Rationalizations and Lines: The Steelers Lose in Denver to Open the 2012 Season

'Why does that strike me as a massive rationalization?'

'Hey, don't knock rationalizations. I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.'

'Aw, c'mon. Nothing's more important than sex.'

'Yeah? You ever gone a week with out a rationalization?'

The Steelers pass defense was torched by Peyton Manning last night:  Well, lots of teams have been torched by Manning in his career.

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.

Polamalu Sets Tone, Ziggy Delivers and the Steelers Cruise to No. 2 Playoff Seed

See what happens when the best defensive player in the league is on the field? The guy is magic. Of course, Sarah Silverman says Jesus is magic.

So if Troy is magic.

And Jesus is magic.

Then Troy is Jesus. (In cleats, instead of sandals, naturally.)

As to the rest of the team, they seemed to remember that despite last year's Horror Show by the Lake (Browns 13, Steelers 6), they are, in fact, the Pittsburgh Steelers and that they were playing the Cleveland Browns, a team which finished the last two seasons at 5-11 and last posted a winning recording 2007 (10-6), although somehow, it feels more distant, the notion of a winning Browns team.

Pig Ben looked as sharp as I've seen him look all year, putting the ball in perfect spots, finding open receivers, getting rid of the ball with alacrity and running from time to time. He was the beneficiary of the best performance by his offensive line all season and though I have been critical of Bruce Arians in the past, he called a great game, but really only needed to do so for two quarters with his team leading 31-3 at the half.

A word about Evander Ziggy Hood. The original draft report on Hood at CBS Sports, contains the following tidbits of information:

Positives: More than the sum of his parts. … Legitimate NFL size. … Plays with a passionate, physical style. … Locates the ball quickly and pursues well down the line. ...

Negatives: Lacks the elite explosiveness or strength usually associated with highly rated defensive tackles. … Only moderate initial quickness. … Flashes the lateral quickness to elude and collapse the pocket, but is too inconsistent in that area. … Often plays too high and loses leverage, negating his own strength and size.

I often think scouting is crazy bananas; guys flame out as often as they deliver and how a guy looks standing around in his underpants at the scouting combine bears little relation to how he will actually perform at the highest level of competition, but this report is dead on for Ziggy. He does pursue well down the line and he plays contain very well. The coaches love his passion and dedication. Still, until very recently, he didn't get much of a push and lacked explosiveness at the point of attack. I've been bumming about that. Actually, I've been kinda carping about it.

Did I expect too much? Probably. I often do that with first round picks. Solid is just not good enough for a first round pick in my mind.

I'm sure I unwittingly expected Ziggy to contribute immediately in the mold of Heath Miller and Pig Ben, but I should try to be more mindful of the Lesson of Troy Polamalu. There were times during Troy's rookie year that he looked completely and utterly lost out there, leading many of us to question Bill Cowher and Kevin Colbert's decision to move up in the draft to get him. Silly. He has turned out to be nothing less than the best defensive player in the league and one of the greatest Steelers of all time. Heady company.

In yesterday's 41-9 romp over the Browns, Ziggy was credited with two tackles for losses, one sack, four solo tackles, and one other QB hit, none of which begins to accurately describe his overall performance. Perhaps the loss of the great Aaron Smith is what Ziggy needed. Maybe he needed to get on the field more, get in the mix more; maybe he learns best by doing. However it happened, clearly Ziggy has turned a corner. Will he turn into the next Mean Joe? Or L.C.? Probably not, but he is really coming on down the stretch which is a very good sign for the Steelers defense heading into the post-season.

Taking a Hard Look at the Loss of Aaron Smith

If you were making an instructional video of tackling form, you would be wise to chose as your subject Aaron Smith. He does it so effortlessly that one barely notices, yet he is picture perfect every single time: line him up, wrap him up, take him down. His technique is one of the reasons that he is the best run stopping defensive lineman in the league -- not the best run-stopper on the Steelers, mind you, but the best run-stopper in the NFL. No question.

And if you likewise want to know why defensive players so frequently launch themselves, missile-like, to try to tackle by hitting with their shoulder-pads rather than using their arms and wrapping up? Just stroll through Aaron Smith's injuries in the last five years:

Exhibit A: Torn rotator cuff.
Exhibit B: Torn biceps mucles.
Exhibit C: Torn triceps muscle.

Steelers fans know how valuable Smith is. It takes a lot of elements to make a great team. You need contributions from all over the place, from the gunner on kickoff returns to the starting defensive end, and the feature running back. But if I can be so simple minded as to point out won-loss records, other than Troy, there may not be a more valuable guy on the team. You can make an argument for Pig Ben, too.

(A quick look at won-loss records reveals that, in his career, Troy has missed just 11 games; the Steelers are 5-6 or a winning percentage of .454.
Pig Ben has missed 10 games [the 4 suspension games and then 6 with injuries] in which the Steelers won 6 and lost 4, for a winning percentage of .600.
And Smith has missed 15 games in his dozen years here and the Steelers record without him on the field is 7-8, or a winning percentage of .466. So there's that.)

The Steelers go as their defense goes and Dick LeBeau's unit's primary task, every game, every year, is to stop the run. Smith is the biggest reason that opposing teams simply cannot run against the Steelers. He disrupts his entire side of the line and forces running backs to either pop way outside, where the outside contain gets them, or cut back inside, where the inside contain gets them. Or run towards him, where he gets them. It's a no win to try to run anywhere near Smith.

But, you say, the NFL is a passing league now! Stopping the run is as old fashioned as the Wing T or the flying wedge. Let's take a look at what the Steelers are up against to (1) get to the playoffs, and (2) who they might face if they get there.

They have to play the Browns and the Ravens (on the road), the Bungles twice, the Saints, the Jets, the Raiders, the Patriots and the Bills. [They also have to play Carolina, but you know, amazingly, I'm just not worried about that game. Dead Coach Walking.]

Of the remaining teams on their schedule, the Ravens, Raiders, Jets and Browns have rushing attacks in the top half of the league statistically and in fact, the Raiders and Jets have the first and fifth most rushing yards, respectively. I'm not sure there is a tougher back to bring down than Baltimore's Ray Rice; I think that New Years game against Browns and Peyton Hillis will be a bitch; and despite their lower ranking, the Bengals Cedric Benson runs like a mack truck.

The point is, they have to face some really good running teams. Really good.

Then, there's the possibility of the playoffs where they might have to face: the Jets, the Patriots, the Ravens, the Titans, the Colts, the Raiders or the Chiefs. (Hey, somebody has to win the AFC West and it ain't gonna be the Norv Turners.) Those teams all have great running attacks, less Indy and New England. But then, of course, you have to deal with Manning the Greater or Justin Beiber. Pick your poison.

I don't think the loss of Aaron Smith can be overestimated and now I will echo the sentiments of so many others out there.

Starting this week, Ziggy Hood can prove he was worth that first round pick. Coach Tomlin and Kevin Colbert didn't draft Hood so that he could just 'spell' Smith from time to time; they drafted him to eventually replace the best run stopper in the league. The Steelers chances of making the playoffs and making noise in the playoffs now rest squarely on the shoulders of one Evander 'Ziggy' Hood. Go get 'em, Tiger.