Steelers Report Card vs. Redskins @ Heinz Field

Taken from the grade book of a teacher whose now seen his star pupil live up to expectations two weeks in a row, here goes the Steelers report card for their victory over the Redskins. As a caveat, no other report cards were consulted.

Quarterback
It may be 'dink and dunk' but its winning football for Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger was 3-3 in the Red Zone, hitting three different receivers and led the Steelers to 5 scores. The Steelers, however were only 4-11 on third downs. That didn’t really hurt the Steelers, but does pull his grade down a smidge. Grade:  A-

Running Back
Jonathan Dwyer gave the Steelers their first back-to-back 100 yard games since Willie Parker in weeks 1 and 2 of 2008, and in doing so made a play on the mantel as the team's starter. Chris Rainey broke another long one at the goal line to set up a touchdown. Baron Batch struggled on the ground and caught 1 pass. Will Johnson blocked well and got his first NFL TD.  Grade:  A

Receivers
We've said this before:  All Heath Miller does is catch touchdowns (and in the process, is making his case for team MVP.) Mike Wallace atoned for his butter fingers by making several clutch catches. Emmanuel Sanders did have a drop, but his third down conversion set up the first touchdown. Antonio Brown didn't show a lot of fire works, but made the bread and butter catches that resulted in a 6 minute advantage in TOP. Leonard Pope executed his role to perfection on the touchdown play. A strong outing for the receivers. Grade:  A-

Offensive Line
After posting its best outing vs. Cincinnati, could the offensive line made it two in a row? The answer is yet, it could. If you want to see why Willie Colon's move to guard excited people so much, take a look at the block he threw on Sanders early 3rd down conversion. Mike Adams did well in his second start. The offensive line is gelling nicely, and that process is having spill over effects elsewhere. Grade:  A-

Defensive Line
Defending a player like RG3 is tricky, but the Steelers defensive line was more than up to the task. Moreover, they shut down the NFC’s most prolific passing attack. Brett Keisel defensed a pass, hurried RG3 and his tackle of Logan Paulsen on 4th down for a 7 yard loss sealed the game for Pittsburgh. Ziggy Hood got a hand on a pass, and Cameron Heyward led the team in tackles, by ESPN’s count. All in all an excellent afternoon for the defensive line.  Grade:  A

Linebackers
Larry Foote had the game’s only sack, which forced a field goal late in the game. Lawrence Timmons got into RG3’s face and got guys down behind the line of scrimmage. James Harrison might not have gotten a lot of pressure, but he did make 8 tackles. LaMarr Woodley also registered a tackle for a loss. Commentators enjoyed talking about how RG3 “frozen” the Steelers linebackers with his play fakes – which is true, but the bigger truth is that the linebackers never lost containment on RG3, and that made a huge difference.  Grade:  A

Secondary
So you go up against RG3 without your top All Pro strong safety and lose Pro Bowl free safety, and what happens? You hold him to 12 points. The Steelers secondary was excellent in coverage, containment and run support on Sunday. Yes, the unit benefited from drops, but their hard hitting helped plant the seeds for some of those drops. This group was down right aggressive, and that aggressiveness paid dividends.  Grade:  A

Special Teams
The good news.  Shaun Suisham was 2-2 including a 48 yarder. Drew Bulter punted well. Rainey was solid returning kicks.  The bad news. The Redskins has a 17 yard punt return that set up their final score. Their kick return average was a little better than you’d like. But the most egregious error by the special teams was yet another touchdown was nullified by a penalty at a time when Redskins could have been put away. Sure the Steelers over came it, but That’s just inexcusable and pulls the unit “Below the Line.” Grade:  D+

Coaching
Mike Tomlin mentioned that he saw an intensity from his defense that he had not seen all year. That was evident, and if the D is in fact finding its Mojo, then they’re doing it at just the right time. Todd Haley’s game planning was phenomenal. Roethlisberger’s goal line touchdown to Pope (and also to Johnson) show just how deadly this offense can be when the opposition must respect the run. Dick LeBeau is now 15-1 vs. rookie quarterbacks and he clearly had his team prepped to contain RG3. An outstanding game by one of the finest defensive minds in the game. Special teams coach Amos Jones needs to find a way to stop the penalties.  Grade: B+

Unsung Hero
18 months ago much of the Steelers coaching staff, let alone Steelers Nation had written this man off another failed third round draft pick. However, Carnell Lake took a personal interest in this young man, and he got on to the field in 2011, and more importantly, he kept himself there with his play. For the second consecutive game this man’s determination to play to the whistle saved the Steelers a touchdown in the end zone, in addition to two other passes defensed and plenty of hard hitting, and for that Keenan Lewis is Steel Curtain Rising’s Unsung Hero of the Redskins game.

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Steelers Defeat Redskins 27-12

When the Pittsburgh Steelers last faced the Washington Redskins in 2008, the folks in DC labeled it a “statement game.”

Leading a 6-2 Redskins squad, head coach Jim Zorn appeared to be establishing himself as a bright, young, offensive mind. Under his tutelage, Jason Campbell finally seemed to be hitting his stride.

• But the Steelers dispatched them 23-6 while masses of Black and Gold took over FedEx Field in a banner night for Steelers Nation.

Four years later the two teams met again, and while no one called it a “statement game,” both teams had something to prove….

Setting Up for a Shoot Out

The Washington Redskins are of course all about Robert Griffin III or RG3. Coming out of college, RG3 was touted as a defensive coordinator’s nightmare, a true, mobile quarterback who could also pass within the pocket.

Of course people have made similar claims about players like Aiki Smith, Cabe McNown, Daunte Culpepper, etc…. But RG3 did something those players never did:

• He delivered above and beyond the pre-season hype. 

What would Dick LeBeau do? The legendary Steelers defensive coordinator entered the game 14-1 vs. rookie quarterbacks since his return to Pittsburgh in 2004.

But 2012 has tested LeBeau, as he defense had given up three 4th quarter leads resulting in three losses.

LeBeau’s defense held against Andy Dalton, but how would it fare against a rookie who after only 7 games is already one of the game’s most dangerous threats?

Could LeBeau’s aging defense contain the RG3 juggernaut, or would this game devolve into a “whoever has the ball last wins” contest that is too typical of today’s NFL?

The Shoot Out that Never Was…

The anticipated shoot out between the Young Turk RG3 and Ben Roethlisberger and Young Money (aka Wallace, Brown and Sanders) never materialized.

It failed to materialize because Dick LeBeau and his counterpart Todd Haley both broke two sacrosanct two commandments that dictate success in of the modern NFL:

• Thou shalt not run
• Thou shalt not play physical defense that compromises the passing game

Fortunately, for Steelers Nation, neither LeBeau nor Haley read the updated cataclysm.

The Art of a Drop

Nothing in football frustrates more than a drop. In a word, drops….

• Convert touchdowns into field goals
• Transform 1st and 10 into a punt
• Erode momentum and stall drives

Sometimes mental lapses cause drops. Sometimes the players don’t have good hands. Sometimes drops are endemic of a larger lack of focus….

• …But sometimes defenses induce drops

In 1990 the Pittsburgh Steelers started 2-2 without scoring an offensive touchdown.  During one of those victories the rival Houston Oilers and their Run’N Shoot offense couldn’t hold on to anything.

Then defensive coordinator Dave Brazil explained how Pittsburgh’s defensive backs actually allowed Houston’s receivers catch the ball early on, only to lay in the wood after. As the game progressed, Houston's Pro Bowl quartet of receivers began dropping balls in droves.

NFL rules protecting defenseless receivers are supposed to change all of that. Yet against the Redskins the, Steelers secondary showed that you can aggressively go after receivers while staying in the rules.

• The results of LeBeau’s strategy were evident in the Redskins collective butter fingers 

Numerous times Redskins dropped balls when black jerseys were barely in sight. That’s when you know the secondary has intimidated the opposing receiving corps – guys fear hits when none are imminent.

The secondary of course wasn’t solely responsible for the Steelers success, just as RG3 is not the only Redskins weapon. Pittsburgh contained one of the NFL’s most potent rushing attacks.

Alfred Morris and Darrell Young did rip off impressive runs, but they never threatened to take over the game, just as RG3 made some nice completions, but never got into a rhythm with his receivers.

Credit Dick LeBeau for his game plan. Credit his players for executing it.

Throw to Score, Run to Win

Todd Haley was hired as offensive coordinator with three purposes in mind:

• Keep Ben Roethlisberger upright
• Improve scoring, particularly in the Red Zone
• (Re)Establish the run

During the first six weeks of the season Haley has done an excellent job with number one. And while the Steelers scoring hasn’t quite below expectations given available offensive talent, Haley’s done OK in the Red Zone.

Part of the reason that scoring has not been higher lies in Haley’s plan to protect Ben by getting the ball out of his hands via shorter passes.

The strategy has yielded a tremendous time of possession advantage for Pittsburgh but up until recently that time of possession has come through the air.

• All time of possession minutes, however, are not created equally. 

There’s value added to time of possession gained on the ground. Opponents get worn down. Tackles get broken. Cornerbacks throw inane fits. Running backs register double digit runs. You impose your will.

For the second straight game the Steelers have built up early leads and then taken the air out of the ball on the ground behind Jonathan Dwyer.

Somewhere the late Ron Erhardt is smiling, knowing that even after he’s passed the “Throw to score. Run to win,” philosophy that he brought to Pittsburgh lives on.

• Ironically it’s a strategy he and Bill Parcells used to best the Redskins countless times in the 80’s.

The double irony is that the real test will come in Pittsburgh’s ability to replicate that success next week against a far more formidable New York Giants team.

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Steelers Signal Special Teams Shake Up, Activate Cromartie-Smith

With Maurkice Pouncey returning to the line up, the Steelers waived offensive lineman John Malecki. So much was expected, just as it is expected that John Malecki will return to the practice squad.

But the Steelers made another move which is more interesting by activating another practice squad player, namely safety Damon Cromartie-Smith.

That move likely signals that corner back Marcus Van Dyke is headed for the bench. The Steelers picked up Van Dyke off of waivers just before the season, and he’s largely played special teams. While did distinguished himself in early weeks, lately he’s been drawing attention to himself for the wrong reason – namely penalties.

In Antonio Brown and Chris Rainey the Steelers have two players capable of doing damage as return men. But neither player has been able to work up any momentum because every time they get a good return, it ends in a penalty. Mike Tomlin vowed to bench the responsible parties....

• ....and while Van Dyke has not been the only offender, he has been a repeat offender.

Damon Cromartie-Smith spent the first 12 games of the Steelers 2011 season on the practice squad, but was activated for the final four due to injuries. He didn’t play much in the secondary, but did help out on specials teams.

Expect to see Cromarti-Smith covering kicks Sunday afternoon while Van Dyke watches in street clothes.

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