Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

The Steelers will face the Indianapolis Colts in a nationally televised game on Sunday night.  The game will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Most fans are probably aware that the Colts’ star quarterback, Peyton Manning, is out with a neck injury.  Without Manning, the Colts have started the season 0-2.  This is the team’s first 0-2 start since Manning’s rookie season.

Not only are the Colts 0-2, but with Kerry Collins starting at quarterback, they’ve failed to pass for 200 yards in both of their games thus far.  Collins is averaging 194 passing yards per game.  That ranks 27th among NFL quarterbacks.

With such a poor passing attack, you’d think that the Colts would be relying heavily on their running game to carry the offense.  However, that hasn’t really been the case.  The Colts have only averaged 86.5 rushing yards per game.  Moreover, their low rushing output has come against the Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns.  Neither defense is in the same class as the Steelers’.

A weak passing attack, and a weak rushing attack, are not the ideal weapons to bring to a battle against the Steelers’ defense.  Knowing that the Colts have been impotent rushing the ball AND passing the ball, I expect to see Steelers’ Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau call for blitzes early and often.

Despite the dominant win last week against the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers can definitely use an opponent like Indianapolis.  Neither LaMarr Woodley nor James Harrison has shown their normal dominance yet this season.  Harrison, in particular is still working himself back into shape after two off-season back surgeries.  So the Colts may be just what the doctor ordered.

On defense, the Colts aren’t much better.  They have the 29th ranked rushing defense in the NFL.  They’ve been yielding and average of 136.5 yards per game on the ground.  I’m sure that statistic has Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman salivating.

Even the Colts’ defensive stars Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathias are off to slow starts.  The duo has recorded just 6 total tackles and 2 sacks through the the first two games.  Of course, they’ll be facing a Steelers’ offensive line which is suspect at best.  So maybe that’s just what the doctor ordered for the Colts.

Lucas Oil Stadium is known for being loud and rowdy.  And because Sunday’s game is going to be on national television, I expect it to be louder and rowdier.  But that shouldn’t matter.  Without Peyton Manning, the Colts just don’t have enough weapons to beat the Steelers.

I predict a Steelers win, by a score of 24-7.

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Steelers Today has hooked up with 31 other NFL bloggers from around the country to do a bloggers’ mock draft. All 32 NFL teams are represented in the mock draft.

The mock draft is sponsored by Cleveland Browns blog No Logo Needed. For more details on the bloggers’ mock draft, click here.

With the 27th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft the Indianapolis Colts blog 18 To 88 selects……

Bill Polian has an unblemished record of hitting on first round picks in Indianapolis.  Every player he has taken has become a starter, if not an outright star.  At the same time, many of his picks were roundly criticized at the time.  Edge James wasn’t Ricky Williams.  Dwight Freeney was too small and a reach.  Reggie Wayne should have been passed over for a defender.

The Colts do not draft for need, but always take the highest player available on the board.  2009 is the rare exception where the Colts greatest need IS the highest player on the board.  Polian has said publicly that he doubts the team will take a defensive tackle, primarily because history tells us that good DTs are off the board in the top 15 picks, and that the next ‘value slot’ is down around the 5th round.  If Peria Jerry were to miraculously fall to 27, however, Polian would probably do a dance and happily select him.

Jerry would be the perfect DT for the Colts system, as he is a disruptive tackle who makes plays in the backfield.  His only negative is that he is slightly undersized (something the Colts simply do not worry about).  Indy desperately needs a DT, but will not reach for a player just to fill a need.  The results have been spectacular for the Colts this decade, and the selection of Jerry would cause widespread rejoicing among the Colt faithful.

A word of caution to Mr. Jerry:  If selected he should immediately take out a large life insurance policy.  The Colts are currently experiencing the “Curse of Corey Simon” when it comes to DTs.  Indy has had a need for a top flight DT for 4 seasons now, but every time Polian addresses the need, something horrible happens to the player:

2005 Corey Simon is signed…one year later he is out of the league (chronic fatness)

2006 Montae Reagor is in a severe car accident and never plays for the Colts again

2007 Booger McFarland blows out a knee in training camp

2008 Ed Johnson is cut for refeer

2008 Quinn Pitcock decides to retire at the ripe old age of 23

2008 John McCargo fails a physical and is returned to Buffalo after a trade. He never plays with the Colts.

The draft results so far are shown below. Click on the individual pick to read each blogger’s rationale for his selection.

1. Detroit Lions: Mathew Stafford, QB (Georgia)
2. St. Louis Rams: Eugene Monroe, OT (Virginia)
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry, LB (Wake Forest)
4. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Crabtree, WR (Texas Tech)
5. Cleveland Browns: Rey Maualuga, LB (Southern California)
6. Cincinnati Bengals: Jason Smith, OT (Baylor)
7. Oakland Raiders: Jeremy Maclin, WR (Missouri)
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: B.J. Raji, DT (Boston College)
9. Green Bay Packers, Brian Orakpo, DE (Texas)
10. San Francisco 49ers, Everette Brown, OLB (Florida State)
11. Buffalo Bills, Clay Matthews, OLB (Southern California)
12. Denver Broncos, Malcolm Jenkins, CB (Ohio State)
13. Washington Redskins, Andre Smith, OT (Alabama)
14. New Orleans Saints, Brian Cushing, OLB (Southern California)
15. Houston Texans, Michael Oher, OT (Ole Miss)
16. San Diego Chargers, Eben Britton, OT (Arizona)
17. New York Jets, Tyson Jackson, DE (LSU)
18. Chicago Bears, Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR (Maryland)
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Percy Harvin, WR  (Florida)
20. Detroit Lions, Aaron Maybin, DE (Penn State)
21. Philadelphia Eagles, Vontae Davis, CB (Illinois)
22. Minnesota Vikings, Mark Sanchez, QB (Southern California)
23. New England Patriots, Knowshon Moreno, RB (Georgia)
24. Atlanta Falcons, Clint Sintim, LB (Virginia)
25. Miami Dolphins, Larry English, LB (Northern Illinois)
26. Baltimore Ravens, Kenny Britt, WR (Rutgers)
27. Indianapolis Colts, Peria Jerry, DT (Mississippi State)

The Philadelphia Eagles are on the clock.

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Let’s review. The Steelers defense plays like men possessed. They dominated Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts offense. They hold them to 62 yards rushing. James Harrison adds to his sack total. Aaron Smith picks up a sack as well. The Steelers march the ball 62 yards for an easy touchdown on their very first offensive series. The Steelers’ offense maintains control of the ball for almost 10 minutes more than the Colts. Mewelde Moore rushes for 2 touchdowns.  Big Ben throws for 284 yards.  Clearly, that narrative ends with a decisive Steelers victory, right? Wrong.

In the normal universe, that game would have been an easy win for the Steelers. But in this bizarro universe that is the Steelers’ 2008 season, such performances sometimes result in losses.  Too often, the cause of those losses proves to be Ben Roethlisberger. 

In this unusual season, in which the Steelers were supposed to be overwhelmed by the NFL’s most difficult schedule, they instead find themselves with a 6-3 record. Moreover, they could easily be 8-1.  Two of the losses, the ones to the Giants and Colts, should have been wins, had it not been for the poor play of the Steelers’ $100 million quarterback.

Yesterday, Ben Roethlisberger gave up two costly interceptions.  The first, with only 1:30 remaining in the 1st half, gave the Colts great field position, and ultimately resulted in a Colts touchdown.  So instead of going into halftime leading the Colts 17-7, the Steelers found themselves only leading by 3 points, 17-14.

The second costly interception came in the middle of the 4th quarter.  With the Steelers leading 20-17, Roethlisberger threw his second interception of the game.  Four plays later, the Colts had another touchdown, and led the Steelers 24-20.  That would be the final score of the game.

It’s not fair to place the entire burden of the loss on Ben Roethlisberger’s sore shoulders.  Afterall, it was coach Tomlin who allowed him to start despite missing practice most of the week.  It was Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians who had Roethlisberger launch 42 passes with a sore shoulder.  Most of those passes were off-target or fell woefully short of the intended receiver.  I could see that as a spectator.  Why couldn’t the Steelers coaching staff see as much?

History has shown us that Big Ben is a warrior, and he is willing to play through injuries.  However, history has also shown us that Ben usually plays badly while hurt.  Does anyone remember the awful 2006 season when Roethlisberger came back too soon from a motorcycle accident and an emergency appendectomy?  Sure, it was courageous of him to try to be there for his teammates.  But after throwing his 200th interception (okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit), Coach Cowher should have benched him and let Charlie Batch play until Ben was fully recovered.  The same is true this year.  An injured Ben Roethlisberger is an ineffective Ben Roethlisberger.  When will the Steelers’ coaching staff learn that lesson?

On two separate occasions this season, Byron Leftwich has come into the game and been more effective than Big Ben.  That is not to say that Leftwich is better than Roethlisberger.  He’s not.  But Byron Leftwich at 100% is better than Ben Roethlisberger at 80%.

While Big Ben’s ego may not like the idea of being benched temporarily, it is the best decision for his long-term health.  The Steelers have invested a lot of money in their franchise quarterback.  It’s time to start protecting that investment.  And it’s time to stop losing winnable games.

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Okay Steelers fans, we know that you watched the game, but now it’s time to find out if you REALLY watched the game. Here is this week’s post-game quiz. Good luck.

1. Who attempted more passes, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger?

A. Peyton Manning

B. Ben Roethlisberger

C. They both threw the same number of passes.

2. Who scored the steelers’ first touchdown of the game?

A. Santonio Holmes

B. Mewelde Moore

C. Matt Spaeth

D. Hines Ward

3. What was Ben Roethlisberger’s passer rating for the game?

A. 28.5

B. 49.7

C. 60.0

D. 89.4

4. Who was the primary punt returner for the Steelers?

A. Najeh Davenport

B. Mewelde Moore

C. Gary Russell

D. Santonio Holmes

5. How many interceptions did Ben Roethlisberger throw?

A. Three

B. Too many.

C. Enough to lose the game.

D. All of the above.

6. Which of the following receivers had the most receptions?

A. Matt Spaeth

B. Nate Washington

C. Santonio Holmes

D. Dallas Baker

7. The Steelers’ defense held Joseph Addai to how many yards rushing?

A. 22

B. 34

C. 51

D. 74

8. Who was the target of Big Ben’s final “hail Mary” pass?

A. Hines Ward

B. Santonio Holmes

C. Matt Spaeth

D. Nate Washington

9. How many fumbles did the Steelers have?

A. None

B. One

C. Two

D. Three

10. Who was the leading tackler for the Steelers?

A. Troy Polamalu

B. James Farrior

C. James Harrison

D. Aaron Smith

Answers:

1. (B) Ben Roethlisberger

2. (B) Mewelde Moore

3. (C) 60.0

4. (C) Gary Russell

5. (D) All of the above

6. (A) Matt Spaeth

7. (B) 34

8. (D) Nate Washington

9. (B) One

10. (C) James Harrison

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We here at Steelers Today are not just fans of football. We’re also fans of poetry. Yes, like true renaissance men, we can show our artsy-fartsy side. So, this week’s post-game report is being done in the form of a commemorative haiku.

For the uneducated Cleveland Browns fans among our readers, we should probably explain that a haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that contains only 3 lines. The first line has five (5) syllables, the second line has seven (7) syllables, and the last line has five (5) syllables. Typically, haiku do not rhyme.

To summarize the Steelers’ 24-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, here is our Steelers-Colts haiku:

Stout stands the defense
Big Ben throws interceptions
Steelers lose the game.

We invite our readers to submit their own Steelers haiku. Just hit the comment button below, and let the poetry flow. You too can haiku.

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