Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

After Sunday’s devastating loss to the Oakland Raiders, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says that changes are in store.

“We will take appropriate action, and that includes doing things with different combos of people.  Some subtle, some not so subtle.”

I’ve got to assume that some of those changes will occur in the defensive backfield, where the Steelers have looked absolutely horrendous of late.

A “not so subtle” change will probably be the removal of William Gay from the starting line-up.  Gay has been targeted by opposing offenses all year.  He is extremely vulnerable to double moves, and hasn’t seemed to improve as the season progressed.

Steelers CB William Gay

The Steelers drafted two cornerbacks, Joe Burnett and Keenan Lewis, in the last draft.  Perhaps it is time to get them some much needed playing time.  Or perhaps giving veteran CB Deshea Townsend the starting job will help cure some of the problems.

Ike Taylor has also looked a bit vulnerable this season.  But I am going to give Ike the benefit of the doubt and assume that he will be fine.

Ryan Clark, on the other hand, looks like he needs a change.  Clark has played more like a strong safety than a free safety this season.  He seems to place all of him emphasis on delivering the big hit, rather than on stopping the pass.  Perhaps switching him to strong safety and moving Tyrone Carter to free safety (at least until Troy Polamalu returns) would be one of the “subtle” changes that Tomlin mentioned.

Another “subtle” change might be convincing Bruce Arians to try more running plays from the red zone.  I don’t know about you, but I am getting sick of watching Ben Roethlisberger throw interceptions from the 10 yard line.

Old coaches used to say that “when you throw the ball, only 3 things can happen, and two of them are bad.”  I understand that the NFL is now a pass-happy league, but there is still truth to the saying.

Rashard Mendenhall averages 5 yards per carry.  So when it is first and goal from the 8 yard line, why does Arians tend to call 3 consecutive pass plays?  It’s simple math.  Run Mendenhall 2 times, and on average you’ll end up with 10 yards.  That’s  the safe call.  Besides, the Steelers have thrown the ball so often from the red zone this season that a running play would probably take their opponent by surprise.  A running play by the Steelers?   Who woulda thunk it?

Another subtle change might be to put Ziggy Hood into the starting line-up.  Travis Kirschke has done a good job in place of Aaron Smith.  However, we all know that he is not the future.  He’s 57 years old, and his days as a Steeler are numbered.  Meanwhile, Ziggy is the future.  The Steelers’ hope of making the playoffs are quickly evaporating.  The future is now.

I should mention that the Steelers are not yet mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  So some will argue that they shouldn’t start playing rookies until they are mathematically eliminated.  I understand that line of thinking.  However, at this point only the most optimistic fans still think the Steelers are a playoff team.  Losses to the Chiefs and Raiders do not a champion make.

So go ahead and make some changes.  What could it hurt?

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The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Oakland Raiders 27-24 on Sunday.  I’m not joking.  They really did.  Just check the suicide reports in Pittsburgh, and you’ll see that it’s true.

As if losing to the Kansas City Chiefs wasn’t painful enough, now this.

Mike Tomlin promised that the Steelers were going to “unleash Hell in December”.  Well, after the first weekend in December, the only Hell that the Steelers have unleashed has been upon their fans.

Head coach Mike Tomlin

What else would you call it when Steelers fans are forced to watch their team lose to the lowly Oakland Raiders?  If it’s not “Hell”, then it’s a very uncomfortable Purgatory.

But looking back, it’s clear that the Steelers had already “unleashed Hell” on their fans back in November.  If consecutive losses to Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Baltimore isn’t Hell, then I don’t know what is.  Adding a loss to the Oakland Raiders, on top of the suffering that fans have had to bear during the month of November, is just cruel and unusual punishment.

It felt like Hell watching the Steelers attempt a quarterback sneak on 4th and 1 in the first quarter, only to be stuffed by the Raiders defense.

After watching the Steelers fail on a 4th down attempt, it felt like Hell watching the Oakland Raiders succeed on both of their 4th down attempts.  That’s right, the Raiders converted 100% of their 4th down attempts.

It felt like Hell watching the Steelers defensive backs get torched for 308 yards and 3 touchdowns by an unproven quarterback with very little NFL success on his resume.  William Gay, Ike Taylor, and Ryan Clark looked more like the Three Stooges than a Super Bowl caliber defensive backfield.  And Ryan Mundy and Joe Burnett didn’t look much better.  Hurry back Troy.  PLEASE hurry back.

Ike gets burned...again.

It felt like Hell watching the Steelers offense fail to get the ball into the endzone 3 out of 5 times from the red zone.  Watching Big Ben throw an interception in one of those possessions was pure torture.

It felt like Hell watching the Steelers defense give up 21 points in the 4th quarter.  In fact, the 4th quarter has felt like Hell all season, so I don’t know why I expected this one to be any different.

It felt like Hell watching Joe Burnett drop a sure interception that would have guaranteed a win for the Steelers late in the game.

Don’t get me wrong.  There were some positive moments in the game.  LaMarr Woodley looked unstoppable as he accumulated 2 sacks during the game.  Rashard Mendenhall looked great as he rushed for 103 yards.  The extra effort on his touchdown run was tremendous.  Similarly, Santonio Holmes looked super human as he caught 8 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.

But overall, it wasn’t a pleasant experience for Steelers fans.  In fact, the only thing that could possibly be more painful than losing to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders would be losing to the Cleveland Browns.  Oh wait, they play them on Thursday.  Damn!

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This week the Steelers take on the lowly Oakland Raiders.  This is a game that the Steelers are supposed to win.  But Steelers fans have learned that the Steelers often don’t do what they’re “supposed” to do.

The Steelers weren’t “supposed” to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs.  Or the Chicago Bears.  Or the Baltimore Ravens.  Or the Cincinnati Bengals (twice).  But they did.

So I am no longer going to predict the outcome of games.  Why bother, when the Steelers seem determined to play down to the level of their competition?

The Steelers “should” have beaten the Oakland Raiders the last time they faced them back in 2006.  But most Steelers fans probably remember that the Raiders handed the Steelers an embarrassing loss.

The Raiders looked pathetic last week in a 24-7 thumping at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.  But those were the Cowboys, and these are the Steelers.  The Steelers don’t thump anyone.

The Raiders are 3-8, and have one of the worst defenses in the NFL.  Their defense is ranked #29 in the NFL.  They’re ranked 31st against the run.  Only the Buffalo Bills are worse.

The Raiders’ defense allows an average of 161.1 yards per game on the ground.  That’s a lot.  That’s a whole lot.

I know that Bruce Arians has never seen a down that he didn’t want to throw on.  But against a team that gives up 161.1 yards per game on the ground, he should go to Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker early and often.

Note to Bruce: Run the ball!!!

This is the game where the Steelers should bring back good old-fashioned Steelers football.  They should run the ball down the Raiders throats.  Mendenhall and Parker might both surpass 100 yards.

On the other side of the ball, the Raiders are equally bad.  Their offense is also ranked #31 in the NFL.  They can’t seem to score on anybody.

The Raiders finally benched quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and Pittsburgh native Bruce Gradkowski will be starting in his place.  But Gradkowski doesn’t have much experience, and he doesn’t have many weapons supporting him.  So the Steelers defense “should” have their way with the Raiders’ woeful offense.

But of course, that’s what “should” happen.  And with this year’s Pittsburgh Steelers, what “should” happen never seems to matter.

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Following Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, I started reading some of the comments from Steelers fans.  Many took the same path as Hines Ward and questioned Ben Roethlisberger’s toughness.  Others had a few choice words for the Steelers defense.  Of course there were some who blasted the Steelers special teams (nothing new there).  And we can always count on the “Fire Bruce Arians” crew to be vocal about their views.  Heck, there were even some who called for Mike Tomlin to be fired.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin

As I read the comments in total disbelief, I found myself asking, “what’s everyone so worried about?”

The Steelers’ loss on Sunday definitely made it much more difficult for them to make the playoffs.  But they are still right in the chase for a wildcard playoff spot.  They are currently behind Denver (7-4), but I don’t think that is going to last.  Then they’re tied with Jacksonville (6-5) and Baltimore (6-5) for the final wildcard spot.

The Steelers look like a probable playoff participant.  Moreover, they’re 6-5, not 5-6.  So why is Steeler Nation in such a panic?

If we look at the Steelers’ future opponents, the challenges don’t look daunting.  They have what look like easy wins against Oakland and Cleveland remaining.  Yeah, I know that we said the same thing about Kansas City, but that was an anomaly.  The Steelers also have to face the Baltimore Ravens here in Pittsburgh.  The Ravens just barely beat us in overtime with our 3rd string quarterback starting, and without Troy Polamalu.  Let’s see them do that in Pittsburgh with Big Ben at the helm, and Troy likely in the line-up.  The Miami Dolphins’ record (5-6) is below .500, so the Steelers should be able to beat them.  The greatest challenge may be the Green Bay Packers.  They’re 7-4, but they’re trailing the Minnesota Vikings (who the Steelers already beat) in the NFC North.  That game will be in Pittsburgh, so the Steelers should have a decided advantage.

When we look at that schedule, it is very easy to envision the Steelers winning each of those games.  Going 5-0 is very feasible.  However, the other teams that are in the playoff hunt probably can’t say the same thing.

The Denver Broncos currently hold the first wildcard position.  However, they have lost 3 games in a row, and they still have games remaining against the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles.  That is hardly an easy path to the playoffs.  In fact, they’ll probably be underdogs in both of those games.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ path doesn’t look much easier.  Jacksonville has games remaining against Houston, Indianapolis, and New England.  They could easily lose all of those games.  They’ll likely lose 2 of them.  Count them out.

The Ravens still have out-of-division games with Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, and Oakland.  They might lose one of those games.  But the biggest obstacle in the Ravens’ path is another meeting with the Steelers.  This one will be in Pittsburgh, and the Ravens will be the underdogs.

So as you can see, the Steelers fate is really in their own hands.  If they take care of business, the playoffs are within reach.

Does anyone really think that Jacksonville is going to beat Indy and New England?  Me neither.

Does anyone believe that Denver is going to beat Indianapolis and Philadelphia?  I didn’t think so.

Does anyone believe that Baltimore is going to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh?  Of course not.

So I’ll ask the question again, “what’s everyone so worried about?”

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Here is the video of Mike Tomlin’s press conference from Tuesday.  He give his assurance that there is no lingering issue between Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward.

Hopefully, this closes that chapter. I doubt that there was ever a problem between Ben and Hines to begin with. But once the story aired, there was no stopping it.

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