[GTripp0012]

I really like the tags in this thread.

I posted this verbatim in the game thread, and then on my blog, but it's just going to get covered in that thread so I'll repost it here. If you read it already, you've been warned as not to waste time reading this post again.

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Late byes are a much bigger disadvantage than anyone realizes. You spend all of October and November playing teams that are coming off byes, or have recently had their bye. With that said, this team went 2-2 against teams that already had their bye, and that's pretty good.

We got our asses crushed tonight. Once that homefield advantage wore off in the first quarter, they killed us on both sides of the ball. Blache called an awful game, but with the way the offensive line played, it probably doesn't matter.

We got outplayed and outcoached, but it is what it is. The game doesn't mean anything in terms of tiebreakers, and if we go out and kill Dallas, everyone forgets this one. It's going to be well in the past by the next time we play.

The only thing we have to fix is on the offensive line, and it's the same issues we had in the last four games. Totally unblocked guys coming through on the quarterback are completely unacceptable for an offense as strong as us. Jon Jansen can't play tackle in the NFL anymore. We have to stop pretending like he can. He's a utility lineman at this point. Stephon Heyer should start at RT. Casey Rabach probably shouldn't be playing in the NFL because he can't read blitz packages at all. I feel bad for poor Randy Thomas, stuck between those two against the pass, theres just no winning.

Samuels, I feel, didn't play all that bad. The holding calls were likely a direct result of his lack of mobility, but when you start talking about weak links, Samuels is about 7th on the list for the offense tonight. We have two gaping holes on the offensive line.

And like pretty much every QB, Campbell is inaccurate when he gets rattled.

Also: Steelers are way better with Leftwich at QB than Roethlisberger. That's no mistake. Ben takes sacks, Byron throws the football. That's the difference. If they can protect Ben, he's great, but this Steelers team is better with Leftwich, who was amazing tonight.