STEELERS AT THE QUARTER-POLE

Okay….I can’t do math very well, but using lowest common dominators, it’s 1 down, 3 to go on the NFL’s 2009 Regular Season. One might argue with that, and factor in the Bye Week, say there’s 13 weeks remaining, but the Bye Week is in my list of "Shit I Hate About the NFL" so I ain’t doing that. By the way, check out this website, www.shitmydadsays.com

Anyway, we’re 4 games in, and maybe last year’s Schizophrenic Steelers were just a warmup act to this year’s dichotomous bunch. Last week, I wrote that this gang, which many argued could have been 0-3, but not for Rob Bironas shanks and a coin flip, could just as easily have been 3-0, but for Jeff Reed shank, and a 4th & 10 debacle. So here, we are, 2-2, and mired in the middle of the AFC pack, when this team, dominant for the first ¾ of games, with the exception, ironically, of the opener, which they won, could be one of the undefeateds.

I was going to go with a "Good, Bad, Ugly" listing, but that’s so damn cliché-ish. How ‘bout….
*What’s Good
*What Sucks
*What Really Sucks

Here’s what’s good at the quarter-pole:
*Pass Pro:
Jailbreaks seem to be a thing of the past. Let’s see if it holds up against the fiercer pass rushes, i.e. Baltimore. We’ve all dreamed, "Just imagine how good Ben could be if he had good protection." Now we know. Not that we didn’t know, but now it’s there for the world to see. Plus, we still have the benefit of Ben holding the ball too long, running around for half a minute, still making a play. And y’know what. Fuck you, Chris Collinsworth. I know you think you were complimenting Ben when you said he was #4 among QBs, but he has twice as many rings as two guys on that short list combined, and ain’t no way he’s not better than the present-day Tom Brady, he the lone enrollee in the QB Protection Program. Segues to….
*Ben:
If this guy was thrown off his game by the rape charges, then hell, let’s have it every summer. Completed what, over 70% of his passes, and just think if Santonio and Limas Sweed hadn’t been dropping shit. He’s probably have completed over ¾ of his throws. He’s added one more 4Q comeback to his resume already, and fact is, against Chicago, he led a pair of 4Q drives, putting his team in position to win the game, only to have the kicks go awry. Last night, things get close in 4Q, Ben leads his team on a pair of scoring drives.
*Receivers:
Yeah, I know they’ve had the dropsies, but Santonio is a bitch to cover, he’s still making catches, Hines keeps going back to the fountain of youth, been solid, and what a find Mike Wallace has been. Heath’s as dependable on the receiving end as always.
*Backs:
Looks like I’ll be in the market for a new white jersey after the season…..seeya Willie. Oh my God, Signplax just paid 3 bills for your jersey!! Waaa….Waaa….Waaa!! Good thing min only cost me 35 bucks plus ship.
*Secondary:
I know, slipshod in 4Q…and we might see the secondary mentioned later, but Ike Taylor (Swaggin’) can plain cover, and the rest of the boys are hangin’ in. Once Troy gets back, no probs on the secondary.

What Sucks:
*Lamarr Woodley: Where’s he been?
*Run Blocking?: Well…not really. It’s like this. They’re going to run against porous defenses like that of the San Diego Not Super Chargers (how the hell can they market this song, for a team that’s made one SB appearance in their history, and summarily had their asses kicked?), and struggle mightily against stout defensive fronts (Tennessee, Baltimore, Minnesota). Y’know what, though….we can win with this o-line, and as long as Ben keeps taking them out to wrestling shows, weekends in Chicago, etc., they’ll stay cohesive

What Really Sucks:
*Special Teams:
And just think, our coverage has been solid. Skippy’s two shanks cost us a game though, and Stefan Logan’s debacle gave us anxious moments last night. Brings me back to the position I’ve always had about our punt returners. Just gimme a guy that’s gonna field it cleanly, not put the ball on the ground.

Okay, some things don’t fit so cleanly into those boxes. What about other issues.
Play-calling: I’m usually of the mind that when it works, you’re a genius, when it doesn’t you’re a dope, and that holds somewhat true this year. I do have a few play-calling/strategy issues in this young season though:

*Chicago, 4th & 2: Yes, Santonio makes the catch, ball in his hands and we win the game. However, going with double-tight, FB, one WR seemed to be giving Ben, the self-described "gunslinger" a weapon loaded only for Russian Routlette, rather than having all barrels full. Put Hines, Wallace, Heath into the pattern…have them all run past the sticks, throw to who’s open. Personally, I think the sack on the previous series informed this call, wanting to mitigate risk (low prob of sack or pick on that play) while offering maximum reward. However, with prob of risk or reward low, we achieved what was most probable, and incompletion.

*Cinci, 4th & goal from the 18-inch: Hell, Go for it!! Chances are, even with the suspect run blocking, back with no lean, we’ll make it, and if not, Cinci is way deep in the hole. I felt the same way about the FG try in the SB leading off the game. Later in the game, trying to run the clock, if 1st down run was stuffed, we threw well on 2nd down, if 1st down run worked, 2nd down run was stuffed…making for a 2nd down giveaway.

*SD, final series: I’m all for taking prudent risks. With 1:44 left in the game, SD with no timeouts, 3rd & 9 on the 28 or so, situation dictates a run, run the clock down to a minute, then try the game-clinching FG. Instead, Steelers not only passed, but were penalized, knocking them out of FG range. Had the following pass been incomplete, Steelers would have had neither the clinching points, nor the time off the clock. SD would have had the ball back, possibly at their 20, minute and a half left, down 7.

As far as the offensive sets, all this wishing for 3-wides to be our base, when it already is. Granted, Steelers have run more double tight sets these past two weeks, but it’s still the case that we run 3 wides more than all other sets combined.

Going forward:
This 4Q defensive problem is concerning, but I don’t think it will haunt this team all year, particularly once Troy returns soon. What will haunt this team all year is losing to the freakin’ Bengals last week. The pressure is on now to sweep the Ravens, as a split may well mean that Steelers lose out in tie-breakers. Been saying all off-season that Steelers got a break with the 1st place sched, and it’s already paying dividends. Scheds within the division are identical, save for 2 games against AFC East & South respectively. Steelers drew Titans (beat them already) and 1-3 Dolphins. Ravens drew Patriots (lost to them already) and 4-0 Colts. The sched disparity may offer us a two game advantage, which may be exactly what we need to beat out the Ravens for the Division if we split with them.

Some reason, I was worried about this game even when they seemed like a sinking ship, but I’m concerned about the Monday Nighter at Denver. Broncs are 4-0, and it’s just the type of game, especially this year, that Steelers let an inferior opponent hang around. Josh McDaniel….what’s that thing he does with his lip??

I’m pissed at the schedule-maker; we come off the bye week, and play on Monday night, when we have had advantage enough merely playing on Sunday. Then, Steelers fly back from the Rocky Mountain Time Zone, and play the Bengals on Sunday. In both ’05 and ’06, Steelers lost to the Bengals following a Monday Nighter.
I still like our chances to be 5-2 by the bye week. Telling you though, if we don’t sweep the Ravens, winning the AFC North will be one tough road to ho. Segues to…

Ongoing Pussification of the NFL:
Much as I was rooting against the Ravens yesterday, those roughing calls on Brady were bullshit!! Rule itself is bullshit. Then, the way it’s applied is bullshit, as I don’t think it’s applied uniformly. I think the refs are influenced by expectations. Poor Tommy with his bad knee…anyone gets within hailing distance of it, they get flagged. Ben though, refs know he holds the ball too long, takes a lot of hits….guess it’s his own fault. He won’t draw the same flag that Brady draws. Ray Lewis (much as I hate to say) had it right, as did Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy (who offered the technical explanation). All this stuff on these boards about whining Ravens fans, had this happened to the Steelers, imagine how much we’d bitch. Symptomatic of Goodell and his GayBlade leadership. I just can’t imagine this guy being a football fan, and endorsing this kind of soft-ass play.