one-score records...afc contenders

[RemoAZ]

Not all of it is luck. It's becoming part of the Steelers DNA.

Pretty sure that's what the Vikings said last year.

I read an article on ESPN about this very topic before the season started. The writer referenced the Vikes likely to come crashing down this season. I'll see if I can find it.
Here are the main points:

- Historically, teams that have a bunch of 1 score wins in 1 year are due for a major regression the following year. Witness the Steelers in 2020 vs 2021
- Turnovers (committing them or causing them) generally are not repeatable year to year. Again, beware the team that causes a ton of turnovers in 1 year as it'll not likely to happen the next

The difference here is Tomlin's whole philosophy is to win this way. He does it every year. That's why the top teams make us look like shit, especially on the rare occasion we make the playoffs and get destroyed. Mediocre Mike is a genius at staying perpetually average or in other words, never had a losing season. Hooray for us.

[stillthere]

I give all the credit to winning these close games to Tomlin

Absent his genius we could have easily lost all 6

#wearefortunatetohavehim

I hate Tomlin like a motherfucker but how fast did it take Belichick to compete for the 1st pick in the entire draft after Brady left?

Belichick's "genius" ended up being Brady all along.

And also having the answers to the test....

I wonder if Brady was the one that helped set up the Meeshigan cheating system.

[stillthere]

Tomlin deserves some credit but not all the credit. It is a team sport.

Does he get the credit for Minkah calling a diff defensive play on the last play of the game?

How fucking pathetic is it that a player overrules a DC who is a Tomlin underling?

Shitshow

That is a talking out of both sides of your mouth comment.

To me, that shows maturity, collaboration, and if they were able to get that idea onto the field that quickly, orchestration, and says Austin is a pretty good coach in my opinion based on that transaction of events.

There have been a good bit of people complaining about the looks over the results this season. Lotta people on the forum that would rather have things done the way they like instead of what is working for wins.

[Deebo]

Does he get the credit for Minkah calling a diff defensive play on the last play of the game?

How fucking pathetic is it that a player overrules a DC who is a Tomlin underling?

Shitshow

That is a talking out of both sides of your mouth comment.

To me, that shows maturity, collaboration, and if they were able to get that idea onto the field that quickly, orchestration, and says Austin is a pretty good coach in my opinion based on that transaction of events.

There have been a good bit of people complaining about the looks over the results this season. Lotta people on the forum that would rather have things done the way they like instead of what is working for wins.

This not the argument at all.

A good amount of people know that games repeatedly coming down to making a stop while the opponent is within 20 yards of the EZ is not a long term recipe for continued success in any level of football.

[stillthere]

That is a talking out of both sides of your mouth comment.

To me, that shows maturity, collaboration, and if they were able to get that idea onto the field that quickly, orchestration, and says Austin is a pretty good coach in my opinion based on that transaction of events.

There have been a good bit of people complaining about the looks over the results this season. Lotta people on the forum that would rather have things done the way they like instead of what is working for wins.

This not the argument at all.

A good amount of people know that games repeatedly coming down to making a stop while the opponent is within 20 yards of the EZ is not a long term recipe for continued success in any level of football.

The Defense gets the majority of the salary cap space so it should be fair to expect them to do the heavy lifting. I know missing players is tough but every team has to deal with it. They are also the highest paid D in the NFL. Why should they not be expected to make plays to win games?

[Pabst]

The Defense gets the majority of the salary cap space so it should be fair to expect them to do the heavy lifting. I know missing players is tough but every team has to deal with it. They are also the highest paid D in the NFL. Why should they not be expected to make plays to win games?

There's a difference between leaning on your defense and constantly relying on the D to bail out the offense.

[stillthere]

The Defense gets the majority of the salary cap space so it should be fair to expect them to do the heavy lifting. I know missing players is tough but every team has to deal with it. They are also the highest paid D in the NFL. Why should they not be expected to make plays to win games?

There's a difference between leaning on your defense and constantly relying on the D to bail out the offense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers win and lose games not the Steelers O or D gets wins or losses. If the D makes the most money they should make the most plays. I am looking forward to this team getting pieces back on both sides of the ball in the next few weeks and that leading to more victories. All the hurt players this season has helped to season up some youngsters and that will hopefully pay dividends down the stretch. Special teams also contributes. Isn't Tomlin always talking about in stadium experience? Well they are getting it. 1st 4 picks all getting staring reps on both O and D.

[Deebo]

There have been a good bit of people complaining about the looks over the results this season. Lotta people on the forum that would rather have things done the way they like instead of what is working for wins.

This not the argument at all.

A good amount of people know that games repeatedly coming down to making a stop while the opponent is within 20 yards of the EZ is not a long term recipe for continued success in any level of football.

The Defense gets the majority of the salary cap space so it should be fair to expect them to do the heavy lifting. I know missing players is tough but every team has to deal with it. They are also the highest paid D in the NFL. Why should they not be expected to make plays to win games?

Why can't the offense win a game once in every 18 games?
There will be days when the defense is having an off day. And those are the days we lose. It's a terrible way to build a team

[Jizz Mop]

I thought our offense was utilized to just give our D some rest.

Are they expected to score also?

[jeemie]

I’ll be honest, I’m becoming a believer. Somehow, someway, week after week Tomlin’s team is able to drag their opponent down into the muck, wrestle around for 60 minutes and rise out of it with their arm raised.
It works…until it doesn’t.
We’ll deal with the “it doesn’t” when the time comes, I guess.

It's already not worked twice...against Houston and against Jacksonville...two games we were still in, if barely, in the 4th Quarter.

Think about what they have that the six teams we have beaten do not.

[Pabst]

If the D makes the most money they should make the most plays.

And they are. The Steelers are 3rd in the NFL in defensive points/game. They're tied for 1st in takeaways. Top 10 in sacks, and 12th in points allowed.

The problem is that they are consistently being hung out to dry by the offense. This offense leads the league in 3 & outs. They're bottom 5 in scoring and bottom 5 in yards.

The D is very good and the O is putrid. That balances out to an average team.

[stillthere]

This not the argument at all.

A good amount of people know that games repeatedly coming down to making a stop while the opponent is within 20 yards of the EZ is not a long term recipe for continued success in any level of football.

The Defense gets the majority of the salary cap space so it should be fair to expect them to do the heavy lifting. I know missing players is tough but every team has to deal with it. They are also the highest paid D in the NFL. Why should they not be expected to make plays to win games?

Why can't the offense win a game once in every 18 games?
There will be days when the defense is having an off day. And those are the days we lose. It's a terrible way to build a team

The offense has outscored the other team in about 12 of the last 18 games. They are also one of the youngest offensive tams in the league.

[stillthere]

The problem is that they are consistently being hung out to dry by the offense. This offense leads the league in 3 & outs. They're bottom 5 in scoring and bottom 5 in yards.

I can hear that but if we start putting 200ish yards out per game on the ground, get back a seam threat with #88, and we sweep the state of Ohio the next 2 weeks. We will be sitting pretty at 8-3 as the O gels and becomes a problem for other teams to defeat we will all be happier.

[Jobu]

The problem is that they are consistently being hung out to dry by the offense. This offense leads the league in 3 & outs. They're bottom 5 in scoring and bottom 5 in yards.

I can hear that but if we start putting 200ish yards out per game on the ground, get back a seam threat with #88, and we sweep the state of Ohio the next 2 weeks. We will be sitting pretty at 8-3 as the O gels and becomes a problem for other teams to defeat we will all be happier.

I don’t know if you’re being serious or not, but the Rats lead the league in rushing at a tick under 155 ypg. Expecting the Steelers to rush for 200ish yards the rest of the season is unrealistic.

[stillthere]

The problem is that they are consistently being hung out to dry by the offense. This offense leads the league in 3 & outs. They're bottom 5 in scoring and bottom 5 in yards.

I can hear that but if we start putting 200ish yards out per game on the ground, get back a seam threat with #88, and we sweep the state of Ohio the next 2 weeks. We will be sitting pretty at 8-3 as the O gels and becomes a problem for other teams to defeat we will all be happier.

I don’t know if you’re being serious or not, but the Rats lead the league in rushing at a tick under 155 ypg. Expecting the Steelers to rush for 200ish yards the rest of the season is unrealistic.

I think with Jones in there, the run game revs up. He gets to 2nd level players almost effortlessly and seals the crease like nobody we have had in a decade +. He even said he expects 200 a game. We have the a two headed monster in the backfield that can accomplish that regularly and now we just have to do it. Even if we just put up 150 a game it will change the dynamics of the O. Teams will have to march extra bodies into the box and that leaves GP14 and DJ18 1v1 outside and when PF88 gets back we have a seam stretcher. McFarland & CAIII add speed for the edge plays. I personally think our running game is going to be a problem for teams against us down the stretch.

Maybe I have rose colored glasses on but the more film I watch the more the O-Line is getting right the last few weeks.

[jebrick]

The problem is that they are consistently being hung out to dry by the offense. This offense leads the league in 3 & outs. They're bottom 5 in scoring and bottom 5 in yards.

I can hear that but if we start putting 200ish yards out per game on the ground, get back a seam threat with #88, and we sweep the state of Ohio the next 2 weeks. We will be sitting pretty at 8-3 as the O gels and becomes a problem for other teams to defeat we will all be happier.

I don’t know if you’re being serious or not, but the Rats lead the league in rushing at a tick under 155 ypg. Expecting the Steelers to rush for 200ish yards the rest of the season is unrealistic.

If teams are going to keep 2 safeties deep to double Pickens, they are going to rush better. Now can they "adjust" when the team brings 8+ men in the box and start hitting those single covered receivers? They did not do it vs the Packers. Felt like I was taken back in time to when Cowher walked the sideline.

[PennyBacker]

Not all of it is luck. It's becoming part of the Steelers DNA.

Pretty sure that's what the Vikings said last year.

I read an article on ESPN about this very topic before the season started. The writer referenced the Vikes likely to come crashing down this season. I'll see if I can find it.
Here are the main points:

- Historically, teams that have a bunch of 1 score wins in 1 year are due for a major regression the following year. Witness the Steelers in 2020 vs 2021
- Turnovers (committing them or causing them) generally are not repeatable year to year. Again, beware the team that causes a ton of turnovers in 1 year as it'll not likely to happen the next

There's more talented youth that is playing and under development on this version of the Steelers than on the 20/21 group from the above example. So there is reason to believe that next year's version of the team can be even better than this year's team based upon how many quality players were taken in the '22 & '23 drafts.

The only players still on the team from the '19 & '20 drafts are Johnson (3rd Rd. '19), *Fitzpatrick (Traded for 1st Rd. '20), Highsmith (3rd Rd. '20) and McFarland (4th Rd. '20) . The 2021 version of the team didn't have many of its homegrown players step up and has since seen quite a bit of turnover.

Compare that to the players seeing significant snaps for this year's team: Pickett (1st Rd. '22), Pickens (2nd Rd. '22), Jones (1st Rd. '23), JPJ (2nd Rd. '23), Benton (2nd Rd. '23); along with some of the role guys and wave players like Heyward (6th Rd. '22), Leal (3rd Rd. '22), Herbig (4th Rd. '23), Austin (4th Rd. '22), Robinson (7th Rd. '22) is about to get his name called. There is reason to believe that the outlook for this Steelers team today is in a much better place than it was around this same time in 2020.

[CKSteeler]

The Defense gets the majority of the salary cap space so it should be fair to expect them to do the heavy lifting. I know missing players is tough but every team has to deal with it. They are also the highest paid D in the NFL. Why should they not be expected to make plays to win games?

There's a difference between leaning on your defense and constantly relying on the D to bail out the offense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers win and lose games not the Steelers O or D gets wins or losses. If the D makes the most money they should make the most plays. I am looking forward to this team getting pieces back on both sides of the ball in the next few weeks and that leading to more victories. All the hurt players this season has helped to season up some youngsters and that will hopefully pay dividends down the stretch. Special teams also contributes. Isn't Tomlin always talking about in stadium experience? Well they are getting it. 1st 4 picks all getting staring reps on both O and D.

Defense should be expected to make the most plays given the resources allocated to it.

History tells us that this will not be the case when it matters most. And to be blunt, the league doesn't want it to be the case. In a league where the rules and trends are all geared towards the offense, it's kind of a fools errand to swim up river. The Steelers aren't just not an offensive team. They are a terrible offensive team.

This is why people are telling those too stubborn to listen that this isn't sustainable.

[Deebo]

Pretty sure that's what the Vikings said last year.

I read an article on ESPN about this very topic before the season started. The writer referenced the Vikes likely to come crashing down this season. I'll see if I can find it.
Here are the main points:

- Historically, teams that have a bunch of 1 score wins in 1 year are due for a major regression the following year. Witness the Steelers in 2020 vs 2021
- Turnovers (committing them or causing them) generally are not repeatable year to year. Again, beware the team that causes a ton of turnovers in 1 year as it'll not likely to happen the next

There's more talented youth that is playing and under development on this version of the Steelers than on the 20/21 group from the above example. So there is reason to believe that next year's version of the team can be even better than this year's team based upon how many quality players were taken in the '22 & '23 drafts.

The only players still on the team from the '19 & '20 drafts are Johnson (3rd Rd. '19), *Fitzpatrick (Traded for 1st Rd. '20), Highsmith (3rd Rd. '20) and McFarland (4th Rd. '20) . The 2021 version of the team didn't have many of its homegrown players step up and has since seen quite a bit of turnover.

Compare that to the players seeing significant snaps for this year's team: Pickett (1st Rd. '22), Pickens (2nd Rd. '22), Jones (1st Rd. '23), JPJ (2nd Rd. '23), Benton (2nd Rd. '23); along with some of the role guys and wave players like Heyward (6th Rd. '22), Leal (3rd Rd. '22), Herbig (4th Rd. '23), Austin (4th Rd. '22), Robinson (7th Rd. '22) is about to get his name called. There is reason to believe that the outlook for this Steelers team today is in a much better place than it was around this same time in 2020.

This isn't about the comparison of today's team vs 2020. You seem to have a grave misunderstanding of statistics and underlying patterns of "football behavior"

[PennyBacker]

To the contrary - I find no reason to kick dirt on a team that's found ways to win close games while also transitioning in some younger and newer players who are gaining valuable experience.

Maybe you can look back and say that things started to deteriorate after losing the preferred communicators at MLB, OR more likely, the Steelers defense continues to keep the team in the majority of games by applying pressure, getting sacks and creating turnovers.

[Obviously]

The Steelers style of play is infuriating to watch. I have a hard time getting through a game before becoming so supremely frustrated it loses all entertainment value for me.

However, it has been effective in terms of wins and losses, . I think it’s fool’s gold and the regression will happen in the second half. However, your record is what it says it is. Tomlin and company deserve credit for that.

I do fear that there is a strong component of averechts Involved with this season. As a result of all this early success, Canada is safe. No meaningful changes will be made to improve the team overall in the off-season.

With that said, we can just hope that the statistical anomaly of total perfection in one score games continues until infinity and beyond!

There comments take me back to the Cowher days ( pre Ben). Just different players but the same things being said week in and week out.

I was saying the same thing about mediocrity circa 1998-99. I remember arguing with this clown because he was upset Mike Tomczak was no longer a Steeler.

[Deebo]

To the contrary - I find no reason to kick dirt on a team that's found ways to win close games while also transitioning in some younger and newer players who are gaining valuable experience.

Maybe you can look back and say that things started to deteriorate after losing the preferred communicators at MLB, OR more likely, the Steelers defense continues to keep the team in the majority of games by applying pressure, getting sacks and creating turnovers.

So how's that sustainability of "keeping games close" work out yesterday?