Beer We Go Steelers

Jerome Bettis gets inducted into the Hall of Fame! Bettis put up over 15,000 yards from scrimmage with 91 touchdowns! 

Here is the Beer We Go Steelers 2014 Final Roster Analysis. It would be a huge mistake to call this season a failure. While winning the Super Bowl is ALWAYS the goal, winning the division was pretty impressive. This team was fun to watch but was badly flawed specifically in the pass rush and the secondary.

GRADES:

Coaching: A-, Mike Tomlin had a great season, I don’t care what the media said and the crazy fans. say This was Tomlin’s best work as Coach. He maximized Talent, he kept the team focused and at the end of the day he won! Is there room for improvement, of course! Losing to the Jets and the Bucs was AWFUL, but for the most part the Steelers went about as far as the talent could go. Todd Haley year three, finally started rolling. He protected Ben and the offense was original and fun to watch. When they were rolling they were hard to stop.  Dick LeBeau, once again comes under fire after a very mediocre year by the defense. The secondary’s decline continued and not picking a CB in the draft haunted the Steelers all year.  The Secondary was the Achilles heel clearly. The pass rush was not up to Steelers standards and did nothing to protect a weak secondary. I still stand by LeBeau, he is a GREAT coach and went far with the talent he had. Mike Munchack, gets a mention for his work with the O-Line, who improved dramatically.

QB: A, Big Ben had a great year and followed up a terrific 2013 with a better 2014. He struggled in the playoff game, but he is clearly one of the best in the business, one game can’t change that. Bruce Gradkowski and Landry Jones were non factors.

RB: A+, Last year I predicted this will be a sure A. I was right! Le’Veon Bell is awesome and was voted the teams MVP. He set the Steelers record for yards from scrimmage. Will Johnson, did another great job at fullback! The only negative the Steelers had very little help behind him. LeGarrette Blount was a great backup but his lousy attitude hurt the team and he was gone. Dri Archer was never utilized properly, Josh Harris showed some signs.

WR: A+, The best unit on the Steelers, Antonio Brown is amazing and one of the best players in the NFL. He consistently played great all year. Everyone in the unit contributed and the Steelers are seven players deep here.

TE: A-, Heath Miller, was back 100% and his numbers and performance showed it. His backups both performed when called upon, the A belongs to Heath though!

OL: B-, After years of being a weak point, the Offensive Line looks to have turned the corner. Three of the five starters played exceptional, Dave DeCastro was great, Maurkice Pouncey bounced back and was outstanding and Kelvin Beachum, had a great season at LT. Ramon Foster is serviceable and contributed and Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams look like works in progress. Both made strides!

DL: C, The defensive line put together a pretty good season and made some adjustments to get better. “Steelhead” Heyward continues to be a monster! Brett Keisel put together a solid workmanlike season until he was injured and provided great leadership. Stephon Tuitt and Steve McLendon look like they are improving. This unit looks like it will take the biggest leap next year. Dan McCullers and Cam Thomas both had some moments.

LB: C, This is no longer the Strength of the Steelers. Lawrence Timmons continues to be a consistent and excellent performer. Jason Worilds was a clear disappointment and should not get a huge contract. Sean Spence and Vince Williams kept getting better as the season went on. The Steelers brought back James Harrison and after a slow start lit it up and played great. While his best days are clearly behind him, he made a big impact. The Steelers pass rush was non-existent and the run defense was leaky at best. I like Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier but both were non-factors. This unit has huge upside but didn’t perform this season.

DB: C-, The Steelers secondary was as lousy as predicted. Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu struggled. Troy still has a presence and showed some flashes but he is on the way out. Ike Taylor was a borderline disaster and he clearly doesn’t have a lot left. Mike Mitchell was inconsistent at best. Cortez Allen looked lost and was eventually benched. He has the tools but is just struggling. William Gay played well and would be a good number 2 if the Steelers had a number 1. Brice McCain and Antwon Blake are both worth a second look, but both were exposed several times. This is the number one need in the draft.

Special Teams: B-, Great work by Shaun Suisham. He had one bad week but for the most part played well and was consistent. Brad Wing was erratic at best and Greg Warren played well. Robert Golden did a great job in coverage. Dri Archer was a non factor, Antonio Brown was great but honestly, I hold my breath when he returns punts. With what he means to the offense the Steelers need to rethink that.

BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!

The Steelers made too many mistakes and couldn’t overcome the loss of Le’Veon Bell dropping their playoff game to the hated Ravens. Two late Ben Roethlisberger interceptions sealed the Ravens victory.

The Steelers never seemed to be able to get on track. Roethlisberger struggled all game missing targets and he was terrorized by the Baltimore pass rush, getting sacked five times, including one which sent him from the game for a few plays.

Although the Steelers had the No. 2 offense in the NFL and No. 1 passing offense, they could only manage three Shaun Suisham field goals in the first half. They didn’t score their first touchdown until the fourth quarter.  A VERY questionable holding call on Kelvin Beachum negated a Dri Archer Touchdown. Antonio Brown put up good numbers but was mostly held in check and even Heath Miller had a drop and a fumble.

Shamarko Thomas made two huge plays on Special Teams. One was terrible; he nailed Jacoby Jones about four yards out of bounds and gave the Ravens great field position after a 15 yards penalty. It look like the Steelers were about to get back into the game. He did make a great play blocking a punt that caused a safety.

The refs were way to involved and the game was terribly over officiated and the officiating was completely one way…towards the Ravens. But that certainly wasn’t the reason for their victory.

The Ravens deserve all the credit, they turned it over just once in a key spot, but never panicked. They scored on six of nine possessions and had an answer every time it seemed the Steelers were ready to grab momentum. It was a great effort by Joe Flacco who handled the Steelers defense.

This might also be the end of an era for the defense. James Harrison and Troy Polamalu most likely played their last games as Steelers. Harrison played well, he helped cause the Ravens fumble and was a step or two short of making a huge difference in the game. Polamalu made several nice plays and led the team in tackles.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am going with Troy Polamalu and James Harrison. Both made contributions in the game and both would make the All-Time Steelers roster if their careers ended last night. These guys are the epitome of what a Steeler should be.  Also considered, Antonio Brown, no surprise there, how about Bruce Gradkowski who came off the bench and put together a huge conversion.

Where I watched the game: Buckley’s in Center Moriches, I watched with KGB and my buddy Jeff. We hung out with the two other Steelers fans there.  The snacks of choice were Boneless Asian Wings, Corn Fritters and Cheeseburger Sliders. The beer of choice was Miller Lite, “old faithful” but it didn’t translate to a victory. The highlight of the night was a DJ was there, KGB had them play Renegade and the Steelers caused the Forsett fumble. I think we both missed watching with the kids!

My Stat of the week: The Steelers turned the ball over three times. There is no formula for success that includes three turnovers. That is simply not good enough

My thoughts on Next Week: I think everyone in Denver is smiling and everyone in New England is extremely worried. The Colts are an indoor team and a mediocre version of the Broncos. I don’t see how they have any chance in Denver. The Steelers would have most likely lost as well but would have whipped up on Peyton Manning. The Patriots would have killed the Colts also. The Ravens are one of the only teams that can walk into New England and honestly beat the Pats. Look for the Ravens to head to Denver for the AFC Championship in two weeks.

We will be posting the end of season report and end of season grades. Keep checking back

We have said it before and will continue to say it, like the epoch of the current calendar, there is a BC in the Steelers calendar. That is “Before Chuck” Noll. Before Chuck Noll, the Steelers were the laughing stock of football. From 1933-1968 the Steelers won 156 games against 240 losses and 18 tie games. The only coaches to post winning seasons were Jock Sutherland and Walt Keisling during the Steelers isolation in the wilderness. Then Chuck Noll showed up and EVERYTHING changed. He built a dynasty brick by brick and he began what Coach Tomlin calls “The Standard”. The Steelers established their place in the pantheon of NFL teams and are now a model franchise.

When Chuck Noll left in 1991, he not only won four Super Bowls still an NFL record, he laid the foundation for Coach Bill Cowher’s early success as Steelers Head Coach. Despite that, I had a pretty negative opinion of Coach Noll. The press constantly grilled him as being out of touch, my more in depth knowledge of him was from Terry Bradshaw’s book, which was extremely negative. Also my non Steelers sport experiences is with the NY Yankees. In my lifetime the Steelers have had three coaches. The Yankees had three Managers in one season when I was 10 years old, so a Coach for twenty years seemed so foreign to me.

But then I heard Jack Ham’s Hall of Fame Induction speech and I began to investigate it. The more I read about Coach Noll, I began to understand his importance in Steelers history. Not only that, I have absolutely tried to follow his leadership style in my day to day business. The lessons I have learned translate so well to the type of business I want to build and continue to build.

The more I learned about Terry Bradshaw, the more I learned you should always evaluate your sources when forming opinions. Bradshaw who used to be my favorite Steeler is very self -serving. What I can say about Coach Noll, that best describes him, “He knew he was smarter than you, he just didn’t care if you knew it.” He toyed with the press and he absolutely never changed his style to please anyone.

Being from NY with two football teams including one which is a marquee NFL Franchise and one that is always good for headlines, it was very difficult to follow the Steelers in the 80’s and early 90’s. I went to college in Pa. and then I was a Steelers regular every week. I saw Coach Noll’s last full season every game and while the results were mediocre by NFL standards his coaching and demeanor are something to be admired and emulated. He did some of his best coaching the last three years of his career.

Extreme disappointment was the best way to describe my feelings when the Steelers hired Coach Cowher. I wanted Joe Greene. Right wrong or indifferent Green was my first choice because of who he was in the annals of Steeler history, he is the greatest Steeler player and would be on the Steelers Mount Rushmore next to “The Chief”, Coach Noll, and Ambassador Rooney.

Coach Cowher was a Brown for goodness sake and he coached for the Browns. Why would we shove aside a Steelers legend for this jabroni, was my first thought. Then a funny thing happened, I saw him coach and it was love at first site! ABSOLUTELY the Rooney’s nailed this one. He was exactly what they and the fan base was looking for. He was fiery and a great football coach. I probably saw 95% of Coach Cowher’s games in his entire tenure.  It was a great ride and he will always be my favorite coach. He had a very unfair knock as to never being able to win the “Big One”. Total nonsense, he was in the big one’s because of his coaching. He didn’t win the big one’s because he never had a quality QB. He built great defenses and fairly competent albeit one-dimensional offenses but like his mentor Marty Schottenheimer he won with sub-standard QB’s . Seriously, Neil O’Donnell v. Troy Aikman, the best part was, despite being double digit underdogs, the Steelers damn near pulled that Super Bowl out. How about Kordell Stewart v. John Elway? The QB is the single most important position in sports, while not the only contributing factor to winning, it is the biggest determining factor.

I have nothing but respect for Coach Cowher and what he built here. When he finally got his QB he went back to the AFC Championship against the cheating Patriots and then eventually won his Super Bowl and cemented his Hall of Fame Candidacy. The Steelers won the most games in the NFL during his tenure as coach.

When the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin, I was, wait for it…disappointed. I wanted Russ Grimm because why change direction? We built a great foundation, what is the purpose in changing? Grimm was a Pittsburgh guy at heart, a former O-lineman and one tough guy. Well again, I am first to admit I got that one wrong too. Coach Tomlin was the perfect fit and again the Rooney’s got it right. What I also liked is for the first time in my life, I am roughly the same age as Coach Tomlin. So I identify with him so much and look to his example of leadership.

He not only comes from the Coach Noll, coaching tree, he was smart enough to recognize the value of Coach LeBeau and he brought in Todd Haley, who has transformed himself from a pariah to a valuable asset.

He is the best of all worlds, the perfect amalgam of Coach Noll and Coach Cowher, He is extremely smart like Noll and a great game day coach and he is passionate like Cowher and non-risk averse. He has never posted a losing season and is easily one of the top five coaches in the NFL. I laugh when I hear the fire Tomlin chants, who would you rather have? He was the youngest Coach to win a Super Bowl and he is just about to enter the second act of his Coaching Career with players he drafted and developed. The team the Steelers have built while badly flawed, is still very exciting, dynamic and is getting better every week.

To put his impact on the franchise into perspective, I have put together the first eight years of Coach Noll’s, Coach Cowher’s and Coach Tomlin’s tenure:

Coach Tomlin has the highest winning percentage of the three! Now to be fair, keep in mind Coach Tomlin and Coach Cowher inherited great talent and personnel, Coach Noll inherited a train wreck. He had bunch of guys, that he addressed as “not talented enough” and he wiped most of them out in three years. If you ditch Coach Noll’s first season he blows by both of them in winning percentage. Also lets point out that Tomlin had the most seasoned QB at the time of his ascension.

But he still had to coach to success and guess what he did!  He out performed both his predecessors. Tomlin is a great coach. But he is also our kind of coach, carrying himself with the dignity of Coach Noll, the fiery attitude of Coach Cowher and his own private and confident swagger!

The Steelers took the lead early, maintained it and walked away with a win over the Bengals and the AFC North Division Championship! It was the first division title in four years, the sixth this century, and it took the last game of the regular season to earn it! The Steelers are now the No. 3 seed in the AFC and will host Baltimore in the wild-card round Saturday night.

The Steelers may have paid a heavy price losing newly elected team MVP Le’Veon Bell to a hyper extended knee. Le’Veon Bell was held to 20 yards on eight carries, but caught five big passes for 61 yards. The Bengals were determined to stop the run and that was there focus, so the Steelers passing game needed to step up. It did in a big way.

Despite missing pregame drills because of the flu, Big Ben Roethlisberger passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns. He played well despite two key turnovers that the Bengals converted into points. His primary target was…no surprise, Antonio Brown! Brown finished with 7 catches for 128 and a Punt Return for a Touchdown! No play was bigger though than his fourth quarter 63-yard touchdown back breaker. Martavis Bryant also scored a touchdown on a 21 Yard bubble screen where Heath Miller and Markus Wheaton destroyed the Bengals defenders.

The defense played a very good game, they sometimes struggled with the Bengals upbeat tempo but again bent but never broke and got the timely turnovers needed to win. Antwon Blake took the Bengals out of field goal range with a strip of the sure handed AJ Green. Green also had his bell rung by Mike Mitchell. Will Allen did a terrific job helping to keep Green in check in the first half. Brice McCain picked off two Andy Dalton passes one of which led to a Steelers score.

The pass rush and run defense was effective albeit not spectacular. Sean Spence’s fairy tale season continues as the Steelers continue to get better up front. Lawrence Timmons and Jason Worilds both played great. Cam Heyward might be the best defensive player the Steelers have right now.

The Steelers put together a great special teams effort and won the battle on that side of the ball. Brad Wing, did throw a pick on a botched sneak play, but it was well timed and the Steelers forced a Bengals turnover soon after.

It was a big win for Coach Tomlin as he claims his fourth division title in eight years!!! I predicted the Steelers to go 11-5 this season and they met expectations.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!!!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am going with Antonio Brown! The numbers speak for themselves and he has been outstanding all season and the most consistent performer. Due respect to Le’Veon Bell but Antonio Brown is the Steelers MVP and he gets my game beer!

Where I watched the game: At the house, with KGB sleeping in my arms for most of the second half. My beer of choice was Smithwicks, Special Winter Ale, it was awesome. We ate at Buckley’s in Center Moriches for dinner as I was pacing a hole in the floor.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buckleys-Irish-Pub/141369932624782

On a side note, my Cousins Vinny both were at the game! They represented Beer We Go NY with the Tom Janicki! Great pick for them as their first game!

My Stat of the week: Seven Catches for 128 Yards, while that represents the usual line for Antonio Brown, what it did was solidify his place as number one in receptions and yard in the NFL! He finished an amazing year with 129 Receptions, 1698 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns! Great Work!

My thoughts on Next Week: I want to pound the crap out of the Ravens. I am so sick of their trash talking fans and trash talking players. Time to put up or shut up! Seriously, CAN’T wait for this one. Trying to figure out how I can get to the ‘Burgh for the game!

Today is the day our fortunes changed and the Same Old Steelers became the STEELERS!

Quotes about the Immaculate Reception (From Wikipedia):

Last chance for the Steelers. Bradshaw trying to get away. And his pass is…broken up by Tatum. Picked off! Franco Harris has it! And he’s over! Franco Harris grabbed the ball, a deflection! Five seconds to go! He grabbed it with five seconds to go and scored!

You talk about Christmas miracles. Here’s the miracle of all miracles. Watch this one now. Bradshaw is lucky to even get rid of the ball! He shoots it out. Jack Tatum deflects it right into the hands of Harris. And he sets off. And the big 230-pound rookie slipped away from Warren and scored.

—Gowdy, describing an instant replay of the play on NBC

Hang onto your hats, here come the Steelers out of the huddle. Twenty-two seconds remaining. It’s down to one big play, fourth down and 10 yards to go. Terry Bradshaw at the controls. And Bradshaw… back and looking again. Bradshaw, running out of the pocket, looking for somebody to throw to, fires it downfield, and there’s a collision! [volume increases] And it’s caught out of the air! The ball is pulled in by Franco Harris! Harris is going for a touchdown for Pittsburgh! Harris is going…5 seconds left on the clock. Franco Harris pulled in the football, I don’t even know where he came from!

—Jack Fleming, on the Steelers radio broadcast

We wanted to hit Barry Pearson with the post. The pass protection broke down so all of the timing was off. Bradshaw rolls out to his right and I thought he was going to get tackled, but he ducked and he came up and he fired the ball. Now, from the angle I’m coming from, the outside in, Jack Tatum’s coming from an angle straight ahead. What I was going to do, if nothing else, is beat him to the point. We got there about the same time. Now, if the ball hit me, it bounced a hell of a ways. If the ball hit him, he wasn’t aiming at it, he was going at my head. I can tell you this: I did not take my eyes off the ball, as you can tell from the way that my body was. What happens from that point on was truly Immaculate.

—Frenchy Fuqua on the play.^[38]

The play that changed a city.

—The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette^[39]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMuUBZ_DAeM

The Steelers outplayed the Chiefs and booked their trip to the postseason, for the first time in two seasons! It was a classic Steelers game of yesterday, with efficient QB play, steady if not spectacular offense and bone crushing hard hitting defense. Six sacks a huge stop on fourth down, a big turnover, big plays in the red zone it was old times for the defense.

Do to time restraints I won’t have the game report this week.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=400554434

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!!!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am going with Mike Tomlin. The whispers were rampant this season that the Steelers have lost their edge and are no longer an exceptional franchise. Well guess what, for the fifth time in eight years he has double digit wins and despite some personnel limitations he has the Steelers set to be the most feared team in the league, no one wants to see the Steelers in the playoffs. This was his best coaching job so far! He also will finish with a better record then Coach Cowher after eight seasons. Also considered: Silverback, who came off the bench and played great, Cam Heyward and Antonio Brown (Of course)

Where I watched the game: At the house, watched with my little guys again, Dante and Little Miss Tailgate. KGB also watched in between running around. My beer of choice was Guinness Kilkenny, Cream Ale, it was great. I cooked Sausage and Peppers with Peppers I cured myself.

My Stat of the week: One sack for the Chiefs defense, unless something horribly goes wrong next week, this will mark the fewest times Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked in his career while playing at least 15 games. That is a testament to Todd Haley and the play of the offensive line.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers play a tough Bengals team for supremacy for the AFC North. The game is now a night game and prime time. My Cousins are going to the game with the Janick. Look for a tight and tough game!

The Steelers outlasted the Falcons cruising to victory in Atlanta. The game was reminiscent of days past where the Steelers simply just outplayed the Falcons on all sides of the ball. It was a tight well put together game plan and the Steelers did a good job executing it.

BEER WE GO is running out of adjectives to describe Antonio Brown. So I will just let the numbers speak for themselves, 10 catches for 123 yards and he broke Hines Ward’s single season record for catches. A toe tapping 28 yarder was the highlight of a great day and setup a Le’Veon Bell Touchdown!

The offense moved the ball virtually at will. Ben Roethlisberger didn’t throw a touchdown but he was sharp and made every play that he needed including converting three big third downs in the fourth quarter, including to the back breaking completion to Heath Miller. Roethlisberger finished with 360 yards passing and no picks.

The Linebackers played a complete and solid game, despite not having a recorded sack. Sean Spence is rounding into form and was all over the field. Vince Williams played well and has helped fixed the leaky run defense. Lawrence Timmons continues to be the anchor for the defense. The pass rush was not flashy but effective. Jason Worilds had a sack but it was negated by over officiating.

The secondary is still the weak link in the chain. Matt Ryan torched the Steelers secondary, they gave up 310 yards and two touchdowns. There were sign of life however, Mike Mitchell played his best game as a Steeler and William Gay had his third pick six of the season! Antwon Blake and Brice McCain both hung tough but were over matched several times.

The Steelers coaching put together a great game plan. “We’re not a perfect group by any stretch,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “but we’re a group that will fight to the end together.”

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!!!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am going with William Gay. He stepped in front of a pass for Harry Douglas and returned the interception 52 yards for a touchdown, his third scoring return this season. Also Considered: Antonio Brown, who caught 10 passes and I honestly feel like we need to send him a case of beer.

Where I watched the game: At the house, watched with my little guys, Dante and Little Miss Tailgate. KGB watched most of the game and helped with the cooking, I cooked Spaghetti and homemade Meatballs. My beer of choice was Guinness Generous Ale, the Holiday Ale, freaking awesome.

My Stat of the week: Antonio Brown had 10 receptions for 123 yards, also setting a franchise record for catches in a season: 115, eclipsing the 112 by Hines Ward in 2002. ( I was at the game when Ward broke the record.) Le’Veon Bell also now holds the Steelers single season record for Yards from Scrimmage breaking Barry Fosters’ record!

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers play a tough Chiefs team. The Steelers need to keep tighten up the defense and they can pull this thing together.

The Steelers dropped 25 fourth quarter points on the Bengals and kept their division hopes alive!  It was a back and forth battle for the first 3-quarters but in the end the Steelers made the big plays.

It all starts and begins with Ben Roethlisberger and Sunday the Steelers lived by that. When Ben struggled the Steelers offense struggled, but he pulled it together and led an on the road fourth quarter comeback. Which included a huge 96 yard Touchdown Pass to Martavis Bryant. (BTW my son Dante called the play before it happened) On the day Ben finished with 350 yards and three touchdowns.

If the offense starts with Ben, Le’Veon Bell is the one who makes it go! He had a monster day and was nearly unstoppable in the second half. He racked up a mind boggling 110 yards in the fourth quarter behind a great pulling scheme with Dave DeCastro and Heath Miller leading the way.  The Steelers chewed up the Bengals on the ground and demolished their front seven. Miller also caught a Touchdown!

As great as Bell and Ben were, Antonio Brown is just ridiculous and could be the best player on the Steelers. He makes tough catches, he gets open and is clearly the Steelers go to guy. He racked up another nine catches for the fifth time in seven games. He had well over 100 yards and made the plays that were needed. The WRs had a great day highlighted by Bryant’s bomb and nice contributions by Lance Moore and Markus Wheaton.

The down side is the secondary is clearly the weak link as AJ Green torched the Steelers secondary. Mike Mitchell and Ike Taylor had awful performances as did Troy Polamalu who was caught out of position several times on both the run and on deep passes. Once given the lead the defensive backs held on and played much better.

The Steelers front seven played well and it was a nice showing for Steelhead Heyward and Stephon Tuitt in his first start. Tuitt laid out Andy Dalton and sent him to the bench for a few series. Arthur Moats had the turning point in the game recovering a Dalton fumble. The Steelers also limited the run significantly. This is where stats need help to tell the Story on a Read Option play Andy Dalton scurried for 20 yards to take the lead, Lawrence Timmons and Troy were caught out of position. If you take that play out the Steelers held the Bengals in check and when they went to the Read Option again Arthur Moats was ready for it and forced the turnover.

With all that said, the day belonged to the Coaches who had the Steelers fired up and ready to play. If the Jets and Bucs game were letdowns, this was a must win and the Steelers had the right game plan to deliver on it.

BEER WE GO STEELERS BEER WE GO

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am going with Le’Veon Bell who had a big day with 185 yards on the ground and 50 catches in the air. Also Considered: Antonio Brown, who caught nine passes, Big Ben who threw for 350 yards and Arthur Moats who had the game changing fumble recovery.

Where I watched the game: At the house, in between decorating! Watched with my little guys, Luc, Dante and Little Miss Tailgate. They were laughing at me because I kept saying “I love that play” when the Steelers were pulling Heath and DeCastro. KGB was in and out and cooked an awesome dinner, Chicken Bruschetta. My beer of choice was Guinness Blonde to start and left over IC Light from last weeks tailgate.

My Stat of the week: 110 yards in the fourth quarter for Le’Veon Bell. Bell now has 200 yards from scrimmage for the third game in a row, joining one other player in NFL history, some guy named Walter Payton! When you are mentioned in the same breath as Walter Payton and it is only you and Walter Payton that is some accomplishment!

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers CAN NOT let down against the Falcons, this is easily the most winnable game of the final three. Which is why I am scared. The Steelers match up very well with the Falcons so I don’t think it will be a repeat of the Bucs and Jets.

With my entire family and the Beer We Go crew in attendance, the Steelers played lousy all day and in the end couldn’t overcome two turnovers, dropping a “must win” to the Saints.

Ben Roethlisberger had one of the worst games in his career, while his numbers will look good on paper, the game was an absolute wreck. He completed three of his first nine passes, missed a wide open Heath Miller several times and was intercepted twice in the game. If the Saints didn’t drop interceptions, he could have been picked off as many as five times. Very rarely do the Steelers have the disadvantage at QB, Sunday Drew Brees clearly out played Ben and carved up the Steelers weak secondary.

The defense is terrible, plain and simple.  It starts up front. This should have been a strength for the Steelers but now looks like a liability. The pass rush has been non-existent and the defensive line couldn’t hold the point of attack on the run.

The Linebackers are not getting after the QB. Jason Worilds and James Harrison both had their moments but both struggled. The Steelers, secondary couldn’t have played much worse even with Troy and Ike coming back. Both Willie Gay and Ike Taylor were burned by Kenny Stills for long passes during the game. Antwon Blake and Brice McCain both made critical mistakes. Troy Polamalu and Mike Mitchell were both non-existent.

The bright spots were of course Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Bell was nearly unstoppable in the first half and Antonio Brown played the second half with a chip on his shoulder and the numbers were hard fought and earned. The other bright spot was Heath Miller who did a tremendous job and completely outshined Jimmy Graham. He finished with eight catches and 82 yards.

The Steelers rallied but in the end made way to many mistakes to pull this one out. Given extra time off from the bye and playing a team that had lost three in a row and was coming off a Monday night whipping didn’t provide any advantage and in the end the Steelers lost once again to a team that was under .500.

The Steelers need to figure out what type of team they are!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am going with Antonio Brown who had a big day again with eight catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. He added to his record and he played with a nasty edge. Also Considered: Le’Veon Bell, who played great as well and easily deserved it. Brett Keisel who was all over the field and most likely played his last game in the NFL. I am proud I was there for it, no matter what the score is.

Where I watched the game: In the ‘Burgh with my entire family! It was an unbelievable experience, between the Duquesne Incline, Primanti Brothers (3x), the Strip district, Peppis an amazing Tailgate with the Beer We Go Steelers Original Crew, Louis Lipps, Robin Cole and Barry Foster in attendance. We sat in the 524 section with Beer We Go President, Tom Janicki!

My Stat of the week: 5 Touchdowns thrown by Drew Brees who absolutely exposed the Steelers defense and the secondary.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers need to show up and give the Bengals a run for their money. The Steelers are capable of beating the Bengals but need to play much better!!!

SPECIAL REPORT FROM “LITTLE MISS TAILGATE”:
Hi everyone “Little Miss Tailgate” here and I haven’t written in the blog in so long and I am happy to write again.

This past weekend went to Pittsburgh and had a lot of fun. At the tailgate I hung out with the one and only Captain Tailgate and the BWG Steelers crew. Something really exciting happened, I had an amazing opportunity to meet Robin Cole. He was very nice. During the tailgate out of nowhere people started chucking marshmallows at other people and it was hilarious. I also got to see the Great Hall in Heinz Field which was amazing.

During the first quarter of the game we started off great and Le’Veon Bell took the spotlight with 75 rushing yards.

It wasn’t until the second quarter where we started falling behind and the Saints took the lead for good.

The Steelers had some key injuries, during the game Brett Keisel tore one of his triceps and Troy Polamalu had a stinger. 🙁

I think that the Steelers best player of the game was Le’Veon Bell because he did an amazing job running the ball. I gave him an A+.

I hope you guys enjoyed this and I will be writing more soon.