plenty of tread on those tires to reek havoc on any field. 

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I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even expect a grade sheet for this game.  It was jsut that bad and, it being an outlier (optimistically speaking, anyway), it's game film I'd rather throw away - which is kind of ironic given how I made the same comment regarding the Bengals reviewing their tape of the Colts loss last week. 

 

As for the zone coverage remark, I think losing Vontae had a lot to do with that.  Toler is a decent man guy, but I don't think anyone expects him to cover Antonio Brown as well as Vontae would (and even he struggled against him).  Butler, while a good slot corner, just seemed lost most the game.  The whole game was just meh.  Bad coverage, bad pass rush = 500 yards and 6 TDs.  Throw the tape in the dumpster and move on.

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I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even expect a grade sheet for this game.  It was jsut that bad and, it being an outlier (optimistically speaking, anyway), it's game film I'd rather throw away - which is kind of ironic given how I made the same comment regarding the Bengals reviewing their tape of the Colts loss last week. 

 

As for the zone coverage remark, I think losing Vontae had a lot to do with that.  Toler is a decent man guy, but I don't think anyone expects him to cover Antonio Brown as well as Vontae would (and even he struggled against him).  Butler, while a good slot corner, just seemed lost most the game.  The whole game was just meh.  Bad coverage, bad pass rush = 500 yards and 6 TDs.  Throw the tape in the dumpster and move on.

 

I think we were playing more zone from the very beginning. The coaches film on the first TD is kind of sloppy, but I think we were playing Cover 3, with Vontae dropping deep. I don't know if he was supposed to be further toward the sideline or what, but the zone got busted and Wheaton was wide open. So I think that was part of the gameplan, not a response to Vontae going out. The Steelers weren't even in an unusual formation or personnel package, so I don't know why we were in that defense...

 

Also, I think games like this are why coaches love to say "you're never as good as you think, and you're never as bad as you think." I saw a lot of small scale mistakes in this game that were exploited by Roethlisberger. Like the first TD, again, if we're going to play that coverage -- which works well if you get quick pressure on the QB, it's something the Seahawks use a lot, and it's something the Cowboys have been using this year also -- the CB needs to be in the right spot on the field. No one else was open when the ball was thrown. If Vontae plays over the top like I assume he's supposed to, we might get a stop there. So I don't think you throw out the film at all. I think you figure out what happened, and hopefully it leads to better communication and execution in the future. 

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I think we were playing more zone from the very beginning. The coaches film on the first TD is kind of sloppy, but I think we were playing Cover 3, with Vontae dropping deep. I don't know if he was supposed to be further toward the sideline or what, but the zone got busted and Wheaton was wide open. So I think that was part of the gameplan, not a response to Vontae going out. The Steelers weren't even in an unusual formation or personnel package, so I don't know why we were in that defense...

 

Also, I think games like this are why coaches love to say "you're never as good as you think, and you're never as bad as you think." I saw a lot of small scale mistakes in this game that were exploited by Roethlisberger. Like the first TD, again, if we're going to play that coverage -- which works well if you get quick pressure on the QB, it's something the Seahawks use a lot, and it's something the Cowboys have been using this year also -- the CB needs to be in the right spot on the field. No one else was open when the ball was thrown. If Vontae plays over the top like I assume he's supposed to, we might get a stop there. So I don't think you throw out the film at all. I think you figure out what happened, and hopefully it leads to better communication and execution in the future. 

You think so?  It's always hard to tell when watching the game on the TV network.  But if that's the case, then it would seem that we just came up with a game plan that didn't play to our strengths.  I hope we do more of hte Cover 3, and perhaps Manusky thought we were ready to employ that NASCAR style of defense.  It's not something we've done a lot of but I hoped we would incorporate more often.  Of course, as you say, it works if you get pressure on the QB, and we just didn't.  Part of that is personnel - we just don't have the pass rushers to do it and win consistently.  Do you know if we've been using it with any regularity before this game (I don't get the all-22 and I dropped cable thus losing the TVR option.  So I can't even record the games without a VCR.  Naturally, I don't get to break down games in a meaningful way)? 

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You think so?  It's always hard to tell when watching the game on the TV network.  But if that's the case, then it would seem that we just came up with a game plan that didn't play to our strengths.  I hope we do more of hte Cover 3, and perhaps Manusky thought we were ready to employ that NASCAR style of defense.  It's not something we've done a lot of but I hoped we would incorporate more often.  Of course, as you say, it works if you get pressure on the QB, and we just didn't.  Part of that is personnel - we just don't have the pass rushers to do it and win consistently.  Do you know if we've been using it with any regularity before this game (I don't get the all-22 and I dropped cable thus losing the TVR option.  So I can't even record the games without a VCR.  Naturally, I don't get to break down games in a meaningful way)? 

 

I agree, it wasn't a good gameplan. We don't have a good four man pass rush, which is what any kind of NASCAR attack requires. You have to pressure the QB immediately, before the zone starts to break down. That's even more critical when you send extra rushers, because the more rushers you send, the further your zones get stretched. So, to me, it was a bad gameplan and poor execution on the back end, and our rushers weren't winning any matchups. Perfect storm.

 

Some of the concepts are legitimate, and the zone on the first TD was fine, but I think Davis was out of position. ::shrug::

 

By the way, I don't know if you've looked into it, but NFL.com has a Game Rewind package that's only $25. It's only Colts games, and the Coaches Film is limited, but if you want to be able to rewatch games, it's a cool deal. 

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By the way, I don't know if you've looked into it, but NFL.com has a Game Rewind package that's only $25. It's only Colts games, and the Coaches Film is limited, but if you want to be able to rewatch games, it's a cool deal. 

That's the other problem.  I have a 3 month old - our first - so finding the time to breakdown film while not at work is next to impossible. 

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I wonder whether anyone's opinion of our defense has softened after Roethlisberger shredded the Ravens for another 340 yards and 6 TDs (set a record for most TD passes in a two game span). The Ravens are, by far, the best defense we've played this year. If the Steelers were able to break them apart like that, maybe our defense isn't as bad as we thought it was. Still bad, really bad, at least last week, but the Steelers are at their very best right now.

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