Folk has had poor kickoffs most of the year. It's really a shame, I wish we had one of those bombers that gets tons of touchbacks, but oh well, we have the whole offseason to discuss
Even if the Steelers run it on 3rd, we get the ball back with 1:15, zero time outs, and most likely inside the 15 yard line. As clutch as Sanchez has been, we're not driving 85+ yards with zero timeouts on the Steelers defense.
whast keeps going through my head is the 3rd down that cromartie got flagged for. if he didnt fucking grab that clowns FACE we would of had a 3 and 0 for the steelers first possession.
The big play was the goal line stand where they gave the ball to LT after Greene pounded them during that drive. The playcalling sucked during that sequence. No way you let LT carry the ball in that situation.
I still can't believe all the times Ben broke free from would-be sacks. There were at least 4 instances where if it was anyone but Ben he would have gone down for a loss. And a lot of them we're on 3rd and longs and he went on to complete the play. Oh, and that horrible goal line play calling.
Crappy Kick Off Coverage on Final Steelers Drive Agreed about the crappy kick off coverage. That was a killer. It was definitely the weakest kick that Folk hit all game and then letting the guy run another 20 yards totally opened up the Steelers playbook.
It's just crazy they threw the ball in that situation. If you run the ball, you take off one minute of the clock and pin the Jets back at their own 10 yd line or less. Driving 90 yds for a TD with less than a minute left is almost impossible for any qb. The Jets actually played the pass pretty well on that drive. The 2nd down completion to Miller just summed up the Jets playoff history---stunningly close but no cigar. 3rd and 6....I've never seen a play call like that in my life. It had to happen against the Jets. My goodness.
Nick Folk gave them the chance. With his kickoffs to the 20 (how pathetic is it that th one thing he should be good at, he cant even do), and a 20 yard return, the Steelers felt that even if they failed to convert, with 1:50ish and 0 timeouts, the Jets would not score. It was a great call, and Rex admitted he was stunned they threw. I give the Steelers credit for doing that. However, it just shows you how badly we need a kicker who can get the ball into the endzone. Having a guy who cant kick it to the 10 in perfect weather, and to the 20 in bad weather keeps killing us.
That was a BS call. He brushed it, he didn't grab it. How you call that, but you don't call Harrison hitting a sliding Sanchez is beyond belief.
That was my thinking as well, the Steelers likely approach things a little different if that guy gets tackled at the 20 or 25 instead of the 40. The 2nd down play was huge, IMO that sealed the game. Yeah we had a chance to get the ball back after that but we were an inch away from knocking it down and who knows what the Steelers do on 3rd down. It was a game of missed opportunities, we failed to make plays when we needed to from the 1st drive till that last drive. I still think if we score from the 1 we somehow find a way to win that game. The Steelers gladly and smartly sacrificed a safety for a TD. I was so pissed about that, I was hoping Ben would kick it and somehow one of our guys would fall on it.
Now I thought that was one of the few good calls these assholes made all game. What pissed me off was Smith being flagged for a roughing penalty yet Harrison hitting Sanchez after he slid and no flag. I guess the NFL only wants to protect certain QBs and Mark is not one of them yet.
Should have onside kicked it, Either we get the ball back or the defense plays better with a shorter field and it also gives us options with clock management, Since a 1st wouldn't have ended the game. Saved up our TO's and make them kick a FG if they got a 1st. Than we'd be down 8, prolly have Cro Return the kickoff and have about 1 Minute to go anywhere between 65-50 yards
No coach would onside it with 3 minutes left and 3 timeouts. Kicking it deep was the right call. It's just a kickoff for Folk is almost the equivalent of an onside kick because he sucks so badly...
It was a great call. Nobody was expecting them to go 5 wide in that situation. If the receiver doesn't come open, Ben runs it. The option is Ben's - either ice the game, or take off and run for first down or get stopped and let the clock run. The only thing that hurts them is an incomplete pass, but that is a really high percentage throw.
What's funny is the guy in Detroit made the same call on 3rd and 6--we stopped them, came down and scored, won the game in OT and everbody killed the coach for throwing on 3rd and 6.
