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Tomlin & Steelers coming to Houston week four press conference

mws

Rookie
I'm a big believer in the fewest points allowed in the regular season.

Defensive rankings are really only applicable dating back to Super Bowl 5, because the first four were meetings of the AFL and NFL champions. The leagues didn’t play each other during the regular season at that point, and the defensive rankings were split.

So since the Super Bowl in January 1971:

The team that allowed fewer points in the regular season is 35-17 (that doesn’t include Super Bowl 39, because the Eagles and Patriots each allowed exactly 260 points).

They are 8-2 out of the last 10 SBs. So if every year you bet $100 dollars straight up on the team that allowed the fewest points in the season that made it to the Super Bowl you would be way up. I've yet to find a stat that predicted more consistent SB wins (would be very interested if anybody knows one) down through the years.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
On 610, Payne and Pendergast this morning they told a story of how Will Anderson Jr. asked to attend a dinner that Mike Tomlin was offering players to get and know them better, having no shot at Will he still accepted, sat next to him and asked football questions all night. That really impressed Tomlin and made a huge impression.

Just a hunch, but I expect Will to come off the edge on fire this game and be in Picketts pocket all night. Texans, first though need to stop the run and force third and longs so Anderson can eat. Let’s just do the math. Pickett ran a 4.73 forty, Will Anderson ran a 4.60. TJ Watt ran 4.69 and CJ was timed 4.48. I’m not going to deny Highsmith, he’s a real problem too but basically similar to Watt 4.70. So to all those critics who said CJ didn’t run or mobile enough to throw on the run it’s going to be on display, this coming Sunday @ NRG. :fieldgoal
Beerlover,

I know you're savvy enough to know that those 40 numbers have little to do with the situation described.
 

beerlover

Hall of Fame
Right. Tomlin told that story in the press conference you posted in the opening post of this thread.
Yes, but it bears repeating. Also, maybe it’s just me, but demonstrates why Tomlin is an example of the type of man and head coach, that survives and flourishes in the NFL, for the same team, year after year despite win loss record. It’s respect and endearment to other players and coaches, little gamesmanship and swagger, that I’m hoping something similar happens for DeMeco 👍
 

beerlover

Hall of Fame
Beerlover,

I know you're savvy enough to know that those 40 numbers have little to do with the situation described.
It’s the 10 yard split out of the blocks, that showcases a players explosive metric that counts most for a pass rusher and a QB ability to avoid said pass rusher. Forty is for the long haul, but it does have bearing as measurement of overall athleticism. I’m just saying Stroud, has more of it than given credit, draft/pre-draft process and Anderson motor/effort is widely known he does possess elite measured speed for position. You would think Tank Dell looks much faster than 4.9 but his 10 yard split was insane @ Combine, 1.49. All of it just helps explain what we see on field.
 

Earl34

Hall of Fame
I get what you're saying, but the Ravens had more yards than the Colts but still lost in points for and against. If you give up lots of yards but hold teams to kicking FGs, the yardage doesn't matter. If you're forcing turnovers and shortening the field for an offense that scores TDs, they will have less yardage but more points. I pay way more attention to turnover ratios, red-zone efficiency, and points scored/allowed than yardage.
Romeo, is that you?
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
It’s the 10 yard split out of the blocks, that showcases a players explosive metric that counts most for a pass rusher and a QB ability to avoid said pass rusher. Forty is for the long haul, but it does have bearing as measurement of overall athleticism. I’m just saying Stroud, has more of it than given credit, draft/pre-draft process and Anderson motor/effort is widely known he does possess elite measured speed for position. You would think Tank Dell looks much faster than 4.9 but his 10 yard split was insane @ Combine, 1.49. All of it just helps explain what we see on field.
Tank ran a 4.49 lol some linemen run 4.9.
 

beerlover

Hall of Fame
I don't know what you mean by this. He's in his 17th year as head coach and the Steelers have never had a losing record for him
Every coach, especially one with tenure has his close calls. End of Rothlisberger era was rough times, now they have Pickett. So far he’s weathered each storm successfully. He’s a tremendous coach and Rooneys are very loyal.
 

beerlover

Hall of Fame
Where do you think the Steelers finish in their division? Unless Trubisky remakes himself, I don't think they're a Wild-Card team.
It’s hard to predict these things. Did not expect Texans to have winning streak either, at least not until after bye week when injured players are expected to return. People in Pittsburg expect them to fire their OC. That could either ignite them or dump the season.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
It’s hard to predict these things. Did not expect Texans to have winning streak either, at least not until after bye week when injured players are expected to return. People in Pittsburg expect them to fire their OC. That could either ignite them or dump the season.
Understood. But that team we beat yesterday was not a "quality opponent" which was my point. I wish they were.

Thankfully, not a lot of "quality opponents" on our schedule.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
Understood. But that team we beat yesterday was not a "quality opponent" which was my point. I wish they were.

Thankfully, not a lot of "quality opponents" on our schedule.
Why because we dominated them? Going into this game everyone had the Steelers beating us except for a few and myself.
They were a quality opponent who wasn’t up for the challenge on Sunday. It happens. Just like the Dolphins who the week before hung 70 on a team. This Sunday they wasn’t up for the challenge against against the Bills. Does that mean the Dolphins weren’t a quality opponent because they lost 48-20? No sir, it just wasn’t their game on that particular day. It happens!
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Why because we dominated them?
Because they played like crap. That was their best.

Going into this game everyone had the Steelers beating us except for a few and myself.
They were a quality opponent who wasn’t up for the challenge on Sunday.
The Jags were favored to beat us. After the game their HC was like, "We faced a quality opponent, we'll correct some things & move on." The Steelers coach was like, "We gone make some changes, you can bet on that."

I hear what you're saying, but it was more than just "not being up for the challenge." They've got major issues. They won't be in the Wild-Card race. The Jags will.

Dolphins & the Bills will be playing for the division.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
Because they played like crap. That was their best.


The Jags were favored to beat us. After the game their HC was like, "We faced a quality opponent, we'll correct some things & move on." The Steelers coach was like, "We gone make some changes, you can bet on that."

I hear what you're saying, but it was more than just "not being up for the challenge." They've got major issues. They won't be in the Wild-Card race. The Jags will.

Dolphins & the Bills will be playing for the division.
That doesn’t mean they weren’t a quality opponent. They were 2-1 going into this game. And we dominated the Jaguars too. Another quality opponent IMO.

That was an example of another team dominating a quality opponent. And how sometimes quality teams doesn’t live up to the challenge in some games.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
That doesn’t mean they weren’t a quality opponent.
Jags are a playoff team. Quality opponent.

Steelers are not a playoff team. Not a quality opponent.

I'm not going to say the Steelers will be eliminated from the playoffs with 4 weeks to go, but they're going to need a lot of help to get in, an impossible scenario. Winter is coming.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
Jags are a playoff team. Quality opponent.

Steelers are not a playoff team. Not a quality opponent.

I'm not going to say the Steelers will be eliminated from the playoffs with 4 weeks to go, but they're going to need a lot of help to get in, an impossible scenario. Winter is coming.
The offense is the only thing keeping Pittsburgh from being a playoff contender. They seriously need to ditch Canada. Their defense is top notch, and the Texans took their lunch money. That gives me a lot of hope for the Texans in 2023 and beyond.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Jags are a playoff team. Quality opponent.

Steelers are not a playoff team. Not a quality opponent.

I'm not going to say the Steelers will be eliminated from the playoffs with 4 weeks to go, but they're going to need a lot of help to get in, an impossible scenario. Winter is coming.
What if the Steelers replace the Jags in the AFC South?

What would you say then?
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
The offense is the only thing keeping Pittsburgh from being a playoff contender. They seriously need to ditch Canada. Their defense is top notch, and the Texans took their lunch money. That gives me a lot of hope for the Texans in 2023 and beyond.
Because of their pass rush. Take their pass rush away & their backend is going to cost them games. What the Texans did to negate their pass rush was not difficult & you'll see more of it in this copy cat league.

Was there a key member of their defense injured? Maybe that's why we saw what we saw. I don't know.

The offense is without a doubt the elephant in the room, but their issues are deeper than that.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Good point.

No, I think they'd still need help to get a Wild-Card in the AFC if they were in the AFCSouth.
Here's an early projection.


The only reason the Jags were predicted with a higher win total (by .04) was because they don't have to face the Bengals, the Ravens, nor the Browns.
The AFC North was rated clearly higher than the AFC South.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Here's an early projection.


The only reason the Jags were predicted with a higher win total (by .04) was because they don't have to face the Bengals, the Ravens, nor the Browns.
The AFC North was rated clearly higher than the AFC South.
Oh... other people said the Steelers are going to have a good season. Well, that changes everything. No offense, nothing on defense but a pass rush, they may win the Super Bowl.

Thank you for helping me get past my opinion & getting in line with the talking heads.
 

DBCooper

Outlaw
Contributor's Club
Here's an early projection.


The only reason the Jags were predicted with a higher win total (by .04) was because they don't have to face the Bengals, the Ravens, nor the Browns.
The AFC North was rated clearly higher than the AFC South.
Im confused because they Jags do face these teams, you mean twice?
 

Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
Thank you for helping me get past my opinion & getting in line with the talking heads.
PFF's argument on the Steelers being a 9 win team was:

Pittsburgh’s hope lies in Kenny Pickett improving on his top 15 PFF passing performance from last season. If that happens, they should be relevant in the AFC playoff race heading into their most difficult stretch of the season.
One, Pickett hasn't improved. Two, how in the wide world of sports did Pickett have a top 15 passing performance in 2022? He sucked, then. He sucks, now. I think the biggest reason is that he's in the wrong offense. But, maybe Pickett just sucks.
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
Steelers were a quality opponent, i just think they, like alot of people underestimated us. I don't think that happens anymore this season tho. The word is out on Stroud & teams will adjust. That's a positive and negative. The positive is I believe this will kick start Pierce & our run game. No longer will teams be able to sit on the run game. You saw it in the Steelers game. This will also coincide with us getting healthier up front. The negative to that is we don't know how much them sitting back & adjusting will affect CJ's game.

I think what's apparent is that the biggest thing people are sleeping on is our defense. These guys are low key very good. We've got playmakers on all levels & we're still not fully healthy yet with Ridgeway, Perryman and Stingley all out. They will at a minimum keep us in games.
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
PFF's argument on the Steelers being a 9 win team was:


One, Pickett hasn't improved. Two, how in the wide world of sports did Pickett have a top 15 passing performance in 2022? He sucked, then. He sucks, now. I think the biggest reason is that he's in the wrong offense. But, maybe Pickett just sucks.
More reasons to look at PFF with the side eye. Nothing about how they grade players makes a lick of sense.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
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Steelers were a quality opponent, i just think they, like alot of people underestimated us.
I'm sure a lot of people have & will underestimate the Texans & for good reason.

So... this is more about "Power Rankings" & "Strength of Schedule" for the most part, those rankings are subjective & based on last season. We all know there are flaws in that methodology.

One of those flaws is thinking the Steelers is a play off team in 2023. They're not. Not even close.

To me, a quality opponent is a play off team. Ravens, & Jaguars are likely to be in the 2023 playoffs. We'll probably be in the mix with the Colts & a bunch of other teams for Wild-Card spots. The Steelers won't. I'll be shocked if they win one of the next 5; Ravens, Rams, Jaguars, Titans, Packers.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
I'm sure a lot of people have & will underestimate the Texans & for good reason.

So... this is more about "Power Rankings" & "Strength of Schedule" for the most part, those rankings are subjective & based on last season. We all know there are flaws in that methodology.

One of those flaws is thinking the Steelers is a play off team in 2023. They're not. Not even close.

To me, a quality opponent is a play off team. Ravens, & Jaguars are likely to be in the 2023 playoffs. We'll probably be in the mix with the Colts & a bunch of other teams for Wild-Card spots. The Steelers won't. I'll be shocked if they win one of the next 5; Ravens, Rams, Jaguars, Titans, Packers.
We'll see about that.

Get ready to be shocked.

:slapfight::ahhaha:
 

DBCooper

Outlaw
Contributor's Club
Sorry, I don't understand your question.
For some reason it didn’t put your original quote lol

this one:
The only reason the Jags were predicted with a higher win total (by .04) was because they don't have to face the Bengals, the Ravens, nor the Browns.
The AFC North was rated clearly higher than the AFC South.
 
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Mr teX

Hall of Fame
I'm sure a lot of people have & will underestimate the Texans & for good reason.

So... this is more about "Power Rankings" & "Strength of Schedule" for the most part, those rankings are subjective & based on last season. We all know there are flaws in that methodology.

One of those flaws is thinking the Steelers is a play off team in 2023. They're not. Not even close.

To me, a quality opponent is a play off team. Ravens, & Jaguars are likely to be in the 2023 playoffs. We'll probably be in the mix with the Colts & a bunch of other teams for Wild-Card spots. The Steelers won't. I'll be shocked if they win one of the next 5; Ravens, Rams, Jaguars, Titans, Packers.
Steelers would’ve been 3-1 had they beat us and would’ve been tied atop their division with the Ravens. That makes them a quality opponent in my eyes.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
I'm sure a lot of people have & will underestimate the Texans & for good reason.

So... this is more about "Power Rankings" & "Strength of Schedule" for the most part, those rankings are subjective & based on last season. We all know there are flaws in that methodology.

One of those flaws is thinking the Steelers is a play off team in 2023. They're not. Not even close.

To me, a quality opponent is a play off team. Ravens, & Jaguars are likely to be in the 2023 playoffs. We'll probably be in the mix with the Colts & a bunch of other teams for Wild-Card spots. The Steelers won't. I'll be shocked if they win one of the next 5; Ravens, Rams, Jaguars, Titans, Packers.
The season just started and you can never underestimate a Coach Tomlin’s coached team.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
That doesn’t mean they weren’t a quality opponent. They were 2-1 going into this game. And we dominated the Jaguars too. Another quality opponent IMO.

That was an example of another team dominating a quality opponent. And how sometimes quality teams doesn’t live up to the challenge in some games.
At the end of the yr I bet the Steelers have a losing record. 1st time in the Tomlin era.

Hopefully they can kick the Browns butts one more time. With Burrow being hurt the AFC North is rather weak this yr.

The strength of the AFC is in the East and West divisions.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
Steelers were a quality opponent, i just think they, like alot of people underestimated us. I don't think that happens anymore this season tho. The word is out on Stroud & teams will adjust. That's a positive and negative. The positive is I believe this will kick start Pierce & our run game. No longer will teams be able to sit on the run game. You saw it in the Steelers game. This will also coincide with us getting healthier up front. The negative to that is we don't know how much them sitting back & adjusting will affect CJ's game.

I think what's apparent is that the biggest thing people are sleeping on is our defense. These guys are low key very good. We've got playmakers on all levels & we're still not fully healthy yet with Ridgeway, Perryman and Stingley all out. They will at a minimum keep us in games.
Ridgeway getting healthy is would really help out against the run. Perryman would too, but he's a liability defending against the pass.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
PFF's argument on the Steelers being a 9 win team was:


One, Pickett hasn't improved. Two, how in the wide world of sports did Pickett have a top 15 passing performance in 2022? He sucked, then. He sucks, now. I think the biggest reason is that he's in the wrong offense. But, maybe Pickett just sucks.
With Trubiski starting for the next 4-6 weeks I doubt the Steelers will make the playoffs.

As far as the Texans go, if Stroud continues to play at his current level and the defense/OL gets healthy the Texans are definitely a 10 win team and maybe more. Definitely a playoff team. Remember when I said the Texans would win 10 games if Stroud was slightly above avg, because the defense was going to be a top 10 defense? Stroud's been more than slightly above avg and while I still believe he'll have a clunker or two, if they dont win 10 games it wont be because of Stroud. It will be because of injury. See: Not having their starting safeties available against the Colts.
 
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thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
This is probably true but at the same time you could say the Texans handled a lesser opponent the way a good team should. They dominated from start to finish.
That's exactly what I'm saying.
 


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