Here's what's really bothering me ...

[Iron City South]

Sure I'm upset about the loss, we all are. But I think what's really bothering me right now is who we've become and how far removed we currently are from tough as nails, smashmouth, physical brawlers we've always been known to be ..... the staple of nearly every Pittsburgh team.

Yesterday was and eye opener for me. For the first time I came to the realization where I actually said out loud "Is this who were are now? ... This is who we've become?".

I'm talkin' 3rd & Goal from the 1 mother ****ing foot line and throw a fade pass to our boheamoth 5'10" WR ... only to be followed up by an empty set WR sweep where our "brawler/tough guy" RT got blown up worse than a suicide bomber going through a check point. Back to back plays, we tried to get cute. Instead of taking out the sledge hammer, and smashing our way to 6, we got creatively "artsie". Maybe even metro-sexually "progressive". Hell, I'd even go as far as to say we were Bob mother-****ing Ross painting "Happy Little Trees". Then in the midst of getting our ass served to us like a leftover Thanksgiving dish, the camera pans over to a jovial Troy Polamalu laughing and yucking it up on the sidelines!!! WTF??? Troy's paycheck is obviously making him very happy these days. Hey, no worries Troy ... .we'll deal w/this ...k? !

We're no longer who or what we once were. It's saddening. Even worse, it's pathetic. Until we wake up, and our coaching staff realizes who we want to be when we grow the **** up, I see us continuing to make the same assanine mistakes and bad game planning week in and week out. We need to get back to basics. Back to what it is we do well.

Arians is stat driven. He wants Ben's TD passes numbers to go up so bad under him he's willing to do it at the expense of fundamental football. It's disgusting. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Cowher & Bettis more and more with each passing week.

[NOVA STEELERS]

I agree with your statement........... We smashed Najeh on 4th down, gets a couple of key 1st downs and then on the goal line where is Najeh and then to go into a hurry up There was some bright spots to the game, but they were out numbered by the penalties, dropped balls, missed tackles and blocking assignments....... Have to buckle down now, cuz this is the home stretch, its make it our break it time.......



Anyone else wonder why there was no flag when Ben was closlined and taken down and dumb ass simms says O that was something you would see on WWF..

[Troyisabeast_43]

Bruce ariens is a child lost in a game for men. his playcalling is abysmal at best. great mixture of run/pass...until we hit the red zone and it's pass, pass, pass, field goal. seriously, last night 1st and goal from the 1 and you do a trick play and a pass play? whatever happened to steelers football? run up the middle 3 times with najeh and put the freaking ball in the end zone. if you can't get in with 3 tries from the one, you don't deserve to win, but i'd rather see that than a lob ball to holmes (all 5'9 of him) to the back of the end zone and then a reverse with ward in an empty back set. everyone knew he was getting that ball on the reverse...who else was there??? Ariens playcalling has just been flat out horrific at times and until it improves especially in the red zone the Steelers are going to continue to struggle to get TD'S and settle for FGS.

[Ambridge]

I know it's Tomlin's first year and maybe it's unfair to be too critical of him but the phrase "A Team takes on the Personality of its Coach" keeps coming to mind.
So far IMO Tomlin is a Coaching Enigma.....and at best trying to be too much of a quiet leader and the anti-Cowher.

Too bad players don't like being yelled at (BEN).....too bad a coach gets in your face and sticks his foot up your ass when you **** up!!
This team needs to be shaken up with a harsh dose of reality and not with a pat on the butt and a "Don't do that again"

This team isn't playing well under this "Calm and Cool Resigme".....it's just not "Pittsburgh" and I don't believe it ever will be.

PS-Why was Ike so concerned running his yap with Pats fans behind the Steelers bench instead of getting ready for the next defensive series??

[yinzer]

All of Willie's 100+ yard games don't matter unless we score TOUCHDOWNS!! I don't care who's doing the scoring, just put the ball in the friggin endzone!

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i'm also still trying to figure out why the hell they run najeh on fourth and one in the MIDDLE OF THE FRIGGIN FIELD but won't give it to him on the goal line with first and goal... i'm waiting for the day when the camera pans over to tomlin absolutely laying into arians for being such a horrific O.C. maybe we can hire cowher for our O.C. next year...

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I agree with your statement........... We smashed Najeh on 4th down, gets a couple of key 1st downs and then on the goal line where is Najeh and then to go into a hurry up There was some bright spots to the game, but they were out numbered by the penalties, dropped balls, missed tackles and blocking assignments....... Have to buckle down now, cuz this is the home stretch, its make it our break it time.......



Anyone else wonder why there was no flag when Ben was closlined and taken down and dumb ass simms says O that was something you would see on WWF..

the fundamentals were completely absent. as for the clothesline... the pats were playing at home.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

It's about time we all come to the realization that we are not the Steelers or old, nor will be be again in the immediate future. This team has been built for the passing over the last few years with influx of players like Heath, Willie, Santonio, Nate, Matt Spaeth, etc. We are not a smash mouth team anymore on offense. We are a quick strike team now with the ability to put up a lot of points on the board when the play calling goes the way it should and when Ben takes care of the football. You can't be a smash mouth team that throws the ball all day long too. Now yes you can be an effective running team and a physical team that throws the ball, aka the Patriots, Packers, Cowboys, & Colts but they are not smashmouth teams they are just physical teams that happen to throw the the ball a lot because they can.

We do need to get our toughness back, I fully agree with that. Our defense is tough, physical, and hard hitting, everything you want in a group of defenders but the offense has lost it's physical swagger.

[Iron City South]

We do need to get our toughness back, I fully agree with that. Our defense is tough, physical, and hard hitting, everything you want in a group of defenders but the offense has lost it's physical swagger.

I don't agree w/this at all. Our defense doesn't have the mental toughness to be tough, physical, and dominating ... at least consistently. Sure we can be the school yard bully and beat-up crappy teams, but who gets satisfaction in beating up the small short-bus kids on the playground every day? What does that really prove?

The reality is that we don't have Greg Lloyd's, Kevin Greene's, or Rod Woodson's on defense; Players people feared

We either have a bunch of candy-assed metro-sexual "happy tree" painters on our D that would rather show off their cars, be seen in nightclubs, and brag about their bling .... or we have grizzled veterans who have played in this league for awhile and have gotten soft after making a few million. Their bigger worries are more along the lines of buying vacation homes, business ventures, and the booking their spring golf outings.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

I think the defense is tough and physical, but I do think they lose focus at times..last night is a prime example, and that comes down to coaching as much as it does the players themselves taking care of business. I have all the faith in the world in our 11 guys to step up but they need to be more consistent and that's what is killing us on both sides of the ball but especially on defense. If we could play every week with the mentality of "kill or be killed" then we'd be in much better shape.

We've got some mean guys on our team and every one of them loves to dish out the hits and play physical but until they can do it every week we'll be inconsistent in that area.

[TheButt]

I realized it long before we got that in that goal-line situation... opening drinve of the second half.. Parker broke one for a 20 yarder give or take.. then we tried some fake hand off.. play action something or other and Ben gets blowed up by that fatass nosetackle for the Pats.. then its second and a mile..plays right into their hands, they know exactly what we are goign to do from there.And we did nothing after that for the rest of the day. Why in the world wouldnt you pound the freaking ball.. Parker was finding holes and we could have worn them out in the second half..pound , pound, pound... but nooooooooo. We have to git cutesy.

Outcoached and outplayed.

Oh and on D we should have been dropping 8 the entire day I dont care what anyone says.

They ran the ball 9 times... 9 friggin times. Ugh

[BlitzburghRockCity]

That's the problem with Bruce as the OC, he tries to be so diverse and use so many different formations that he out thinks himself and instead of just lining up and doing what we do he has to get cute and think like he's keeping the defense off balance but in reality it's keeping us off balance.