But he was very generous with the football today. Hopefully he’ll grow out of it, and hopefully he gets his mojo back for the playoff run we all know this team can make. They can’t do it without him.

I don’t care who they played the past 9 games. I know what the team is capable of and it frustrates me to see them fall short of their potential. However, considering their record over those 9 games they are more than due a mulligan (until the postseason; then it’s no excuses).

Ryan Clark did play a horrible game…for Ryan Clark. But he’s a very good, usually very consistent safety. To see him biting on double moves, overrunning plays, and half-assing tackles is out of character and frankly surprising given his record. Like I said above though, I’m not throwing him under any bus, just pointing it out. The injury just makes it worse because now his availability (or effectiveness) will be in question for the playoffs.

No, I admit nothing about Tone. He was great today, I’ll give him that. But with the way everyone around here lauds him, I expect plays like that every time he steps on the field. It’s flashes like today that tease me into thinking he can be really, really special. I just haven’t seen it consistently yet. I’m not writing him off, but I’m not ready to call him a great and outstanding WR either. You have to EARN that level of respect from me. I’m not giving it to him just because he was drafted in a certain round a few years ago.

I completely agree that this had 06 written all over it. I told my buddy I hadn’t seen Ben give the game away like this since the Oakland game that year. But he had some very good success through the air today, so the game as a whole really more reminded me of the Denver game that year. Anyhow, the result is still disappointing.

Heath had a great game catching the football today. Now if he could put a few of those together in a season I’d be ready to call him a top tier receiving TE in the league. I still haven’t seen enough quality days like this from him to offset his mediocre run blocking.

One final note:
You might want to rethink and more carefully examine your own emotions that would lead you to go off and chastise your entire readership with such strong language. Don’t worry about the haters. Just let the angry mob take care of itself.

So Clark and Harrison got a little dinged-up but from the sound of things, they’ll improve with rest. It’ll be hard to keep Deebo off the field against the Browns … beating on them would fire him up more than anything.

  How is McFadden doing since his return from IR? He started the season so well, but I haven’t heard his name called out for any heroics lately.
  Not sure why, but I was convinced he’d get an interception against Flacco last week.

A loss is a loss and it would have been nice to beat a top dog like the Titans, but after this stretch of tough games your asking a lot for the Steelers to win this one. Like you said Blitz the emotions have been so out of control these past few weeks that i`m sure this was`t an easy to game to get fired up for.

Bottom line, i think this loss worked toward our advantage. When i look at the seeding and predict who we will have to face, i really don`t think i would want to be the #1 seed. You get one more game at home, wow. I think we can overpower the Broncos, Chargers, or whomever the AFC east wants to throw at us. Now beating Manning and the Colts, or Baltimore for a 3rd time pose bigger challenges in my opinion. We know how great the Colts offense can be, and we know how dominant the Ravens D can be, (assuming they beat the Jags). The other teams fighting for playoff spots don`t exactly strike fear in me. We can be beat by anyone, but i like our road better as a 2 seed really.

Ben has got to stop treating the football like he brought it in for show and tell. I can live with his occasional interception in our own territory, or a fumble when he gets completely crushed, but this tangling the ball our while 3 people are dragging him down drives me crazy. I love the fact that Ben buys time and makes spectacular plays, but he has to realize when those situations are. Sometimes you have to know when your surrounded and wave the white flag. That is my biggest knock on Ben. I believe at 25 he has room to grow though. He just needs to know when to put the cape away.

And TrueSteelerForLife, you are dead on about us not being hungry today. In my opinion that`s what it came down to. I am glad that White and Johnson made a mockery of the terrible towel though. Let them think they pushed us around. It just makes Deebo even angrier. I hope we see them again.

but Willie had no place to go. Sometimes he was dodging his own lineman that were being forced into the backfield.

You know what crossed my mind while watching the Panthers Giants game? How the Panthers last year just said screw it, and basically rebuilt their line. Ironically we now have Hartwig. So they add a few new pieces, get a monster tackle in the draft in Otah (who i really wanted us to get) and just like that, a nice running game featuring a two back system. We may not have much of an offense this year, but if we draft right then there is no reason why we cant get back to Steeler football.

I felt like it was such a sloppy game today, defensively and offensively.
You can tell the difference b/w our O-line and the Titans O-line. Their O-line protected their QB and run-protected. When Parker ran, he ran into the line of scrimmage. Their RBs were getting 3 or 4 yards a carry.
And Ike Taylor, who has been guarding TO and Randy Moss and Derrick Mason is getting tooled by Justin Gage?? There were a lot of missed tackles in that game.
Everyone has been complaining about how holding calls on our defensive players don’t get called but at least their O-line is protecting their QB. Our QB is running for his life half the time. In fact, I would like to see our O-line get called for holding once in a while because it would mean that they are actually trying to protect their QB.
Bruce Arians need to go. I don’t know if he even understands football. There’s no running game at all so we can’t run play action. And we pretty much signal all our passing plays by moving Ben into the shotgun formation. I always thought one of the keys to the football was unpredictability and how can you play against an opponent when they know exactly when you are going to run or pass?
Meanwhile, the TEs and RBs are blocking well enough for Ben to make the big play and Miller, who is a great player, is underutilized in the passing game.
Plus, we have these bizarre time management plays where we are wasting a down by spiking the ball instead of just calling a time out. We did that last week and we did it again this week.

This is a little off topic but did you see how the Patriots ran up the score against the Cardinals today?
Sigh. That’s the Bill Belichick that we know and love.

Yes this was a very tough loss to swallow. Mildly softened by the fact we clinched #2 spot and it didnt matter AS much as say the Baltimore game…

I thought the Offense was outstanding. We were kicking the Titans ass with all due respect. We ended the day with more yards. We were moving it pretty easily. Were it not for the turnovers we would have done just fine.

Your point about checkdown I thought was very accurate. I noticed parker and moore sometimes just sitting there 5 yards out not getting any attention. We all know MM can do some good things with the ball too.

The Ten’Teeth titans are NOT better than our team. For today, they were better than our QB. Today. Believe me if those losers get a chance to play us again, I firmly believe we resoundly slap them.

At least before 1 o’clock yesterday.

I watched games until late, read no Steeler follow up stories or opinions, enjoyed some red wine and home made chili and then went to bed.

This morning I wake up and learn that the sky is falling. Gee what did I miss?

We have the same flaws we had in August with some improvements and some slippage, we are in the playoffs with a bye the first week and any of us would have taken 11-5 or 12-4 when the season started. Against the toughest schedule in the NFL in 25 years.

Cut the hating people. Criticize the facts, blow off some steam and take two weeks off. In fact, no practice for you either. Chill out.

Hate Ariens? Well he is here through February. Wish Moore got more carries since he doesn’t seem to run into his own line the way FWP does. Me too. Really wish Ben would learn from the lessons he is being taught ever week? True dat.

I am disappointed in the results of yesterday’s game because I always, in some deep corner of my soul, believe the Steelers should win every game no matter the team or circumstances (and I still believe that Neil O’Donnel is color blind).

But, this has been a great year to date, lots of fun and excitement, production way higher than anyone predicted. I am a happy man with the playoffs still to come.

Oh yeah, I agree with Steeler Domination, if we can get a couple of good draft picks, and reset our offensive line with a couple of new guys etc…… The only thing worse that watching the Steelers lose is not being able to watch them at all from February to July.

Thanks for the post. In the bigger picture of the season, I don’t think this loss is very meaningful.

I don’t think Ryan Clark had a bad game – I thought he made one very bad play on the first td. I don’t think that overshadows how good he has been, or his good plays yesterday, like the big third down hit to stop the drive right in front of the first down markers. But I felt the same way last year and think it is ridiculous people are still talking about Anthony Smith’s problems with coverage or that he should play strong safety when he was an excellent free safety last year.

Did anyone see how huge that guy Stewart was? I know Harrison is pretty short, but that dude had to be 6’10!

The Titans o-line kept the Steelers pass rush in check and wore the Steelers run defense out by the end of the game.

Great game plan by Fisher and the Titans. I hope the Steelers meet them again in the playoffs.

Not really. But I can’t say I’m unhappy. Or surprised. This week I saw Ben do at least 4 sports talk interviews, I saw Tomlin on PTI, I saw videos of the defense playing grab-ass for espn camera-men, I saw the team on two magazine covers, and I saw everybody (except Warren Sapp) pick the Steelers (I’m, admittedly, overly superstitious….but they were carrying 16 tons of bad karma going into that game). So I pretty much decided a loss was coming, because let’s face it, the Steelers are not the Cowboys. They’re not a spotlight team. Which is why they never win when they’re the top seed. I prefer them with the second seed, coming off a big loss, angry from watching Jelly Donut White stomping the Terrible Towel.

I also like the path as the two 2 better, because I think the Ravens are the scariest team in the AFC. I know Indy will be tough, but I think our offense can move on them. And I think if we can get to Manning, he’ll get flustered (he always does). If we can win that game we’ll either have the Ravens at home or the Titans in Nashville. Either way, I like that match-up. The crowd for the Ravens will be great, and I don’t think Flacco can handle that kind of pressure. And if we get that second shot at the Titans, I think LeBeau and his boys will have a field day.

On Ben: He’d been talking about playing “loose” all week – and the interceptions and fumbles were a function of him doing just that. He was trying to make plays, trying to open up the offense, take it all on his shoulders, stretch his game to its limits. And it came back and bit him. Which is fine. Now he knows his limits, and the coaches know his limits, and I think they’ll respect them come playoffs. This was just an undisciplined game, with very little on the line in my opinion (and the team’s opinion too, from what I could tell). I don’t think we’ll see a performance like this again.

On the D: They were tired. It was obvious. It’s been an unreal stretch, playing what feels like 10 Super Bowls in a row. They’ll be fine.

Now of course, I would have been happy if we had won. But the one thing I feared was this team getting complacent, or otherwise losing focus, going into the playoffs. I don’t think we have to worry about that now. Tomlin will be fired up. Ben will reel it in for the stretch. And I expect the Defense to be furious and violent.

I’m generally a pessimist, but it’s hard for me to notice anything but positives coming out of this game.

I really think the 2nd seed is better for us. The one downside is playing @ TEN if the Titans win in the divisional round but look at the positives.

We can not play the ravens in the 2nd round… as they can do no better than the 6th seed. We could play the colts if both the raven and colts win… but chances are one of the home teams from the wild card weekend will win… which means will most likely play Miami, NE, SD, or Den… Looking at those teams compared to playing the Raven for a third time… Ill take it.

Blitz, Datruth agree with a lot of what you said. Don’t worry about the haters. Haters are supposed to hate. Now on to a few quick drops of Truth:

— Bruce Arians this, Bruce Arians that. He ain’t the biggest problem with this offense. I hate to burst everybody’s bubble, but this offensive line just isn’t good enough. Point Blank. End of Story. The cat is out of the bag and the Fat Lady can sing. Can’t Run and Can’t Protect? Where you gonna hide and who you gonna call, Ghost Busters?

— What Chris K did yesterday against a rookie — one who had one sack on the season — to allow him to get 3 sacks and 3 forced fumbles is pretty bad. Willie Colon had a rough day at RT as well. Like Tomlin said, no excuses.

— Time for Kevin Colbert to offer half of his draft this year (9 draft picks) to move up and get the best LT available on picks 11 through 20 (it’d cost too much to move up into the top ten). I’d trade a 1st, 3rd, 4th and a late pick in 2010 to get the best LT available (Michael Oher or Eugene Monroe, anyone?). I’d move Max Starks, if he resigns, to right tackle, Stapleton to left guard and let Colon and Simmons fight it out at RG.

— If Colbert doesn’t want to go that route, then you can sit at where you’ll be (real late 20’s) and take Duke Robinson, G, out of Oklahoma and then take 2 to 3 tackles later and hopes that one of them come through. I’m not for that philosophy. Go get the guy that can protect Ben’s blindside for the next 10 years and draft another tackle with good feet that you can also bring along. Datruth has no idea what rookie LT Tony Hills will bring to the table next year, so as far as future prospects go, get’em in, get’em good or get’em gone.

— Blitz, I don’t agree that this team was due for a letdown or they were just tired. They got beat. Plain and simple. The Titans didn’t turn the ball over, ran when they needed too, and only allowed Kerry Collins to be sacked once. On the other hand, the Steelers had 4 turnovers (could have been about 2 more if not for recovered fumbles), ONCE AGAIN couldn’t run, and gave up 5 sacks. I might put about 2 of those on Ben, but afterwhile, your OL either has to man and play a complete game or be like Mice and say “I like cheese!!!” So far, I think we got a few cheese eaters on this line.

— Man, Kerry Collins did a pretty good imitation of … of …. a QB leading a team that could be the best in the AFC? He was humming that ball yesterday. That TD toss where the receiver turned Ryan Clark inside out was gorgeous. However, the throw that hurt the most was that one after the Harrison sack, the 3rd and 20 throw that he completed on the left sideline. Only a QB that is confident in his arm and his D can make that throw. Hey one relaxing pre-holiday thought for you, how’d you like to see our $100M QB playing behind the Titans’ OL? The NFL wouldn’t know what hit them.

— Did our no. 1 D smell themselves a little too much after B-More? I don’t think so. It is good to be confident. But it is also good if you’re humble enough to know when you get your tail handed to you. When the Titans picked up 2 straight first downs running the ball when the D really needed to stop them and get the ball back, Larry Foote said it best, that it is time for the D to check themselves a little bit. But I’m with you Blitz. Dick LeBeau will have them playing better next time around.

— One other thing the Truth noticed. Run blitzs aren’t as effective against this team than it is others. To be effective against the Titans, and particularly Chris Johnson, everyone needs to play their gap and guard against cutbacks, kind of like a picket fence mentality. With Lendale White, you just smack him as early as you can. Anyone notice Big Snack getting really upset when Foote and Potsie were overrunning the ballcarrier on their run blitzes near the end of the game? They stopped and the D finally got off the field.
— Paging Mr. Woodley, Paging Mr. Woodley. If you hear this message, could you please pick up the phone and your play? DaTruth knows this is your first year starting, and that you might be wearing down late in the season, but this D isn’t the same without you bringing it. Just like the guy conducting the bench press at the NFL combine always say, “Well, if you want to be bear, then be a Grizzly.” This team needs that “Grizzly” that it had been getting earlier in the year on other side of Harrison.

— Did any of you really think a hip was going to keep Deebo off the field? Only if his hips were dislocated from his upper torso. The dude’s a Baller. Miami can keep Joey Porter and his $20M guaranteed. I’d take DEEBO!

— Hey, K. Colbert and the Rooneys, after the last gun sounds this season, here are some deals where you just need to “Get’er Done!”: 1) Bryant McFadden, can’t develop them and then let them go to someonelse when their best years are ahead of them, Pro Bowl potential and best CB on the roster 2) Deebo extension, no explanation 3) Heath Miller extension, no explanation 4) Max Starks, how can this guy play a decent left tackle and not beat out Willie Colon at right tackle? He don’t deserve LT money but I’d give him RT money (whatever RT money is, I don’t know, but he’s at least worth that). Right?

— If I’m Tomlin, I’d sit Ryan Clark and Deebo against the Brown-stains. Everyone else that can go should play. Just stomp’em early and everyone can sit. I’d let Ben play so that he can practice on throwing the ball away, which is what he’s going to have to do a lot in the playoffs if this line doesn’t play better.

— What Tomlin has done to get this team to 11-4 (and probably 12-4 after next week) with this schedule and the injuries is nothing short of spectacular. Let’s hope he can fix this OL next year just like he did the kickoff and punt teams (notice I didn’t say return teams). With this D and Big Ben, this team has a puncher’s chance against anyone in the playoffs.

—If only this OL could get a visit from Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier and let Poitier hypnotize them into thinking they are a championship quality OL like he did Bootney Fonsworth (aka Jimmy Walker) and convincing Fonsworth that he was a champion boxer. Anyone remember that movie, “Let’s Do It Again?” I can see Chris K. and Willie Colon right now saying after being hypnotized saying, “I CAN block somebody. I’m MEAN!!!! I’m INVINCIBLE!!!!!!!! I don’t make the person playing across from defensive player of the week EVERY WEEK.” (Alright, it’s okay to laugh now!)

— Happy Holidays all and be blessed. And that’s DaTruth!

For all those “die hard fans”, get real. We were treated to 3 excellent weeks of football! Three weeks of wins over two of our biggest nemesis, and two miracle comebacks! It was bound to happen, we lost to a really good team in their stadium after 3 weeks of emotinally draining football. These guys are human, they have their days off. And to the idiot who thinks the team has no leadership, go back and root for the Browns!

Time to refocus, get back on track at Cleveland and get ready for the playoffs. A loss now to the Titans now is better then a loss to them in January!!

and I’m basing ‘consistently’ off yesterday and I the Dallas game, is 1st and goal from the 4ish, and handing off inside runs to Willie Parker on 1st and 2nd downs. Incredibly. Stupid.

The Steelers running game is non-existent with Willie Parker – negative yardage, stopped at the line of scrimmage – no running game – end of story. This is why too much pressure is being focused on Ben. You saw with Tennesee what a good running game can do. If the Steelers want to go anywhere during the playoffs they would be best to not put the ball in the hands of Willie Parker only to put more pressure on their QB. The only reason the Steelers have won the amount of games they did this season was the Defense. The Offense needs to step up and stop digging themselves into a huge hole relying on the Defense to make all the plays to keep them in a game. Start Mewedle Moore. That’s the only shot we have at making a good run (literally) during the playoffs!!

we play Tennessee next season!