2011 NFL Season

[Cactus Drags]

Seriously Mike Martz, run the fucking ball. And stop calling screens on 3rd and a million.

You might as well ask water to stop being wet. Running the ball is a sign of weakness to Martz.

Oh, I'm well aware, I just needed to vent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T5cYwx2WuE

Dave Toub is a genius. The referees...eh, not so much. I couldn't see a hold on that play, and apparently the Fox spotters couldn't either. But then they screwed up three or four calls that went against the Bears, as if the defending Super Bowl champions needed any help.

Fantasy Football can fuck itself in the ass this year too. I get Cop Speed in one league and Foster in another and I'm 1-4? Bullshit.

[gunnar hendershow]

They could have very well won if they found a way to sack Roethlisberger on that last drive too. Would have gotten the ball back with more time and maybe a still tied score.

Instead the Steelers escape. That offensive line is a serious concern and any team that can rush the QB is going to be a nightmare for them. As we saw in week 1.

That game last night proves what Steelers fans have been saying about Roethlisberger all along. Without him, we're fucked.

How he manages to pull games out of his ass at the end with atrocious O-Lines I'll never know. Freeney may have saved the Steelers season if Jonathan Scott was severely injured on that play. Once Scott and Doug Legursky came out, the O-Line wasn't too bad. Those two guys are absolutely atrocious and it's embarrassing that someone in the Steelers coaching staff thinks Scott is a legitimate player in this league, let alone a starting left tackle.

Forget Dwight Freeney, he couldn't even block Mr. Feeny. He fucking sucks.

Normally you wouldn't want to try and force a team with a QB as good as Roethlisberger to throw on you, but the Steelers O-Line is so bad that if the Steelers run on first down, and you sell out to stop it, it plays into your hands on 3rd and long because you can tee off on the QB.

The Steelers' gameplan wasn't really wise either, after the first two scoring drives they ran the ball on first down 15 times, playing right into the Colts' hands. I'm so sick of this "establish the run" bullshit that Art Rooney II wants to see. Your best player is your QB, you don't take the ball out of his hands to run into a brick wall. Not if you want to win anyway.

But if the Steelers had a decent O-Line they could pass to open up the run. But the O-Line sucks and they can't do either. This season is looking a LOT like the Super Bowl season of 2008, but with a worse defense. I'm not too confident right now. This team has a LOT of problems and they don't correct at least half of them soon, this season is going to be a failure.

Teams don't fear Mendenhall either, not that he's a bad back but you don't look at him like you absolutely need to stop him to win the game. If you keep Mendenhall from breaking too many big runs and force a 2nd or 3rd and long regularly you will have a chance to beat Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger makes a ton happen when he's flushed from the pocket, but there's only so much of a beating any player can take. On top of that, no matter what, it's never preferable to have your QB need to buy time in order to make a play. Ben is probably the best in the league at it, but against an elite defense it only can do so much. Mike Tomlin's a great coach and I would think he's going to go to the drawing board the next few weeks and figure out ways to mix up the playcalling. Teams know what Pittsburgh does and what to expect, they know if you neutralize Ben you force the Steelers defense to beat you. And as good as the defense is, they certainly aren't as good as they were in 2008. The Steelers defense isn't as strong as it has been and that was to be expected going into the season. They didn't go throw much changeover. Longterm I wouldn't be concerned at all, a lot of the core has been locked up and this offseason and the next I'd expect Pittsburgh to really do a makeover on defense in the same way they did a makeover on offense recently. Plus, additions to the line around Pouncey would help give the Steelers a way to protect Ben into the twilight of his career.

[Evil Chase K]

Teams don't fear Mendenhall either, not that he's a bad back but you don't look at him like you absolutely need to stop him to win the game. If you keep Mendenhall from breaking too many big runs and force a 2nd or 3rd and long regularly you will have a chance to beat Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger makes a ton happen when he's flushed from the pocket, but there's only so much of a beating any player can take. On top of that, no matter what, it's never preferable to have your QB need to buy time in order to make a play. Ben is probably the best in the league at it, but against an elite defense it only can do so much. Mike Tomlin's a great coach and I would think he's going to go to the drawing board the next few weeks and figure out ways to mix up the playcalling. Teams know what Pittsburgh does and what to expect, they know if you neutralize Ben you force the Steelers defense to beat you. And as good as the defense is, they certainly aren't as good as they were in 2008. The Steelers defense isn't as strong as it has been and that was to be expected going into the season. They didn't go throw much changeover. Longterm I wouldn't be concerned at all, a lot of the core has been locked up and this offseason and the next I'd expect Pittsburgh to really do a makeover on defense in the same way they did a makeover on offense recently. Plus, additions to the line around Pouncey would help give the Steelers a way to protect Ben into the twilight of his career.

I'm not concerned long term at all. Just this season. We're at an awkward point where guys like Aaron Smith and Hines Ward look like they might've hung on one year too long. And young guys like Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley have done absolutely nothing thus far.

On offense the biggest problem is the offensive line. Roethlisberger's stats are better when he's in the pocket. But with that O-Line he can't stay in the pocket.

Not only that but the Steelers offense is based on 2 TE sets but with that awful O-Line, they have to leave TEs in to chip and block a lot and it effects the rest of the offense.

If they fix the O-Line they have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL with a WR corps that rivals any team in the league. Hopefully the injury to Jonathan Scott keeps him out long enough to force the Steelers to go with a line of Marcus Gilbert - Chris Kemoeatu - Maurkice Pouncey - Ramon Foster - Trai Essex.

It's not great, but it'll give Ben a chance to throw from the pocket.

As for the defense, assuming Jason Worilds pans out they're pretty much set defensively for the forseeable future. They need to focus on building a real offensive line to protect the future of the franchise.

[gunnar hendershow]

This Redskins defense actually looks tough to score against. If Grossman wasn't so mistake-prone the Cowboys wouldn't even be in this game.

[mystikz]

this officiating is terrible. defenseless receiver? he had the ball was moving and the guy went his his shoulder and not his helmet. then Garret should have challenged that Grossman fumble.

[Maxx]

Phil Costa needs to be cut as soon as the game is over.

[Meacon Keaton]

Way to stop the clock, Tashard. Have the Cowboys been replaced by pee-wee players? It's really looking like they have no clue sometimes.

[mystikz]

yeah those snap mis-cues are ridiculous. I kinda feel bad for Romo playing through the pain and his o-line/receivers are playing like idiots.

[Maxx]

Well receivers at least have an excuse. Ogletree's got a whole new set of routes to learn this week. Of course, Laurent Robinson has only been on the team for a week and he's doing great, sneaky good pick up.

[naiwf]

Sexy Rexy strikes again. How did the Giants beat the Eagles but lose to these bums?

[Maxx]

Thank god Rexy is still Rexy.

[gunnar hendershow]

Alas, Rex Grossman is still Rex Grossman.

[Maxx]

DeAngelo Hall continues to prove how much of a joke he is. He's claiming there was no face mask penalty on the 4th quarter pass to Dez Bryant, where the penalty yardage moved them into field goal range.

This play:

Yup, that's totally clean DeAngelo, the refs are out to screw you.

[gunnar hendershow]

He really delivered on his promise to hurt Tony Romo too.

[Ron]

Sexy Rexy strikes again. How did the Giants beat the Eagles but lose to these bums?

[Meacon Keaton]

Andy Reid had to poop so he just super simmed it?

[Ron]

The Super Sim probably would have had better play calls...

[Evil Chase K]

this officiating is terrible. defenseless receiver? he had the ball was moving and the guy went his his shoulder and not his helmet.

Actually that was a perfect call.

Awful rule, but a perfect call.

It does not have to be helmet contact if the receiver is defenseless. And Moss was the NFL definition of defenseless on that play.

Good call. Terrible rule.

[sahyder1]

this officiating is terrible. defenseless receiver? he had the ball was moving and the guy went his his shoulder and not his helmet.

Actually that was a perfect call.

Awful rule, but a perfect call.

It does not have to be helmet contact if the receiver is defenseless. And Moss was the NFL definition of defenseless on that play.

Good call. Terrible rule.

uh...pretty sure he wasn't. For him to be defenseless it had to be a hit from behind which wasn't the case here. I don't have the rule book open but I'm pretty sure the ESPN crew mentioned the same thing last night.

[Evil Chase K]

this officiating is terrible. defenseless receiver? he had the ball was moving and the guy went his his shoulder and not his helmet.

Actually that was a perfect call.

Awful rule, but a perfect call.

It does not have to be helmet contact if the receiver is defenseless. And Moss was the NFL definition of defenseless on that play.

Good call. Terrible rule.

uh...pretty sure he wasn't. For him to be defenseless it had to be a hit from behind which wasn't the case here. I don't have the rule book open but I'm pretty sure the ESPN crew mentioned the same thing last night.

Yeah that is 100% false.

NFL rules provide special protection to defenseless players, by prohibiting (a) hits delivered to their head or neck area by an opponent with his helmet (including facemask), forearm, or shoulder, and (b) hits delivered by an opponent with his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/"hairline" parts) against any part of the defenseless player's body (i.e., "butting, spearing, or ramming" a defenseless player.) Defenseless players are defined as (a) a player in the act of or just after throwing a pass; (b) a receiver catching or attempting to catch a pass; © a runner already in the grasp of a tackler and whose forward progress has been stopped; (d) a kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air; and (e) a player on the ground at the end of a play.

1. Receiver Who Has Completed a Catch. If a receiver has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself, a defensive player is prohibited from launching (springing forward and upward) into him in a way that causes the defensive player's helmet, facemask, shoulder, or forearm to forcibly strike the receiver's head, neck, or face-even if the initial contact of the defender's helmet, facemask, shoulder, or forearm is lower than the receiver's neck.

Never assume the Monday Night Football crew is right about anything. They fucking suck.