2018 Steelers Thread

Postby **tifosi77** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:26 pm

McCarthy is not one of the coaches I would rather have instead of Tomlin, Superb Owl XLV notwithstanding.

Postby **Lemon Berry Lobster** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:27 pm

But he's a home tahn guy. He'd get us back to Stillers smash mouth football

Postby **Morkle** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:32 pm

McCarthy is trash.

Postby **Lemon Berry Lobster** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:33 pm

Postby **Dickie Dunn** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:37 pm

Postby **Nittany Ned** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:50 pm

McCarthy has a VERY similar track record to Tomlin. Near identical record, regular season and playoffs. Super bowl early in their tenure. HOF QB. Similar amount of seasons missing the playoffs, a multitude of playoff chokes... and they canned him.

What will it take to can Tomlin? A lot... not to say they should right now, but if they do indeed miss the playoffs, it's time to sit down and really start to think about this team's future. To those who say "who can you get that's better?" I get your point... but Tomlin was schooled by Anthony Lynn & Vance Joseph. And young coaches like McVay in LA and Nagy in Chicago are taking charge. They're the future as the Reids/Belichicks of the league start to fizzle out.

Postby **willeyeam** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:52 pm

I agree with others that have stated that seeing them go 9-7 or 10-6 every season does nothing for me. This whole fan base has been so conditioned to believe in the STEELER WAY and long-term stability, but at what point does the status quo become unacceptable? You can set your fcking watch to this team playing down to their opponents, especially on the road.

the Steelers worst record in the last 4 years was 10-6, 2 years of 8-8, with 2 years of 12-4 before that. A little hyperbolic

Postby **willeyeam** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:53 pm

that said, yesterday was near fire-able in and of itself. Not calling a TO on the Raiders goal line series, and not putting Ben back in ASAP is so bad.

Postby **tifosi77** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:02 pm

Going a decade in this League without a single losing season is impressive. Even though he's only missed the playoffs three times in NE, Belichick can't say he never had a losing record with the Pats. (Yeah, yeah, I know the circumstances...)

Point being, it's to just otherworldly talent taking the team to winning records year in and year out.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:02 pm

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2 ... management

This lays the case out nicely. Just a horrific coaching performance. Our potential studs on defense are being hamstrung by a garbage scheme. Get Butler the hell out of here.

First off, Boswell should be cut. I don’t care what he has done in the past, he has struggled this season to the point where he has cost the Steelers games. If he is on his game today, the Steelers are walking out with the ‘W’. He slipped because he extended his plant too far, which caused his balance to go off kilter. So, should he have stayed upright, that ball was heading far left. Time to cut your losses with Boswell.

Second, Keith Butler and Mike Tomlin have been running one of the worst schemes in football since Butler took over as Defensive Coordinator. It is time for Butler to get the axe for his incompetence, and he should have been shown the door with Todd Haley anyways. It is time to overhaul this scheme, and more importantly, time to actually let this defense’s talent show through. This defense has more than enough talent, but schematically, they simply suck.

However, let’s talk about Mike Tomlin. Tomlin’s teams for years have been criticized for losing and playing down to inferior teams, and before today we never really knew if that was a byproduct of Tomlin himself, but it is clear it is now.

Tomlin noted that Ben Roethlisberger could have come back into the game far before he actually did, and that he didn’t because it didn’t fit the “flow of the game”. My folks, that is a straight up fireable offense. I am sorry to all Steelers fans, because Mike Tomlin cost us the game by not letting the franchise QB come back in when he could have.

Mike Tomlin came across as cowardly and timid today in his press conference, likely because he knew he screwed up. Tomlin clearly pins this one on himself, point blank. That is what I got from the press conference, and I saw that his mindset is that the Steelers can beat any bad team due to having top tier talent. Thus, that mindset has permeated itself throughout the locker room it seems.

Tomlin’s decision to stick with the currently incompetent Dobbs when Ben came back in and drove the field easily is a terrible decision, and just as bad was his clock management. It seemed that he trusted his defense, but if he had used his timeouts, the Steelers could have had near a minute to go and more time to score the winning TD. And I have to tell you, I think Ben would have done it.

Postby **dodint** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:09 pm

Butler was a mistake. They needed to go another direction when LeBeau left and instead they doubled down. They're paying for that now.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:12 pm

Butler was a mistake. They needed to go another direction when LeBeau left and instead they doubled down. They're paying for that now.

Agreed. Lebeau's system was already showing major signs of cracking, and it was apparent that his zone scheme would crash and burn every time they got to the postseason and went up against Brady. But again, because of this organization's almost religious worship of continuity, there was never any doubt he would be the next man up.

Postby **willeyeam** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:22 pm

it's almost like they think hiring coaches that have been around sustained success for long periods of time is a good idea or something

Postby **slappybrown** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:33 pm

Whether they could move to a 4-3 over one offseason would be interesting. The D-line is certainly the most talented and productive component of the defense imo. You could move Watt/Dupree down to the weakside defensive end position, and have a line of Watt/Dupree (WDE)-Hayward (DT)-Hargrove (DT)-Tuitt (SDE). Dupree played with his hand on the ground in college; Watt did not. Dupree seems pretty clearly to be just a guy, so going into 2019 and the last year of his rookie deal, maybe that change gets something out of him. I suppose you can try Watt at OLB in a 4-3, but he would be doing a lot more in pass coverage (I'll leave it to someone else to tell me if he's any good in coverage or not, I have no clue). It kind of solves the Shazier-hole a bit, and everyone else in a 4-3 is playing 4-2-5 half the time anyways.

Postby **Lemon Berry Lobster** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:38 pm

Well someone got fired today. The Raiders GM

Postby **Spangler** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:09 pm

My dad has been a lifelong Packers fan, and he's had to endure McCarthy, so I've kept tabs on anything Packer related over the years. McCarthy is not going to be any better than Tomlin, he's squandered great Packer teams due to his horrible decision making.

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:24 pm

How much does the secondary matter when you're using LJ **** Fort to cover WRs? Colbert is not without blame in this moronic season, bad/no signings, bad drafting, etc. and the belief that Bell was going to show up and play under another franchise tag, despite saying he wouldn't, played a major role in the lack of upgrades to the defense.

This bears repeating.

Postby **Nittany Ned** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:32 pm

How much does the secondary matter when you're using LJ **** Fort to cover WRs? Colbert is not without blame in this moronic season, bad/no signings, bad drafting, etc. and the belief that Bell was going to show up and play under another franchise tag, despite saying he wouldn't, played a major role in the lack of upgrades to the defense.
This bears repeating.

Not to defend Butler. But he tried covering Jared Cook with a LOT of different players. Maybe the players just suck, too.

Coaching can't make up for talent deficiency.
Players can't make up for coaching.

Bad all around. And will be uglier going against Gronk & those shifty New England guys.

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:34 pm

Nobody asked you for your opinion.

Postby **Nittany Ned** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:35 pm

Cool, no one asks for anyone's specific opinion here. But it's a free message board, and we're all venting.

Postby **grunthy** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:38 pm

How much does the secondary matter when you're using LJ **** Fort to cover WRs? Colbert is not without blame in this moronic season, bad/no signings, bad drafting, etc. and the belief that Bell was going to show up and play under another franchise tag, despite saying he wouldn't, played a major role in the lack of upgrades to the defense.
This bears repeating.
Not to defend Butler. But he tried covering Jared Cook with a LOT of different players. Maybe the players just suck, too.

Coaching can't make up for talent deficiency.
Players can't make up for coaching.

Bad all around. And will be uglier going against Gronk & those shifty New England guys.

Umm... yeah coaching can make up for some talent deficiency. Scheme and ability to adapt play calling is very important. Butler is terrible at both.

Postby **tifosi77** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:46 pm

"Coaching can't make up for talent deficiency."

The New England football Patriots would be somewhat alarmed to hear this. All of that success over the last two decades with fair-to-middlin' players all over the field the result of not superior coaching. Which leaves...... magic?

Overcoming roster deficiencies is literally a coach's job.

Postby **Nittany Ned** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:54 pm

To clarify - when I say "coaching can't make up for talent deficiency" and "players can't make up for coaching" - those aren't general statements, that's just the case for the Steelers and their personnel.

Baltimore isn't even that great, one-dimensional, rookie QB, who on their offense scares you? But where they beat the Steelers is in coaching, defense and special teams.

Postby **willeyeam** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 6:29 pm

How much does the secondary matter when you're using LJ **** Fort to cover WRs? Colbert is not without blame in this moronic season, bad/no signings, bad drafting, etc. and the belief that Bell was going to show up and play under another franchise tag, despite saying he wouldn't, played a major role in the lack of upgrades to the defense.
This bears repeating.
Not to defend Butler. But he tried covering Jared Cook with a LOT of different players. Maybe the players just suck, too.

Coaching can't make up for talent deficiency.
Players can't make up for coaching.

Bad all around. And will be uglier going against Gronk & those shifty New England guys.

I'm not sure Cook had a catch once he yanked Burnett when he let up a couple straight catches and put Edmunds in. Burnett did have a nice breakup on that last goal line possession to be fair

Postby **shafnutz05** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 7:26 pm

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2550 ... atest-loss