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Changes have to be made to keep Big Ben from looking like a dead mosquito on a windshield

It took the Indianapolis Colts exactly one quarter of Sunday night’s game to figure out the Steeler offense and knock it square on its rump.  In the first 15 minutes of Sunday night’s game, Ben Roethlisberger had the best passing quarter of his career and Mike Wallace had his best receiving quarter ever.  For the remainder of the game, the 2011 Steeler offense resembled a late 80’s Bubby Brister-led offense. 

Predictability and poor execution marred what seemed to be a promising evening when the teams switched directions at the end of the first quarter.  The Steelers had jumped out to a comfortable 10-0 lead, terrible towels were being waved and the Indy offense appeared to be ready to wave a white flag.  Unfortunately, the Steelers seemed to take an Ambien and nearly gave away a “should definitely win” game. 

There were many reasons for the lethargic play on Sunday night: poor and stale playcalling; a tentative rushing style; deficient offensive formations; using the same cadence to call the signals; and being careless with the football.  Bruce Arians has said in the past that he doesn’t believe it is his job to adjust the game plan to the players on the team, it is the players’ job to execute the game plan.  In my opinion, this is an insane philosophy.  Leading up to a game, 1000 things could change: the health of key players on the (Steelers or) opposing team; players being benched; new offensive or defensive schemes that the opposition is using for the first time; the weather; etc.  To form a gameplan on Monday and Tuesday and stick with it no matter what happens is being derelict of duty.  Don’t you think Lombardi, Landry, Noll and Walsh made adjustments as the game played out?

There are many ways in which an offensive coordinator or quarterback can assist the offensive line when facing a strong and talented pass rush like the Colts have. 

1)    Playcalling—Screens, shovel passes and draw plays.  In the second half, the Steelers finally called a screen pass to….Heath Miller?  Yep, that’s right.  Not Mendenhall with his quick feet or Isaac Redman with his bruising running style or even Mewelde Moore who is the designated 3rd down and specialty back.  You don’t throw a screen pass to a tight end in a stopped position in the middle of traffic.  It doesn’t work.

2)    Tentative rushing style—We all love the fact that Rashard Mendenhall can spin his way for an extra 3-5 yards on a regular basis.  But “twinkletoes” Mendenhall ran like he was afraid to hurt the field turf last night.  Indy has a small front seven and the Steelers did not take advantage of that with a power running game.  Mendenhall danced like he was wearing a Tutu.  I wanted to see Redman get more carries because he runs with power, but I only got a little tease of Redman last night.

3)    Chipping the defensive ends—If a defensive end is using a speed rush, where he runs as fast as he can around the offensive tackle, one way to slow him down is to line up a tight end across from him and have the tight end “chip” him.  This basically means that before running downfield into a pass pattern, the tight end blocks the defensive end for a split second, halting his momentum and creating an extra half-second for the tackle to block him.  This was not done.  Not chipping Dwight Freeney is like paying for his flight to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.  I don’t care if you are Joe Thomas or Jon Kolb or John Runyan, every so often, your tackle needs help blocking a dominant player.  By the way, John Runyan was a very good tackle but every time he played against Michael Strahan, Strahan destroyed Runyan.

4)    Changing the snap count—Many times in the 2nd half, the Indy defensive linemen were crossing the line of scrimmage before our offensive tackles realized that the ball was snapped.  This causes a HUGE disadvantage for the Steeler linemen since they start from a stopped position and the defensive linemen have forward momentum in their favor.  By changing the snap count, you can get a few free yards by drawing them offsides and, therefore, keep them from guessing the snap count.

5)    Being careless with the ball—I know I’m going to catch flak from the Steeler nation for this but Ben has to stop floating balls into the secondary where safeties can basically call a “fair catch” to his passes.  Also, on the first strip/sack, Ben was carrying the ball like a loaf of bread and held it entirely too long.  The second strip/sack was not his fault. 

The good news is, besides Terrell Suggs, Dwight Freeney is the best pass rusher the Steelers will face this year.  The bad news is, not being prepared to handle him (and don’t forget Robert Mathis who is no slouch) or making in-game adjustments for playcalling, formation or snap count is inexcusable.

As far as the offensive line goes, I am willing to give them a couple more weeks to put it together as a unit (they got better as the season progressed last year).  The concerns that the O-line is too low in talent or is not ready for prime time, are real.  The responsibility for this falls squarely on Kevin Colbert’s shoulders.  He chose to cut Flozell Adams and Max Starks in favor of Willie Colon and Jonathan Scott.  He chose to draft, and cut, Craig Urbik.  He chose to sign Chris Kemoeatu to a $25 million contract.  Yes, he also drafted Maurkice Pouncey which, you cannot argue, was a brilliant move.  Marcus Gilbert is a work in progress and trying to judge his play is unfair right now.

The Steelers have a lot of work to do if they want to uphold “The Standard”, as Mike Tomlin likes to say.  There are many weaknesses from the front office to the last reserve offensive linemen.  If these weaknesses don’t get strengthened, the Steelers could have another long offseason after their most recent Super Bowl appearance.

What are your thoughts?  Your comments are welcome and encouraged.

photo courtesy of Getty Images

I'd Rather Go to the Dentist

I have been watching Steeler football for 35 years.  There are very few instances where the team has played this poorly.  Is this a serious, Achilles heel-like flaw that can’t be fixed or was this performance an aberration? 
No one can deny that the blame for Sunday’s game should be shared by coaches and players. The Offense: the offensive line was like a sieve; the quarterback was careless with the ball; Mendenhall ran tentatively; and the receivers were not aggressive or physical enough against the Ravens’ average CB’s.  The Bruce Arians offense was atrocious in its attack.  It was obvious in the first quarter that Terrell Suggs was a dominant force and needed to be dealt with.  The offensive coordinator has a few tools at his disposal to deal with an aggressive pass rusher like Suggs.  He can have a tight end line up across from Suggs and have him block Suggs briefly (chip him) before he runs downfield.  He can have the RB line up on the same side of the offense and help the OT block.  He can also call plays like a draw play or screen pass or shovel pass to force Suggs to slow his roll.  Very little of those tactics were used.  In addition, the Steeler offense did not use their speed at wide receiver to spread the Ravens defense out and pick them apart (pass defense is their weakness).

The Steeler defense went planking on Sunday, plain and simple.  The Defense: the front line was manhandled; a search party was organized to find James Farrior; Lawrence Timmons couldn’t cover a crock pot; Bryant McFadden looked out of shape; and Troy Polamalu was a step late and a dollar short (until he caused a fight).  I don’t like to second guess Dick LeBeau but it seemed like the Ravens offense was always a step ahead of the Steeler defense.  There was a lack of pressure on Joe Flacco that was only outdone by the missing coverage of receivers and RB’s coming out of the backfield.  In summary, the team did not look ready to play, especially against their most hated rival.  As Mike Tomlin likes to say, "The standard is the standard" when it comes to the Steeler organization.  There is no way that the standard of play on Sunday will be tolerated.

I would like to draw a comparison to the start of the 2004 Steeler season.  Week 1 saw the Steelers beat the Raiders in the home opener at Heinz Field.  Week 2 in Baltimore not only saw the Steelers dominated by the Ravens in a 30-13 loss, but starting QB Tommy Maddox was injured while being sacked.  This gave birth to the Ben Roethlisberger era.  The team pulled together the following week in Miami through the torrential remnants of a hurricane to beat the Dolphins 13-3 (I know, I was there—and got soaked).  The team continued to work together supporting their young QB to a 15-1 record, which is the best regular season record in franchise history. 

Will the Steelers pull together like they did in 2004?  We will get an indication this Sunday when they face the Seattle Seahawks at 1pm at Heinz Field.  If they don’t, this could be a long, painful season.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Great Steelers/Ravens Moments

Here are some amazing pictures from past Steelers/Ravens showdowns.  Click on the pictures for a larger view.



Much Ado About Nothing?

Tony Hills was a casualty of the final 5 cuts made by the Steelers on Saturday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Bleacherreport.com)

I have been silent (some might say strangely silent) during the Steeler preseason this year.  The reason?  There ain't much happening.  The Steelers have chosen to take nearly the same roster into 2011 as they had in 2010.  At this time, the biggest story is how the 2008 draft can be analyzed.  Just three years after drafting a class that looked very promising, only three names remain: Rashard Mendenhall; Dennis Dixon; and Ryan Mundy.  And those who have been shown the door: Limas Sweed; Bruce Davis; Tony Hills; and Mike Humpal. 

There is no doubt that Mendenhall was worth a first round pick.  He is a strong and powerful weapon in the Steeler offense.  Dennis Dixon was a 5th round pick and he has had his highlights and lowlights--but that is what you expect from a 5th round pick.  Ryan Mundy was selected in the 6th round and he has been used sparingly--pretty much what you expect from a 6th round pick.

Now, the trainwrecks.  Limas Sweed seemed to be a steal in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft.  But a faked injury and several dropped passes later and he has been moved to an undisclosed location.  Bruce Davis was chosen in the 3rd round, and again, he was looked at as a steal.  He was a playmaker in college and the son of a former NFL player.  It soon appeared that the apple fell far from the tree.  The most recent FAIL was sent packing yesterday afternoon.  In fact, it took so long to cut Tony Hills that it worries me what we have left on our offensive line.  Hills was a tackle at the University of Texas and the Steelers picked him in the 4th round.  Now 4th round offensive line selections tend to be guys who need some work.  Maybe their weight is an issue or they have bad footwork or maybe they just need to learn how to be a mean SOB that protects the quarterback's blindside.  It seems that the Steelers gave Hills every chance to be a contributor for three years.  Unfortunately, he didn't develop into the kind of player they needed. 

What worries me about the Hills cut is that, as of two weeks ago, he was competing for the starting right guard position.  If he went from a possible starting right guard to being cut, what does that say about our offensive line?  Does this mean that the guys who made the team are really close to being on the street as well?  Right now, Doug Legursky is going to start at right guard.  This makes sense because it seems whenever we have a breakdown at center or guard, someone hits the "EASY" button and Legursky trots onto the field.  The problem with making Legursky a starter is that if there are any problems/injuries to Maurkice Pouncey or Chris Kemoeatu, we might have to shuffle two offensive line positions to have the best lineup.  I don't recall a time where the offensive line has been this unstable.  Maybe I am overreacting and the announcement that Hills was a possible week 1 starter at right guard was a way to motivate him to seal the deal.  If that was the case, then it didn't work.  If it was legitimate, and in two weeks he went from possible starter to driving a cab, I can't feel real confident about it.  I trust that Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin know what they are doing.  I just hope that the offensive line looks better than it did during the preseason. 

Baron Batch challenges the Steeler linebackers

The Steelers finally got down to hitting each other this weekend and Twitter lit up Sunday afternoon with camp attendees commenting about how rookie running back Baron Batch had taken on the Steeler linebackers in the "backs vs backers" drill and more than held his own (see link below courtesy of Steelers.com).  Batch, who at 5'10" and 203lbs, is one of the smallest players on the team, had the opportunity to pass block against Jason Worilds and James Harrison.  Both Worilds and Harrison came rushing in a violent fashion, but in multiple instances, Batch blocked them sufficiently so that the QB was not touched.  Although Mike Tomlin stated his approval during the drill, he refrained from giving any praise to Batch when reporters questioned him after practice (this is a common practice of Tomlin's in dealing with rookies).  The Steelers have today off so look for more hitting tomorrow.

In free agent news, the Steelers re-signed Mewelde Moore and William Gay. Again, the Steelers are still over the salary cap so they can't be aggressive with signing new players.  It is expected that they will restructure some veteran deals to get under the cap and possibly free up some extra funds to add more outside free agents to the roster.  Those restructurings probably won't be signed until after this Thursday since players can't practice until Friday if they restructure their deal this week (CBA rules). 

http://ow.ly/5RWQl   Batch Blocking video

http://twitter.com/#!/baron_batch  follow Baron Batch on Twitter

picture courtesy Chaz Palla, Pittsburgh Tribune Review