ND is burning!

[ND72]

I gotta get a few things off my chest, cause I'm still freaking lit up over this loss.

#1 - WHY do we have #26, Bell, who is like the last guy on our roster, single covering anyone, much less with 0:03 left on the clock with no help? WHY?

#2 - WHY is our 3 man rush team at the end of the team consisting of Jenkins, Jolly, & Jerious Wynn? I don't care if you want to drop 8 guys, you better have 3 rushers in. I'd have Jenkins, Matthews, & Jones.

#3 - 0:03 seconds left, WHY are we not like a huge stone wall on the goal line with 8 guys? why were there a ton of them standing in the middle of the field?

#4 - What the HELL is up with Crosby?

#5 - Blitz packages looked foolish tonight, RB's were WIDE open.

#6 - WHY are the refs against us every game? Some of these penalties we're getting are ticky tack high school level penalties.

#7 - WHY was there not a holding penalty at the end against Jolly...it was beyond obvious.

#8 - I have no problem with the penalty against Chillar for knocking down Ward. The problem i have is on the very next play, Miller shoves Matthews damn near on the ground 15 yards down field, makes a big catch, no foul.

#9 - I have been wavering on this, but with 0:03 left, why not blitz?

#10 - Our receivers need to find a new brand of stick'em...cause DAMN.

[ND72]

#11 - Can we PLEASE finally cut Jarret Bush? PLEASE.

[MJZiggy]

You sound like you need to do the winners & losers, dear.

[BallHawk]

#11 - Can we PLEASE finally cut Jarret Bush? PLEASE.

No, he's SO good at special teams.

[Fritz]

Honestly, ND, look at Bell's coverage on that last play. He was on the guy's hip and Rothlisberger threw it the only place the receiver could catch it. It was actually pretty good coverage.

I'm much more disturbed by the three man rushes that gave Rothlisberger all that time to throw.

[pbmax]

Forgot about the first half dropsies. Those were embarrassing.

[swede]

Football is a game of inches. The Steelers' last drive reminded me of the NY Giants in the cold NFC Championship game. The Giants--particularly Manning and Burress--kept threading plays that night, making throws while being sacked to receivers who can only make the play with complete body extension as they tapped toes in bounds.

Tonight in the Steeler's final drive Santonio Holmes was chased completely across the flipping field by Nick Barnett (How does that matchup come about?) and Nick did a great job in coverage. He had 90% of the target covered and just missed tipping the ball away. The throw was put into a tiny, tiny opening. Heath Miller made another crazy good catch, using his height and a nice high throw from Ben R. to defeat good coverage from a cornerback. And the last play was reminiscent of the final play in the Super Bowl. Add in the penalties that were called, weren't called, and the missed sack on the penultimate play and you have the sweet anguish of football.

I love how hard this team played tonight. I don't disagree with your bullet points, ND, I think you point out good concerns. But beginning with the Steelers' conversion of 4th and 6 I had a head-shaking realization that the Steelers were going to defeat the Packers.

This team is about four players away from being really, really good. I can let this loss go, knowing we;ll probably be in the playoffs and be a very dangerous matchup for anybody unlucky enough to get us in the first week.

[Fritz]

Everybody got in on the act...Driver, Jones, Jennings...

[ND72]

JS Online has: "Josh Bell was supposed to play under Mike Wallace at all costs, as the Packers were in a 3 deep safety over top of him"....

#1 - Josh Bell didn't do that.

#2 - Who the hell was that safety? cause he wasn't there. I'm pissed at Bell, but someone else is just as responsible.

[pbmax]

Honestly, ND, look at Bell's coverage on that last play. He was on the guy's hip and Rothlisberger threw it the only place the receiver could catch it. It was actually pretty good coverage.

I'm much more disturbed by the three man rushes that gave Rothlisberger all that time to throw.

Yep. I am on board with this criticism. In the middle of the field, forcing a quick throw might work against you and the clock. But near the endzone, force a short throw and make the tackle. With 3 seconds left, the yardage did not matter.

[ND72]

Honestly, ND, look at Bell's coverage on that last play. He was on the guy's hip and Rothlisberger threw it the only place the receiver could catch it. It was actually pretty good coverage.

I'm much more disturbed by the three man rushes that gave Rothlisberger all that time to throw.

Yep. I am on board with this criticism. In the middle of the field, forcing a quick throw might work against you and the clock. But near the endzone, force a short throw and make the tackle. With 3 seconds left, the yardage did not matter.

I'm totally on board with that, no question. I was just stating my argument with what happened. My choice would have been to bring 5 on a blitz, give them 15 yards, tackle them on the 5.

[pbmax]

and Nick did a great job in coverage. He had 90% of the target covered and just missed tipping the ball away.

Sorry, but I disagree here. No way Barnett should have dove for the ball. He was two steps behind. He should have driven forward aiming behind the receiver once the throw was coming. All receivers slow up a bit when concentrating to make a catch and he should have made the tackle. But even if he doesn't catch him immediately, he should have been aiming behind him to force him wider. As it was, with Barnett down, he gained another 15 yards.

[MJZiggy]

This team is about four players away from being really, really good. I can let this loss go, knowing we;ll probably be in the playoffs and be a very dangerous matchup for anybody unlucky enough to get us in the first week.

Yes, Al Harris, Aaron Kampman, Will Blackmon and Pat Lee.

[pbmax]

Honestly, ND, look at Bell's coverage on that last play. He was on the guy's hip and Rothlisberger threw it the only place the receiver could catch it. It was actually pretty good coverage.

I'm much more disturbed by the three man rushes that gave Rothlisberger all that time to throw.

Yep. I am on board with this criticism. In the middle of the field, forcing a quick throw might work against you and the clock. But near the endzone, force a short throw and make the tackle. With 3 seconds left, the yardage did not matter.

I'm totally on board with that, no question. I was just stating my argument with what happened. My choice would have been to bring 5 on a blitz, give them 15 yards, tackle them on the 5.

I am with you. The shorter the field got, the more pressure you bring. Burgh expected it too, they kept Parker or another RB in to block or take a screen pass.

[ND72]

This team is about four players away from being really, really good. I can let this loss go, knowing we;ll probably be in the playoffs and be a very dangerous matchup for anybody unlucky enough to get us in the first week.

Yes, Al Harris, Aaron Kampman, Will Blackmon and Pat Lee.

EH....Al Harris...yeah, I'll go with that. Will Blackmon, not a big fan of. Pat Lee, I'm not sure about yet, cause we've never seen him. Aaron Kampman...LOVE the man, but he doesn't fit us anymore. His knee injury is horrible for him at this point, as well as us because it kills his trade value. I actually think we're a better defense since Kampman has been injured. I don't think Jones is necessarily the answer, but he's pretty good for right now.