No AB...no problem!!

[jeemie]

One thing that they are quickly going to have to realize is that James Washington and Diontae Johnson are your future and the future is now. Moncrief and Switzer are both playing with their 3rd teams since being drafted. Neither is the answer for what they are trying to do. Reps during games, snaps in games are the only way that Washington and Johnson are going to develop.

Moncrief got a $9 million contract but that should not entitle him to some sort of scholarship, some sort of false reasoning that he HAS to start, that he HAS to be the most targeted. I don't care if they (Switz and Moncrief) make Ben happy, or are great friends.

Washington was a 2nd round pick, Diontae was a high 3rd round pick, they have the pedigree, they have the talent. Ben needs to get with the program.

Maybe, or maybe Washington and Johnson are Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates - overdrafted disappointments. If that's the case, the Steelers are truly fucked.

Maybe they are.

The point is we have to find out.

[Nick79]

Seems as though I said repeatedly...."Losing a guy with this kind of production (AB) and being coached by the same dumb mother-fucker won't result in an improved football team."

Responses were..."We don't need him; we have JuJu." "We don't need him; we just signed Donte Moncrief."

Game 1...

*JuJu didn't do shit until it didn't count.

*Donte Fuckin' Moncrief is a pass-catcher that can't catch passes...3 catches, 7 yards, about a million fuckin' drops, including on 4th & 1, and in the end zone.

*The Dullard Mike Tomlin....punts on 4th & an inch...kicks a FG on 4th & goal from the 1, down 20.

We all knew that Uncle Tomlin's brilliant offensive scheming wasn't the reason we had a good pass game the last few years, it was clear that it was Ben and AB playing street ball and beating people one on one that was doing it, so sure the offense will suck without at least a top 2-3 NFL WR, meanwhile if Brady and BB had Moncrief and Switzer teamed with Kevin Hogan... SUPER BOWL! And of course, it's a 100000000000000000000% SLAM DUNK that Colbert and DUMLIN would NOT do anything to acquire a SERIOUS replacement for AB. As fucked up as AB ALWAYS IS off the field, watching that impotent offense out their I was feeling bad we didn't have him last night, like I've said my whole life TALENT>Character.

[W&M_Steeler]

One thing that they are quickly going to have to realize is that James Washington and Diontae Johnson are your future and the future is now. Moncrief and Switzer are both playing with their 3rd teams since being drafted. Neither is the answer for what they are trying to do. Reps during games, snaps in games are the only way that Washington and Johnson are going to develop.

Moncrief got a $9 million contract but that should not entitle him to some sort of scholarship, some sort of false reasoning that he HAS to start, that he HAS to be the most targeted. I don't care if they (Switz and Moncrief) make Ben happy, or are great friends.

Washington was a 2nd round pick, Diontae was a high 3rd round pick, they have the pedigree, they have the talent. Ben needs to get with the program.

Maybe, or maybe Washington and Johnson are Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates - overdrafted disappointments. If that's the case, the Steelers are truly fucked.

Maybe they are.

The point is we have to find out.

I agree with that. I'm just less bullish on Washington and Johnson than many seem to be.

[K_C_]

Maybe, or maybe Washington and Johnson are Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates - overdrafted disappointments. If that's the case, the Steelers are truly fucked.

Who gives a shit?

Give me Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates over Switzer and Moncrief all day, everyday.

[StillerInCT]

Seems as though I said repeatedly...."Losing a guy with this kind of production (AB) and being coached by the same dumb mother-fucker won't result in an improved football team."

Responses were..."We don't need him; we have JuJu." "We don't need him; we just signed Donte Moncrief."

Game 1...

*JuJu didn't do shit until it didn't count.

*Donte Fuckin' Moncrief is a pass-catcher that can't catch passes...3 catches, 7 yards, about a million fuckin' drops, including on 4th & 1, and in the end zone.

*The Dullard Mike Tomlin....punts on 4th & an inch...kicks a FG on 4th & goal from the 1, down 20.

We all knew that Uncle Tomlin's brilliant offensive scheming wasn't the reason we had a good pass game the last few years, it was clear that it was Ben and AB playing street ball and beating people one on one that was doing it, so sure the offense will suck without at least a top 2-3 NFL WR, meanwhile if Brady and BB had Moncrief and Switzer teamed with Kevin Hogan... SUPER BOWL! And of course, it's a 100000000000000000000% SLAM DUNK that Colbert and DUMLIN would NOT do anything to acquire a SERIOUS replacement for AB. As fucked up as AB ALWAYS IS off the field, watching that impotent offense out their I was feeling bad we didn't have him last night, like I've said my whole life TALENT>Character.

C'mon Nick. No need for the "Uncle Tomlin" reference. We're better than that.

[Nick79]

Can't blame Ben. His damn receivers could not get open. Patriots have damn good DBs.

And there must've been 10 drops of catchable balls. Moncrief dropped a TD that YOU KNOW WHO would of made.

[W&M_Steeler]

Maybe, or maybe Washington and Johnson are Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates - overdrafted disappointments. If that's the case, the Steelers are truly fucked.

Who gives a shit?

Give me Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates over Switzer and Moncrief all day, everyday.

They all suck shit. It's like the 2016 receiving corps all over again. One star and a bunch of nobodies. The next time Washington makes a big catch without doing something stupid will be the first. Anyone know why he decided to run out of bounds?

[Nick79]

Again...SBI > Being Right...but fuck, this is exactly what I feared when AB left town.

Me too.

[Nick79]

I have a question. How do they go from beating the Pats last year, and keeping Brady in check, to getting absolutely destroyed a year later. How the hell can a stadium make THAT big of a difference? We have the exact same team, minus AB. If i remember correctly he didnt do shit in that game. We really beat them in 2017 too. Now all the sudden we are a dumpster fire? Scratching my head on how all the sudden we are this bad. AB got hurt in 2017 so when we " beat" them that year we didnt have him then either. Its confusing. I definitely miss AB the player though. We played tonight just like we played the Bengals C team. Field was real tight. No fluid pass plays. The whole situation just sucks ass.

One coach learns and makes a correction. The other coach does the exact same thing, but with less weapons. The end.

If you heard what Tomlin said at the start of the 2nd half, this is confirmed "No need to make any schematic changes to the offense" - OF COURSE NOT, it was always just throw up a prayer to AB and he'll beat the DB with superior talent, that was Tomlin's "Scheme".

[Scunge]

Well, again, it sure seemed like Ben was over throwing James Washington when he had a step, when he was separating from his man.

Rudolph, Dobbs sure don't seem to have a problem hitting Washington for deep throws. Why is that???

Now, yeah, Ben did hit James for that 45 yarder but he could have hit him for a couple more long passes.

The one thing that I warned about in the preseason is that if the Steelers truly think that Switzer is fine at slot WR and that they keep JuJu more on the outside, this offense will go nowhere.

JuJu is the #1 WR on this team but it doesn't mean that he HAS to be forced to play the role that Antonio Brown did. You can be the #1 WR and line up the vast majority of the time in the slot. Washington and Johnson should be the outside WRs and they should be keeping JuJu in the slot, inside to dominate, to take advantage of his blocking inside too.

I totally disagree with what they are doing on offense but I think pretty quickly they are going to find out that Switz and Moncrief have to take a backseat and watch from the sidelines. Washington and Johnson and JuJu are your 3 WR trio that has to play the vast majority of the snaps and be targeted the most. IMO Switz and Moncrief should combine for only 20-25 catches this season. Expecting them to have over 100 catches this season is pure insanity

[StillerInCT]

Well, again, it sure seemed like Ben was over throwing James Washington when he had a step, when he was separating from his man.

Rudolph, Dobbs sure don't seem to have a problem hitting Washington for deep throws. Why is that???

Now, yeah, Ben did hit James for that 45 yarder but he could have hit him for a couple more long passes.

The one thing that I warned about in the preseason is that if the Steelers truly think that Switzer is fine at slot WR and that they keep JuJu more on the outside, this offense will go nowhere.

JuJu is the #1 WR on this team but it doesn't mean that he HAS to be forced to play the role that Antonio Brown did. You can be the #1 WR and line up the vast majority of the time in the slot. Washington and Johnson should be the outside WRs and they should be keeping JuJu in the slot, inside to dominate, to take advantage of his blocking inside too.

I totally disagree with what they are doing on offense but I think pretty quickly they are going to find out that Switz and Moncrief have to take a backseat and watch from the sidelines. Washington and Johnson and JuJu are your 3 WR trio that has to play the vast majority of the snaps and be targeted the most. IMO Switz and Moncrief should combine for only 20-25 catches this season. Expecting them to have over 100 catches this season is pure insanity

Ben doesn't get enough reps in during the offseason. He's getting old, but he still thinks he can step onto the field and just turn it on. He's not that guy anymore.

If he wants to spend time with his family fine spend time with the family. I don't begrudge him for that decision. If he wants to be an NFL quarterback he needs to do more.

[LakecrestSteeler]

I am not going to over-react, a 16 game season is a long season and you can see a tremendous amount of growth. But just like last season, and the year before that Ben always comes out sluggish and his timing is off and particularly with the deep passing.

I am going to over react. Because the very very best we can do this year is 3rd place. We will never beat the Patriots when it matters as long as Bill Belichick is coaching.

The Ben era is over. The bronze medal is the highest award we will receive moving forward while BB is coaching.

I am truly worried about a great Steeler unraveling. I guess it is more likely that Tomlin will stitch together and repair the wings of the buzzard and we will get to da dump dee dump de dump and swoop in and get the dead bronze carcass the Patriots left behind.

Barring a heart attack to Bill, we will never go back to the Super Bowl.

[swissvale72]

The Flautist:
JuJu was "NFL open" many times v Gilmore last night.

Ben was simply not ready to be firing passes into tight windows on a regular basis to him...and others. And he should have been, but we know how we treat preseason by now.

And Fichtner had nothing...nada...zip...in the way of scheming his guys open, and when he did...Moncrief, especially, shit the bed.

New England has what could be the best secondary in the NFL this year- they held the Rams to 3 points in the Super Bowl...although Jared Goff is no star, do you think he suddenly forgot how to play on the biggest stage that night?

You guys think one game, which was essentially our fifth preseason game, against the best team defense in the NFL is going to define how our offense is going to be the rest of the season?

Then you've suddenly become football stupid.[/quote]

Swissvale72:

The flautist from the Blue Band, the smug little fuck Jeemie, calling others football stupid; that's a good one. Football stupid is thinking the Pittsburgh Steelers can suffer the personnel losses they have, be coached by the same stupid fuck, and somehow come out the better for it.

[LakecrestSteeler]

Well, again, it sure seemed like Ben was over throwing James Washington when he had a step, when he was separating from his man.

Rudolph, Dobbs sure don't seem to have a problem hitting Washington for deep throws. Why is that???

Now, yeah, Ben did hit James for that 45 yarder but he could have hit him for a couple more long passes.

The one thing that I warned about in the preseason is that if the Steelers truly think that Switzer is fine at slot WR and that they keep JuJu more on the outside, this offense will go nowhere.

JuJu is the #1 WR on this team but it doesn't mean that he HAS to be forced to play the role that Antonio Brown did. You can be the #1 WR and line up the vast majority of the time in the slot. Washington and Johnson should be the outside WRs and they should be keeping JuJu in the slot, inside to dominate, to take advantage of his blocking inside too.

I totally disagree with what they are doing on offense but I think pretty quickly they are going to find out that Switz and Moncrief have to take a backseat and watch from the sidelines. Washington and Johnson and JuJu are your 3 WR trio that has to play the vast majority of the snaps and be targeted the most. IMO Switz and Moncrief should combine for only 20-25 catches this season. Expecting them to have over 100 catches this season is pure insanity

I don’t think anyone on this board expected that Washington would not be #2 or #3 WR. I could have written up 20 scripts as to how last night would have unfolded and would have never guessed he would be used so little. I just assumed they were getting Washington reps in preseason for fast tracking him, never in a million years did I not think he wouldn’t be featured for the majority of the snaps. Maybe, maybe he misses the equivalent of 1 series would have been my guess.

And the rust on Ben? Sure he can improve, but I would bet any money his deep balls, when it mattered, were on target! It is the Belichick secondary that just disrupts the timing. It is chicken fighting the whole way down the field. It happens and our receivers don’t even know they are getting moved off their line. It is truly checkers and chess when you compare secondary talent. The art of the Patriots’s defensive backs is what made Ben look “off” on his deep balls, and the lack of disengaging from chicken fighting and not getting moved off their line is lack of WR experience.

And then there is our defense against Patriot receivers! Zero friction created by our defenders while the opposition runs routes, which immediately causes the Gameplan to get tossed and the run game to be abandoned. You want that line to your target? Sure here you go. I will just run along side of you! Weeee! Look how good I am at shadow dancing...you move right I move right and all with out touching you! I am a Pittsburgh Steeler defender.

[swissvale72]

My biggest fear is that gum, tape and shoestrings held together the above potential performance last year, enough to fool us into thinking we will be ok, and then this year we realize we lost Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla. 2 generational hostages swindled their way out of town in two years, while AR II and Colbert had thier head up their arses! This may spell the collapse of the Steelers as the dam finally breaks wide open this year.

The Bonds/Bonilla comp is a good one.

[swissvale72]

The gloating is really Poor Form and truly Unnecessary swiss. Seems like this is the 4th/5th grade class at the local elementary school. Grow Up!

Officially on Ignore.

If you think this is gloating, '77; you're sadly mistaken. And maybe growing the fuck up should be applied to those of you that continue to engage in the wishes for AB to suffer a life-altering injury, be broke, homeless, etc. Yeah, that's real mature.

Fact is, back in January, the shit I posted being fearful of ....losing this level of talent, coached by the same dumbass, not being a great formula for success....is exactly what's happened thus far.

But no...
*Ben was going to have a chip on his shoulder
*Donte Moncrief was going to be more than capable
*JuJu, the team MVP, was going to be a fuckin' monster

Guess what?? 33-3

[swissvale72]

Well, again, it sure seemed like Ben was over throwing James Washington when he had a step, when he was separating from his man.

Rudolph, Dobbs sure don't seem to have a problem hitting Washington for deep throws. Why is that???

Now, yeah, Ben did hit James for that 45 yarder but he could have hit him for a couple more long passes.

The one thing that I warned about in the preseason is that if the Steelers truly think that Switzer is fine at slot WR and that they keep JuJu more on the outside, this offense will go nowhere.

JuJu is the #1 WR on this team but it doesn't mean that he HAS to be forced to play the role that Antonio Brown did. You can be the #1 WR and line up the vast majority of the time in the slot. Washington and Johnson should be the outside WRs and they should be keeping JuJu in the slot, inside to dominate, to take advantage of his blocking inside too.

I totally disagree with what they are doing on offense but I think pretty quickly they are going to find out that Switz and Moncrief have to take a backseat and watch from the sidelines. Washington and Johnson and JuJu are your 3 WR trio that has to play the vast majority of the snaps and be targeted the most. IMO Switz and Moncrief should combine for only 20-25 catches this season. Expecting them to have over 100 catches this season is pure insanity

Ben doesn't get enough reps in during the offseason. He's getting old, but he still thinks he can step onto the field and just turn it on. He's not that guy anymore.

If he wants to spend time with his family fine spend time with the family. I don't begrudge him for that decision. If he wants to be an NFL quarterback he needs to do more.

Right. No one ever accused Ben of being the hardest worker on the team.

[K_C_]

My biggest fear is that gum, tape and shoestrings held together the above potential performance last year, enough to fool us into thinking we will be ok, and then this year we realize we lost Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla. 2 generational hostages swindled their way out of town in two years, while AR II and Colbert had thier head up their arses! This may spell the collapse of the Steelers as the dam finally breaks wide open this year.

The Bonds/Bonilla comp is a good one.

Bell looked like shit yesterday, against the Bills.

Averaged 3.5 ypc and I believe it was 5 yards per reception.

Against Buffalo.

MC Hammer Jr will quickly learn the Pats don't need him to win and he'll be bitching about targets within a few weeks....then he'll be cut.

Watch.

[K_C_]

Also, those calling Ben a fat, lazy fuck are SPOT ON.

He has more chins than a Chinese phonebook.

Brady looks like a fucking male model. Thin, looks more athletic than he has in years.

Ben looks like fucking Ralph Kramden.

[swissvale72]

My biggest fear is that gum, tape and shoestrings held together the above potential performance last year, enough to fool us into thinking we will be ok, and then this year we realize we lost Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla. 2 generational hostages swindled their way out of town in two years, while AR II and Colbert had thier head up their arses! This may spell the collapse of the Steelers as the dam finally breaks wide open this year.

The Bonds/Bonilla comp is a good one.

Bell looked like shit yesterday, against the Bills.

Averaged 3.5 ypc and I believe it was 5 yards per reception.

Against Buffalo.

MC Hammer Jr will quickly learn the Pats don't need him to win and he'll be bitching about targets within a few weeks....then he'll be cut.

Watch.

Maybe you'll be as accurate with your AB predictions as you were about telling us not to worry, we've got Donte Fuckin' Moncrief!!

And here's the more important point, KC. Didn't really matter what Bonds & Bonilla did in NY & San Fran. What mattered is that Pirates SUCKED without them. Same deal here....won't matter what AB, Bell do with other teams. We're already seeing the impact of AB's absence on Steelers though. I know you'll disagree.

[StillerInCT]

Well, again, it sure seemed like Ben was over throwing James Washington when he had a step, when he was separating from his man.

Rudolph, Dobbs sure don't seem to have a problem hitting Washington for deep throws. Why is that???

Now, yeah, Ben did hit James for that 45 yarder but he could have hit him for a couple more long passes.

The one thing that I warned about in the preseason is that if the Steelers truly think that Switzer is fine at slot WR and that they keep JuJu more on the outside, this offense will go nowhere.

JuJu is the #1 WR on this team but it doesn't mean that he HAS to be forced to play the role that Antonio Brown did. You can be the #1 WR and line up the vast majority of the time in the slot. Washington and Johnson should be the outside WRs and they should be keeping JuJu in the slot, inside to dominate, to take advantage of his blocking inside too.

I totally disagree with what they are doing on offense but I think pretty quickly they are going to find out that Switz and Moncrief have to take a backseat and watch from the sidelines. Washington and Johnson and JuJu are your 3 WR trio that has to play the vast majority of the snaps and be targeted the most. IMO Switz and Moncrief should combine for only 20-25 catches this season. Expecting them to have over 100 catches this season is pure insanity

Ben doesn't get enough reps in during the offseason. He's getting old, but he still thinks he can step onto the field and just turn it on. He's not that guy anymore.

If he wants to spend time with his family fine spend time with the family. I don't begrudge him for that decision. If he wants to be an NFL quarterback he needs to do more.

Right. No one ever accused Ben of being the hardest worker on the team.

Sure haven't. He got by early on because he had talent you can't teach. But now that he's pushing 40 he needs to work harder to continue being an upper echelon NFL QB. Not look like he just stepped out of Primanti Brothers and onto a football field.

[Legacy User]

Didnt it seem like last year Ben came in in better shape? Wasnt he on some diet last summer? I thought looked bloated again last night. Wasnt moving nearly as well as last years opener.

[jeemie]

The Flautist:
JuJu was "NFL open" many times v Gilmore last night.

Ben was simply not ready to be firing passes into tight windows on a regular basis to him...and others. And he should have been, but we know how we treat preseason by now.

And Fichtner had nothing...nada...zip...in the way of scheming his guys open, and when he did...Moncrief, especially, shit the bed.

New England has what could be the best secondary in the NFL this year- they held the Rams to 3 points in the Super Bowl...although Jared Goff is no star, do you think he suddenly forgot how to play on the biggest stage that night?

You guys think one game, which was essentially our fifth preseason game, against the best team defense in the NFL is going to define how our offense is going to be the rest of the season?

Then you've suddenly become football stupid.

Swissvale72:

The flautist from the Blue Band, the smug little fuck Jeemie, calling others football stupid; that's a good one. Football stupid is thinking the Pittsburgh Steelers can suffer the personnel losses they have, be coached by the same stupid fuck, and somehow come out the better for it.[/quote]

I notice you went straight to insults and didn't address what was actually said.

I suspect a study of the All 22 will.confirm that our receivers were not, in fact, as blanketed as people think they were.

[Obviously]

Didnt it seem like last year Ben came in in better shape? Wasnt he on some diet last summer? I thought looked bloated again last night. Wasnt moving nearly as well as last years opener.

I'm thinking it might be prudent to usher in the Mason Rudolph era soon.

[R_S]

Seems as though I said repeatedly...."Losing a guy with this kind of production (AB) and being coached by the same dumb mother-fucker won't result in an improved football team."

Responses were..."We don't need him; we have JuJu." "We don't need him; we just signed Donte Moncrief."

Game 1...

*JuJu didn't do shit until it didn't count.

*Donte Fuckin' Moncrief is a pass-catcher that can't catch passes...3 catches, 7 yards, about a million fuckin' drops, including on 4th & 1, and in the end zone.

*The Dullard Mike Tomlin....punts on 4th & an inch...kicks a FG on 4th & goal from the 1, down 20.

Will you start a thread with each Steeler loss lamenting the loss of AB and what he could have done to win the game?

[Legacy User]

Being without AB is an enormous problem; I’d be shocked if it’s fixable this season. But the AB that played for the Steelers and was an all-world player checked out at the end of last season and you weren’t going to see that version of him again in a Steelers uniform, anymore than the Raiders were going to see a boomin’ version of AB. How did trading for AB work out for the Raiders? More bustin’ than boomin’’. It remains to be seen whether or not AB can be satisfied sharing the glory for the Pats. If he can keep his shit together, I’d like to find a shrink that can explain that level of unbridled madness suddenly pivoting into a model of respect and respectability.

Also, Tomlin...that is a problem.

[Legacy User]

Didnt it seem like last year Ben came in in better shape? Wasnt he on some diet last summer? I thought looked bloated again last night. Wasnt moving nearly as well as last years opener.

I'm thinking it might be prudent to usher in the Mason Rudolph era soon.

Yeah but just when people start doing that Ben goes on one of his 6 game runs where hes lights out. People were doing that last year with the Dobbs era after Bens opening day dud vs Cle. If he plays bad the next couple games then its a different story. I really dont know what he was supposed to do last night though. He missed a couple deep balls but there really was nobody open. We will see though.

[swissvale72]

Being without AB is an enormous problem; I’d be shocked if it’s fixable this season. But the AB that played for the Steelers and was an all-world player checked out at the end of last season and you weren’t going to see that version of him again in a Steelers uniform, anymore than the Raiders were going to see a boomin’ version of AB. How did trading for AB work out for the Raiders? More bustin’ than boomin’’. It remains to be seen whether or not AB can be satisfied sharing the glory for the Pats. If he can keep his shit together, I’d like to find a shrink that can explain that level of unbridled madness suddenly pivoting into a model of respect and respectability.

Also, Tomlin...that is a problem.

And just to be clear, Will...the bolded part of your post encompassed the major points that I made last January and going forward. The other part, AB remaining a Steeler....I was hopeful of, nothing more.

It's the response that Steelers would be fine, wouldn't miss him, would be an improved football team that was the basis of my objection.

[Nick79]

Being without AB is an enormous problem; I’d be shocked if it’s fixable this season. But the AB that played for the Steelers and was an all-world player checked out at the end of last season and you weren’t going to see that version of him again in a Steelers uniform, anymore than the Raiders were going to see a boomin’ version of AB. How did trading for AB work out for the Raiders? More bustin’ than boomin’’. It remains to be seen whether or not AB can be satisfied sharing the glory for the Pats. If he can keep his shit together, I’d like to find a shrink that can explain that level of unbridled madness suddenly pivoting into a model of respect and respectability.

Also, Tomlin...that is a problem.

And just to be clear, Will...the bolded part of your post encompassed the major points that I made last January and going forward. The other part, AB remaining a Steeler....I was hopeful of, nothing more.

It's the response that Steelers would be fine, wouldn't miss him, would be an improved football team that was the basis of my objection.

And the Steelers never have urgency for a REAL fix, they always replace an AB type with some bargain basement alternative, PATS are able to go after and CONTROL any talented nut job that roles into town, then discard them after using them.

[COR-TEN]

One game loss without AB proves absolutely nothing. AB hasn't made the difference in any game at NE. I second the notion that BR is unprepared and should play much more during preseason.

Anyone know why he decided to run out of bounds?

Yes. I'd like to know that as well. He could have gained another ten yards, and if he's supposed to be that fast, he could have scored.