10 reasons to feel optimistic about the Steelers
October 1, 2009
By Donald Starver
The Steelers have lost two games in a row, and just as quickly as that, Chicken Little has come out of hiding. The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
The Steelers are 1-2, and some are quick to point out that the Steelers have the same record as the Detroit Lions and the Oakland Raiders. But is that really so bad?
Statistics can be often be misleading. Sure, the Steelers have more losses than wins. They are also in third place in the AFC North, and trail the Baltimore Ravens by 2 games. Despite this, I am not the least bit concerned about the Steelers. In fact, I feel quite confident.
Let’s look at a few facts that leave me feeling extremely optimistic.
1. The Steelers have outgained their opponents 704 yards to 563 yards in their two losses. That’s right, the Steelers had significantly more yards than their opponent in both losses.
2. Willie Parker was the leading rusher in each of the Steelers’ losses. Some have overlooked this statistic. Sure, Willie hasn’t had any 100+ yard performances, but he’s outperformed the opposing running backs in both games.
Willie Parker
3. The Steelers led in time of possession in each loss. Usually, when you control the time of possession, you win the game. It is rare for a team to control the ball for a full 10 minutes more than their opponent and still lose. But that’s exactly what the Steelers did against the Bengals. Despite the loss, I’m still happy to see the Steelers dominating the time clock.
4. The Steelers punted a combined 5 times in their two losses compared to 11 total punts by their opponents. Any team that punts half as often as their opponent is very likely to win the game. Unfortunately in these two games it didn’t turn out that way. But if the defense can continue to force the opponents to punt, good things will happen.
5. The Steelers dropped easy touchdown passes in both losses. Santonio Holmes dropped a sure touchdown against the Bears, and Limas Sweed dropped one against the Bengals. Both of those touchdowns would have meant victory.
6. The Steelers lost the two games by a combined 6 points. That’s all. They lost by 3 points to the Bears, and by 3 points to the Bengals. That’s much better than losing by a large margin.
7. Jeff Reed missed 3 out of 5 field goal attempts in the two losses. Both games were lost by 3 points, so those missed field goals proved to be disastrous. Despite the missed field goals, I truly doubt that Reed is going to continue to hit less than 50% of his field goal attempts. The 3 missed field goals were an anomaly, not the norm.
Jeff Reed
8. After 3 games, the Steelers are only one game behind their pace during their last two Super Bowl seasons. In 2005, the Steelers started the season 2-1. They went on to finish 11-5, and won the Super Bowl. Last year, the Steelers also started off 2-1, and finished the season 12-4 before going on to win the Super Bowl. So after 3 games, this years’ team is only one game off of their recent Super Bowl pace.
9. The Steelers haven’t played the Baltimore Ravens yet. Remember, we beat them 3 times last year. Two wins over the Ravens this year will completely eliminate the current deficit.
10. Troy Polamalu will be back soon. Do I really need to say anything more?
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I know that statistically we have been playing well but I think the biggest thing that is wrong with the Steelers is the fact that there was no significant improvement to the areas of weakness: running game issues could be changed by the drafting higher at o-line or maybe a free agent rb (unlikely), Ben holding the ball could be adjusted using more three step drops, using traditional screen plays to a rb that can catch (I’m looking at you #39), this last one may be nitpicking but even though the defense was number one last year I think you have to make at least some kind of change and not stay stagnate especially when the Ratbirds are actively trying to find ways only to beat us and Bungles are trying to get “tougher” (I heard that second part on Sirius NFL Radio this summer and I laughed out loud). I also think getting rid of Bruce Arians would help dramatically as well because when Tomlin got hired he sold the Rooneys and the fans that the running game would be one of his focuses with the team and we have yet to see that come to fruition.
1Benny,
2A couple of thoughts:
1. The Steelers have drafted so late the last few years that there have been no offensive linemen left on the board who were worth taking at the Steelers pick. The Steelers always take the best player available, and that has not been an offensive lineman.
2. Willie Parker can’t catch. Period. So if you want more short passes, you may want to consider Rashard or Mewelde.
3. Much of Steeler Nation probably agrees with you about Arians, but his offense did win the Super Bowl. More importantly, it is Arians who has brought out the best in Ben Roethlisberger.
IMHO, Arians didn’t win those games, Ben did. He’s done a terrific job. Yes, he holds the ball, but that’s his style and often times he makes a big play. When Ben is in charge, as in the no-huddle and the 2-minute drill in the Super Bowl, the Steelers win. And for Pete’s sake, stop trying to run Willie up the middle! Mewelde is the man. Seemlessly took over for Willie last season and has great hands. Mendy hasn’t impressed me…yet.
3SteelerChick,
I can’t really argue with any of your points. Ben definitely does better in the no-huddle. It’s scary to think that our offense is much better when we remove the offensive coordinator from the equation.
I don’t really think that running Willie up the middle is a problem. What I have a concern about is the predictability of when we run him up the middle. Here is a recap of 90% of the Steelers’ offensive possessions:
1. Parker up the middle for 1 yard.
2. Parker up the middle for 0 yards.
3. Third and 9, Big Ben drops back to pass.
Can we get any more predictable?
4“By Admin” is absolutely right on with his comments about Arians and the Steeler play calling predictability. The Steelers won the Super Bowl last year in spite of Arians, not because of him. His conservative playing calling once the Steelers get any kind of lead is maddening and the opposing teams know exactly what’s coming…two running plays up the middle, pass on third and long and then punt. They need to get rid of this guy……not easy since they did win the SB last year………and get them a short yardage running back. I thought Frank “The Tank” might be the guy, but now I doubt it. The kid Redman looked good in the pre-season and probably deserves a chance. Too bad they didn’t pick up a vet like Fred Taylor, who has a little gas left in the tank or some other journeyman big back to complement Fast Willie. But the bottom line is…………. get rid of Arians.
5Hey, administrator, last year I would have agreed with you about Willie not being able to catch. The team acknowledged as much, blaming it on his nervousness in those situations. But in the past offseason, I heard some chatter about how he was working on that and how he intended to improve. Well, last week it showed. His TD was a reception, not a rush. And he looked smooth doing it. When I saw that I said to myself, “Uh, oh! The NFL better look out now if Fast Willie is a viable receiving threat!”
6Lots of goods points here. I’d like to see more screens to Parker or maybe a delay when either he or Moore are back blocking. Any variety really. We’ll see if bringing Cary Davis back will help anything spark in the running game. I got annoyed trying to watch ESPN where they dare to say that Troy’s absence is the reason we’ve lost, citing the lack of forced turnovers. It’s like they’re not even watching these guys plays their asses off. Kudos to the D.
7Pat,
I agree. ESPN is often wrong in their assessments. They seem to make judgments based on headlines, rather than actually watching the teams play.
I have no problems with how the defense is playing right now. Sure, they’ve allowed some late scores in the last two games, but they’ve dominated both games until the 4th quarter. It is only a matter of time before James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley start getting to the QB.
I am not as optimistic about the impact that Carey Davis is going to have. I think he’ll contribute more than Frank Summers (who contributed nothing), but he is not the answer to the Steelers’ rushing woes.
8Leonard,
Willie did work on his pass catching during the off-season. I was at training camp almost everyday and I did see Willie working on his pass catching. However, I still didn’t see the type of hands that I would have liked to see. He still continued to drop too many passes for my taste.
I think Willie may be in the same category as Ike Taylor (who also worked hard during the off-season on his catching ability). Both of them are just born with hands of stone.
BTW, thanks for the haiku that you e-mailed me. It was funny and gave me a good laugh. I plan to publish it tomorrow.
9