Baltimore 31, Pittsburgh 7

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is a pass rush. And consistent offensive line play.

Love,
Blacky

The Future is Now

Pro Football Weekly offers the following insight this week on the Steelers' future:

"The Steelers’ running game was under close scrutiny after a tough three-game stretch in Weeks 11-13, but a 52-carry, 303-yard performance vs. Cleveland on Dec. 7 gives something the Steelers can build upon in the final weeks. The way we hear it, the play of the right side of the line had come under criticism of late, with neither ORT Max Starks nor ORG Kendall Simmons playing as well in the run game as the team would have liked. But the Steelers ran to the right with success vs. the Browns, with RB Willie Parker running often behind the blocking of Simmons and Starks. From what we’re told, it’s conceivable that both players could face competition for their jobs next season. Simmons could even be considered at center, where current starting C Jeff Hartings is getting up in age. But for now, Simmons and Starks will remain where they are."

My guess is that Hartings will retire after this season. He was man-handled at times this year, and Chukky Okobi is waiting to take his place. (PFW is totally wrong, in my estimation, about Simmons at center. He was a disaster there in the pre-season.) The right side of the O-line could face increased challenges in training camp in 2007. Starks, a restricted free agent after this season, is likely to be re-signed, but I expect the Steelers to bring in a player to push him, and perhaps ultimately replace him. Starks is actually listed among the top tackles in free agency, so it seems unlikely that Pittsburgh will find a viable challenger among free agents like Leonard Davis and Marc Colombo. With each Steeler win, the chances of drafting Michigan RT Jake Long (assuming, as many do, that he will declare for the draft) decline, perhaps leaving the Steelers with no easy answer at the position.

The guard position offers more in free agency, including accomplished run-blockers Vince Manuwai (Jags) and Kris Dielman (Chargers). Generally, the Steelers are good for one FA signing per off-season, and this may be it.

Or, the free agent signing may be a new backup to Willie Parker. Despite a few flashes of his talent, the Hamper Dumper has done little, and will likely be gone. Duce Staley has already been cut. A few big backs are out there, including TJ Duckett, whom the Steelers sought to acquire in trade on draft day this year, and Chargers backup Michael Turner. Turner, though, is a restricted free agent, and it seems unlikely that the Chargers will let him walk.

Mr. Sensitivity

If Joey Porter played for any other team, I would hate him. He represents much of what I think is wrong with the NFL--he is, at least in part, a self-obsessed motormouth--but he also displays the passion that I so admire. I also admire the latest rhetorical flourish in his word-war with Browns' egomaniac Kellen Winslow, Jr. Porter called Winslow a word that journalists won't repeat (faggot?) after last Thursday's game, and yesterday he came out with the perfect apology: he's sorry if he offended anyone except Winslow. It's a beautiful move, because he lands the apology ("I didn't mean to offend nobody...") without blunting the point of his personal attack ("...except Winslow.")

Kellen Winslow declined to comment.

When a Rivalry is not a Rivalry: Steelers 27, Browns 7

Oh, the joy of a late-season frigid Pittsburgh night and a game against the Browns, in which old stories are re-told: stories of Steeler dominance on the defensive and offensive lines, of violent hits and athletic brilliance, enough to make us forget, for a moment, our early season sorrows....

Who would have thought that the Steelers would play one of their best games without five starters? Perhaps we saw last night a glimpse of the Steeler future: a bright one. In the absence (due to injury) of both starting wide receivers, up stepped Nate Washington and Santonio Holmes. In the absence of both starting safeties (again due to injury), up stepped journeyman Tyrone Carter and future star Anthony Smith. In the absence (not due to injury) of Ike Taylor, up stepped Bryant McFadden, who appears to have solidified his position in the starting lineup for years to come. Oh, hope for the future.

Three who looked good:
Big Ben completed only 11 passes in 21 attempts, but threw for 225 yards and a beautiful long touchdown pass to Nate Washington. No passes were intercpeted, and none were nearly intercepted; a few drops, a few near-misses hurt his percentage, but I doubt Ben cares. He looked great.

The offensive line, perhaps suddenly aware that their jobs are now in jeopardy, played like last year's line, dominating the line of scrimmage and opening huge holes for Willie Parker (more below). Jeff Hartings' peel-back block on Kamerion Wimbley was a thing of beauty, and it seemed to stand for the whole of the game: the Browns, harmlessly minding their own business, were blindsided last night.

And Willie Parker. Despite a fumble, he had a game for the ages: 223 yards on 32 carries and a TD. (That's two yards fewer than Big Ben passed for, if you're scoring at home.) Willie was explosive, fast, and powerful, unafraid to squeeze through a tiny hole or challenge a tackler head-on. Pundits like to say that the Steelers need a Bettis-like runner, a hammerhead to get the tough yards inside, but who doesn't? 280-pound tailbacks aren't common, and Willie is finding his way.

Three more who looked good:

Anthony Smith hits like a train.

Santonio Holmes looked like the veteran he will soon be: he was effective in punt returns; he made a great leaping grab, and totaled 81 yards on 4 catches (that's over 20 yards per, if you're scoring at home); and, perhaps most impressively, he beat the rush to recover a fumble by Najeh Davenport. He looked quick, confident, and instinctive. Cedric Wilson was seen on the sideline updating his resume.

The Steelers run defense held the Browns to a total of 18 yards rushing. The leading rusher for Cleveland was Reuben Droughns, who gained six yards on five carries. The Steelers, by comparison, rushed for 303 yards (and that includes Charlie Batch's kneeldowns). Let's put it this way: Pittsburgh outrushed Cleveland by a factor of nearly 17. (If you're scoring at home.)

Three who looked bad:

I was surprised and disappointed to see the Steelers' defense record no sacks on first-time starter Derek Anderson (who, by the way, was Cleveland's "One who looked good"). The Browns worked hard to stop the blitz, and the Steelers missed Polamalu.

The secondary gave up only one big play--a 45-yard catch-and-run to Braylon Edwards in garbage time--but they couldn't stop Derek Anderson without the help of Dennis Northcutt and the rest of that stone-handed receiving corps.

Chris Gardocki stinks. Somewhere, Mike Barr doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

One more who looked bad:

The NFL Network coverage. Chris Collinsworth has his Madden-like moments of demented wisdom and humor, but his is more often an insipid gasbag. Bryant Gumbel called the game as though he were afraid to wake a sleeping infant. Steve Mariucci is a solid analyst, but Deion Sanders is a mo-ron.

What it all means:

The Steelers are one game below .500, heading into next Sunday's contest against the suddenly vulnerable Carolina Pantyliners. I'm sure the home team will be favored, but the Steelers should present a real threat. Hopefully, this two-game winning streak against the league's JV squads will build some confidence. An 8-8 finish is now a distinct possibility.

Don't bother with the playoff miracle talk, though. This team is playing for next year, which is reason enough to root for them to play hard.

Steelers 38, Saints 31

Well now. I had thought to write "that's more like it," but I don't think I will: it was a beautiful, glorious, hard-fought win, a win that showed heart and determination, but it wasn't all I'm looking for. This game wasn't won in the classic Steelers style; it was won, instead, in classic Cincinnati Bengals style. The Saints amassed 517 yards of offense, while the Steelers gained 467. The Steelers relinquished a 14-point lead in the first half, and actually fell behind just before halftime on a 5-play, 72-yard drive that took all of 60 seconds. It was an unnerving performance by the unit that has long been the strength of the team. Marques Colston, the rookie from Hofstra whom 31 teams in the league now kick themselves for not drafting, caught 10 balls for 169 yards. Terrance freaking Copper caught six for 92. Ike Taylor struggled again, and Bryant McFadden has yet to announce his arrival. That performance tempers my joy just a little bit.

To be fair, though:

1. Two defensive starters, DeShea Townsend and Troy Polamalu, missed most of the game with injuries.

2. No one has effectively stopped the Saints' offense this year, including everyone's favorite defense, the Baltimore Ravens.

3. The game was classic Steelers in at least one respect: the Steelers forced 3 fumbles and gave up none.


And the offense looked stellar. Willie Parker, as anyone reading this already knows, ran for 213 yards on 22 carries (for a college-like 9.7 yard average), and Big Ben settled in, throwing 3 TDs and no INTs (17/28, 264 yards). The line blocked well, and the receivers did their jobs. (Nate Washington dropped a couple of balls, but that will happen.) Against a less dynamic offense (see you soon, Cleveland Browns), the game would have been over after the first quarter.

So the Steelers have raised their record to 3-6, one game behind the Bengals, who appear to be folding like a deck chair. There was some talk Sunday night and Monday that the Steelers were "clinging to faint playoff hopes": pure stupidity. This season can't be measured by the playoffs; by that measure, failure is inevitable. Success this season will come in gritty, gutty play for the last seven weeks: winning games they should win (at Cleveland next week), and winning at least once as underdog (Baltimore in weeks 10 and 15). Leave the playoff talk for next summer.

Looking Ahead

If the season ended today, the Steelers would have the 7th pick in the draft, a higher position even than the slot from which they selected Plaxico Burress in 2000 (#8). The question is: what would they do with the pick? Trading down seems like a distinct possibility; last year's maneuverings were further proof of the Steelers' propensity to wheel and deal on draft day.

If not, though, my money is on a DE/OLB "hybrid" player, the likes of which the Steelers and their 3-4 have made so popular. They used to be able to get such players--Clark Haggans, Joey Porter, Jason Gildon--cheap, but the surging popularity of the 3-4 has put a premium on such players in recent drafts: DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, and Kamerion Wimbley come to mind. Currently rated in the top ten in many preliminary draft boards are Clemson's Gaines Adams and Georgia's Quentin Moses, at least one of whom would likely be available at #7.

Why go in this direction? Because Joey Porter's contract is up in 2008. He'll be 31, and, after a monster end to the season in 2005, he has done little this year. The Steelers have a history of cutting players loose, particularly at this position, just before age takes its toll. Remember Jason Gildon? When the Steelers released him, he was their all-time sack leader; he signed with Jacksonville and had trouble getting on the field. He was last heard from in 2004.

If the Steelers take, say, Moses in the 2007 draft, he would have a year to learn behind Porter before sliding into his spot in '08. And then Porter would probably sign with the Patriots. And thus, the cycle of NFL life continues.

After Hope, Blessed Detachment: Steelers 20, Broncos 31

These are strange times, indeed.

Sunday's loss to the Broncos featured the same baffling blend of the awful and the excellent that has marked virtually every Steeler loss this season: the stifling run defense, the dangerous passing game, Willie Parker running, Najeh Davenport running and dragging defenders, but also the fluke plays, the impossible plays, guys getting beat, heart-stopping turnovers, missed blocks, and so on....

The Steelers could easily have won on Sunday. Willie Parker was averaging 5 yards per carry. The passing offense was moving the ball with ease. The defense held Mike Bell, the Broncos' featured rusher, to 28 yards on 17 carries.

But they didn't win. And likely anyone reading this knows why. After a long and exhaustive study, I have come to the conclusion that you don't win games in the NFL by turning the ball over six times. The three fumbles hurt worst: Santonio Holmes fumbling his way out of the kick return job; Cedric Wilson fumbling five yards from the end zon; and--most heartbreaking of all, for many reasons--Hines Ward's fumble at the one as the Steelers were looking to mount a comeback. Say what you will about Ben's performance this season, his interceptions on Sunday hurt less (even though two happened inside the 10): on the first, Cedric Wilson appeared to miss the hot read, and thus was not where he needed to be; the second, thrown on 3rd and long, was as good as a coffin-corner kick (Bailey would have been smart to drop it and force a punt); and the third was a desparation throw in the game's final moments. Bad plays? Sure. But not as bad as others.

The secondary played poorly, too, with both DeShea Townsend and Ike Taylor getting beat for touchdowns in the first quarter. Taylor had one of his worst days as a Steeler, failing to do what he has done so often before: shut down a team's top receiver. But some credit needs to go the the Broncos: Rod Smith's catch over Townsend was one of the best I've seen, and Javon Walker is a dominant receiver. Ike Taylor is on his way to being a dominant corner, and such bad days will happen.

Javon Walker, incidentally, was the game's leading rusher, scoring on his only run, a 72-yard reverse. Townsend was in position to bring him down, but couldn't, and behind him two defenders collided. Touchdown.

I could go on: the continued poor play of Max Starks; the penalties; the awful punting and special teams; and so on. But you know what? I won't. I wrote after last week's loss to the Raiders that my hope had died; this week, that dead hope was replaced by something much more pleasant: detachment. I watched the game, yes, but I did so sitting down. I didn't pace. I didn't yell at the TV (okay, once or twice), nor did Hines Ward's fumble ruin my day. If Santonio Holmes' fumble in the first quarter showed me anything, it showed me that this team has been cursed. No team with this much talent and heart should perform this badly week after week. No team should be able to do so much right and still lose in such unfathomable ways. A larger force must be at work.

And so I'll sit back and enjoy the games from here on out. I'm predicting that the Steelers will finish 7-9, and that they will play their hearts out through week 16. And I will watch, and cheer, secure in the knowledge that it won't always be this bad.

(Remember how the Patriots won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years? The year they didn't win, they didn't make the playoffs.)

Oakland 20, Pittsburgh 13

Oh, the horror.

For a lesson on the death of hope, please review my writings on the first seven games of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2006 season. Game one, against Miami, promised a season of great things: the Steelers won, after all, without the quarterback who had led them to the Super Bowl with such passion and bravery only months before. Game two seemed a blip, a grinding effort against an impenetrable defense, and a much-needed refresher course in the demands of the NFL for the returning QB. Game three, against the Bengals, was disappointing, but, to feel all right, Steelers fans had only to look to a similarly disappointing loss to Cinci in 2005. Game four, a loss to San Diego, was another disappointment, but again we could point to a few key plays, and to a Charger defense that seemed unsolvable.

Game five, though, seemed to validate all of our faith: an absolute stomping of a team that, while not elite, is also certainly no bottom-feeder. Hurrah, we said. Big Ben is back. And he was back in game six, too, until he was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Still, only an astonishing performance by an astonishing player kept the Steelers from winning. We were tempted to call it an almost-win.

But hope died yesterday when Big Ben's fourth-down pass to Santonio Holmes was tipped away in the end zone by some no-name Raider. Or maybe it died with the second Roethlisberger interception, or the third, or the touchdown scored on the fourth. Or maybe it died when Nate Washington vainly and weakly tossed the ball over his head as he was being tackled on the 4 as time expired. But it died, and it is dead, and it will not be resurrected until August 2007.

The Raiders managed 98 total yards of offense. 98! Andrew Walter completed a total of five passes. (As ESPN's Len Pasquarelli points out, Raiders players caught only one fewer pass thrown by Big Ben.) Since 1978, only one other team has won a game despite gaining fewer than 100 yards. That team? The Houston Texans. Their opponent? The Pittsburgh Steelers.

Rather than run down of what went wrong, let me look forward to that time when hope will rise again. Here are three positions that the Steelers must fill next year:

1. Right tackle. Max Starks would make a good Houston Texan. He's decent, and he's huge, but he got abused by Derek Burgess yesterday. It's unlikely that the Steelers will fill this position via the draft; a rookie RT would be no upgrade. And, unfortunately, the free agency pool is awfully shallow at the position. Paging Mr. Trai Essex?

2. Outside Linebacker: Certainly, this is no knock on Joey Porter and Clark Haggans, who had between them 7 tackles, 4 sacks, and an interception. But Porter is approaching free agency, and his productivity isn't consistent. Further, the depth chart at the position is filled primarily with undrafted free agents; it's time to draft the player tht Alonzo Jackson never became.

3. Power Running Back: Willie Parker is proving that he can carry the load, but the Steelers have yet to find a hammer to replace Bettis. Davenport is a great back-up, but he runs too tall to get much push at the goal line. Verron Haynes has provided no evidence that he's ready for the role, and Staley will be gone after this year. Many are predicting that the Steelers will draft Michael Bush, the massive-yet-fleet back from Louisville who, if not for a broken leg, would almost surely be in the Heisman conversation. It seems unlikely, though, because Bush wouldn't be the featured back in Pittsburgh. But it does seem likely that the Steelers will target a power back in the middle rounds of the draft.

OT in the NFL

This may sound like sour grapes, but I swear I believed this before Sunday:

The NFL overtime system is crap.

Here's the problem: when teams only have to play for a field goal, it changes the way the game works. The game is essentially won 0n the coin flip; the first team with the ball wins most overtime games. Because teams only need a field goal, they play differently, and defenses must play differently, too. Worst, though, is the anticlimax of a hard-fought game ending on a 32-yard field goal kicked on third down. It's an injustice to the sport.

The college system, in which teams take turns from the opponent's 25, is better but not good enough. Kick offs and kick returns are too important (as the Steelers loss shows).

Here's my suggestion: if the team that wins the coinflip scores a touchdown, the game is over. If, though, the first team kicks a field goal, the other team gets the ball and the opportunity to score a game-winning touchdown. So a team with the ball on the edge of the red zone has a choice to make: 3 points and play defense? Or go for the TD? Much more exciting.

I know the arguments in favor of the current system: "Don't the defense get paid, too?" said Shannon Sharpe after the Steelers' loss Sunday. And, certainly, a timely stop would have put Pittsburgh in a position to win. But the problem is that, in the current system, the overtime ends just as it's beginning. Overtime isn't treated by teams like an extra quarter of play; it's treated like a one-minute drill without the time-outs.

Think if baseball did the equivalent: if a team scores in the top of the 10th, the game is over. The home team is out of luck. Bad idea, isn't it?

Then why do the same thing in football?

Steelers 38, Atlanta 41 (OT)

So. If I told you that Steelers quarterbacks combined to throw for over 430 yards and five touchdowns, that Big Ben had a perfect passer rating, that Hines Ward caught 8 passes for 171 yards and 3 TDs, would you smile? If I told you that Mike Vick started off 1-6, would you say, "that's my defense"?If I told you that Pittsburgh didn't punt in the first half and that, at one point in the first half, the Steelers had outgained the Falcons 205-63, would you say, "they're back"?

But the Steeler team that's back isn't the one that rumbled through the playoffs last year; the team that's back is the team that lost a shootout last year to the Bengals, the team that shot its own foot off against the Bengals this year. This team flopped and fumbled its way to an improbable loss at Atlanta a team by all measures inferior to the one that gasped on the floor of the Georgia Dome as Morten Anderson kicked a game-winning field goal over their heads.

At one minute in, the game looked in hand. The Steelers D dominated the Falcons and forced a quick punt. But Santonio Holmes continued an auspicious trend by fumbling that punt (why are his hands so greasy? is he eating croissants on the sidelines?) back to Atlanta. The Falcons struck quickly to take a 7-0 lead.

Still, it was hard to doubt the Steelers as they marched unimpeded downfield to a field goal, followed by two touchdown drives. Polamalu intercepted Vick. Atlanta amassed measly offense. But another fumble (this one by another repeat offender, Willie Parker) led to another Vick TD pass, and the game was closer at halftime than it had any reason to be.

And then these things happened: Big Ben got knocked out (literally); the running game stopped; the defense stopped; and the Falcons gained confidence. Suddenly, a team that had no business competing with the Steelers looked like the Bill Walsh 49ers. And the Steelers defense looked like poopoo.

End result? On a day that once promised the leveling of the Steelers and the Bengals at 3-3, the Bengals pulled out a late victory against a superior opponent, while the Steelers gagged against an inferior one. It's getting harder and harder to be optimistic; five losses will still get you in the playoffs, but.....