Antonio Brown Wins Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 MVP Award

In what amounts to a minor shock, the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers have elected Antonio Brown as its 2011 MVP. Brown won the award despite not starting until mid-November, and not even leading the team in key receiving categories.

Brown, however, is reputed to be one of the hardest working members on the team, and has shown himself to be an incredible talent during the course of 2011. Brown is learning how to get himself open on key downs, moves well after the catch, and has some of the best hands this team has ever seen.

So congratulations to Antonio Brown.

With that said however, it is hard to argue that Brown really deserved the award, although perhaps its easy to understand how it came to him.

The 2011 Steelers are a team in flux. Veterans like Aaron Smith, Chris Hoke, Bryant McFadden, and yes, Hines Ward, are waning, and younger players are coming to the forefront.

• 2010 Steelers MVP Troy Polamalu has had a fabulous year, but has played much of the year at the line of scrimmage, and hasn’t had the interceptions of a year ago.
• Mike Wallace started the year off gang busters, but saw his production dip on the second half.
• Both James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley have raised hell in opponents back fields, but both men have missed large portions of the season to injury.

The only player that really stands out is Ben Roethlisberger, whose play has been consistent throughout the year, and has shown incredible toughness in playing with injuries that would fell a lesser soul. Roethlisberger won the Steelers MVP award in 2009, and in Steel Curtain Rising's view, deserved it this year.

My guess is that the voting was spilt pretty evenly, with Brown having the fortue to come out on top.

Marcus Gilbert, James Farrior Also Honored

Second round pick Marcus Gilbert, who stepped in to start after Willie Colon’s season ended because of an injury suffered in the Debacle at Baltimore, won the 2011 Rookie of the Year Award. (Now, someone tell me, when did they stop calling it the PNC Bank Joe Greene Rookie of the Year Award? Dropping the corporate sponsorship is one thing, but Joe Greene is Joe Greene).

While Gilbert is not the only rookie to contribute – Cameron Heyward has played well as well as Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, but Gilbert has been the most consistent.

The Pittsburgh press Corps also named James Farrior as the 2011 “Chief Award” winner, given to the member of the Steelers locker room who is most cooperative with the media.

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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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Browns Game at Cleveland Stadium Gives Steelers Dress Rehearsal for Playoffs

NFL Week 17 finds Steelers Nation not focusing on Cleveland Stadium, where the Black and Gold will conclude their season, but 250 miles or so down I-71 at Paul Brown Stadium.

The reason of course is that the Cincinnati Bengals need to win to qualify for the playoffs, and to do so they conveniently need to vanquish the Baltimore Ravens, who if they lose can cede the AFC North Division championship to the Steelers.

…If the Steelers win at Cleveland, of course.

Steel Curtain Rising is certainly not looking past the Browns, a team who just two years ago gave Pittsburgh the most bitter upset of the Mike Tomlin era on the shores of Lake Eire.

But the Steelers should beat the Browns and probably will. (And if they don’t, they richly deserve whatever early playoff exit awaits them.) Given that, how the Steelers win might be just as important.

Time to Count Style Points...?

“We don’t add style points.” Mike Tomlin’s right. All of the Steelers wins and losses hold equal value. For tie breaking purposes the Debacle in Baltimore might as well have been an overtime loss decided by a safety scored with one second remaining.

True as that is, the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers have a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde quality to them. At home they’re legitimate Super Bowl contenders. On the road they’re more like a team lucky to be at .500.

The 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers at Home

Record: 7-1
Avg. Points Scored: 25
Avg. Points Allowed: 10
Turnovers: 8
Sacks: 28

The 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers on the Road

Record: 4-3
Avg. Points Scored: 15
Avg. Points Allowed: 20
Turovers: 18
Sacks: 5

Certainly, those road numbers are a little skewed by the opener vs. Baltimore which alone counts for 40% of the turnovers. But the Steelers wins vs. the Colts and Chiefs were far like escapes than “victories.” Even the win vs. Arizona got to be a lot closer than it should have been. The Steelers pass rush on the road is a mere shadow of its Heinz Field presence.

And even in the best-case scenario, at shot at Lombardi Number Seven is going to require the Steelers to win once on the road, and quite probably 3 games. And the quarterbacks in question won’t have last names like Painter and Plako, but rather names like Palmer, Flacco and Brady.

The Steelers are sixteen games into the 2011 NFL season and they still find themselves unable to play their best ball while on the road.

Coaches are fond of saying that a team starts a new season when the playoffs begin. For the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers to make good on that old coaching proverb, they must they must excel in the final road contest of their old one.

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Steelers Report Card vs. the Rams

My 8th Grade World Stuides teacher Mr. Baker used to have what he called “Gimmies” meaning, I give you the assignment, you do it, and you get an ‘A.’ More often than giving ‘A’s’ Mr. Baker gave us “This was a gimme, and you blew it” brow beatings. The Steelers game the Rams amounted to the NFL’s equivalent of a “Gimmie” and the Steelers took full advantage. Here goes the Steelers Report Card for their Christmas Eve shut out of the Rams; as always no other report cards have been consulted.

Quarterback
Charlie Batch got his first start in well over a year, and did respectably. He evaded pressure, directed three touchdown drives, and hit 7 receivers. His interception was not “his fault,” but then he also had a couple of other near interceptions. While Batch was certainly “above the line” the Steelers 1-7 third down conversion rate brings his grade down. Grade: B

Running Backs
Rashard Mendenhall had a career game. Even if you take out his 52 yard run he still had a respectable 3.7 yard per carry average, and he was fabulous on his 35 yard catch and run. Isaac Redman ran hard on his 8 carries, and John Clay hit pay dirt on his first NFL carry. Grade: A

Wide Receivers
Mike Wallace gave a plesant reminder of why he’s one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers. Hines Ward had four grabs as did Antiono Brown who also turned what looked to be a broken reverse/pass option play into a nice 8 yard run. Health Miller and David Johnson also got into the act. This group did well, but like Batch, they must bear some responsibility for the poor third down conversion rate. Grade: B

Offensive Line
Raise your hand if you held your breath when Doug Legursky got hurt. In spite of yet another line up change, the offensive line did well, with Jonathan Scott subbing for Marcus Gilbert, and Chris Kemoeatu returning to the starting line up without drawing attention to himself. Through it all, the pass protection remained solid and the run blocking crisp. Grade: A-

Defensive Line
Ziggy Hood had a nice stat sheet, but had difficulty in run support. Brett Kiesel had two defensed passes. Cameron Heyward got playing time on key downs. The unit did well, but their grade must nonetheless reflect Steve Jackson’s 100 yard rushing performance. Grade: B-

Linebackers
James Harrison was a beast, wreaking havoc in the backfield. Lawrence Timmons also made his presence known, while James Farrior and Larry Foote held up well on the inside. Jason Worilds, however was largely invisible during the game and his run support ability must improve. Still, Harrison and Timmons ability to make impact play save this unit from getting a minus attached to its letter. Grade: B

Secondary
St. Louis signal caller Kellen Clemens was 37.5% pass on the day. In addition to shutting down the Ram’s passing attack, Troy Polamalu, William Gay, registered tackles for losses, while also defending passes. Keenan Lewis also had a key pass defense. An excellent outing for the Steelers secondary. Grade: A

Special Teams
Shaun Suisham nailed a 49 yard field goal when the score was only 10-0, and did well on kickoffs. Justin Kapinos boomed the ball off for a 47 yard punting average, and Antonio Brown made good on his lone kick return by bringing the ball back 30 yards. The coverage units were solid. The Steelers didn’t need any fireworks from their special teams, but got quality play all around, including a fake punt which could have given St. Louis the momentum needed to make a game of it. Grade: B+

Coaching
This game went as scripted, and credit for that in large part goes to the coaches. The Steelers were playing without a number of key starters and injuries took their toll during the game, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the score board. St. Louis success at rushing the ball is the lone eye brow raiser here, but all in all Mike Tomlin and his coaching staff did a very good job. Grade: B+

Unsung Hero
Third round picks are supposed to develop into starters in today’s NFL. And the Steelers certainly had that in mind when they picked this young man. Unfortuantely, the said individual, despite multiple shots, has never been able to nail down a starting job. And maybe that’s for the best, because in his fighting to justify a roster spot year in and year out, this gentleman quietly enabled himself to bring another asset to the table – versatility.

Trai Essex will never be a stud offensive lineman in the NFL, but he’s grown into a player who can, has and does step into any of the five offensive line positions at a moment’s notice, and that versatility was on display yet again this past Sunday, and for that Trai Essex is the Unsung Hero for the Steelers victory over the St. Louis Rams.

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Reflections on the Steelers Win Over St. Louis

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a checkered history playing on Christmas Eve.

In 1994, they lost a seemingly meaningless game to a San Diego Chargers team that would inflict one of the worst playoff losses in franchise history just a few weeks later.

In 1995 the Steelers, playing basically their second team, went toe-to-toe vs. the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau and came within a dropped pass of winning.

The Steelers took care of business against the Rams in fine fashion. Be very clear on one point – shutting out another NFL team is not to be taken lightly.

Yes, the Rams have one of the worst offenses in the NFL. But the Steelers did what they were supposed to – dominate the scoreboard.

This group of Pittsburgh Steelers certainly has a couple of games and, specifically one drive, that they would like to have back. They’ve won ugly at times. But they’ve avoided dropping a game to a manifestly inferior team, which is the mark of a winner.

Steve Jackson of course did gain 100 yards, and I’ll point you to Neal Coolong’s analysis of that breakdown over at Behind the Steel Curtain.

But if the lapse in the run defense is nothing to ignore, nor is it worth tying yourself up in knots over – Steve Jackson is a phenomenal rusher who has had the misfortune to be trapped on some mediocre teams.

With an eye towards the playoffs, several postives stood out:

• James Harrison makes this defense so much better

Yours truly is of course not the first to say this (the forementioned Neal Coolong did just that), but there is no denying it. Harrison was a force as aways, despite getting held, and his presence as much as anything else contributed to forcing St. Louis to lay eggs in its Christmas stockings.

• Mike Wallace got back to doing what he does.

Earlier in the week Ed Bouchette had chronicled on PG Plus how this season had broken down neatly in two halves for Wallace, one spectacular, the other pedestrian.

Wallace was back to spectacular Saturday vs. St. Louis. He only had 4 catches, but one of those was for 46 yards, and it iced the game.

Doing it against the Rams is one thing and doing it against New England, Oakland, and Baltimore in the post season is another. But if Sunday was a sign of the way Wallace is trending, then the Steelers can go places in the playoffs

• Rashard Mendenhall ran like a stud.

When Mendenhall is hot, he’s among the top 6 or 7 rushers in the league. When he’s not its difficult to distinguish him from the rest.

Mendenhall simply tore it up on Sunday, both as a rusher and as a receiver, notching gains of both 35 and 52 yards. It was one of Mendenhall’s career performances, and if Mendenhall is similarly motivated in the playoffs, the Steelers will have a shot at the mountain top.

• Charlie Batch played well

Charlie Batch did a lot of good things against St. Louis. His only interception was not his fault. He managed the game well, and took advantage of the weapons at his disposal. On the negative side, and perhaps this is why the coaches stubbornly kept Ben in vs. San Francisco, the Steelers were woeful on third down.

• Welcome to the NFL, John Clay

Clay, according to Neal Coolong, looked bad in practice, but tearing 10 yards through the middle of the defense to score a touchdown on your first NFL touch is a good way tos start….

• Alert - Lawrence Timmons sighting

Lawrence Timmons played well, at least in the pass pressure game, leading the team for in tackles, making two tackles for losses and registering a sack and two more QB hits. Timmons is most certainly one of the players the Steelers need to see more from in the playoffs, adding more zing to the bounce back.

Of course, unless the Steelers can learn to play better on the road, a lesson they must learn very quickly, few will remember any of the stats and trends to come out of the St. Louis game, but you can’t ask for much more than 27-0 victory on Christmas Eve performance.

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Steelers Shut Out Rams 27-0

The Steelers closed out their home games with a resounding win over the St. Louis Rams. Like many, I had to watch the game while doing preparing for Christmas.

What else can we say, good game for the defnese, good game for Charlie Batch, good game for Mike Wallace, good game for Lawrence Timmons.

Steel Curtain Rising will be back in a few days with a complete analysis.

Until then, Merry Christmas everyone!

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Steelers Report Card vs. 49ers

From the grade book of a teacher whose sorely disappointed that his star pupil squandered term paper that he needed to give him a much needed cushion heading into final exams, so goes the Steelers report card for going splat against the 49ers. As always, no other grades have been consulted.

Quarterback
What were Ben Roethlisberger’s final numbers? Who knows. They are unimportant. The important stat that sticks out is 4 turnovers and 3 sacks. Ben Roethlisberger was playing with an injury that left him unable to deliver the deep ball, unable to evade pressure, and inaccurate much of the rest of the time. Does he deserve credit for sucking it up under such trying circumstances? Yes, and that’s what prevents his grade from being an out right failure. Grade: D

Running Backs
Rashard Mendenhall only ran for 64 yards, but he did that in just 15 carries against the NFL’s number one rushing defense. Its not his fault that the team chose to run merely 18 times on the night when their quarterback was hurting. Issac Redman seems to have played better than ESPN’s statistics note, but number don’t like. Mewelde Moore had a nice 21 yard run before he got hurt. Grade: B

Wide Receivers
Health Miller was the best player in this unit, although he should have caught the ball that ended up being Ben’s second pick – yes the ball was high. Jericho Cotchery did well late in the game. Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown also played well on a difficult night. Still, if the Steelers got good play out of their receivers, they needed exceptional play. Grade: B-

Offensive Line
The offensive line missed Maurkice Pouncey out there, but nonetheless played well. They did get called for several penalties in the second half, but those were largely academic. The unit actually gave Ben Roethlisberger decent time to throw, but Roethlisberger was unable to take advantage. Likewise, Mendenhall had room to run, but line wasn’t controlling the line of scrimmage with the kind of conviction that was necessary to control this kind of game. Grade: C+

Defensive Line
The San Francisco’s rushers didn’t dominate, but did do enough to keep drives moving. The defensive line did seem to get some pressure on Alex Smith early on, but that pressure was neither consistent nor effective down the stretch. Still, this unit gets credit for forcing two field goals early in the game. Grade: B-

Linebackers
Lawrence Timmons got burned repeatedly and looked nothing like the dominating player he appeared to be growing into during the first half of 2010. LaMarr Woodley was not effective. Jason Worilds was a non-factor. James Farrior got beaten badly when the Steelers could least afford it. The Steelers had no sacks and one QB knock down against a quarterback that will let you beat him if you apply enough pressure. Grade: D+

Secondary
The effort of the secondary was inconsistent. Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark made key tackle after key tackle, and the Steelers kept San Francisco to 4-13 on third down conversions. Still, things could have been better had Alex Smith not missed some wide open receivers. All in all, however, the secondary’s performance was above the line. Grade: B

Special Teams
Keenan Lewis forced what should have been a potentially game changing fumble. Lawrence Timmons got called on a penalty that ultimately made the score 20-3 instead of 16 to 3. Suisham was 1-1 on long kicks – about the best you can expect. Antonio Brown made a few mistakes but put in a solid game. Special teams could have given the Steelers a spark, but it is hard to find fault with their performance. Grade: B-

Coaching
Mike Tomlin coached the worst game of his professional life. Starting Ben Roethlisberger was a good move, keeping him in the game cost the Steelers a shot at home field advantage in the playoffs. Keeping him in the game was inexcusable. With Bruce Arians you have a mixed bag – throwing 44 times against the NFL’s number 1 defense is understandable, throwing 44 times with a wounded quarterback is not. Grade: F

Unsung Hero
To paraphrase Gerry Dulac’s words, there were lots of chances for someone from the Steelers defense to be a hero against the 49ers, yet that hero never materialized.

Nonetheless, on a night when the offense was struggling as bad as it has in recent memory, the defense kept the Steelers in the game deep into the fourth quarter. Absent “splash” plays, that only happens if guys are making quick, smart plays on a down-by-down basis. One man did that through the whole game, registering two tackles for losses and defensing two passes. For his consistent, productive play, Ryan Clark is Steel Curtain Rising's unsung hero of the 49ers game.

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