Week 1 is overr and Pittsburgh and Cinci are 1 and 0, Cleveland and Baltimore are 0 and 1. An interesting start. Pitt made Josh Allen human and Cleveland made Mahomes / Hill super humans. The Lamars played one of the craziest games I've ever seen, with the 40 sec, no time outs tie, followed by the touchdown that wasn't, then the fieldgoal that wasn't, followed the the TD that was. Crazy! I was unable to get home before midway through the third quarter, so I came in with the Browns up, and the game very much in the balance. Having missed the entire first half, I had only what I saw in the last 20 minutes to judge. Now, I love Baker, but he's building a reputation for not being able to make "the drive" when all the marbles are on the table. Unfair? Maybe, but it's arguable. As for the final play: I get that his legs were taken out mid throw, but it seems to me he could have simply thrown the ball into the dirt, rather than try to "throw it out of bounds" (I am not convinced he was'nt trying to squeeze it in). No matter. If he makes a better decision, we live to try again. I feel like he gets "amped up in big moments", and I'm not sure that's the best way for our franchise QB to operate.
Gillan screwed the pooch, no doubt. Gotta be smarter than that, and how about handling the snap, so there's no decision. Again the high pressure moments where our Browns just aren't keeping control of themselves. Njoku. I really like David, but c'mon man.... get in the set position and we're good to go. At the same time Baker should have made sure he was set before calling for the snap. Again, not aware or conscious of those small things, that cost us position, and possibly the game. The Mahomes / Hill magic is just that, and there are some things the football gods decide. No hate for JJ on that, he was devoting all his energy to catching up with Hill, and couldn't stop. A tip of the hat to Mahomes and Hill on that one. It's a broken play. Can't scheme for that one. Schwartz had a very good game, but let's not forget he "juggled" one and had another ripped out when the chips were on the table. He'll be an asset, but he doesn't have Odel's hands or experience. Just a few observations from what I saw Sunday.
Not true at all I have enjoyed plenty of wins since then. Anytime we beat the ravens is enjoyable. Beating the browns, bengals, dolphins, titans and chargers is enjoyable as well as I have friends (and relatives) that are fans of those teams. Beating the seahawks is rather enjoyable as well as is beating any Tom Brady led team though those dont happen enough. Now if you want to argue I have not celebrated a win since 2008 you might have me there afterall what do we really have to celebrate since then? An afc championship but a loss to the packers so we can say hey we almost won it 30 other teams wish they had made the SB? A victory in the playoffs vs the bengalsnthat they pretty much gift wrapped for us? Maybe we should celebrate the revenge win in the playoffs over a bad Dolphins team that yes had the record to be in the playoffs but really didnt deserve to be there as they beat only 1 team with a winning record that year that team being our beloved steelers. Perhapse I should by into the any season we dont have a loosing season is worth celebrating club? For the record I enjoy every Steelers win. I however will not make each win more important than it really is. We beat the bills in week 1 good for us but just like a loss in week 1 doesnt mean much a win in week 1 doesnt mean much. Yes it really is and should be for all Steelers fans Super Bowl win or bust for me.
lol! Not that anyone here cares. "Hey let's talk about the 70's!"..."Hey, let's not!!!" Maybe yinzers should take it elsewhere... Go Raiders
Anywho... After further review, WTH was the defensive plan for Tyreek Hill? Yes. I understand Tyreek is special talent, but when the defense treats him as if he's "Joe Shmoe", like some shlepp off the street, they are kind of asking for it, aren't they?.... geez. smh. No doubt that the Browns are high on their free agent signing of LB Anthony Walker, and they should be, but expecting him to cover the Cheetah is a bit lofty, I think. Good lord, it's no mystery why Hill nearly broke 200. The defensive approach seemed to be that we should treat him like he was just any ol receiver. Ridiculous
I disagree with that surface observation. Hill was not free to roam throughout the game. We generally allowed him to catch the balls, but not get deep, and corral him. On the play in question, it was "off script" and Johnson was the deep guy. You can say he was left alone, but during a fire drill, everyone is off script, including Johnson. He simply was trying to track Hill once Mahomes launched the ball. There is also the possibility that Reid schemed up a play that forced the coverage we could only see at the end of the play. It's not insignificant that Johnson, who is in fact a very good safety, was working with the 3rd string safety because Delpit was out, and Harrison got himself ejected. So, I'll cut coach Woods and Johnson some slack, for having not let Hill loose deep all game until then, and only on a broken play that put all the defensive backfield under stress. Maybe that doesn't happen if we had our planned personnel, or it was week 5 instead of week 1. That was the backbreaker play though, allowing them to score in seconds, really turned the momentum.
It really wasn't just a surface observation. It's exactly what I saw after re-watching the game, and my point was simple. Tyreek Hill is the Cheetah. You don't get a nickname like that unless you have special skills. Skills that should demand that the defense bracket you with at least two defenders on most of the routes. Certainly expecting a LB who is back pedaling into the slot after faking a blitz attempt at the LOS to handle covering Tyreek is ridiculous. I saw that more than once, and I'm not giving us a pass on that just because he is who he is. It was weak defense. You have to at least attempt to take away whatever they do best. I understand he's a freak of nature and Tyreek is going to make plays regardless, but he doesn't usually go for 200 yards because most teams pay special attention to him. We really didn't for whatever reason, and he made us pay all afternoon. I
