View topic -

[StillMill Profile]

[SteelThatDon'tRust Profile]

How many games did we hold 4Q leads? We've played 133 games since 2004. 21 urinations means 17% (or 1 out of every 6) of the Steeler games ended with blown 4Q leads. Is this a high margin compared to others or not? 17% of the games ending in blown 4Q leads doesn't sound so great. Regardless, that final defensive series was a bed shitting catastrophe.

[ballhair Profile]

Its like putting a dog down you had for 15 years but know its time. Its hard as hell and it hurts but you have to do it. Things won't get better only worse.

[Pommah Profile]

As I said, I don't have a lot of time for this.

I get 134 games since 2004. I may be off by one. I did this in 3 minutes.

During those 134 games - regular season plus playoffs - and I'm not sure if Mill counted playoffs or not - they were 93 and 41. That's a .694 record, nothing to sneeze at - after all they have gone to 3 SB's.

Assuming Mill counted right and is including playoffs, if we had held on in all those 4th quarters -as Bill Cowher's teams almost universally did - that record would be 114 and 20, or .851 winning record.

Thats just shy of 16 percentage points. Apply this to a regular season 16 game season, and you get 11-5 with 4th quarter choking, and 14-2 with no fourth quarter choking.

14-2 average over 7 1/2 seasons. We'd be the best team in the NFL ever.

[napnewman Profile]

Even if 17% of the time is low - that's still 2 to 3 additional games lost per season . That's enough to keep you out of the playoffs or dramatically change the team's playoff seeding (home field advantage)

[SteelThatDon'tRust Profile]

Of course, if we had TDs instead of FGs and Ben doesn't hand the ball off to Suggs, then this would not have been a 4Q collapse. What sticks out so garishly is that the final defensive series allowed a 92 yard TD drive. It's just sickening. When Tony Dungy is pointing out that he cannot understand the virtue of defensive scheme, you know something is very wrong.

[dan1412000 Profile]

The Raven's vaunted defense also blew a fourth quarter lead. They gave up a 10 point lead and 2 TDs. I agree we have seen too many games slip away in the end, but it is not just the Stillers or LeBeau. Would you rather have a blow hard like Ryan as your D coordinator?

[steelersfan051572 Profile]

Would you rather have a blow hard like Ryan as your D coordinator?

Damn good point! The Mill loves to harp on particular coaches/players, sometimes fairly, sometimes not. The REAL question is:who would you replace them with? He said Lebeau needs to retire or be fired, I guess he thinks these people grow on trees. We should have fired Lebeau Sunday evening, and had his replacement in place by Tuesday's practice, EASY!

I'm OK with giving our own guys the business when they screw up, but his attacks are too personal, too vicious, and too vulgar. On that note, I can't help but wonder the age of Still Mill. He comes across as a adolescent who gets off to the fact that he is able to use profanity on the internet. I know this site has existed too long for him to be that young, but his rants come across as tantrums. Seriously, act your age!

[SteelThatDon'tRust Profile]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11315/11 ... z1dPQmUOQv

The article does not offer any reason WHY the D keeps blowing 4Q leads (it certainly doesn't suggest the DC has anything to do with it). But Mill can't be accused of being a shit talking malcontent now that this stuff is showing up in the media. Who would we replace LeBeau with? No idea. But this is kind of garbage is now a PATTERN. It must be addressed.

[Pommah Profile]

There is no doubt in my mind that the media looks to this website for ideas.

Anybody have the time to look up how many 4Q leads Belichick has blown since he took on the DC role in addition to HC? Or how about the Ratbirds or Bearss or Packers for that matter, teams with a good D reputation. It could be telling.

[tourosteelersfan Profile]

If this Post-Gazette is connecting the dots on this issue, then it's clear the Steelers have a problem. I think the issue is not that many of the players are old but that consistently there is a failure to adjust or change schemes so that by the end of the games the defense has become predictable. I also think Dick tends to go soft in the prevent rather than be more aggressive with a lead. (E.g., remember the end of the first half of the AFC championship game last year versus the Jets?)
With respect to this last point, I am not sure how much of the prevent defense is driven by the fact that Clark is weak and Polamalu is slow and the cornerbacks are average at best. One other point worth noting: the absence of a ground game makes it difficult for the offense to run down the clock. One of early mistakes that led to the collapse last weekend was that on the series before the Ravens got the ball on the 8, a running back dropped a pass on first down that would have gained some yards (but not a new first down). This stopped the clock and put the Steelers in a bit of a jam with 2d and 10. The play was actually a good call but the poor execution helped keep time on the clock for the Ravens. This problem is not new, either; it's one of the reasons why the Super Bowl vs. the Cardinals went down to the wire.

[Steel Holiday Profile]

I think the issue is not that many of the players are old but that consistently there is a failure to adjust or change schemes so that by the end of the games the defense has become predictable.

Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark are as much to blame, if not more, for the Ravens march to glory as Dick LeBeau or William Gay.

Taylor blew coverage on consecutive plays. Ike let Torrey Smith behind him for a shot at a touchdown with about 30 seconds to go in the game. Then on the next play, Taylor allowed an uncontested 3rd and 8 sideline completion when he had help from Polamalu over the top. Baltimore needed a fresh set of downs, and was down to one timeout. It's a given that the Ravens would look to the sidelines in that situation, and that Boldin would be the most likely option. Dick shouldn't be blamed for his best cover man's lack of awareness.

Ryan Clark is supposed to be Dick's right arm on the field in terms of quarterbacking the coverage. On the touchdown, Clark should have coordinated Mundy to help with covering Boldin deep over the middle, and sprinted himself like a bat out of hell to prevent a Ratbirds connection against Pittsburgh's weakest link. Gay is notorious for being attacked by opposing quarterbacks. Sure enough, the Ravens consistently targeted Gay's man with passes during their final drive. Clark foolishly lingered over the middle of the field long enough to allow Smith to get behind both he and Gay, despite Flacco's continual follow through on proven propensities.

Joe Flacco is like a poor man's Tom Brady, actually maybe a homeless man's Tom Brady. He is not mobile, but he has a strong arm and can deliver some big throws when he is given time, and his guys are open. Unlike Brady, the Unibrower doesn't quickly register what a defense is doing after the snap. Because of this, he is limited to 1 or 2 reads before his fuse detonates. With their athletes on defense and complex schemes this is a player the Stillers should implode in difficult situations, that is provided they don't get confused themselves.

[anthonyc20 Profile]

This kind of idiotic slop bullshi* writing is why no one visits this site anymore. LeBeau has done a phenomenal job this year with sub-par personnel and injuries at virtually every position every position on that side of the ball. The person to blame is Colbert for taking too many outside linebackers and 3-4 Ends instead of getting a playmaking nose tackle, middle linebacker, or corner.

[JimPgh1 Profile]

This kind of idiotic slop bullshi* writing is why no one visits this site anymore. LeBeau has done a phenomenal job this year with sub-par personnel and injuries at virtually every position every position on that side of the ball. The person to blame is Colbert for taking too many outside linebackers and 3-4 Ends instead of getting a playmaking nose tackle, middle linebacker, or corner.

Well, a few people do, but nothing like the "old" days. Mill seems more interested in being "right" about LeBeau and Woodley than anything else.

If the Steelers "D" does well, it's because the other team's QB stinks. If Woodley gets a couple of sacks, they don't count, because he wasn't blocked or was up against a midget.

Regarding the latter, how many sacks has his replacement gotten the last 2 weeks?

[PsychoWard Profile]

The Raven's vaunted defense also blew a fourth quarter lead. They gave up a 10 point lead and 2 TDs. I agree we have seen too many games slip away in the end, but it is not just the Stillers or LeBeau. Would you rather have a blow hard like Ryan as your D coordinator?

Great post that got lost in the Mill slurping.

The fact is that the NFL has continually changed the rules to favor the offense. I'd be interested to see how many games whose outcomes are determined by the final two drives.


The fact is that the raven loss was on the HEAD COACH.

[Coke Oven Profile]

"The fact is that the NFL has continually changed the rules to favor the offense. I'd be interested to see how many games whose outcomes are determined by the final two drives."

You gotta understand that this is the key to the whole thing.

Advertisers pay for the tv time, up front. They don't like it if the viewers turn the game off or switch to some other channel and their commercials don't get looked at. That's what happens when games become blowouts. Only the fans of the team that's doing the stomping will keep watching such onesided contests. So, for the nfl as a whole to maximize the bucks by keeping the advertisers happy, the games gotta be kept close. That's what's going on.

I have spoken.