Einstein

Agreed. Spector struck a nice balance.

Agreed. Stupid decision on Titans part, in my opinion.

Just watched the game again and he exceeded my expectations. Granted, my expectations were low when I saw him jog onto the field... I also think it's telling that McD went to Spector instead of Dorian Williams. What I noticed is that Spector is a bit more reserved than our other LB'ers. He doesn't burst right off the snap, instead opting to wait a split second. This can be bad when you need a short distance stop, but in some ways that proved advantageous on Sunday night. Instead of immediately rushing and getting himself caught in the fray of linemen, that split second wait helped him diagnose the play and make a clean tackle. Below is an example of this that I posted to my Twitter:

Daboll’s last two games in Buffalo is one of the best offensive playoff performances in franchise history. If it had any impact, it was for the good.

Very well could be. But it’s happening with Gabe at a significantly higher clip than any other WR. Whether that be because Allen assumes Gabe will do the wrong thing so he pattern matches, or something Gabe is doing makes Allen unable to read what choice he will take, there is some sort of miscommunication that is happening with Gabe and Gabe alone.

Keep in mind that Pitt’s QB is 6’5 235 pounds and for some reason has decided to play well the last three weeks after being terrible for most of his career. My main concern with the weather is being able to kick field goals if necessary. For whatever reason (injury, confidence, etc) we do not trust Bass to kick long this year. We have not even attempted a field goal over 50 yards in over 10 weeks. We either go for it on 4th down or punt. Add in 20+ mph winds and i’m thinking that field goal range is going to shrink even further.

Would you rather play KC or Baltimore?

That article completely changed my view of McDermott... for the better! The way the team rallied around McD... the way players shouted "we got your back coach" in the locker room after that story came out... told me everything I needed to know.

Yeah I think the people picking Miami don't understand the full picture. If Miami wins, they play Baltimore. Not us. We want Baltimore to play a team that has a chance of beating them. That's not Miami.

Well, they did... Rasul said he was ready go back out there and Dane Jackson said he's got it.

Update: Brian Baldinger says this was in fact an option (choice) route by Gabe Davis. Calls it "miscommunication". When nearly 40% of INT's are when targeting one player who only receives 15% of the targets... there is a problem. @Beck Water

Sorry if this was already posted (this thread is long now), but what an amazing moment for Coach McDermott. He is a great human.

Would be 6-0 if Gabe/Josh didn't miscommunicate in OT against Eagles.

We obviously can't control gameday conditions, but I've always wondered why we don't tarp the field for a few days leading up to the game. I would think that would at least reduce the slipperyness? Or am I just completely off-base with that? Instead of removing snow from the field - make sure it never touches it. It was tough to watch our guys slipping and sliding during the Cinci playoff game.

Saw that too. He really is the heart of that defense. 19 sacks on the year and the likely DPOY unless Garrett nabs it.

Cleveland doesn’t scare me at all. That doesn’t mean they can’t beat us. We can definitely lose to them. But they are probably around 3rd or 4th for me. He has 8 TD’s and 6 INT’s over his last three games. And unlike Josh, he doesn’t make up for it with his athleticism.

Definitely weather related. The weather thread mentioned 20-25 mph winds.

This will be the Steelers 3rd road game in a row. Gotta think that wears on the team a bit:

It’s officially playoff week! TJ Watt, the Steelers best player, is NOT expected to play. For the Bills: - Rasul Douglas left the game with a knee, but was seen celebrating in the locker room. Could be he was simply removed from the game due to an abundance of caution. - Ty Johnson is in the concussion protocal. - We don’t know much about Gabe yet. - Dodson is a probable AC joint sprain according to BangedupBills on Twitter. - Dawkins said his finger almost FELL OFF. I don’t know if that’s hyperbole or not, but we all saw the blood.

I definitely miss the bootlegs. That 4th and 1 to seal the game was begging for a bootleg. Miami committed their entire defense to stop the tush push and there is good chance Allen could have ran for 10+ yards if we called a bootleg.

The existence of other over-the-top posts do not negate the over-the-top posts on Allen. You claimed we do not have those posts with Allen, but we very much do. Disgusting posts about a QB who puts it all on the field for us. Yes I would. I have never said McDermott is a bad coach or an idiot. I have however said that I think we have reached our ceiling with him (AFCCG) and he tends to make bad decisions in-game. Decisions that should be fairly simple to know not to do (like not calling timeout when your opponent is scrambling onto the field to win the game and has no timeouts). And it’s not like he had numerous blitzers in his face and split seconds to decide when he is making these decisions (like Allen does). He has a full set of coordinators and coaches to advise him, a headset to talk with a game strategist, and 25+ seconds (the play clock) to decide. That being said, I have come around on McD. I was highly impressed with how the team rallied around him after the Dunne article - it showed he didn’t lose the locker room and if the players are behind him, so am I.