2012 – The Lost Season
The 2012 Steelers were not who we thought they were. They were a team with 12-4 talent who finished a paltry 8-8. 8-8 may be acceptable in St. Louis, Miami or Cleveland but it’s not something that’s acceptable in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are a team that expects to be in the championship hunt on an annual basis and this year fell far short of that goal.
The team had a true roller coaster season with some highs and lows and a ride that was never smooth. It was certainly a year of transition for the black and gold as many big name veterans retired or were released prior to the season. That transition was supposed to be seamless and this team was supposed to be unaffected, clearly that was wrong. As I look back on the season now, I can see many issues that were glaringly obvious before the season started and some that popped up along the way. In the end, the result was pretty cut and dry; the Steelers finished .500 and are picking 17th in the 2013 NFL Draft. The Season that looked so good on paper in August was lost for good in December.
All that’s left to do for the 2012 season is look back and see what went well and more importantly, where did the team go wrong?
OFFENSE:
The offense was supposed to be the strength of this team. Led by All Pro QB and MVP candidate Ben Roethlisberger this team was expected to put up points in bunches. They had the “Young Money” crew at wide receiver with Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders and they had their stud running back Rashard Mendenhall coming back into the fold this year. To top it off, the offensive line was re built via the draft and ready to rock. Todd Haley was brought in for the fired Bruce Arians and he was going to implement a more balanced attack in a manner that would keep Big Ben upright.
So we thought….
As it turns out, the team finished 21st in the league in total offense, 22nd in points per game, averaging just 21.0 per game, which in today’s NFL isn’t good enough. Their passing attack was 14th and rushing was a dismal 26h in the league.
With only one year to judge it’s hard to say that Todd Haley was a failed hiring but we can start to second guess. The play calling was questionable at times, often lacking the deep ball; which when run effectively backs the defense off the line and lets you run the ball. Mike Wallace is the fastest man in the league, or close to it and despite his holdout and apathetic play at times, he wasn’t used properly.
Big Ben was having a pro bowl caliber season and in the running for MVP before he got hurt and missed three games. Once he came back, he and the team were never the same. Roethlisberger for the year finished with 3,265 yards and 26 touchdowns in only 13 games played. That’s a great year by any means but it makes you wonder what he might have accomplished had he not been injured and where this team may have gone had they been able to protect him for all 16 games.
The receiving corps was led by Mike Wallace but he wasn’t his usual self. The deep ball wasn’t thrown his way often enough to make him the weapon he normally is. Antonio Brown got the big contract in the off season and not Wallace and Wallace admitted that at times he lost his concentration. It showed as he failed to break 1,000 yards in his free agent year.
Brown was having a solid season but missed 4 games to injury and didn’t re capture his pro bowl form from 2011. Emmanuel Sanders put up decent numbers but didn’t progress the way we all had hoped and expected. The best player in the receiving corps was by far and away Heath Miller. Miller put up a career year with a team high 71 receptions to go along with 816 yards and tied for the team lead (with Wallace) with 8 touchdown receptions. He has always been a sure handed tight end and this was the year he was finally used properly. I have to give Haley credit there, he found a hidden strength and he used it well.
Haley and Mike Tomlin failed miserably in regards to the ground attack however. Pittsburgh finishing 26th in rushing is like the Pirates winning the World Series, it’s just not heard of. While Mendenhall was delayed in returning from his injury and was never the same guy, they had options. Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman were on this roster and showed they can run the ball effectively, especially Dwyer. The shortcoming of this unit falls on Haley/Tomlin. They failed to ever pick a feature back and it burned them. Dwyer was the leading rusher with 623 yards. The days of a running back carrying the team may be falling by the wayside but you still need to have a feature back and when your lead rusher has 623 yards on the season, you failed to do so. Tomlin never even allowed this to happen; even benching 3 backs in the Cleveland game after making one mistake each (fumbling). That’s unacceptable. I stated all season long that the team needed a back to carry the ball 20 times a game to allow him to get in the flow of it. They could then use a second back to supplement him with an additional 5 to 10 carries. That never seemed to even cross the mind of the coaching staff and its mind boggling. Look at Dwyer’s numbers, in 156 carries he gained 623 yards which is good for 4 yards per carry. That’s not bad at all. Given the opportunity he would and could be a 1,000 yard back and would allow the Steelers a better flow on offense, relieving some pressure on Big Ben to carry the team on every play.
Kevin Colbert says the numbers are indicative of the talent that position, I think that’s only partially correct. I believe it’s more indicative of the bull headedness of Tomlin and his staff to acknowledge they needed a feature back, they had a guy with the talent and they failed to choose him. Tomlin and Haley also failed to accept that perhaps their game plans weren’t as strong as they originally thought and they needed to make some adjustments.
The offense didn’t just struggle with the skill positions and didn’t just see injuries to Big Ben and Antonio Brown; the O line had its share of issues as well. At times they looked like they finally had something going when Dwyer or Redman would go for 100 yards or Big Ben would go without getting sacked. But then you look at the hits that Ben still took, the lack of a ground attack (which is also related to play calling) and the need for the dink and dunk offense and you realize they were average at best. The O line was once again hit by the injury bug with number one overall pick David Decastro going down in pre-season, Mike Adams missing significant time and Willie Colong going on IR (again) to name a few. The unit featured Maurkice Pounce at center who’s going to his 3rd straight pro bowl but beyond that they were a unit in flux. So much so that Pouncey even had to play guard at times. They were never able to gel and often times as the O line goes, so does the offense. Well, they were a roller coaster and inconsistent and the offensive numbers mirrored that.
Overall this unit came up short and can’t be described as anything more than average. Without the proper use of the passing attack, the lack of a commitment to a running back and an o line that was constantly in flux, this team had little shot to do much.
The team voted Heath Miller as the MVP and it’s hard to argue but I’ll pick Big Ben as my offensive MVP. Without him I think they wouldn’t have won more than 4 or 5 games and would have looked so much worse.
The Defense:
Looking at the defense I thought they would be a solid bet to be a top rated unit but I also noted in my 2012 preview they were the weakness of the team. The stats may indicate otherwise but they were not without their flaws this past season either. While the many injuries to this side of the ball really played a factor, especially when players like Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and Lamar Woodley all missed multiple games, that wasn’t the main issue this team had. They once again failed to gain enough takeaways to be truly effective. While the team ranked number 1 overall in total defense, number one in pass defense, number two in rush defense and number six in scoring defense, they didn’t get the job done in the clutch. There were multiple games this year where the defense failed to come up with the big play in the fourth quarter when the team was leading by a touchdown or more. Three times this past season the team lost on the final play of the game. Three times this past season the team allowed over 30 points. Five times they allowed 24 or more. The defense only gained 20 turnovers; good for 25th in the league in takeaways. That doesn’t cut it. When their star players went down, the subs failed to step in and step up. The black and gold, known for getting to and sacking the quarterback only had 37 this season, which was good enough for 15th in the league, or middle of the pack, just like their 8-8 record. So as I look deeper, that number 1 defensive ranking is nothing more than a mirage. The true numbers that count, turnovers and sacks show the defense was more average than anything else.
The defensive line really didn’t produce the way one might expect and young guns like Ziggy Hood and Cameron Heyward (who couldn’t crack the starting lineup) raised more questions than provided answers. Casey Hampton was slowed by age but Brett Keisel put together a quality 2012.
The linebackers collectively were a disappointment, this unit should have been the clear cut strength of the defense and potentially the team and they really weren’t. Lawrence Timmons was nothing short of great as he led the team in sacks and interceptions (yeah a linebacker led the team in interceptions) and was second on the team with 107 tackles. Larry Foote led the team in tackles with 113 and was also a very strong member of the unit. That said, James Harrison missed time and took the bulk of the season to regain his legs. Harrison was never the guy we’ve all come to love over the years and you’ve got to wonder if we’ve seen his final game in a Steeler uniform? More disappointing than anyone was Lamar Woodley. Just two years ago Woodley was an all pro and one of the best linebackers in the league. This year he again was injured, many speculate he was overweight and he failed to produce big numbers of any kind as he only had 38 tackles and 4 sacks. 38 tackles for Lamar Woodley. That’s not 8 million dollar a year quality, by any means. Woodley is a stand-up guy and surely he knows this is not acceptable but if he can’t get it done, this unit gets in trouble and that’s exactly what happened this season.
The secondary put up a number one ranking but considering Timmons was the leader in interceptions; you have to wonder what they were doing back there. As it turns out they had the 6th least amount of passes attempted against them. Their ranking is based on yards allowed. When you have fewer attempts against you, you give up fewer yards, naturally. Ike Taylor played at a quality level but he too was injured and missed significant time. Keenan Lewis played well in his first year starting but questions certainly arose in regards to Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown when they had to play the nickel or come in to start. Troy Polamalu was hurt most of the year and really didn’t become a factor until the last couple of weeks which as we all know, he leads the defense when he’s healthy. Will Allen filled in nicely for him but he’s not Troy, nobody is. Ryan Clark was outstanding this year and if not for Timmons would have a strong case as the team’s defensive MVP.
That all said, the team looked good at times and looked awful at times, all of which smells of mediocrity, aka 8-8.
For the unit MVP I have to say it’s Lawrence Timmons, he was without question the most consistent player on the defense and was 7 tackles short of winning the team’s defensive triple crown (tackles, sacks and interceptions).
Coaching and General Management:
When you do have 12-4 talent and you finish 8-8 the players certainly play a role in that but you have to look at the top as it all starts there. In this case I’m looking squarely at Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert. These two men are highly respected around the league but in my opinion failed to do their job in 2012.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Tomlin and he furthered that assertion for me in 2012. Tomlin let his ego get in the way and quite frankly I think it prevented him from being a coach. He consistently tried to draw the line in the sand in situations that didn’t call for it. The primary example from this past season is the first Browns game. As we all know by now, Tomlin utilized 4 running backs in that game because the man before him kept fumbling. After a fumble, Tomlin would bench the guy in favor of his reserve. It makes no sense and it’s nothing more than sheer arrogance and bull headedness. It served only as a detriment to the team and the players psyche and smells of immaturity as a coach.
The team was undisciplined and often unprepared. The penalties this year were outrageous, the black and gold averaged 58.6 penalty yards per game which was the 24th rank in the league. That kind of stat is glaring and while the players are the ones making the mistakes, the discipline starts at the top and Tomlin failed to corral these guys and get it through their heads that discipline counts. Furthermore, we had players like Brett Keisel, a team leader, come out after the San Diego game and say he felt all week they were not prepared to win that game. That kind of talk is unheard of and unacceptable. Mike Wallace vented he wasn’t concentrating. Rashard Mendenhall skipped a game because he was inactive and then he was deactivated. Alameda Ta’amu was arrested on DUI, was cut and then re-signed. And just this month Chris Rainey was brought up on charges of domestic abuse for allegedly hitting his girlfriend. He was released. The point of all this is simple, if Mike Tomlin fails to discipline and fails to show he means business, the Steelers will look like the old Bungles on and off the field and are slowly starting to do so. Ok, pump the breaks, don’t get worked up just yet! I’m not saying that’s who they are or what they will be, I’m saying they are heading down that path and need to rectify it quickly.
It wasn’t all discipline of the players, however. Tomlin and Haley failed to show discipline in themselves. They never picked a feature back, they rarely allowed the deep ball to be thrown and the new reinvented offense was anemic at times. The lack of in game and in week adjustments was mind boggling and again reeked of arrogance. It seems they could never face the fact that their schemes weren’t working. I think the dink and dunk had some effectiveness and was a good design for keeping Ben upright but at the same time they needed to let Ben play his game. He needed to be able to unleash the ball downfield and use his arm strength more efficiently. Yes, the team has fast receivers that can get the ball up field with the bubble screens and quick slants but when you have a top 5 quarterback, you must use him more effectively.
Even Dick Lebeau had a few shortcomings this year. Some of his game plans failed to get the blitzers home. He failed to realize early in the season that Ryan Mundy should not start over Will Allen (in place of Troy) and he didn’t discipline his players enough either. In the end, I’d still say he was the best coach on the field and his unit delivered more than any other but I’d say it was an off year for him too.
General Management, led by Kevin Colbert didn’t live up to par either. The team suffered multiple injuries to key players. Many of whom missed multiple games. Colbert has failed to line this team up with adequate reserves that can step in and play when a starter goes down. While Tomlin loves to preach “Next Man Up” and “The Standard is the Standard”, neither phrase is true with this team in its current form. The next man up usually fails and they don’t meet the standard set forth by the starter. It’s Colbert’s job to stock the cupboard for Tomlin and his staff and he really didn’t do it properly.
Many people love Omar Khan and say he’s the teams’ cap guru and he’s a great GM candidate, why? Do these same people realize the Steelers have been over the cap the last few off seasons and have had to go through mass cuts and contract restructures because of it. Due to his ‘expertise’ the team had to cut veteran leaders, will most likely lose top free agents this off season and have spent the bulk of their cap money on a handful of players leaving the rest of the roster to be filled with guys who can’t meet the ‘standard’. So while many in the Steel Nation were overly concerned he may get the GM job for the Jets, it sounds like it would have been nothing short of fitting. The Jets are a zoo and so far this cap mess with the Steelers is too. Is it fixable, sure, it is, but it’s going to take a lot of work now.
Colbert and Tomlin underestimated who they had on this roster from a leadership stand point as well. Could they have used a Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, James Farrior or all of them this year? Absolutely they could. All were team leaders and not one guy stepped in this year to fill that void. The team needed to do a better job of understanding their players on a physical and talent level as well as an emotion and personality level. They paid the price for their inaccurate estimations.
As the 2012 season moves into the 2013 off season the team has a lot of holes to fill and questions to answer. They will need to get under the cap again; they’ll need to see which, if any, free agents they want to bring back. They’ll need to assess the draft and make smarter picks. They will certainly need to re vamp the offense and get faster on defense and they’ll need to evaluate themselves on both a macro and micro level. It may be unfair to completely lambaste a team for going .500, which a lot of teams would kill for, see Jacksonville, Cleveland and Buffalo. However, the Steelers are not ‘a lot of teams’ they are the Yankees of the NFL. It’s championships or bust and when you fall short of that and you can’t even qualify for the post season, the Steel Nation is going to be upset. Are we spoiled? Possibly. Is there any reason to think we shouldn’t’ be? No. We want rings, this town should not settle for .500 and won’t and the Steelers know this and need to get working on this now. 2013 can’t come soon enoug
