What have we learned so far?
It’s a bye week, so it’s a good time to discuss what’s happened so far in the Steelers’ season.
After 10 weeks, the Steelers are in 1st place in the AFC North. They’re also tied with the Houston Texans for the best record in the entire AFC.
After the crushing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the first game of the season, many fans probably wondered if the Steelers were just too old to get it done. But now that the season is more than half over, we see that the Steelers can still contend in (and maybe win) the AFC.
So what have we learned so far?
- The Steelers are set at wide receiver. Antonio Brown is having a breakout season, and if it weren’t for an injury, Emmanuel Sanders would probably be having one as well. Jericho Cotchery has also finally started to be used in the offense. As much as we all love Hines Ward, these young guys are the Steelers’ future at wide receiver. And the future looks very bright.
- Jonathan Scott is a backup. Coming into the season, the Steelers thought that they could successfully start Jonathan Scott at left tackle. They couldn’t have been more wrong. After Scott almost got Ben Roethlisberger killed, the Steelers were forced to bring Max Starks back to start at left tackle. Then rookie Marcus Gilbert beat him out for the starting spot at right tackle. Now, Scott is back to being a backup offensive lineman, which is what he SHOULD have been all along.
- The running game is unreliable. We’ve all shared the same frustration watching the Steelers trying to run the ball. To say that their running game is ineffective would be an understatement. Much of the blame probably belongs to the team’s patchwork offensive line. However, I am growing increasingly concerned about Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall often looks impotent when hitting the hole. His offensive line hasn’t been opening huge holes for him, but I’ve noticed that Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore seem to have greater success running behind that offensive line. Whazzupwitdat Rashard?
- Watching Chris Kemoeatu is frustrating. Kemo used to be a penalty waiting to happen. Then he got better. But now he looks even worse. His pass blocking is terrible, and Steelers fans know that they can depend on him for at least one stupid penalty per game. I’m no longer surprised when Kemoeatu lands a late (and blatantly illegal) block on someone 5 seconds after the whistle has been blown.
- Ziggy Hood is good. I’ve said many times that I love Aaron Smith, and that I appreciate the contribution that he’s made to the Steelers over the years. But I’m sure that everyone noticed that the Steelers’ defense got much better as soon as Ziggy Hood was inserted into the starting lineup. LaMarr Woodley certainly noticed. He went on an absolute sack-fest once Hood became the starter.
- The Steelers are a passing team. I’m getting tired of hearing fans say that the Steelers need to use a “smashmouth” running offense. In case you hadn’t noticed, Jerome Bettis retired years ago. Moreover, the Steelers’ offensive line hasn’t been dominant enough to impose their will on the opposition in years. I know that we’re all nostalgic for the good old days, but the current team is a passing team. Big Ben is 3rd in the NFL in passing yards, behind only Drew Brees and Tom Brady. And he’s ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers. Think about that for a minute. And with the weapons that Ben has at wide receiver and tight end, I think he could throw the ball even more.
- The young defensive backs are making an impact. Has anyone else noticed that Keenan Lewis and Cortez Allen have been making their presence known when they’re given a chance to play? I’m especially impressed by Cortez Allen. He is aggressive on special teams (which is important if he wants to play for Mike Tomlin), and he makes plays when he’s called upon at cornerback. Curtis Brown started the season with an injury, so he’s fallen behind. I doubt that he’ll make an impact this year. But I can’t wait to see him once he gets a full training camp under his belt.
- The no huddle offense is potent. As mentioned earlier, Big Ben is having a career year, and his weapons at receiver are unbelievable. When the Steelers are in their no huddle offense, it’s like watching a video game. They’re practically unstoppable. In fact, the only thing that I can think of that can slow them down is that guy on the sidelines called the “offensive coordinator”. Let’s have more no huddle, and less Bruce.
Those are a few of my observations. What about you, Steeler Nation? What have you learned about the team in the first 10 weeks of the season? Which players have stood out to you, and which ones haven’t played up to their potential? What have the coaches done that has made you happy, and what would you like to see them change?
We’ve got plenty of time until the Steelers’ next game, so share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.
I agree with practically everything except:
1) Ward and Cotchery are likely gone after the season which only leaves them with 3 guys (3 very good guys but still only 3).
3 & 6) Far fewer people are arguing for the “smashmouth” offense than a few years ago. Most of the current complaints i hear stem from issue #3. That is, it’s not that the Steelers don’t run more often but that they can’t seem to run when they need to. Actually, with Redmon they are doing better in the short yardage situations than they were a few years ago. They just seem incapable of running out the clock. In the Cincinatti game they had FOUR 3-out’s in the second half. Four drives in a half when you can’t get a single first down!
7) I am simply crossing my fingers on this one. After all, Gay looked good enough his rookie year that they thought he could start. After a few bad years, he’s still around and he’s actually having an OK year currently (good one game – bad the next) but my main point is that I’m not assuming Lewis/Allen’s progress will continue – I am just hoping it does.
Two Points I will add:
One) A 7-3 record is quite good considering the rash of injuries they’ve had on the O-line and LB units. After the bye, they might be the healthiest they’ve been since the beginning of the season.
Two) How on EARTH does a team with a (-10) turnover differential have a 7-3 record!!!!! Even with a (-7) mulligan for game one, they’ve still managed to post a 7-2 record with a (-3) turnover differential since then. How scary could this team be if they could just break even in the turnover category?
Now to answer your questions:
Ramon Foster has been a pleasant surprise. He doesn’t pull as well as Kemo (about the only good thing about Kemo) but he is far more consistent.
They play of many backups/young guys has been a good surprise (i.e., Gilbert and Sylvester as well as the aforementioned Brown, Lewis, and Allen)
Finally, while I am not an Arians fan but I must admit he has done some good gameplanning. The Steelers have been very effective in the first quarter/half. Their offensive problems usually occur when Arians can’t adjust to the opponent’s adjustments.
11. Yep. Young money is great, and having Cotchery in the mix has been a big help when Ward was out. You have to wonder if Hines is about ready to retire.
2 . Johnathon Scott is dreadful. By the way, what does everyone think about Marcus Gilbert so far?
3. This troubles me, too. Redman and Moore do their thing, but Mendenhall is so inconsistent. Sometimes he’ll hit the hole, break a few tackles, and get himself a nice run. Other times, he’ll hit the pile and fall down. The OL has played significantly better since Starks came back, so Mendenhall needs to step up.
4. Kemo needs to go. This is a passing team; we need someone who can actually pass protect.
5. Ziggy is pretty good. Even Heyward has flashed when he’s been in. We have our future DEs, now we need a young NT.
6. Yes. We have the QB and the weapons to do it. And It’s fun to watch.
7. Yes, but what happens if Troy goes down again? That secondary has so much pressure taken off of it when the opposing QB needs to pay so much attention to Polamalu.
8. We need more no-huddle.
About the turnovers: Outside of that first game, the Steelers haven’t turned the ball over a whole lot, but they can’t seem to get any turnovers either. Troy isn’t picking too many off this year, and we haven’t got many fumbles this year, either.
Outside of that, the Steelers need to learn to close games out.
2John,
I have to admit that I’m surprised to hear you say that you think Jericho Cotchery is gone after this season. What has he done that makes you view him so poorly? He’s only 29 years old, and he’s an experienced veteran who can be counted on to catch the ball. What is there to not like about that? Of course, he’s not likely to beat out any of the 3 young guys, but think of how deep our receivers have to be in Jericho Cotchery is our 4th best receiver (or 5th best if you still think Hines is better than him).
I completely agree that it’s amazing that the Steelers are 7-1 with all of the injuries they’ve had. And it’s also amazing to be 7-1 when they are producing almost no turnovers. Just think of what will happen when they get completely healthy and/or start producing turnovers.
3Excellent summary. On defense, the only thing I would add is that we have some weakness up the middle. In addition to Casey’s big decline and Clark’s ineffectiveness, Timmons has taken an alarming step backwards. On offense, I agree our passing game is very strong and Ben puts up the yards but the one key area where we cannot match Rogers is in the redzone. Wally’s great speed advantage is neutralized and we seem to lack the weapons or plays to score touchdowns on a consistent basis.
4Dan,
I like Marcus Gilbert. I think he tends to get hurt too often for my tastes, but hopefully that’s just bad luck, and not a sign of him being injury prone.
As far as what happens if Troy goes down, well I don’t even want to think about that. In fact, why did you even mention it? I think you may have jinxed us. If Troy gets hurt, I’m blaming it on YOU!
I forgot to mention Heyward, so thanks for bringing him up. He’s actually playing better than Ziggy did as a rookie. Keisel probably has another good year or two left in him, but Heyward is going to earn more playing time.
Now if only they’d get that backup NT that we’ve all been asking for for the last 3 years.
5BTW, any thoughts on James Farrior or Casey Hampton? I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned either of them.
6Oops! I see that Dan R came in and mentioned Casey Hampton while I was typing my second comment.
I agree about Lawrence Timmons. I know that he had to move to the outside to replace James Harrison, but even before that, he just didn’t seem like the same guy who was all over the field last year.
I really thought that this was going to be the year that Timmons made the Pro Bowl. But now I’m not so sure.
7Don,
Sorry for the confusion. By “likely gone” I meant that Ward will likely retire and Cotchery will likely sign elsewhere. I’m very happy that he’s currently on the team and would be happy to have him on it next year but he’s only on a 1-year contract. He will likely sign somewhere where so he can be higher than the #4 receiver.
I’m not that down on Farrior. He is aging and I expected some drop-off. I simply didn’t expect the need to move Timmons to OLB and force Farrior to play more snaps – which wears him down even more.
On Hampton…unless he makes a resurgence, I see this being the big offseason debate. What is the top draft priority NT, OL, or FS (assuming the young CB’s continue to look good).
8John,
Okay, I understand where you’re coming from. I hope you’re wrong about Cotchery. He would be a great veteran to have around to do just what he’s doing right now. But he probably does desire to be a starter, and he’s not going to beat our any of our young guys.
I don’t know if people really think about it, but which of our young receivers is #1? The easy answer is Mike Wallace, but if you look at the number over the last 3 games, then you’d have to say that Antonio Brown is. Moreover, before he got hurt (first with the foot injury, and now with the knee injury), Emmanuel Sanders was universally believed to be better than Antonio Brown. He was definitely ahead of Brown on the depth chart last year.
BTW, I think you’re exactly right about the positions that we’re going to be talking about during the offseason.
9On the WR’s, I would have to say Wallace is the #1. He’s more polished, experienced, and faster. The only reason Brown has more production over the last few games is because Wallace is almost always double teamed.
Meanwhile, Brown is the clear #2, even after Sanders comes back. Sanders was better than Brown last year because he was the more polished coming out of college. Brown had a lot to learn.
This year – Brown has really picked up his game and even when Sanders was healthy, Brown was the more productive.
10My concern is that the Steelers won’t be able to find the money to sign both Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown were their rookie contracts are over. The couldn’t keep afford to resign Plaxico Burress after they gave Ward a new contract several years ago.
11