The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Week 17 - Browns

THE GOOD:
The Steelers secure their 13th win of the season.
The Steelers sweep the AFCN.
The Steelers played to win.
The Steelers never were behind in the game.
The Steelers run defense (with the exception of Kizer).
The Steelers had 6 QB sacks.
JuJu had 9 receptions on 10 targets for 143 yards and 1 receiving TD.
JuJu also had a 96 yard KO return TD that provided the winning margin.
S Ridley ran effectively 17 carries for 80 yards and 1 TD
Heyward-Bey TD run off the reverse to get things started.
Landry Jones was 23 of 27 for 239 yard 1 TD and 1 INT
Boswell was 4/4 XP


THE BAD:
Kizer was 16 of 30 for 314 yards 2 TDs and 1 INT. Prior to the game, Kizer had 9 TDs to 21 INTs.
54 and 56 yard pass plays for the Browns. One lead to a TD and the other was a TD.
The Browns defense had 3 QB sacks.
The Steelers taking points off the board (Boswell FG) to continue the drive and net 0 points (Goal Line Stand).


THE UGLY:
The JETS were "Just End The Season" against the Patriots.
New England has home field throughout the playoffs.
2008 Lions = 2017 Browns = 0-16


RECORD(S):
Tyson Alualu's 2nd QB sack broke the Steelers all-time single-season QB sack record of 55

 

The Good: A Win With BackUps and Tomlin Essentially thumbing his nose at the supposed parity of the league by resting top starters. NE was going to win anyways and we had good chance to win today with backups and did. No additional major injuries suffered.

The Bad: Backup center went down and Hubbard proving there is no backup to the backup. Hope Pouncey doesnt get injured. Hope Finney is ok in 2 weeks - some kind of thigh injury.

The Ugly: The Ravens losing. I wanted them to beat the satanic cobra kai cult in the playoffs then come back to Heinz. Ravens loss was gut wrenching with Dalton throwing a TD pass near mid field on 4th and 12 play. Heres to hoping our playoffs go better than our rival's game today.


PLAYOFF EXTRA:


The one team we cant play is the Bills. We will play either the Jaguars, KC, or the Titans (probably the Jaguars, or maybe the Chiefs).

Wanna be the best, gotta beat the best usually. Our Steelers need to channel their inner thug over the next two weeks then destroy the Jaguars at Heinz as payback. I dont wish to relive that Jags playoff game at Heinz when Jags beat another Steelers team with a ton of wins and a first round bye.

Since the Ravens will not be able to for us and then come to Heinz, I want to play and annihilate the evil Cobra Kai's in Foxborough. I want our beloved team to be like the Ark Of the Covenant in the original "raiders of the lost ark" and open a can of melt faces on them in their den of iniquity. Being a conduit of the Holy may be the only way to defeat a team that is Pure Evil.

 

Pfft we just go this route. If jags and chiefs win we will face the jags and th3 chiefs will go to ne. Chiefs beat pats we beat jags we host afc chanpionship game


The good: JuJu kid might have made Bryant expendble in the offseason bad is probably dont get much in return for him.

 

Good: JuJu, Ridley looks to be a good backup, tied for best record in NFL @ 13-3, Rat turds eliminated . Pittsburgh was the # 1 team in sacks. Jacksonville looks beatable and are on a 2 game losing steak entering the playoffs.

Bad: our D letting Kizer run and throw for a bazillion yards. Having to look at Harbaugh’s pouty face.

Ugly: lots of empty seats at Heinz Field

 

More Ugly: DuPree not showing up on stat sheet at all today, anywhere. James actually got some playing time early in Patriots game too and made some nice tackles/stops. It wasnt just two sacks at garbage time as some have said. I just watched some tape.

Oh and our secondary is such complete ineptitude at times. Artie Burnt is a disappointment. Davis and Mitchell appear lost at times. Haden didnt have a good game. Nobody else in secondary did much either.

 

GOOD

- JuJu Smith-Schuster was outstanding. He'll be a huge x-factor in the playoffs. I imagine if he has big game after big game, the Steelers will be in good shape.

- Marcus Gilbert, again, had a flawless game. On a rare day in which the offensive line dealt with re-shuffling, Gilbert allowed no pressures on 30+ passing plays. His presence in the running game was sorely missed as well - another great YPC figure for whoever was toting the rock.

- Stephon Tuitt seems to lift his game when Cam Heyward isn't on the field. He's the biggest reason why the Steelers were able to clamp down on the run.

- Despite bad games from certain members of the secondary, Sean Davis actually had one of his better games. He allowed just one catch into his coverage and picked up a few pressures on just 10 pass-rushing attempts.

- Mike Hilton also had another good day. Look to Joe Haden and Mike Mitchell for reasons why the pass defense allowed those big plays.

BAD

- Speaking of, Haden and Mitchell were the gruesome twosome. I still assert that the scheme poorly places the safeties, but I don't know if Mitchell is smart enough to be in the right position anyway. Looking at centerfielders for the 2018 draft.

- Haden did not have a good game. That's shocking considering I'd have hoped he'd get up for games against the Browns.

- B.J. Finney's injury leaves us with just Chris Hubbard as a viable backup for three positions on the offensive line. Finney's injury would also rob us of our top backup at guard. #NoMoreInjuriesPlease Hoping it's not that serious.

UGLY

- The way the Ravens lost to a team who had nothing to play for except the job of their mediocre head coach.

- The fact that I'd rather have the Ravens in the playoffs than the two wild-cards who did make it (the two worst wild-cards in recent memory IMO).

- The fact that it looks like the Steelers are the only team in the AFC capable of taking down the Splats this year.

 

Its quite possible he is still not 100% over his broken fibula. Even with it healed im sure the cold weather was no fun for it.

 

No. He had a typical "Toast" Haden game. He hadn't earned his contract $ since his pro-bowl year.

 

***Important Notice***

Upcoming “Games of the Century”

Sunday Jan 14th 1:00pmEST
????? at Pittsburgh

Sunday Jan 21st 3:00pmEST
Pittsburgh at Satan’s Cobra Kai

Sunday Feb 4th
6:30pmEST
????? vs Pittsburgh

You have been advised.

Happy New Year

 

Wow. 13-3 with a bye. It's so funny when I read posts from Vikings fans who think their team is an unbeatable juggernaut and here the Steelers are in a similar situation and we expect more. Success is a funny thing. I want number seven as bad as anyone and I think this team can do it. Will they..........

The good:

Juju. I love TJ Watt but I think this guy may be the best pick in this draft. He's got insane return skills to go along with his receiving skill set. If he doesn't miss games he gets 1000 yards.

Martavis Bryant. I'm happy to see where he's at right now. The Steelers top three WRs are as good as anyones.

Ridley. A solid back up that can spell Bell.

The Bad:

It's hard to gauge the defense when it was obvious that they weren't too concerned about the outcome. Still, Kizer looked like Otto Graham. Heyward makes a difference but Haden should be better as well as our safeties.

Landry Jones did OK but he has no pocket awareness. I have given up any hope that he has a future in Pittsburgh.

The Ugly:

The Browns at 0-16. Too bad for those players. Coleman really looked sad after that drop. That's a microcosm of their season.

The Ravens. I really wanted then to get in because the field would be better. Titans and Bills are fodder. I think the Steelers play the Jags in the Divisional Round. I'm actually not too worried. An early hot start has been erased by losing three of five. Meanwhile, the Steelers are trending up.

Summary:

If Pittsburgh doesn't win it all do we call this season a wash. I don't know but time is running out for them to win with Ben. I really think he plays two more years. Then, who knows. It's funny to look back but the Steelers are 22 of their last 26. That's really good. I hope it culminates in an SB win this year or next. Maybe both.

 

We have the talent to win it all so it would be a disappointment to me if we don't win it all.

 

The Sad (as opposed to bad): In all honesty it was a little touching watching Bruce Arians talk about his love for his players (my words not his but you could tell when he said they have his back and by extension vice versa). Just saw him announce his retirement part 2 .... I had a love/hate feeling for the guy when he was here (mostly the latter toward the end) but watching him get seriously choked up talking about retiring and telling his players in advance and saying that his players lied for him about that to the media to have his back was a nice moment....he was literally choking back tears out of a love for what he had spent his career doing and a love for his players - doesnt get much better than that.

 

More Ugly: cardinals want to interview our O-line coach, Mike Munchak, for head coaching job. That stinks. He is the best offensive line coach ive ever seen.

 

Could they just once look to the Falcons or something for possible coaches and players? Those would be huge shoes to fill for us.

 

That's the price of success, Gentlemen.

 

The Ugly:

Everyone consider this for a moment. With the upcoming Han Solo prequel being released this Spring, there will have been FOUR STAR WARS movies released in the last 2.5 years (Force Awakens-Dec 15', Rogue One-Dec 16', Last Jedi-Dec 17', Han Solo movie-Spring 18'). In that same span of time, the Cleveland Browns have won just ONE of THIRTY FOUR games played.

I don't know how you do it Browns fans..........I give you props!

 

The Swartz is with them.

 

I think the frequency of Star Wars movie releases is more egregious than anything else.

 

Lololol thats waht I was thinking Demo

 

The last of the regular season GBUs... just 3 more after this one! I tuned in after DHBs TD run:

Good:
Landry Jones. He wasn't great and he spent some time chasing ground balls which led to 2 of Cleveland's 3 sacks. Overall, managed the game well.
J2S2. Writing about him is starting to feel like writing about AB.
Ridley. I don't ever recall him being as big as he looks now. 80 yds rushing. Solid.
Bryant. The best #3 WR in the NFL. He looks motivated and tries to stretch plays and yards.

Bad:
The defense. Sure, 6 sacks, an INT, big fucking deal. It was DeShone Kizer! 24 pts/375 total yards? WTF?!?! Nobody should've even thought about the defib yesterday.
Dis-Honorable Mention: Haden and Mitchell. Repetitively out of position. Missed tackles. Owners of the 2 Browns BIG plays.
Hubcap. Rolling several grounders to LJ and nearly shooting one past his head in shotgun. Practice. Practice. Practice.

Ugly:
Ravens losing at home to the Bungles.
Jets folding after the first half.

Just one more thing left to say: #3moreWins