We had such a crush of email after the game, that we're going to do these reaction posts in segments. First up: The Venters. These emails reflect the frustration from Saturday's loss, and finger the culprits. Mr. Arians, you are not a popular chap right now. Mike Tomlin & Big Ben are also sources of ire, though less often and less harshly.

Read on ...

"I would like to say that I am very proud of the Steelers and Mike Tomlin for the success they had throughout the year. However my question is why on third down with 2 minutes left and Jacksonville has burned to of its timeouts do you elect to run Big Ben, when playmakers like Miller and Ward live for these third down situations. I want to make it clear, Jacksonville did not beat us we beat ourselves." -- MSG Edward J. Dunn, United States ARMY

"FROM THE VERY BEGINING BRUCE ARIANS STUNK! I HAVE NEVER IN FIFTY YEARS WATCHED SO MANY STUPID CALLS! THIS GUY IS ABSOLUTELY THE WORST IN THE BUISNESS.THEY COULD HAVE STLL WON THAT GAME IF IT WASNT FOR HIS DUMB PLAY CALLING! HE NEEDS TO GO!" -- Mark Edwards

"I am usually never one to comment on coaching but I think that our coaches let us down this year. I have never been, nor will I ever be a fan of Bruce Arians. His offensive scheme is elementary and predictable. I have been saying this all year long that he does not belong on the Steelers sidelines. His playcalling at times this year has been down right stupid in some situations that even a child playing Madden on a Playstation could have called better plays. He doesnt make adjustments when his game plan doesnt work and he runs the same plays whether they work or not. I understand the idea of running time off of the clock, but with the way the Jacksonville defense was stuffing the run all night, I dont believe that running the ball was the best option in the fourth quarter with three minutes to play. This was a playoff game and we needed to play to win the game and the playcalling on that last offensive series was down right horrendous." -- Justin Slavicek, Phoenix

"THE LAST SERIES THE STEELERS HAD ON OFFENSE WAS TERRIBLE. THAT WAS THE WHOLE SEASON 3RD AND SIX AND THEY HAVE BEN RUNNING THE BALL. WHO EVER CALLED THAT PLAY SHOULD BE FIRED. APPARENTLY THEY HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE IN HIS LEGS THAN HIS ARM. THAT TO ME SHOWED THEY NEED HELP FROM THE COACHING DOWN TO THE SPECIAL TEAMS. A FIRST DOWN THERE WOULD HAVE LOCKED THE GAME. YOU WANT TO PLAY SAFE IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO COME BACK TO BITE YOU. TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE CALL." -- Frank S. Hawryliak

Someone hit the lights, please? Thanks.

"I completely agree with everyone's comments on the poor play calling on O to basically give the game to the Jags. But how about the fourth game winning drive given up by the supposedly # 1 ranked defense? While they contained (but did not stop) the rushing attack, Gerrard had all day to make his reads and passes, and even make the back-breaking 4th and 2 run to end it. Poor tackling combined with a lack of intensity, passion, and aggression on defense. Where is the disruptive play calling from Lebeau? He totally overused the inside cross blitz up the middle. The jury is still out on Tomlin but I sure do miss the FIRE and EMOTION of the Cowher era." -- Kevin Chu, Charlotte, N.C.

"Why after riding Ben's arm through the game, both good and bad, did we run 3 straight unimaginative plays into the line, resulting in having to kick the ball back to the Jags?!

In my opinion, the best chance the Steelers had to hold on to the win was to not give the ball back. The throws underneath to Ward & Miller were working all-night. You can't give the ball back to the Jags with almost 3 minutes to play, protecting a 1 point lead. Instead of playing to win, the Steelers/coaches played not to lose, and more times then not, that's exactly what you end up doing.

Frustrating ending to a game, that for all it's shortcomings by the Steelers, was still there's for the taking with about 3 minutes in the game." -- Rich Ramirez, Croton On Hudson, NY

"The Steelers should be proud of the way they fought back from so deep in the hole. On their last position with the lead, should they have continued with quick slants to Heinz and Heath instead of trying to force runs up the middle? Chewing up the clock with runs was perhaps too predictable. Jacksonville is a good team and Del Rio made some gutsy decisions. Next year -- Steelers got to fix the special teams on both sides of the kickoff, and hopefully reach a win/win deal with Faneca. Thank you Steelers for a wonderful 2007 season!" -- Dave Vance, Montreal

"I could not believe the Steelers missed that run by Garrard. Hello? Wake up! That was the game, plain and simple. And the two point conversion tries? WHY? Very depressing for this long time Steeler fan who lives in Las Vegas. They blew it!" -- Cathy Sutter, Las Vegas

"I have read about 10 articles on the Steelers lose to the Jags yesterday and not one mentions the fact that instead of playing the way they played for the whole 2nd half and going for first downs or even a score to ice the game, the Steelers ran 3 straight runs and punted. The running game did nothing the whole game and the Defense has failed to stop teams for at least 6 weeks when it mattered most. The team had the momentum and could have won the game with 2 or three fist downs. Everyone I was watching the game with was hoping and praying that Bruce Arians would not do the same thing he did in Cleveland when he got conservative with a lead and let the Steelers come back and win a few years back. But, that is exactly what happened. With around 4 minutes to play we were all calling for a play action pass to the tight end on 2nd down, but all the Cleveland fans in the Erie area said they knew he would go into a shell and give the ball back like he always did. Get some guts, go for the win instead of playing not to lose!" -- Sam Zacour, Erie

"Tomlin did a lousy job, period. Three losses in the last four games, losses to inferior teams and the training camp promise that no one will be spared in an effort to make these special teams better. I'm still waiting, but will admit the guy has a golden tongue!!" -- Howard Wilson

"Coach Tomlin, I guess the crystal ball says to jump off the bridge because it says on the chart. Going for 2 at the 12 yard line was dumb,would you go for the touchdown on 4th down there. No! you kick, shows the coaching staff and players have melt downs and do dumb things. With that much time left you over coached you looking into the future." -- Mike Goldinger, Rockhill, S.C.

"I do not understand how, when you have found an attack formula that works, and there is over three minutes to play, that you do not continue to employ that strategy, control and probably win the game. Who, in their right mind, after having seen it fail, TIME AND AGAIN, makes the decision the three run attempts and a punt from your own 25 yard line is the way to go? If it was my team SOMEONE would be looking for a job. After all the injuries and the valiant comeback in that game it seems such a sad way to end. Thanks to the players however for another hard fought exciting season. Perhaps next year will see some better coaching." -- John MIller, New Port Richey, Florida

"The Good:

1) All we asked before this season was for Mike Tomlin to lead us a to a winning record and back to the playoffs. He delivered. He is awesome and will be our coach until his hair is grey.
2) I love Big Ben. No matter how much a sucks or how many idiotic interceptions he throws, no matter what the score -- he never, ever gives up. He is a GAMER. The big rap against Donavan McNabb in Philly is that, despite he incredible physical talents, he has no heart. Ben has a HUGE heart.
3) Hines Ward and Heath Miller are incredible. They never drop a ball, they're tough as nails, and always play smart. They should touch the ball on 75% of our offensive plays.
4) Our defense had some heart last night. We got to Garrard on some key plays and put him on his ass. He had a lousy game statistically. We also held their vaunted running backs to a TOTAL of 77 rushing yards, just a little less than the 250 yards we gave up in the first game. The defense gets a gold star from me.

The Bad:

1) Stupid mistakes always kill us in the playoffs. Huge kickoff returns, interceptions returned for touchdowns. Dumb interceptions into double coverage. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
2) Those 2 point conversions that we half-assed -- going for it from the 12 yard line? Throwing up a timing pattern to Nate Washington? Are you kidding me? -- they turned out to be margin of our loss. Here is a tough one to swallow -- Take back that terrible penalty on Sean Mahan for holding. If that amazing Hines Ward catch stands, it's 28-25. The next touchdown puts us at 32-28. They can't even tie us with a field goal.
3) The biggest sin -- 4:00 left in the game and our defense actually holds them. We've been killing them the entire half. Ben's amazing and we're marching down the field. What do we do? Do we try to run out the clock? Of course not. We run Najeh (who had 25 yards last night, by the way) twice, and then, on 3rd and 5, with the season on the line, we run Ben? How about 5 yards to Heath or Hines? How about controlling your destiny by making some first downs and running out the clock. How about not playing "Cowher playoff ball" and actually playing to win, not playing not to lose. How about it, Coach Tomlin? Well we all have about seven months to think about it.
4) Addendum to the last point: We miss Bettis so much. We need a big, good back to play next to Willie. Can you imagine how great that would be? Najeh is Fuamutu-Ma'afalaa the second. A big guy who physically looks like Bettis but does not have his abilities, quickness, or feet. Najeh is a scrub.

That's it. Thanks for reading if you did and I won't be offended if you just deleted these mad ravings of a very tired and sad Steeler fan." -- Ram Gordon

"My grandmother wants to know why Tomlin decided to play pansy ball with 3 minutes in the game. We didn't come back playing that way. Play like a winner or lose like a loser. What would New England do? We will probably get to see this year ... if they don't destroy everyone." -- Kevin Mitala, Fallsington, Pa.

"Bruce Arians lost this game for us. Please somebody stand up and print this. Game on the line and we run a QB draw. Sorry." -- Mike Rickman

"A great job by Tomlin until Saturday.I can't believe that as flawless as he was in the regular season,he was inept as a coach in his first play-off game. Going for 2 the first time was very questionable, but after the penalty was just plain STUPID. Get in the game Tomlin, your inexperience cost you BIG TIME. Also do yourself and all of Steeler Nation a favor by running Ligashesky, the special teams coach out of town! I don't care where our special teams ranked statistically, they STINK." -- Frank Ceresa, Dallas, TX

"Did everyone's heart sink on that next to last, AHEM, "drive" when desperately needing a first down they ran up the gut twice and then sent Ben around tackle. Didn't watch the rest. Didn't need to. How many times have we watched the Steeler offense go into a shell at the worst possible moment. Almost any NFL offense can usually get a field goal in two minutes with the game on the line, and the Jags did. C'mon. Throw a pass. Take a risk. Go down fighting!

Food for thought: Polamolu gets heaps of praise, but to me he often just seems out of control on the blitz, blowing right past the QB ... No matter the total yards, is Willie Parker really the long-term solution at RB? The Steelers have a longggg history of big bangers at RB ... Hines Ward is a warrior, but the Steelers need a game breaker ... Too many losses to inferior teams (the Jets fiasco was truly horrendous) means a lack of focus, which is something the coaching staff will really have to address amongst themselves.

Season grade: C, Just making the playoffs isn't enough for anything better." -- Dave Morris, Basking Ridge, N.J.

"What a great game! Yeah winning is better than losing ! But we came soooo close even with all the injuries ... Can't wait until next year! Proud to be from the 'Burgh living in NYC" -- Beth Nerich

"How can a quarterback make such major errors and expect to win? The loss of the game comes down to poor play calling by our offensive coordinator during our 4th quarter possession with a one point lead. Why not throw another short pass (to Ward or Miller) on second down. But to call two more running plays and hand over the ball to Jax again, seemed stupid. We need to look for another offensive coordinator, another running back, and perhaps another head coach." --Vinodh Narayanan, Phoenix

"ANYTIME YOU HIRE CLEVELAND BROWNS REJECTS TO COACH ANY PART OF THE TEAM IT'S A PROBLEM!!!!!!!!" -- Ed Eisemann

"The play that I think sealed the fate of the Steelers yesterday was the lack of any real effort to try for a first down on 3rd and 6 with just under 3 minutes to play. Trying to run the ball to kill the clock on that play was futile as there was still too much time on the clock to consider such a tactic. One or two first downs and the Steelers would have run out the clock and won the game. Not trying to get that first down let the Jags put control of the outcome in their hands. I hope Coach Tomlin learns from that mistake and never relinquishes the ball that easily again." -- Nick Tibaldi

"I sum it up this way: Ben giveth, and Ben taketh away." -- Tony Napoleone, Baltimore

"Is it just me or did anyone else notice that we got conservative on offense with a little more than 3 minutes to play. The Steelers got the ball back with a little more than 3 minutes in the 4th quarter. We needed to move the ball slighty and get at least one first down to seal the game.

But it looked like prevent defense in reverse - lets play it safe and not let Ben throw the ball. We'll just run it, burn up some clock, Jacksonville will use their time outs, we will punt, they will get the ball at midfield and our defense will hold them for the win. What would New England have done in that situation? They would let Tom Brady throw!

Like Herm Edwards said - "You have to play to win the game!" But we were more like Forest Gump " Stupid is as Stupid does!" -- Mike Kotula, Atlanta

"Please explain to the legion of Steelers fans why Tomlin shouldn't immediately fire any and all special teams coaches, the OC, and himself for putting us all through this disgraceful loss; where, besides the calamaties of the 1st half, with 1st down on our own 30 with about 4:00 to play, we call a few running plays, including Ben on a keeper at 3rd and 5 to give up posession, when we'd been passing to keep the chains moving and maintain posession the entire 2nd half. Please quit sugar coating it, as the stats don't lie. What a joke --- we got outcoached again!" -- Joseph Solomon

"Wow! Isn't it the first thing they teach you is to throw the ball away. Come on Ben. Week after week. Your stats may be good but stats don't win games. Bruce Arians what were you thinking when you ran it 3 times in a row with 2min 50 sec left in the game? Did you not pay attention to the way we lost to Denver, Jacksonville, Jets. All with the same situation. Give them the ball back with 2 minutes to go. Prevent offense. Right out of Marty Schotenheimer book. Where is he today? Since I tore up most of the team let's not forget our wonderful special teams. How can you consistantly have bad special teams week after week and keep your job. 18 weeks to be exact. Mike Tomlin it's time to step up and coach this team. You did a great job for your first year. Let's not lose the same way next year week after week. Play to win! No prevent!" -- Eric Engel, Put-in-Bay, Ohio

"Ariens should be gone for his conservative last series play calling. Maybe the right plays with :50 seconds to go, but with 2:50 and the Jags with one time and the two minute warning? I have the number of a moving company for you, it's 1-800- GET-LOST!" -- James Post

Bruce Arians has shown over the season he has lost, not gained, a grasp of what is happening during a game. This loss to the Jags personifies in vivid examples how coaching from the field, and not the booth, has handcuffed our offense.

I am sure we were all at home watching the Steeler's offense and the scripted drive to open the game. It was genius. It gave every fan a sense of comfort to see our team go out and pound the ball and make a statement.

Unfortunately for all of us after the Jags scored with ease, it also exposed our coaches to their inability to react to the flow of a game.

In the initial drive quick passes to our recievers had the defenders on their heels. After the Jags came back to tie the game, where did these plays disappear to? Why haven't we seen them for most of the season? Establishing that type of pass is crutial in getting first downs. The Steelers lack that type of play and therefore lack that type of play threat. No team respects or expects them to do it, but later in the game when the Steelers went back to it and hit Holmes on a quick slant in, the result was a touchdown.

The Steelers went into that game banged up, and had a brilliant initial plan that they never really went back to. That in itself is aggravating, but isn't the most bizzare thing our offensive coordinator did.

Once the Steelers realized that they were behind and needed to go into a no huddle offense. They ran the Jags into the ground. The complexion of the game changed in their favor and they had all the momentium.

Looking at some of the other elite teams that stick with their players when things are going well, like the Patriots and Colts, the coaches don't take the reigns out of their quarterbacks hands. They entrust them with the game.

I wouldn't call sending Ben in on a quarterback draw to try and pickup six yards very entrusting. He got us back in the game on his arm, not his legs. Bizzare.

All of this adds up to one simple solution. Get Bruce Arians up in the booth. If we are stuck with him, then let's stick him where he can actually help the team.

Trust the technology to talk to the players from up there, put more faith into what your players can do for you, and get a feel for the game on higher ground. It works for every other team in the NFL, how about we go back to it. Then we might start having some of the usual problems we do at the end of our seasons, retaining our offensive coordinator." -- Richard Tibbetts

"The coaching this season and some of the choices in last night's game were puzzling, to say the least ... the game does not fall on Big Ben's lap ... he rescued this team too many times this season ... the defense played up to their #1 status and the offensive line, as usual, stunk ... Ben can't continually play lying back on the turf." -- Charmaine Dawso

"Let's face it we played that last series we had the ball to lose. Two anemic running plays and then a quarterback draw not exactly doing what got us there. Almost every time we passed the ball on first down good things happen yet in the most crucial situation in the game we chose to do what we hadn't been able to do all night -- run the ball. As bad as we played we still should have won the game." -- Rick Lenzi

"My cat was watching the game and said to me "Why would you run Davenport on the first play, of 5 sets of downs in a row, and not realize that this team needs a new Offensive Coordinator?" Do you think Jacksonville knew? ... Where is the strategy?, where is the plan? where are the innovative plays?

I am very frustrated, as I am sure that many fans are, that with all the talent the Steeler Team has, that someone forgot to check and see if the Offensive Coordinator is alive.

Finally, this failure and lack of vision ultimately reflects on the Head Coach and the Organization." -- Rick Bosiljevac, Texas

"After moving the ball up the field three series in a row passing the ball the steelers offence RUNS the ball at the end of the game? All they needed was a first down or two to win the game. Poor play calling lost the game, after a great comeback." -- Kim James

"Outcoached. They played NOT to lose. One or two first downs and the game is over. This is the NFL; don't count on your defense -let Ben win it." -- James Disantis

"Once again the offensive "genius" of the Steelers elects to try to hold on to a game rather than putting it away. After a huge comeback, destiny is in their own hands ... all that's necessary is to run out the remaining clock. So what does Arians come up with? A run on 1st and 2nd down, and with a 3rd down looming, in need of 6 yards to advance in the playoffs???what does the genius, Arians, come up with? A silly play that has Big Ben trying to run for 6 yards. There was not one legitimate attempt at actually getting the first down and winning the game. Apparently he felt that Pittsburgh should play to "not lose" and let the game rest with the defense. Playing to "not lose" is a sure formula for loss. Horrible!

When the game was on the line, Arians let the team down. He should be fired, but he'll probably get rewarded with a contract extension. Sometimes it's difficult being a Steelers fan." -- Dan McLaughlan