What gives?

[JackSplat]

so, in other words, you would be quite content going 3 in out every offensive series.  putting the field position into the hands of the all-pro punter we currently have, and placing the game squarely on the shoulders of the defense??  that surely is better than having Ben hold the ball a little longer to actually generate some type of offense right?

why dont they quick kick on 3rd and long from now on saving ourselves from a world of trouble.  that will cut down on the turnovers fo sho and save Ben from taking numerous sacks.  I think you might be on to something. 

and I really dont get the Staley correlation either.  that dude was a turd after week 8 of the 2004 season.

I dont think you are an actual steeler fan anyway

[Preacherman0]

So far the D has been covering up the poor offensive play.  They've been fairly pathetic on offense this year!  Let's see who disagrees with that.............
I'm waiting.............

Well, I don't want to keep you waiting long.

You say that "this isn't about the offensive line."  But how can you argue that INTs and sacks are not largely a product of the offensive line?  I would also throw in bad play design and poor play selection, but that's another story and I've addressed that ad nauseum.

Have you ever considered that maybe it just SEEMS like Ben holds the ball to long?  And that he doesn't even have time to throw it away because he's getting bum-rushed from the snap?  IIRC, you have to be outside the pocket to throw the ball away.  How many times has he been cut off from even getting outside the pocket this year? 

Let's also consider the collective impact of 48 sacks, not to mention the countless hits/knockdowns after the throw.  You KNOW, no matter how good or tough he is, that he's thinking about the rush more than ever because of the blows he's taken.  That's just human nature.  I believe that he's done so well at the end of games because he just gets in the zone and forgets about the fact that he's going to get drilled.  He got the crap knocked out of him all the way down the field vs. Balty, but he still got it done.

And by the way, was Troy in at QB when we went down the field vs. SD?  Was James Harrison calling the plays when we went 92 yards on the self-proclaimed "greatest defense of all-time?" 

You put the well-documented oline issues that Finny constructed (BTW, remind me never to get into a debate w/him); and the stupidity that is Bruce Arians together; and it's pretty amazing that we are 12-4.  And yes, that's largely because of the defense, but it's also BR taking us down the field when we have to have it on offense.

One question:  Could the confusion on the OL be partially attributed to Ben calling protections?  Maybe that responsibility needs to be on the center once again.

[steelerfaninCO]

  This is about taking care of the ball.   

No, this is about winning games. Has Ben lost a few games because of poor decisions? Absolutely, and so has Tom Brady. Has Ben won far more games because of good decisions? Um, yeah. How many 4th quarter comebacks does he have in his career, let alone this season? We get it, you think Ben screws up too much and is costing the team games. What's their record this year? I'll agree with you that the D has been carrying the team, but the O, namely Ben, has got it done when it mattered.

No one is going to disagree with calling our offense pathetic, because it is. But its not pathetic just because of #7. In any offensive discussion you MUST look at the OL. Do you seriously think the shitty OL play doesn't affect the QB? Seriously? Do you seriously think the shitty run game doesn't affect the QB? Do you seriously think having a JV OC doesn't affect the QB? Do you seriously think that BL would come in, light it up, not get sacked and the offensive would magically put up 40 game? You are either not watching the games, or not paying enough attention. Ben is not having his best season for sure, but to point the finger at him while bringing up ancient, overused, and ineffectual arguments against him is just not looking at the whole offensive picture and frankly, doesn't do justice to his SB ring, 51 career victories, historic YPA, and determination to win. There are many factors at work here that all affect each other. I bet Ben wouldn't look so bad to you, or hold the ball too long if he wasn't in a fucking pinball machine every fucking play. To dismiss the OL play as cause for some of Ben's poor play is just ignorant.

Of course you are absolutely entitled to your opinion, but you not going to convince many people (at least around here) that Ben is the problem. Especially talking about Staley and a big RB. If there isn't a hole to fall through, it doesn't matter how many pounds the RB is. And Russell has been doing pretty good lately(I do think they should think about taking a run a Deuce McCallister)......Anyhoo, its all moot anyway. BR is the QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers and barring injury, will be for quite some time to come. We all hope they are able to score some points in the playoffs and maybe win another SB.

[jclaywell18]

Think about it bamf16.  If you have to go back 3 or 4 years ago to point out something good that Ben did, don't you think something is wrong?  Ben had a good rookie year b/c he simply wasn't turning the ball over.  The same was said of Kordell Stewart in that when he didn't have too many turnovers the Steelers would win ball games.  Let's just challenge your theory for a moment.  Case in point.....the Steelers won the Super Bowl during the '05-'06 season, and the VERY NEXT year miss the playoffs completely!!!!  Now if it wasn't because of the losses to the roster of the great team that they had the year before (Jerome Bettis, Mike Logan, Randle El, Duce Staley, Joey Porter just to name a few!), then why did they miss the playoffs only 1 year after winning the Super Bowl?  That's laughable!  OBVIOUSLY it had nothing to do with Roethlisberger's influence on the game!  They just didn't have the same supporting cast.  Being a Steelers fan myself, I completely understand your desire to protect the on field reputation of a Steelers quarterback.  But call it for what it is!  And now Ben is coming off his 3rd concussion in 3 years, including the motorcycle debacle.  Considering all of this, who knows how he's going to play in this years playoffs?  All I know is every time Lefty comes in the game good things happen, and the ball easily moves down field.

I thought complete idiots were banned from this board??

Case in point.....the Steelers won the Super Bowl during the '05-'06 season, and the VERY NEXT year miss the playoffs completely!!!!

Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that the season following Ben's little incident on the motorcycle?
Don't think that had something to do with it, do ya?
Seriously....who ARE you?

No, the motorcycle accident, emergency appendectomy and bad concussion that year all had absolutely NOTHING to do with us not making the playoffs. Please take your unintelligent, idiotic arguments back to the ESPN messge boards and leave the real discussion to the adults..

[aj_law]

Well, there's two minutes of my life I'd like to have back.

[vinman3]

 

Wow. Just. Wow.

[steelerfaninCO]

U GUYZ JUST SHUT UPP!!! JUST SHUT UPPP!!!! BABYWANTSBOTTLEBERGER HOLDZ THE BALLZ WAAAYYY 2 LOUNGE. HES A GAME MANGER!!!!11!!!!>>>>>>DUH, HELLO<<<<<<ANY QB COULD WINN WITH THAT DEEFENCE. DONT BEE HATING ON ME CAUSE IM WRITE!! HAHAHAHAHA. U WILL SEA, U LOOSERS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HE GOING 2 THREW LOTS AND LOTS OF INTERVENTIONS!!! U NO IM RITE BEEYATCHES!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHA........ ..................... ..................... ......HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111111 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Finnegans Wake]

Two things, briefly:

Ben's season, if you're judging by passer rating, has not been that bad outside of Redskins, Giants, Eagles, and Colts.&nbsp; Not sure what the NFCE poison is, but in the AFC he's acquitted himself well.

Also, when considering Ben's performance, aside from bonehead picks (which seem to come up once a game) and recurring injury issues (has his shoulder really healed?), he's faced not only a tough SOS slate, but also some really, really bad weather conditions.&nbsp; The NE and Cleve games stand out as windy and wet, and I know there were others where he was facing rain.&nbsp; When it comes to the QB's grip, snow is much easier than rain and wind.


*Edit:  One more thing.  Seems like this year we've seen a LOT more WR drops.  That Wash game comes to mind, again, among others.  Seriously, is SH off the weed?

[aj_law]

*Edit:  One more thing.  Seems like this year we've seen a LOT more WR drops.  That Wash game comes to mind, again, among others.  Seriously, is SH off the weed?

As the Mrs. likes to sing whenever he drops one..."I was gonna catch the ball, but I got high..."

I don't see the marked improvement from him this year that I was expecting.  I thought he was gonna make the leap to elite this year...not Fitzgerald, Boldin, Steve Smith, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, etc., elite, but I really believed that second tier elite was doable.  At this point, I still wouldn't classify him as the #1 option.  And, that ain't good with Ward aging (and carrying a monster cap number that needs to be reduced); Nate being a UFA; and Sweed looking about as close to NFL ready as I am.

He needs to get his head outta his ass and put his priorities in order.  If I'm him, I'm gettin' as much game film on a guy like Steve Smith as I can and I'm trying to mimic him as much as possible.

[Preacherman0]

Honestly, early in the year, I thought SH was ready to be the man.  I don't think he's been the same since the arrest.