Steelers @ Patriots Gameday Thread

[Malakai432]

REALLY???? They're going to try and throw a bomb in the rain to flipping Darius Heyward Bey??????!! Even if it had a chance, the chances of that play being successful were 0 out of 0.

[dgambill]

I don't have much hope for Pittsburgs defense to get better this year but the pats will improve...and if it does that will be a scary team come playoffs.

[BloodyChamp]

I've said several times before now that Ben won't carry them forever. Unless tonight was 1 of those things that's exclusive to week 1 (which is possible), this is a 6-10 team.

He hasn't stepped into a single throw. Even the Wheaton sideline pass was all arm, and as strong of an arm as that took, it should have been intercepted. And a limp off...

[RockThatBlue]

DHB never looked this good in Indy.

[RockThatBlue]

REALLY???? They're going to try and throw a bomb in the rain to flipping Darius Heyward Bey??????!! Even if it had a chance, the chances of that play being successful were 0 out of 0.

True but DHB has had a pretty good game. At least by his standards.

[Malakai432]

True but DHB has had a pretty good game. At least by his standards.

Yeah definitely by his standards it was serviceable.

[ricker182]

With the newer rules Gronkowski is practically unstoppable since you can't even look at a receiver without drawing a flag.

[RockThatBlue]

Yeah definitely by his standards it was serviceable.

He's had what 5 or 6 catches. Not sure he ever did that in Indy.

[Cynjin]

Betters just lost or gained a lot on that last Td.

[Gavin]

That Steeler defense has no bite to it, Harrison is past his prime and they don't have another pass rusher, Jarvis Jones has not shown up yet

[Bluefire4]

I NEEDED that last touchdown. Thanks Ben and Brown. 

[Malakai432]

He's had what 5 or 6 catches. Not sure he ever did that in Indy.

4 catches, 58 yards.

[aaron11]

and brown gets a meaningless fantasy TD to end the game.  that made it tie the 7 point spread too lol

[NorthernBlue]

I NEEDED that last touchdown. Thanks Ben and Brown. 

lol same. Felt a bit better after trading Brady for Jeremy Hill. Luckily I got Brady in my other league. But I HATE using Pat players. Gets me conflicted.

[BloodyChamp]

With the newer rules Gronkowski is practically unstoppable since you can't even look at a receiver without drawing a flag.

Every WR or TE is on seam routes, hitches and shallow crossing routes. I don't know why teams waste their time on these back shoulder fades and stuff. Yeah they're pretty when they work but think of all the ducks we see between completions.

[OffensivelyPC]

I've said several times before now that Ben won't carry them forever. Unless tonight was 1 of those things that's exclusive to week 1 (which is possible), this is a 6-10 team.

He hasn't stepped into a single throw. Even the Wheaton sideline pass was all arm, and as strong of an arm as that took, it should have been intercepted. And a limp off...

People are picking them to make it out of the AFC and for the life of me I can't figure out why.  Not that they're a bad team, but I'm failing to see why they are so muc hbetter from last season.  What have they added that's made them from a fringe playoff team to a superbowl contender?

[Malakai432]

Good game everyone even though they're two teams I highly don't care about. Great to have NFL football back in action. The offseason has been too long. I will catch up with you all this Sunday. Have a good evening and a good night everyone.

[rock8591]

REALLY???? They're going to try and throw a bomb in the rain to flipping Darius Heyward Bey??????!! Even if it had a chance, the chances of that play being successful were 0 out of 0.

 

I laughed so hard when I found that out through the commentary.

 

Literally 1 chance out of 100,000,000 that it'd be a successful throw.

[RockThatBlue]

This game tells me that Luck should have good success against both these secondaries.

[ricker182]

I didn't watch but watched the score.

Brady on paper looked fantastic.

How'd he look to the eye?

Also what's up with Scobee?

[BloodyChamp]

Luck, and any decent second tier quarterback, would shred these 2 teams if this isn't a week 1 fluke.

The score was hardly indicatve of the game. The Pats owned, Brady looked good, Ben looked old.

[Bluefire4]

I didn't watch but watched the score.

Brady on paper looked fantastic.

How'd he look to the eye?

Also what's up with Scobee?

Brady was great. I thought Ben played well too but Scobee was one of the reasons why the Steelers couldn't stay in it. Him and the play calling.

[RockThatBlue]

Brady was great. I thought Ben played well too but Scobee was one of the reasons why the Steelers couldn't stay in it. Him and the play calling.

Scobee basically lost the game. It would have been tied at the end if he hit both those field goals. That's if my math is right lol

[Bluefire4]

Scobee basically lost the game. It would have been tied at the end if he hit both those field goals. That's if my math is right lol

They lost by seven but the field goals would have helped. Play calling had a big hand in it also. Doing a trick play when you're pounding the Patriots on the first drive. Running on multiple 3rd and 4s and 3rd and 5s. I don't know what Todd Haley was doing. Not to mention the defense was confused all night.

[King Colt]

Brady looks like he has lost nothing and I'm starting to think he may never retire....depressing. If we did not have Luck it would be 100 times worse. 

[amfootball]

Well, happy to get win #1.  A few thoughts:

 

First, the Pats. Overall I thought the Pats looked solid both on offense and defense. Was most pleased with the three rookies in the interior of the O line and how well they played, especially the undrafted rookie FA center. Also was very happy with Dion Lewis. The guy was electric all night and appears to be Vereen 2.0 which is good news as that was a big question mark for this team coming into the season. He seems to be a bit stronger than Vereen running between the tackles which was also a plus. Gronk was an absolute beast as usual.

 

The defense was up and down. Overall I was pleased with the secondary but the run defense was awful. I expect Bill to fix it but I am nervous about Buffalo in 10 days for sure. I am also hoping the Easley injury is not serious. No pass rush either. I was surprised that Jones was so quiet.

 

Brady looked fantastic. Very sharp. Focused. Did not seem distracted or tired. That is probably the best sign of all for the rest of the season.

 

In terms of Pitt, they looked awful especially defensively. They could not get lined up, did not cover Gronk on the first TD, and had 10 men on the field at one time. They were a hot mess all game and the Pats offense took advantage.

 

Pitt may also need at looking at another kicker. Scobee missed two FGs early and the first miss was a bad one. He may have just had an off night as it was raining but I would be concerned if I was a Pitt fan.

 

Ben I thought was OK but not having Bell was huge for them. Brown had some catches but for the most part Butler kept him in check and really other than the run game that was all Ben had out there. I also thought Ben looked really heavy, like he had put on an extra 20 pounds. His face and neck looked big to me and his movement was very slow all game. Again, maybe just the first game stuff.

 

Outside of the game, the ceremony to start was great with the banner and former players carrying out the trophies. It was nice to cap it with a win.

[amfootball]

People are picking them to make it out of the AFC and for the life of me I can't figure out why.  Not that they're a bad team, but I'm failing to see why they are so muc hbetter from last season.  What have they added that's made them from a fringe playoff team to a superbowl contender?

In fairness, Pitt was missing their best weapon in Bell. They will get better as will every top team as the season progresses. They really need to look at a new kicker though. Scobee was awful. And their new DC had MAJOR issues getting his guys lined up all game. That would be concerning to me if I was Tomlin. That is the worst I have seen a Pitt D look from a preparation stand point.

[pgt_rob]

4 catches, 58 yards.

 

I was so shocked. I saw Ben throw the long bomb to DHB along the sideline and was floored when he caught it. I don't think I've ever seen him catch anything?

[GoColts00]

This sums up the entire game... "In terms of Pitt, they looked awful especially defensively. They could not get lined up, did not cover Gronk on the first TD, and had 10 men on the field at one time. They were a hot mess all game and the Pats offense took advantage." There was one team on the field that knew what they were doing and the Steelers D looked like a steaming pile! It's not difficult to win a game like that.

 

"quote" from amfootball

[-JJ-]

I think Pitt defense will be ok. NE runs a complicated offense and they were lining up receivers all over including Gronk because they did respect their defense even with rookies in the backfield. Their front seven is pretty good.

 

Both teams made mistakes on defense. Typical this early.

 

Teams don't even get in sync till week 4. From there on it's a continuous improvement. Or not.

 

Bill once said he doesn't even know what kind of team he has until week 4.  Week 8 is when you have it or don't.

The key is to have enough wins to keep in the run during this "trial" period.

[amfootball]

I think Pitt defense will be ok. NE runs a complicated offense and they were lining up receivers all over including Gronk because they did respect their defense even with rookies in the backfield. Their front seven is pretty good.

 

Both teams made mistakes on defense. Typical this early.

 

Teams don't even get in sync till week 4. From there on it's a continuous improvement. Or not.

 

Bill once said he doesn't even know what kind of team he has until week 4.  Week 8 is when you have it or don't.

The key is to have enough wins to keep in the run during this "trial" period.

During his press conference, Brady mentioned last year's opener when they lost to Miami. I was thinking it does feel good to be 1-0 instead of 0-1. Also, this win could factor into playoff seedings should the Pats and Steelers be tied record wise so there is that too.

 

BTW, just saw a stat that Brady is 12-2 in season openers. Best mark all time.

[amfootball]

I've said several times before now that Ben won't carry them forever. Unless tonight was 1 of those things that's exclusive to week 1 (which is possible), this is a 6-10 team.

He hasn't stepped into a single throw. Even the Wheaton sideline pass was all arm, and as strong of an arm as that took, it should have been intercepted. And a limp off...

I was surprised at how Ben looked. I said in a previous post that it looked like he put on some weight. That being said, let's wait to see how this offense looks when Bell returns.

[BloodyChamp]

Williams and the OL are their only bright spot! I don't care if Timmy Smith is the RB, if you bust out a 20 yard gainer on the first play of the game you don't quit running it. Who knows...you could win 42-10 (does anybody get that reference anybody).

[amfootball]

Williams and the OL are their only bright spot! I don't care if Timmy Smith is the RB, if you bust out a 20 yard gainer on the first play of the game you don't quit running it. Who knows...you could win 42-10 (does anybody get that reference anybody).

Yes, their first series was head scratching. They were gashing the Pats on the ground and then went into that trick play that lost them a bunch of yards and forced a longer FG that Scobee missed.

[James]

Patriots run D looks almost as bad as ours. They are gonna miss Vince Wilfork.

Their pass D is also worse compared to last year, but that was to be expected. Chung looks no better than he did before Revis and Browner got there. They made him and the NE D, so much better.

With our weapons I'm confident we can run and pass on them.

[BloodyChamp]

Steelers fanboys over at a more typical forum that I sometimes vistit are as defensive as I've ever seen a Steeler fan over ole Ben.

[Blue Horseshoe]

I thought the Pittsburgh offense looked better than New England's but the Pittsburgh defense is a complete mess 

[Blue Horseshoe]

I've said several times before now that Ben won't carry them forever. Unless tonight was 1 of those things that's exclusive to week 1 (which is possible), this is a 6-10 team.

He hasn't stepped into a single throw. Even the Wheaton sideline pass was all arm, and as strong of an arm as that took, it should have been intercepted. And a limp off...

 

That may be good enough to win that division.

[BloodyChamp]

The Ravens and Bengals will be competitive.

[Gnutella0]

I've said several times before now that Ben won't carry them forever. Unless tonight was 1 of those things that's exclusive to week 1 (which is possible), this is a 6-10 team.

He hasn't stepped into a single throw. Even the Wheaton sideline pass was all arm, and as strong of an arm as that took, it should have been intercepted. And a limp off...

 

He had his left ankle rolled up on early in the game. That probably explains what you saw. The good news is, there's been no chatter about it since, so it's probably just a minor sprain. They hurt regardless, though.