Steelers week 12: Team quotes and comments

Steelers Week 12: Quotes and Comments From the Team

The Steelers lost in Seattle on Sunday. We all saw it. Nothing more to say about. Well, except…

Playcalling

You know what I’m talking about. That “punt” … that field goal. Some bold special teams decisions did not pay off Sunday night. There was a fake field goal that turned into an interception. Then there was also a decision to kick from the 3 in the first quarter and put the game in the defense’s hands, which was not playing a great game, which ultimately possibly cost the game.

According to Mark Kaboly of Triblive.com, DeAngelo Williams supported the decisions, saying, “I will never second-guess him, and nobody else should, either. This all might be different for everybody else, but it is not different for us. We do it in practice and in our preparation, so it is not new to us. When he calls something like that and does something like that, he believes in us. It comes with the territory. If it works, he is the greatest coach ever, or if it doesn’t, let’s get rid of him. It is a double-edged sword business, and we all know that.”

Ramon Foster characterized it as just how the dice rolled, saying, “We have been in that situation before when it has worked for us. You can’t say this is a reason or that’s a reason. We need to execute those things. You appreciate stuff like that because you aren’t playing scared. You are playing to win. You want to catch them off-guard.”

Tomlin echoed that sentiment, saying, “I take responsibility for the play’s failure, like I always do. We just needed to get a stop. I felt comfortable in the ability to do it, and we didn’t. Those are calculated risks you take during football games.”

Defense

The defense had a tough day too. If not for Ben’s injury it would have been a good day for the offense, but no game Ben doesn’t finish is good. Seattle scored 39 points and Russell Wilson threw for 5 touchdowns. It just wasn’t good. The defense got some sacks and looked about right in that regard. They just didn’t keep up with the bend but don’t break thing, they bent, and broke. The redzone and 3rd down stops were just not there.

According to Brent Stecker of ESPN Seattle, Cam Heyward said, “It gave us confidence, but we didn’t have enough 3 and outs. There were so many times we had them on third and long and we didn’t capitalize. We kept them on the field. That’s disheartening because it means that we were doing our job on first and second, and not getting off on the critical down. We talked about it going into this game, that was one of our goals, and we didn’t accomplish that.

Jarvis Jones said of Wilson’s play, “Yeah, he scored a lot of points. They had a good day today, kudos to them. They executed. They moved the chains when they were supposed to. We just needed to capitalize like we’re supposed to today, and it really hurt us.”

Arthur Moats was also unhappy about the performance, saying, “I’ve got to watch the film. The biggest thing that stood out was the big plays, and that’s on us as a whole. We can’t give up big plays because it turns a day where we feel like we are having success into a disaster.”

Markus Wheaton

Well I suppose I better talk about something good so this all isn’t just a total bummer. Markus Wheaton decided to have his season on Sunday. The underachiever out of Oregon had a career day putting up 201 yards and a touchdown on 9 catches. It’s nice to see Wheaton pop. It’s nice, but he needs to be more consistent. Regardless, tip of the cap for a great game.

Tomlin had this to say about Wheaton’s performance, “When you’re playing a team like that, and I think we ever talked about it earlier in the week, if they’re matching Richard Sherman with Antonio Brown, then other guys not named Antonio Brown are going to have opportunities, and that’s what it’s about. Let’s not make too much out of that. Markus did a nice job, no question.”

Wheaton said, as quoted by GoErie.com, “I think the chemistry was just there today. We did see a couple looks like that earlier in the year those two guys on the outside have been making a lot of splashy plays throughout the season, so obviously teams would want to take them away. The chemistry was just there today between me and Ben.”

Next: Steelers at Seahawks: Defensive Huddle

Now back to the Eastern half of the country to play the Colts. Hopefully Ben can work some of that magic he was able to last year. Shoot, hopefully Ben’s there.