Comments on: 5 Smoldering Questions on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 2

By: The Bye Week Pro Bowl: The Prognosticators Among Us | Going Deep:

The Bye Week Pro Bowl: The Prognosticators Among Us | Going Deep: — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 09:35:26 +0000

[…] Week 2 Smoldering Questions: […]

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By: Minding the Kicker—Is the Steeler Nation Angst Over Josh Scobee Justified? | Going Deep:

Sun, 27 Sep 2015 13:11:01 +0000

[…] de Acero’s 5 Smoldering Questions this week not surprisingly contained the […]

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By: Steelers Opponent Preview: the St. Louis Rams | Going Deep:

Steelers Opponent Preview: the St. Louis Rams | Going Deep: — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 06:42:20 +0000

[…] Fisher, as Hombre de Acero disconcertingly pointed out in his 5 Smoldering Questions for this week, has an unduly large number of wins against the Steelers. Beginning with his tenure […]

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By: cold_old_steelers_fan

cold_old_steelers_fan — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:31:47 +0000

You realize that if the punter shanks one this weekend it will be your fault. Just saying.

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By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 14:22:33 +0000

As long as you don’t expect a spaghetti squash to taste like spaghetti you’re halfway there. Try it baked or microwaved and then coated with garlic butter. In fact you could cover almost anything with garlic butter and it would improve it : )

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By: cold_old_steelers_fan

cold_old_steelers_fan — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 13:32:06 +0000

After listening to you two go on, I decided to pick up a spaghetti squash to cook up for supper tonight. I haven’t tried one for 35 years (I messed it up badly and was disappointed it didn’t taste like spaghetti). This time I will use a friend’s recipe so it will probably be much better.

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By: pavasteeler

pavasteeler — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 22:26:04 +0000

My 5

1) By far the more important performance was that of the defense. They did a total 180 degree turn from the previous week and showed that my lamenting the demise of a “Steeler” defense may have been expressed too soon. HOWEVER, remember last year? Remember the inability of the team to stack wins until mid-season? Let’s hold off on heralding in a new dynastic defense until they prove they can show the same results against a playoff contending team, which the Niners certainly can’t be called at this point.

2) Yes I’m worried, because there WILL be those games where the offense is flat (ain’t that the truth) and the defense will need all the cushion it can get. This goes for ALL teams BTW. On the flip side, we FINALLY HAVE A PUNTER!

3) Haley needs to find a way to get BOTH Bell and Williams in the backfield. Having that tandem, plus Heath, Brown and the rotation of Bryant, Wheaton or Coates will keep opposing defensive coordinators guessing. Bell can run, receive or pass protect, Williams can run or pass protect, Heath can receive or pass protect, and Brown, is well Brown. Add Wheaton’s abilities EITHER deep or in the slot, and Bryan’ts burgeoning abilities, and as long as the offensive line can protect Ben, NOBODY except the 11 offensive players wearing B & G will have ANY idea where the ball is going.

4) Building from the front to the back. Simple as that. A proven formula tested time and time again; if your front 7 are good, it will buy time to tinker with the back 4. And Colbert & Tomlin know how to tinker.

5) No idea. Some people/teams are just kryptonite to others.

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By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 21:11:42 +0000

1. I too will vote for defense. A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link.
2. I will start to worry when we miss our first two point conversion. I wonder if there is some type of algorithm or some other math stuff that says you need to go for 2 pts X number of times in a game in case your kicker misses an extra point or two?
3. To spell Bell
4. Success/draft position/building a strong team foundation by going D-line first
5. Always liked JF as a coach.

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By: Homer J.

Homer J. — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 19:22:11 +0000

1. DEEEE-fence. We knew the offense was lethal. The defense hadn’t gelled and Shazier hadn’t dominated. We hadn’t seen Heyward and Tuitt dominate the line of scrimmage yet, to allow the LB’s to unleash havoc. Now we have. This was the week the D learned how to dominate and kick butt.

2. Not worried. New snapper, new holder, new town….but a kicker with a proven track record and a huge leg. Scobee has a much stronger leg than Sweet Cheeks, and that means more touchbacks. He’ll straighten out his place kicks for now. My worry is what happens when the skies of November turn gloomy. (Gordon Lightfoot nod for our Canadian fans)

3. He can spell Bell. He can be a second back in certain formations, since both are solid blockers. It’s a long season, and you don’t want to run Bell till the wheels fall off. DeeWill gets at least five touches a game, hopefully in the waning minutes.

4. They’ve needed a shutdown corner for years, but all the shutdown corners are gone before you draft at 15 or higher. So they’ve decided to draft BPA’s to fill other needs. You end up with bums like Heyward, Shazier, Tuitt, and Bell – and before that DeCastro, rather than gambling on the fourth best CB. They’ve messed up with their DB picks for years, but it seems more like luck and their position in the draft than anything else. Starting with Reavis, there have been a number of good ones who were drafted right before the Steelers had their pick.

5. He’s a good coach, with some very good teams. And for a while he had a pretty fair QB who seemed to have the Steelers’ number.

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By: elpalito

elpalito — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 18:45:45 +0000

1 – Defense is more important to me. We knew the offense would rock and roll. It’s nice to see the D doing some rockin’ of their own. Also, is it really ‘losing’ the time of possession battle if you didn’t need the possession at all?

2 – Not worried yet. I think this will be a transition year for kickers, especially with the PATs. Not because of distance, but because they now have to think and worry about a play that was previously as automatic as breathing.

3 – His role should be that of a backup to spell Bell every 3rd or 4th series. That’s all Bell needs.

4 – There’s been a shift in the kinds of players that can be successful in the secondary. There’s more finesse and technique to it now since you can’t steamroll a WR in any way. So that narrows the pool down. (btw, how much money would Deion Sanders – a cover guy who controlled half the field without being physical – how much would he make now?! Possibly one of the rare instances when a player from an earlier era would do even better in the present). And, in truth, the team hasn’t focused on the highest caliber players either. Golson was a reach this year. The team waits to long in other years.
However, that may just be something Steelers fans have to live with. If the FO focuses on the front 7 instead… and it works…I can’t complain.

5 – I don’t have a break down of his W/L record by years…but were his best games in the early 2000s? The Titans were pretty solid for a while. Not title contenders, but tough to play. Sometimes a team just has your number.

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