FanPost

Consummatum est, 2010

Okay, the fat lady sang. Stick a fork in it. The curtain has come down and the season is really over.

The Steelers are super bowl losers.

There has been drama, comedy (of errors), controversy, intrigue, and adventure - even a few ‘miracles’ along the way, if you will. The Steelers came close but as we all know, close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades (well, and sometimes Polamalu). No Head butts or butt slaps. The voices are silent and shiny eyes stare into the distance. There are no cigars to pass out or toasts to be made, and celebrations will have to be rescheduled.

The prognosis is good however. Then there will be discussion, arguments, points and counterpoints, and strategies and tactics to be evaluated but in the end, if history is any indicator, the Steelers will be back; probably stronger, and hopefully more consistent.

Reality Sandwiches and Humble Pie.

I have a confession. Lately, I’ve been in dire need of a distraction. Only in this last year have I started reading more frequently about the Steelers and commenting on BTSC. I used to live in Pittsburgh and am a closet Steelers fan since 1970 when I watched all the games as an adolescent. I became quite accustomed to Steelers football and their winning ways, but I never really admitted it in public. My persona was that sports figures and their ilk make way too much money for what they do, and it’s frivolous. We should all do more productive things with our time. Proponents of team sports espouse benefits like leadership, a good work ethic, determination, and teamwork, but I never saw that in the neckless jock that sat in front of me during biology and threatened me with bodily harm on a daily basis. Only my partner knows I watch the games when I can and regularly visit blogs and mainstream sports entertainment media websites. For me anyway, it’s all about escapism.

All I can say with any degree of certainty is that Sunday’s loss was horribly embarrassing and painful. Like the rest of Steelers Nation, I wanted the seventh trophy. It had a nice ring to it; especially when it was Ben Roethlisberger’s seventh season, and number seven is on his jersey in honor of the ‘comeback king’ and two-time super bowl champion, John Elway - who also wore number seven. It was also defending the integrity of the organization under all the rhetoric surrounding the team since their last title and a little Steelers pride as well.

However, the team that showed up on that fateful Sunday were outplayed and out coached through and through. They choked, were overconfident, or were simply tired and worn out. Is this is why the Steelers were so vocal about the proposed 18 game season? Perhaps. It’s well known that many of the Steelers are not exactly spring chickens, and are already stretching their tired old bodies to the limit. The Green Bay Packers were the better team that day hands down. Some offensive players did well (Ward, Legursky, even fumbling Mendenhall), and the defense appeared to lack intensity and focus, but the most crucial position of all, the quarterback - played like a rookie.

Mind Games

I’ll get right to the point. I’m not going into the morality or culpability, but I think the media and the NFL had much to do with the state of mind of Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers It ultimately had an effect on the game. It’s only natural to expect that he might be tentative, hesitant, or try to overcompensate in response to all the criticism considering his style of play. This has happened all year but the Super Bowl is not a regular season game. It’s not like he is a pocket passer going through the motions and following decision trees like Tom Brady that makes it easy to be machine like and stoic. All the underhanded, back stabbing, psyche rattling crap that was piled onto Ben Roethlisberger leading up to the game made a huge difference, I think. They might have been able to overcome the loss of Aaron Smith, a crippled pro bowler and Defensive Player of the Year Troy Polamalu, phenom rookie center Maurkice Pouncey’s ankle sprain, excessive penalties and fines (inhale), musical chairs at the offensive line, as well as a quarterback with a busted nose and a broken foot, but the hill leading to franchise championship number seven was just too steep to summit.

Every major media outlet was consumed with Green Bay being a superior team, Aaron Rodgers’ exceptional skills, and the Ben Fiasco. Roethlisberger’s ‘alleged’ indiscretions were always in the news, and the "press" continuously asked him questions about redemption and contrition. Online essays flourished about how he should "admit to his sins and repent." He was under a microscope, and the constant rehashing of the past was surely a distraction beyond acceptable media fodder during pre-game hype. They all but called him a rapist, sexual abuser, thug, arrogant entitled athlete, you name it, whilst riding their high horse and using ‘allegedly’ to keep them from litigation.

Now imagine if you did nothing wrong.

Pause.

Now imagine if you did.

I think it would be naïve to think it wouldn’t have an effect, in either case. Just look at Michael Vick. His performance wasn’t exactly stellar when the game was elevated to playoff intensity. Interceptions at crucial times constitute the opposite of stellar play, I would say. Ben threw two of them resulting in 14 points. Whether or not the public dialog was influenced on purpose is irrelevant, and most would say both brought their circumstances upon themselves. In Roethlisberger’s case, I believe some members of the "press" - and I use that term loosely. Very loosely - chased a popular story because conflict and controversy always gets the front page and moral ambiguity is pretty juicy. On top of that, by all accounts Ben wasn’t exactly accommodating with those that follow football for a living. As Mike Tomlin stated, football is an emotional high stress game and part of his job is to take the emotion out of it. The media certainly appeared to try very hard to put it back in. I seriously wonder about the mob mentality influencing our lives, but it’s no secret that I disdain the lowest common denominator, the lack of reason and rationality, and the blatant and willful disregard of logic and neutrality because of selfishness, individualism, and false ideology.

Regardless, I’m thinking Ben wanted to do it all, prove everybody wrong, and shut the mouths of all pundits and self-righteous bloggers and walk away with the win and the MVP. He wanted to have the last laugh. I also wonder about how it affected the rest of the team. Ben was able to overcome much adversity during the season, and maybe the team expected him to pull another rabbit out of the hat. Hey, they should have lost to the Ravens after being down by 21 but Ben brought them back with a little help from turnovers and his steel resolve.

As with all events of this stature, the question of previous experience undoubtedly comes up, especially since most of the Steelers squad had played in one, if not two championship games. Frankly, the fact that Aaron Rodgers wasn’t affected and Roethlisberger was speaks volumes about their psychological make up prior to the game. Roethlisberger’s reputation was at stake, whereas Aaron Rodgers already had a place among the "elite" quarterbacks and everybody would be putting them at the top of the list of contenders. Remember, Roethlisberger’s capabilities were always up for debate before opening kickoff– even with two titles. Right or wrong, history has shown that winning is the path to acceptance, and winning the big one goes a long way. This much was debated publicly.

While Rodgers won the quarterback match up, Wallace, Sanders and Brown were relatively quiet despite over 250 total yards. I would guess that experience was a factor late in the game for the Steelers talented young receiver corps, and the loss of Emanuel Sanders to injury didn’t help. I also think the defense was concerned about the officiating crew reflecting the flip-flopping NFL policy on tempering violence because they were timid and lacked intensity, but his is pure speculation.

Show Me.

Hokusai, the great Japanese printmaker said it is a poor student who doesn’t surpass his master. In this case, it seems Dom Capers has clearly done his homework. Dick LeBeau invented the zone blitz defense from what we are told, and Coach Capers used it at his discretion while the defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh during a stretch in the 90’s. LeBeau - ‘Coach Dad’ - as defensive backs coach and Capers as defensive coordinator worked together under Coach Cowher to develop new techniques to battle the west coast offense. The Master exposed his secrets to his student only to have the mechanics of the zone defense and ‘safe blitzing’ be used against him by his protégé in the biggest game of all. I wonder if he’s proud of his legacy, but it must be difficult to reconcile that with a super bowl loss at the hands of your student.

In the end, Dom Capers out coached Dick LeBeau, and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians’ plan had no contingencies or adjustments for an inconsistent effort and a defensive scheme that shut down the edges and long downfield passes. I know that’s not all the Offensive Coordinator’s fault. At the same time, his counterpart across the field did a fine job of exposing key match ups and capitalizing on them. The Steelers didn’t capitalize on anything of any consequence, so it seems. At any rate, it’s the first time that Arians did better than LeBeau, scoring points albeit sporadically, to keep them in the game; interceptions and fumbles notwithstanding. That’s a switch. Usually it’s the defense that drags them into victory. Agree or not with play calling during the season, Arians should be commended for his tactics that kept it close.

Coach Tomlin said that Aaron Rodgers is going to get his points, so you just have to minimize his impact and shut down the rest of the team. Conversely, the Packers let the Steelers run the ball, but shut down the passing attack completely when they had to. How is it that Green Bay could use the dink and dunk, pick apart the zone blitz seams on a well known defense, and yet there was no game plan to do the same thing to a defense that was modeled after their own? How did an offense that has the brain trust behind the most effective defense in the last decade not be able to move the ball effectively against a carbon copy? What we do know is that they were flat, with no intensity and drive whatsoever until they had to, and by then it was too late. Super bowl pressure at that point was just too much to overcome.

As much as I respect Mr. Tomlin and am pleased he is the Steelers coach, I have an issue the ‘standard" he keeps referring to. When one single player is out due to injury – I’m speaking of Troy Polamalu specifically - the whole defense falls to mediocre. Where can you find a substitute for one of the biggest game changers in the NFL? I know "The Standard’ was a motivational ploy, but so was "Unleash Hell" and we all know how that turned out. Whatever.

Veni, Vidi, Dormivi

Nobody knows which Steelers team is going to show up. Roman gladiators and Greek warriors fighting valiantly for duty, pride, and survival, or Christians and Jews obediently led to their slaughter. Close games against Miami, Buffalo, Baltimore, and Cincinnati (at the end of the game) is par for the course with these Steelers. They barely got out of the AFCCG against the Jets after letting the foot off the gas in the second half. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of talent on this team, and the coaches have done an excellent job in spite of all the injuries. There were some outstanding players (and coaches) all year, and some even did very well in the big game. But there needs to be some degree of consistency in their play. Execution, intensity, a solid game plan, as well as focus and concentration were all lacking. They are either ‘on’ or ‘off,’ and when they are neither, they are what might be described as lucky.

Good Fortune and Serendipity.

If it came right down to brass tacks, you’d have to admit that Ben has been very lucky in his short illustrious career, regardless of his "clutch" playmaking abilities. He has in fact landed on a championship caliber team with an outstanding defense backed by one of the most recognized and successful organizations in the NFL. That can’t be understated. It’s not the same thing to be drafted by and playing for Lions – no disrespect and condolences to the fans in Motown. The Steelers organization must have seen something worthwhile to draft him, and some statistical interpretation for his first seven years points to a talented individual headed for the hall of fame. At the same time, I have to acknowledge that when one relies too heavily on spontaneity and cleverness, fickle results are to be expected.

In 2010, three or four plays were the difference in getting to the big game. Troy’s strip sack at Baltimore, Antonio Brown’s helmet catch against the Ravens’ in the divisional game, and the first down in the last minutes against the Jets during the AFCCG are the biggest three plays, in my opinion, in getting them to the title game. The blown call on Roethlisberger’s fumble at the goal line late in the game against Miami and the BillsSteve Johnson’s dropped touchdown pass in overtime also compete for the top three. Take away any combination of those plays and in all likelihood the Steelers are couch bound during the playoffs for the second straight year. I understand that as an organization the Steelers placed themselves in a position to win, and agree there are good front office decisions, good coaches and players, but the reality of playing and winning in the NFL is another thing altogether.

They did many things to win this year. Solid play defensively, a sporadic but timely offense kept them on top, but the Ravens meltdown in the second half of the divisional game paved the way for the AFCCG at home that was totally unexpected. Nobody thought the jets could take it to the Pats in Foxborough, and it was suggested that if the Steelers had to travel during the playoffs it’s highly unlikely that they "get to the dance." Yes, yes, yes, I know. Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. On the other hand, everybody has some lucky stars looking after them at one time or another. It is what it is, and as a fan I’ll take it but it doesn’t mean they are the team of the decade. We all know this is football, and ‘on any given Sunday…’ blah, blah, blah. At any rate, they say luck is where preparation meets opportunity, and everything points to that statement being true. But alas, the Steelers were neither prepared nor "opportunistic.’

Sometimes Attack!

Green bay seemed to move the ball at will, and should have had at least two more touchdowns if it weren’t for dropped balls. Rodgers placed the ball perfectly all night. Ben tried to squeeze the ball in twice, and that lack of good judgment cost them the game. You don’t turn the ball over. Period. You don’t try to squeeze one in on a double team and if you can’t throw the ball far enough because of oncoming rushers, then you look somewhere else, throw it away, or take the sack. Those are rookie mistakes and Ben had a horrible game. No two ways about it, as he confessed in post game interviews. We will be hearing about this for the duration of his career, unless he changes and becomes smarter and learns to read defenses and not rely on sandlot football. He missed plenty of reads, left open receivers, and over and under threw the ball. The wide receiver play was abysmal towards the end, especially with the packer secondary missing Woodson. In crucial moments, the offense stalled, and failed to move the sticks when it counted, but the bottom line is that the Steelers didn’t score when they had to, missed filed goals and all.

Defend what?

The defense was the only thing that you could count on this year. They were strong and quick, and mostly smart. The Steelers defense did a fine job of employing the "bend, don’t break philosophy," all year but all they seemed to do on Sunday was bend and bend until they broke - unfortunately at the most critical moments. All of the Steelers defensive stars were silent. Polamalu, Harrison, Keisel, Woodley. There was no will to impose on the Packers. I don’t know for sure if injuries played a part, but it seemed that they had zero energy, and played lethargically like a high school team waiting for practice to be over. They simply could not stop Aaron Rodgers and their passing attack. How is it that in the most important game of the year Troy and Co. had absolutely no effect?

All three teams that beat the Steelers handily this year used the same strategy. The Steelers defense has intrinsic flaws that rely only on pressuring the quarterback. If that doesn’t happen, the defense falls apart partially because it leans heavily on play making ability as a result of athleticism. Take that away because of injuries and the holes get bigger. It’s kind of like putting all your eggs in two baskets, namely the safety and Gatorade with ace bandages and oxygen. NE, NO, and GB, and even the Jets exposed that weakness. Ben’s ability to work with busted plays uses the same concept. Plays fall apart - either as a result of defense pressure or lack of execution and winning the point of attack. The offense by nature of the engagement (they know where they are going) will always win forward momentum. Once you figure out the disguises, you remove the confusion and expose its vulnerability - especially with a smart, talented, and mobile quarterback. The defense can’t keep up the intensity of defensive pressure for over 30 minutes. It was all too easy to pack it in, so to speak, when your offense commits three, count ‘em, three turnovers. Who would have thought that the defense that consistently held up their end of the bargain all year would be their Achilles heel?

Destiny or Destination?

Overall, the Steelers have been inconsistent all year. Offensively, anyway. They either play lights out (occasionally), win squeakers (mostly), or get embarrassed. There is no middle ground with this team. Come to think of it, they’ve been inconstant for the last three or four years, including the super bowl win against Arizona. They almost lost it at the end, and if it weren’t for Santonio Holmes and his big playmaking yards after catch getting them close to the goal line, there wouldn’t have been "The Catch." Forget about James Harrison’s pick six.

If you examine the stats, Green bay led in two categories. Well, three if you include the biggest one of all. Points. They led in passing yards and turnovers won. I guess with passing yards comes the quarterback rating, but I don’t put much credence on fantasy football stats. The Steelers led every other major category. Third down efficiency, rushing yards, time of possession, special teams, take your pick. Therefore, whatever Green Bay did to win and win big isn’t on the stat sheet. The Packers had a better game plan, and coached their players to execute more effectively than Tomlin when they needed it. The operative phrase being ‘when they needed it.’

It’s a testament to intangibles we all like to point to conveniently when arguing statistics. In other words, it’s the right balance between goals and strategic approach, maintaining focus and intensity, physical conditioning, and controlling emotion. Managing all these things is what Mr. Tomlin gets the big bucks for, I guess.

When all is said and done the Steelers were in the Super Bowl again, and that’s not something to take for granted. Eight appearances is not a bad number when statistics matter, and if Ben Roethlisberger and a few others played slightly better, the record might have been 7 -1.

Optimistically, I expect the coming seasons to be just as successful as this year despite the ‘parity,’ because that Standard I criticized so freely is in fact what always keeps the Steelers competitive. There are six Lombardi trophies and numerous divisional and conference championships to prove it.

Go Steelers, and good luck next year!

*Image courtesy Sports Illustrated, 2010

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