Week 10 Post Game: Steelers vs Packers

[Scott4Pack]

Overall impressions:

1. Love is actually getting some incredible plays. That last long pass, he really didn't have enough room to throw the ball. Yet he's off balance and gets it 40 yards downfield and on target. Plays like that are why you keep this kid and train him up.

2. That last play, Love showed the bad Jordan. He needed to toss a jump ball into the end zone so that one of his guys would at least have a chance at a 50/50. He shouldn't have thrown a bullet. No surprise it was picked off.

3. Joe Barry should be fired now. Not nearly enough pressure and never even thought about stopping the run. Shameful.

4. Wicks. He needs more reps, for sure. He just makes plays.

5. Jones. Probably his worst game this year. Drops.

6. OLine. was adequate and maybe good enough to win today.

7. Blocked XP. It's stuff like that where Deguara just didn't play the play. We have ZERO margin for error. And that was enough that we couldn't kick a FG to tie the game at the end. Shameful.

8. Gary. Zero impact.

9. LVN. Who?

10. Dillon. Great game. He's getting it into gear. Love to see him run and turn and run and pull bodies.

11. Nixon. Getting his returns going today was good to see. More please.

12. Learning to win. We are seeing glimpses. But still a long way to go. Wicks making plays. Watson not. Musgrave improving. Jones not. Valentine improving. But D makes ZERO turnovers - again.

[Labrev]

We are making pass plays downfield!!

[lupedafiasco]

We are making pass plays downfield!!

At a terrible efficient rate.

[Pckfn23]

[Pckfn23]

[BF004]

Gotta stop blaming DCs for systemic problems.

Fans have blamed 3 straight DCs now for not being able to stop the run.

We gave up 200 yards rushing to a team with a &%$@ QB and &%$@ offense playing nickel the entire game.

That doesn’t upset you?

Whether it’s LaFleur or Barry, I don’t get how that passes your bum sauce test.

I’m not ok with it at all. It’s actually my point. Packers fans just continue to blame the same thing over and over. Fire Capers! Fire Pettine! Fire Barry!

Nothing is changing from a philosophical standpoint. We keep taking swings on athletic bums at LB. We get athletic safeties that don’t bother stepping in against the run. Our defensive line are just penetrating and throwing their gaps to the wind. This has been happening regardless of DC. Time to make a culture change.

Well personally i blame lafleur more than Barry. He was LaFleur's hire and can tell him how to call plays, how conservative, aggressive to be.

[williewasgreat]

Some good comments here. I would add that Reed is really coming on as a WR. Reed, Wicks and Doubs should be the centerpiece of the WR group. Love needs to stop focusing on Watson. He keeps forcing passes to Watson and Watson is just not a very good receiver right now.

Also, as has been mentioned, Campbell is a shadow of his former self. He can no longer take on blockers and never seems to plug the correct holes. I think McDuffie is outplaying him, but we really miss Quay.

I was also pretty pleased with our young CBs. Ballentine and Valentine both kept pretty good coverage.

Barry is so clueless at being a DC. Enough has been said about his incompetence.

[musclestang]

I thought they took some steps yesterday, lets just see if they. maintain it. Offensive line played much more respectably. We could win behind that level of play at least. Prior, I don't care what ratings, stats, metrics whatever or whoever said what, they were bad. Too many free rushers too often blowing up plays that kill drives and penalties. you can't win with that unless you have an all time great slinging the ball with pass catchers to match and even then, it's very difficult.

All in all I think Love played fairly well. First INT, i'm fine with giving your guy a chance, but if Watson doesn't start making some of them, he has to start looking elsewhere and give those guys a chance. But make no mistake, if you're going to run an NFL offense and compete, you have to give your guy a chance like that in the endzone and they need to reward you for giving it to them if you want to do anything in this league. 2nd at the end? yeah it was a desperation throw, but a poor decision IMO. Throw it shorter and let him run it in if that's what you want, or just put it up in the endzone and give someone a chance to go get it.

There is no room to throw a ball that far on a line without some defender stepping in front because they are all there waiting. There just isn't the space to do it. Put it up, let them fight over it. or let someone catch it short and make some moves to get in. Still not a likely play, but what we got was a pretty much zero likelihood play.

Defensively, had some guys I never thought we'd really see play this year out there and holding their own more often than not. But it's the same old thing. missed tackles, headscratching alignments, someone out of position and getting run over. The only time we didn't was when they stopped running LOL.

Wicks and Reed are coming along, I like it. Toure lost his spot because he doesn't fight for the ball either, just lets it come to him. Watson is kind of looking the same. He better turn it around, quickly. Or he's going to lose his opportunity too. I think they're pumping him the ball because physically he should be a #1 and they want him to become it.

I don't know what's up with Jones, but he doesn't look right. Still hurt? is he at the end that abruptly? what gives? Besides the drops and inexplicably running to the middle of the field with time running out and not timeouts for 2 more yards and 30 wasted seconds (which tell me he's not into it mentally) he just doesn't look like he has the same juice when he runs. he's getting bounced around, but i just don't see the same speed or effort. Is it mental or still hurt? Being mentally checked out does not seem like something I could attach to Jones, so I'm going to assume still hurt. He's been too good and the right type of player for too long for me to believe he's checked out.

Other than that, this was more of the type of game I thought we'd get this year. Competitive, some youth style mistakes, but in it the whole time. Keep banging, those L's will become W's.

[Yoop]

We don't know if we can stop the run. Barry hasn't tried it yet.

Gotta stop blaming DCs for systemic problems.

Fans have blamed 3 straight DCs now for not being able to stop the run.

Lupe, no. Stop it. Did you count how many plays we had the 2-man front Nascar out there today? Joe didn't even care to stop the run.

Think about this. The Steelers prefer to run the ball a lot. And they are decent at it too. So, we're on their field and we pull out that 2-man front like 80% of the time? Seriously? I wish I had an actual count of how many snaps, including third and short plays. Joe did NOT want to stop the run.

Was he too worried about needing max coverage on the back end, with Quay and Jaire out? Maybe.

Did he really think that Pickett was going to pass us to death? Give me a break.

This one game is the one where I pull the plug on Joe Barry. Get him outta there! Never soon enough.

there are always some sort of defense for Joe Barry, either the secondary is weak do to injury's or we play a hot QB/receiver team and have to play the nickel package, theirs always excuses, it's true we had to play both tines yesterday, both Balentine and Valentine did there part though, still Barry must have lacked enough faith in them to play a heavy front and dedicate himself to stopping the run.

I'd like to see us completely restock the defensive coaching, bring in a established DC prospect and let him bring in his assistants, and let him run that, with zero interference from Lafleur, who has all he can do prepping this offense

[Acrobat]

To me, this game was perfect. Jordan Love actually looked permission and seems to be settling in, but the loss helps our quest to get a high draft pick and maybe find our next LT or get Marvin Harrison.

Oh. And Fire Barry.

[TheSkeptic]

We gave up 200 yards rushing to a team with a &%$@ QB and &%$@ offense playing nickel the entire game.

That doesn’t upset you?

Whether it’s LaFleur or Barry, I don’t get how that passes your bum sauce test.

I’m not ok with it at all. It’s actually my point. Packers fans just continue to blame the same thing over and over. Fire Capers! Fire Pettine! Fire Barry!

Nothing is changing from a philosophical standpoint. We keep taking swings on athletic bums at LB. We get athletic safeties that don’t bother stepping in against the run. Our defensive line are just penetrating and throwing their gaps to the wind. This has been happening regardless of DC. Time to make a culture change.

Well personally i blame lafleur more than Barry. He was LaFleur's hire and can tell him how to call plays, how conservative, aggressive to be.

Exactly. MLF hired him and should either read him the riot act or fire him now and start the search. In any case he should not return and likely at least 1 position coach should not either.

As for the game, the Packers were competitive. That is almost enough. If not for a blown ref call and Deguara they should have won the game. Or at least taken it to OT.

[paco]

[Pckfn23]

So this gets even crazier. Refs blow the whistle, so be it, no clear recovery, Steeler ball. Clearly a backward pass and should have been spotted at the 9 instead of being ruled an incomplete pass and spotted 3rd down at the 16. Pretty big blunder on the refs' part considering it was reviewed. Didn't really affect anything with the wrong spot, but the NFL has been under fire the last several weeks and this is yet another poor look.

[Pckfn23]

This is slinging it! It's there, just need more consistency.

[go pak go]

^^^^

Absolutely love that ball. It was the first time I felt like I saw Love actually have zip rather than "touch" on a ball. Also LOVED his off balance throw to Reed at the end of the game. The dude has arm talent. That was a serious chuck down the field for having no balance which shows he has tremendous arm strength.

I just don't think he has unleashed it yet.

[Pckfn23]

[Pckfn23]

[Pckfn23]

[BF004]

[Pckfn23]

I think I'd give 2 guys a positive grade on that play, Jenkins and Myers. Tom and Kraft would get a neutral grade. The rest screwed the pooch.