Game 1 Thoughts?

[GatorsRock]

What are your thoughts after the first game of the season? It's nice to win such a close game against a good team that ended up beating you last year, but 4 sacks and 3 turnovers can't be a good sign.

[BigBenCan7]

Neither of those things are what I'm most concerned about. The running game was absolutely horrendous last night, and it ranked at the bottom of the league last season. Willie wanted to ***** about the Steelers going away from the run game last season, and this is exactly why. It's not all the HB's fault, it's not like they have any room to run, but still. If teams are able to pin their ears back and come at Ben because they know they don't have to worry about the run, not only is Ben's performance going to drop, he is going to take an even worse beating that he's used to taking.

I don't know what the answer is, but it needs to be fixed if the Steelers are going to be successful this year. They don't need a 1500 yard rusher, or even a 1000 yard rusher, but they do need the run game to at least be a threat. The PA rollout is great for Ben, but it's never going to work if they know he's not giving the ball up.

[Texecutioner]

Neither of those things are what I'm most concerned about. The running game was absolutely horrendous last night, and it ranked at the bottom of the league last season. Willie wanted to ***** about the Steelers going away from the run game last season, and this is exactly why. It's not all the HB's fault, it's not like they have any room to run, but still. If teams are able to pin their ears back and come at Ben because they know they don't have to worry about the run, not only is Ben's performance going to drop, he is going to take an even worse beating that he's used to taking.

I don't know what the answer is, but it needs to be fixed if the Steelers are going to be successful this year. They don't need a 1500 yard rusher, or even a 1000 yard rusher, but they do need the run game to at least be a threat. The PA rollout is great for Ben, but it's never going to work if they know he's not giving the ball up.

Agreed with everything here. The running game was horrendous last night for the Steelers. They were playing a very good run stopping team though.

[BigBenCan7]

Agreed with everything here. The running game was horrendous last night for the Steelers. They were playing a very good run stopping team though.

No team should stop the run like they did when they drop 7 or 8 in coverage nearly every single snap.

[Wolverine]

I want to see them against a different run defense before I get really concerned, but it is a little worrisome.

I don't see an issue with the sacks. It was just Ben being Ben for the most part. There was one of them when they pretty much all out blitzed as well, no shot there. The line always gets a bad wrap for the way Ben is back there. For the most part, they do a good job.

[GangGreen2008]

The pass blocking was once again horrendous.

[Texecutioner]

The pass blocking was once again horrendous.

I thought the pass blocking looked pretty bad myself.


And what the hell was Mendenhall doing out there on his carries? He ran straight into Ben on that one play. He's not running hard in between the tackles either like a guy his size should. He had better find some toughness in him or Mewelde Moore is going to be taking his spot real soon.

[GangGreen2008]

Agreed, they need to fix the running game, and pass blocking or else the steelers won't return to the SB!

[Ben Stiller]

The defense was a bit shaky at times but overall played well and Ben bailed out the rest of the offense. Sounds a lot like the Steelers of last year actually.

[Wolverine]

I don't think the pass blocking was "horrendous".

You guys have to understand Ben takes more time back there than most QBs.. He puts his offensive line in a position to get criticized more than they deserve.

Are they the best line in the world? No, but they aren't as bad as it looks from the stats.

[Sascha]

The pass blocking was once again horrendous.

I'll disagree. If they were protecting a guy with a quick release, a Peyton type, then maybe the Titans get one sack. Usually, when Ben gets sacked, it's 4 or more seconds into a play, a time when most QB's have already released the ball. You really can't ask an O-line to continually protect somebody for five, six, seven seconds at a time, it physically impossible.

And Ben has said this much himself, btw.

The run game was bad though. But I did notice something, and it seems to validate what I said in a thread earlier this week. When the Steelers took Willie off the field for ineffectiveness, who replaced him? It wasn't Mendenhall, it was Moore. I hinted at Moore perhaps being a better Fantasy choice then Mendenhall, and to me last night kind of agreed with me.

The three turnovers, well, what're you gonna do? Sometimes they just happen. The first INT was a badly thrown ball, Ben should be taking 100% of the rap for that one. The 2nd one was an end of the half Hail Mary, so who really cares? I'm just glad they decided to tackle Finnegan, even if it was 85 yards later. And the fumble was just a great play by Griffin. I've heard so many media folks get down on Hines for not falling down, but I'm sorry, I'll gladly take a Hines Ward fumble inside the five then a receiver who doesn't give that extra effort, even if it would have meant a loss.

[GlasstheGrey]

Ben has a slow and methodical release. unfortunatly (for Ben) it means he's going to see more pressure than a manning or cutler. However Ben is talented enough to play through pressure so that's good (for Steelers fans).

The running game defiantly needs to be worked on. I too thought it was bad that they were able to nail Parker and Mendenhal without putting 8 in the box, or any sort of run blitz... it's good to see (as a titans fan) that the Titan's defensive line didn't totally blow up with the loss of Haynesworth. But the Steeler's o-line was very suspect last season and were bailed out alot by Big Ben and the Steelers Defense.

[David McHenry]

Sucks they lost the leagues best strong safety in Troy P, but thats life I guess.