Fans can be tough sometimes. And Steelers fans in particular are a very demanding bunch. So I wasn’t surprised when I started getting messages from Steelers fans complaining about some of their new coaching hires.
“Why did the Steelers hire a coach who got fired by the Buffalo Bills? The Bills suck!” That was a pretty typical comment when the Steelers decided to hire Sean Kugler as their new offensive line coach.
“Al Everests coached one of the worst special teams units in the NFL last year! Why would the Steelers hire him?” Fans didn’t seem to be too happy after the Steelers hired Everest as special teams coordinator. Everest was fired by the San Francisco 49ers after his special teams unit ranked near the bottom of the NFL in punt coverage and kickoff coverage.
“Why the @#$&%# did the Steelers promote their wide receivers coach to be the new quarterbacks coach??!! Couldn’t they even find a guy who was a quarterbacks coach?” That was a typical response when the team chose wide receivers coach Randy Fichtner to be their new quarterbacks coach.
QB coach Randy Fichtner
My comment would be “Give the guys a chance”. If you stick around long enough, you’ll probably eventually get fired in the NFL. It’s just what happens. Sometimes it’s the coach’s fault, and sometimes it isn’t.
Remember, Bill Belichick was a failure in Cleveland. Now he’s considered to be a genius. Brian Billick was hired as the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach because he was perceived to be an offensive guru. Yet throughout his tenure, the Ravens were a defensive team, and the offense was mediocre at best.
Players also play a big role in a coach’s success or failure. What if you were the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders, and your future was in the hands of JaMarcus Russell? Prepare to be fired.
Sean Kugler was let go by the Buffalo Bills, but actually the entire staff was let go. That included Bobby April, who is considered to be one of the best special teams coaches in the NFL. Kugler is considered to be a capable offensive line coach. His Bills team gave up a lot of sacks this past season, but that was primarily because they had so many injuries that he had to use a different line-up for almost every game.
Al Everest was fired because he used a reverse on a punt return without getting Head Coach Mike Singletary’s approval. That play resulted in a fumble that contributed to a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But prior to last season, Everest’s 49ers special teams units have always been excellent in their coverage. Moreover, he is considered to be a master motivator. In 2002, when he was with the Arizona Cardinals, Everest was voted NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year when his team had 3 touchdown returns, and 5 blocked kicks.
Fichtner has no NFL experience as a quarterbacks coach, but he has served in that role at the college level. He was quarterbacks coach at Memphis from 1990 – 93, Arkansas State from 1997 – 2000, and back at Memphis from 2001 – 2006, where he also served as offensive coordinator.
Lets remember that these guys aren’t unknowns. They have experience. Moreover, Coach Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, and the Rooneys think they are the right men for the job. So let’s give them a chance.
Besides, can they be any worse than what we had last year?
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Now that the Steelers are no longer playing, Steeler Nation is left watching other teams battle in the playoffs (am I the only one who finds himself thinking “we could have beaten that team?”).
In discussing the playoffs with fellow Steelers fans, an interesting topic has come up. I have had disagreements with several fans over which teams it is okay for Steelers fans to support in the playoffs.
I always assumed that Steeler Nation was pretty united about who our enemies are. But now I see that that is not true.
For example, I said on my Facebook page that I was happy to see the Colts destroying the hated Baltimore Ravens in this past weekend’s playoff game. But to my surprise, quite a few fans came back at me and told me that they hated the Colts more than the Ravens.
Personally, I was shocked by this. How could any Steelers fan hate any team more than they hate the Ravens? Steelers and Ravens are like Superman and Lex Luthor, or Spiderman and the Green Goblin, or Casey Hampton and Nutrisystem; they’re natural enemies.
Not only did I think that it was inappropriate to hate any team more than the Ratbirds, I also questioned whether the Colts are even a natural enemy to the Steelers.
So I started assembling a list of the teams that I believe are natural rivals to our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.
Firstly, I believe that all of the other teams in the AFC North are our natural enemies. Thus, the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns have to be on the list of the Steelers’ natural rivals. Among these division opponents, I believe that the Ravens have earned a spot at the top of the hate list.
The Ravens are brash and arrogant. They have historically had a very strong defense, just like the Steelers, so there is a natural rivalry each season to see which team has the best defense. The two teams play one another twice each season (sometimes more). Moreover, over the past decade (with a few notable exceptions), it has always been the Steelers and Ravens who have fought for AFC North supremacy. I’m not sure if there is any rivalry in football that is as physical as Steelers versus Ravens. When you add in the fact that the Ravens actually put out a bounty on Hines Ward, I don’t think that there is any question that the Baltimore Ravens are enemy #1.
Public enemy #1
After the AFC North opponents, I think most Steelers fans will agree that the New England Patriots are a natural enemy of the Steelers. The Steelers and Patriots may not be in the same division, but they have had some classic battles in the playoffs. Too often, it was the Patriots who knocked the Steelers out of the AFC Championship picture. Twice they did it right in our own stadium. Belichick’s cheatin’ ways probably cost the Steelers a Super Bowl trophy.
In truth, the Patriots may rank higher on the “hate list” than the Bengals or Browns. Personally, I rank them at #2 behind the Ravens. After all, which team prevented the Steelers from being the team of the decade? And they didn’t even do it fair and square. I hate them!
Next on the hate list is the Dallas Cowboys. Like the Patriots, I rank the Cowboys higher on my hate list than either the Bengals or Browns. The Cowboys are like the anti-Steelers. They are glitzy and glamorous while the Steelers are blue collar and down to Earth. The Cowboys have the title of “America’s team”, even though everyone knows that the Steelers are really America’s team.
No two teams have met more often in the Super Bowl than the Steelers and Cowboys. The Steelers have won twice, while the Cowboys won once. Of course the Steelers would have actually won all 3 times if it hadn’t been for a certain former quarterback whose name shall not be mentioned. His untimely interceptions cost the Steelers yet another Lombardi Trophy.
The historic nature of the Steelers-Cowboys rivalry puts them high on my hate list, even though we don’t play them very often. Moreover, the Cowboys are the team that is most likely to match the Steelers’ total of 6 Super Bowl championship. More than anything else, that is reason for Steeler Nation to want the Cowboys to lose every game they play. We all want the Steeler to stand alone in their number of Super Bowl championships for a very long time. Frankly, I hope the Cowboys will still be stuck at 5 Lombardi Trophies in the year 4078.
Upon further review, maybe I hate the Cowboys more than I hate the Patriots. They’re at least tied. Maybe one is 2A and the other is 2B. Regardless, I hate them both.
Some would argue that the Raiders are a natural enemy of the Steelers. I tend to disagree. There was a time when this was clearly true. But Ken Stabler, Dave Casper, Otis Sistrunk, Art Shell, Ray Guy and Fred Biletnikoff are a distant memory. The Raiders have been so bad for so long that it’s hard to hate them. In fact, it’s hard to do anything but pity the poor Raiders fans who have had to deal with Al Davis for all of these years.
Several fans argued that the Colts are also a natural rival for the Steelers. I just don’t see it. We don’t play the Colts very often. We haven’t had many games of historic proportions against them (like Super Bowls or AFC Championship games). They’re not in our division. I just can’t count them as a natural rival. That doesn’t mean that you can’t hate them. You can hate any team you like. But I don’t think the majority of Steeler Nation feels that the Colts are in the same category as the teams that I listed above.
Some have even argued that the reason we should all hate the Colts is that they intentionally lost their last regular season game and prevented the Steelers from making the playoffs. Well if you use that logic, then do you hate the team that lost to the Jets in week 3? How about the team that lost to them in week 7? They each had as much to do with the Jets making the playoffs as the Colts did.
In my opinion, the only team that is responsible for the Steelers not making the playoffs is the Steelers. If they had won just one of the gimme games against the Chiefs, Raiders, or Browns, they’d be in the playoffs. So casting blame elsewhere is unfounded. So in my opinion, the Colts do not qualify as a natural rival to the Steelers.
So now that all of the natural enemies are officially out of the playoffs, the remaining teams are neutral territory for Steeler Nation. Feel free to pull for any team that you like. Besides, no matter which team wins, we all know that the Steelers probably could have beaten them.
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After the Steelers fired former special teams coach Bob Ligashesky, many believed that former Steelers special teams coach Bob April might replace him. April had opted out of the final year of his contract with the Buffalo Bills after the Bills informed their entire coaching staff that they should begin searching for new jobs.
April, who coached the Steelers special teams from 1994 – 1995 is considered to be one of the best special teams coaches in the NFL.
Most observers thought that the Steelers and the Washington Redskins had the inside track on obtaining April’s services. However, the Philadelphia Eagles quietly slipped in and stole April away from his other suitors.
The Steelers are interviewing San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator Al Everest today for their still vacant position.
Other Steelers coaching moves
The Steelers did land another former Buffalo Bills coach. Sean Kugler has been hired as the Steelers new offensive line coach, replacing Larry Zierlein.
New OL Coach Sean Kugler
Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler turned down the defensive coordinator job that had been offered to him by the Miami Dolphins. Many believe that Butler is the heir apparent whenever current Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau decides to retire.
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Now that the season is over, I have time to touch on some subjects that I didn’t have time to get to while the Steelers were still playing.
I know that some of you want me to talk about the draft, but we have months until the NFL draft, so there will be plenty of time to deal with that. Rather, I want to talk about an issue that has bothered me all season.
This has been a very difficult season for Steelers fans. After winning Super Bowl XLIII, most fans probably thought that 2009 was going to be a very good year for the Steelers. Most of our players were back, the team had a good draft, and we had a much easier schedule than we had in 2008. Visions of a repeat championship danced in the heads of Steeler Nation.
And then 2009 actually happened. Instead of a repeat championship, Troy Polamalu went down with an injury in the very first game. Then the Steelers lost to the Bears. And they lost to the Bengals (gasp!). And they struggled against the Detroit Lions. And for some reason, the defense seemed to disappear during the 4th quarter of every game. And then Aaron Smith was lost for the season too. And then that disastrous 5 game losing streak happened. Heck, we even lost to the Chiefs, Raiders, and Browns. Murphy’s Law was striking the Steelers with a vengeance.
In the midst of this debacle, Steelers fans started asking questions like “When’s Troy coming back?”, “What’s wrong with the Defense?”, and “Where’s my heart medicine?”
But as the losses accumulated, the questions turned to emphatic statements. “We need Troy!” “William Gay sucks!!” “Fire Bruce Arians!!!!!”
After each game, fans would analyze what was wrong with their beloved Steelers. This was to be expected, since most fans expected 2009 to be a very good year for the Steelers. What wasn’t expected was the stream of Steelers apologist who would inevitably enter the conversation with accusations that “a REAL Steelers fan wouldn’t criticize the team”. They would denounce those who questioned or criticized the team. Moreover, they’d usually label them as “bandwagon fans”.
I saw this behavior repeated over and over on my own blog, on my Facebook page, and on Steelers message boards throughout the internet.
“A REAL Steelers fan wouldn’t question the coaches!” “A REAL Steelers fan trusts the Rooneys!” “A REAL Steelers fan wouldn’t complain about losses!” “Those of you who complain need to leave Steeler Nation and become Ravens fans!”
I know that I’m going to take grief for saying this, but nobody has the right to tell other Steelers fans how they should behave. There is no rule book on “How to be a Steelers fan”.
The only criterion needed to qualify as a Steelers fan is that you love and root for the Steelers. How a fan chooses to exercise their fandom is up to them.
The fan who buys season tickets is not necesarily a better fan than the fan who watches the game on TV. The fan who wears Steelers gear 7 days a week is not necessarily a better fan than the fan who doesn’t own a single Steelers item. The 70 year old fan who has been following the Steelers since before the Chuck Noll era is not necessarily a better fan than the 9 year old fan who has only been following the team for a few years. The fan who lives in Pittsburgh is not necessarily a better fan than those who live in Texas, or California, or Georgia, or Alaska. After all, that’s why they call us “Steeler Nation”. Our members reside in every state of the Union. Moreover, they exist in countries throughout the world. Calling us Steeler Nation is now inaccurate. We should actually be called Steelers Planet, because we are located throughout the globe.
The reason that a fan complains about Bruce Arians play calling is that he thinks the Steelers would have a better chance of winning if they ran the ball more. The reason a fan complains about the Steelers’ draft picks is because they think the team would have a better chance of winning if they had chosen a different player. The reason that fans complain when the Steelers lose to the Chiefs, or Raiders, or Browns, is because they believe that the Steelers are superior to those teams, and that they SHOULD beat those teams.
The very fact that these fans take the time to analyze the play calling, or to study potential draft picks, proves that they ARE fans. They care about the team. They’re passionate. They want to see them do well.
Steelers fans come in all shapes and sizes. They come in all races and all genders. Some of them are Democrats and some are Republicans. Some are Protestants and some are Catholics. Some are Jews and some are Muslims. We won’t agree on everything, but the one thing that we DO agree on is that we love the Steelers and we want to see them win.
As far as how we express our love…….well, let’s just agree to disagree.
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The Steelers signed nine players to their off-season roster. Seven of the nine players were expected, since they were on the Steelers’ practice squad this past season.
The practice squad members who were signed are RBs Justin Vincent and Isaac Redman, TE Eugene Bright, WR Jason Chery, S Tuff Harris, DT Steve McCLendon and CB Trae Williams.
The team also signed defensive tackle Scott Paxson. Paxson spent time on the Steelers practice squad and active roster from 2006 – 2008.
Lastly, they signed kicker Piotr Czech. Czech was at Steelers training camp last year, but lost the competition with Jeff Reed. Reed is now a free agent.
However, one player who was expected to be re-signed was not. The Steelers did not sign center A.Q. Shipley. Shipley is a local kid, who played at Moon High School and Penn State. The Steelers selected Shipley in the 7th round of the 2009 draft.
With the problems that the Steelers have had with their offensive line, it is surprising to see that they didn’t keep one of the young players that they’ve been developing. Perhaps this means that the Steelers have determined that Shipley does not have the potential to contribute to the team in the future.
Steelers center A.Q. Shipley
I was at every day of training camp this past season, and I must admit that I can’t remember a single play that Shipley impressed me on. He seemed small and weak compared to the other Steelers offensive linemen.
Coming out of college, many scouts said that Shipley’s arms were too short for the NFL. However, the Steelers felt that his heart and work ethic made him worth giving a shot.
It’s not clear where Shipley will end up. It’s still possible that he could end up with the Steelers. However, I wish him well wherever he may end up. He was a tough kid from Pittsburgh who made us all proud. Good luck, A.Q.
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that he would make “appropriate changes” to the team’s personnel. I guess that mean that changing the offensive coordinator was not an “appropriate change” in Tomlin’s mind, because the Steelers have announced that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians will return for the 2010 season.
I know that many fans are going to be infuriated by this decision. Fans have been calling for Arians to be fired all season. I have also been hard on Arians all season long. But, believe it or not, I think this was the right decision.
Firing someone is a decision that should be made very carefully. It should not be done on a whim. And the person who is being fired must DESERVE to be fired.
As much as I question Bruce Arians’ play calling at times, I can’t honestly say that Arians deserves to be fired.
Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians
Let’s look at this objectively. Bruce Arians was the offensive coordinator when the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII. More importantly, it was Arians who implemented one of the most potent offenses in Steelers history.
The 2009 Steelers had a 1,000 yard rusher, two 1,000 yard receivers, and the team’s first 4,000 yard passer. It would be illogical to say that the Steelers’ offense sucked this year. It was actually pretty prolific. One of the best in team history. So how can you fire an offensive coordinator for having the most prolific offense the team has ever seen?
Be honest. Why do you REALLY want to see Arians fired. It’s not because he caused us to lose. The defense was more responsible for most of the team’s losses than the offense. Let’s face it, there was no lead too large for the defense to give away in the 4th quarter this year. The Steelers defensive backs made average quarterbacks look like Hall-of-Famers. Remember Bruce Gradkowski? Tyler Thigpen? Yet I don’t hear anyone calling for Dick LeBeau to be fired. Why is that? His unit performed much more poorly than Arians’ unit did.
Were there problems with the offense? Certainly. The offense struggled in 3rd down situations. They also struggled in the red zone. The Steelers kicked too many field goals, when they should have scored touchdowns. Finally, the offensive line allowed Big Ben to get sacked too often.
Call me an optimist, but I believe that all of those problems can be fixed without firing the offensive coordinator.
The Steelers had a much bigger problem on special teams, and guess what? They fired special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky. He needed to be fired. He oversaw one of the worst special teams units in team history. I don’t think anyone will question this decision.
Ex-Steelers coach Bob Ligashesky
The Steelers also fired offensive line coach Larry Zierlein. He probably needed to go, too. The Steelers just didn’t seem to know how to block effectively. The offensive line is a HUGE part of why our 3rd down and red zone efficiency is so low. Do you think that Bruce Arians wouldn’t like to be able to give the ball to his running back on 3rd and 1? But the Steelers running attack has proven that it can’t be trusted in those situations.
In Zierlein’s defense, he didn’t have much to work with. We all know that the Steelers’ offensive line has been inadequate for years. Max Starks is too slow to be a left tackle (just ask Clay Matthews Jr.), Trai Essex got his position by default, and Willie Colon is a great run blocker, but he doesn’t seem to be able to pass block without holding. I’ve always felt that the Steelers would be better off if they moved Starks back to right tackle, moved Colon to right guard (where is skills would be best utilized), and finally got a quality left tackle. But instead, they continue to support Starks as a left tackle and Colon as a right tackle.
Even given the personnel problems, there was definitely something wrong with Zierlein’s pass blocking schemes. Their blitz pick-up was terrible. Does anyone else remember the 8 sacks that the team surrendered to the Cleveland Browns? What was up with that? Half of the Browns’ starters didn’t even play that game due to injury. That performance alone was cause for Zierlein to be fired.
I don’t think that anyone in Steeler Nation believes that Big Ben is responsible for all of the sacks that he takes, despite the fact that he holds the ball waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long (Note to Ken Anderson’s replacement: PLEASE force Ben to throw the ball away when he is under pressure).
So despite having sub-par personnel on the offensive line, Zierlein probably needed to go.
So Arians stays, and Ligashesky and Zierlien go. Probably not what most fans wanted to hear, but still the right move.
Coach Tomlin will be called gutless for not firing Arians. But the truth is, it took a lot of guts to keep Arians when the fans were calling for his ouster.
I can support this decision for now. But if the team doesn’t improve it’s 3rd down and red zone efficiency, I expect to see this decision revisited next year. After all, what good is it to gain 1 billion yards, if you can’t put the ball into the endzone?
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I guess the season is officially over for your team when the league announces in what position they will draft. Playoff teams still don’t know their draft order.
Being a non-playoff team, the NFL announced that the Pittsburgh Steelers will have the 18th pick in the 2010 draft. The Steelers were given the best pick of all of the teams that ended up tied with a 9-7 record. That means the league thinks we were the worst of the five 9-7 teams. I guess something good came out of all of those losses to weak opponents.
Since 2005, the Steelers have drafted 30th, 25th, 15th, 23rd, and 32nd. So as you can see, the Steelers don’t draft this early very often.
Here are some of the players who have been drafted at the 18th pick or later in the 1st round of recent NFL drafts.
2006 – Antonio Cromartie, Nick Mangold, DeAngelo Williams
2007 – Leon Hall, Joe Staley, Jon Beason
2008 – Joe Flacco, Chris Johnson, Felix Jones
2009 – Alex Mack, Percy Harvin, Michael Oher
As you can see, the Steelers should have an opportunity to draft a very good player. Some positions such as left tackle, quarterback, and cornerback tend to go very high in the draft. Thus, the best players at those positions will probably be gone before the Steelers make their first pick. However, the Steelers may be able to get the top safety, guard, or center in this year’s draft, should they choose to select any of those positions.
Of course we won’t know what players are going to be available in the draft, or what other teams’ needs are for a while. However, this gives us something positive to think about now that the Steelers are no longer playing.
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Well, the 2009 season is a wrap for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite beating the Miami Dolphins 30-24, the Steelers didn’t get the help that they needed from other teams in order to get into the playoffs. So the team goes into the off-season with lots of questions to answer.
But before we get to that, let’s review the game. Several players had especially good performances that are worth noting. Firstly, LaMarr Woodley had his coming out party in 2009. With Troy Polamalu on the sideline, Woodley became the most dominant member of the defense. Woodley showed no mercy to Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne, despite the fact that they were college teammates at Michigan. Woodley sacked Henne twice, and pressured him many more times.
Willie Parker also had a very good game. Despite not being utilized very much this season, Parker rushed for 91 yards on 12 carries against the Dolphins. That was a nice final performance as he enters free agency. Good luck next year, Willie. You won’t be playing for the Steelers.
Big Ben also had a very good game. He threw 3 touchdowns without an interception. 2009 was a great year for Big Ben.
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger
The Steelers’ cornerbacks finally got an interception. Both Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend got interceptions against the Dolphins. It’s too bad they also made Dolphins 3rd string QB Tyler Thigpen look like Dan Marino.
Mike Wallace also had a good game. He caught another long touchdown pass. I knew this kid was going to be good. I could see it back in training camp. I even wrote about it here.
Rookie WR Mike Wallace
Finally, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called a pretty good game. I’ve been pretty tough on Arians this season, so I owe it to him to point out when he calls a good game. Bruce actually called a pretty balanced game. He used his running backs 32 times, and called pass plays 28 times. You can’t get much more balanced than that. Moreover, Ben had a great game while the backs rushed for almost 200 yards. See, you CAN run the ball and pass it too. Of course Arians did call for that asinine pass by Santonio Holmes. But I’m going to ignore that, and focus on the positive. Good game, Bruce.
But despite their victory over the Dolphins, Sunday was not a happy day for the Steelers. The bad news started early, and just kept on coming.
The bad news started when the Houston Texans beat the New England Patriots. The Steelers needed the Texans to lose more than any other team. Once the Texans won, the Steelers needed the Oakland Raiders to beat the Baltimore Ravens.
The Raiders were actually beating the Ravens, but then their quarterback got hurt and they had to call on JaMarcus Russell. The moment JaMarcus Russell came into the game for the Raiders, any hope the Steelers might have had went out the window. Russell is probably the worst quarterback in the NFL. Having to depend on him to win a game is like depending on Whitney Houston to say “no” to crack; it’s just not going to happen. So the Raiders lost, and the Ravens were in the playoffs. Then, to toss salt in the wound, the Cincinnati Bengals completely shut it down against the New York Jets. Not that it mattered at that point, but I’m sure the Bengals enjoyed knowing that they did absolutely nothing to help the Steelers’ chances.
So the Steelers now head into the off-season with a long list of questions. Will Casey Hampton be signed to a new contract? Will Ryan Clark be with the team next year? Will Troy Polamalu’s knee heal completely? Will Willie Gay get burned for touchdowns even when the Steelers aren’t playing? Will Bruce Arians return as offensive coordinator? Will the Steelers hire a new special teams coach? Will Jeff Reed be back for another season with the Steelers, or will he get arrested first and force the Steelers to let him go?
The Steelers won’t be in the playoffs, but the off-season is still going to be very exciting for Steeler Nation. The team has lots of questions to answer. I expect this team to make significant changes in the months to come. Stay tuned.
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The Steelers take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday. Steeler Nation’s attention will be focused on the outcome of a bunch of other games to see if the Steelers will luck out and make the playoffs.
That’s all fine and good, but the reality is that the most important game to pay attention to is the Steelers-Dolphins game. If the Steelers don’t win, then the outcome of all of the other games becomes moot.
The Steelers MUST beat the Dolphins. Period. End of story.
If the Steeler lose, it’s a wrap. The Steelers won’t make the playoffs, regardless of what anyone else does. So beating the Dolphins is the only thing that anyone should be worried about. Everything else is out of our control.
So let’s take a look at the Dolphins. What do the Steelers need to do to beat this team?
The Steelers have won 4 of the past 5 games against the Dolphins, including their last meeting which was the muddy mess of a game in 2007 that the Steelers won 3-0.
The Dolphins are 7-8 going into the game. The Dolphins were primarily a run-oriented team. They average 142.1 yards per game on the ground. Much of their ground yardage came from their wildcat offense. Fortunately, the Dolphins’ running game has been hampered by injuries. The Dolphins lost Ronnie Brown in November due to a foot injury, and Ricky Williams was hurt last week and is unlikely to play on Sunday. So the Dolphins’ running game is basically screwed.
If the Dolphins can’t run the ball (which they shouldn’t be able to do against the Steelers’ defense), then they’ll have to rely on quarterback Chad Henne. Henne’s role in the offense increased drastically after Ronnie Brown was lost for the season. Henne has averaged over 40 passes per game the past 6 games. That’s a lot of passing.
This is Henne’s first year as a starter for the Dolphins. His results have been mediocre at best. His quarterback rating is 74.4. He’s completed 59.9% of his passes, and has thrown for 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while being sacked 24 times.
Unless things go in a way that is totally unexpected, the Steelers should have no problem stopping the Dolphins’ offense. The Dolphins’ defense, on the other hand, might be another matter.
The Dolphins defense is a fairly blitz-happy bunch. They’re 5th in the NFL with 41 sacks. That’s only 3 fewer than the Steelers have. The Dolphins are led by a guy named Joey Porter. The name sounds slightly familiar, but I can’t quite remember where I’ve heard it before. Porter leads the team with 8 sacks. Jason Taylor is Porter’s partner in the Miami sack parade. Taylor has 7 sacks. The Steelers offensive line is going to have to work overtime to keep these two off of Big Ben.
Fortunately, the Dolphins’ secondary is even weaker than the Steelers’ (if that’s even possible). The Dolphins’ secondary gives up more yards per pass than any other team in the NFL. If the offensive line can buy Ben a little time, he should be able to pass for even more yardage against the Dolphins than he did against the Packers. How does 600 yards sound?
For once, I might even be able to forgive Bruce Arians for having Roethlisberger pass the ball 50 times. Okay, maybe not. Brucie isn’t getting off that easily.
If they play up to their ability, the Steelers should beat the Dolphins. Everything else is out of their control. Steeler Nation will just have to pray that the football gods smile upon the them and make things fall into place the way we all hope that they will.
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Since last week’s win against the Baltimore Ravens, Steeler Nation has been obsessing over the various scenarios that will result in the Steelers making the playoffs.
The purpose of this article is not to discuss the chain of events that needs to happen in order for the Steelers to make the playoffs. There are plenty of articles out there that do that. Just Google the words “Steelers playoff scenarios”, and thousands of articles will pop up that outline the myriad playoff scenarios.
The purpose of this article is slightly different. In this article, I want to answer a different question. Rather than focus on what needs to happen for the Steelers to make the playoffs, I want to answer the question “Do the Steelers deserve to make the playoffs?”
This year’s Steelers team is unlike any that I can remember. For the first time, I find myself feeling embarrassed about the Steelers.
When I look at the Steelers special teams, I see a unit that is the worst in the entire NFL. They seem to enjoy watching their opponents celebrate touchdowns. Perhaps that’s why they’ve given up so many of them.
When I look at the Steelers’ defensive backs, I see a unit that doesn’t seem to be able to stop even the most meager passing attack. The cornerbacks can’t catch a cold. It’s hard to see this unit as being playoff worthy.
The Steelers’ offensive line doesn’t seem to be able to get an adequate push to allow the running game to operate effectively. That’s part of the reason why head coach Mike Tomin seems content to allow the offense to throw the ball 90% of the time. He doesn’t have confidence in the Steelers’ ability to run it effectively.
Kicker Jeff Reed couldn’t make a kickoff reach the endzone if his life depended on it. His lack of distance further exacerbates the problems the Steelers have with their special teams. It’s a good thing Reed is able to kick field goals accurately at Heinz Field (which isn’t easy to do), otherwise the Steelers would probably have gotten rid of him years ago.
Steelers kicker Jeff Reed
Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians doesn’t believe in traditional smash-mouth Steelers football. He doesn’t believe in using a fullback. He shows no commitment to running the ball. Nope, Bruce loves to throw the ball. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that Bruce Arians will be the first NFL offensive coordinator to utilize a 9 wide receiver set. Or perhaps 5 wide receivers and 4 tight ends. Either option would probably give Arians the orgasm of a lifetime.
The majority of Steeler Nation would probably like to see Arians executed, rather than just fired. Is execution legal in Pittsburgh?
I’ve been a Steelers fan for a long time. I can remember some terrible Steelers. Cliff Stoudt. John Reinstra. Jamaine Stephens. Tim Worley. Delton Hall. Sean Mahan. Huey Richardson. Troy Edwards. Tom Ricketts. Limas Sweed. You get the picture. Yet I can barely remember an entire Steelers team that was as flawed as this one. O-line, D-backs, special teams, coaching, etc. That’s a lot of flaws.
This Steelers team is just barely over .500. Two weeks ago, they were below .500.
The 2009 Steelers have managed to play down to the level of their opponents, no matter how bad the opponent may have been. The Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and Cleveland Browns were the worst of those opponents, and the Steelers lost to all three of them.
So, does a team that has struggled to stay above .500, and that has lost to several of the worst teams in the NFL deserve to make the playoffs? Surprisingly, I believe the answer is “yes”.
Despite their many shortcomings, the 2009 Steelers have just as much chance to win it all as any team in the playoffs. I guess that’s NFL parity for you.
If the playoffs were to start today, the Steelers would not be in them. However, they will have played 5 of the teams that would make the playoffs. Moreover, they’ve beaten 4 of them (San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and Green Bay Packers). The Cincinnati Bengals would be the only playoff team that has beaten the Steelers this season.
Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that the Steelers have lost to the 3 worst teams in the AFC. But if they do get into the playoffs, winning is actually a possibility.
Some fans probably hope that the Steelers don’t make the playoffs. That way, they’ll get a better draft pick and can begin fixing their woeful offensive line and defensive backfield. I can understand that line of thinking. However, if the Steelers DO make the playoffs, they can actually win some games. Just so long as the Chiefs, Raiders, or Browns aren’t in the playoffs. Then the Steelers wouldn’t have a chance.
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