A Very Troubling Statistic

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

Why is everyone harping on Campbell?
Coverage was great downfield, Moss was hampered by his injury, the oline pass blocking was poor.

Campbell is AWESOME when we win, and its ALL HIS FAULT when we lose.
Face it, we were dominated.

I lay this TREND at the hands of the offensive coordinator, ZORN.
I am not suprized, he said it himself.
Defenses will catch up to what his is doing, this happened about 4 games ago, when we started struggling with teams like the rams, lions, browns....c'mon man...
Our defense is solid, the issue is the offense.

Bottom line is, Zorn did not adjust, pregame or halftime, to account for the Pitt defense PLUS he abandoned the run.

I mentioned it in the predictions thread.
The only way to win this was with Shotgun, draws, reverses, screens, misdirection, runs up the gut....that is how you slow down a fiery defense.
My only question was how Moss and Samuels would hold up.
Unfortunately, Zorn did almost none of this....I only remember one or two screens and a couple draws. This is why I gave Zorn a 3.5 of 5....he is not tested yet, he has not stayed ahead of the curve, Defensive coordinators have figured out how to play this offense.....we are still 2nd in the league in rushing yet only 25 in Points.

I say it is time to add some new plays and players to the mix....we haven't seen any production from our top 3 picks....time to MAN UP. and C'mon Zorn, call a play thats not on film yet.

And I also throw Special Teams in here, they have generally stunk...except kicker.
Did you see that Pittsburg Gunner on the punts? He was beating 2 blockers every time causing randle el to fair catch everything....and if there was no punt blocked, we'd easily be in the game...this is easily Danny Smiths crappiest coaching year here, he aint helping...thank goodness we recovered that onside kick, I am suprised that we did based on who was on the field to attempt the recovery...lucky.

great post except I disagree on the last part,from what I recall there were at least 2 times,maybe 3 where ARE called for the fair catch and nobody was within 10 yrds of him

[birdz4gibbs]

on to the bye week and then i worry about dallas week there after.

[birdz4gibbs]

it is what it is and a win is a win in this league no matter who we play..

i,ll gladly take 6-3 also.

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

I will volunteer two personnel moves - I don't see what Yoder gives the offense that Fred Davis wouldn't give and then some. I also would like to see Heyer starting at RT to help stabilize the pass protection.

I agree with both of these moves. I also think the o-line deserves some attention in the draft. I've said before that I'm kind of old school in that I think a lot of games are won in the trenches. Without the Hogs we would'nt have 3 Super Bowl Trophies. We need to seriously address this during the draft. I personally feel like a big part of the problem is our reluctence to go downfield. The opponents defense needs to understand that you will not hesitate to go deep to keep them honest. Even if we don't complete the pass, we send a message. One of the Steelers biggest plays came on an incompletion. We got interference and they got 45 yards. If I don't respect your deep game and you've got the leading rusher in the NFL, I know what I'm doing, I'm sitting on the line all day long.

[Jake2008]

Originally Posted by 53Fan

I agree with both of these moves. I also think the o-line deserves some attention in the draft. I've said before that I'm kind of old school in that I think a lot of games are won in the trenches. Without the Hogs we would'nt have 3 Super Bowl Trophies. We need to seriously address this during the draft. I personally feel like a big part of the problem is our reluctence to go downfield. The opponents defense needs to understand that you will not hesitate to go deep to keep them honest. Even if we don't complete the pass, we send a message. One of the Steelers biggest plays came on an imcompletion. We got interference and they got 45 yards. If I don't respect your deep game and you've got the leading rusher in the NFL, I know what I'm doing, I'm sitting on the line all day long.

I agree. I would love to see Campbell throw deep more and let his receivers make the play. You can't always wait for the receiver to be wide open and have to trust that they will make the play. Especially on 3rd and whatever. I hate seeing the 5 yard pass hoping the receiver will make it to the down marker only to get stopped short. Let it rip once in awhile and keep them honest. Campbell has the arm to do it.

[MTK]

People longing for the deep ball have obviously missed the hiring of Jim Zorn, a west coast disciple. Moss with a bad hammy didn't help matters last night either, along with the constant pressure.

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

People longing for the deep ball have obviously missed the hiring of Jim Zorn, a west coast disciple. Moss with a bad hammy didn't help matters last night either, along with the constant pressure.

I understand it's WC but even WC goes long once in awhile. This isn't exactly the strict definition of WC we've been playing anyway. Moss had a couple of fairly long balls in the second half of the Detroit game. That certainly helped us win the game. I understand he's hurt. But what exactly do we have DT out there for anyway? I'm not sure we have anything to lose by going deep to him once in awhile compared to what we may gain.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by 53Fan

I understand it's WC but even WC goes long once in awhile. This isn't exactly the strict definition of WC we've been playing anyway. Moss had a couple of fairly long balls in the second half of the Detroit game. That certainly helped us win the game. I understand he's hurt. But what exactly do we have DT out there for anyway? I'm not sure we have anything to lose by going deep to him once in awhile compared to what we may gain.

From what I'm reading, he's still running the wrong routes. At this point in the season that's really disappointing.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

People longing for the deep ball have obviously missed the hiring of Jim Zorn, a west coast disciple. Moss with a bad hammy didn't help matters last night either, along with the constant pressure.

I'm not buying the WCO stuff. That's just an excuse. Philly has worse WR's than we do yet they always push the ball downfield. Hell, just do it just for the sake of a PI call. Pittsburgh was missing two starters on their line, their QB was getting pushed around, yet they did it and got a PI call which changed field position, plus got a long completion on Smoot. Devin Thomas runs 4.3 and is 6'2. I think he can handle running a go route. Sorry but not throwing downfield at all is just poor coaching.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

I'm not buying the WCO stuff. That's just an excuse. Philly has worse WR's than we do yet they always push the ball downfield. Hell, just do it just for the sake of a PI call. Pittsburgh was missing two starters on their line, their QB was getting pushed around, yet they did it and got a PI call which changed field position, plus got a long completion on Smoot. Devin Thomas runs 4.3 and is 6'2. I think he can handle running a go route. Sorry but not throwing downfield at all is just poor coaching.

I agree that successful offenses will take their shots down the field, but you have to do the basics well first. Complete some passes, move the chains, and then when the defense starts to back off the attack, go for the jugular.

We failed in the basic phases of the game well before the lack of a deep passing game became a problem.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I agree that successful offenses will take their shots down the field, but you have to do the basics well first. Complete some passes, move the chains, and then when the defense starts to back off the attack, go for the jugular.

We failed in the basic phases of the game well before the lack of a deep passing game became a problem.

Good points.

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I agree that successful offenses will take their shots down the field, but you have to do the basics well first. Complete some passes, move the chains, and then when the defense starts to back off the attack, go for the jugular.

We failed in the basic phases of the game well before the lack of a deep passing game became a problem.

All that sounds pretty good on paper but besides blocking the punt, the best thing the Steelers did in the first half was throw a long pass and get an interference call on Rogers. Leftwich came out throwing in the second half and THEN they more or less started rolling. Pittsburgh had not really established anything UNTIL they started throwing the ball. There is also the possibility of the pass setting up the run. Maybe it's not conventional, but sometimes it works.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by 53Fan

All that sounds pretty good on paper but besides blocking the punt, the best thing the Steelers did in the first half was throw a long pass and get an interference call on Rogers. Leftwich came out throwing in the second half and THEN they more or less started rolling. Pittsburgh had not really established anything UNTIL they started throwing the ball. There is also the possibility of the pass setting up the run. Maybe it's not conventional, but sometimes it works.

Well, with us sending six guys per play, it's not really like Pittsburgh had a choice. They saw straight man coverage so many times that they could attack us however they wanted. Blache called one of the worst games i've ever seen a d-coordinator call.

Remember that even in our injured state, our defense is significantly more talented than their offense.

[BrennanBeliever]

I agree with replacing Heyer for Jansen, and the Yoder-Davis switch, but I honestly believe that a lot of blame for the offencive stagnation in the first half rest squarely on the shoulders of Jason Campbell. I don't see his passion for the game, or atleast its not expressly evident in a visceral sense. The intensity just isn't there for me, not to mention his dropback from under center looks almost robotic. He's a trained passer not an improvisational natural athlete. This is probably not the best analogy to make on a football site but its the difference between watching a ballet dancer and a contemporary dancer. The ballet dancer is groomed, technically sound, but rigid, stoic, and apathetic. The contemporary dancer on the other hand, may not fit into molded perfection, but their movement reflects their emotion, they are daring and fearless and passionate and there is no question about their commitment even if its flawed. Take Brett Farve for example, the guy has made more mistakes than homeless, crack addicted prostitute, but is still considered one of the greatest to ever play the position. It seems to me that Zorn is like a father that gives his kid the keys to the car but won't allow him to drive any further then around the block. I say unleash the fury.

[MTK]

Thomas cut off his route which led to the 2nd pick last night. I know we want to see him do well but when you can't do the basics on the field you're just not going to get many looks.