Mike Tomlin's Achilles Heel

Every coach has one. You can point to it with even the most successful of coaches. Some coaches are great tacticians (usually on one side of the ball or the other), but aren't good with personnel. Some are great at preparing their team, but not so good in game situations. Some are terrible clock managers. The knock on some guys is that they simply can't win the big one. And those are the good coaches, bear in mind.

In the five years that I've watched Mike Tomlin, I wondered about his flaw and how it might manifest itself. After the Steelers shit the bed against a bad San Diego Chargers team at Heinz Field on Sunday, I realize what that flaw is -- his teams underperform against 'lesser' teams.

Call it an achilles heel or a blind spot, this seems to be an area where he struggles. Maybe he lacks a specific talent or an ability to see this as a problem. Whatever it is -- willfulness or simply a skill deficit -- this is more than a trend. It has become a very pronounced pattern.

Rashard Mendenhall: To Fumble or Not to Fumble? That Is the Question

Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin made it a point in his press conference this week to point out that he had re-configured his depth chart vis-a-vis running back. Call it blowing smoke or sending a message; view it as speaking through the media to his players or sheer egotism. But however you see it, Tomlin made it clear that (for the time being) Jonathan Dwyer was the starting running back, with Isaac Redman the 3rd down guy and Rashard Mendenhall in a lesser role.

It's a heckuva role for a former first round draft pick to be in.

Top Five Reasons I'm Nervous about the Steelers v. the Broncos

The Steelers first playoff game is just hours away. And I don't feel well. It's my annual bout of Steelers Playoff Anxiety Disorder. It's an amorphous disorder and happens every year to thousands of people in the Western Pennsylvania area. But today, specifically, here's why I'm twitchy:

5.  Health.
The Steelers head to Mile High as a veritable MASH unit -- the offense is without it's most explosive running back (and I know I've been critical of Rashard Mendenhall from time to time, but he looked really good to me the last few weeks), the line is missing monster center Maurkice Pouncey and Pig Ben is limping around on an ankle that's about as sturdy as under-cooked bacon. (Mmmm ... bacon.) On the other side of the ball, who knows how well or how long LaMarr Woodley will play on that gimpy hamstring. And of course, Ryan Clark (the team leader in tackles with an even 100) cannot play or he might actually, you know, die. I'd feel a lot better if at least some of those guys were healthy.

Reactions to Steelers v. Eagles in the Preseason

The Dream Team came rolling into Heinz Field and, amazingly enough, the Steelers didn't just say, "oh, you signed Nnamdi Asomugha and Jason Babin (and Vince Young and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie). You have Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson. We're scared. We forfeit."

Amazing.

And this is why I love media hype. Some idiot says, "it's like playing on the Dream Team" (Exhibit A:  Idiot -- Vince Young), the media runs with it like a starving dog with a Tuscan steak, prompting the rest of us jump on the Philadelphia Eagles Haters Bandwagon. All Aboard! (The NFL:  bringing you knee-jerk Pavlovian responses since 1958 ...)

It's times like this when I miss Lee Flowers. You just know he would have been calling the Eagles 'paper champions' in the locker room last night. Ah, good times.

Steelers Are Dallas Bound

I think this pretty much says it all. We're from the town with the great football team. We cheer the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Steelers Versus Ravens in the Octagon

The two most physical teams in football will meet at mid-field on Saturday afternoon, shake hands and then try to kill each other for the duration of the 2010 rubber match. In their last contest, Terrell Suggs had a bloody mouth that made him look even more intimidating, Haloti Ngata broke Pig Ben's nose, a development that delighted Raven's coach John Harbaugh, and Troy Polamalu went all Chuck Norris on Joe Flacco's throwing arm. It was quite the bout.

T-Sizzle (known to his mama as Terrell Suggs -- although, I don't know, maybe she call's him T-Sizzle, too?) has declared that this game will be Armageddon. The teams hate each other. And I know this to be true because Hines Ward said so. The pundits have stopped just short of declaring that this football game will be as bloody as the Battle of the Bulge (and for that we should all be thankful), but one thing seems to be clear -- the forecast for the game, with all due respect to the peerless Mr. T., is pain. Pain with a chance of agony, to be specific.

So, given the tone and timbre of the conversation in the sports-talk-ocracy, I thought a boxing style tale of the tape was in order, by unit, but first, a quick note about the dominance of these teams. Since 2000, never has a year passed without either the Steelers or the Ravens (or both) in the playoffs. The Bengals are pretenders, the Browns an afterthought. The Steelers and Ravens ARE the AFC North.

The Ravens are 12-18 against the Steelers, but in the first three years after landing in Baltimore, the franchise was a hot mess and went 1-5 against Pittsburgh. Starting with the 2000 season, the Ravens record against the Steelers is 10-12, pretty evenly matched. Each of this season's games have been decided by 3 points. These teams are familiar and similar, which probably accounts for the bad blood. In the playoffs, the Steelers have faced the Ravens twice, winning both (2001 division game and 2008 AFC Championship.) I guess this game is Round Three in more ways than one.

QUARTERBACK: Joe Flacco is by far the best QB the Ravens franchise has ever had and after just three full seasons, he is already the team's all-time leading passer, which is maybe more an indictment of the crap-ass quarterbacking that's gone on Baltimore for the past 15 years than anything else. Flacco is talented, big, strong and can launch the ball. He is 4-2 in the post-season lifetime, a stat made more impressive when you note that all of those playoff games have been road games. Still, in the 2008 AFC Championship game, Flacco threw a momentum swinging pick-six to Troy Polamalu; in the last meeting between the teams, he failed to recognize a blitzing Polamalu, leading to a fumble and the Steelers winning touchdown.

Flacco has never beaten the Steelers when Pig Ben is on the field. Pig Ben's problems all come off the field because on the field, he has an amazing resume: undefeated regular season as a rookie, two Super Bowl rings, about 20 comeback wins in his back pocket, and a post-season record of 8-2. His QB rating is higher than Flacco's (this season and also lifetime), and while he does take some risks running around like a chicken with its head cut off, he plays extraordinarily well in the post-season.

OFFENSIVE LINE: I've written tomes about the faulty, leaky Steelers line, so at first blush, I thought I'd be giving the nod to the Ravens line no questions asked. Upon further review, this is closer than I might have guessed. The Ravens have allowed 40 sacks this year and left tackle Michael Oher can be beat on the first step by a speed rush. He can also be goaded a bit; the guy retaliates and, depending on the officiating crew, this could cost his team on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Steelers O Line, though upgraded at center (Maurkice Pouncey's presence has made the whole line better) has been decimated by injury, so they've constantly shuffled bodies in and out. Given all the givens, they've done better than I would have expected, but they're not reminding anybody of the 1990's Dallas Cowboys line. If you believe in statistics and such, this Wall Street Journal story is an interesting statistical breakdown of offensive line play.

RUNNING BACKS: I love Ray Rice. I'll admit it. I do. I think the kid is terrific. He ran for 1,220 yards with five touchdowns, averaging an even four yards per carry. He hasn't fumbled once this season. And he's a nice outlet to catch passes out of the backfield. Willis McGahee is a great alternative for the Ravens; he added 380 yards and five more touchdowns.

Rashard Mendenhall has very quietly asserted himself in the Steelers offense, rushing for nearly 1,300 yards this season and, more importantly, adding 13 touchdowns on the ground, something very sorely missing from the Steelers offensive attack last year. Despite the fact that Issac Redman has looked sharp in his rare appearances, has averaged 4.8 yards per carry, and the fact that Bruce Arians keeps saying he's going to use him, they just don't use him often. Redman's game winning touchdown in Baltimore was a play designed to go to Mewelde Moore, but they didn't get the personnel swapped out in time. Luckily, because I really don't think that Moore powers into the endzone in that situation the way Redman did. He is a nice weapon to have at their disposal if they choose to deploy him Saturday.

WIDE OUTS/TIGHT ENDS: Todd Heap and Heath Miller are two of the best all-around tight ends in the business and while Miller is a bit better blocking, Heap is more of a deep receiving threat. Both have missed time with injuries, but when healthy, either guy can turn in a huge game for his team.

On the outside, the Ravens don't have anybody who can match the speed of Mike Wallace. But then, other than the Eagles, who does? So there's Mike 'The Flash' Wallace and old reliable, Hines Ward as the possession' receiver, as it were. Rookie Emmanuel Sanders has developed as a threat for the Steelers, but coach Tomlin is not a fan of youth, so one bone-headed move out of him, and Antwan Randal El will be in before you can say El Yeah.

The Ravens counter with three reliable possession type receivers -- Derrick Mason, T.J. Whoseyourmama and Anquan Boldin. Boldin is a tremendous talent, one of the best in the game. He can pick up yards after the catch, he can fight through the most vicious blocks and he finds a way to get open in tight spaces in the endzone. If you had to sum him up in one word, it would be power. Donte Stallworth is supposed to be their speed guy, but with just two receptions all year, I'm guessing that he's not panned out quite the way they had hoped. No, they'll try to stretch the field with Boldin, who is by no mean slow, it's just the everybody else looks like they're running in pudding when compared to Wallace. Do you like unfettered speed? Or pure power? That's what it comes down to. Boldin? Or Wallace?

DEFENSIVE LINE: This is an interesting one. That the Steelers line has been so effective without the great Aaron Smith is a testament to their depth. Ziggy Hood is playing better with each passing week, and they got a huge lift when Brett Keisel returned from a nagging leg injury. Still, it'd be nice to have a 100% healthy Aaron Smith in their arsenal, wouldn't it?

For my money, Haloti Ngata is the best player on Baltimore's defense. Yeah, yeah, Ray's still the heartbeat of the team, T-Sizzle can come play for me any day of the week and Ed Reed is the second best safety in the game (more on that later), but Ngata is the most disruptive player on that team. He's fast and powerful. He just blows shit up all the time. To say nothing of his expertise in rhinoplasty.

LINEBACKERS: I see your Ray Lewis and T-Sizzle with my James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Then I'll raise you a Lawrence Timmons and throw in James Farrior for good measure. Yes, I'll be taking that pot in the middle, thank you very much. Suggs played like a man possessed in the last meeting between the teams and Ray just keeps on going, despite my hopes that he won't, but Harrison, Farrior, Timmons and Woodley have all turned in all-pro years. Farrior, especially, after he appeared to have dropped off last season.

Both defenses stop the run (opponents averaged under 100 yards per game against both teams) and both groups of linebackers are gap sound, but the Steelers are mind-blowing at run-stopping, allowing just under 63 yards per game. Only the Jets (106) and Patriots (103) rushed for more than 100 against them and no single player came close to running for 100 himself. The Ravens D is not quite as statistically impressive, except that they have forced 10 rushing fumbles, many due and owing to the backers.

The Steelers have outpaced the Ravens in the sack department by a mile, putting up 48 sacks to just 27. And while I understand that the Lebeau system is, um, linebacker friendly, shall we say, there's no disputing the fact that the Steelers just frankly kick ass in the sacking of the quarterback department. The four Steelers starters have a combined 29.5 sacks this season, more than the Baltimore defense in total. The Ravens four primary backers have contributed 15.5 sacks, and 11 of those are T-Sizzle's.

SAFETIES: Can we all just agree that Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed are the two best safeties in the game? Okay, then. Dawan Landry and Ryan Clark are both good players, but this is all about Reed and Polamalu. I've never seen a safety ballhawk as effectively as Reed and I've never seen a guy pull one big play out of his hat after another, week in, week out, like Troy. I'm giving Troy the edge here and not because of his hair, but because the Steelers defense drops off appreciably when he's not on the field, while the Ravens are better able to tread water without Reed. It's gonna be a safety clinic on Saturday and that is no hyperbole.

CORNERS: Chris Carr is a nice corner. He tackles well and forced three fumbles this year. Josh Wilson ... aw, screw it. Frankly, none of the corners in this game are worth writing home about. The questions are these: (1) how do the Ravens contain Wallace's speed? can they contain him? And (2) how do the Steelers cover Boldin without giving up too much size in pursuit of the speed to cover him? Tough assignments any way you cut it.

KICKING/PUNTING: The Ravens have two kicking freaks in their employ and I mean that in the nicest possible way. I think Billy Cundiff can kick the ball through the uprights on kickoffs at least half the time. He's got a boomer for a leg. Plus, having kicked for the Browns and the Ravens, the guy is used to the quirks of Heinz Field.

Has anybody else noticed punter Sam Koch's ability to drop the ball inside the 10 and have it bounce straight up or bounce back away from the endzone? It's like he's able to kick and also get some freaky backspin on the ball, too. Every time, it bounces straight up and his coverage units can get down there and down the ball. Freak, I tells ya.

The Steelers wisely cut Jeff Reed and signed Shaun Suisham, who has been pleasantly reliable on field goal attempts, but his kickoffs are, like his predecessor, woefully short. Standing in for Dan Sepulveda, the Steelers will send out Jeremy Kapinos, who we haven't seen much of, so it's hard to know what he's got. I think we know this -- he's no Sam Koch. I expect the Ravens will be able to tilt the field with both of their outstanding kickers.

And one last thing, cut me Mick!

Special Teams Return to 2009 Form and Drag Rest of Team Down with Them

I am a believer in the church of the special teams. Yea verily, just as surely as many evangelicals believe in the certainty of the rapture, I believe that special teams touchdowns will come back to bit you in the ass. Hard. I believe that special teams are as important to a team's success as having a franchise quarterback, winning the turnover battle, and controlling the line of scrimmage. In some mystical karmic way, special teams points seem to carry more weight, more cache and special teams touchdowns are to regular touchdowns as dog years are to people years.

Exhibit A: San Diego Chargers. The Chargers are fighting for their playoff lives in no small part because of two early season losses: to the Chiefs by 21-14 - a game in which they gave up a punt return for a TD; and to the Seahawks by 27-20 - a game in which they gave up TWO kickoff returns for TDs. As things stand today, the Chargers are on the outside looking into the playoff picture.

Exhibit B: New York Giants. Who lost yesterday's thriller to the Eagles when they allowed DeSean Jackson to return a punt for a TD on the last play of the game. Brutal. The Giants still are hanging on to the last spot in the playoffs, but I have to wonder if they can get past the kick to the stomach that yesterday's loss was to win out in the last two weeks?

Exhibit C: Pittsburgh Steelers. The team won in Tennessee after Antonio Brown took the opening kickoff to the house. It was the only touchdown they scored all day. Then yesterday, they lost to the Jets after allowing Brad Smith to take the opening kickoff to the house. Coincidence? I don't think so.

You put your team behind the eight-ball when you allow a special teams touchdown. NFL teams are a combined 10-16 when giving up a special teams touchdown and, for some unknown reason, kick returns seem to do more damage that punt returns. In the 20 games with a kickoff returned for a touchdown in the NFL this year, the team with the KO TD has won 13 of those times, and lost just 7 times. Those are pretty much 2 to 1 odds that you'll win if you take a touchdown to the house.

Maybe it's just the letdown factor for the defense. If you're kicking off, either its the start of the game, the start of the half or you've just scored. So let's say your offense fights and claws and puts together a 80-something yard drive. It takes a lot of plays of 11 players doing their jobs, maybe a spectacular catch or two, or maybe a few tackle breaking runs. And all that work is negated on the ensuing kick. The hard work of that offensive touchdown is erased in about 3 seconds.

It's disheartening.

And it's no way to open a game. Particularly against a team like the Jets.

The Jets average just about 21 points per game and I'm not sure if the folks at Stats, Inc. adjust that for other scores - the Jets had another special teams TD and a TD on an interception return coming into this game. Regardless, the Jets are hardly the Patriots prolific offense, so you can't help a team score, particularly one that had been shut out earlier this year by the Packers and had scored just nine points in the last two weeks. Sure, they were fighting for their playoff lives, but still, this Jets team was there for the taking.

Even with the special teams miscue, and even with a defense that cannot make any big plays without Troy on the field (talk about disheartening - just one sack, just one tackle for a loss and only two QB hits), the Steelers were down by just 3 points and had the ball. (For more on the defense being just pedestrian without Troy, check out Gene Collier's great column.)

Why on earth was Mewelde Moore on the field on 1st and 10 from the Steelers 3? Moore is the best blitz protection back, so if you're gonna pass, I can see him being on the field. But at their own 3 yard line, I don't think the Steelers are going to pass there. And the Jets didn't think so either.

Every coach, every player has a chink in the armor, an achilles heel, not like Troy's injured achilles, but one in the Greek mythology sense. And I think that Bruce Arians' biggest flaw as a play caller is that he tries too hard to outsmart teams.

"It would be so stupid of me to run the ball around the corner with Mewelde Moore in this situation that nobody would expect it. Perfect! .... Oh. Crap."

It's a low percentage call in a situation where you cannot afford to lose yards, so what's the logic in handing the ball off to the smallest, weakest back on the roster and running something to the edges?

Why not hand the ball off to the guy who has 100 yards on the day and is averaging nearly 6 yards per carry? I've said it before and I'll say it again -- they drafted Rashard Mendenhall to be the man. They should give him the opportunity to be the man.

The kick off return for a touchdown, the safety -- those are the kinds of plays the Steelers have manufactured to win this season. With special teams reverting to last year's execrable form, and without the team MVP on the field, they couldn't get any of those plays, but rather watched helplessly while the Jets made a couple of big 'splash' plays in Tomlin-speak.

On the upside, the Steelers haven't lost a game to a bad team this year, unlike last season's five game skid that included losses to the bad stinky Chiefs, stinkier Raiders, and the stench that killed an entire region, a/k/a the Brady Quinn led Browns. So, they got that going for them. Yesterday's loss was not one of those terrible, embarrassing losses, but still, it's a game that was there for the taking.

Pig Ben Sparks the Offense Over the Browns

Sometimes erratic, sometimes reckless, and sometimes positively breathtaking, Pittsburgh's Pig Ben Roethlisberger returned, turning a pedestrian offense into an explosive one, making throws of 50 yards to both Mike Wallace and Heath Miller, and tossing a beauty of an over the shoulder pass to Miller to sock the game away. Other times, he strangely overshot receivers and threw an ugly interception on the first drive, but all things considered, it was about as good as anybody could expect and better than most predicted. There were times when he was vintage Ben and good enough that his QB rating was a lofty 112.7. So, there's that.

Bruce Arians called a great game and I so rarely say anything nice about BA that I'd like to go on record saying that I thought he had one of his best games in recent memory. He was aggressive without being greedy, daring without being hasty or thoughtless. He didn't get away from the run, even when the Browns were bottling it up; he called plays that allowed Pig Ben to hit six different receivers. 27 passes and 35 runs on the day and that strikes me as a really nice balance.

Rashard Mendenhall turned in another impressive game, running with power, stiff arming defenders, sticking his head into tight spots, and hanging onto the ball. Issac Redman added 31 yards, each of them hard fought and well-earned. The line, despite shuttling in players as Doug Legursky and Chris Kemoeatu were injured (both returned), did a really solid job up front and it looked like Maurkice Pouncey had a real bounce back game after struggling a bit against the Ravens.I want to give a big shout out to Flozell Adams here. He wasn't flagged all day and that has to be a first in his career. Plus, he positively clothes-lined Cleveland DB Joe Haden as he rumbled back and forth across the field after picking off Pig Ben. The Hotel is 35 years old and the Steelers list him at six feet, seven inches and 338 pounds. He was the only Steelers player who was able to run from one sideline to the middle of the field, probably covering more than 70 some yards, to take down a speedy, elusive corner. Seriously? That might have been the most impressive thing I saw all day.

On the other side of the ball, the Great Troy was quiet, but James Harrison seemed to make a point of trying to be a one man tour of destruction, sending both Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi to the locker room in the first half. And Lawrence Timmons turned in another monster performance and was a large part of the reason that the Steelers were able to hold Peyton Hillis to just 41 yards rushing on they day.

As to the opposition, I think the best things to have happened in Cleveland in a long time may have been the injuries to Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace. I thought Colt McCoy played with a tremendous amount of poise, no matter how many times Harrison, Timmons and Lamarr Woodley hammered him and lord knows the kid is accurate when he has time.

Oh, and congrats to Hines Ward, who turned in a very Hines Wardian day -- five receptions for 54 yards and a head-shaking, tackle breaking touchdown. He is now tied for fourth on the all-time list for most consecutive games with a reception at 164. Just who are these people who don't think he's a Hall of Famer?

Three Things the Steelers Need to Do to Avoid a Repeats of Last Year's Embarrassment

It seemed unthinkable, actually impossible, that a team led by Ben Roethlisberger could lose to one led by Brady Quinn, that a franchise with six Super Bowl trophies could lose to a team that was 1-11 coming into the game, that Mike Tomlin could be outcoached by Eric Mangini. And yet, on an early December, 2009 night in Cleveland, that's exactly what happened.

Cleveland 13 - Pittsburgh 6.

The horror. Oh, the horror.

But the 3-1 Steelers can avoid falling into the same or similar traps, elevate their record to 4-1 (1-1 in division) and re-ascend to their rightful place as perpetual tormentors of the Browns. It's pretty simple and like a jitterbug, it's just three basic steps:

1. No special teams brain farts. There is no question that return man extraordinaire and Mr. Everything in Cleveland, Josh Cribbs was the best player on the field in last year's abomination of a game. In his career, Cribbs has torched the Pittsburgh special teams units three times for touchdowns. My god, but he must love playing against the Steelers.

The kick coverage teams were the worst in the league last year, so bad that I think high school coaches used film of the Steelers and then said to their charges, "okay, boys, just do it the exact opposite of these guys and we'll be fine." But the coverage teams have been much improved this year and special teams as a whole (except for Skippy's horrible field goal misses) have been a real high point so far, largely due to additions like Stevenson Sylvester, Jason Worrilds and Will Allen. So, before anybody worries about zone blitz schemes or how Pig Ben will fare, those guys need to take care of business: tackle Cribbs. Bottle him up, stay lane sound on returns, don't try to do anything fancy and just stop the guy. Hell, trip him. I don't care. Just get him on the ground.

And it would be nice if Jeff Reed at least pretended he cared, too.

2. Consistent defense. In last year's nightmare, Cribbs worked out of the wildcat and ran for 87 yards (averaging nearly 11 per touch) and those in Cleveland who have a clue, think that Cribbs is their best hope. I tend to agree. So the first thing the Steelers need to do is Stop Cribbs in the wildcat.

Then they have to stay gap sound to bottle up Peyton Hillis and after that, it shouldn't be to hard to confuse and harass Colt McCoy.

Of course, I said that going into last year's game ... but still, these Browns aren't the Brian Sipe or Bernie Kosar editions. Which is to say, they just aren't very good offensively. Heck, they came into the season with Jake Delhomme, the man who never met an ill-advised throw he didn't like as their starter, and the underwhelming Seneca Wallace as the back up. Both of those guys are hurt and it looks like the Browns will start rookie Colt McCoy at quarterback. So the Steelers defense doesn't have to do anything spectacular to win this one. They simply have to protect against any big plays, stay gap sound, be violent and thus, contain and smother any vague hopes the Browns might have.

3. Ball control. It goes without saying this is something I'd like to see more of long term, not merely in this game.

I'd like to see an offense that, while it has Pig Ben at it's disposal, doesn't rely entirely on him, a more balanced attack, with Rashard Mendenhall get at least 22 touches in this game. In the first four games, with defenses keying on him, behind a line that is hardly great (but is, admittedly, better than I thought it would be) Mendenhall managed to average 4.6 yards per carry. With defenses now having to respect the pass, Mendenhall can be even more productive, so let's hope that Arians doesn't forget about him, just because the franchise quarterback is back on the field.

As we all know, the NFL is a funny, cyclical animal. The current cycle dictates that teams are positively obsessed, cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs crazy with "stretching defenses" with the long ball. But in the early years of this decade, teams who dinked and dunked lead the way - the 2000 Ravens, the 2001 Patriots (they later became a long-bomb machine, but in 2001, not so much), the 2002 Bucs and the 2002 Raiders. The Steelers have a guy in Mike Wallace who nobody can catch, so I'm not saying to abandon the long game, but that it would be good to balance that with a short, first-down geared, clock-grinding attack - a passing game that goes underneath to Hines Ward more often. It seems so obvious, but get the ball to Hines. He's a first down machine and doesn't hold all the franchise receiving records by accident. Dude knows what he's doing.

One more thought on the obsession with going deep. Right now, San Diego has the most "vertical" offense in the league -- Philip Rivers leads the league in total yards and in yards per attempt. Yet, the Chargers are a very disappointing 2-3 and I have to wonder if they will even make the playoffs. The Cowboys throw more than any other team - nearly 66% of the time - and they are on the brink of disaster. You just don't want to run a team like Norv Turner or Wade Phillips. I'd like to see the Steelers go anti-Turner, anti-Phillips.

Basically, they just need to not do anything stupid this week and leave the stupid up to the Manginius.

Mendenhall, Offensive Line Key to Steelers Victory Versus Ravens

As impressive as Charlie Batch was last week in the Steelers victory over the Bucs, perhaps more impressive was this stat: Total Rushing Yards - 201.

In the last few years, the Steelers have been mediocre at running the football and seemingly indifferent to the idea of running the football. Either they were unable to do it. Or they were unwilling to do it. Or, more likely, some combination of the two.

That five game stretch of putritude in 2009 was punctuated by a marked inability to pick up first downs on the ground, punch the ball in from short yardage and maintain offensive possessions even when they had a lead. In short, they threw so much that other teams always had lots of chances on offense late in the game, a fact that came back to bite them in the butt numerous times. Like this time:
But if last week was a fair indicator of what's to come for the remainder 2010 season, the bad old days of ignoring the running game or being completely inept at it are behind them.

Rashard Mendenhall ran for 143 yards last week but the best part was that he picked up 103 yards of those in the second half. Somewhere, the Bus is wiping away tears of joy.

The whole team picked up 67 yards rushing in the 1st half and another 134 in the second half. No doubt, Bill Cowher is flashing those terrifying new choppers over that stat.

What does it mean for the immediate future?

Heading into the big game this Sunday versus the Ravens, we all know that both defenses are going to try to hit the quarterback, and hard, every chance they get. Ray Lewis will probably try to break Mendenhall's shoulder again, if given the chance. Coach Tomlin is always saying that football is a violent game and no two defenses personify that better than these two. They are built to intimidate other teams. Most of the time, they succeed at doing just that.

Pittsburgh's defense ranks first in average points allowed per game, even with the two garbage touchdowns they gave up late in the Tennessee game and Tampa game, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Ravens defense ranks first in the league in total yards allowed and first in the league in total passing yards allowed.

But where the Ravens have shown a chink in the armor is their run defense. They have allowed 383 yards on the ground in the first three games, about 125 per. They allowed the Browns Peyton Hills to rumble for 144 yards last week, all of which bodes well for the Steelers game plan.

Rookie center Maurkice Pouncey has been solid and, at times explosive in the middle of the line. On the right side, Hotel Flozell is still good for two pre-snap penalties per game, but he's also a dominating steam roller when run blocking. If those guys can get Mendenhall going and, if the defense can pick off Flacco (he threw four ints. versus the Bengals two weeks ago ...)

At the start of the season, with Pig Ben out, Leftwich hurt and only Dennis Dixon and Batch holding down the fort, who would ever have thunk it that a 4-0 start was even a remote possibility? So, sitting on a 3-0 record, they're already playing with house money.

Even better, I don't see this game as a must win for the Steelers, but it's closer to a must win for the Ravens. Somebody pinch me.

Hellllloooooo Offense! Steelers Upend Bucs in Tampa

By now, just two games into the season, SteelersNation has come to expect great, punishing, dominant, flip you on your ear, knock you silly, make you pray that the scoreboard will show 00:00 to end the suffering kind of defense. And I expect that most of us thought we'd see another performance like that this week, too. We get used to things fast around here.

The Steelers defense did not disappoint, mind you, but the big news is that the offense came to the party. And they even brought party favors.

Old Man Charlie finished the day with a QB rating of 106.5. Not bad for a guy who was fourth on the depth chart going into training camp and one gimpy knee away from the waiver wire.

Oh, it was so easy to write off Charlie. Too old. Washed up. Too fragile. (I myself was guilty of cracking a lot of osteoporis/broken hip/bursitis and/or any other variety of injuries that beset the elderly jokes at Charlie's expense.) Then he threw a homely interception to start the game and, even worse, he looked upset on the sidelines. "Shake it off, Charlie," I said to nobody in particular.

Next drive, Mewelde Moore dropped a nice little pass that probably could have picked up a first down I know I was not alone in thinking the defense would have to do all the actual scoring on the day. [They did, but it was nice that they didn't have to.]

Hitting Mike (Santonio Who?) Wallace for a 46 yard touchdown strike seemed to get Steel Valley Chaz' mojo going. It looked easy for a while after that. See Charlie throw deep. See Charlie run. See Charlie slide around the pocket to create more time for his receivers. See Charlie hit a wide open Hines Ward in the back of the endzone. Speaking of old. Old or not, how do you let the Steelers all-time leading receiver (in catches, in yard, in touchdowns, in games played) get so freaking open in the back of the endzone? Just wondering. Raheem Morris is probably wondering the same thing right about now.

All that, plus a great day for Rashard Mendenhall.

And a great day for another guy, one who I had written off completely: William Gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Gay was gap sound and he made great tackles in space. He didn't try to do too much. Knowing that Josh Freeman is probably twice his weight, he took Freeman down by grabbing him around the ankles. The Steelers list Gay at 5' 10" and 190 pounds. I doubt he's that big, even. So it's a pretty smart play to not try to take on all 6' 5" of Josh Freeman, facemask to facemask. Perhaps young William has learned a thing or two since last year. He made a number of great tackles.

The rest of the Steelers defense looked like the Steelers defense.

James Harrison scared Bucs wideout Sammie Stroughter so much that he coughed the ball up into the waiting hands of Brett Keisel, who rumbled down the field, Andy Russell-like, for a touchdown. Nice beard, Brett. Nick Eason contributed a sack. Lawrence Timmons had a sack. Ryan Clark scooped up another fumble.

Freeman completed 20 of 31 passes, but averaged only about six yards per completion. My god. That's a Kent Graham-like stat. Cadillac Williams was held to just 15 yards. Cadillac? Sounds more like a Dodge Dart.

Now seems like an appropriate time to point out that the Steelers have allowed 58 yard rushing, 46 yards rushing, and 75 yards rushing to the Falcons, the Titans and the Buccaneers, respectively.

All you bastards in the AFC North who wrote the Steelers off and thought this was a two team race, not so fast. Yeah, I am looking at you Ray Ray and Thuggs, and you, too, Batman and Robin.

Postmortem Preseason Week 2: Paging Mr. Mendenhall

I had hoped to post something about the Steelers defense, about the likely starters and the guys who would see a good bit of action, but once again, circumstances dictate that I look to the offense.

Suspect Mendenhall is clearly a talented player, a potential game-breaking player, but his game is far from complete and he continues to be a work in progress. In the NFL, in the 21st century, impatience rules to day: nobody wants to wait three years for a guy to grow into his job.

In this, his make or break season, he looks so close, but he still hasn't put it all together. He dances less than he did when he arrived, which is good, because when he doesn’t dance, he’s dangerous.

But there are still those lingering fumble problems. We already saw him being careless with the ball last week. Last year, he had three fumbles in just 242 attempts, approximately one fumble for every 81 carries. Compare that to Chris Johnson (three fumbles in 358 attempts -- once every 119 carries), or Steven Jackson (two fumbles in 324 attempts -- once every 162 carries) or Maurice Jones-Drew (two fumbles in 312 attempts -- once every 156 carries.) No matter how you do the long division, Mendenhall's numbers are unacceptable for a feature, starting back.

Again, he is an obvious and tremendous talent, so when he doesn't dance and he also holds onto the ball, he teases us with flashes of greatness. He’s got a scary burst of speed and equally awesome balance.

Still, he spins more often than Ginger Rogers or even these guys.

He was at that again on Saturday. With the ball on the Giants 9 yard line, Mendenhall went over right tackle, picked up three yards and then turned his back to the on-coming traffic. I just have to wonder what he's thinking there. A runner, any runner, has a better chance of making a play if he's looking upfield. Turning his back to a hit is something we saw way too much of from him last year. Like this:


The Steelers ended up settling for a field goal there. Disappointing. It was made more glaring when, just a couple of plays later, Ahmad Bradshaw lowered his shoulder to run over Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark and pick up an extra three to four yards.

A running back cannot shy from contact, particularly not when he’s between the tackles, so if Suspect continues to turn or spin in those situations rather than lower his shoulder and try to run people over, he has no business being on the field in short yardage or goal line situations.

Is there any question that Issac Redman is the guy for goal-lines situations? Suspect cannot be trusted inside the 10 -- either he goes down like a potato bug or he drops the ball. The other option, Mewelde Moore, is great at what he does but he's just too small for ramming the ball in at the goal line. Redman looks like the viagra to cure the Steelers impotence in the redzone.

Before anybody gets their panties in a twist, I'm not suggesting that Redman be the starter, merely that he comes in for short yardage or goal line plays.

Random other thoughts from the New Meadowlands:

-- Missed tackles, whiffed tackles and bad angles. There are periods of this preseason that are like watching the five game losing streak last year. At times, the defense looks like the Lebeau defense we've all grown to know and love while at other times, the first string linebackers and db's continue to take bad angles to the ball and tackle lackadaisically. (Even a bad sinker of a miss by Troy on the Giants' second series.) I know, I know, the defense is ultra-vanilla right now, but missed tackles have zip to do with scheme.

-- You know what doesn't look like last year's ugliness? Aaron Smith anchoring the line. It's good to have that guy back.

-- The Double D debate rages on. Should he start games 1 through 4 (or 1 through 6, depending on Goodell's mood)? He can run like an antelope whereas Leftwich runs like my grammie after her first hip surgery. But Leftwich can throw a ball a country mile and then a few more feet on top of that, a skill that comes in handy when you have Mike Wallace on the field. More to the point, Leftwich has played in about 50 regular season games. Double D, just one. That kind of inexperience makes coaches more jittery than a case of Red Bull and a jumbo pack of chocolate covered espresso beans. (Although you have to wonder what such a seasoned vet was doing at the goal line at the end of the first half?)

-- A couple of years ago, I dubbed Anthony Smith “the stupid.” Since he’s gone, let’s just give that title to Ike Taylor, shall we?

-- While we're here, Daniel Sepulveda made the best tackle of the night on a punt return, fighting off a blocker who was holding his jersey the whole way. Dear Jeff Reed, please take note of Sepulveda's efforts in coverage.

-- Meanwhile, Sepulveda's kickoffs weren't great, so the issue of short kick offs are going to stick around, at least for a while. Oh, and again, while we're still here, Skippy, please STFU.

-- When the Steelers let the Jets have Santonio Holmes for a used chin strap and deck of playing cards, a lot of fans were understandably unhappy, but after two preseason games, it looks like the Steelers are loaded at wide out. Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antwan Randal El, rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, and veteran pick up Arnaz Battle. Add Heath Miller, and that's a ton of weapons for whichever quarterback is on the field. The Steelers cannot be serious about Brown not making the final 53, can they? Particularly given:

-- Based on what we saw of Antonio Brown in the return game, I think it's safe to say the Stefan Logan era is officially over. Brown is positively fearless and runs endzone to endzone, not sideline to sideline.

-- I'm not the first one to say this, but Maurkice Pouncey needs to start in Denver at center. They're giving him plenty of snaps, but they need to see what he does against a first string defense. If he's even close to what I think he is, he's already an enormous improvement over Justin Hartwig. That makes Hartwig obsolete. He can't or won't play guard and he's a subpar center. Meanwhile, Doug Legursky can do a little bit of both guard and center. If Pouncey is the starter, Legursky would be a more handy, multi-tool back up than Hartwig.

-- Hotel Flozell has always been good for about three penalties per game, but at his age and given his move from the left to the right side of the line, he might hit double digits every game with the Steelers.

-- Good to see Jason Worilds on the field, although I didn't notice him much - either good or bad.

Regarding Bruce Arians

Despite his role in bringing home Lombardi Trophy #6, Steelers loyalists run hot and cold and mostly leery of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. I'm trying to figure out where perception meets reality, where Arians is legitimately questionable, and in what instances the fans have pierogies for brains.

Good Bruce Arians is now a Super Bowl winning coordinator. It's really hard to argue with that.

Bad Bruce Arians might could be the coordinator equivalent of Barry Switzer in that regard. Yup. Switzer won a Super Bowl. No denying it. But nobody in her right mind thinks Switzer was the better coach on the field that day. Is Arians another lucky interloper?

Good Bruce Arians a/k/a BA, works so well with Pig Ben that Roethlisberger finished the 2009 season with a quarterback rating of 100.8 and was second in the league in yards per pass attempt (8.55 yards). Yes, Pig Ben is one of the five best QB's in the league, but you have to credit Arians with at least some of that success.

There is not a scintilla of interest in Bad Bruce Arians for any NFL head coaching openings. When a team wins a Super Bowl, generally that team's coordinators are at the top of the head coaching wish lists. Yet BA wasn't on anybody's short list or long list or any kind of list, except maybe some fan sh*tlists.

Good Bruce Arians was in no way responsible for the defensive collapse or special teams entropy of 2009.

Bad Bruce Arians has been the Steelers OC for three years and only once in that time did the Steelers offense crack the top 10 in terms of points scored per game (2009 average of 23.0 points - 12th; 2008 average of 21.7 - 20th; and 2007 average of 24.6 - 9th). Hardly Don Coryell-type stats.

Good Bruce Arians Started his Steelers tenure as the wide outs coach under Bill Cowher. In that time, he took a very unfocused Plaxico Burress and got him to focus, so much so that Plax got a big free agent payday with the Giants, won a SuperBowl and promptly shot himself. But I don't think we can hold old BA responsible for Plax carrying a handgun around in his sweatpants. BA also had his hand in: making Hines Ward one of the premiere wide outs in the league; transforming Antwan Randal El from a middle of the pack guy to Super Bowl superstar and overpaid free agent; taking wide out Santonio Holmes from draft pick to burner to Super Bowl superstar (he does not, however, provide 'Tone with his doobage); and utilizing the freaky speed of Mike Wallace.

Bad Bruce Arians stinks in the red zone. His play calling is pedestrian and predictable. The Steelers scored just 27 touchdowns in 56 trips to the redzone -- only 48.2 percent. Bah.

Good Bruce Arians knows that this is a pass-first league. The Indy Colts made it to the Super Bowl throwing the ball 601 times and running it just 366 times. The Saints passed 544 times versus 468 rushes.

Bad Bruce Arians doesn't run the ball enough. The Saints and Colts may have made it to the Super Bowl by throwing more than they ran, but the Jets made it the whole way to the AFC Championship game by running the ball 607 times and throwing only 393 times. The once pass-whacky Cincy Bungles threw the ball just 477 times (running it 505) and they won the AFC North.

I'd say there are strong arguments to be made on either side of the Arians debate, but this one is the tipping point for me:

Good Bruce Arians knows that he has one of the five best quarterbacks in the league and a mad fumbler, Rashard Suspect Mendenhall, for a premiere running back. If you were Arians, would you hand the ball to Suspect? Or give it to Pig Ben?

In Praise of Dennis Dixon

I know Double D was playing against the second string, but second string guys are still NFL players, players who get significant minutes in games, not the guys signed to the practice squad or tossed to the recycle pile. Okay, so they were the Lions, but you can only play who you play. I also realize that Dixon is a quarterback prone to run and in Pittsburgh, where the ghost of Kordell Stewart is ever present, that's never a good thing. But the only things Dixon has in common with Stewart are: they both wear/wore number 10, they're both fast, and they're both black. That's it.

Dixon is cool and calm, freakishly so considering the paucity of playing time the guy has gotten, unlike Stewart who, no matter how many games he started, always looked like a startled deer in the headlights when he dropped back to pass. I was filled with dread when Stewart was called upon to make a key third down pass, but I don't get that same anxious nausea with Dixon out there. I like the way he runs the offense and he certainly can fly when he wants to. Maybe he even runs too much, but so did John Elway, Steve Young and Donovan McNabb early in their careers. Dixon will learn as he goes. Plus, he runs smart - right for the sticks and then out of bounds.

He runs play action so well he faked out the camera crew a couple of times on Saturday night and his passes were right on target for the most part. His pass to Antonio Brown was in the exact right spot so that Brown didn't have to slow down for it, but rather, had to get into full sprint mode to get it.

If the presumption is that the offense might be less explosive but run more smoothly with Leftwich, I'm not so sure that's the case. The offense is crisp with Dixon in there and when he doesn't see anything he likes downfield, he takes off, picks up a first down, and goes out of bounds. QB's who throw the ball away are often lauded for doing that and I think for Dixon, it's the same thing, thinking, "Ward's covered, there's coverage over the top on Wallace, Miller's covered. F*ck it. I'll pick up 6 yards with my legs." I have no problem with that.

I'm just saying, I want to see more of Dixon. The coaches have not run him with the first team offense in camp, according to John Harris at the Trib. I sure would like to see him go out there with the first team and battle against the Giants first team on Saturday night.

More scattered notes from a disjointed, rain soaked pre-season game.

-- Mendenhall still has a ragin' case of the mad fumblitis, and if he continues to carry the ball so far away from his body that one can only surmise it is tainted with ebola, it's gonna be a long-ass season for whoever is lined up at quarterback. Sometimes a player gets a helmet right on the ball or right on his elbow and loses the ball, but the problem with the Fumbling Fool 2.0 (Edition 1.0 was Richard Huntley) is that these aren't the kinds of fumbles he has. He loses the ball for almost no reason. Lions' safety C.C. Brown barely waved at the ball and Mendenhall coughed it up. I'm no super genius like Tom Coughlin, but tuck the ball up near your shoulder, you idiot. We know the kid can run. The question is whether or not he can learn how to run with the football. Mendenhall wasn't the only one with the ragin' fumbles on Saturday, but he was the only one who was drafted in the first round.

-- The first string offensive line looked slow, confused and weak. Was it me or was Flozell Adams' footwork positively glacial? Byron Leftwich got hit way, way too much.

-- The good news is that first round draft pick Maurkice Pouncey got a lot of work at center and looked great. Line guys, like quarterbacks, often look lost when they make the move from college to pro, but Pouncey looked like a seasoned vet. Tony Hills and Ramon Foster impressed, too. Again, I know it was against the 2nd and 3rd string, but they can only do what they can do.

-- The wideouts, a question heading into this season, looked like a real bright spot. Antonio Brown put on a show. Nobody can throw far enough to catch up with Mike Wallace. And Arnez Battle looked like a nice free agent pick up.

-- Defensively, Ryan Clark had a nice interception, so that's a good thing.

-- The other good news was that Laurence Timmons looked healthy and James Harrison was in mid-season form, putting Jeff Backus on his back a couple of times.

-- Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith who arrived in Latrobe a few days before the game hit DeDe Dorsey so hard, I think Dorsey's dog is in the hostital. So, I guess what we can surmise from this game is that the Steelers are just fine at linebacker.

Five Things on My Mind as the Steelers Report to Training Camp

From True/Slant on July 27, 2010:

Training Camp Opens Soon. Five Questions Facing the Pittsburgh Steelers

It’s that time of year again when Pittsburgh faithful are allowed to avert their eyes from the mess that is the Pittsburgh Pirates (looks like what I wrote just a few days ago was overly optimistic — again) and gaze just beyond PNC Park to Heinz field, toward the six-time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. With the Steelers reporting to training camp in Latrobe on Friday, I have five questions. They’re not burning questions, more like room temperature questions, but they are questions nonetheless:

1. What a friend we have in Jesus, a/k/a Troy Polamalu. In 2008, the Steelers had the No. 1 ranked defense in the entire league, allowing just 13.9 points per game and 237.2 total yards from scrimmage per game. They had the second most sacks in the league with 51. In 2009, most of the players returned from that amazing run. But it wasn’t so super. They dropped from first to 12th in points allowed, and gave up 300 yards per game. It was, well, it was depressing. How did it happen? One name. Polamalu. He missed 11 games due to injury and the team lost six of those, which is to say, they are one defense with him, and without him, they are the guys who lost to Kansas City, Oakland and Cleveland. If he’s healthy, the Steelers have a decent shot at returning within orbiting distance at least of past glories. If he’s out nursing injuries, they can start thinking about the 2011 draft.

2. Clusterbomb at Quarterback. Coach Tomlin is dealing with a lot of crap here, just at one position. First, he has to get ready for the start of the season, which means getting either Byron Leftwich or Dennis Dixon ready. Both, I believe are capable, competent quarterbacks. Leftwich did a great job subbing for Ben Roethlisberger in 2008; last year, all Dennis Dixon had to do was make his first NFL start in a prime time game in Baltimore, of all places, and the kid played great. The Steelers lost the game in OT, but it was in no way due to Dixon. The challenge for Tomlin is how to split practice time at camp? He cannot cede the first four games through underpreparation of Leftwich/Dixon, but still, like it or not, the starter of the Steelers is Ben Roethlisberger and he, likewise, has to be ready in week five. It’ll be interesting to see how Tomlin balances it all.

3. Offensive Line. I probably could have started with this because whoever lines up under center – Leftwich, Dixon or Roethlisberger, may get killed before the midway part of the season. The line was not great last year. Hell, it wasn’t even great during the Super Bowl run of 2008. (I would posit that it was perhaps the worst O Line on a Super Bowl winning team.) But this year, that already suspect line lost its starting right tackle for the season and they still have a sub-par center, unless first round pick Maurkice Pouncey, can step in. But rookie centers almost never happen. So the line that allowed 50 sacks last year is already worse before the first day of training camp. Of course, both Leftwich and Dixon get rid of the ball faster than Roethlisberger, so his suspension may be a strange gift to this unit. But quick release or not and quick timing patterns or no, this unit is the most suspect on the team.

4. Mendenhall, Mendenhall, Mendenhall. The 2008 first round draft pick enters his third year and this is the make or break season for him. Rashard doesn’t have Willie Parker to share the load with him and will be backed up by third down specialist Mewelde Moore and a bunch of jabeeps. No offense fellas, but it all falls to Mendenhall. His first year was pretty disappointing. He played in only three games before Ray Lewis broke his shoulder. Seriously. His shoulder. Which prompted one of my friends to ask, who the hell breaks a shoulder? What is this guy, made of styrofoam? Last year, he was much better and didn’t break his shoulder, or any other broken bones, so that was an accomplishment in and of itself. Plus, despite occasional outbreaks of mad fumblitis, he showed real power and explosive speed, but it was like OC Bruce Arians didn’t trust the guy or something. He had 20 or more carries only six times. It seems to me, if you draft a running back with your first pick, the assumption is that he’s the feature back and a feature back does not get 11 or 12 carries per game; he gets 22, 24 and 25 carries per game. So the question regarding Mendenhall is twofold: Can he carry the load being the feature back? And will Bruce Arians patiently feed him the ball enough so that he can be the man?

5. Enthusiasm. This is a question for the fans, not the players. The 2009 campaign was not just disappointing, but repulsive. Despite losses to the Bengals and the Bears early in the season, the team rebounded and ripped off five nice wins, three against good teams (Chargers, Vikings and Broncos.) Things were looking good around here. What went wrong, went wrong fast. They dropped a game to the Bengals, ceding control in the division to Cincy. Then they inexplicably dropped games to the Chiefs, the Ravens, the Raiders and the Browns. An entire region threw up on itself in disgust. That’s pretty hard to watch, losing to teams of the caliber of the 2009 Chiefs, Raiders and Browns, all of which is to say that the team has to go a ways to earn back the trust and respect of any sane fans around here (not that there are many of those.)

Then, there is the 241 pound cleat-shod elephant in the room. Fans are in an untenable position. Can they root for the team and not root for Roethlisberger? How do you straddle that? Some people don’t care about Roethlisberger’s off-season transgressions, the allegations of rape, sexual assault and just general entitled, drunken assholery, but most people hold him personally in contempt. At least most people I’ve talked to. But, time has gone on since the story broke in Milledgeville, Georgia and as time as passed, people’s outrage has dampened, if just a wee bit. The fact that the elephant in question has kept a low profile all summer certainly helps. But I wonder how he’ll be greeted when he takes the field on October 17th versus the Browns? Is it possible to boo the quarterback while cheering the rest of the defense? Can you root for the franchise, but not the man leading it?