Back off the ledge. This was a game that I chalked up as a L when the schedule came out months before the season started. I expected us to lose this game (we always lose to the Patriots) so this wasn’t a surprise. Frustrating, yes….Surprising, no.*The Steelers defense has had about 10 years to figure out how to combat this Patriots passing attack. The Pats throw the ball about 50% of the time against most opponents. Against the Steelers they throw the ball about 75% of the time. They completely change their gameplan when they face us. Why can’t we do the same? Run a 4-3 defense when Brady and the Patriots come to town. Change it up, do something, ANYTHING different than what you are currently doing. Teams that go to a quick-passing attack just shred this defense. Brees did it a few weeks back, Brady did it tonight. Manning does it from time to time. We just have zero response, no answer for that type of offensive scheme.
*”We’ll get ‘em next time”? “I hope we see them again”?….if one of these phrases passes your lips you haven’t been watching football very long. We’ve had 9 or 10 years to learn how to beat Brady and this Pats offense. We haven’t made one ounce of progress against that scheme in a decade. You think LeBeau is going to come up with something between now and January/February when he hasn’t been able to do it in the past 10 years? No. This team can go on a deep playoff run, but we just better hope we don’t see New England again.
*We seem to have fallen in love with this 3 or 4 man rush with soft coverage behind it. I’d rather get killed while blitzing than get beat allowing 7 yards per catch via short/intermediate passes that the QB of your local high school team could complete. Brady made some fantastic throws but how many wide open WR/TEs were out there tonight?
*Tonight you saw our lack of WR depth get exposed. Randle El should not be your team’s #2 WR if/when Ward gets hurt. He serves no purpose and provides no playmaking ability. When fully healthy I want Ward, Wallace, Sanders, and Brown on the field. Explosiveness and playmaking ability.
*Big Ben has been awful at times since returning from his suspension. He needs to be better.
*If 80% of our called pass plays result in a Big Ben scramble then what does that say about our offense? Does it really matter what routes the WRs run? Does it really matter what pass play Arians calls from the sideline? Every play results in a QB scramble with an improvised throw. There comes a time when you need to take a 3 step drop and the ball needs to be delivered the second your back foot hits the ground. How can you expect to beat a blitz or pick up short yardage 3rd downs on a consistent basis when you can’t complete any quick-rhythm passing plays?
*Improvisation is awesome but it’s not a sound offensive scheme or strategy. You don’t watch film of the New England Patriots during the week and say “yeah, we’ll scramble Big Ben around on every pass and we’ll toss it up and hope to catch a long pass.” You have to pick on specific DBs…you have to find holes in zones…you have to run pick plays…you have to create favorable matchups. Improv scrambles out of the pocket need to be your last resort…they can’t be your primary go-to offensive play.
*How many more misses until the Steelers bring in a kicker during the week to “scare” Reed into worrying about his job security?
*If Willie Gay can’t cover a backup TE then I’m not sure he should be on the field. If the team doesn’t have any other options on the roster to sub in for Gay, then I’m afraid they swung and missed on a handful of DB draft picks over the past few years.
*Big Ben had completed only 9 passes before things got out of hand and New England went “prevent defense” on us.
*Kicking an onside kick with 7 minutes left in the game = we have no chance in the world of stopping your offense.
*Brady goes an entire game at Heinz Field without taking 1 legit big hit. That can’t happen.
*From the opening kickoff it looked like the Patriots wanted this game more than we did.
*At times it looked like a 7-on-7 WRs vs DBs drill out there tonight. Brady had the red no-contact jersey on and New England was working on their passing game.
*I give the Patriots props (and always have) for thinking outside the box and approaching each game and each opponent as a unique challenge. Screw balance or tradition, if the matchup dictates that you throw the ball 50+ times every time you see the Steelers defense, you throw that ball 50 times. I respect that. Thank God more teams don’t have the guts and the QB that the Patriots do. Every time a team comes out and passes on us, they give themselves a better chance at winning the game. Teams that try to stay balanced against us are just playing right into our hands. If I’m an offensive coordinator I go 5 WRs all game long and take Woodley/Harrison and the Steelers pass rush right out of the game. My WRs/TEs/RBs will eat Harrison, Woodley, Gay, Farrior, Foote, McFadden for breakfast in coverage.
*The good news: Only 2 or 3 teams in the entire league can do what New England just did to us tonight. Patriots, Saints, Colts. Most teams don’t have the Coach or QB to pull it off.
*The Steelers pass D and 4th quarter D look an awful lot like they did last year….which is not good, not good at all.
*I think the Steelers are a good squad but it’s concerning that they are 1-3 against “good teams”. An OT win against Atlanta and losses against the Saints, Ravens, and Patriots.
*The Steelers schedule from here on out isn’t all that difficult. Going 6-1 or 5-2 is an achievable goal. We have ourselves a playoff team here and once you get into the postseason anything can happen. Keep your heads up this week.
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