Final Ramblings About Pittsburgh Steelers 28-20 Victory Over Detroit

by Michael Bean on Oct 16, 2009 12:26 AM EDT

It's too late in the week to devote too much additional time to last Sunday's 28-20 victory by the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Detroit Lions, but a couple last things have been on my mind from that game and I wanted to get them down before any more time passed, even if only disjointedly.

First of all, Daunte Culpepper needs to start the rest of the season for Detroit. He's healthy again - healthier than he's been in years. We saw that when he scampered for 32 yards against the Steelers defense in the 1st quarter. Pundits would like you to believe that Matthew Stafford is the future and should play now. True, he is the future. But here's the deal. The Detroit Lions are in a little bit different situation than most teams that have a young quarterback waiting in the wings and little chance at making a playoff run in the immediate future. How are they different? They're desperate for wins. Now. Not down the road. Immediately. Losing as much as they have can derail and counterfeit all the hard work that those guys up in Detroit are undeniably putting in. It's a whole lot easier to get players to buy in to a new program under Jim Schwartz if they're able to win 4 or 5 games rather than just 1-2. There's absolutely NO doubt in my mind that Culpepper gives them an exponentially greater chance at doing that.
Let's see what happens this week when the Steelers offense plays a shoddy rush defense for the second consecutive week, but following in the wake of his outstanding game plan against the Chargers, we were treated to the 'old' Bruce Arians last Sunday. Said differently, there was a somewhat disappointing resurfacing of the offensive coordinator who has a tendency to get overly pass happy, abandon the run, get too predictable in certain situations, etc. All I might say to Bruce if I were to watch the tape with him is: 'don't overthink things! The running game was going just fine, use it, then bury them with through the air when the time's right. A 2:3 rush to pass ratio when you're feature back is averaging over 5 yards per pop is hard to understand. Anyway, just because we haven't been a physical bruising team since Arians arrived doesn't mean the team should refuse to act the part when they're finally having success doing so. That brand of football may not work against the upper crust rush defenses, but the Steelers offensive line has proven they're capable of winning the battle in the trenches against lesser defenses. Cleveland would qualify. I know it's tempting to go for the homerun when you have a quarterback playing as well as Ben Roethlisberger, but Arians needs to check his ego at the door and more frequently take what's given to him during the normal ebbs and flows of individual games.
It's funny - if you listen to the national media, you'd think the Steelers are a middle of the pack team. Peter King had nothing nice to say about them in his MMQ column:

I don't like dropping the Steelers four spots after a road win. I understand it's not fair. But the Lions drove to the Steelers 21 in the final minutes and were a big Daunte Culpepper pass from pulling a ridiculous upset. I need to see a little more from the Steelers.

On Bill Simmons weekly NFL podcast, I don't remember his exact words, but it was something along the lines of 'I just can't figure out Pittsburgh. They barely beat Detroit.'

Hmm. I don't know about that. Detroit played very well in the 1st half, engineering field goal drives on their first two series of the game. They had to settle for field goals though and found themselves trailing 14-6 after Pittsburgh stormed down the field twice in a row for touchdowns. After forcing a punt, Pittsburgh got the ball back with about 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. And they just about put the clamps on Detroit with another score. I'll touch on that in my next point.

It was that series when Mike Wallace dropped the sure touchdown pass from Big Ben. A routine catch there and the Steelers go up 21-6. Two plays later, Roethlisberger is picked off on 3rd down on a pass he normally doesn't miss on and we suddenly have a 14 point swing in Detroit's favor. The Steelers would then respond again with a scoring drive - punctuated by Hines Ward's first touchdown of the season. My point? Pittsburgh was just a gimme catch away from scoring on four consecutive possessions in the 1st half. Yes the defense needs work, but the offense did exactly what it should have done for much of that game - that's beat up on an inferior defense. It's not at all shocking or concerning to me when an NFL offense has some success playing at home, particularly when said offense is being led by a healthy quarterback that at one time looked destined for Canton.
Back to that pick-six in the 2nd quarter. It's worth noting that Roethlisberger was looking for Mike Wallace on that play. To remind you, that was just two plays after Wallace dropped a sure touchdown. Something tells me Big Ben was determined to go back to Wallace sooner rather than later in order to help get the young rookie's mind straight. If you've ever heard mic'ed up segments with Big Ben, you know that it's not uncommon for him to say things like that to his teammates. I love the leadership - but if Big Ben was in fact trying to force a ball his way for that reason, he'll hopefully learn that's a risky proposition in this league. If you re-watch the play in slow-motion, you'll notice that Big Ben has plenty of time in the pocket to make his reads. He throws the ball behind Wallace for the pick, but you can also see that Hines Ward was about to find a soft spot in the Lions zone if Ben had just been patient for a split second more. My guess though is he had made up his mind to throw it to Wallace before going through all his progressions.
Reason #1 why this game was fairly encouraging to me - besides the fact that we won, of course. To me, it was actually that the defense started to get some pressure on the quarterback. The Steelers had 7 sacks (propelled me to a win in fantasy this week btw. w00t.) and pressured Culpepper on numerous other occasions. It wasn't long ago that James Harrison seemed to be stuck in a slump and unable to use that amazing first step and sturdy low center of gravity to get underneath and then around tackles. Well, the past two weeks, Deebo has 5 sacks in his past two games, and 6 in his last three. After being held without a sack in the first two games, Harrison is already back in the top 5 in sacks and actually on pace to surpass his total of 16 sacks from a year ago. Oh yeah, he's also on pace to not only match, but to shatter his career high of 7 forced fumbles, a number he reached the previous two seasons. I don't have all the historical numbers, but I'm pretty darn sure that back-to-back 7 forced fumble seasons is beyond rare. Harrison looks poised to extend that streak to three straight seasons. Now if only a few of those will bounce our way. They eventually will and that will go a long ways towards helping us shore up some of the problems on that side of the ball. Luck matters.
Is it just me or does anybody else have a hard time remembering specific moments when Daniel Sepulveda has been involved in recent weeks. This week he had 4 punts following consecutive weeks where he punted just two times. Sepulveda averaged a healthy 48.5 yards per kick on Sunday, raising his average to the year to 45.8 yards per punt. Good stuff, but as the offense inevitably slows down later in the year at times, it'll be important for him to be better than just good.
Finally, was anybody else stunned that Jason Hansen missed that field goal attempt? Random thought, I know, but that guy's been so good for so long.
Actually, one last thing. Congratulations to Larry Foote on the impact he's had on the Lions defense and organization since signing with them this spring. A true Steeler. Detroit's very smart and very lucky to have obtained his services. Keep it up Larry! We miss you.

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simmons and peter king

I agree that we seem to get overlooked by several in the national media, but I have to disagree with your take on the issue. Simmons says we barely beat the lions, well we

by TheCommish on Oct 16, 2009 12:59 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

i dunno

Never trailed outside of 3-0. And like I said, without that dropped TD by wallace, we’re up by 15 and in total control. They never got within fewer than 8, and every time they did get within 8 – except for on the final series of the game – we responded with a touchdown. Game was never really in question.

Freel free to email me anytime at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc, or to just say what's up. -Michael Bean (Blitz)

by Michael Bean on Oct 16, 2009 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Agree, but the questions from the national media have to do more...

With how they played, specially on the second half…

Here are some Stats of the second half

Total yards: 172 yards Lions, 72 Steelers (49 in one play) and after Wallace TD (at the middle of the third quarter) the Steelers manage 12 yards for the rest of the game of total offense.

TP: Lions 20 Steelers 10

First Downs: Lions 16 Steelers 2

Third Down: Lions 8/11 Steelers 1/5

Running plays by the Steelers 6 (3 for a loss) total yards 12.

The sad reality is this team was dominated on both sides of the ball this half by the Lions.

The reason the Steelers won:

Steelers where 3 times in Lions territory 3 TD, 21 points (all in first half, the Steelers where never inside the forty yard line of the Lions on the second half)

The Lions had 7 times the ball on Steelers territory, resulted in 2 field goals, one TD, one missed field goal, a stupid Int, one punt, and the three sacks to end the game. 13 points.

Both teams had a big play; Wallace TD, and the pick six.

So I don’t blame them for having serious doubts about a team that played like that against an inferior team or any team.

by mikemex on Oct 16, 2009 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions

But

They were only a TD and 2-pt conversion from tying the game, after a game that the Steelers had dominated otherwise. When you’re a TD and conversion away from OT, the game is still in doubt, especially given how other games this year have gone. And, unfortunately, again, the offense failed to put together a quality drive after the opponent scored in the 4th quarter.

For the most part, the Steelers beat up on an inferior opponent, but made just enough mistakes to make it interesting.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions

simmons and peter king

I agree that we seem to get overlooked by several in the national media, but I have to disagree with your take on the issue. Simmons says we barely beat the lions, well we blew a lead and they had a chance to tie in their last possesion. It is not what we would-a, should-a, or could-a did. Our assessment is about what we have done on the field, and quite frankly our only consistency has been our inability to close out games dating back to the super bowl. I believe we’ve been outscored 68-17 in the span of the last 6 4th quarters. That deserves some recognition.
As for the media attention I never really wanted it. Steeler teams have under-performed with the hype in my life time. Let’s play the role as second fiddle to the pats, colts, bungels, chargers(still no media love for denv) and continue to put up Ws. We will get the recognition if we can come up with a way to outscore our opponents in the 4th.
Lastly if you want to talk about a media injustice to the Steelers…go no farther than Big Ben. It is remarkable how much he is overlooked. I have never once heard his name mentioned as MVP. I mean do I need to put up the stats, we all know them as does the media. 2 weeks into the season the elites were Manning, Brady, and Brees. BREES??? What the f@#K has he done in the last 5 years, does he even have a playoff win? Once again maybe if Ben quits scoring for the other team and our D can close, we will all get our due.

by TheCommish on Oct 16, 2009 1:18 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

i just dont agree that the game was very close

I think of it like a basketball game where one team is up by 15-20 for most all the game, despite the other team shooting pretty well. The team out in the lead just decided to shoot a few too many 3s in the second half and a late run made the final score a 6 point game, making it seem a lot closer than it really was.

People say they were ‘one throw away from winning’ – well, not really. They were 40+ yards away + a 2 point conversion away from TYING. That’s hardly ‘almost losing’.

Winning by more than 10-14 on the road in this league is pretty damn hard to do. I just dont get how so many fans demand so much. They’ll never ever be satisfied because thats not the way this league works. Even for the franchise with the most Lombardis.

Freel free to email me anytime at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc, or to just say what's up. -Michael Bean (Blitz)

by Michael Bean on Oct 16, 2009 1:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Commish is right....

Steelers blew a lead against the Bears and lost in the final seconds…
Steelers blew a lead against the Bengals and lost in the final seconds…
Steelers nearly blew a lead against the lowly Lions in the final seconds…..
And, just as important, they’re not a good bet against the spread.

I expect they’ll right the ship, but elite teams with stout defenses don’t get outscored every week in the fourth quarter and elite means don’t blow leads. The Steelers have lost four starters from last year’s defense (counting Smith who was playing hurt), and they have some patching up to do and some changes to make. They’re not as tough, not as quick, not as dominating, and they’re running out of gas in the final 15.

I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.
- Homer J. Simpson

by Homer J. on Oct 16, 2009 8:29 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the lost of McFadden being significant

William Gay is just no replacement for McFadden. I think if Polamalu had gone down last year our secondary would have been in a lot better shape. It seems no one has mentioned his loss as significant at all, but it seems to be. I’d love to have him back right about now.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 8:48 AM EDT up reply actions

+1 and a few other pieces in that secondary

The deterioration of Deshea has been noticable. He was the type of guy that has been a solid contributer really by not being noticable on the field, a few big plays here and there, and beaten badly only a handful of times each season. This year it looks like the age has finally caught up.

Keiwann Ratliff also has no business on our Team in my opinion. I never like the idea of bringing him in from day one. The guy has been cut from perenial losers in the past for a reason. In my opionion his cover skills and professional standards of winning are not Steeler Caliber. I really, really, really want to see Burnett on nickel. He has tremendous ball skills. Probably the best we have had in a rookie since McFadden who blew me away when I watched i practice.

by TheCommish on Oct 16, 2009 9:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah I liked McFadden from the get-go. I got to see him in college at FSU and I could tell then he was a special talent. I wonder how much of the Cardinal’s 32nd ranked pass defense is his fault. And I wonder if he is happy he left to go there or if he can still hear the register going “ca-ching, ca-ching.”

I agree with you on Deshea, its rather disheartening to see a veteran, you’ve become accustomed to, slip away. The scary thing is, out there, he still looks better than Carter.

The statement “the defense is the same as last year with only 1 guy missing” has proven not true at all. How much can Polamalu fix this secondary? If it is not a dramatic improvement, they should definitely consider using Burnett or Lewis as Gay at Ratliff look beatable often so far.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Question

Can anyone point to specifics this season proving that McFadden is clearly much superior to Gay? I’ve heard Gay pointed to as the reason that our pass D is suffering this year, but every time I see big plays given up, it’s against someone else. And, if the Cards have the 32nd ranked pass D so far this year, that doesn’t speak especially well of McFadden. I do agree with those that have said that the loss of McFadden seems to have really harmed the nickel and dime packages, because Ratliff doesn’t seem to be the answer. Maybe we should bring back Fernando Bryant. :)

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

Its hard to "show" examples of bad pass protection

I remember there were a few plays in week 3 and 4, I think, where Gay got beat very badly. One for a touchdown I believe (the big run by Benson he was out of place).

I don’t think you can blame an entire teams pass defense on one DB. The cardinals are not playing one receiver that McFadden is lining up on every week. He cannot guard every receiver and pass rush all by himself. Their pass D was bad last year, and Rogers-Cromartie is having a bad start to the year with some broken finger problems.

McFadden was a very good #2 CB for us and an outstanding open field tackler. We won’t really be able to gauge Gay vs. McFadden until Polamalu is back on the field.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions

It is hard to show

especially when we don’t know the schemes, and on TV, you really can’t see how the defensive backfield is aligned. My point is, and I don’t want to come off as being a jerk, you can really only point definitively to one play. McFadden had an excellent start to last season, but that’s too small of a sample size to clearly say that he’s that much better than Gay. Gay started nearly as many games as McFadden last season, without any dropoff in our pass defense. Gay also had a pretty good open field tackle on pass to a WR at the line (can’t remember if it was a WR screen).

Also, I’m not blaming McFadden for their defensive ranking. But if he was a superior DB, that should improve the play of the those around him, allowing the DC to design coverages around him. Their pass defense was ranked 22nd last year. Now, it’s dead last. Of course, there are other factors, but let’s not make D-Mac out to be an elite DB or something. At least not yet.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions

That is what I think

When B-Mac was hurt, Townsend was our 3rd corner, and he did well last year in that role. I didn’t expect him to drop much this year, but he may have.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

i agree as well

by t1mmy10 on Oct 16, 2009 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

The real comparison was made last year. The fact that Gay still played when BMac was back is evidence that he was playing at a comparable level. Also, Gay is a very good tackler this year and should get better in all phases as he gets more comfortable and gets more safety help from Troy. I agree with everyone that Townsend has lost a step and that Ratliff is mediocre. Hopefully the rookies will step in sooner rather than later. But I guess that’s the price to pay for Dick Lebeau’s complex scheme : rookies take longer to develop…

by Steelfrog on Oct 16, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Corner Stats

It is tough to judge a good corner via stats, good corners don’t get as much looks. A bad corner may be thrown at more hence more tackles, breakups, picks etc. I did go to proreference to try and make and argument for McFadden, but when I visited I found out something that is even more glaring than I ever could have realized. Check this out:

Houston 14-3
Cleveland 3-0
Philly 5-0
Pit 3-0 vs Balt
Jax 7-6
Total Opponents 32-9 vs Pittsburgh in the first 5 games 4th Quarters last year. That was good for a 4-1 start. Add that to this years 4th Q totals

Pit 3-0 vs Tenn
Chicago 10-0
Cincy 14-0
San Diego 21-7
Detroit 7-0
Total Opponents 52-10 vs Pitt in the 4th

Last 2 years first 5 games 4th quarters we have been outscored 84-19. Holy Sh

Granted we turned that around as the season wore on, i hope this adds to the claim that were are to caught up in the moment but still WTF!

I think this says plenty about our offensive coordinator and 4th q defensive schemes. This is just not right. Don’t forget this almost cost us the Super Bowl

by TheCommish on Oct 16, 2009 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions

I think that shows it

McFadden was starting the first five games of last season, too. But, those numbers for last year are still not quite as drastic as this year. Particularly, you look at that 14-3 against Houston, when we were up by 4 scores, I think, going into the 4th. But, I agree, and this is one of the other points I’ve been trying to make. Our offense is not doing their job in the 4th quarter. The Chargers and Titans games, they did well, but it’s just not all on the defense. The defense has been just as dominant in the first 3 quarters of most of these games as the offense has, and it’s been the mistakes on offense that have kept teams in the games.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Deshea has been brutal. Most disturbing is his passiveness at going after ball carriers.

Ratliff? I’m not totally sold on him, but I’m not that down on him either. Where has he played? Cincinnati? Pretty tough to tell about a player in that environment. The Colts? Last I checked, that team had been pretty good for a while.

by pghnorthside on Oct 16, 2009 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Good points

The colts pass D was really good last year, 6th, giving up a stingey 189 yards per game.

And the Bengals were just bad all over when he played there.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Dennis Nortcutt!

Created 5 yards of seperation on him on deep post in which he was beat. Not sure if that if there should have been safety help but still that is not good.

That is 15 feet of seperation on a single move post to the middle.

by TheCommish on Oct 16, 2009 10:52 AM EDT up reply actions

totally

He’s really been so unphysical. I miss B-Mac’s physical style of play.

Freel free to email me anytime at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc, or to just say what's up. -Michael Bean (Blitz)

by Michael Bean on Oct 16, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

ratliff might not be awesome but he’s the by far the #4 cb on our team. i’d bet the only reason burnett is dressing for games is cuz of his special teams abilities otherwise lewis would be dressing over him.

by t1mmy10 on Oct 16, 2009 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions

hmm

I remember writing about the loss of McFadden just this week.

Freel free to email me anytime at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc, or to just say what's up. -Michael Bean (Blitz)

by Michael Bean on Oct 16, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Really?

I must have missed it

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

it’s not the lost of mcfadden that’s the issue.it’s the loss of depth losing mcfadden did to us. we only have 5 “good” dbacks now (with troy injured). no one to really sub our top ppl if they’re tired, or need to sit out for a play cuz they tweak something, or to pull if they’re playing poorly. look at last year. 2 of the 4 losses we were out played (titans and eagles). the other 2, which also involved them making a 4th quarter comeback, were when we had injuries in our secondary and only had 5 “good” dbacks to play with.

by t1mmy10 on Oct 16, 2009 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree, I never felt the game was close, but

That still does not cover up the fact we couldn’t deliver the knock out punch to one of the worst Teams in NFL history. In fact while I was watching the game at the local bar several fans from other teams kept chiming in..“looks like Pittsburgh is grinding it out with Detroit”. Well the game was in hand but there was a sense of frustration for me in the final quarter once again!
Don’t get me wrong, I am a believer. My worry is this is going to haunt us at some point before we hoist number 7. Indy won ugly last year to a 12-4 record, and were bounced out of the playoffs before they really even got under way.

by TheCommish on Oct 16, 2009 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Who needs the national media

You listen to their expert analysis and considered opinions about the Steelers and they sound trite, clueless, and not very astute to all of us who pay close attention to all things Steelers.

It makes me distrust anything they say about the other teams. They don’t know what is happening in Pittsburgh, they don’t get paid to know. They get paid to put out an entertaining product on deadline consistently. Not an easy job, but it doesn’t mean they know anything more than the rest of us.

I think it is a good thing they don’t know what is happening here and rate the Steelers in the middle of the pack. Let them shine the spotlight somewhere else. We’ll fly under the radar and be there at the end, like 2005 and 2008. As has been said before, this isn’t the colleges, we don’t need the media’s opinion.

"More than 70 percent of putts left short do not go in."

by euwolfie on Oct 16, 2009 3:15 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

+1

Those a-holes are paid to sell magazines and produce hits for their respective websites. Peter King is no dummy. He knows that if he disrepects the Steelers or says something controversial or just blatantly wrong, that some will come back here or any number of other blogs and post his comments. What does that lead to? LEGIONS of Steelers fans visiting their stupid sight.

Well, I say – NO MORE PETER KING REFERENCES ON THIS BLOG! Don’t give that horses arse the satisfaction of directing anyone to his stupid column!

All in favor?

The only managing Ben does is he manages to WIN games

by chewiesteeler on Oct 16, 2009 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions

Yea

"Polamalu’s lineage can be traced through several roots. Chuck Norris mated with an Amazon Queen, and on the other side, Tony Hawk mated with Mother Nature. The two children of these spawned and fused in a tantric love session to create Troy Polamalu. The mother however died as he tore through the birth canal with a spin move."
Mechem on the roots of Troy Polamalu

by WVPiratesfan on Oct 16, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

AYE!

"My doctor said I'd quit getting nosebleeds if I just kept my finger out of there!"
-Ralph Wiggum

by Steel Spike on Oct 16, 2009 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions

I take exception to this!

Who else will tell us about Tom Brady? :)

by gostevego on Oct 16, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions

People magazine

The only managing Ben does is he manages to WIN games

by chewiesteeler on Oct 16, 2009 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions

the cult of Tom Brady

I heard it somewhere near Boston

by WVPiratesfan on Oct 16, 2009 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree with the first paragraph

I said that in one of the post game posts that the Lions may have a better player at back-up for QB. Culpepper looked to be his old self on Sunday and I also cannot believe he is not starting. I think Stafford would do a lot better to sit and learn behind a one time MVP than be put in games to learn by losing. Confidence in rookie QBs can be fragile and losing tons of games won’t help him.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 8:51 AM EDT reply actions

Disagree for 2 reasons

1. I just don’t think it’s all about wins right now in Detroit. It’s about finding out who can play and who can’t. Unless Stafford plays so badly that it is impossible to evaluate the pieces around him, he’s got to play. But I do agree that Culpepper looked better on Sunday than he had at any point since he wrecked his knee in Minnesota.
2. That roster still has some serious holes and dropping any slots on draft day won’t help.

by pghnorthside on Oct 16, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Nah I disagree

If you were the Lions and Stafford was healthy, you would have wanted him in there taking 7 sacks and many more knock-downs for a game that means nothing? I wouldn’t. They have a lot riding on Stafford. However, I guess he does need the experience reading defenses and making in-game plays.

The roster does have holes, but many of them can be filled with later round picks. The Lions cannot keep drafting really expensive first round picks. Eventually that adds up and does not leave you much room for the lesser-touted positions.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions

stafford has more potential but i bet the coaches grade him out as being not far off skills-wise AND they figure he has to go through the learning curve, so why not now. i said it in my post that i’d rather face a rookie instead of a seasoned vet just cuz stafford would probably make more mistakes facing our defense than culpepper would. but in the end culpepper probably won’t give them too many more wins than stafford would and they probably don’t think he’ll be broken by the end of the year

by t1mmy10 on Oct 16, 2009 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Blitz made an excellent point that hasn't been emphasised enough

Detroit was what like 40 yards away from getting a touchdown. Ok, then they needed a two point conversion JUST TO TIE THE GAME. Then they would have had to go to overtime. Even if Detroit won the toss, that’s no guarantee of victory. It wasn’t that close. Of course I was still pacing up and down the bar at the end, but that’s what I do.

One of my favorite things to do is quote Coach Tomlin and it is very relevant here: “Throw style points out the window”

The Steelers beat Detroit by more than a touchdown. This ain’t college. No talking head’s opinion has any bearing on the season.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Oct 16, 2009 9:20 AM EDT reply actions

I was going to let this one slip by, but now that you bring it up

They were actually only 21 yards out after Culpepper’s big 22yard pass to Northcut, setting up 1st and 10 from our 21. Then the defense sacked them 3 times to put them 40 yards out.

I agree though, its still 20 yards AND a 2pt conversion just to tie. We were not “almost beaten.”

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions

"Then the defense sacked them 3 times to put them 40 yards out."

I’m just glad the D didn’t get “palmer’d”. They went out and applied pressure and succeeded when it mattered. Without Aaron Smith I might add.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Oct 16, 2009 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep

This week will be a test run to see how we can fill in his shoes.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions

On Style Points

GREAT WRITE UP BLITZ!

On showtimes Tomlin quote above; “throw style points out the window” I just wish Tomlin would start to emphasize style points just a bit. As I have previously posted, I’ll take an ugly win (3-2) any day. But as a football aficionado and student of the game I have learned certain stylish things mean victory in January. Dropped TD passes, fumbled PRs, muffed onside kicks and giving up points 3-1 in the 4th quarter add up to ugly losses in January against good teams.

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on Oct 16, 2009 9:38 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed on all of this

I will say this, though, which I haven’t touched on here this season. It seems like every year, good teams’ season follow one of three patterns. Either they:

- Start out strong, clinch a top seed in the playoffs with a few games left in the season, and struggle late.
- Start out strong, have a slump somewhere in the middle of the season, but get back to playing well late, and do well in the playoffs.
- Or, start out slow, begin to put things together, and play their best ball late in the season carried into the playoffs.

If they start slow, and never put it together, it’s hard to argue that it’s a good team. Even the Steelers’ 2006 team, I’d say ws a good team. They just dug themselves too big of a hole to climb out of.

So, my point is that I think the Steelers could be fine in a few weeks. Most of their problems, especially offensively, are mental errors. If they get those cleaned up, the defense will be fine by the end of the season, I believe.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions

"It seems like every year, good teams’ season follow one of three patterns."

As horrible as the Eagles beatdown was last year, it taught me a valuable lesson. Just chill out and don’t freak out. 16 games…

I had kind of the same feeling in 2006, but 6 games in a row or whatever, forget it. Garbage.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Oct 16, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions

"(3-2)"

you and your 3-2 victories! Come on the Steelers can at least score a touchdown against these bums! I’m just messing with you of course. I know that is you prediction for every game :)

And yeah, style points are nice, they sure are fun to watch…

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Oct 16, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions

BTW, how has no one brought this up

Mendy has the flu

Any legitimacy to this? Are we going to be stuck with FWP and a flat tire against the Browns?

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions

Meh.

He should be fine by Sunday. The flu doesn’t last very long if your body is in shape, and you take care of yourself. 2-5 days is the outside time it takes to recover from the influenza virus, for most people. Professional footyball players are kept in the peak of physical condition (for the most part, Snack being one of the exceptions on our Steelers). The Rash just needs to rest and pump fluids for a couple days, and today being Friday, he should be fine. Maybe not 100%, but almost. Besides, Coach can always activate Redzone, then cut him Monday again.

"My doctor said I'd quit getting nosebleeds if I just kept my finger out of there!"
-Ralph Wiggum

by Steel Spike on Oct 16, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions

And we all know

Redman is God’s tailback.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Tomlin = God?

"My doctor said I'd quit getting nosebleeds if I just kept my finger out of there!"
-Ralph Wiggum

by Steel Spike on Oct 16, 2009 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Wrong about the flu! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

If he has the common strain of H1N1 going around, it doesn’t give you a high fever, and it doesn’t make you violently ill. But it drains the hell out of you. Absolutely drains the hell out of you.

I caught in on a trip back from California, and – while it was no big deal – I haven’t been so exhausted in years. And most everybody I know what has had it shares that experience. It drains your energy worse than any strain that’s come around in years.

The last thing we need is a speed and quickness back whose get up and go has got up and went.

I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.
- Homer J. Simpson

by Homer J. on Oct 16, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

1) the flu does give you a fever

2) there are more types of the flu than just H1N1 (such as the “seasonal” H3N2). there are many different strains of each type of flu. symptoms can be a lil different from person to person. although i’m guessing steelfever wiki’ed flu and saw how long a person normally has symptoms. it can take some longer to recover than others though

by t1mmy10 on Oct 16, 2009 10:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed, t1mmay....

…but the real question is what do we mean by “recover.”

You can’t have a normal temperature, no longer be contagious, and still be totally exhausted. The doctors will say you’ve recovered, but that doesn’t mean you will perform capably on the gridiron.

I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.
- Homer J. Simpson

by Homer J. on Oct 17, 2009 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions

i agree and that’s one of the points i was trying to make. some athletes have gone out and played phenomenal games WHILE having “flu-like” symptoms (and were probably contagious while playing) and others probably felt drained for a week or so even after they had been no longer contagious. there are things we have no way of predicting.

by t1mmy10 on Oct 17, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

I hear it’s the pigskin variety and that it’s contagious

by chicos_pants on Oct 16, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Thoughts on your thoughts

Bruce Arians: I agree it is insane not to be running the ball more. OTOH, remember in the Super Bowl when we tried to run ineffectively against the Cardinals and ended up giving them good field position and a chance to mount a come back?

The fact is that a good running game will grind out the clock — but not as much as first downs will. It’s not like our passing game was sputtering and we still refused to run it. Ben was pretty much having his way with the Lions. I can understand the temptation to score a couple, and demoralize a team that, frankly, is easy to demoralize.

That said… yeah, I would have liked to see more running. But I am not ready to say that BA has reverted to form just yet. The Offense has been a pleasant surprise this year. Surely SOME of that has to be a credit to BA.

Talking heads: Actually, I sort of agree with them. If you want to be a dominant team, you need to crush the little guys and find a way to win against the big boys. The Steelers aren’t doing that (yet). And I guess you have a lot more faith in the Steelers than I do if you thought this game was never in doubt. After they blew leads to the Bears and the Bengals — and very nearly did against the Chargers — how could anyone not be thinking: “Here we go again…” when the Lions drew within a touchdown and 2-point conversion of tying us?

A win’s a win, and style points don’t matter. But failing to finish out opponents is not a question of style points. We need to do better if we want to defend our crown.

Defense: However, to me, the most encouraging thing about this game is that when it mattered, the Defense came through. Three consecutive sacks is huge. And it felt like the Old Defense there.

The final stats aren’t so bad, either… 2 field goals and a touchdown. Not horrible. Part of the comeback was the pick six, and without that things wouldn’t be as close.

Pick Six: One other thing… Deion Sanders made an interesting comment on the NFL channel. I know he is a blowhard, but give the man his due — he knows something about defending the pass in the NFL. When Ben threw the pick six, he said: “You cannot wait that long to throw an out pass.” And someone else (I cannot remember who) also threw a pick six the same way. If I recall correctly, that was exactly how Ben threw his other pick six.

I know Ben is proud of the fact that his internal clock ticks to the beat of a different drummer, but he is going to have to learn the timing on that out route, and if it ticks past a certain point, he needs to look elsewhere.

We cannot continue to weather Pick Sixes…

by MarkJoel66 on Oct 16, 2009 12:15 PM EDT reply actions

In Ben's defense

the pick-6 vs. the Bengals was cause by Holmes not reading blitz and breaking off his route. Ben’s not one to point fingers, but that was not on him.

by chicos_pants on Oct 16, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Other pick-6

That was Houston vs. the Cards.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions

There's no reason to panic, but...

The 2009 version of the Steelers needs some killer instinct. They’ve largely controlled every game they’ve played and have never really played from behind. There just seems to be a little complacency setting in over the course of the games that’s bitten them in the ass twice and made 2 of the wins closer than they needed to be.

This team might do well to get tested playing from behind, but their opponents have not been able to establish leads — only erase them against late game dime packages. It’s only a matter of time before teams go to 4 wides out of the gate and come out firing. The D will need to respond.

I don’t put much stock into anything Petter King or Bill Simmons has to say.

by chicos_pants on Oct 16, 2009 12:16 PM EDT reply actions

2009 team isn't the same as 2008; after 10 games, we'll know this team's identity

Guys, this is a totally different team from last year. On D, we are missing BMac, L. Foote, and A. Smith. Could be better on O and be a better running team, if someone can save Bruce Arians from himself. I’m still waiting for the special teams to make some plays, but the potential is there for S. Logan to do some good things.

I think it takes about 8 to 10 games before you truly know the personality of a team, and their strengths and weaknesses. By that time, they are what they are. No sugar-coating it. Still, I like the mix of youth and veteran leadership on this team and this year’s draft class is going to have to play this year and contribute to help this team get where it wants to go.

Hopefully, L. Woodley has joined the party after getting his first two sacks this past week. Interested to see how the overall D responds and if the Steelers can commit to the running game to take some pressure off of Ben and our overall D. Mendy’s time to seize the moment.

by datruth4life on Oct 16, 2009 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

Cincy, Chicago losses are sore spots because ...

this team could have easily won both games. One good sign is that this team has yet to be dominated like it was against the Eagles early in the season last year. After that game, I didn’t know what to think. They just got to go out there and handle their business. Plain and simple.

by datruth4life on Oct 16, 2009 1:49 PM EDT reply actions

Yes

but at the same time, that’s what makes them so infuriating. The other team did perform when they needed to, but the Steelers had opportunities to bury both, and they failed, either by not showing up in the 4th quarter, or by giving up easy points through turnovers returned for TDs.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Cinci and Chitown

My problem is that the Steelers are better than both teams. One play could have won either game for the Steelers. Screw both those teams. BUT

what could the Cowboys, the Jaguars, or Ravens have to say about last year? We won by the slimmest of margins and I definitely told everyone “Well, Ben and the Steelers make plays when they need to. Doesn’t matter how close, the Steelers won so shut up.” So I am trying my best to not be a hypocrite and give these teams that beat us their do. They won. I hate it. We’re better.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Oct 16, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I think that's some of the baggage that comes with a championship

Beating the champs is a cheap way of having a successful season. While they aren’t as good, they probably play a lot better against the champs.

by Ivan Cole (RickVa) on Oct 16, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

and let's not forget

every team hates the Steelers, remembers getting embarrassed by them, and wants to knock them out. The Steelers are pretty much always contenders, whether ESPN says so or not. Like Jay Cutler. He could not have been worse in game one. But I knew the pouting little bastard would play great against us. He just was going to. We always get everyone’s best. Games like the Chargers this year or the 2007 Monday Night 75th Anniversary Beatdown Festival are a rare treat.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Oct 16, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, one of two plays

Either not throwing a pick-6, or Sweed hanging onto the ball would have won the Cincy game. We’d have been up 27-3 in the 4th quarter, not 20-9. That’s a far cry from the 10 points down to the Cowboys and Ravens.

Chicago just played us tough, and we missed two FGs.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Oct 16, 2009 9:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Mendy to make 3rd consecutive start; FWP to come off the bench

Here it is:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09289/1006063-100.stm

Could be the official changing of the guard. What do you guys think?

by datruth4life on Oct 16, 2009 3:00 PM EDT reply actions

I try not to

Hurts my brain

The only managing Ben does is he manages to WIN games

by chewiesteeler on Oct 16, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions

I still think when Willie comes back he's the starter

Plus Tomlin might still use it as a motivating factor, even though Mendy looks like he finally has his head on straight.

by StoneColdSteel on Oct 16, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

No way

If Mendenhall continues to run well he is the starter. There is no point to holding on to Parker as the starter at his age.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Way

Did you notice the last line in that article?

Parker has rushed for more than 100 yards in five consecutive games against the Browns.

Mendy ran well against two soft defenses. Parker has done that, too. It hardly qualifies as consistency.

I am reminded of when Lefty threw TDs with BB on the bench and guys like Robert Ethan were calling for Lefty to be the new starter. Don’t get me wrong; I look forward to having Mendenhall as our #1. I just don’t think two good games against two weak teams is enough to earn him the starter slot.

by Varmint on Oct 16, 2009 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions

The fact remains FWP almost 29
Mendenhall 22

If Mendenhall is running hard and still averaging 4.0+ he should still be getting the bulk of the carries. At this point it should be his job to lose, not Parker’s job to lose. That is my point.

" I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Salty Browns Fan.

by John Stephens on Oct 16, 2009 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

I love the way Mendenhall runs. It’s not just that he has piled up yardage against two poor defenses, I like the way he has looked doing it. Consistent positive yardage on most carries. FWP was often a home run or not much yardage kind of runner. I hope FWP gets re-signed as a good, solid back up.

by worldtrip on Oct 16, 2009 8:01 PM EDT up reply actions

You go with the hot hand

by WVPiratesfan on Oct 16, 2009 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

You are right on the nose. I like the way Mendenhall looked, that’s for sure. But we don’t know that Parker wouldn’t have looked just as good against the Chargers and Lions… in fact, Parker looked real good against the Chargers in last year’s playoffs — then was never heard from again.

Over all, Parker looks like he does not have the explosive speed he once had… and since speed was basically his whole game, it’s hard to feel good about us being a dominant running attack with him as the feature back.

And, it has seemed like Mendenhall is running harder, and much less tentatively.

But I’m reserving judgement until after the games against Minn and Baltimore.

by MarkJoel66 on Oct 17, 2009 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Important point

I had friends (not Steeler fans) who were shocked that we lost to the Bears and Bengals games because we were so dominant early that they turned off the games confident that the competitive phase was over. I’m sure on some subconscious level, especially with the young guys, some of the Steelers were thinking along those lines as well. Who expected the offense to play this well this early into the year?

The defense has been confronted with muliple small issues that added together could cause for concern long term, but look at the moment to be temporary.
Timmons slow start combined with the loss of Foote

The loss of Troy for a month.

Teams have been game planning against Harrison and Woodley. Harrison has adjusted (AFC player of the week), Hopefully Lamarr is learning how to follow suit.

That Smith was playing injured (not just hurt) for weeks. And can he adequately be replaced? Hoke proved in ’04 that he could take up the slack when Snack went down. Travis and Nick were able to step up for Keisel last year. But there was no acceptable replacement for Smith in ’07. This will be the challenge for Ziggy.

While I think those who believe Deshea has finally actually lost a step my be right this time, I will reserve judgement until more evidence is in.

One long term concern is that if the Broncos maintain pace in a weak division, they may have home field advantage in the playoffs. Two words: Ryan Clark.

It may take this group a little time to find its groove.

by Ivan Cole (RickVa) on Oct 16, 2009 3:26 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Rick is on the money.....

The loss of Troy has really been devastating. It’s a big falloff to Carter, but it’s reverberated throughout the unit. If Carter can’t do the superhuman things that Troy can do, that puts more pressure on everyone else on the D. It especially puts more pressure on the defensive backs. That’s where the loss of McFadden comes in.

The greatness of the Steelers’ D has been that the whole – in past years – has been greater than the sum of its parts. It has been a lean, mean, shutdown machine. It has been agressive and risk taking.

Without Polamalu, they cannot take the same risks. And his loss exposes the fact that this year’s team, without Foote, without McFadden, and without a healthy Aaron Smith, is not as strong defensively as recent teams.

But with Polamalu returning and with three young DL studs (including Harris and McLendon), there’s every reason to hope that this year’s work in progress will be far better come December than it is now.

I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.
- Homer J. Simpson

by Homer J. on Oct 16, 2009 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Another thought about losing Troy....

It’s like a baseball team with a great cleanup hitter losing that guy…..suddenly, the number three hitter doesn’t see as many good pitches and the number five hitter has fewer ABs, and far fewer RBI’s.

The clean-up hitter provides protection and makes everyone around him look better and play better.

Same with Troy.

I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.
- Homer J. Simpson

by Homer J. on Oct 16, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Foote Cranky?

I know this is a little off the current topics, but since it was the last item in your post Blitz… I suppose we all noticed the Foote “stomp” that our D was performing after big plays. I’m guessing as to their intentions, but I thought all along that this was an homage to the guy they all liked, respected and considered a brother. Then I watched the last kneel down play and saw all the Lions D on the field shake hands with our O and all that chummy post-game stuff…EXCEPT FOR FOOTE! Weird. He is the only guy walking away from the Steeler’s O, directly to the LIons bench. I’m guessing he was disrespected by it (don’t want to make too much of it, maybe I’d feel that way too if I were him, esp after a loss to my old team). Weird, weird stuff.

Anybody in the know, or at the game, see differently?

by HarryBTs on Oct 16, 2009 4:43 PM EDT reply actions