NFL Week 14 Games

[Joker]

so...Harbaugh...the "genius"? I like Mike Tomlin's 2nd half "adjustments"...."we'll throw it every play, they'll never notice!"...pure genius by Mike "Mad Tripper"

 

[lillloyd]

I feel we are better than them but you have to execute on the field. I wish we had a healthy cannon.

I wish we had a healthy Shazier. For all kinds of reasons (not just football).

On the field, I shudder to think of what NE will do with their backs and TEs against our ILBs. Titanic advantage to Pats here. Hard to imagine the Pitt D not getting completely worked.

 

[TommyD4207]

I have a radical idea. Maybe we should double Brown.

It's really unbelievable that they just left that guy on an island, and just ignored the tight end on seam routes.

 

[Joker]

just stop...we SAW Big Ben just throw for 500 yards against the top 5 D Ravens. You have all the advantages. I cannot wait to see who the ref crew is...

 

[TommyD4207]

just stop...we SAW Big Ben just throw for 500 yards against the top 5 D Ravens. You have all the advantages. I cannot wait to see who the ref crew is...

Top 5 defense my ass.

 

[lillloyd]

Eff that! Pittsburgh fans are insufferable tw*ts enough as it is.

lol this was my buzzkill greeting when i opened patsfans forum tonight

will make sure to tell my brethren to tone down their tw*tinsity, and become more appropriately sufferable

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

lol this was my buzzkill greeting when i opened patsfans forum tonight

will make sure to tell my brethren to tone down their tw*tinsity, and become more appropriately sufferable

A few of my Steelers friends are sufferable tw*ts. Good luck next week.

 

[lillloyd]

A few of my Steelers friends are sufferable tw*ts. Good luck next week.

Haha thx - we will take all the luck we can get

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

Haha thx - we will take all the luck we can get

Seems like you've had more than enough lately. Peace out!

 

[bormio]

Completely insane stat - Brett Hundley has more OT wins in his career (2) than Aaron Rodgers (1).

 

[patfanken]

The biggest impression I got from the bits and pieces I watched were that Joe Flacco is a HORRIBLE QB. He must have thrown 3 or 4 ball that were completely up for grabs and made his receivers have to make great defensive plays to keep the ball from being picked. On the key drive that they went 3 and out with 3 minutes left, showed just how bad he is. On the first play, a play action pass (which was a good call, btw), Flacco predetermined where he was going to, and never gave his receiver a chance to catch it. On the second play the RB got 7, and on the hey 3rd and short, he panics and throws another play action pass that fooled no one, that AGAIN predetermines that on to the slant and throws his receiver right into coverage. PLUS even if he catches it, it would have been short.

I Flacco doesn't get 2 or 3 PI calls on long balls the Ravens offense isn't going anywhere (though that RB looked great.

My second impression is just how much better Rothlessberger is in Pittsburgh than he is on the road. I don't know the numbers but the splits must be telling. The long pass he threw to AB to win the game was a thing of beauty.

On the other had, the Steeler defense looked like crap. Shazier must have covered up a WHOLE lot of holes for them to look that bad against a horrible offense.

The Steelers play the game VERY hard, and that's admirable, BUT... they are stupid and undisciplined and will always give you a chance to recover from ones own mistakes. The Steelers have a great home field advantage, but the gap between Tomlin and BB will be just as hard to overcome.

Winning tonight's game didn't matter, because even if they had lost, they still win the #1 seed if they beat the Pats and win out.

Just my opinion, but the Pats will win this game, UNLESS, Bell runs wild, AND Rothlessberger is on fire. It will certainly be a great game to watch, as it looks like it could be a shoot out of massive proportions.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

I think another way to put it is to say that, as of tonight, it's probably only the Steelers and (maybe) Jaguars who have anything better than a puncher's chance against the Patriots in the AFC playoffs.

That sums it up well. Titans, Chargers, KC, Buff etc etc -- the also-rans of the AFC playoff picture are going to need the Patriots to be closer to laying an egg (any given Sunday-ish type stuff) than playing their A game to likely come away with a victory -- especially as there really is no hope of those teams getting a Patriots matchup away from Foxboro. However, for Pitt and Jags? The Patriots need to bring their A game to be in that more likely than not win column. Speaking from an odds standpoint, it puts the Patriots at or notably below the 50/50 mark against Pitt/Jags.

The good news in my opinion is the Patriots' A game is likelier to beat the Steelers or Jags A game (assuming both teams play their best against each other). Patriots O line has been playing well, the run game is producing well, the pass game (including the longer passing game) is producing well, the kicking games are playing well, and the Patriots defensive backfield is really coming together (and it is pretty deep in its 'good enough' capability). Teams having to target Butler's guy should usually be a good sign for the Patriots.
With that balance/compliment -- and with TB and BB -- it makes it difficult for opposing teams to put together enough scoring drives while stopping enough Patriot scoring drives to come out victorious. But the soft underbelly right now is the Patriots run D. If one of those teams comes in and exploits that soft underbelly and couples it with even just a modest slow down of Brady/the passing game? IMHO the Patriots are going to be too close for comfort to vulnerable.

Get all hands on deck (healthy), good gameplan, good practice, good playcalls and adjustments, no stupid mistakes = we are likely good against anyone in the AFC. But the train is pulling into the Miami station first -- that is the team/game that matters at the moment.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

Next week's game will be one of the easiest of the season. NE is a terrible match up for Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh is just generally a **** team in 2017.

Pats win by 20+ without breaking a sweat.

Umm... no. Pittsburgh has everything to play for, is at home, and has a sense of momentum and purpose after the Shazier injury. This game has to be looked at by the team and fanbase as a measuring stick for where the Patriots are against the class of the AFC. If we can beat Pittsburgh on the road, we can beat anyone barring a phenomenal performance by the Jaguars defense.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

The Steelers play the game VERY hard, and that's admirable, BUT... they are stupid and undisciplined and will always give you a chance to recover from ones own mistakes.

The Steelers represent everything that is wrong with the NFL as a whole: flash over meticulous preparation. In terms of talent on offense, the Steelers are the best team in the NFL. Even Brady, Gronk, and Cooks don't beat the fireworks of a Brown and Bell. However, the Steelers are also a bunch of idiots. Let's look at their final offensive possession as a case in point.

In that final Pittsburgh drive, the Ravens had two timeouts as the Steelers prepared for first down on roughly the 30 yard line of the Ravens. Since they were already in field goal range, all the Steelers had to do was run it three times to force the Ravens to burn those two timeouts and run most of the clock out. Instead, the Steelers passed on second and third down, thus managing to give the Ravens the ball back with 45 seconds and a timeout after making the field goal. Flacco squandered that gift of 40 extra seconds, much like other average teams have found a way to fritter away opportunities against a talented, but also lucky Steelers club. One could say the stupidity of the Steelers these last few games has only been eclipsed by the stupidity of their opponents.

The undisciplined use of the clock is nothing new to the Steelers. And it helps explain why in recent years they find their way into the playoffs (raw talent), but also find a way to lose (lack of brain power). If they had a better coach, this Steelers unit could have been a dynasty. Instead, they will likely lose Big Ben (the rapist) in a few years and fall into mediocrity without a decent starting quarterback.

 

[Joker]

Top 5 defense my ass.

My mistake, TommyD...the Ravens were ranked 7th in total D going into this game....

 

[bormio]

Next week is a huge game for Pittsburgh. Lose it and their best chance for a SB trip is someone else beating us in the divisional round. 3 big emotional games in a row - Pittsburgh is spending a lot of emotional energy right now. They may come up empty one week soon. You cannot stay at that really high level every week.

 

[drewskie]

The Steelers represent everything that is wrong with the NFL as a whole: flash over meticulous preparation. In terms of talent on offense, the Steelers are the best team in the NFL. Even Brady, Gronk, and Cooks don't beat the fireworks of a Brown and Bell. However, the Steelers are also a bunch of idiots. Let's look at their final offensive possession as a case in point.

In that final Pittsburgh drive, the Ravens had two timeouts as the Steelers prepared for first down on roughly the 30 yard line. All the Steelers had to do was run it three times to force the Ravens to burn those two timeouts and run most of the clock out. Instead, the Steelers passed on second and third down, thus managing to give the Ravens the ball back with 45 seconds and a timeout. Flacco squandered that gift, much like other average teams have fared against the Steelrs, but he still had a chance.

The undisciplined use of the clock is nothing new to the Steelers. And it helps explain why they find their way into the playoffs (raw talent), but find a way to lose (lack of brain power). If they had a better coach, this Steelers unit could have been a dynasty. Instead, they will likely lose the rapist in a few years and fall into mediocrity.

I wouldnt say PIT "represents everything wrong with the NFL". They certainly have some egos, a cheer leader as a coach, and can be very undisciplined as a team. But they are the most consistently successful version of the rest of the league and like you've said, they have the most talented skill position players as a whole in AB and Bell.

Sometimes talent wins out. IMO we are the ultimate hybrid of talent and coaching. Let's take care of business at Miami then we can move forward to week 15.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

I wouldnt say PIT "represents everything wrong with the NFL". They certainly have some egos, a cheer leader as a coach, and can be very undisciplined as a team. But they are the most consistently successful version of the rest of the league and like you've said, they have the most talented skill position players as a whole in AB and Bell.

Sometimes talent wins out. IMO we are the ultimate hybrid of talent and coaching. Let's take care of business at Miami then we can move forward to week 15.

Absolutely. The Miami game is the ultimate trap game, since all anyone can talk about is Pittsburgh and New England. Honestly, what I'm afraid of more than losing to Pittsburgh is finding a way both to blow this game in Miami and then to lose in Pittsburgh after losing our swagger. Beyond ruining our momentum, a two game skid would be devastating since it would let Jacksonville enter into the running for a first round bye. I don't picture us losing twice to Pittsburgh, so the bigger threat to our postseason success is getting stranded on Wild Card weekend. Let's hope we can focus on an inconsistent Dolphins team that will give us their all tonight. And let's also hope the Jaguars can drop one more.

 

[Deus Irae]

In terms of talent on offense, the Steelers are the best team in the NFL. Even Brady, Gronk, and Cooks don't beat the fireworks of a Brown and Bell.

 

[King Air Pilot]

Absolutely. The Miami game is the ultimate trap game, since all anyone can talk about is Pittsburgh and New England. Honestly, what I'm afraid of more than losing to Pittsburgh is finding a way both to blow this game in Miami and then to lose in Pittsburgh after losing our swagger. Beyond ruining our momentum, a two game skid would be devastating since it would let Jacksonville enter into the running for a first round bye. I don't picture us losing twice to Pittsburgh, so the bigger threat to our postseason success is getting stranded on Wild Card weekend. Let's hope we can focus on an inconsistent Dolphins team that will give us their all tonight. And let's also hope the Jaguars can drop one more.

In Jimmy G we trust!