Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Crushed.  Spanked.  Stomped.  Beat.  Annihilated.  Destroyed.  Arses kicked.  You pick the best description for what happened to the Steelers today.  No matter how you describe it, it wasn’t pretty.

The Steelers lost to the Baltimore Ravens 35-7.  But it felt more like 135-7.

The Ravens seemed to be much hungrier, and much better prepared, than the Steelers.  As a result, they dominated the Steelers in every phase of the game.

On defense, the Ravens seemed to spend the entire game in the Steelers’ backfield.  It was so bad that I started to wonder if Terrell Suggs was actually a running back for the Steelers.  Suggs accumulated 3 sacks on Ben Roethlisberger, and seemed to be chasing him anytime he wasn’t sacking him.

Terrell Suggs pressures Ben

Meanwhile, the Steelers’ defense didn’t seem to want to tackle anybody.  They certainly didn’t try to tackle Ray Rice.    Rice had over 100 yards of total offense by halftime, and ended the game with 107 rushing yards, and 149 total yards.

Not only did the Steelers’ defense let Rice run amok, but they also got almost no pressure on Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco.  Flacco seemed to have an eternity to complete pass after pass.

The Steelers’ defensive backs didn’t provide much help either.  They appeared to be more than willing to allow Flacco to complete as many TD passes as he desired (Flacco only threw 3 TD passes, but it certainly seemed like more than that).

Bryant McFadden gets beat.

But the defense can’t take all of the blame for the loss.  The offense certainly deserves their fair share of the blame too.

It’s generally understood that in the NFL, the team that turns over the ball most often tends to lose the game.  And the Steelers turned over the ball early and often.

The Steelers ended the game with 7 turnovers.  That’s right, 7!  They had as many turnovers as points scored.  That’s not a good thing.

I hate to say it, but I felt like the Steelers were back in Super Bowl XLV.  When Big Ben wasn’t throwing interceptions (he threw 3 of them), the running backs were fumbling the ball.  Isn’t that essentially how they lost the Super Bowl?

Not only did Roethlisberger throw 3 interceptions, but he was also sacked 4 times.  He ended the game with a QB rating of only 52.9.  With statistics like that, somebody might think that the Steelers started JaMarcus Russell at quarterback rather than Ben Roethlisberger.

The Steelers’ offense was so impotent that kicker Shaun Suisham didn’t even get to attempt a field goal.  That’s right, he was 0/0.  The Steelers couldn’t even generate enough offense to allow Suisham to try to put 3 points on the board.  That’s almost unheard of.

Part of the problem was that the Steelers played without any offensive linemen.  Well, technically they did have offensive linemen.  They just didn’t try to block any of the guys in purple.

I do have to give Willie Colon credit.  He tried to hold the Ravens’ defenders at every possible opportunity (and drew the flags to prove it).  But believe it or not, that was actually better than what Jonathan Scott and Doug Legursky did.  They both repeatedly let defenders run by them while barely getting a hand on them.

Fortunately, this was only the first game of the season.  The Steelers still have 15 more games to turn things around.  But hopefully, this game will serve as a wake-up call.

The other 31 NFL teams are not going to surrender just because the Steelers were in the Super Bowl last year.  So the Steelers have to enter every game with intensity and solid preparation.  If not, they can lose 35-7.

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This Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens renew what is probably the best (and fiercest) rivalry in the NFL.  The two teams will meet at M&T Stadium in Baltimore.

It’s probably unfair to say that the Steelers “own” the Ravens……..but they’re certainly leasing them. And that should remain the case on Sunday.

Some Steelers fans will disagree with that sentiment.  And I’m sure that ALL Baltimore fans will take exception to the comment.  But it’s true nonetheless.

I know that 8 of the last 9 meetings between the two teams have been won by a touchdown or less.  Five of those games were won by only a field goal.  But the Steelers still own……errrr, I mean “lease” the Ravens.

The Ravens beat the Steelers once last season.  But that was early in the year when Ben Roethlisberger was suspended.  When Roethlisberger has played against the Ravens, the Steelers generally win.  In fact, Big Ben has beaten the Ravens 7 straight times.  If that’s not dominance, I don’t know what is.

Steelers vs. Ravens

Ben Roethlisberger is better than Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco.  It’s as simple as that.  Flacco has never beaten Roethlisberger.  Never.  What more proof do you need?

But Roethlisberger isn’t the only advantage the Steelers have over the Ravens.

Big Ben also has better targets to throw to.  Anquan Boldin has good hands.  But Hines Ward has better hands.  Lee Evans is fast.  But Mike Wallace is faster.  And lets not forget Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown.  I’d take them over Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss any day.

The Ravens’ new starting tight end is Ed Dickson.  Would anybody be willing to trade Heath Miller for him?  I didn’t think so.

The thing that has historically defined both teams are their stifling, physical defenses.  But much like their offense, the Steelers’ defense is better than the Ravens’.

Ray Lewis, Jarret Johnson, Jameel McClain, and Terrell Suggs are a very good group of linebackers.  But LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, James Farrior, and James Harrison are The best in the NFL.

Cory Redding, Terrence Cody, and Haloti Ngata are good.  But Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, and Brett Keisel are better.

I have no doubt that Sunday’s game is going to be physical, exciting, and hard-fought.  But I also have no doubt about which team is going to emerge victorious from the game.

The last time the Steelers lost their season opener was in 2002.  When Sunday’s game is over, that statistic will still be true.  After all, the Steelers lease the Ravens.

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Most Steelers fans would probably agree that the team’s weakness over the past few years has been their cornerbacks.  Some would even argue that the weakness at cornerback is what cost the Steelers another ring in  Super Bowl XLV.

In Super Bowl XLV, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers used a formula that is becoming the template for beating the Steelers.   They used 3, and even 4, wide receivers to spread the Steelers’ defense.  They focused on the passing game, knowing that running on the Steelers’ defense is basically futile.  They picked on Bryant McFadden early and often.   And they took advantage of mismatches against the Steelers’ 3rd and 4th cornerbacks.

This wasn’t a new battle plan.  The New England Patriots have used this formula for years against the Steelers.  In fact, I remember one game several years ago in which Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw the ball on over 90% of the offensive plays.  They used short passes to Wes Welker as their de facto running game.  The Patriots understood that running on the Steelers is almost impossible, but passing against them is relatively easy.

We’re less than a week away from the first game of the 2011 season, and the obvious question is,  “Have the Steelers strengthened the cornerback position?”

To answer that question, we have to look at the Steelers’ roster at cornerback.  The starters at cornerback in 2010 were Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden.  According to the Steelers’ current depth chart, the two starter for the 2011 season opener will be………..Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden.  The only difference will be that both players will be a year older, and Ike Taylor will be playing with a broken thumb.  Yikes!

The Steelers’ 3rd and 4th cornerback in 2010 were William Gay and Keenan Lewis.  Neither player inspired much confidence in Steelers fans.  Gay would occasionally make great plays.  But he was just as likely to get burned for a touchdown.  And Lewis seemed to be such a knucklehead that his mental errors offset his significant physical tools.

So what have the Steelers done to upgrade their nickel and dime defenses?  According to the Steelers’ current depth chart, the 3rd and 4th cornerbacks in 2011 are ……..William Gay and Keenan Lewis.  Are you starting to see a pattern here?

Admittedly, Lewis has looked a little better than he did last year, but William Gay looks like the exact same guy.

William Gay gets burned....again.

In 2010, the Steelers’ 5th & 6th cornerbacks were Anthony Madison and Crezdon Butler.  But the truth is that Madison was used almost exclusively as a special teams ace, and Butler saw about as much playing time as I did.  In other words, they were both non-factors in the Steelers’ defense.

So how have the Steelers upgraded their 5th & 6th cornerbacks for 2011.  Butler and Madison are both gone, and they’ve been replaced by two rookies; Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen.  Both Brown and Allen were hurt for much of training camp and the preseason, so neither got on the field very often.  So in essence, the Steelers kept two rookies who have little chance of seeing any action this year.  In other words, Brown and Allen are likely to be non-factors, just like Butler and Madison before them.

Simply based on physical tools, I would say that Brown and Allen have an advantage over Butler and Madison.  But until they translate their physical tools into actual on-field play, it’s hard to determine whether they’ll ultimately be better than Crezdon Butler and Anthony Madison.

So, it seems that the Steelers have 4 cornerbacks who are likely to see the majority of the playing time, just like in 2010.  In fact, the 4 cornerbacks are the exact same guys.

Only time will tell if the Steelers’ cornerbacks will perform better in 2011 than they did in 2010.  But the fact that the first 4 guys on the roster are exactly the same, doesn’t leave me with a whole lot of optimism.

Someone once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.  For the Steelers’ sake, let’s all pray that he was wrong.

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There were questions about who would make the Steelers’ final roster.  But on Saturday, all of those questions were answered.  The Steelers, along with the 31 other NFL teams, submitted their final 2011 rosters to the NFL.

Most of the Steelers roster moves were expected, but a few surprises were slipped in.  Let’s take a look at the final roster.

Quarterbacks

Just like last year, most Steelers fans thought that the Steelers would carry Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, and Dennis Dixon as the 3 quarterbacks on the roster.  Charlie Batch got almost no work during training camp or preseason, and it was a foregone conclusion that Batch wasn’t going to make the roster.  But just like last year, an injury to Byron Leftwich in the final preseason game caused the Steelers to keep Charlie Batch.  Can you say “deja vu”, boys and girls?

Running backs

Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman were locks to make the 2011 roster.  Rookie Baron Batch was starting to make a name for himself in training camp.  It appeared as though he was going to make the 2011 roster until he suffered an injury.  The injury to Batch helped two players.  Firstly, it meant that Mewelde Moore was coming back as the 3rd down back.  It also meant that Jonathan Dwyer, who came to training camp out of shape and looked unlikely to make the team, would be saved by a miracle.

Wide receivers

Hines Ward’s spot was assured.  So were the 3 young receivers from last year, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, and Antonio Brown.  The question was which other two receivers would be kept on the roster.  The Steelers had brought Jerricho Cotchery into training camp to add another veteran receiver.  Apparently, they never wavered from that desire, and Cotchery made the final roster.  Finally, Arnaz Battle retained his roster spot, primarily due to his special teams contribution.

Tight ends

Heath Miller and David Johnson were locks to make the team.  But the third tight end was not as certain.  Veteran John Gilmore was brought in to fill the spot, but rookie Weslye Saunders outplayed him in the preseason.  So Gilmore is gone, and Saunders in in.

Offensive line

Jonathan Scott, Chris Kemoeatu, Maurkice Pouncey, Doug Legursky, and Willie Colon will be the starters.  Rookie Marcus Gilbert, Ramon Foster, Trai Essex, and Chris Scott will be the backups.  The backups came as a bit of a surprise.  I actually thought Tony Hills would be among the group.  Hills, a former 4th round draft pick, had finally begun to justify all of the space that he’s wasted on the Steelers roster for all these years.  It even looked like he might be named the starter at right guard.  Readers of Steelers Today know that I’ve never been a fan of Hills.  In fact, I thought he was destined to be the next Trai Essex (a former mid-round draft pick who has remained on the roster for what seems like decades, despite never being good enough to break into the starting line-up).  But when the Steelers decided to bring the original Trai Essex back, it apparently made Hills redundant.  So they kept Chris Scott instead.

Goodbye Tony Hills.

Defensive line

Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, Chris Hoke, Cameron Heyward, and Steve McClendon.  No surprises here.  Next!

Linebackers

There were no real surprises on what may be the most dynamic group on the Steelers roster.  LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, James Farrior, and James Harrison will be back to wreak havoc on Steelers opponents.  Larry Foote, Jason Worilds, Stevenson Sylvester, and Chris Carter will back them up.

Cornerbacks

This is the group that makes Steelers fans nervous.  Ike Taylor was a lock.  But everybody else was a question mark.  There were  rumors that Bryant McFadden might not make the roster.  And Steelers fans have prayed for years that William Gay would be cut.  But in the end, both McFadden and Gay were kept around for another year.  Keenan Lewis also managed to hold a roster spot despite his history of mental errors.  The two draft picks, Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, both made the roster without being able to show much during training camp and preseason.  I guess the Steelers felt confident in their potential.  That means they had to give up on the potential of last year’s rookie Crezdon Butler.  However, my guess is that Butler will be added to the practice squad.

Safeties

Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Ryan Mundy, and Will Allen.  Any questions?

Specialists

There was little doubt that Shaun Suisham and Greg Warren were going to make the team.  But there actually was a competition between Dan Sepulveda and Jeremy Kapinos.  Sepulveda was injured last year, and has a history of injuries that dates back to his college days.  Kapinos filled in well for Sepulveda last year.  However, I think everyone will agree that when he’s healthy, Sepulveda is a better punter than Kapinos.  The question will be whether Sepulveda can remain healthy.

Overall, I think the Steelers did a nice job assembling their roster.  They’ve kept a large core of veteran players.  However, they’ve also done a good job of infusing youth into the team.

So barring injury, it looks like the Steelers will go into the 2012 NFL draft with the hope of finding a young nose tackle to eventually replace the aging Casey Hampton.  They’ll also be searching for young cornerbacks who can eventually push Bryant McFadden and William Gay out the door.  Sound familiar?

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