An Epic Battle Awaits
They did it, somehow, some way, the Steelers found a way and won the AFC North. They came out on Sunday Night and got the job done against a very solid Bengals team who led the division nearly all season long. But the Steelers, who never seem to play well against the lesser opponents, stepped up and played well against a good one, something they did most of the season.
The win was enormous for many reasons, it vaulted them from a potential 5th seed wild card team to the 3rd seed division winner, providing them with a home game and the opportunity to avoid the number one seed Patriots until the AFC championship, should they get there.
The killer B’s are more than capable of getting the job done but that trio may have taken a big hit on Sunday Night as LeVeon Bell, the team MVP, went down with a knee injury. The good news is the injury doesn’t contain any structural damage but the bad news is he may not be ready for Saturday nights show down against the Baltimore Ravens.
Should Bell not play, the team will be tested and the decision to release LeGarret Blount last month may come back to haunt them. They have a skeleton backfield without Bell, rookies Dri Archer and Josh Harris are all they have and neither man can do what Bell does. Harris would most likely get the bulk of the carries while Archer would be the back catching passes out of the backfield. Bell does both better than anyone in the league and while these two rookies may be able to team up for a few plays, it’s unlikely they will be dynamic enough to provide the team with what they need out of the running back position.
This all leads to more pressure on the offensive line, Big Ben the wideouts and of course the defense. Bell is a big reason why the offense is so balanced and has the ability to score 30 points in a game against anyone. Take him away and the expectation to score 20 may be unrealistic. The Steelers will certainly throw the ball more often and while Big Ben did toss six TD’s the last time these two met, he was provided the ability to do so because the Ravens were concentrating on stopping Bell. This time the O line will need to ensure they stop the blitz, keep Ben upright and allow him time, as they did against the Bengals.
The defense will need to play at a top level, knowing the team can’t afford to give up 24 to 30 points. The secondary has played pretty well in the last few weeks in the absence of Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor and they’ll need to continue to do so. William Gay, Brice McCain and Antwon Blake have manned the corners and Mike Mitchell and Will Allen seem to have it working at safety. I actually believe the team may be better off proceeding with these guys vs. worrying about playing Polamalu and Taylor.
However, at the end of the day, no matter who plays, it’s going to be an epic Ravens vs. Steelers battle and one where everyone is going to need to deliver their best, winner moves on, loser goes home.
Welcome Back To The Playoffs
As the final seconds ticked away at Heinz Field on Sunday afternoon, Big Ben took a knee and the Steelers won their 10th game in 15 tries in 2014. This one was just a bit sweeter than the other nine as it meant the Steelers were back in the postseason for the first time since 2011. It meant that the losses to the Bucs, Jets, Browns and Saints can all be forgiven. Most of all, it meant that with one more win the Steelers will clinch the division title and host at least one playoff game at Heinz Field.
It’s actually pretty amazing that this team has come this far. I’ve blasted them all season long for many of their transgressions, largely on the defensive side of the ball and coaching but it’s time to give credit where credit is due.
Despite their glaring weaknesses, this team has found a way to put up ten wins and has a really great chance at winning the division. When I first predicted the season, back in August, I thought this team would go 10-6 and grab a wild card, as the season progressed, I thought 8-8 looked more realistic but here they are, having fought and scrapped their way to this tremendous opportunity. They’ve certainly found a way to beat the good teams of the league, having split with the Ravens, already beating the Bengals once, pounding the Colts, handling the Chiefs, taking out the Texans and even beating an improved Browns team. The knock has been they play to the level of their competition, meaning the bad teams seem to take them out but this season after now having clinched a playoff spot; that seems to have worked. The rest of the way, they’ll play only good teams; so maybe that’s a good thing for these guys. Perhaps they can make a run? They’ll certainly need to patch up some of their holes but they have ways of making up for their deficiencies too.
The Killer B’s are as reliable as any trio in the league and they can put up points with anyone. Big Ben is a proven post season winner, Antonio Brown is clutch and LeVeon Bell appears poised to handle the spotlight the post season will bring.
James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor and Lawrence Timmons have all done it before on the defensive side of the ball and while Polamalu and Taylor no longer seem to be much of a factor on the field, they can still play pivotal roles in leading this team in the playoffs based on their experience and past success.
The thought of facing a Tom Brady, Petyon Manning or even Andrew Luck a second time sounds daunting but right now these Steelers have certainly proven they don’t give up on themselves even when some of us lose faith in their abilities; and that has to count for something, maybe even a division title.
Welcome back to the postseason; Steelers.
The Streak Of 8-8 Is Over But Do You Trust These Guys?
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The Steelers went on the road on Sunday afternoon and came out of Atlanta with a victory, breaking their streak of two consecutive 8-8 seasons. The win improved the team to 9-5 and should they win out, they will win the division and host a home game in the divisional playoff round. If they slip up and lose one of the next two, there is a good chance they won’t make the playoffs. Or they’ll at least need to rely on other teams for help; something they had to do last season and it didn’t pan out.
The next two games are at home, which is always a good thing but they are against two quality opponents, the Chiefs and Bengals; both of whom are in the thick of the playoff chase. The Steelers have played well against the good teams this year but do I trust them yet when everything is on the line?
Offensively, I think I can say I do. Hard not to trust the Killer B’s with Antonio Brown, LeVeon Bell and Big Ben Roethlisberger. The receiving corps is deep and the team can put up 25-35 points in any given game against any given defense. I’m still not sold on the offensive line as I believe they are capable of crumbling at any given moment, look no further than the Jets game a few weeks back. I’m also leery of the backup running back situation. Sure, Bell is one of the best, if not the best, running back in the game. But should he get hurt or need a breather, does the team have a guy who can spell him? They really don’t. So his heath and durability is of the utmost importance.
Defensively I have no trust in them at all. It’s still hard to believe that I can write that and mean it but it’s the hard reality. It mainly boils down to the secondary. Matt Ryan, without his best weapon, Julio Jones, still torched the secondary for over 300 yards on Sunday afternoon. Playoff quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck will drop 450 yards on this secondary in a heartbeat. But it’s not all on the guys in the back, the front seven need to get to the quarterback and they can’t do it. Again on Sunday they came away with no sacks (Though Jason Worilds was robbed of one by the officials). They barely pressured the quarterback and they didn’t knock him around like the steel curtains of old. Winning the turnover margin on Sunday 1-0 was huge and having a defensive touchdown scored was the difference in the game but at the end of the day, I don’t trust these guys to make a stop in crunch time and I still feel everything rests with the offense.
Lastly, the coaching isn’t good, period. So I don’t trust any of them. It’s funny how the roller coaster season of wins and losses causes the fan base to go up and down with the team and their thoughts on the players, coaches, management etc. At the end of the day, this staff isn’t good enough to call them a quality group. They still haven’t proven capable of making adjustments in game or even preparing a good enough game plan in advance of the game. The discipline on this team is still lacking and that comes from the top and when it comes down to this staff vs. Andy Reid and his staff next week or even Marvin Lewis and his staff the following week, I’d take the other guys. Painful to say, even more painful to read but it’s reality.
That all said, somehow, someway, this team has seven wins and control their own destiny. Can they win out? Sure, they can. Do I trust that they will? No, unfortunately I don’t.
Don’t Blame Ben
I’ve sat here the past few days trying to dissect the latest Steeler set back. I wondered what I would talk about and from what angle. My thoughts were as hazy as the Steelers current playoff hopes. But then, I started seeing what others were saying in both the mainstream articles and via the blogs and social media and it became an easy answer; everyone is throwing blame on Big Ben Roethlisberger and you know what, they’re all WRONG.
They’re as wrong as Mike Tomlin is when he manages the clock or thinks his next man up philosophy is actually working.
Sure, Big Ben had a bad game, but how in the world can he be blamed for that loss or the season the Steelers are having? The team somehow has seven wins through twelve games and without him, they’d be lucky to have three wins. The blame needs to fall on the defense to start.
This is not your father’s defense; the Steelers defense is bad folks. It’s not capable of making necessary splash plays to change the game. They can’t get off the field on third downs, they rarely penetrate the line to get to the QB, they certainly aren’t creating turnovers and they legitimately lack any kind of secondary. The only player that is a difference maker is Lawrence Timmons, the others are marginal at best. The D line hasn’t been impressive in the least. I expected Cam Heyward to play at an All Pro level this season and that hasn’t happened. The linebackers, outside of Timmons aren’t getting it done. Jason Worilds has an amazing amount of potential but he hasn’t repeated the success he had last season. The secondary is just awful, period. They don’t have a top corner, even with Ike Taylor back. Troy Polamalu isn’t the playmaker he once was and the signing of Mike Mitchell hasn’t provided any kind of spark. Is he any better than Ryan Clark was? No, he’s not.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, everyone went crazy for the return of Brett Keisel and James Harrison as if they were the missing pieces to a championship run. At one time they were the centerpieces of a couple of championship runs but now they are tape trying to keep the puzzle together. They are decent enough but far from the answer. The signing of those guys actually showed me everything I needed to know, this defense was in trouble. If you have to pull old vets off the couch, you’ve got a problem and it’s glaring 12 games in. They have very little young talent on the defensive side of the ball. Why go and get those guys? For depth? For what, to turn in another 8-8 season? If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. Keisel and Harrison are far past their prime and were a part of 8-8 seasons over the past couple years (Harrison was not in Pittsburgh last season). Why not let the young guys develop and see what happens? Would a 4-12 or 5-11 season have been the worst thing in the world? Actually, no, it would not. This team may be in need of one or two of those years in order to get higher draft picks and bring in the impact players that are currently missing on defense.
But it’s not just defense, it’s coaching too. Mike Tomlin and his staff had two weeks to prep for the Saints while the Saints came off a short week having played on Monday Night Football and you would like to think the Steelers would have taken advantage of the extra time. I guess the coaches stuffed their faces with too much Turkey because they weren’t prepared at all. Tomlin botched the clock at the end of the first half, LeBeau was played for a fool all game long by Drew Brees and made no adjustments whatsoever in the second half and Todd Haley did not generate enough plays for LeVeon Bell via the run.
So sure, Ben had a tough game and he knows that and owns that but to blame the game or the mediocre season thus far on him is lunacy. Without him, they’d be a four win team, of course, maybe that’s what they need…..
