Haha, what? Like, really? Didn’t we already cover this?
And like… where are the stats behind your constant claims of conspiracy?
Its an anti/anti-conspiracy, a counter-counter-measure by Roger Goodell, an avowed Steelers fan, at this point.
He will soon unveil his plan for affording the refs major leeway for the piss and black thugs once the playoffs have begun.
Goodell=Palpatine.
Very clever subterfuge, this is.
/Yoda
I don’t think there’s a conspiracy but there have definitely been some questionable non-calls. In the post game interview Roethlisberger said the referees gave him the same reason today as they did against Buffalo, that they were just trying to tackle him. Obviously they still aren’t allowed to grab your facemask. Michael Vick has just as much or more being overlooked and that fine against Suh last week was a travesty; I think the league has got to straighten this shit out.
It’s hard to get excited about anything the offense did today. They almost but not quite got the running game going. They almost but not quite got the passing game in gear. They almost but not quite ran the two-minute drill without falling apart. The problem isn’t at QB that’s for sure. Mendenhall’s really improved at protecting the ball, several times today he wrapped up even before I could start yelling at the screen. 
Perhaps if you had some greater empirical or experiential foundation to your opinions, you wouldn’t run into such inconsistencies.
If I were you, I’d be worried. The Steelers did just about everything they could to give the game away, particularly with holding calls. Try that against a good team and you will not win. You beat the lowly Bengals.
I cannot imagine the Steelers getting away with such bad oline play in the playoffs against a team like the Patriots, or even the Jets.
It’s hard to convince people there’s a problem with a 10-3 record but you’re right. The offense has been anemic and it’s mostly due to the weak play of the o-line. These guys are just too big and slow for this style of blocking but what can you do? Rod Woodson always used to say that you have to outplay the officiating but right now our defense, sadly, has to outplay both offenses. I’m very concerned. If we get a first round bye though, we can get Aaron Smith back at full strength and the D will be even better than it already is. That would be huge!
I agree - the offense is anemic and the defense remains really suspect and hugely reliant on the success of blitz pressure on each play.
I thought we overcame some really stupid play calling as well. A flea flicker in the first (or second) drive during a cold, rainy day? And I freak out when we are in third and short and throw 25 yard passes. Today, it was third and 4 (IIRC), and we managed to complete a 20 yard pass to Wallace, who made a pretty nice catch, but nevertheless such playcalling drives me crazy.
Then, in the next series (again IIRC) we are at third and 4 or 5, and we hit Hines with a pass behind the line of scrimmage, hoping he’ll gut out 5 yards in the middle of the field. Short passing shouldn’t be brain surgery, but it seems a really elusive concept for the Steelers.
The blows to Ben’s head are real. Last year they wouldn’t have been called on anybody, but this year they are called as part of the NFL’s crackdown on head injuries. But Ben has now taken several unflagged helmet grabs and blows to the head, one of which quite visibly broke his nose. Either they are penalties or they are not. If they are, why hasn’t anyone been flagged for those blows? It’s a simple question. If you can answer it, please feel free to do so.
Holding… it happens on every play somewhere on the field, be it on the line, in the secondary, or against the pass rush. We make jokes about how James Harrison is held on every play because when he is held it’s usually pretty obvious. There he is, zooming in on the quarterback, right there within view of the cameras, and it is patently obvious when he is held. Is he held every play? No, of course not. It’s hyperbole. But is he held frequently? Absolutely, and there is video evidence of it. Yet he can’t get a flag to save his life. Again, a simple question: why isn’t anybody called for holding James Harrison in particular? If you can answer that, please feel free to do so.
There were a few other phantom calls today. These things happen and it wouldn’t do to belabor them. But lost in all this bickering are a few essential truths, and they are not addressed in any substantive manner except with “CRY MOAR!” or other comments that are essentially the same.
Leave it to my wife to get in a jab at my expense. That last crack was hers, and was completely extraneous and false to boot. It was intended to be a commentary on the penalties that I saw while I was at the game that weren’t called. I simply cannot believe the poor quality of the officiating this year. You think it’s bad on TV? You should see they ones they miss that never make the broadcast. And they missed them against both teams. The ones that stood out to me, of course, were the hits on Ben, but that’s already been addressed by me above.
In other news, the Bengals mailed it in after that first drive. TO and Ochocinco were straight loafing most of the afternoon. They couldn’t possibly have been under the illusion that Benson was going to be able to run, so they were absolutely dependent on being able to pass, and there they were, running patterns like the 2-11 team they are, and it’s easy to see why they have that record.
Last, I don’t know what they were thinking, but Troy Polamalu and Antonio Brown certainly weren’t using their heads when they lateraled and fumbled a kick, respectively. Troy was trying to make something happen in garbage time, i guess, but still, just fall on the ball. Brown was just stupid when he tried to pick up the ball that was more or less completely surrounded by Bengals, and he got someone hurt because of it. Unreal.
The offense played well, but the makeshift line is just not good enough to protect Ben and give him a lot of time without drawing copious holding penalties (and in the Bengals’ defense, their defense is still pretty stout). It’s a fact, and Ben needs to adjust accordingly. He seems to do better rolling out of the pocket, so work with it. Do something, before Ben gets killed (no penalty assessed).
I’ll take 10-3, and I’m not worried about the playoffs. The 2000 Ravens demonstrated that an adequate offense and a phenomenal defense can win the Super Bowl, and the Steelers’ offense is still more than adequate although it’s not showing up on the scoreboard. If somebody can do the Steelers a favor and knock the Patriots out in the 2nd round of the playoffs it would be a big help, thanks.
I don’t suppose you have an irony meter to peg in your head because you have no idea how hypocritical you’re being here.
It was the same “empirical or experimental foundation” I’m using to declare that the Steelers got mostly favorable treatment over the years and to declare that they’re clearly pushing a grudge against James Harrison.
You claim this makes me inconsistent, but that’s ridiculous - this actually makes me even-minded.
You see, when I say the officials favor the Steelers in some way, you’re saying “AHA! LOL! SO YOU ASSERT THERE’S THIS VAST REF CONSPIRACY TO ASSIST THE STEELERS? WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT? YOU ARE SILLY” yet when I say “yeah clearly there’s a ref bias going on against James Harrison at this point to make a statement”, which is a similar type of declaration, suddenly you praise me for realizing the truth.
The irony here is that I’m being fair and consistent here. If I was horribly biased against the Steelers, I would be denying that the refs were pushing a grudge against James Harrison. But I’m not.
But you’re saying that because I’m able to call it when the refs favor the Steelers and I’m willing to call it when the refs screw the Steelers, that I’m “running into inconsistencies” and that I need “empirical or experiential foundations to my opinion”. But apparently you view “consistency” and “experiential foundation” the standard horribly biased “always dismiss when the refs are favoring the steelers and play it up when they’re disfavoring them” - standard partisan bullshit.
I don’t think you have the ability to self-evaluate in an unbiased fashion to actually comprehend what I’m saying right now - which is the ultimate cherry on top of this giant layer cake of irony you’ve built up, since you’re accusing me of something similar.
SenorBeef used to argue that there was a league conspiracy in favor of the Steelers. This despite the fact that the number of penalties called against the Steelers placed them amongst the most penalized in the league.
Then he asserted that there was a “vendetta” against the Steelers this year.
Now he’s mocking the assertion that there is bias against the Steelers, with all-caps no less.
And he wants to cry “hypocrisy”? :rolleyes:
I’d fashion an argument, but I’m not sure which stance of his I should be arguing for or against. Not sure I should bother either - he’s just a Cleveland homer anyway.
I didn’t argue that there was a league conspiracy to favor the Steelers in those terms. I made more specific claims (like that Marvel Smith was allowed to hold with impunity pretty often) and you mocked that position with “oh so there’s this deliberate conspiracy on the part of the refs, eh? How silly! prove it!”
You don’t seem to understand the hypocrisy of the position “wait, why would the refs let Marvel Smith get away with holding? That’s just silly. Oh btw James Harrison gets held on every single play and the refs never call it”
I said the refs clearly are pushing an agenda against Harrison this year by penalizing him and fining him on some plays that didn’t deserve it.
You are calling my ability to see when the Steelers get favorable calls, and then turn around and see when the Steelers get disfavorable calls “hypocrisy”? That’s stupid. If anything it just proves I’m willing to call it as I see it, even if it favors a team I don’t like.
And then to top it off, you reiterate your positions which clearly make you blindly partisan and then dismiss me as a “cleveland homer”
Marvel Smith did get away with holding a lot, so did Flozell Adams when he was in Dallas. I think left tackles in general get away with it a lot. Or maybe I just notice them more because that’s where the speed rushers and the camera angles are. I dunno but there were some running jokes about Smith’s holding on several Steelers’ boards where posters wanted him moved back to the right side.
When the revolution comes, HongKongFooey, you will be one of the few Steelers fans who is spared.
I mean, not just because you somewhat agree with me in this instance, I find you consistently to be a quality poster in this thread.
Hmm. So, by “you,” you meant “James Harrison”? That doesn’t make much sense, especially since you posted that during the Baltimore game after the non-call for the hit against Heath Miller. At what point during that game again was James Harrison unduly flagged/fined?
You’re certainly adept at bullshit backpeddaling and revisionism, but this time, you can’t undo or repaint your words.
I completely forgot that I came here not to beef with SenorBeef, but to post about how upset Troy Polamalu was with himself for that bone-headed lateral. You could tell that LeBeau laid into him when he came off the field, and that Polamalu was upset because he kept his helmet on while on the sidelines for the rest of the game, but he was really apologetic and near tears talking about his shame over the arrogance he displayed doing such a silly thing.
You’ve got to love the heart and integrity of the guy.
The Miller non-call was one incident and not a pattern so it’s hard to say the refs are conspiring to allow Steelers receivers to take headshots. It’s possible. They certainly are holding a grudge against Harrison.
Either way, I don’t think you understand the point you’re making. By highlighting that I’m agreeing with you that the Steelers have been getting screwed the last few games, you aren’t painting me as a hypocrite like you think you are. That doesn’t even make sense. If I’m willing to call them as I see them, even when it’s positive to the Steelers, that makes me someone who can overcome my biases to find the truth. For you to somehow interpret that as me being inconsistent means you see “always downplay good stuff that happens to my team, always play up bad stuff” as the most objective way to look at things, which is silly.
You see, you’re actually arguing against yourself. You’re the one who introduce the whole idea of “oh so there’s this grand conspiracy by the refs, huh? That’s stupid”, not me. I’m the one who was willing to admit there are patterns to ref decisions, so me saying in the past that Marvel Smith got away with more holding than is typical is not at all inconsistent with saying that James Harrison clearly is getting extra punishment because the league is making an example of him. You were the one who was trying to dismiss systematic bias on the part of the officials. No, actually, it’s more silly than that - you were willing to accept systematic bias on the part of officials when it’s about James Harrison being held, but you think the equivelant idea that Marvel Smith gets away with holding too much is an insane conspiracy theory.
That was a great moment when Polamalu walked over to Lebeau. I kind of wish I hadn’t seen it though, you know? Let them have their moment. Troy plays plays like such a lion on the field and speaks like such a lamb off it. I think the greatest thing Bill Cowher did for this organization was when he pushed so hard for Polamalu in the draft.
Do you mean when LeBeau chewed him out or when he went over to try to help him get his head straight afterwards? I liked both, but especially the former because it makes clear that even if you are Troy Polamalu, LeBeau is going to call you out when you screw up. I certainly felt for Polamalu while watching the locker room clips, because he clearly took it all very, very hard. I suppose that’s part of what makes him great, but you could tell that everyone around him (the press guys) wanted to break out of their roles and just say, “Hey man, lighten up on yourself.”
Will Mike Tomlin please show some emotion, dammit? He’s starting to remind me of Wade Phillips or a glorified cheerleader, and that’s not a good thing. He should’ve been the first one calling out Polamalu for his idiotic move, and not waiting for LeBeau to do it.
When he does it’ll be something truly egregious, not just a garbage-time fumble with the opponent down 3 scores. It ought to be a sight to see, though I don’t want to see the play that precipitates it.
There have been times that I’ve missed The Chin and the flying spittle for an affective boost to the team, but I don’t think anyone would mistake Tomlin for a cheerleader. He clearly has a no-nonsense and all-business demeanor, but you can’t miss the steel edge underneath all of that. Presently, I think it works well, but there have been occasions, like the curb-stomping by the Patriots, particularly, where we did seem emotionally flat.