Pitt / N.E. match-up: 8,000-10,000 Steeler Fans Here?

[blackglass3]

Thanks for the condolences. It's going to be a rough offseason.

Strangely enough, I would actually prefer to vent here, as the Steelers boards will be full of homers pointing fingers in all the wrong directions and doing their best "Chicken Little" routine, and "visitors" (aka fans of other teams, most of who rarely even make the playoffs) who flood the sites to kick us while we're down.

Always enjoyed the football talk here and the usually "friendly" bantor between myself and you Patsies. For some reason, I keep coming back, so I guess you guys are doing SOMETHING right here. ;-)

I can understand that, I poked into Steeler Fever and it looked alot like here after any regular season loss...fire fire cut cut blah blah blah.

That Bruce Arenas guys is a pretty popular choice in the blame department right now. Did no one notice Ben, though? He had that "I REALLY don't want to be here" look...even my Steeler friend pointed it out early. He looked like he was on line at a bank or grocery store. No energy or passion or anything.

 

[condon84]

 

[Triggerfish]

Thanks for joining us, good sir. Very gracious and classy, considering the circumstances.

What kind of changes do you think the Steelers will make in the off-season?

Honestly, in my opinion, this team...although enjoying some success this season...needs some major overhauling. I'd love to see Ariens go. His playcalling is REALLY frustrating as a fan. Apparently, he enjoys banging his head against walls and expecting different results (aka that damn worthless bubble screen to the WR we run over and over with VERY minimal success). He passes on weak run Ds and runs on weak pass Ds, etc. The secondary has been overlooked for too long. The pass rush tends to hide some of their shortcomings, but it's been very obvious for many years now that the key to beating this defense is short quick passes. When the pass rush doesn't get there, which for the most part it didn't for most of the season, we're in trouble. I'd love to see them take a corner early in the draft or even trade for an elite DB (less likely given our history). The O-line obviously still lacks depth, and the revolving door of injuries we endure on the line every year makes it pretty easy to see that we're not done fixing that yet. Overall, we're getting long in the tooth and need some young players to step up. They're on the right track with their receiving corp, but the same needs to be applied elsewhere. Probably a more shocking admission is that I kinda get the feeling that Lebeau has let the game pass him by. He'll always have my respect and has created quite a legacy for himself in the 'Burgh, but he lacks the ability to recognize problems mid-game and make neccessary adjustments. His blitz schemes are legendary and he's done a great deal to keep the Steel Curtain alive, but my gut says his best days are behind him. I like the Mendy/Redman combo at RB, the receivers are really coming into their own, so there's some things to be excited about as well. I'd like them to use Heath Miller more. They guy just flat out gets it done and would be a MONSTER in the right offense.

*Sigh* These are just a few things that come to mind. I'm quite sure many of these issues won't be addressed, and I'm also very certain I'll think of more after I calm down a bit. I guess I'll have plenty of time to maul it over in the offseason.

 

[Triggerfish]

I can understand that, I poked into Steeler Fever and it looked alot like here after any regular season loss...fire fire cut cut blah blah blah.

That Bruce Arenas guys is a pretty popular choice in the blame department right now. Did no one notice Ben, though? He had that "I REALLY don't want to be here" look...even my Steeler friend pointed it out early. He looked like he was on line at a bank or grocery store. No energy or passion or anything.

I think the majority of the team had "that look" tonight. They just didn't come to play. The Broncos did. There's a lot of blame being thrown Ben's direction, but he had a pretty decent game. Certainly could have been more "fired up", but I think that calm demeanor is a trickle-down affect from Tomlin. That dude never shows emotion either. He's definitely no Cowher. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but I would like to see SOMEONE on the sideline screaming and yelling once in awhile.

For being hobbled, Ben played pretty well tonight. One dumb pass for an INT, but otherwise not horrible. He put us in a position to come back and get the W, but the D really blew it tonight.

Ariens has been wildly unpopular in Pittsburgh for years, and after tonight that won't change. I really don't know what the organization sees in him either. In my opinion, the offense runs more smoothly in the no-huddle, when Ben is calling most of the plays at the line. He's just too vanilla and predictable. But I doubt he's going anywhere. They like him for some reason, despite the fans' outcry.

 

[Lurks_All_Day]

Well, my ex-gf (from Oklahoma City, dunno if that matters) calls that a "caulk soccer" (sic) hat.
I don't know why, but I guess, in her parts, it's known as a "caulk soccer" hat.

It must be because all the "caulk soccers" wear those hats? It's reasonable.

 

[Ron Sellers]

Honestly, in my opinion, this team...

The reality is that in this free agency/salary cap/ever changing rules era, it is virtually impossible to not have an area of weakness on any team. The Pats pass rush has been abysmal, and as soon as it gets the slightest bit better the secondary falls apart. For the Steelers it is their offensive line. The Packers and Saints D - ? Etcetera, etcetera.


You know, between you and lilloyd, it's becoming increasingly difficult to hate Steeler fans as a whole - you know, the ones that flock to anything on the internet that is Patriots related and then hijack the subject and whine about video taping.

The two of you are really screwing up my stereotype of Steeler fans.





Thanks for stopping by with some objective football discussion; very much appreciated.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

You gotta believe they are Buyers now for a potential showdown at Gillette next Saturday night against the Patriots. However, if Pittsburgh takes a big lead in the Sunday 4:30 game against Denver, look for voracious Steeler fans to scoop-in and buy every available ticket for PITT / N.E. match-up. With a good inventory of tix avail. now, you could have an unprecedented caravan of fans traveling here next weekend. 8,000-10,000 yellow towels not out of the question.

Bummer if they already bought those tickets, huh? Too bad.:singing:

 

[PatriotFan77]

.


You know, between you and lilloyd, it's becoming increasingly difficult to hate Steeler fans as a whole - you know, the ones that flock to anything on the internet that is Patriots related and then hijack the subject and whine about video taping.

The two of you are really screwing up my stereotype of Steeler fans.

Well here you go, just to renew your faith in the typical idiot Steeler fan- from Planet steelers:

But there have been alot worse losses than this. San Diego 94, Dallas 95, Denver with Kordell, any loss to the Pats*, Jacksonville playoff game, Green Bay in last years Super Bowl, just to name a few.

Pittsburgh Steelers Forum | Planet Steelers Message Board & Chat • View topic - The worst Steeler loss in history

Notice the asterik

 

[Ivan]

Honestly, in my opinion, this team...although enjoying some success this season...needs some major overhauling. I'd love to see Ariens go. His playcalling is REALLY frustrating as a fan. Apparently, he enjoys banging his head against walls and expecting different results (aka that damn worthless bubble screen to the WR we run over and over with VERY minimal success). He passes on weak run Ds and runs on weak pass Ds, etc. The secondary has been overlooked for too long. The pass rush tends to hide some of their shortcomings, but it's been very obvious for many years now that the key to beating this defense is short quick passes. When the pass rush doesn't get there, which for the most part it didn't for most of the season, we're in trouble. I'd love to see them take a corner early in the draft or even trade for an elite DB (less likely given our history). The O-line obviously still lacks depth, and the revolving door of injuries we endure on the line every year makes it pretty easy to see that we're not done fixing that yet. Overall, we're getting long in the tooth and need some young players to step up. They're on the right track with their receiving corp, but the same needs to be applied elsewhere. Probably a more shocking admission is that I kinda get the feeling that Lebeau has let the game pass him by. He'll always have my respect and has created quite a legacy for himself in the 'Burgh, but he lacks the ability to recognize problems mid-game and make neccessary adjustments. His blitz schemes are legendary and he's done a great deal to keep the Steel Curtain alive, but my gut says his best days are behind him. I like the Mendy/Redman combo at RB, the receivers are really coming into their own, so there's some things to be excited about as well. I'd like them to use Heath Miller more. They guy just flat out gets it done and would be a MONSTER in the right offense.

*Sigh* These are just a few things that come to mind. I'm quite sure many of these issues won't be addressed, and I'm also very certain I'll think of more after I calm down a bit. I guess I'll have plenty of time to maul it over in the offseason.

Good post, good assessment, and right after a tough loss no less, nicely done. Fortunately for you and other Steeler fans they are extremely well run and coached and while they have work to do so does every other team and they have the smarts and stability to make the right moves and continue to contend for the foreseeable future.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

No excuses here. The Steelers simply **** the bed tonight. They were looking past the Broncos and on to the Pats and it came back to bite them in the ass. Pathetic display all around, especially by our "#1 pass defense". Unfortunately (but not unusually) Lebeau didn't make adjustments. Ike Taylor was getting burnt all night, but they have Polamalu up at the LOS instead of keeping him in the middle to help in pass coverage. No pass rush, with Tebow having all day to find an open man, too many drops by our young receiving corp, Ben not able to escape pressure the way he normally can, typical bad play-calling by Ariens (most Steelers fans hate him), the list goes on and on. Inexcusable really, and probably one of the most embarrassing losses I've experienced as a Steelers fan.

I was concerned that this was going to happen. Steelers fans, players, and the media were way too confident coming into tonight. NO TEAM is a an "easy" matchup in the playoffs, and unfortunately the Steelers have a tendency to find themselves overconfident in these "trap games". Between all of that and the multitude of injuries, this game had disaster written all over it. It is what it is. I predicted we'd be lucky to make the playoffs this season before the season began, so I guess I should be pleased. Still, a tough pill to swallow for sure. I would have much rather lost to your Pats....which by the way we performed tonight, you guys would have destroyed us.

Now, your Pats SHOULD blow the doors off these guys next week. If not, well....then maybe Tebow really IS the second coming.

Good luck. I'll be wallowing in misery for the rest of the playoffs if you need me.

Thanks for a classy post. You're welcome here anytime as far as I'm concerned. Too many oppo posters disappear when things go bad for their teams and only emerge when they want to crow.

And, yeah, watching the game, that was my read too. I think they just assumed the game was won and they were thinking about how delicious it would be to beat the Pats in Foxborough after losing those two playoff games to us at Heinz a few years back.

 

[Triggerfish]

Well here you go, just to renew your faith in the typical idiot Steeler fan- from Planet steelers:



Pittsburgh Steelers Forum | Planet Steelers Message Board & Chat • View topic - The worst Steeler loss in history

Notice the asterik

Meh, whatever. You hate the majority of us. We hate the majority of you. We both (as a fanbase) have our reasons. That's not going to change soon. Hell, pretty much the entire leagues' fanbases hate BOTH of us. It comes with the territory when you follow a successful team. We're easy targets....mostly out of jealousy I think. Of course, there's always a few exceptions to the rule. Thus my presence here in "enemy" territory.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Well, my ex-gf (from Oklahoma City, dunno if that matters) calls that a "caulk soccer" (sic) hat.
I don't know why, but I guess, in her parts, it's known as a "caulk soccer" hat.

It must be because all the "caulk soccers" wear those hats? It's reasonable.

Classic! Thanks for going to the trouble to come up with those pix.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Plenty of tickets just went on sale. Check out Ebay and Stubhub. Those Steeler fans were so confident. They purchase 10,000 seats before their team won!! I guess they shouldn't have rested Pouncy and the other starters. LOL

 

[tuckeverlasting]

it's actually a good thing that stealer fan travels so well. that way, the odds of big ben raping his own fans is increased.

 

[ScottishPat]

Suppose the 8,000-10,000 Steelers fans that were coming, their Terrible Towel's will now be used for wiping away the tears from their eyes.