Chattin’ Thread for the Week of Sept. 19

Via Rotoworld: Steelers declared LG Chris Kemoeatu, CB Bryant McFadden, QB Dennis Dixon, RB Jonathan Dwyer, LB Chris Carter, OT Jamon Meredith, and WR Jerricho Cotchery inactive for Week 2 against the Seahawks.

Shocked — shocked! — that BMac has a lingering hammy issue.

Heh. Manny Sanders with a pass to Ward.

Nice return by Brown.

Nice run by Isaac Redman for the TD. And I have to disagree with the announcer on how to bring down Ben. I thought the conventional wisdom was that going high on Ben is pretty pointless, and that you have to go for the legs?

Raiders have blown a 21-3 lead and trail the Bills, 24-21.

What a difference a week makes!

It’s always a little hard to tell over the radio, but it sounds like Wallace is really developing nicely this year.  Good stuff.

I took some notes during the game to share. These are completely stream of thought. I didn’t go back and change previous ones based on later data, and the times are approximate since I was subtracting from time of writing to guess when the play was.

first play – Scary near pick, time to overreact.
13:10 – Nice scheme, Memo was open for the first even if Sanders doesn’t get open. Nice running by sanders after the catch.
10:40 – 1st and goal on the one and two big o-line screwups in a row.
10:10 – Going for it on the one foot line is the right call. Not a good challenge. He’s not going to get the TD on it. But he should get the ball moved back two feet. At first I thought he got in, but the refs were right on top of that as he was indeed short.
8:48 – Man these damn old lineman can’t stop anything three times in a row at the goal line.
8:20 – Way too much arm on a throw to wide open Heath Miller.
8:10 – Nice stiff arm by Mendenhall to carry the defender for five yards or so.
6:20 – Ben is throwing too damn hard. He almost missed Redman, and on the completion to Wallace a couple plays ago also had way too much on it as well.
5:50 – I did not see that end around to throw coming at all, perfect throw too, spiral, and placement into actual coverage. Where did that come from?
2:35 – Gay, you can’t let Leon Washington shake you off like that. At least he follows it up on the next play with terrific one on one coverage, forcing the throw away.
0:50 – Holy crap Antonio Brown, how did you pull that return off? Backpedaling on the catch at about the 6, good coverage all over the place, coralled to the sideline, and dash forward on a tightrope.

Thoughts after one:
- The defense looks young. Old was a pejoritive, so that must be a praise, right?
- Young money is making its presence felt, passing, running, returning, and catching.
- Ben needs to calm the hell down. His receivers are getting wide open, and that’s why he’s hitting them. His passing is forced, high, and hard.

15:00 – Man I hope that Ben lost the defender by being screened from view in a non-repeatable way and Ben didn’t really make that decision.
14:00 – Respect Wallace speed, how about a stop route? Finally some good touch by Ben.
12:50 – Nice call to catch them off guard, Bruce. Terrific blocking in the middle, and beautiful running by Redman on that TD.
10:00 – Finally some pressure. On back to back plays no less. The first results in a “catch” (awarded but not really caught) anyway, and the second is immaterial because there was a false start.
8:00 – Ben’s getting his touch back. Communicate to Wallace for quick throw to off coverage, perfectly placed and paced ball to Sanders in the middle of the field, and good touch on a late dump off in rapid succession.
6:00 – Seeing a lot of Redman who is stepping up. Is Mendenhall okay?
3:00 – Not good at all seeing Ben hit like that, The Steelers cannot lose him. Why is Brock still allowed to remain in the game? He wasn’t blocked into a low hit or anything like that, he just decided that a hit to the knees well after the throw was away was a good idea. He sould be ejected without question.
2:00 – Nice to see that Ben is able to come back. I question the wisdom of the choice though; give him half time, and be cautious even then.
1:50 – The camera finds Leftwich in his Deuce Staley Memorial Game Day Sweats.
0:40 – Ummm wow, you’re in the hurry up and you let the play clock tick all the way down and then burn a timeout? Are they playing not to let the Steelers score again? Seems extraordinarily pessimistic given score, time, and down.

Thoughts after two:
- Revenge of the coordinators. Lebeau and Arians are mixing it up nicely today.
- Less enthusiastic about Tomlin. Bad challenge and overly risky letting Ben in that one play.
- Not much spectacular but a precise workmanlike performance to control both sides of the ball convincingly.
- My impression is that Gilbert seems physically capable but is making assignment mistakes. Look forward to seeing his breakdown.
- Overall, the o-line play is above the bar. Not dominant or anything, but decent.
- The d-line is not putting up much pressure. They are getting the job done though. Is it a schematic choice, maybe playing the run and daring the pass? Am I just being pessimistic?
- Roethlisberger hurt is frightening. Might see some 22 passing. If there’s doubt, keep him healthy.
- Zebras are having a good game. Aside from the no-ejection on the low hit there’s nothing to complain about.

13:45 – Nice job Willie Gay. He got illegally picked (a foul never, ever called so no complaint) then, helped by a high throw, got back into coverage enough to plaster the receiver and force the drop. 
12:40 – Another crazy cheap shot at Ben’s knees. Considering he wasn’t even blocked, the ball was well away by the hit, and everyone on the field knows where Ben’s injury is, I think it’s safe to presume he just wanted the opposing team’s QB out ot the game. Disgusting. No call. No ejection.
10:00 – Polamalu gets a sack. I think Jackson nearly chose to throw that ball, which would have been funny since he had previously crossed the line of scrimmage.
8:35 – Another surprising, effective call by Arians on that delayed run.
7:00 – Respect the speed with a cushion, AB takes it for the first. Play press? Slant to Wallace for another first.
6:30 – Doesn’t clipping require the player clipped be engaged? Or is that a chop block?
4:50 – Hines Ward, Contortionist. What an astounding catch. Reminds me of the game ender against Green Bay in 2009, except even further outside. I think we can all be thankful Warren Sapp’s all-pro daughter isn’t in coverage.
3:30 – Usually a dumb decision taking that one out of the end zone especially after that second of hesitation. The result of the return reflects that. I guess maybe he figures the Seahawks need a home run to get back into it, which is reasonable.
1:30 – Mike Wallace’s speed and hands are a good combo. Tremendous display throughout that play.
0:00 – Dangerous throw, but that was a free play, so I have no issue with it…. And then the refs see an illegal formation and they offset.

Thoughts after three:
- I haven’t seen Taylor make much of an appearance. Is he blanketing to the point of not getting throws his way again? I guess I haven’t heard Mike Williams’ name either. When Revis does this, he has an island. Does Taylor get Iketraz?
- I’m probably alone on this, but I like Siragusa as commentator.
- A little more boom or bust so far this half in place of the consistency of the first. But the boom is more frequent, so it’s working too.

14:30 – Third and 30, Brown makes about twenty on the reception and is tackled by a player pulling him down by his facemask. No call. Subsequent play is a missed field goal. After a good first half, the refs really shit the bed in the second.
12:45 – Manny, Manny what’re you doing? You don’t field a punt on the three yard line.
11:30 – That throw looked way off target because it was a timing route and Wallace was held from behind.
9:00 – Two sacks and decent pressure on this drive. It almost seems like they just decided to try pressure now and decided not to earlier.
8:30 – And a third sack. This one on fourth.

Thoughts after four:
- Pretty thorough domination in all phases.
- Steelers could use some Red Zone work on offense.

Interestingly, we play the entire AFC South for the next four weeks.

Anybody, know if Cotchery is still hurt or whether he is going to be regularly inactive?  I was looking forward to him playing with the other four receivers.

Donte Robinson makes James Harrison look like a saint. Just sayin’.

The defense showed promise, especially in the fourth quarter. And Gilbret will be great, he’s just not ready yet. I’m scared about the offense though. Too conservative with the play calls and Ben has been scaring me with his accuracy.