Bengals Best Steelers 13-10 at Heinz Field

“Obviously, not our day and, thus, not our year.” – Mike Tomlin following the Bengals loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 campaign has been one riddled with ironies and the loss at Heinz Field to the Cincinnati Bengals added yet another layer.

An inability to sack the quarterback and force turnovers plagued the Steelers defense all season.

• Against the Bengals the Steelers intercepted two balls and forced and recovered one fumble, and sacked Andy Dalton six times

Yet... 

• ...the Steelers offense scored zero points off of those turnovers

The Steelers secondary was brutalized first against San Diego and then again against Dallas

• Against the Bengals, the secondary held Cincinnati to 4-15 on third down conversions

Yet...

• ...when Andy Dalton needed to complete a pass, he did

All season long, ball security and drops have plagued Young Money at critical points in crucial games

• Against the Bengals, the wide receivers committed no turnovers, made some nice catches and drops were a non-issue

 Yet...

• ...too often they never got a chance to work their magic because Ben Roethlsiberger simply lacked time

And what 2012 Steelers loss would be complete without a special teams snafu? Shaun Suisham has been impeccable all year, yet missed another field goal beyond his range, and shanked an absolute gimmie because of – get this – a bad snap.

Steelers Start Hungry, Focused But…

You can describe the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers with a single word.  “Inconsistent.”

To be truly inconsistent implies highs as well as lows, and today certainly qualified for the Steelers, because it may have been one of their better defensive performances.

Against San Diegothe Steelers defense looked dazed, confused and at times appeared to play almost in slow motion. Against Dallas, the Steelers defense seemed over matched for much of the game (although the unit did ‘turn it up’ fairly well in the second half.)

•  None of that was apparent today. In the words of my wife “this is a different team.”

 And it was.

• At times the Steelers run defense has been suspect this season. Cincinnatitotaled 14 yards rushing.

Series after series ended in frustration for the Steelers offense, but the Steelers defense never batted an eye. Yes, Andy Dalton made a number of key throws and connected with A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham, but neither of those men sniffed the end zone.

Cincinnatioffense made enough noise to pin the Steelers deep into their own territory, their total offensive output for the day was six points. 

• Normally in the NFL you win when you hold your opponent’s offense to six points.

But the 2012 Steelers, ever creative in their endeavors to find new ways to self-sabotage, succeeded yet again.

It’s (Not Quite) About the Quarterback, Stupid

The loss to the Bengals, as all losses are, was a team effort.

If Greg Warren, Drew Bulter, and Shaun Suisham keep it together long enough to make a 24 yard field goal, this game likely goes into overtime.

Rashard Mendenhall and to a lesser extent Jonathan Dwyer ran strong in the first half. Cincinnatimade the adjustments necessary to shut down the Steelers running game in the second half.

The Steelers inability to rush the ball in the second half forced them to rely in Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers. Antonio Brownatoned in part for his awful performance last week by burning his man on the Steelers only touchdown of the day.

• Yet that burst was the exception and not the rule.

 The Steelers passing game might look respectable on the stat sheet, but in truth it struggled all day. They only managed to convert two third downs, and Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 4 times in the second half.

It’s important to get all of these very relevant points out into the open, so that the record reflects that no one man was responsible for the Steelers loss. 

• But one man must bear extra responsibility for the loss, and that man would be Ben Roethlisberger.

Cincinnati’s only touchdown came when Ben Roethlisberger attempted to force the ball to Health Miller deep in his own territory. Leon Hall wasn’t fooled for a moment and scored easily.

Ben Roethlisberger waited until the 4^th quarter for his next self inflicted wound, when he forced a pass to Mike Wallace that he didn’t have to force, setting up the Bengals for a field goal.

Steel Curtain Rising has long argued that Ben Roethlisberger gets short shift from the national media. Yet, if he wants to be regarded as a truly elite quarterback, he needs to stop throwing these stupid interceptions.

Ben’s ability to improvise and make something out of nothing is legendary, and no serious Steelers fan should want to take that away from him. But sometimes he tries to take too much upon himself. He did that today, and it cost the Steelers.

And that adds additional irony to the Steelers 2012 season. Arguably Ben Roethlisberger has played some of his best ball during stretches of 2012. Along with Heath Miller and Lawrence Timmons, Roethlisberger has been one few consistent performers game in and game out this year.

But in this must win game vs. the Bengals Roethlisberger’s number came up, and it was his turn to fall short with the playoffs on the line. Unfortunate and frustrating, but that’s reality in Steelers Nation this Christmas Eve.

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Steelers Report Card vs. Broncos @ Mile High

From the grade book of a teacher who never had much sympathy for those who always found the first day of school to be difficult, here is the Report Card for the Steelers game vs. Broncos. Remember, no other report cards were consulted prior to issuing these grades.

Quarterback
When we last saw him on this field, Ben Roethlisberger was wounded and his pass lacking zip. This time Ben was rocketing off balls to targets all over the field, despite losing the right side of his line. While Roethlisberger did fail to deliver on first and second downs, he was lethal on third down. Threading the needle in pro football is a sight to behold, because it precision, timing and a lighting fast ball. It also involves risk. Roethlisberger had a couple of near-interceptions until he went to the well one too many times. True to character, Ben accepted blame for the loss. He shouldn't, he had plenty of help. Nonetheless his mistake was costly and timely and his grade suffers. Grade:  B

Running Back
Isaac Redman played the game of his life last year in the playoffs, seemingly broadcasting to the world that the one time-training camp curiosity was in fact for real. Redman's encore was a thud, he got no and did nothing of note. Jonathan Dwyer only got 2 more carries but logged 23 more yards, and looked good doing so. Neither Chris Rainey nor Baron Batch did much of note with their carries, and the Steelers never established the ground game.  Grade: C-

Wide Receivers
If the Broncos game is any indication, Todd Haley is one offensive coordinator that knows how to spread the ball around to diverse group of talented receivers. Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Heath Miller, and Mike Wallace each had four catches, and each man found a way to come up with the ball it crucial situations. The unit suffered a few drops, but overall, a very, very solid night from the unit that is quickly distinguishing itself as the team's strongest.  Grade:  B+

Offensive Line
Doesn't the law of averages dictate that the Steeelers can't keep suffering offensive injuries? I mean, it has to, right? Unfortunately dice do not have memories, ans neither do defensive front 7. In a word, this was not a good night for the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line. The unit was plagued by false start and illegal formation penalties, failed to establish an inside running game, and did an “OK” job of protecting Ben when it counted, and then completely failed at the end. Right now this unit remains a liability. Grade: D+

Defensive Line
This was supposed to be the Year of Youth on the Defensive line. Steel Curtain Rising even bought into the hype about Ziggy Hood’s training techniques. Johnny Mitchell rotated his lineman frequently, so everyone in uniform got plenty of snaps. Maybe that prevented them from getting into a grove, but regardless this group had the worst night of any unit. Brett Keisel, Hood, Cameron Heyward, Steve McLendon and Casey Hampton failed to get penetration, failed to control their gaps, and failed to disrupt well, anything. Grade:  F

Linebackers
Larry Foote was not only the best player of the linebackers, he was the best player on the entire defense, leading with 8 tackles, 1 sack, a pass defensed and a couple of hurries. In contrast, last year’s bonus babies, LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons, were invisible, save for Manning getting away from Timmons. Jason Worilds got onto the field for his first action all year, and registered a sack, but then joined Woodley and Timmons disappearing act. The Steelers need more from their linebackers.  Grade:  C-

Secondary
Another unit that was supposed to see the flowering of a Youth Movement instead looked inexperienced and tentative. Keenan Lewis and Cortez Allen were ineffective in coverage. Troy Polamalu had a bad angle on the 71 yard touchdown pass and got out foxed by Peyton Manning all night. The secondary’s resident “Ryan” failed to make forget “Mundy” is printed on the back of his jersey rather than “Clark.” Grade:  F

Special Teams
Shaun Suisham made good on all of his attempts and kicked the ball deep into the end zone. David Paulson delivered a leveling hit that sprung Antonio Brown loose on a 23 yard punt return. Emmanuel Sanders had a nice 27 yard punt return. Drew Butler boomed off 3 nice punts. Newly acquired Marcus Van Dyke downed a punt at the Denver 1. Overall, a solid effort. If Al Everest’s absence is going to be an issue in 2012, it wasn’t evident vs. Denver. Grade:  B

Coaching
The Steelers game plan was predicated on keeping the ball out of Peyton Manning’s hands. The Steelers did that yet still got foiled. Game planning really wasn’t at issue on offense, even if execution was at times. On defense it’s a different story. It would be foolish to suggest that “the game is passing Dick LeBeau by” or any such nonsense, but Pittsburgh’s defense was clearly unprepared for Manning. In contrast, Manning was a step ahead of the Steelers defense from the first quarter onward. In terms of making adjustments, Manning ran circles around the Steelers defensive players and coaches. Grade:  C-

Unsung Hero
He’s been called a one trick pony. Vilified as selfish and uncommitted to the team. His lack of physicality has been criticized here and in parts elsewhere. But his production equaled that of everyone else in Young Money and he caught his passes in traffic. He also used his body to prevent the DB from making a play on the ball while catching a touchdown, and for those efforts Mike Wallace is Steel Curtain Rising’s Unsung Hero of the Broncos game.

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Sorting Through the Steelers Opening Day Loss to the Broncos

Peyton Manning has dominated the NFL passing game for over a decade. During that time no defense has been as consistently dominant as the Pittsburgh Steelers. Manning sat out all of 2011 with an injury while the Steelers ranked up the NFL’s number 1 pass defense.

What better combination for the marquee match ups that the NFL reserves for Sunday Nights? Unfortunately for Steelers Nation, only one dominator showed up.

Tale of Two Halves

There is perhaps no one player to forces opponents to game plan from him more than Peyton Manning. He isn’t simply a playmaker, he’s an offense maker, and if you doubt that see how badly the Colts imploded in his absence.

The Steelers have faced off against Manning before.

Absent a strong pass defense in 2002, the Steelers quite simply took advantage of Manning’s mistakes, with Brett Alexander and Mike Logan picking him off three times, as the Steelers won 28-10.

During the 2005 regular season a Manning capitalized on Steelers miscues and turnovers to tune of a 26 to 7 drubbing.

In the playoffs however, the Steelers returned to Indy with a little different game plan. That plan  entailed unleashing their secret weapon, Ben Roethlisberger to jump to a quick lead and then sit on the ball. (The plan of course worked to perfection, until Jerome Bettis came within a shoe string tackle of his career ending in disaster.)

• This time around Todd Haley and Mike Tomlin’s plan focused on one thing:  Ball Control.

Let the record reflect that the Steelers plan worked to perfection, during the first half.

The Steelers defense forced the Broncos offense to punt twice and forced and then recovered a fumble.

On the two drives where the Steelers forced Denver to punt, Larry Foote and Jason Worilds registered sacks

• That’s no coincidence. 

And unfortunately, Worild’s sack near the end of the first quarter was pretty much the last time a Steelers defender even breathed on Number 18.

The next time Manning touched the ball, he went 6-7 as he marched his team down the field 80 yards for a go ahead touchdown.

• The Steelers answered with a touchdown of their own.

By the time Manning got the ball back, all had time for was to take a knee and head for the locker room. That would be his past passive act of the evening....

The Half Time Momentum Shift that Never Was...

All of that should have been a good thing.

As everyone knows, scoring a touchdown right before the half is all important as it gives you a momentum shift heading into the locker room. The momentum shift is amplified when you get the ball to start the next half.

Network commentators always remind viewers of this fact. What’s more they’re on to something when they say that such momentum shifts are decisive. Except for when they're not.

Count Sunday Night in Denver as an occurrence of one of those “occasions when no decisive momentum  shift occurs” (try running that through your redundancy filter.)

• One almost has to wonder if Steelers coaches saw Manning’s first touchdown drive and feared they’d awakened a sleeping giant.

Because Todd Haley and his offensive players seemed determined to ensure that Manning did not touch the ball again.

• And they made a good run of it as the Steelers offense possessed the ball for all but 21 seconds of the second half’s first 16 minutes.

The plan might have worked, had the Steelers defense been able to stop Manning from throwing Demetrius Thomas, the accomplice to January’s Tebowing of the Steelers, a 71 yard touchdown pass in that brief span of 21 seconds.

That 21 second was pretty much characteristic of Peyton Manning on the entire second half. Ditto the a Steelers defense whose:

• Defensive lineman couldn’t get penetration or control their gaps
• Linebackers didn’t get pressure on the quarterback
• Defensive backs who could neither cover nor threaten to create a turnover

Outside of that, Dick LeBeau’s defense looked every bit ready to take their place alongside some of his other legendary units.

Not Quite Like the Good Old Days

Its understandable that a good chunk of Steelers Nation is a mite bit taken aback by an opening day loss. Until the Debacle in Baltimore last year, there had not been one in Roethlisberger era.

Things were not always such, however.

Opening day losses were a staples of the Cowher years

These weren’t simple losses, but thrashings.

• San Francisco began the trend in 1993
• Dallas inflicted two, in 1994 and 1997
• Jacksonville likewise was a repeat offender in 1996 and 2001
• Baltimore did the honors in 2000, shutting the Steelers out at home
• New England followed suit in 2002

The attentive reader will note (and if you’re read this far, you must be attentive) that each of those was a winning season, all but one were playoff years, and three of those years ended in the AFC Championship.

• Opening day wins in 1998, 1998 and 2003 turned out to be harbingers of doom, or at least mediocrity. 

The moral of this history lesson is that it doesn't pay to get too worked up over an opening day loss. With that said there’s something bothersome about the Denver loss.

Haley’s offense, while a work in progress, flashed signs of greatness, greatness that the Steelers might be able to realize if they can go a whole game without losing an offensive lineman.

Unlike the losses mentioned above, the Steelers defense didn’t get dominated physically so much as it got out foxed. Peyton Manning simultaneously checkmated Dick LeBeau off the field while playing a constant game of chicken with Troy Polamalu on the field and winning each time.

Now, one would think mental errors are more easily corrected that a lack of physicality. After all, its easier to teach guys to correct their mistakes than to grow them bigger and stronger.

But 48 hours plus after the game, it doesn't feel that way, my gut is telling me the opposite.

Let’s hope that Mike Tomlin will prove me wrong.

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Steelers Fall to Peyton Manning's Broncos

Steelers Nation got a look at the “new” Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the “old” Peyton Manning and it was not a pretty sight.

What Tim Tebow started back in January, Peyton Manning finished.

The Steelers gave up their first game of the 2012 season by a score of 31-19. While that score is not overly lopsided, the fact is that the Steelers never firmly were in control of the game.

The offense struggled to maintain rhythm and alarmingly the defense struggled to slow let alone stop Peyton Manning in all but the first few series.

This was also the debut of the Todd Haley offense. It would be unfair to say that “there’s no where to go but up,” but the fact is they left a lot of room for improvement.

• Ben Roethlisberger got better protection, except when the game was on the line
• Performance in the Red Zone was spotty
• The Steelers suffered from penalties at in opportune moments

Clearly there’s a lot more to digest over this one folks. But it’s almost 2:00 am here in Buenos Aires, and work beckons early tomorrow morning. Check back for more.

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Ziggy Hood Poised to Lead Steelers Defensive Line

The Steelers overtime playoff loss to the Denver Broncos left a lot of bad memories for SteelersNation. At times the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers played with so much promise, at other times they were maddeningly inconsistent.

But the playoff game also saw a changing of the guard on the defensive line. Long time anchor Casey Hampton went down with a ACL tear. Brett Keisel also fell injured. That left Ziggy Hood, Cameron Heyward and Steve McLendon on their own. Literally.

• The results were not pretty. 

Tim Tebow had his way with the Steelers defense. And although some of that does fall on the shoulders of the secondary and Dick LeBeau’s staff, the Steelers defensive lineman didn’t feel that they’d done their part.

As Joe Starkey points out in the Tribune Review, Ziggy Hood didn’t pout, he went out and did something about it.

Check out this video of Hood pulling a 1200 pound sled.



And if that’s not enough for you, check out a longer version of the rest of Hood’s workout:



If Ziggy Hood doesn’t have a break out year it won’t be for lack of preparation, because Hood clearly has the look of a man on a mission.

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Five Keys to the Steelers Success in 2012

Steelers Nation will soon learn what the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers are really made of. Since losing Super Bowl XLV the Steelers have remained an enigma.

• The Ravens utterly humiliated them to start 2011 

Yet the Steelers bounced back strong enough by mid season to school their long-time nemesis the New England Patriots.

• Pittsburgh entered 2011 the secondary as their weak link. Nonetheless, the Steelers pass defense finished number 1

Yet, two late game passes, one from Joe Flacco and another from Tim Tebow, defined their playoff fortunes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the NFL’s mystery as and the ESPN, SI, and SB Nation vastly differing predictions indicate. Steelers are a team in transition with franchise mainstays off to their “Life’s Work” while others such as Casey Hampton are entering the encore stage of their careers.

Strong organizations weather personnel changes without altering their fundamental character.

But the Pittsburgh Steelers face a different challenge in 2012. Five key, long-held assumptions about the Steelers will be tested this year. Some of these are urban myths, others speak directly to the identify of the franchise. Regardless, the season's fortunes hinge upon them.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Don’t Win Three Years in a Row

The logic goes like this. Since 2001, the Steelers have posted double digit wins and followed them with disappointing ones and the press has bandied this about like it’s the decoding key to the Rosetta Stone.

• Nonsense.

If the Steelers don’t make the playoffs this year it won’t be because they some how “won too many games” in the previous to seasons.

Outsiders are Doomed as Steelers Offensive Coordinators

Let’s face it, Todd Haley is fighting history.

The 1989 Steelers captured the imagination of Steelers Nation. Chuck Noll followed by bringing in Joe Walton and the offense almost revolted as a result.

Chan Gailey was developing Kordell Stewart nicely, and Bill Cowher tapped Ray Sherman to replace him, who had a sterling record in developing quarterbacks.

Sherman was an utter disaster, contributing heavily to Kordell Stewart’s ruin.

Cowher replaced Sherman with Kevin Gilbride, who only made things worse.

Does this history doom Todd Haley?  Of course not.

• Todd Haley's ability to get along with Big Ben will play a key role in the Steelers success this year, but...

The misdeeds of Walton, Sherman, and Gilbride will have zero impact on Haley’s ability to control the clock, protect Ben Roethlisberger, and score in the Red Zone.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Always Can Find Good Running Backs

Since the NFL-AFL merger, no team has rushed for more yards than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Current and future Hall of Famers Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis gave Pittsburgh a good chunk of that yardage.

• Both were first round picks who made good.

But overlooked and undervalued draft picks have played just as large a role. 10th round picks like Merril Hoge and Frank Pollard and undrafted rookie free agents like Willie Parker and Isaac Redman hold almost as high a space in franchise lore.

Second tier rushers such as Erric Pegram, John L. Williams, and Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala both ran hard and found ways to make it happen when games were on the line.

Even when the Steelers have reached deep into their depth chart, now forgotten running backs responded. In 1988 and 1989 Rodney Carter came out of no where and made big plays, often times by doing little more the “going out and getting open.”

The fourth string running back Mewelde Moore delivered with stunning results in a crucial game against vs. Jacksonville in 2008.

• Can the Steelers continue the trend?

Rashard Mendenhall is coming off of ACL surgery. Isaac Redman has been banged up and David Johnson and John Clay, two guys the Steelers figured to count on for depth, were lost in preseason.

Two weeks ago the Steelers desperately signed DeJuan Harris simply to get through the preseason finale.

Jonathan Dwyer looks good. Baron Batch has been OK. Chris Rainey’s got burning speed. Redman is practicing and so is Mendenhall.

Will latest mixture of a first rounder plus draft-day afterthoughts rise to the task?

A big part of the Steelers success in 2012 hinges on the answer being “yes.”

Linebacking Leads the Steelers Defense

The headline is arguable. The term “Steel Curtain” does refer to Joe Greene, Ernie Holmes, Dwight White, and L.C. Greenwood.

But the linebackers actually lead in the Hall of Fame count, thanks to Jack Lambert and Jack Ham.

Consider some of the foursomes the Steelers have fielded at linebacker:

• Greg Lloyd, Hardy Nickerson, David Little, and Brian Hinkle
• Kevin Greene, Levon Kirkland, Chad Brown, and Greg Lloyd
• Jason Gildon, Levon Kirkland, Earl Holmes, and Joey Porter
• Jason Gildon, James Farrior, Larry Foote, and Joey Porter
• James Harrison, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, and LaMarr Woodley

And that leaves out key role players like Jerry Olsvasky, Jerrol Williams, and Clark Haggans.

• Since 1971 the Steelers have sent at least one linebacker to the Pro Bowl 34 times.

If the Steelers running backs are a group on the mend, its linebacking corps continues to ail. James Harrison Jason Worilds sat the entire summer. Sean Spence looked promising, then destroyed his knee. Stevenson Sylvester is also injured and unavailable.

Replacements such as Chris Carter and Adrian Robinson looked good but remain untested in games that count.

The Steelers do still have Larry Foote (who missed practice last week), LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons.

• The Steelers can afford no more injuries, and these men must deliver.

Woodley, streakiness aside, will come through. Fans worry about Foote, but he too will be above the line.

Lawrence Timmons holds the key. If the Steelers get the aggressive, play making Timmons of 2010 the defense has a shot. If they get the tentative, Timmons of 2009 and 2011, Steelers Nation will be in for some long afternoons.

Will “The Standard” Remain the Standard?

During his first year, Mike Tomlin turned heads when he dismissed concerns about the impact of injuries declaring “The standard is standard. Injuries will not be an excuse.”

Was he saying that Tyrone Carter was as good as Troy Polamalu?

Was this a coaching mind trick?

• For Tomlin, this is no mind trick.

He once explained in the Steelers Digest that membership in the NFL already means you’re in the top one half of one percent of the football playing population and therefore you’re capable of playing “Above the Line.”

Tomlin’s got a point. How many college superstars struggle to keep third string jobs in the NFL? That’s because when you mix the best of the very best together, the differentiators are going to be subtle.

Tomlin knew that Tyrone Carter isn’t the athlete that Troy Polamalu is, but he doesn’t need to be to have a winning performance.

Think about it. Tomlin’s right. Did lack of athletic ability freeze Carter like a deer in the headlights as David Garrard made the defining play of the 2007 playoff loss to Jacksonville?

• On the flip side the 2008 Super Bowl run saw the Steelers rebuild their offensive line in mid-season, vindicating Tomlin. 

Those tests will continue in Denver where Robert Golden and Ryan Mundy remain one play away from guarding the center of the field vs. Peyton Manning. And only a couple of mishaps will put Kelvin Bechaman between Ben and a ferocious Denver defense.

Even if they avoid injury vs. Denver, injuries are going to happen and the 2012 Season figures to give “The Standard is the Standard” its biggest stress test yet.

How will the Steelers hold up as they test themselves against these assumptions? Steelers Nation will start finding out tonight in Denver.

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Steelers Prudent on DeCastro IR Decision

When word filtered out that David DeCastro had in fact not injured his ACL, Steelers Nation celebrated.

The much ballyhooed rookie who inexplicably fell to the Steelers in the 2012 NFL Draft might be available for part of the 2012 season afterall, but….

Yes, there was a big but. The Steelers are a team that’s ailing, already carrying a number of players on its opening day roster who cannot or should not be playing (Steveonson Sylvester, Ryan Clark, Rashard Mendenhall, you can probably add Jason Worilds to that list too.)

Just in time the NFLPA seemed to step forward to the rescue, approving a new rule that would allow a team to place one designated player on injured reserve list and then activate him after week 8 of the season.

Rules stipulate that the designated player must be on the team’s 53 man roster when final cuts are due into the league office. But after all others clear waivers, teams can make their roster moves.

The Steelers dutifully trimmed roster to 53 men, and Trai Essex, veteran jack of all trades offensive lineman, was one of those who got a visit from The Turk.

No one expected another team to sign Essex, and everyone expected the Steelers to place DeCastro on IR and them resign Essex as soon as they could.

So far the Steelers have done nothing….

Experience, Economics Temper Steelers Decision Making

There’s little doubt that the Steelers want David DeCastro available to them by mid-season. It would be immeasurably good for the rookie to get some reps this year, and past history suggests that the Steelers will need a healthy lineman to step in.

The Steelers haven’t moved yet for two simple reasons.

They’ve been there, done that.

Knock on wood, this hasn’t been an issue for some time, but the Steelers have lost key starters on week 1 more than once. In 1995 it was Rod Woodson (and Neil O’Donnell.) In 1996 it was Greg Lloyd. In 2009 it was Troy Polamalu.

If David DeCastro can fully recover by mid-season then there’s a real chance he can contribute. But DeCastro at the end of the day is a rookie. And there are other Steelers whom the Steelers could lose and want to bring back who player bigger roles with the team.

The second motive is purely economic.

If Trai Essex is on Pittsburgh’s roster on opening day, then Steelers are on the hook for his entire salary for the full year. The Steelers have a complicated salary cap situation and they need every inch of flexibility they can get with it.

Signing Essex next week gives them the ability to cut him later (if need be) without tying up money to someone who is no longer on the team.

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Casey Hampton Accepts a Pay Cut

The Pittsburgh Steelers made their first big move in free agency and, true to form, the move was wholly contained within the South Side.

Starting right nose tackle Casey Hampton, still recovering from an ACL injury suffered in the Steelers playoff loss to Denver, has agreed to accept a pay cut.

Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette described the move as a “restructuring” while Dale Lolley of From the NFL Sidelines and Scott Brown of the Tribune-Review described the move as a cut.

According to Brown, Hampton agreed to take a 2 million dollar salary reduction and forgo a 1 million dollar roster bonus.

Brown also reports that this move brings the Steelers to 6 to 8 million below the cap – this number is significant, because previous reports had pegged the Steelers at 1.5 million to 2 million below the cap.

Either way the additional cap space is welcome. The move could allow the Steelers to seal Mike Wallace to a long term deal; it could likewise free up money for Jericho Cotchery, William Gay, or a free agent from another team.

Home Town Discount, or Homegrown Prudence?

Casey Hampton’s had been rumored to be the next cap casualty and/or a candidate for a salary cut. The fact that Hampton agreed to play for less is slightly surprising, given that he is in the final year of what is likely his final NFL contract.

However, he will be 35 when the season starts and is recovering from a serious knee. On top of that, the Steelers run defense had a below par year in 2011 – for Pittsburgh – and while it would be grossly unfair to finger Hampton for all of this, the nose tackle is the fulcrum on which the success of the 3-4 defense rises and falls.

Kevin Colbert had indicated that he wanted and expected Hampton back during the NFL scouting combine, but rumors of Hampton’s expendability nonetheless persisted.

By agreeing to a pay cut, Hampton all but ensured that he will be drawing a pay check for the 2012 NFL season, and pocketing a extra million in change beats making nothing.

For their part, the Steelers also avoided putting themselves in a position where the would HAVE to draft a nose tackle in the top 2 or 3 rounds. (With that said, the Steelers must get serious about finding and grooming Hampton’s successor.)

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Steelers Report Card vs. Broncos

From the grade book of a teacher who sees that their star pupil gave it all, but just couldn’t get it together when it counted, so goes the Steelers report card for their Wild Card loss to the Denver Broncos.

Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger stepped up and made some conragous plays during a game where the offensive line protection was shaky at best. He nonetheless threw a costly interception that fed the Broncos momentum when the Steelers could ill-afford it (and should have had at least one other pick.) He also got lucky with a blown call on a botched lateral. For some unknown reason, Roethlisberger’s timing with Mike Wallace has been off in the second part of the season, and that as much as anything else hurt. Grade: C

Running Back
Isaac Redman was a senseation. This man has a motor that simply does not quit, and he more than lived up to the standard set by Merril Hoge in this same city back in 1989. Redman had to carry the load all by himself, and he was more than up to the task, running for 121 yards on just 17 carries. Ball protection, however, is becoming an issue with Mr. Redzone. Grade: A

Wide Receivers
Emmanuel Sanders justified the coaches wisdom in making sure he was healthy for the playoffs. Antonio Brown likewise looked sharp in his catches. Heath Miller was Mr. Dependable as usual. Jerico Cocherty was great on the TD catch but dropped another ball. Mike Wallace was largely a non-factor, and failed to control the ball on what could have been a game-changing 50 yard completion. Hines Ward had a couple of drops and no catches in what might have been his final game. Grade: B-

Offensive Line
Another week, another injury to the offensive line. This time it was Max Starks who fell with Jonathan Scott stepping in to take his place. The line blocked well for Redman, but Ben Roethlisberger suffered repeated sacks when the team was trying to run its two minute drill at the end of both halves. And Doug Legursky’s errant snap was another costly, untimely mistake. This unit had its moments and weathered some adversity, but ultimately the Steelers needed more. Grade: C-

Defensive Line
The Steelers lost Casey Hampton and Brett Kiesel early in the game, leaving them with just three healthy lineman. Ziggy Hood, Steve McLendon and Cameron Heyward did an excellent job of containing the Denver running game, but contributed next to nothing in the pass rush. Given the set of cirumstances they were forced to work with, this unit did OK. Grade: B-

Linebackers
LaMarr Woodley was not a pass rushing force but came up with a key fumble recovery, and Lawrence Timmons was second on the time in tackles with one tackle for a loss. And the unit did well in containing the run. But James Harrison was not a factor in the pass rush, and seemed bewildered as to how to read Tebow’s options. James Farrior was not much of a factor. The bottom line is the Steelers needed much, much more from this unit, and that was not to be found. Grade: D.

Secondary
Let’s give them this, Ryan Clark was out, Keenan Lewis was playing on a bad hamstring, and Cortez Allen was out. Even if you take all of these mitigating factors into account, the until still had a nightmare performance unlike anything that has been seen in decades. Ike Taylor topped off his career year with the worst game of his career. William Gay did play well, but where were the safeties on the Tebow’s multiple 40 plus throws? Whether by coaching, cockiness or happenstance, the DB’s were attempting to be ball hawks when they should have been focusing on limiting yards after the catch. Grade: F

Special Teams
Shaun Sushiam was 3-3 including a 45 yarder that hooked at just the right moment. Justin Kapionos boomed off punts with authority and the Denver return units never made any noise. That said, hats off to Denver’s kickers, as Antonio Brown didn’t get a chance to attempt any returns. The Steelers had a lot of weaknesses on display in Denver, but specials teams was not one of them. Grade: B

Coaching
The logic behind Dick LeBeau and Mike Tomlin's decision to force Tebow to beat the Steelers throwing is understandable, but his failure to adjust as Tebow’s 40 yard plus throws is not. Where was the pass pressure? Why was Tebow able to consistently draw blood with his option plays? The Steelers wracked up 400 yards but only 23 points, under performing on the road yet again. Over all, the Steelers did not appear to be focused or well prepared, although their persistence in the face of injury was impressive. Grade: D

Unsung Hero
Had the Steelers won the game Ben Roethlisberger, Isaac Redman, or perhaps even Shaun Suisham would have gotten the game ball. But this young man led the Steelers receiving crops, and did it and impressive way, reminding everyone of why he, and not Antonio Brown was the player coaches were touting for greatness heading into 2011, and for that Emmanuel Sanders is Unsung Hero for the Steelers Wild Card game.

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Tebow Sears Steelers in OT, Broncos Win Wild Card 29-23

In the run up to the Steelers Wild Card game vs. the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium, I invoked the ’89 Steelers, offering that with the odds against Pittsburgh getting to the Super Bowl, this was their chance to claim redemption for the ’89 playoff loss.

Unfortunately, it was underdog Tim Tebow who captured the mojo of the 1989 Steelers, as he and Demaryius Thomas sent the Steelers 2011 season to a crashing halt, and ending that was eerily similar to another Steelers team from that era.

By any measure, the Steelers loss to Denver counts as a tremendous upset and a huge let down, but in a sense loss served as a microcosm for the Steelers 2011 season.

Yes, We Have Seen This Movie Before

When the NFL’s number one pass defense limits the NFL’s worst passer to 10 lowly completions you’d generally concluded that things are playing out as they “should.”

The problem is that with those ten lowly pass Tim Tebow torched Ike Taylor and the Steelers secondary for 310 yards. During the entire season, which included games against the like of Tom Brady and Joe Flacco, the Steelers only gave up 2 completions for longer than 40 yards.

• Tim Tebow more than surpassed that total in the second quarter alone.

For as shocking as that may be this kind of turnaround has its precedent in Steelers history. The 1990 Steelers finished number one in defense overall and number one vs. the pass. During the season they allowed a league-low nine touchdown passes.

The problem was that they gave up three of those in a final, must win game at the hands of Cody Carlson, a journeyman back up who was subbing for Warren Moon. (Carlson, in fact finished 22-29 on the night.)

Ending the Way We Started

The reasons for Carlson’s success are of course different from the reasons why Tebow was so successful.

Carlson faced a young defense, led by the likes of Lloyd, Lake and Woodson, who’d been carrying a slightly better than .500 team who simply got caught by the law of averages.

• The reasons for the Steelers failure vs. Tebow are far more damming, unfortunately.

Mike Tomlin’s rational behind “the standard is the standard” is that the fact that someone is in the NFL to begin with means that they’re already in the top one half of the one percent of the world’s football playing population. Therefore, the expectation is that everyone in that talent pool is capable of winning football.

The Steelers have embraced that credo when it comes to their own personnel, but made the deadly sin of forgetting it when it comes to others. We perhaps saw glimpses of that vs. the Colts, Jaguars and Chiefs, but that reality was painfully obvious at Mile High.

The Steelers stacked the line and dared Tebow to throw on him and Tebow made him play. As my friend and colleague Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtain writes:

Taylor's failures were not technique, they were with overconfidence. And frankly, every Steelers defender can be accused of that today. They didn't respect the Broncos offense, and were going for the interception on every pass.

I'm ok with it. Why? Because I was saying all week they can gamble and force turnovers. They gambled and they lost.

Before the game week Brett Keisel said that Dick LeBeau and company were not doing anything special to prepare for Tebow which I took to be pregame boiler plate misinformation. Its obvious now that Keisel was telling the truth.

In September an unprepared and overconfident Steelers team opened the season by traveling to Baltimore and got its asses handed to it. The sad fact is that the Steelers pass defense closed the season in the same fashion.

Overcoming Injuries

The Standard is the Standard. True enough. The Steelers failed to take advantage of the chances they had to win this game. But let’s also keep in mind that the Steelers opened the game without:

• Rashard Mendenhall, their number one running back
• Maukice Pouncey, their Pro Bowl Center
• Ryan Clark, their leading tackler
• Cortez Allen, a stand out rookie cornerback

Ben Roethlisberger played on an injured ankle, Keenan Lewis on a bum hamstring, and during the first quarter the Steelers lost Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel, and during the course of the game Max Starks would also fall injured.

LaMarr Woodley was playing, but did not seem to be himself and had to be spelled by Jason Worilds.

In the face of such adversity the Pittsburgh Steelers withstood a withering attack on their secondary, found themselves litteraly short of bodies on the defesnive line, yet fought back valiantly.

• Isaac Redman played a phenomenal game, living every bit up the standard for Steelers running backs at Mile High that Merril Hoge set in 1989
• Emmanuel Sanders also let it be known that Antonio Brown isn’t the team’s only up and coming stud receiver.
• Ben Roethlisberger led three scoring drives, including one of his patented game-tying fourth quarter touchdown specials
• Ryan Mundy, who must share of the blame for the secondary’s breakdown, forced the fumble that made the game tying touchdown possible.

While the 2011 Steelers had better luck than some other teams with injuries, all season long they’ve had to shift men in, out and around the line up. Rarely has a week gone by where the Steelers didn’t need to shift one offensive lineman out of one position and into another.

And so it was vs. the Broncos. No, the Steelers didn’t get the job done, but that in no way diminishes the valor of their efforts.

“Great teams don’t need to be great all of the time, just when they need to be.” – John Facenda, NFL Films commentary on Super Bowl XIV

The 1979 Los Angeles Rams gave the 1979 Steelers a very strong run for their money in Super Bowl XIV. But as John Facenda explained in leading up to John Stallworth’s go ahead 4th quarter touchdown catch, the Steelers made plays when it counted.

In a similar vein, the 2008 Super Bowl Champion Steelers played their very best football when it was all on the line time and time again during their season.

In contrast, their 2011 successors did just the opposite – they came up short at the wrong times, whether it was the final drive vs. Baltimore or keeping Roethlisberger in the game in San Francisco (and arguably vs. Cleveland) instead of making sure he was healthy to start the playoffs.

And so it was vs. the Broncos.

The Steelers succeeded in neutralizing Denver’s running attack but lost badly by gambling in the secondary. Offensively the Steelers had some great individual performances, but couldn’t quite get the job done.

The 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers had all of the elements of greatness at their disposal, but ultimately couldn’t put the pieces together when it mattered.

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Maurkice Pouncey Out, Kirby Wilson Injured in Fire

Art Rooney II has got to be asking himself, “What next?”

With each passing day the news out of the South Side gets worse. First Ben Roethlisberger revealed that he suffered a set back vs. Cleveland. Then Maurkice Pouncey showed up on the injury report. Then word came that Pouncey was out for the playoff game vs. Denver.

Both those men are relatively lucky. The Post-Gazette reported that Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson was burned badly when his town home caught fire last night.

The burns are reported to be moderate to severe, but not life threatening. He is reportedly under the care of UMCP-Mercy Hospital.

Steelers Running Game Reeling

This is just the latest blow that the Steelers running game has suffered, dating back to training camp. First rookie Barron Batch, who’d been the star of camp, tore his ACL at St. Vincents.

For the first three quarters of the regular season the position remained stable for the Steelers. Then Jonathan Dwyer injured himself in the Cincinnati game went on injured reserve. Then Mewelde Moore sprained an MCL vs. San Francisco.

Rashard Mendenhall appeared to be coming on strong as the Steelers were entering the stretch run, only to tear his ACL in the season finale vs. Cleveland.

Now they must rely on Isaac Redman to lead them, and Redman must do it without guidance from Wilson, the man whom he credits from helping him grow from being a practice squad wonder to a legitimate NFL running back.

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Injuries Limit Roethlisberger, Pouncey

“He has a high ankle sprain.”

Injury news of course gets much worse, but high ankle sprains appear almost to be a class into themselves. They’re not career threatening, nor (does it appear, yours truly has no medical expertise) does their long-term impact appear to be cumulative.

Nonetheless, high ankle sprains linger and linger.

As a fan it has always seemed that when a player suffers the dreaded “high ankle sprain” he’s effected by it for the rest of the year.

Fate would have it unfortunately that 2011 be the year that both Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey would offer “high ankle sprains.”

Both suffered them during the Thursday night game vs. Cleveland. Pouncey hasn’t played since, and after missing practice on Thursday might not play vs. Denver.

Ben Roethlisberger of course played in the next game vs. San Francisco, and in Steel Curtain Rising’s analysis, Roethlisberger had no business finishing that game after it became clear that injuries had drastically reduced his effectiveness.

At his weekly press conference Mike Tomlin said that Ben was fine, having suffered no further setbacks as a result of playing in the second victory vs. Cleveland.

Ben Roethlisberger told a different story, claiming that he had in fact hurt himself in the third quarter, and he missed practice on Wednesday but was back at it on Thursday.

Roethlisberger is some what of a drama queen when it comes to injuries, but Ed Bouchette noted on PG Plus that Roethlisberger looked hobbled in the locker room on Sunday after the game and he is expected to play.

The 2011 Steelers have over come a lot in terms of injuries, but suffice to say this is not the kind of news you want to read if your team’s about to play its first road playoff game in six years.

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Steelers Current Plight No Justification for Changing NFL Playoff Format

The conversation took place on New Years Eve 1997. Ironically, it was in Cincinnati, in Clifton, on a balcony overlooking towards the city’s downtown area. The participants were myself and a good friend named Greg, and two innocent bystanders, Dave and Melanie who had zero interest in the topic at hand.

The topic was the NFL playoffs. The 1997 the Pittsburgh Steelers had secured the second seed and a first round bye in the playoffs.

The Denver Broncos had also secured a playoff berth, but as a Wild Card, by virtue of twin losses to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Steelers were 11-5, the Broncos 12-5. My friend Greg, a Columbus native was a football fan without strong rooting loyalty. I can’t pretend to remember his exact words, but they went something like this:

I am not sure who I am going to back this year. I mean, I like the Steelers, I like Kordell Stewart, I love Bill Cowher, but I can’t shake the fact that they’ve got a first round bye that they don’t deserve.

My retort was, of course they deserve it – they’re division champions. Greg fired back, calling into question the NFL’s playoff format, going so far as to say that if the Steelers were to win the Super Bowl that year, their victory would be tainted, because they got an unjust advantage over a team with a better record.

So the argument ensued, with my friend Greg even accusing me of, what in Spanish we would say is “Double Discourso” which is to say, hypocrisy as he insisted, “Come on, you know that if the situation was reverse, and the Steelers were a wild card with a better record than a division champion, you’d be agreeing with me.”

No, I wouldn’t, I stood firm.

Well, 1997 was a long time ago (makes one feel less old to throw out the year than to calculate the number of years).

And, barring a major upset in the Queen City, the Steelers will find themselves in the very same place – having to go on the road against a division winner who has a worse record than they do.

Divisonal Play Should Mean Something

While this fact is unfortunate, especially given the Steelers tremendous difficulties on the road, I nonetheless stand pat behind the NFL’s current playoff format.

My argument then and now is simply this: If you’re going to have divisional play, division titles should mean something. In addition to fostering natural rivalries and helping the league forge an indentity, divisional play provides an excellent crucible for classifying teams.

A home playoff game is a big deal not only to the team in question, but to the community. This is particularly true for small and mid-sized markets, where a home playoff game can mean millions of more dollars for local merchants, restaurants, and hotels.

In a competitive sense, home field does provide an advantage, but not an overwhelming advantage. As there are times when a team struggles at one point during the season, gets its act together enough to qualify for a Wild Card and makes a successful run as the ’05 Steelers, ’10 Packers and ’97 Broncos did.

The two top dogs in the AFC North are the Steelers and the Ravens. Both teams are similar, both in terms of talent, style and, this year, on the field performance. Both the Steelers and the Ravens have been strong home teams, but weak road teams.

It is fitting then than the right to host a home playoff game will fall to the team that performs the best in its final game on the road.

Hopefully, although perhaps not likely, that will be the Steelers. If not, so be it, the Steelers had their shots at locking up the division without neededing help and they fell short. Everyone in the organization is well aware of that, and the NFL should not be asked to alter its playoff format as a consequence.

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