Might have an 8-8 winner.
Might have a 3-13 winner.
0-13-3
We will all wait and see.
Carson Palmer’s injury in the post-season against the Steelers just shows how fine the line is between a very good team and a very mediocre team. I agree with you that the Bengals have a lot of young talent, but time will tell if it will ever congeal into anything, if injuries will wreck havoc on the roster, or they will level off into an 8-8 team. They are, however, much better equipped than the Steelers are. I personally ink the Bengals should have punted Marvin years ago, but he is hanging onto his job for some reason. I think with the right coach, the team could turn into one of the AFC’s premier teams. They have drafted well. Even with all of the off-field issues players have, they still have serious talent. To me, the reason why the Bengals haven’t been able to take the next step is coaching.
Tonight will be a perfect test for the Bengals. Will they win easily, like they should, or will they struggle in the nationally televised game? The Steelers are hurting and they have a talent-thin roster. But they have always played well on Monday night.
Well, Pittsburgh does have a good kick returner or two. Maybe special teams and defense can help a weak offense.
Meet Tyler Eifert, the new thorn in your side!
F’n Todd Haley: Yes, Paulson fumbled, but how do you not get a play off before the flag is thrown? Ben hurried to the line because he knew it would be overturned but Haley insisted on sub’ing players. The hell!
You could see how frustrated Roethlisberger was when he was walking off the field after the challenge flag was thrown. I should just turn off this game and save myself the frustration.
I remember last week getting quite excited when the Stiller offence could get 4 snaps between punts, if only for the novelty value. No such excitement to be had tonight.
My gf wants to watch project runway re-runs. I’m about 5 minutes away from giving up the remote.
Glad i gave myself 5 minutes, though this TD no doubt was for the sole purpose of breaking my heart that much harder. The breaking of which will be cushioned by the consumption of Dutch gin martinis - which while not traditional MNF fare seem to have a remarkable … mellowing… effect. I haven’t yelled at Crotchery in minutes…
Can we have a “What the Haley?!” Play of the Week? So far from this game I nominate the end-around to our slowest receiver with the two rookie receivers lined up and every other vet receiver on the sideline. There’s a thin line between genius and stupidity, unless you’re Todd Haley, and then it’s the Great Fucking Wall of China bedazzled in more blinking neon then the Vegas strip. Even in space, you could tell that play was duuuuuuumb.
We can do that.
My nomination for this week’s “What the Haley?” play was when Ben was absolutely begging his guys to get up to the line for a quick snap on the Paulson fumble. Haley, offensive genius that he is, chose that exact moment to sub, giving Marvin Lewis ample time to challenge. So, rather than great field position, the moment the red flag came out the defense ambled onto the field. Why would you sub when your quarterback, one of the best in the league and long proven, begs for a quick snap? Because you’re offensive genius Todd Haley, of course.
I really thought the Steelers had this one. Tied at the half, I thought they took the Bengals’ best and gave their worst. Then Haley made his adjustments, resulting in negative yards in the second half. Phenomenal. And the Haley plan is supposed to keep Ben from getting killed? He took another beating tonight thanks to the horrid playcalling, requiring him to wheel-and-deal and getting him punished for his trouble.
Haley has to go. The only positive that we can take out of this game will be if Haley is cleaning out his desk tomorrow. Otherwise there’s nothing.
This is going to be a looong season. Even if for us it’s just 16 games.
I’ve been saying “Fire Haley” since they hired the guy.
He has been bounced around rather often in the last few years, being with Arizona, KC, and now Pittsburgh.
He is just one of those guys that rub me the wrong way and he has from the start. I don’t believe players like him much, and if he gets Ben killed this year, he will be tarred and feathers.
After the loss to Tennessee, I said the record this year would be 5-11. I’m now starting to think that was optimistic. 4-12? 3-13? Who can they beat with that offense? Maybe Cleveland and Jacksonville, and that’s it.
I can’t believe I gave the points and took the Bengals and won! Makes me sick to my stomach. I gave the Steelers 7 points, and they still get beat by 3.
I can only pray that the Steelers have such an awful season that the Rooneys will be forced to fire Tomlin and the rest of the coaching staff. (Sans LeBeau). And Kevin Colbert too.
Are they going to beat Chicago next week? I don’t see it. And Minnesota in London? Don’t see that happening either. Een if they win one of these games, they are into the bye week at 1-3.
Airman, I agree with you on your assessment of the halftime adjustments. There weren’t any that worked. That is the direct result of a coaching staff that doesn’t understand what is happening on the field. And the blown quick snap was just atrocious.
I am going to go through the Tomlin draft years and see who is left on the team, and create a new thread. I think we will all be surprised at the lack of draft picks that are on the steelers. We have more I drafted free agents and 7th round picks starting than any other team in the NFL. This team is rotting away from the inside out.
You want to get rid of Tomlin? After two super bowls? As I recall it took bill cowher 120 years to even get to two.
There is a small contingent of Steeler fans who believe that Tomlin won with Cowher’s team and that he sucks. It’s bull, but they do exist. It’s the same group that starts rending garments, gnashing teeth, and wringing hands any time the Steelers don’t win the division by a ton.
Obviously this team isn’t the best Steelers team that ever was, but it’s also missing some key players, some before the season like Heath Miller and others since like Pouncey and Foote. I’m not giving up yet, and it kinda pisses me off that some are. Oh, they’re not great? Then I don’t want anything to do with them. Oh, and fire the guy who took them to two Super Bowls because he sucks! I can barely stand listening to it.
I think you could actually argue that point given that the Steelers have exactly one player on their roster from their 2008-2009 drafts…
This post - from an Iggles blog, of all places - has you covered. Steelers have a player from every year since 2002 on the roster, outside of 2008 – one of the longest “streaks” in the league. Most other teams are far spottier, and you can see that the current SB contending teams (SF, say) primarily built their roster in the last 5 years.
But then, about that 2008 draft class…
So, I don’t know…
I’m going to go on record and say that that tripping call that eradicated a Steelers 30 yard gain was total bullshit.
The First Annual Steelers March to 0-16 Thread