Re: Kliff you need to commit to the run game early to set up the play-action later, even if it isn't efficient. Agree that's what BRob is so important.
This was a game we ought to have won and I'm glad the team is taking it hard but as a fan, 7-3 and 8-2 don't feel much different to me. Onto Philly.
Kliff committed to the run as much as he could. The issue is we went 3-out 3 of the first 4 drives because we failed on our first 3 3rd downs. The only drive we didn't go 3-out on is the one where we stopped the fake punt and scored.
Kliff never abandoned the run, but we rushed for an average of 2.7 yards per attempt over 22 attempts. The fact is, we had like 3-4 good runs, and the rest were super poor. This is probably due to 3 contributing factors:
1. The steelers defense is legitimately good, extremely well coached, and nasty.
2. Biadasz was playing through REAL pain and not very effective, and Trent Scott was asked to block Watt. That's a recipe for disaster.
3. Brian Robinson was out.
I think the three factors together made running the ball really tough sledding. In hindsight, they probably needed to pull Biadasz at some point because while he was gutting it out, he was getting overwhelmed. Not much you can do about Trent Scott. When 2 of your top 3 tackles are out, you play #4, and this wasn't a great week for it.
I think Kliff was trying to manufacture offense any way he could. When you are playing a disciplined defense with a lot of talent, and you are limited, that's tough. He tried some quick game, WR screens, and even a throw-back pass (which was blown up, but if Brown could have thrown it to Daniels, it's a TD), but nothing really worked consistently.
This team desperately needs a bye week. Luckily after Thursday, they have 2 games in a month. So they'll get some rest. But they're beat up at the wrong part of the season.
 }})
