Quote:
Originally Posted by Baby Lee
I'm asking this in all seriousness, and hoping for well reasoned responses only.
I'm seriously at a loss how the Pittsburgh loss was the straw the broke the camel's back for ALEX ONLY.
I can see if it broke someone's spirit for the whole team. It nearly did for me. It certainly made me question karma and frankly the drive of the entire organization. But I've come to convince myself that the entire team was out of sorts, and there is [probably] some hidden drama or injury behind the scenes that they were trying to cover for.
I get that many see this as an 18 pt defensive truimph that Alex alone effed up. But I seriously see it as a potential 50/55-10 blowout that was only 'effed up' by Rapelis having his worst day of his career, and a few sparks of life from the offense towards the end.
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The defense did what it did all year in that game. Bend don't break. They were dealing with injuries all throughout the front 7. Houston wasn't half of himself, and obviously DJ, Bailey, and Howard were out. Hali wasn't right either I'd guess looking at his snap count. Roethlisberger had been poor on the road for the past 2-3 seasons, and the stats show that. I didn't expect Ben to have a great game.
The offense was also what it had been the entire year. There were no injuries outside of Ehinger, which likely held the running game back a little bit. We were at home, coming off of a bye, facing a defense that was not what anyone would consider to be good. Andy's first 15 play script was a success (much like the Tennessee game), but when it came time to make adjustments, the offense curled into a ball. Just as it did vs. TEN, TB, HOU. Even some of our wins were highlighted a below average offense.
Sure, some of that blame could go around to all. But there is no question where the majority of it goes. I've got NFL Game Pass, and I watch the tape of the games on All-22. Smith left a ton of plays on the field. Specifically in the playoff game, as many have posted on here. Despite what you read on here, Maclin is still a really good WR. He got open a lot last year toward the end of the season. Smith just wasn't throwing him the ball. The same can be said for other receivers as well on certain plays.