Just when you felt that there was some momentum with the Steelers, a thought that they may get back in the 2013 mix, they go out west and lay a dud, with a thud.  The Steelers looked horrific in their game at Oakland from the get go.

On the very first play from scrimmage; Terrelle Pryor faked the entire black and gold defense left as he went right for a 93 yard TD scamper.  The Raiders never looked back as they led the entire game and finished it off with a 21-18 victory. 

The score makes it seem close, it wasn’t.  The Steelers were flat, sluggish and mistake prone all game long.  To top it off, Shuan Suisham, the teams’ most consistent and reliable player missed two field goals, his first two of the season. You can look at the score and say there’s your ball game, that’s where the team lost it, but that would only be partially true.

The team lost it in all facets. First, the offense failed once again to score touchdowns when they needed to. They turned the ball over three more times. They failed to generate any kind of a ground game as they only picked up 35 yards on 19 carries and they once again failed to protect their franchise quarterback. Big Ben was sacked 5 more times. Roethlisberger was hurried and hit all game long as well. Additionally he was off target on throws he typically makes in his sleep. The O line looked like it did to start the season, unable to protect Big Ben under any circumstance.  To add to Roethlisbergers woe’s were the drops by the usually sure handed Heath Miller and Antonio Brown.  It was a sure fire recipe for punts and field goal attempts. That’s not a recipe that spells success very often. Frustration was written on the face of the QB, rightfully so.

By the time the offense decided to show up and move the ball downfield, it was too late, the team was down 18 points, which proved far too many to overcome.

The defense didn’t help either. While they buckled down in the second half; for the game they gave up 197 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. They only sacked Pryor twice and hit him a mere three more times. A defense predicated on pressure must be able to apply it.  Ryan Clark led the way with 12 tackles but isn’t that telling? Your free safety led the way in tackles. That’s generally an issue, specifically when the opposing team only throws the ball 19 times.

Special teams weren’t an innocent party in this comedy of errors. With two missed field goals and a blocked punt to set up a short field, what chance did the team have?

Lastly the coaching should get a big fat F for the performance the team put on. While they don’t play, they motivate, game plan and lead and it’s hard to say any of that occurred on Sunday let alone in the week leading up to the putrid display. This staff has turned a team of winners into a team that lacks the ability to beat the league doormats. It’s a week to week league and what a difference a week makes. If this team responds next week and goes into New England and wins, perhaps a performance like this may be forgotten or at least forgiven. If they don’t, we’ll truly understand who these 2013 Steelers really are.   A team of aging veterans, young players who lack direction and a coaching staff who’ lost the ability to formulate winning results.

It was another classic Ravens vs. Steelers game. It came down to the team with the ball last and it was decided by a field goal. More than just a classic game between these two bitter rivals; it was a look at the past and possibly the future for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The black and gold got back to smash mouth football and while it may have been nail biting and nerve wracking, the result was a notch in the win column.  LeVeon Bell, the rookie sensation making only his third career start, brought back memories of the Steelers that used to run the ball successfully on a weekly basis. He bruised and battered the Ravens defense for 93 yards on only 19 carries. He showed an ability to find the holes and cut back through them for additional yards, something the other backs on this roster have been unable to do. 

It wasn’t just about Bell however; the offensive line really played up to expectations and protected Big Ben all day long. He was sacked a few times, but overall the line kept him safe and clean, something that is a major key to the team’s potential success.  When you can hold Terrelle Suggs to 1 sack and 1 QB hit and the Ravens team to 3 sacks and 4 QB hits, you did your job. Not to mention the Steelers were able to pound the ball on the ground for 141 yards, the most they’ve had in almost a calendar year. 

To add to the “return” of the Steeler way, the defense played extremely well and aggressive. They failed to collect a turnover but they held the Ravens to field goals almost all game long. The most outstanding player on the field was far and away Lawrence Timmons as he boasted 17 tackles. That is an amazing feat that should not be overlooked. Troy Polamalu added 8 tackles and a little entertainment when he jumped over both the defensive and offensive lines trying to block a game tying extra point. The play resulted in a penalty but it was a true sign that Troy is back to his old form athletically.

It’s safe to say that LaMarr Woodley is back to old form too. He added 4 tackles and collected his team leading 5^th sack. He’s been far more disruptive this season than the last two.

Smash mouth football, hard nosed defense and a low scoring win is reminiscent of the old Steelers. It’s also a hopeful glimpse into the re-born Steelers. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time after the 0-4 start. Thus far they have come off of that off week with a resurgence and a display of young talent. LeVeon Bell is clearly a key on the offense, Jarvis Jones (who missed yesterday’s game) is a play maker on defense, Shamarko Thomas the Steelers rookie safety added 7 tackles against the Ravens and appears to be a true force, Vince Williams, the rookie inside linebacker is now a starter and added 3 tackles of his own and it cannot be overlooked that Markus Wheaton should be returning to the team to take his role as the 4^th wide out again soon.

The end result for the season is yet to be seen and there is a lot of football to be played but currently the team finds themselves on a two game winning streak and are within striking distance of the Ravens and Browns for second place in the division.  One step at a time but things look a lot better in Pittsburgh than they did a mere 2 weeks ago.

NEWS, NOTES and SUPERLATIVES:

Game Ball: Lawrence Timmons-17 tackles, enough said.

Play of the Game:  Emmaunel Sanders kickoff return for a touchdown that wasn’t. It turned out it wasn’t a touchdown but Sanders obtained great field position and enabled Big Ben and the offense to push the ball into game winning field goal range.

Questionable Coaching move: At the end of the first half the Ravens were content to let the Steelers run the clock out. Pittsburgh elected to throw the ball and Heath Miller fumbled inside the team’s own 50, enabling the Ravens to kick a field goal at the end of the half. Why not just run the ball and the clock along with it?

Notes: Jarvis Jones didn’t play due to concussion symptoms suffered in the Jets game.

Marcus Gilbert left the game due to injury.

Mike Adams played a significant number of downs as a tight end.

The Steelers ran 4 wildcat plays with LeVeon Bell in the QB position.

2-4, up next at Oakland

When the final second ticked off the clock, the score read Steelers 19, Jets 6. The first victory of the 2013 season came not a moment too soon for the black and gold. Coming into the game at 0-4; the team knew that they could ill afford a fifth consecutive loss to open the year. 

They played like they knew it too. Big Ben Roethlisberger was nearly flawless throughout the entire game as he completed 23 of 30 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders was as spot on as any throw all day. Also spot on was the play of Antonio Brown who over the past few games has emerged as the true number one threat of this offense. 

The shakeup of the offensive line didn’t seem to do much good in regards to the protection of Big Ben as he was sacked four times, hit 6 more and again pressured throughout the contest. That, however, can be overlooked when you win ball games.

Also easy to overlook is the poor output in yardage from the running game. Starter LeVeon Bell only managed 34 yards on the ground. Despite that, the way Bell ran was impressive. He ran with force and a good burst of speed to go along with it.  Low production or not, Bell is the true feature back on this team. 

The story of the day however has to be the defense.  On this day, the defense played like the Steelers of old. They blitzed rookie Geno Smith and sacked him 3 times. They also forced him into two interceptions, the teams’ first two turnovers on the year. They got after the ball and seemed to make plays in critical situations all game long.  They played with a purpose, something that seemed to lack the first few weeks.

Coaching has to be commended this week as well. They clearly motivated this team to get out there and get it done. They convinced their players the season isn’t lost, there’s a lot of football left and that despite the 0-4 start they are still in this race.  Only time will tell if that is actually the case but for at least one Sunday in October, they were right and the Steelers were victorious.

Notes and Superlatives:

Game Ball: Big Ben-He has emerged as the leader of this team and his nearly flawless game helped lead the charge to victory. 

Play of the Game:  It may not have been the most impactful play, but Troy Polamalu’s hit on Jets WR Stephen Hill was one for the ages. You can see the hit here:

Mike Tomlin took away all games from the locker room this week, banning all players from Ping Pong, Pool and Shuffleboard etc.

Brett Keisel injured his ribs during the game but it doesn’t sound serious.

“I’ll see you at stadiums in the fall” Mike Tomlin bristled this past March when responding to the very idea the Pittsburgh Steelers were in decline.  He called the very notion “March Talk”.  Well, it’s no longer “March Talk” and we’ve seen the reality of a decline for ourselves. The Steelers won 12 games in 2011, dropped to 8 in 2012 and currently in 2013 they sit at 0-4. That doesn’t even include the losses in all 4 of their pre-season games either. 

See you at Stadiums in the fall.

So far we’ve seen the offense look like one of the worst in the league. They are number 17 in total yards and tied for 25^th in points per game at a mere 17.3 average through 4 games.  The inability to protect the football has been abysmal as the team ranks 30^th in the league having turned it over 11 times through the first quarter of the season.

Part of the turnover problem is the the offensive line, which is a complete disaster. Through four games they’ve allowed Big Ben to be sacked 15 times, pacing him to be taken down 60 times on the year. That number doesn’t include the number of times he’s been hit or hurried.  Without time to throw or even drop back to pass, Ben has been forced into mistakes he normally doesn’t make.  Nobody on the line has played well.  The best player they have, Maurkice Pouncey was lost for the year in week one and his replacement, Fernando Velasco; was signed off his couch. By the way, he’s been the best of the group since his arrival.  To further indict the line, the team just traded for Levi Brown to seemingly replace Mike Adams on the left side. Both men are swinging gates so the trade is curious. Perhaps the thought is Adams let’s everything through and Brown may let slightly less through. 

It’s not just the line. The running game hasn’t been there until LeVeon Bell arrived in week four. The line contributed to the lack of yards on the ground but the lack of talent with Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer and Felix Jones is obvious as well. Fortunately Bell should help improve this low producing unit which currently ranks 29^th in the league. The Pittsburgh Steelers rank 29^th in the league in rushing.  That doesn’t even feel right to write, let alone to read, but its reality.

While Big Ben is still in his prime and Antonio Brown has begun to really shine in recent weeks as the teams’ top receiver, the play calling has been questionable.  There isn’t a good mix of play calls when it comes to deep routes, screen passes, run plays and anything in-between. The obvious factor here is Todd Haley is unable to comprehend where his strengths and weaknesses are and he’s not adjusting the plays accordingly. Haley was brought in to keep Big Ben “in check” but that’s not what this team needs. In fact, Ben is best when he’s allowed to call his own plays or when a play is broken and he can make something out of nothing. Ben is not a “dink and dunk” quarterback and it’s blatant that the Haley hiring, to date, was a massive mistake. That’s not to say Bruce Arians should have been retained but Arians wasn’t let go in favor of Haley to have the 25^th rated scoring offense.

See you at stadiums in the fall.

We’ve seen the vaunted Steeler defense fail to create one single turnover through four games, ranking them dead last. There isn’t one other team, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have failed as miserably in that department.

The team ranks middle of the pack in terms of yards allowed on the year at number 12. In a stat meaning more than any other, they rank 24^th, allowing 27.5 points per game.  The have failed to get off the field on third downs, they have failed to get to the quarterback, only having four sacks on the year, three of which are owned by LaMarr Woodley and they have failed to play fundamental football in terms of wrapping guys up.

Are they afraid of the fines they may obtain? Have they lost a step or are they just not talented on this side of the ball either? It’s a little of everything.

The loss of Larry Foote has forced changes to be made that have impacted the rest of the team and how they have to play; however, the teams of the past would have been able to handle this change with ease. This one can’t.  Ziggy Hood wouldn’t’ start on most other teams in the league, but he does for the Steelers. Cam Heyward can’t even crack the starting lineup.  Jason Woirlds can’t crack the starting lineup and William Gay unfortunately plays a lot of downs at cornerback, which is bad news.  This team lacks talent. Ryan Clark, Brett Keisel and even the great Troy Polamalu are getting older and can’t be expected to pick up everyone’s slack. Troy, however, has done his best to do so as he looks like the Troy of old.

See you at stadiums in the fall.

The coaching has failed to adjust to anything so far. They seem to think their game plans are working. What makes them conclude this is beyond anyone’s comprehension. Continuing to try something that doesn’t work over and over is the definition of insanity. Tomlin needs to prove he’s worthy of the position he holds at this point. He’s never found himself in this hole before, how will he respond and more importantly how will his players respond to him?  It’s not a far stretch to say that going back to last year and moving through this year thus far Tomlin has lost the respect of his team. They’ve tuned him out.

Todd Haley needs to rework his game plans to enable his team to move the ball more effectively. Perhaps that’s more shotgun play, letting Big Ben call the 2 minute drill more often or using additional blockers via a full back or half back. Something has to give.

Dick LeBeau needs to adjust his schemes as well as it appears the league no longer fears the black and gold and the hidden blitzes that no longer work.

See you at stadiums in the fall.

More evident than anything thus far may be the swings and misses via the draft. Kevin Colbert may need to be looked at long and hard this off season if some of his guys don’t turn it around immediately. Recent high round draft picks brought in by Colbert include David Decastro, Mike Adams, Marcus Gilbert, Ziggy Hood, Cam Heyward and Jason Woirlds.  Would anyone say that any of these players have accomplished anything worthwhile to date?  These guys aren’t getting it done and most wouldn’t see the field on other teams. These are players that should be expected to deliver in big moments at this point in their career and at this point they are just filling up roster spots because the team needs players. It’s a true indication that Colbert may actually be in over his head.

If you can’t block, can’t score consistently, turn the ball over often, can’t obtain turnovers, can’t sack, can’t get off the field on third downs, can’t make adjustments at halftime and can’t bring in talented players, you can’t win many football games. It doesn’t matter what you say off the field, it doesn’t matter what you think you can do, it only matters what you actually do. So far this team is one of the worst in the league and it’s hard to say that may not hold true throughout the remainder of the season.

See you at stadiums in the fall.