3rd and 2 - 1st down and game is over

[steelmann58]

The bottom line is that the OL could not get any push when needed.

[stillthere]

I will also add that while I don't expect it'll ever happen, Dobbs would add a lot more to current Steelers situational football than Mason ever would.

"At the combine, his 4.64 40 was second among all QBs. He topped the three-cone and posted top-three numbers in both jump drills, albeit at a lean 6’3, 216. He also led this QB class in yards per carry and led the Vols in rushing while having one of the most productive throwing seasons in Tennessee history".

And none of that translates to success in the NFL. There have been dozens...hell hundreds of excellent college QBs that can’t find success in the league. It’s a different beast, no doubt about it.
Think about this...Dobbs has had two opportunities to take the #2 job from Rudolph, not exactly a daunting task, yet hasn’t been able to do it. He couldn’t crack the top 3 in Jax, where ond of the worst QB rooms resides.
I like Josh Dobbs, he’s a smart guy and brings value to the to Ben and the offense from the sideline. He has no business on the playing field, especially in a crucial situation.

Well, Dobbs did win the job his first try. Then Mason came along and played incredibly well last preseason. He deserved the job and took it.

I think you're forgetting how REALLY, REALLY GOOD, Mason looked that preseason. Duck looked really good too. Dobbs didn't and he rightfully lost his spot on the roster.

Both aren't the Steelers QB of the future when Ben leaves. You know it and I know it. Hell, Duck has zero business being on an NFL field.

No arm.

But...Dobbs has excellent athletic ability. He can run, he's strong and has a very strong arm.

I'm not talking about making Dobbs Ben's back up if Ben were to miss a few weeks. I'd probably make Rudolph the man while Ben was out.

But....for the ability to actually help in a pinch during a game if Ben went out? For use situationally because of his athletic abilities?

I'd choose Dobbs.

Goes back to the old Tom Moore quote when someone asked about why the back up QB got so few reps in practice and he points to Manning and said "If he goes down we are fucked and we don't practice fucked." The one thing Dobbs has at QB over Rudolph is the ability to use his legs but we saw in that Raiders game 2 years back that doesn't mean shit if he doesn't do it. I will give him credit for the rope he threw against Baltimore a few years back down by the 10 yard line.

None of our back ups help us win really but there is only so much of the pie to slice and spread around. With Ben eating 35+ million dollars of the pie then you cannot add much more money to the QB room. So you get stuck with bad back ups.

[K_C_]

And none of that translates to success in the NFL. There have been dozens...hell hundreds of excellent college QBs that can’t find success in the league. It’s a different beast, no doubt about it.
Think about this...Dobbs has had two opportunities to take the #2 job from Rudolph, not exactly a daunting task, yet hasn’t been able to do it. He couldn’t crack the top 3 in Jax, where ond of the worst QB rooms resides.
I like Josh Dobbs, he’s a smart guy and brings value to the to Ben and the offense from the sideline. He has no business on the playing field, especially in a crucial situation.

Well, Dobbs did win the job his first try. Then Mason came along and played incredibly well last preseason. He deserved the job and took it.

I think you're forgetting how REALLY, REALLY GOOD, Mason looked that preseason. Duck looked really good too. Dobbs didn't and he rightfully lost his spot on the roster.

Both aren't the Steelers QB of the future when Ben leaves. You know it and I know it. Hell, Duck has zero business being on an NFL field.

No arm.

But...Dobbs has excellent athletic ability. He can run, he's strong and has a very strong arm.

I'm not talking about making Dobbs Ben's back up if Ben were to miss a few weeks. I'd probably make Rudolph the man while Ben was out.

But....for the ability to actually help in a pinch during a game if Ben went out? For use situationally because of his athletic abilities?

I'd choose Dobbs.

Goes back to the old Tom Moore quote when someone asked about why the back up QB got so few reps in practice and he points to Manning and said "If he goes down we are fucked and we don't practice fucked." The one thing Dobbs has at QB over Rudolph is the ability to use his legs but we saw in that Raiders game 2 years back that doesn't mean shit if he doesn't do it. I will give him credit for the rope he threw against Baltimore a few years back down by the 10 yard line.

None of our back ups help us win really but there is only so much of the pie to slice and spread around. With Ben eating 35+ million dollars of the pie then you cannot add much more money to the QB room. So you get stuck with bad back ups.

I won't argue that and Dobbs did look TERRIBLE against the Raiders. Had Mason shown us he looked like the guy who played pretty well against the Seahawks and decently against San Fran last season (he wins both games if Moncrief doesn't fuck him on his first throw vs Seattle and Conner doesn't fumble late in the 49ers contest) and the guy that REALLY played well in the Rams win, Mason would be the guy. But we had no preseason, so I'm worried.

I believe Dobbs is the number 3 because Duck can't throw a football and for as bad as Dobbs played against the Raiders, Duck was even more awful against the Ravens last year.

Probably not a lot of difference between Mason and Dobbs at this point, except Dobbs has some athleticism.

I guess let's hope the Steelers keep winning and we don't need any of the other QB's. It would just be cool to see the braintrust think outside the box a bit.

[swissvale72]

WAS tempting to throw on 3rd & 2, but NEEDED to be sure to take the time off of the clock...comfortable with putting the D back on the field with less than a minute remaining, Ravens with no timeout and needing a touchdown. DOES beg the question of why throw on second down if not willing to throw it on 3rd....incomplete on second and probably throwing it on 3rd to try to pick up the first.

[Havoc]

I read an article recently. The conclusion was, many NFL coaches strategize to delay losing as long as possible and in the process of doing so decrease their chances of winning.

I'm not saying this is what we did on that set of downs.

The best the Ravens could have hoped for was the Steelers going heavy package drawing 9 Ravens into the box on 3rd down with a run up the middle. Romo saw it coming and even called it out before the ball was snapped, 10 million fans saw it coming, so did the Ravens defense.

We also went heavy package on 1st down.

What were our chances of ending the game on that possession if we ran the offense that had put up 3 TDs in the 2nd half?

We have lived on the edge the past 2 weeks with our opponents taking a legit shot into our EZ to win it at the end. The level of competition is going to get better at some point(s) in the PS.

[Jizz Mop]

I read an article recently. The conclusion was, many NFL coaches strategize to delay losing as long as possible and in the process of doing so decrease their chances of winning.

I'm not saying this is what we did on that set of downs.

The best the Ravens could have hoped for was the Steelers going heavy package drawing 9 Ravens into the box on 3rd down with a run up the middle. Romo saw it coming and even called it out before the ball was snapped, 10 million fans saw it coming, so did the Ravens defense.

We also went heavy package on 1st down.

What were our chances of ending the game on that possession if we ran the offense that had put up 3 TDs in the 2nd half?

We have lived on the edge the past 2 weeks with our opponents taking a legit shot into our EZ to win it at the end. The level of competition is going to get better at some point(s) in the PS.

Good post.

[TTP]

Personally, I would have spread them out and thrown for it on 3rd and 2. With the rules favoring the pass, I would rather take my chances winning the game on offense vs. hanging on for dear life on defense.

That said, I can see the Steelers thinking here. They've been able to run the ball all year in end game situations.

[zeke5123]

Personally, I would have spread them out and thrown for it on 3rd and 2. With the rules favoring the pass, I would rather take my chances winning the game on offense vs. hanging on for dear life on defense.

That said, I can see the Steelers thinking here. They've been able to run the ball all year in end game situations.

Or even spread it out and run. Look, I know the Ravens would be suspecting that but think it might be more high percentage. I think Watt might have made a difference as well.

[Quixotic]

Also do we have an old school jump over the line guy. Remember when Walter Payton used to sky over the line for TD's. Henry jumped over the line against us for a TD last week against when we played Tennessee. (just spit balling)

If you look at Leveon Bell’s college highlights, he sometimes hurdled tacklers. Not exactly Sam “Bam” Cunningham, diving like a high jumper. But jumping nonetheless. Lev stopped that in the NFL. Prolly because he would have been killed.

[alancac98]

My problem with the run is that they continue to go blubber on blubber and try to get the marker. Why not go 4 wide with Ben in shotgun and Connor on either side of him. Connor had much more success running the ball from that position all game as opposed to Ben being under center. Spread the D out - sideline to sideline, then run the ball when 11 guys aren't in the fucking box!!! Just makes sense to me!

[Jobu]

My problem with the run is that they continue to go blubber on blubber and try to get the marker. Why not go 4 wide with Ben in shotgun and Connor on either side of him. Connor had much more success running the ball from that position all game as opposed to Ben being under center. Spread the D out - sideline to sideline, then run the ball when 11 guys aren't in the fucking box!!! Just makes sense to me!

Exactly.

[stillthere]

Personally, I would have spread them out and thrown for it on 3rd and 2. With the rules favoring the pass, I would rather take my chances winning the game on offense vs. hanging on for dear life on defense.

That said, I can see the Steelers thinking here. They've been able to run the ball all year in end game situations.

Or even spread it out and run. Look, I know the Ravens would be suspecting that but think it might be more high percentage.


I think Watt might have made a difference as well.

Watt would make a big difference. Also why not bring in Mondeaux like they did vs Tennessee.

I also agree with the concept of spreading them out horizontally and running it to open the box up.

[Mick]

WAS tempting to throw on 3rd & 2, but NEEDED to be sure to take the time off of the clock...comfortable with putting the D back on the field with less than a minute remaining, Ravens with no timeout and needing a touchdown. DOES beg the question of why throw on second down if not willing to throw it on 3rd....incomplete on second and probably throwing it on 3rd to try to pick up the first.

i can see a rationale. On 2nd, baltimore had to defend the sticks, so we could expect an easy ~6 and chance for some YAC. Which worst scenario puts us in position for a very makeable 1-2 yard run on the ground to win the game, which is a good place to be.

If the coaches knew in advance they wouldn’t be able to run for 1.5 yards, then obviously a different plan would have made more sense.

[steelmann58]

i thought they were going to put it Ben hands but the line got NO Push whatsever

[Steel Bingo]

The heartburn would have been much less if the offense had closed out the game, that's for sure. But since the Steelers won anyway it may have worked out for the best.

Baltimore was forced to put its best passing concepts on film for the rest of the league to get a look at and get a feel for there in the final minute. The Colts are undoubtedly reviewing and preparing accordingly. If the Ravens are forced to throw, then what are they likely to try?