I think Tomlin got in Mendys ass at halftime and let him know we need him to run the ball with conviction because in the second half he ran tougher than any point in his career. I always knew he was shifty but he would never finish his runs with any aggression. If he would put his shoulder into people he would be better than Ray Rice., because he is a big guy with a very low center of gravity and it would be hard to get lower than him.
I think you may be right and I agree with you. I like Mendy, but I feel he has lacked in the areas you mentioned and he dances too much instead of just hitting the hole and driving forward after contact.Originally Posted by Mike Tomlin
As for our red zone issues, I think Heath, Hines, and Cotchery all would help out a lot down there especially if used together. The red zone issue was the only real reason I was interested when they were talking about getting Plax.
Redzone is a play calling issue.. we try to out smart everyone. Plays need to be quicker we seem to get drawn out slow plays. Arians im sure would just love to go 5 wide the entire time...
Just like the two first downs we needed to finish the game.. more crap calls...
Arians is not elite and is holding us back from greatness.. possibly a new dynasty of greatness.
The Patriots stiffened up in the redzone and really shut down what the Steelers were trying to do on many occasions. I was watching the defense and they were man to man across the board on the receivers and tightends and also had 2 Safeties back in the endzone to help out. It's hard to pass the ball down there like that, which is what the Steelers were looking to do.
Ben was using the passing game very effectively all day long but in close quarters like that against a defense that has a hat on a hat and extra safety help, it's hard to do that. Normally in that situation you counter with the run game, but credit the Pats again for sneaking up the Safeties to help in run support and also their front line for being stout at the point of attack.
I was concerned as well with all the FG attempts last night but fortunately the defense was playing well enough to keep Tom Brady from getting hot. Add in the fact that you had several clock eating drives and fortunately we were able to come out on top. Redzone efficiency was probably the only drawback that I saw last night overall, other than Suisham's missed FG near the end.
The Steelers don't usually pass THAT much without using the run game too but the gameplan worked and worked great and we got the win.
This has been a problem since Cowher was here,it vwon't change untill we get rid of all ties on offense to Cowher IE B.A. I have to give Lebeau props for playing man to man and bumping off the line man that was great defense...
SA was screaming for it... luckily DL reads our forum...
IMO, it's great to get points, but I believe if the Steelers ever have to settle for a FG of less than 27 yards (LOS inside 10), then it is an offensive failure. You guys mentioned Miller and his lack of opportunities down there. Agreed 1000%. How hard is it to run play action fake, Miller block for a 2 count, release into the opposite corner behind the safeties? Could do the same thing with Wesley Saunders and have Miller block. I don't care who gets the TD, but they have to start finishing drives, especially when they march right down the field and then go away from what got you down there in the 1st place. Lord knows they run enough blast down there, play action would work like a charm.
This is one of those games where traditionally you can get away with settling for FG's and still win the game. However this year that's not necessarily the case. Even at home the Steelers need to make sure they get into the end zone and put this game in the hands of Flacco to try and come back and beat them. If you get up on them you can take Rice out of the game from a run perspective and that helps things tremendously. Yes he's good as a receiver too but anytime you can make a team one dimensional you immediately have the upper hand.
Get in the redzone, get TD's, put them on their heels and let Blitzburgh go to work.
No fade routes??
"Happy Happy Happy"
The Ravens will crowd the endzone when the Steelers will get down there and try to force FG's as often as they can. This is where the creative play calling has to come into play. We saw some of it last week between the 20's but ended up stalling out too often before TD's could be scored. The slant route to Mewelde was brilliant; it's that type of play calling that will get us more 6 pointers than 3 pointers.
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