Game Thread: Steelers @ Rams

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Incomplete pass... 2nd & 10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

5yd pass to Britt... 3rd & 5 @ STL 39

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Incomplete pass 4th & 5

 

[Cali Steel]

Won't know until tomorrow probably... Didn't look good at all

DAMN.........

 

[Cali Steel]

They let them convert....

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Play under review

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Dammit

 

[steelcurtain]

td Baltimore

 

[steelcurtain]

Who has the ball?

 

[steelcurtain]

Well at least we took the Win

 

[Battlelyon]

Congrats on the win, good luck the rest of the way. Hopefully a Big Ben isn't hurt for too long.

 

[SteelersPride]

and theres y u didnt want bruce

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Congrats on the win, good luck the rest of the way. Hopefully a Big Ben isn't hurt for too long.

Thanks SnakeEyes!

Your D-line is ridiculously good! If your offense wasn't so conservative I'm pretty sure they would have won today. Good luck to you guys as well.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

MRI could be tonight or tomorrow. Best case scenario is he will be out 2-4 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed that its only that, and not longer.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Game recap.

Obviously losing Ben overshadows the game itself to some degree, but they're going to have to play on and I think the Vick signing will prove to be perhaps the key deal of the year if the Steelers are able to win the DIV or make a WC.

That said...kudos to the DEF for making 12 pts stand in this one. No, it wasn't dominating, one could say they even got lucky that STL didn't execute on key plays that were scoring plays or key 1st downs.

Bell is a difference maker...pure and simple...as good as Williams played in his stead, idt he would've produced 130 all purpose yds against that front 7.

OL/OFC...overall, imo...they held their own on the road vs maybe the best front 7 they will face this season. I thought they would sent Ogletree...he rewared them with 2 sacks...Donald we Wallace would be overmatched and he was...Beach...got handled by Quinn as @FaCe-LeE-uS predicted...2 holding calls and beaten several other times even though Quinn only got 1 sack...even with that Ben was still able to go 20-24 via the air (even Vick hit nearly every pass) and the OFC generally moved the ball...RZ, RZ, RZ, RZ...1st in goal inside the 5...you've got to come away with 6 every time.

To his credit...Haley had a game plan perfectly suited to beat STL...spread them out and short passing game..yet Bell still rushed it 19 times...and was productive on the ground. With Vick...the game plan changed as you might expect. I'd like to think if Ben had finished the game they get in the endzone at least once the 2nd half.

DL/DEF...Takeaway the 2 or 3 self inflicted mishaps by the STL OFC...the Steelers controlled the LOS stuffing the run early imo and made it Foles game to win or lose. Tuitt was a stud...Spence was making plays, and I thought I Britt made several great plays, but I loved the way Butler brought the CBs up in bump n run on 3rd down...#41 got torched quite a bit...Will Allen/Mitchell played well...this Cockrell kid looks good, I have a feeling he's going to stick...if C. Allen can't beat out Blake when he does come back...this will be his last year in PIT.

Best case...we see Ben back on the field wk 8 vs CIN.

2-1 now so...Vick has to bridge the gap and I think Haley can find a grouping of plays that he can master and the DEF has no choice but to grow up a little quicker...facing an 0-3 Ravens team on a short week...then @ SD (gets Bryant back) , AZ, @KC...the big thing with Vick is ball security...2-2 I would take right now, but 3-1 would be ideal.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Good recap ATL!

Defense may not have been dominant in all aspects, but they were opportunistic. Making plays and getting stops in the right situations is all you really need from your defense. But I do agree, they might have been a little lucky considering how conservative STL got. Big props to the run D for winning the battle up front. 25 yards combined from Mason & Gurley (71 total team rushing yards)! That's awesome! And it was good to see Lake/Butler letting the CBs be more aggressive on 3rd downs.

Offense... Huge boost from Bell. Like I predicted before the game, Bell was going to work the dump offs more than usual considering the defensive front they were up against. His efforts on some crucial 3rd downs were the main reason they survived that game. ATL is right in that Haley had a great gameplan to play away from STL's d-line. Spread formations & quick passes. Haley's "dink & dunk" scheme from 2013 was on full display lol. O-line started alright but by the end of the night it was pretty bad. Beachum had a tough opponent, but he stuck with it and battled. Can't ask much more from him considering the size & speed advantage that his opponent had on him. Whereas Foster looked like a liability out there. He botched his assignments on more than a couple plays. Wallace was in the same boat. He really struggled to sustain blocks and seal off the DTs, and the interior run game was nonexistent because of that. Our O-line was outmatched, plain and simple. Its just a strong reminder that this group is a solid unit, but still has much to improve on.

Outlook... Vick should be more than capable to bridge the gap. I worry about his durability though, especially going into TNF against the Ratbirds. I'll be praying to the football gods that we don't have to see Landry out there. May have to sacrifice a lamb or 2. We still may see a stop-gap signing if the team feels Ben will be out the full 6 weeks. Murphy is the obvious candidate since he knows the system. But FA's like Flynn, Ponder, Thigpen, Grossman, Campbell, and heaven forbid Tim Tebow could receive a call.