The Steelers running game really killed the Jets. There was soo much planning by the Jets around the Steelers passing game (Ben had a bad day here) and it showed. I believe the Jets simply neglected to account for the Steelers run game,"being a run 1st team". And it showed. Not ONCE did I hear a comment about the Steeler running game from a Jet or Jets staff member over the last week. When the Steelers got up 24-0 at one point in the game I knew it was over short of a miracle in favor of the Jets.
Gotta give credit where it is due and I don't think anybody expected Mendenhall to have the 1st half he did. That being said there were tons of missed tackles by the Jets. I'm not gonna pretend that Mendenhall had nothing to do with that but there were a few occasions where he was stuffed in the backfield only to turn it into a 5 o r6 yard gain. For a team that prides itself on defense it was quit a disgusting effort. Now as for that miracle.. Obviously we'll never know but had the Jets punched in that TD instead of shitting themselves they find a way to tie it up. Maybe we still lose but the way we played in that second half a 7 point lead with 7 minutes left is not safe.
Here is my take. I know that many of these points have been covered and, I apologize in advance, but, since I sat through this entire game at Heinz drinking frozen beer and arguing with obnoxious Steeler fans (and I have to put up with this game result every day in Pittsburgh this year and next season), I want to say it anyway. - The Steelers run defense was stellar, ours wasn't anywhere close. That was the defining difference in my opinion. Dick Lebeau had a great plan that was executed well by his D. (Rex/Pettine) - Play calls on their goal line stand were terrible, regardless of headset issues. It was like watching a crash test car run into a wall. (Schotty) - We stayed run heavy too long in the first half. (Schotty) - You can't play half a game of football (Team) - Sub standard tackling. - Special teams did not contribute to the win ---- Weatherford's botched punt (Though, otherwise, he was ok) ---- Roughing the kicker penalty ---- No big returns. Huge, since both playoff wins had better kick/punt returning. - The officiating, particularly in the first half, went in the Steelers favor. ---- The overly generous spot on Wallace's first catch. ---- Unnecessary roughness call on Eric Smith. Come on, Ed, he held up. ---- How was there not a single holding call on their offensive line? On one of Ben's scrambles, they threw a flag half way through the scramble - for - defensive holding? I almost lost it. The Steelers fans were laughing at that call. ---- I was mad at more of them during the game, but I watched the replays of a few other calls and became convinced that they were called well. Some good things: - It was a gutsy comeback and I think it was Sanchez's best game as a pro. Hopefully, a look into the pro-bowl caliber QB that he CAN become. - The Jets fans represented well. No one left at halftime despite the cold. - Nick Folk didn't pull a Doug Brien. Go Pack.
The Jets accounted for it just fine. If you watched closely in the first half, a lot of the players were in position to tackle the steelers RB's for losses or short games. It's not like the Jets D-Line was getting blown off the ball. The Jets simply didn't tackle well, and didn't cover the cutbacks. Who do you blame when the whole defense is just missing tackles for a whole half?
um yea, either that or they forgot how to tackle and take on blocks. If mendenhall wasn't the steelers mvp yesterday it was Heath Miller with his run blocking. He drove people 10 yards down field on numerous occasions. It was disgusting.
That's just the way I saw it there. Maybe it was the lack of execution, rather the plays calls. Now that I'm looking at the play recap of 1st half possessions, I agree with you.
well we did stop em on some occasions but penalties kept their drive alive. Apparently there was a lot of holding, I didnt notice it during the game but the truth is, JETS D just had trouble tackling. BUT with all of that we still made it a game that we could of won but fell short at the end. And it was funny on that 3rd down @ the goal line we bring in L.T and the D was playing for the pass, not the run, and we pass if for an incomplete then run it on 4th down to see L.T get stopped. So frustrating.
yards after contact was ridiculous for Mendelson. The Jets CS had defensive players in position to stop the run & these players just failed.
The JETS were hands down the better team, and we didn't lose to the Steelers, we lost to ourselves. If you look at the second half, we looked great. I truly believe that if we stopped them on that last drive and get a shot at the ball one more time, that Sanchez would have led us to victory. deep post to Holmes for 6 - Game over. It's a shame that the defense couldn't pull thru and give the O one more shot at it. It's a real shame.
No, our defense is just not good enough. A good defense doesn't allow some rookie runningback to run all over them the way the Jets did. We have nothing close to the SB winning Cowboy defenses or the SB winning Tampa Bay defense or the SB winning Raven's defense or the 85 Bears. Our defense was inconsistent all year. It couldn't get off the field on 3rd down all year. Failed to close games all year. How often did we have to rely on some last minute comeback to win? More sacks. More intereceptions. More beef at DL and playmakers at safety.
They are a good team, but we have a better team than them. They had a better first half than we did. Case closed.
