POLL: Does Lombardi's Playcalling Stink?

[Velo]

Apparently this staff is putting Palmer ahead of Guyton since he now has more receptions than him. So yes i also put Johnson ahead of Guyton but if Johnson was not picking up this offense either, then his best spot here is the PS right now , but he has since signed with the Raiders.

Now Gruden is gone but they are still running his offense so i dont expect Johnson to pick that up this season if he was having trouble with others. Took Carr 2 years to get it down. His is a pretty complex system. Maybe after this season and he is still on their roster, they will hire another HC whose system is easier. Who knows, who cares what the Raiders do.

I think the Raiders signed Tyron Johnson because they are really unsure about DeSean Jackson. They signed Jackson to replace Ruggs' speed, but did you see the bizarre thing Jackson did in his one and only catch as a Raider? He not only fumble to the Chiefs, the move he made was bizarre. I think the Raiders signed Johnson as insurance against a Jackson total flameout.

[gzubeck]

I think the Raiders signed Tyron Johnson because they are really unsure about DeSean Jackson. They signed Jackson to replace Ruggs' speed, but did you see the bizarre thing Jackson did in his one and only catch as a Raider? He not only fumble to the Chiefs, the move he made was bizarre. I think the Raiders signed Johnson as insurance against a Jackson total flameout.

It was a punch out and maybe he's a bit rusty. When you have two chiefs on you ball security should be number #1 at this point. He feels stupid....

[Velo]

It was a punch out and maybe he's a bit rusty. When you have two chiefs on you ball security should be number #1 at this point. He feels stupid....

It's not just really the fumble, the move he made after catching the ball was really bizarre. Instead of just running upfield he curled around back into the DBs.

[Boltjolt]

Generally speaking, I would use targets and not receptions as a more accurate indicator of the player the coaches value more within the offense.

The team appears to be transitioning into using Palmer more than Guyton.

Since there is no question that the team has been misusing Guyton all along this season, I do not see this as any sort of evidence that Palmer is better than Guyton. I see this as additional evidence of Lombardi's incompetence.

I fault the coaches, including Staley, for throwing away a talented receiver like Johnson so that they could keep 3 QBs, a crappy WR like Hill, only 5 WRs overall and additional bad players like Pipkins. It is the job of the coaches to unlock the talent of the players.

It is poor coaching to force a system on players regardless of the talent and abilities of those players. When training camp began, we had a QB with a special ability to throw deep passes and two WRs that had an elite ability with their speed to gain separation on those routes to make big, game changing plays. We cut one of the players and refuse to take full advantage of the ability of the other two. That is poor coaching.

We have replaced the Anthony Lynn anvil of calling too many running plays (especially on early downs) with the Joe Lombardi anvil of not calling enough deep passing plays and misusing players all over the place within the passing game.

Some posters have noted that the offense is fine because it is producing at about the same overall rate as last year. They have forgotten that last year's offense was not firing on all cylinders. Its sickness was one of the reasons why Lynn was fired. The offense is sick this year too. The players are far more talented than the result that is being produced.

It is not a coincidence that the one game that produced our greatest offensive output featured two 40+ yard TD passes.

As I stated previously, our defensive philosophy is to prevent the big play and make opponents execute sustained drives against us. So, our defense is predicated on the notion that big plays for the opponent are a big deal. Yet, incredibly, our offense completely ignores that aspect of the game despite having players that are well suited for that type of offense.

I am disgusted by this year's offense, maybe not quite as much as I was by Lynn's scheme, but it is pretty close. And the most frustrating part of all is that it is so obvious. Some of the problems that I have been talking about I began discussing when Johnson was cut. Others (players being misused within the offense and lots of small window passing situations) I have been talking about since week 2. All of the problems are stupid, self-inflicted, and completely unnecessary.

I'll agree we should be throwing deep a couple or few times a game so not sure why we arent doing that, especially last week with some stacked boxes and 1 single high safety, but going by targets, Palmer has more targets the last 3 weeks than Guyton.

I didnt say he was better but he is getting more targets now. Guyton has had drops one again last week in his only target. Palmer has 12 catches in 17 targets, Guyton has 11 catches in 23 targets.

[Guest]

I'll agree we should be throwing deep a couple or few times a game so not sure why arent doing that, especially last week with some stacked boxes and 1 single high saefty, but going by targets, Palmer has more targets the last 3 weeks than Guyton. I didnt say he was better but he is getting more targets now. Guyton has had drops one again last week in his only target. Palmer has 12 catches in 17 targets, Guyton has 11 catches in 23 targets.

Yes, I agree that the increase in targets to Palmer recently indicates that the trend is in his favor. Guyton did drop a pass as well last week. Guyton continues to have more receiving yards than Palmer despite having one less reception.

Guyton has elite speed and Lombardi refuses to take advantage of it. If he is going to be misused that way, his contribution to the team will not be as significant.

What I do not get is that Sean Payton has called plenty of deep passes over the years in his system (before Brees' arm completely went to crap) and we have a QB that is uncommonly good at those passes. To me, this is more of a Lombardi thing than a system thing. Lombardi's play calling percentages are not bad in terms of run versus pass distribution, but the specific plays called and when they are called has been a problem. He just does not seem to have a feel for the game. I do not know if there is a cure for that either.

Staley's in game tactical decisions have helped (just imagine where we would be without them), but even you spray some Febreze on poop, it is still poop.

[Topcat]

Generally speaking, I would use targets and not receptions as a more accurate indicator of the player the coaches value more within the offense.

The team appears to be transitioning into using Palmer more than Guyton.

Since there is no question that the team has been misusing Guyton all along this season, I do not see this as any sort of evidence that Palmer is better than Guyton. I see this as additional evidence of Lombardi's incompetence.

I fault the coaches, including Staley, for throwing away a talented receiver like Johnson so that they could keep 3 QBs, a crappy WR like Hill, only 5 WRs overall and additional bad players like Pipkins. It is the job of the coaches to unlock the talent of the players.

It is poor coaching to force a system on players regardless of the talent and abilities of those players. When training camp began, we had a QB with a special ability to throw deep passes and two WRs that had an elite ability with their speed to gain separation on those routes to make big, game changing plays. We cut one of the players and refuse to take full advantage of the ability of the other two. That is poor coaching.

We have replaced the Anthony Lynn anvil of calling too many running plays (especially on early downs) with the Joe Lombardi anvil of not calling enough deep passing plays and misusing players all over the place within the passing game.

Some posters have noted that the offense is fine because it is producing at about the same overall rate as last year. They have forgotten that last year's offense was not firing on all cylinders. Its sickness was one of the reasons why Lynn was fired. The offense is sick this year too. The players are far more talented than the result that is being produced.

It is not a coincidence that the one game that produced our greatest offensive output featured two 40+ yard TD passes.

As I stated previously, our defensive philosophy is to prevent the big play and make opponents execute sustained drives against us. So, our defense is predicated on the notion that big plays for the opponent are a big deal. Yet, incredibly, our offense completely ignores that aspect of the game despite having players that are well suited for that type of offense.

I am disgusted by this year's offense, maybe not quite as much as I was by Lynn's scheme, but it is pretty close. And the most frustrating part of all is that it is so obvious. Some of the problems that I have been talking about I began discussing when Johnson was cut. Others (players being misused within the offense and lots of small window passing situations) I have been talking about since week 2. All of the problems are stupid, self-inflicted, and completely unnecessary.

^ This. Mostly agree with u, Crusher, though I think Palmer is a decent receiver (though he did whiff on one target last game). Agree that Guyton should be used, especially on deep routes...If Staley is so smart, I think he and Lombo need to get together and fix this offense vs. the Steelers...if I see another bunch formation with short passes again, and if the Steelers D stacks the box, I think I'm gonna gag...

[Bolt4Knob]

Yes, those two calls of that last drive

you run on first down to move the clock

you don't go five wides as it shows pass

[richpjr]

We scored 41 points, had 533 yards of offense, won the time of possession and won the game. I have no problem criticizing the guy when we get outcoached but he also deserves credit when we put up numbers like that.

[Boltjolt]

Offense after 10 games averaging 26 PPG.
Last year's offense averaged 24 PPG

Defense averaging giving up 26.5 PPG
Last year's defense ....well I should say combined with STs blunders and / or a pic 6 ... ..points giving up was 26.6 PPG.

Defense is the biggest problem with this team.

This is the first game all season the Steelers have scored 30 or more points.

[gzubeck]

We scored 41 points, had 533 yards of offense, won the time of possession and won the game. I have no problem criticizing the guy when we get outcoached but he also deserves credit when we put up numbers like that.

I think he must have dusted off the tapes from last year and spread the ball around to guys getting open in space. It felt like watching a game from last year plus the Herbert deciding to take huge chunks of free yardage. Nice to see Lombardi using all the tools at his disposal.

[gzubeck]

Offense after 10 games averaging 26 PPG.
Last year's offense averaged 24 PPG

Defense averaging giving up 26.5 PPG
Last year's defense ....well I should say combined with STs blunders and / or a pic 6 ... ..points giving up was 26.6 PPG.

Defense is the biggest problem with this team.

This is the first game all season the Steelers have scored 30 or more points.

It's not all on the defense this game. Special teams and an untimely interception had a big part in this. Good to see we are getting more defenders involved in the game. We have a lot of young and inexperienced players on defense. It will take the rest of the season to even get competent if we make it to the playoffs.

[Topcat]

We scored 41 points, had 533 yards of offense, won the time of possession and won the game. I have no problem criticizing the guy when we get outcoached but he also deserves credit when we put up numbers like that.

I'll give credit to Lombo for:

1. Dialing up a few more midrange passes and one kind of long pass (the game winner to Mike Will), instead of doggedly sticking to those short and perimeter passes we used in the Vikes loss. When you have a talent like Williams, (and Guyton), it's mind-boggling that Mike Will hasn't been used more often on deeper routes the past several games. Lombo finally had the good sense to "Free Willy." Wonder if Staley had a talk with Lombo to make some changes...
2. Ditching those lame bunch formations used in the Vikes game and going with more spread formations, to reduce the possibility of the Steelers stacking the box against us.
3. If Lombo and/or Staley gave Herbie the green light to scramble more, then well done. But we don't know this.

What Lombo DOESN'T get credit for is:

1. Herbie extending several drives with his amazing scrambling ability and mostly pinpoint accuracy.
2. Ekkie's amazing talent, vision, pass-catching and cutting ability to extend drives and score those FOUR TD's...a true career game...
3. KA made some great catches also

So, let's give credit where it's due.