NFL Week 15: Saturday night's all right for ...

I'll bet he's back for the playoffs.

 

I think the NFL ought to figure out a way to improve offensive line play, whether through cap exemptions for players on the team that initially drafts them or something else. Keeping o lines together would make quarterbacks better and keep them healthier.

 

Deep.

 

I just heard Roethlisberger's post-game comments, which shed some light on the interception at the end. He had already told his teammates to clock it when he got word from the coaches to go for it. That is why Rogers was the only one to run a route, which led in part to the interception. I initially thought the fault there was all on Roethlisberger and I still think he should have thrown the ball away. That said, the coaches should have had them better prepared for what to do if the second-down play ended in bounds. That's a sloppy error by the coaching staff.

To be clear, I don't think Roethlisberger meant his comments that way at all. He said he was happy they coaches decided to go for it. That's just my take after hearing how the sequence of events played out.

 

He should have thrown it away without a doubt. Forcing it made no sense. As soon as he double clutched the throw and it wasn't open, an incompletion still has, at minimum, five seconds left.

 

Right. Any (good) veteran QB cannot fall back on the "Well, the coaches told me" excuse. The ball was in his hands. He didn't have to throw it there. I'm just surprised he didn't immediately fall down and fake an injury.

 

He forced it, sure, but I don't think it was as much a bad decision as it was poor execution. Eli Manning, for any faults he has, is really good at that throw. He makes sure it's down low and, if he receiver can't grab it, it ends up incomplete.

The problem with Roethlisberger's throw wasn't the decision, it was simply too high. When it got deflected, it went up into the air instead of into the turf.

 

You apparently missed part of what I wrote, or you just want to take a shot at the guy.

He wasn't blaming anybody. He ran through the sequence of events as they happened, said the coaches absolutely made the right decision and that he didn't make a good enough throw.

I'm the one saying the coaches messed up, too, though the primary fault lies with Roethlisberger for not throwing it away.

 

On the call ... Tomlin said they played to win.
I'm ok with that.
They played to win and came up short. Offensively, they played pretty well. Officiating was Ok. I was worried going in: this crew leads the league in flags thrown. They let them play.
Get past the Texans next weekend - glad it's a prime time game - and the Steelers can hang on to the No. 2 seed. They aren't losing to Cleveland. Not happening.


Rest, regroup and come up with a better defensive game plan for the trip to Boston. Brown will be back for the playoffs.

 

They're not losing to the Texans. They may be worse than the Browns at this point. Maybe even the Bears.

 

That gets back to Roethlisberger's statement that he needs to make a better throw. You're right.He should have put that one in lower. He often does make that throw, but he missed it here. I just thought it was too much traffic to try to make the pass, but I see your point as well.

 

Haden will help some, but I don't know what else they can do other than send two guys with Gronkowski wherever he goes. This was their best shot to beat the Patriots. I'm guessing if they get that far, they get blown out in New England in the playoffs, with or without Brown.