Random Thoughts on Panthers @ Steelers

Thursday night football. Soooo slow. Soooo boring. It took the Steelers 17 seconds to score two touchdowns! C’mon, guys, this is unacceptable.

Especially when you consider that one of those touchdowns was scored by the defense.

Well, I suppose that was pretty okay after all. I was a bit nervous when the Panthers drove right down the field for a touchdown, but one pass to JuJu took care of that. Here are some other random thoughts:

Anybody see this one coming? Me either.

Love love love the color rush unis. So striking. Of course, any uniform looks good in a win.

Speaking of looking good, a perfect passer rating looks good on Ben. And maybe it is just that the all-black uniforms are slimming, but it looks to me like he has stuck with the new dietary regime. Apparently it is working, as I believe his 17-yard run was longer than anything Cam Newton managed last night.

Loved seeing that the offensive line sits in order on the sidelines.

Was pretty happy for the defense that halftime came. They spent an awful lot of time on the field in the first half.

And of the time they were on the field, a lot of it was spent in the Carolina backfield.

It was so refreshing to see the sideline tantrum being on the other team…

Is it my imagination, or is the offensive playcalling really imaginative and interesting? I wasn’t a Todd Haley basher, and like everyone else in Steeler Nation, I wondered what value Randy Fichtner would add, other than keeping Ben happy, but I am very happy to say there is no question who is doing the better job at this point.

I hope everyone just gets over the Vance McDonald touchdown. It was clearly a makeup call for last year’s Jesse James debacle.

As a Steelers fan, I’m not quite sure how to handle a game the Steelers have well in hand early on. I found myself imagining ways they could blow it, about halfway through the third quarter, with the Steelers up by 24 points. But then Jesse James scored and I decided I could relax.

Does everyone love the defenses’ “group photo” celebration as much as I do? And maybe the defense can get some respect now.

Should Eric Reid have been ejected? I don’t know. I do know, however, that I wouldn’t want David DeCastro to be mad at me. Or Pouncey for that matter. That was scary.

As the game wore on we saw a lot of the Sad Cam face. I wonder what sort of outfit he has for his post-game conference? I’m guessing he brings two – one for if they win and another, more discreet one for if they lose. Adrian suggested Sackcloth and Ashes.

There should a been a Mercy Rule sort of deal to end the game back about the middle of the fourth quarter. It was kind of tough to watch the rest of the game. Not that I’m complaining…

Seven different Steelers scored. That’s all you need to know about this game. So I’ll stop. What was your favorite moment? Mine might have been the first one—the 75 yard touchdown by JuJu. But there were a lot of choices…

15 comments

  • Favorite moment………there were so many choices but I would have to say Ben standing flat footed in the backfield waiting for a very long time for AB to break free with zero pressure on his clean pocket. Great job O-line!!

    Liked by 1 person

  • I think Randy Fichtner was a little annoyed that Norv Turner was the OC being so consistently lauded as a creative genius. I even see that double reverse as a kind of “See, we can do this too.”

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    • Good theory. It’s interesting how when Fichtner calls those sort of plays, they work. They so seldom seemed to in the Todd Haley era.

      Liked by 1 person

    • To be a bit pedantic, that wasn’t a double reverse. Handing the ball to the running back who happens to be running in one direction, and then that player handing it to someone coming back in another direction is a reverse, not a double reverse. The same thing when the quarterback handing the ball to a wide receiver handing the ball coming on an end around, who then flips the ball off to another receiver coming in the opposite direction is not a double reverse, it is a reverse. I learned that from John Madden once. Announcers get it wrong all the time.

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  • Sackcloth and ashes! Perfect and punny.

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  • To be fair to the (touch wood he’s back) Wizard of Boz, 8 different Steelers scored…

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  • No question that both the Eric Reid ejection and the Vance McDonald touchdown catch could have gone the other way. Was Al Riveron taking a personal day yesterday or was it because weren’t playing the Patriots?

    My favorite moment was the near sack for a safety by TJ Watt followed by the pick six by Vince Williams.

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    • It was because there was no way to affect the outcome to the detriment of the Steelers.
      Now the NFL can point to those and say, look you sometimes get calls too.

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  • Homer’s favorite moment was Mr. DeCastro and Mr. Pouncey having a word with Mr. Reid, and what seemed to be the entire Steeler team and the entire city of Pittsburgh joining in. Band of brothers, anyone?

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    • DeCastro never risked a penalty. The initial bump wasn’t enough to knock Reid down, just enough to let him know he wasn’t trilled with his actions. Then he just planted himself in Reid’s grill, until Pouncey got there and removed Reid from the fire, and right into the frying pan.
      Overall the team was pretty under control for just how pissed they were. Maybe this Tomlin kid isn’t half bad.

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  • I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s game though I was shocked by the officiating. I have never seen it so lopsidedly in favour of the Steelers since I started watching them.

    I am not certain I have “a” favourite moment. The game was studded with them, like a box of raisin bran that inexplicably contains 4 scoops of raisins. The only non-raisins that come to mind were Dobbs not throwing a TD and Artie Bruns having a very poor outing (I do feel for the kid).

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  • Favorite part of the game was seeing Bud Dupree constantly in the Panther backfield and not just being washed out of the play, but bending the arc, getting legit pressure and hits.

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