Game Thread: Week 6 @ Dolphins

[ATL96Steeler]

The 4-1 Steelers hit the road again after 2 straight home games in which they played very solid on both sides of the ball. This week they visit So. FL and a 1-4 Miami team that has to be in a bad mood. They have invested a lot of money in a DEF that has simply not been that good. This is the 1st road trip since the beat down they suffered in PHI so I sure Tomlin has reminded them of that.

Who are the Dolphins?

Defensively, after a very strong effort on the road in week 1, they are giving up just about 27 pts the last 4 weeks 23.8 for the season. Offensively they are averaging a notch below 18 pts a game...simple math says they should have a losing record. But they are not completely void of talent...Jarvis Landry is putting up very good numbers, top 10 in receiving yds...Suh is actually playing pretty well for a DT, and they have 2 more sacks than the Steelers so they are to be respected on their home field especially...a win over PIT would go a long way to jump starting their season.

Steeler injuries

Tomlin has already said Heyward (hamstring) captains 1st game ever missed, and Shamarko Thomas (groin) are out. I saw another report saying Nix (back) is out as well. M.Gilbert (ankle), J. Gilbert (knee), Shazier (knee), Golden (hamstring), and D.Williams (knee) are all listed as questionable. I've seen it reported that DWill will probably play. Just thinking out loud on the others, but my guess is neither Gilbert will play and Shazier might not either.

This game

On paper this game should not be close. Vegas has set the line Steelers -7.5. Of course these have been the trap games for Tomlin in the past...as mentioned earlier, because it's the next road game after the blow out in PHI, I think they will take this game seriously and play with a sense of urgency. It's looking as if Hubbard will get his 2nd straight start at RT, so the O's performance will again be top of mind. The DEF needs a better effort to get the more athletic Tannehill on the ground...he's been turning it over a bit here lately, so he might be more prone to take off out of the pocket.

Outlook

The Dolphins are obviously struggling and could possibly be questioning each other in that locker room...I like the Steelers....27-17


What say you?

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

I think the Steelers 35-10.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I think the Steelers 35-10.

Love it! Hope you are right!

 

[Bridgeburner]

Steelers 42
Dolphins 13

And yes. I did just jinx us.

 

[MISKO]

Steelers 42
Dolphins 13

And yes. I did just jinx us.

Bastage !!!!!!!! take it back , just take it back damn it

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Injury update.

I didn't see Coates (hand) earlier in the week, but if he doesn't practice today, he nor Wheaton will see much action. In fact look for Cobi Hamilton to get called up later today if they don't.

Maybe, just maybe Nix, gets his 2016 debut. Shazier looks as if he'll miss another week, but Eli Rogers is expected to play along with Golden and Justin Gilbert...at least the back end is healthier.

One side note...Ladarius Green is expected to practice next week. His 1st eligibility coming off PUP...no word on Dupree yet.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Offense... As ATL noted, Hubbard to start once more. Let's hope Munchak can keep the magic up. Miami's D-line can be a force when healthy. Fortunately, they aren't. Wake is still working his way back from achilles injury in a limited role. Suh & Mario Williams anchor the D-line. Ben will likely be under duress for most of the game. Luckily the 2nd & 3rd levels aren't anything scary. Ben & Bell should be able to do a lot of damage. Reshad Jones is one of the best safeties in the league, but is battling a groin injury. Even at 75% Ben will still need to respect Jones' range. Offense might be without Coates & Wheaton this week, but they will have Rogers back. Not very worried since DHB is still very capable. Expect an even heavier dose of Bell this week.

Defense... Miami is getting back to full strength on their O-line. Somethin they haven't had since week 1 which could be a big boost to their struggling offense. They are also getting Arian Foster back this week. If the D-line sans Heywards cannot control the point of attack then this defense will struggle to get off the field. Hoping that the Steelers offense can run up the score and force the ball into Tannehill's hands more. ATL already stated that Tanny is pretty turnover prone. Secondary will be getting a boost with both Golden & Gilbert back from injury.

Overall... Hoping the Steelers don't fall victim to the trap game. Miami has their back against the wall so don't be surprised to see Tannehill gunning it all game long and keeping the Steelers on their heels. Offense shouldn't have much of a problem so long as turnovers don't bite them in the ass.

Steelers 36 - Dolphins 17

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Interesting turn of events... Chick has been playing well, so I'm not sure this is any sort of knock on Moats.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[TechRaiderRider]

dolphins with 17 in a home loss against
the mighty titans last week -
and 7 on the road at cinci the week before -

I'll go with the Steelers winning 31-13 -
Wreck Em!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

dolphins with 17 in a home loss against
the mighty titans last week -
and 7 on the road at cinci the week before -

I'll go with the Steelers winning 31-13 -
Wreck Em!

Welcome aboard TechRaiderRider!

 

[TechRaiderRider]

thanks dude -
how bout that early onside kick?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

thanks dude -
how bout that early onside kick?

Sadly not much else was very exciting in that 1st half...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Me watching the game today...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Philly game all over again...

Coaching... Getting outcoached by 2 1st-time Head Coaches on the road is pretty painful. We shouldn't be surprised at this point since this has been going on for several years now. But here we keep on dreaming thinking they have turned over a new leaf or finally cleaned up their act. Nope. Not even close. Pathetic performance. Haley had some bonehead playcalls. 3rd & 1 and you let none other than Landry Jones throw the ball? Also Butler wasn't blitzing on key 3rd downs? Strange game plans all around. Here's a fun stat to chew on:


Offense... O-line did a decent enough job. However, Ben just looked downright terrible today. Both of those INT's he threw were forced balls in triple coverage. That is inexcusable. If there are 3 defenders on 1 receiver then there HAS to be someone open elsewhere. Throw the ball away at the very least. And the deep sacks were the usual holding the ball too long. Luckily the 11yd sack resulted in a gifted unnecessary roughness penalty. Bell was getting decent yardage but for some reason was ignored for most of the 2nd half.

Defense... D-line was abysmal. They got pushed around by an O-line that gave up 17 sacks in 5 games. There was zero pressure. Adding insult to injury with Heyward's injury, Tuitt also came up limping and never looked the same. OLB's looked like a revolving door out there. Miami's run game went wild. Career day for a pretty sub-average RB. Blown coverages all over. Only positives from this group was they were able to hold Miami to FG's for most of the game. But I think that has more to do with Miami being a bad team. This score could have easily been 44-15 if those drops & penalties didn't happen. Miami's 1st punt didn't happen until the late 3rd or early 4th qtr. Embarrassing performance from this unit.

Injuries... After a monster run by DHB, he gets the cramps and doesn't return. Tuitt was hobbled. Hope the ankle is good to go next week. Vince Williams was helped off the field. Probably out for multiple weeks. All eyes are on Ben's knee though. He was able to grit it out in the 2nd half, but reportedly was limping badly in the locker room after the game.

Overall... Another epic collapse on the road to an inferior opponent. Even more injuries to add to the already lengthy list. Essentially the game today was a brutal and swift kick to the testicles. They had a perfect opportunity to put the AFCN in a chokehold. Thankfully all the other AFCN teams lost.

Outlook... After this collapse to an AFC opponent I have a very hard time seeing this team making it very far in the playoffs. Even if they clean up their act, this loss will haunt them. Probably won't have much of a chance of getting home field advantage in the divisional round, if they're lucky enough to make it. Tough to swallow, but this is NOT a SB team. Next week the Steelers get the roaring Patriots at home. Not a chance they win that game. This defense will be like a fart in a hurricane. Zero chance to stop Tom Brady. Best we can hope for is the Steelers make it through that game without suffering any more injuries so they can rest up during the bye week and hopefully get some much needed help back on the field.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Serious question for anyone that cares to answer...

Tomlin really wants to play Tampa 2 and tries to run it but they have man corners and are still running a 3-4. Maybe, if they are truly committed to Tomlin, they should just go full blown Tampa 2 and scrap this hybrid playbook. It’s like Tomlin and his D coaches aren’t on the same page and haven’t been for some time. Maybe that’s what really forced LeBeau out?

This defense has a lot of issues... At home they "look" good only because the offense has been getting fast starts which forced the opposing team to go 1-dimensional playing from behind. Tackling is still shit. The middle of the field has gaping holes for easy completions. Biggest problem though, inconsistent pressure.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

More ranting on the coaching... Feel free to ignore

Not saying we have bad coaches, nor calling for heads to roll. Just think the coaches need to figure out an identity and stick to it. Coaching scared & playing it safe is almost always going to result in failure.

Offense... Haley wasted the offense in the 1st half. Take away the great play by DHB and the offense was shut out. Haley didn't even attempt a throw down the field at all during the first 2 possessions. Very safe & timid play-calling. That 2-pt conversion made me feel like they were going to press the pedal to the metal, but it was all downhill from there. Bell was averaging nearly 6.5 yard per carry, and they phased him out of the game for some reason. 3rd & 1, and Haley calls a play-action with Landry Jones? That was horrible.

Defense... Butler clearly had no game plan today. No strategy at all. Rushed 4 and played soft zone coverage all day long. Miami picked them apart until the RZ each time. Better teams will finish with more TD's against that approach, and you can bet NE will pummel them with that strategy.

ST... Tomlin doesn't kick a FG from 55yds when his team is only up 8-3? You cannot tell me that Boswell doesn't have the leg. He's booting touchbacks 9-10yds deep into the endzone on kickoffs. The defense was getting gashed, but Tomlin plays it safe and tries to win the field position battle by punting in that situation? Bad decision.