2024 GDT Week #3 Steelers 3-0 Visit the Colts 1-2

[Ward4HOF]

16 hours ago, VigilantZombie said:

If the goal is to win a SB, this team is gonna have to try to acquire a legitimate franchise QB 

So, our D flounders, and allows a 70yd drive from the outset.  Fields gets us to the Colt's 34, on the ensuing drive, only to be backed up 15 yds on a dumb penalty from a 2nd year, back-up O-Lineman, and puts him in impossible 3rd and 23.  The Colts score, again, on an 86 yd drive, making it 14-0.  From there, we stupidly go for a 4th and 1, fail, and give the Colts a short field, and puts up another 3 pts...we are down 17-0, and have given up 180 yds of offense to the hapless Colts, barely 2 minutes into the 2nd Quarter.

At that point, Fields and the offense outscores the Colts 24 - 10, and from that point, out-gains the Colts roughly 360 yds to 180 yds, the rest of the game.  This loss is NOT on Fields, who other than a botched snap, (that was the fault of TWO rookie O-Lineman) played a clean football game and you want to pronounce that Fields isn't good enough to be our starting QB??  After 2 years of Pickett??  4 games, 3-1, 2 TOs, a 70% Comp %, and a passer rating of 98, with 145 yds rushing, and 3 rushing TDs??

Boy, is this one fickle fanbase?!?!  If we put in Wilson now, and I'd bet money he has 2 TOs in the next game, alone, and we lose handily, because we no longer have a legitimate rushing threat at the position, and our entire OL is filled with first- and second-year players.

Our vaunted Defense lost this game, not Fields...

[bigben07MVP]

8 minutes ago, Ward4HOF said:

So, our D flounders, and allows a 70yd drive from the outset.  Fields gets us to the Colt's 34, on the ensuing drive, only to be backed up 15 yds on a dumb penalty from a 2nd year, back-up O-Lineman, and puts him in impossible 3rd and 23.  The Colts score, again, on an 86 yd drive, making it 14-0.  From there, we stupidly go for a 4th and 1, fail, and give the Colts a short field, and puts up another 3 pts...we are down 17-0, and have given up 180 yds of offense to the hapless Colts, barely 2 minutes into the 2nd Quarter.

At that point, Fields and the offense outscores the Colts 24 - 10, and from that point, out-gains the Colts roughly 360 yds to 180 yds, the rest of the game.  This loss is NOT on Fields, who other than a botched snap, (that was the fault of TWO rookie O-Lineman) played a clean football game and you want to pronounce that Fields isn't good enough to be our starting QB??  After 2 years of Pickett??  4 games, 3-1, 2 TOs, a 70% Comp %, and a passer rating of 98, with 145 yds rushing, and 3 rushing TDs??

Boy, is this one fickle fanbase?!?!  If we put in Wilson now, and I'd bet money he has 2 TOs in the next game, alone, and we lose handily, because we no longer have a legitimate rushing threat at the position, and our entire OL is filled with first- and second-year players.

Our vaunted Defense lost this game, not Fields...

[bigben07MVP]

18 minutes ago, warfelg said:

Giving a rewatch of this game and this statement is going to tick off some people:

Alex Highsmith was missed.

The edge on the defensive right wasn't really well set almost all game, and the Colts OL was able to block down all game because Herbig just isn't the run game threat that Highsmith is. Then on top of that the pocket for Flacco/Richardson was constantly able to shade to their left to avoid TJ coming off the other side.

Something Highsmith really helps with is he can get depth without putting much space in the "b-gap" between the LT and LG. So it allows Heyward to be able to attack more over the guard and effectively 2-gap from there. Herbig gets up field really well, but he leaves that gap really exposed and was walled off from getting into it a but easier.

I'm watching the late Larry O/Heyward sack of Flacco, and if that were Richardson instead of Flacco back there, that's a 10 yard gain for the Colts rather than a sack for Larry O/Heyward. And it's all due to that issue. And that was a play with a 5 man front. 

I think Herbig could be good one day. I feel he's going to always be one of those top end serviceable OLB's. To be a starter he needs to be the SAM in a 4-3 who will come down to the edge on obvious pass downs. He's just not able to hold up when up on the line in run downs. I feel like it's just size and length along with the strength. 

Love Herbig as much as the next guy but hopefully the "Herbig should start over Highsmith" comments end after this game (moreso on Twitter, not here). 

[bigben07MVP]

31 minutes ago, warfelg said:

We need to see a healthy Warren in this offense, but I don't think he looked great in his limited time either.

Not really fair to judge Warren yet imo, he's been far from healthy. I thought they should have put him on IR to start the season. Pretty clearly has not been himself out there. He is a better fit for Smith's scheme than Najee is, however still not a perfect one. 

[warfelg]

So random thought here:

Earlier in the season Bill Belichick made comments that with Tomlin coached teams you know what you are getting and that there's little change to their game plan no matter who's there. We've also heard players say that in house Tomlin approaches every week the same.

But yet we hear a lack of attention to detail in these let down games. We hear that there was a lack of focus for that week.

I think all these let down games from Tomlin coached teams are that he doesn't put in the little wrinkles he does in other weeks. So the team spends all week based in the base of their offense and defense, which players will almost never be fully engaged on. I feel as though we just don't ever think we need anything special in the game plan for these teams we should beat. Which makes me think there's too much belief in the house that the talent will win out without scheming anything.

 

EDIT -

Something that sticks out to me, is that for the better part of 2 years we've been playing man on the back end with single high and a robber at times. Yet, for some reason, we were back to playing base 3-4 with a cover 3 or modified Tampa-2 for most the game yesterday. That's why (IMO) Flacco tore us apart right when he came in. And I can see, to some extent, why you do it. Richardson is mobile so you want to keep eyes on him. But it was so back to our basics that it's like guys forgot how to just go and play. We would have been better served staying man and throwing in the wrinkles on contain and spying Richardson.

Edited Monday at 12:58 PM by warfelg

[warfelg]

2 minutes ago, bigben07MVP said:

Not really fair to judge Warren yet imo, he's been far from healthy. I thought they should have put him on IR to start the season. Pretty clearly has not been himself out there. He is a better fit for Smith's scheme than Najee is, however still not a perfect one. 

I agree. Like I see the one play where in inexplicably spun in the hole resulting in a short game rather than an explosive. It looked like he was trying to set up to cut off the left leg (good one) than off the right leg (the bad one). That's something that I can say - ok, not fair to judge, that based on health.

But then I see ones where he was moving to be able to cut off the left leg on a staple Arthur Smith boundary run - and he just didn't know which gap to run through. It was perfectly set up to cut the run inside, as the blocker edge was to the outside and the LBers washed themselves out of the play, and Warren just kept stringing it along and only got 2 yards out of the play.

In a rewatch, yea Patterson is older and slower now, but one thing he was doing well with was cutting into the right hole. Maybe for Warren its (hopefully) just a lack of reps so he needs to see it again to be able to hit it.

[warfelg]

 

[August4th]

I don't see the upside being on social media as a professional athlete. But these guys grew up in the social media boom, so I guess it's hard for some break that habit.

[jebrick]

As I have said in another thread, you can see why Najee is not a feature back.  Patterson, who is shifty on his feet, made mincemeat of the Colts #32 ranked rushing defense..  I firmly believe Warren would have done the same.  The Texans and Packers both attacked the edges of the Colts with wide zone runs.  That is not Najee's game.

[jebrick]

It will be interesting to see the game film on Frazier this week.  I noticed too many times where he got man-handled by Stewart so that Frazier was on the ground.

[bigben07MVP]

James Daniels career as a Steelers player is over 

[warfelg]

Just now, bigben07MVP said:

James Daniels career as a Steelers player is over 

Pretty much. Oh well.

[August4th]

whelp. 

[August4th]

can't remember the last time our line was this banged up. the 08-2010 era? thank God we triple dip there in the draft 

[VigilantZombie]

1 hour ago, Ward4HOF said:

So, our D flounders, and allows a 70yd drive from the outset.  Fields gets us to the Colt's 34, on the ensuing drive, only to be backed up 15 yds on a dumb penalty from a 2nd year, back-up O-Lineman, and puts him in impossible 3rd and 23.  The Colts score, again, on an 86 yd drive, making it 14-0.  From there, we stupidly go for a 4th and 1, fail, and give the Colts a short field, and puts up another 3 pts...we are down 17-0, and have given up 180 yds of offense to the hapless Colts, barely 2 minutes into the 2nd Quarter.

At that point, Fields and the offense outscores the Colts 24 - 10, and from that point, out-gains the Colts roughly 360 yds to 180 yds, the rest of the game.  This loss is NOT on Fields, who other than a botched snap, (that was the fault of TWO rookie O-Lineman) played a clean football game and you want to pronounce that Fields isn't good enough to be our starting QB??  After 2 years of Pickett??  4 games, 3-1, 2 TOs, a 70% Comp %, and a passer rating of 98, with 145 yds rushing, and 3 rushing TDs??

Boy, is this one fickle fanbase?!?!  If we put in Wilson now, and I'd bet money he has 2 TOs in the next game, alone, and we lose handily, because we no longer have a legitimate rushing threat at the position, and our entire OL is filled with first- and second-year players.

Our vaunted Defense lost this game, not Fields...

I didn't say Fields isn't good enough  what I am saying is Wilson isn't the Savior. For me, I'm still undecided on Fields. I agree the defense was a serious let down and part of me still wonders if that has more to do with Austin's preparations and playcalling than the players on the field (to an extent).

Fields may be the future, I just am not ready to say that. As for this game I'm not burning it down, it's one loss, albeit a bad one.