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Week #4 5 Up and 5 Down Bengals Win 1-3


Steeler Hitman

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Ups

1. Defense - - Playing better and seem to be improving as a unit

A. Pass Rush from front seven

B.  Getting off the field on third downs

2. Randy Fichtner - - Called a good game after he was criticized last week.  A few poor calls and execution, but overall a well called game.

3. Jalen Samuels - - Showed that he needs to consistently be a part of the offensive game-plan. helped jump-start the offense

4. Devin Bush - - Rebounded and played a very good game after some struggles the previous two weeks.

5. Mason Rudolph - - Very efficient and smart game. Only needs to trust the WR's and throw some more medium and deep routes.

Honerable Mention - - TE Nick Varrett played a very solid game for just coming over to the team.  As he gets comfortable, could be a nice weapon along with Vance when he gets healthy.

Downs

1. Team cohesion - - This team has struggled with playing together as all four units (offense, defense, special teams and coaching). Another tough opponent coming in on Sunday. Gotta play together as a team in all four phases.

2. Wide Receivers - - It is bad. James Washington was a non factor/MIA and Ju Ju was actually open a few times, but didn't get the ball. The motion by Fitner was there to create some mis-matches, but the QB and WR's gotta get on the same page.

3. Joe Haden - - Must exorcise the ghost of Ike "stone hands" Taylor.  Playing smart and well, but gotta hold onto the ball. Against good teams and a struggling offense, you need those turnovers.

4. OL Rushing Attack - - Not horrible, but not great either. The Bengals have a stout front and a solid defense. It only gets harder next weekend with the Ravens.  Must have consistency beating your man, the gimmicks and trickery won't always work.  Need the old smash-mouth mentality to kick in on the offense.

5.  Mark Barron - - Frustrates the heck out of me. Especially in coverage. yes he got an INT, but he was picked on and if not for some untimely drops, he would have been burned more than the stat line shows.  I had high expectations of him on the field and he seems to be the one getting picked on. Gott improve his coverage and tackling.

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UPS

Fichtner - at least came up with a game plan/scheme this week and it actually worked. 

Samuels - needs to stay on the field more 

Watt, Tuitt, Heyward, Bush

Rudolph - executed the game plan

Downs

TE coverage AGAIN - Eifert was open multiple times Dalton just missed him - Jackson loves throwing to his TE's 

It was the Bengals - their Oline is horrible, their defense is horrible lets not get too excited about this win

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I thought Barron played decently in coverage against the TEs. He was in good position on most of his coverages. Dalton put a few passes right in there, and you can't really defend perfect throws. 

I think Rudolph will get more comfortable throwing. I also think Fichtner needs to get more comfortable with Mason's skillset. He did miss JuJu a few times on intermediate routes, but I hope that will come with more feel for the game. 

Someone else mentioned this, but it deserves to be said again. This style of offense will not win again against Baltimore. We need to really see how Fichtner adapts to attack Baltimore. This will be a big test. He never really had to change much when Ben was at the helm. It was Ben's show and everyone was just along for the ride. Now he must scheme and evolve. This could be really fun, or it could suck royally. Who knows how it'll go.

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5 minutes ago, cjfollett said:

Up: 

The Steelers beat a team they should have beaten.

Down:

Bengals are a bad team, and the Steelers aren't much better yet.

I don't think we're nearly as bad as people think. We narrowly lost to two really solid teams and got blown out by the Pats, which happens a lot. I think the offense will get better and better throughout the year, the defense is already really good and I think it will still get better. We could be a team that nobody wants to play at the end of this year.

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51 minutes ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I don't think we're nearly as bad as people think. We narrowly lost to two really solid teams and got blown out by the Pats, which happens a lot. I think the offense will get better and better throughout the year, the defense is already really good and I think it will still get better. We could be a team that nobody wants to play at the end of this year.

First off, they are not as bad as Miami, Cinci, NYJ, Denver, AZ, and Wash. However, I am not sure they are any better than any other AFC team not named NE or KC. I think the Ravens game is going to be a real challenge, and it's quite possible the Steelers will be 1-5 at the bye. So, while you can honestly say the Steelers lost narrowly to two "decent" teams, you also have to acknowledge that there are serious challenges facing the Steelers going forward.

The Steelers D cannot seem to cover very well most of the time. SF turned the ball over 5 times. I would say 2 of those were due to the Steelers making a play, versus SF just doing something stupid on the others. If not for those TOs, that game was not as close as it was in the end. Versus Seattle was just as bad in the 2nd half. It seemed that the Steelers had no answer on D for anything Seattle did.

On O, the run game is just not there consistently. Even versus Cinci, the Steelers failed to get a 1st down on 3rd and 4th and 1. That was bad. Also, some of the play calling is still mind boggling. Rudolph does show promise, but he is checking down too often with guys open down field.

On the bright side, the additions of Vannett and Fitzpatrick seem to be having immediate impacts on both the O and D. 

If the Steelers some how manage to get to the bye at 3-3, it will be close to a miracle.

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The thing we need to take away from JuJu right now is he's helping outside of the score sheet. He's drawing double teams with his routes and it's leaving room for the offense to get those small yards needed here and there to keep drives alive. 

 

Mason even said himself he needs to start getting JuJu the ball more. He wanted to yesterday, but the offense was fine the way it was. No reason to change it up just to get JuJu some production.

 

Seems like Mason was really pleased with how JuJu is as a leader and said he was never once complaining for the ball; yet he was rather the opposite. He was showing excitement for everyone doing so well and the team getting a win.

This team needs to find more guys like JuJu. That was part of what has been missing this past decade.

 

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I think this Baltimore game will tell us alot about the rest of the season.This is not the Baltimore defense of the past.

They lost four or five starters on defense and Lamar Jackson is still not proven. They lit up Miami and Arizona.nothing to pound your chest about.

Were at home, a divisional game, another week for Rudolph, Vannett and Fitzpatrick to get familiar with our systems.

 

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11 minutes ago, Lambert44 said:

I think this Baltimore game will tell us alot about the rest of the season.This is not the Baltimore defense of the past.

They lost four or five starters on defense and Lamar Jackson is still not proven. They lit up Miami and Arizona.nothing to pound your chest about.

Were at home, a divisional game, another week for Rudolph, Vannett and Fitzpatrick to get familiar with our systems.

 

Agreed. This is a team they could beat but also could lose to. So it is a great litmus test. 

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To Lazy for 5 and 5....

Ups

-Minkah FLIES to the ball. He's not even on screen sometimes and is the first one to the ball. Someone mentioned it in the Gameday thread, the long ball was a no go against a team and a player (Ross) that has eaten up previous foes this season with the long ball. Enough to lead the League in receiving yards. Communication was better tho that may not completely be his doing. 

-Dupree had some good pressure and was held a few times. Not enough to want me to keep him tho.

-I saw Edmunds around the ball a lot in coverage. Hard to tell using the TV camera angle but he looked to usually be in position. Wasn't a fan of the draft pick but he at least seems serviceable.   

-I'm not exaggerating (much) when I say this is the 1st time in a looooong time I've seen a gameplan specifically designed for an opponent. Need more of that please.  

-Boz

 

-Down

Something is wrong with the OL. Given that the OL is 4/5's the same, it's hard for me to comprehend that this has everything to do with Munch not being here but I can't think of any other reason. It needs to get figured out cause w/o it you have nothing. 

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3 hours ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I don't think we're nearly as bad as people think.

It is still early in the season and the team is still not playing as a complete unit. I.E. Defense starts strong, offense fizzles with three and outs.  Offense gets going in second half and defense can't stop anyone.  Start with a good game plan and then opposing coaches make adjustments and we don't. etc. Once some of these issues are resolved, the team will play better.

We narrowly lost to two really solid teams and got blown out by the Pats, which happens a lot. I think the offense will get better and better throughout the year, the defense is already really good and I think it will still get better. We could be a team that nobody wants to play at the end of this year.

The TOP and the team's third down conversion rate killed them the first three weeks.  They opened against and played three play-off teams. They hung with the Pats for about a quarter.  They outplayed the Seahawks for a half and should have been up more.  They jumped up on the 49'ers, couldn't score TD's, self-destructed in the second half and couldn't convert on opportunities given throughout the game.  Against the Bengals, they made an early mistake got down and  then clawed their way back.  Yeah, they didn't do that against the best team, but they were also in position to implode like last year (losing to Chargers, Raiders, Broncos, and Saints).  This team has a history of playing down to their competition.  That did not happen yesterday!

1 hour ago, cjfollett said:

First off, they are not as bad as Miami, Cinci, NYJ, Denver, AZ, and Wash. However, I am not sure they are any better than any other AFC team not named NE or KC.

After four weeks it is hard to tell were anyone is not named KC or NE in the AFC.  Three more quarters of the season is left.  I would like to see the Steelers escape the second quarter better than 1-3.  They will be fortunate to go 2-2, but this team is funny.  They could also really surprise and go 3-1.  It all starts with a great test against the Ravens at home.

I think the Ravens game is going to be a real challenge, and it's quite possible the Steelers will be 1-5 at the bye. So, while you can honestly say the Steelers lost narrowly to two "decent" teams, you also have to acknowledge that there are serious challenges facing the Steelers going forward.

The reality is that the glass is both half empty and half full. It depends on how they respond.  They took the first step getting a win yesterday.  The next step is playing another division rival who has a strong physical team just like the first four teams that they played.  They looked like world beaters the first two weeks as well. Maybe we can get them on a downward spiral?  No doubt the Ravens are a good football team though. It will be a typical physical football game and the offense and defense will both be tested.

The Steelers D cannot seem to cover very well most of the time. SF turned the ball over 5 times. I would say 2 of those were due to the Steelers making a play, versus SF just doing something stupid on the others. If not for those TOs, that game was not as close as it was in the end. Versus Seattle was just as bad in the 2nd half. It seemed that the Steelers had no answer on D for anything Seattle did.

Those stats are kind of skewed as the offense did nothing to help balance the team. The defense made some stops, but the offense was typically three and out.  I don't like to play woulda, coulda , shoulda, but one could also argue that the 49'ers would have got blown out early if Ben were at QB and that was not Mason's first start.  The defense has played surprisingly better than they are getting credit for despite the circumstances the offense has placed them in.  They do not by any means resemble Blitzburgh .  However, the defense is also getting better. With some good scheming and comfort, they could become dominant by the second half.

On O, the run game is just not there consistently. Even versus Cinci, the Steelers failed to get a 1st down on 3rd and 4th and 1. That was bad. Also, some of the play calling is still mind boggling. Rudolph does show promise, but he is checking down too often with guys open down field.

Sometimes you can overthink yourself.  Basic football, but using the right players and opportunities. I get that we haven't had our FB and lost Vance, but use big Zach Banner and others.  We went an entire game without using Samuels and you see how he helped jump start the offense.

On the bright side, the additions of Vannett and Fitzpatrick seem to be having immediate impacts on both the O and D. 

Despite criticism. They both are making an impact and look like they can have a good future here if they continue to learn and grow in the system.

If the Steelers some how manage to get to the bye at 3-3, it will be close to a miracle.

Agreed. Then anything is possible.  I would be happy with 4-4 at the halfway point, but hoping for a 5 - 3 turnaround. Then they have a much better shot of making it to the play-offs.

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7 hours ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I don't think we're nearly as bad as people think. We narrowly lost to two really solid teams and got blown out by the Pats, which happens a lot. I think the offense will get better and better throughout the year, the defense is already really good and I think it will still get better. We could be a team that nobody wants to play at the end of this year.

we were close in the games vs both legit teams in the seahawks and 49ers. The patriots game was pathetic though, everyone. 

I expect a run of wins if the play calling is decent.  Thats a major "if" though, as I find this regime full of surprises:/

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Maurkice Pouncey is an average center now.   Nothing more.  He gets blown up and stood up way too often for the highest paid safety in the league.

What the hell is going on with James Washington?   I know we havent been throwing downfield much, and thats his thing, but they need to get him involved.

Fithcner called a decent game, but the Bengals made it look better than it was.     They still need to trust Rudolph more.   I get what they are trying to do, but he needs to be able to move the ball downfield. 

 

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3 minutes ago, wwhickok said:

That gameplan ain't scoring more than 10 pat vs. Ravens. Thing is, this could be a game where we throw multiple Ints

The Ravens defense is very average this year at best. Maybe that game plan wont work but the Steelers should be able to move the ball

on their defense, whatever their game plan may be. 

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