The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - SuperBowl XLV

In the big picture, the game kind of went the way most thought it would.... but there were some uncharacteristic and unexpected results too.  From a Steeler fan's perspective regarding the game, here's 5 thoughts in each category...

The Good

1)  Pittsburgh's Offensive Line.  At times, they played very well but more importantly they looked well prepared and executed the majority of the time.  Given the injuries of the season and the playoff run, the unit played as well as could be expected in total.  Kudos to Coach Kugler for a job well done.

2)  Veteran receivers make solid contribution.  Both ARE and Hines made some great catches at key moments.  I had a friend over who is not a Steelers fan who said, particularly regarding critical moments - " Hines Ward is their best player on offense, get him the ball."  Not something overheard  nowadays very often but Ward showed his mettle and value.  The guy is a great football player first and foremost, he just happens to play receiver.

3)  Run Defense  No surprise.   Green Bay was one dimensional for virtually the entire game.  See below...

4)  Kicking game  Deep kick offs, made FG and punting were worst case neutral or beneficial.  No weaknesses, no gaffes.  Suisham looks like a keeper.

5)  Running backs  Mendenhall, Moore and Redman did what they could do and showed great effort.  The game got away from them so fast, the running game was not allowed to grind out yards, time of possession and physical punishment against the Packers.  The fumble lost was bad but is a symptom to a greater issue, see below.

The Bad

1)  Big Ben has a rough day  Most of us thought the QB position between these teams would cancel each other out for the most part.  Ben never looked as comfortable or smooth as he usually is.  Credit to the Packers but he seemed off most of the day - non-contact injury, high throws, late throws... not his best day despite some momentary bright spots.

2)  Secondary exposed  It's what we were worried about and rightfully so.  Not much else to say except " the Steelers are on the clock...".

3)  Pass rush  Just not enough.  Not a fault issue for any one player but a reality in the scheme of the game.  Rodgers had enough time to do the damage.  One or the other needs to happen - you have to cover or you have to rush the QB.  The Steelers didn't get enough of either for most of the game.

4)  Special teams/return game    Bad penalties at critical times.   Not terrible all around but just not effective enough to be a positive factor.  You need special teams to make big plays, especially when you are down.  Those plays never happened.

5)  No defensive splash plays   No turnovers, no explosive hits changing the momentum of the game, no limping Aaron Rodgers.  In short, the #1 defense in the league looked lind of average.

The Ugly - and I know some of you will take exception to this but here goes...

1)  Troy Polamalu MIA -   When they weren't targetting Gay, it actually looked like the Packers were targetting his area of the field.  Specifically inward breaking routes in his half.  Troy was a non-factor in the game which says a lot about the Packers, their game plan and coaching.

2)  B.A. and the Steelers Offense   As an Arians-basher, it gives me no pleasure to point out what I see as his areas of responsibility that look wanting.  The Mendenhall fumble occurred for one major reason - the man assigned to block the linebacker whiffed.  That guy is a converted TE playing FB.  That play is their bread and butter.  That can't happen.  Suffice to say that the last 6 minutes and the ineptitude of the Steelers in the hurry-up offense speaks for itself.  This was a microcosm of the whole game.

3)  William Gay in coverage   I'm not sure how a #1 defense has a guy like this playing but good Lord, that was ugly.

4)  The Jordy Nelson Show - I'm not sure how HOF coach Lebeau and his staff prepped for the game specifically, but the in-game adjustment required never materialized.  The Steelers looked inept at times

5)  Overall Coaching  Why was Troy invisible?  Why didn't Ben attack the depleted GB secondary?  Why was Mike Wallace repeatedly running routes of 5 yards or less?  Why can't the Steelers run the ball to the left?  Why can't they execute a draw or screen?  Why didn't the defense make a play?

The Packers looked better prepared, they executed and were able to win the down when it mattered most.  Tomlin and his staff have to do some soul searching regarding Xs and Os, personnel and how they prepared and adjusted in-game.  Specific examples - inability to exploit injured GB secondary, inability to use run game and play-action effectively to control the game, decision to try 52 yard field goal, lack of execution on last kick return - they lost the 2 minute warning on offense because they used the clock up during the return... and received a penalty.  These little things all add up.  Green Bay did not make critical mistakes.  Pittsburgh had all the experience but it didn't show in the final result.

Tomlin is accountable and everyone likes his no-excuses, bottom line style.  Changes in personnel and scheme need to be addressed on offense for sure.  Defensively, how many more years for Coach Dad?  The draft and off-season FAs need to be utilized to shore up their obvious problems in the secondary and O Line.

The Steelers came a long way through injuries and other issues.  So did Green Bay, probably more so.  Did Tomlin do a good job this year?  Obviously, but he won't excuse losing this game for any reason - and shouldn't.  The Steelers have a great corps of players - QB, HB, WR, C, TE, LB, and one CB all show great talent.  They need a few more pieces to get the most out of these guys before major re-tooling needs to happen. Some big decisions going into next year....