Steelers Loss Leaves Us with More Questions than Answers
Baltimore 27 - Pittsburgh 21
“The future’s uncertain and the end is always near…”
-The Doors
The Steelers back into the playoffs with another sloppy performance against the lowly Ravens.
Quick Thoughts
The Steelers did absolutely nothing to alleviate any concerns we have about:
- the running game without Parker
- the defense’s tackling ability (or rather the lack thereof)
- the defense’s ability to get to the quarterback
- the special teams
Now, granted, this game meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. But I for one am very concerned about the play of this team overall. The entire team - especially the defense - seems to be petering out. It’s as if the season is just too long and they all just got real tired and now they’re just going through the motions.
Did anyone else recognize the fact that Baltimore’s third and fourth string running backs gained over 170 yards rushing against Pittsburgh’s first string defense? A unit that used to be the best defense in football just a month ago? They’re not tackling well, they’re not covering receivers well, they’re doing very little well at all! Hence the 36 minute to 23 minute time of possession.
In fact, Mike Tomlin seems so aggravated at the defense that in the postgame press conference he stated that if the defense cannot play it’s gap assignments properly that he would have them just play a base defense. That’s very disconcerting because that would pretty much make the once fearsome Blitzburgh defense - an attacking, physical unit that forced its will upon the opposition - into a reactionary, vanilla defense that allows offenses to impose its will on them.
We never got much of a chance to see how the new running attack will fare in the playoffs because they rarely had the ball. And when they did, it was usually 3 and out or all passing. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how they do against Jacksonville, huh?
On the positive side (which isn’t very big in my opinion), the Steelers did try to make a game of it late. The onside kick was a big surprise to me. I’ve tried not to compare Tomlin to Cowher much at all this season because they’re different coaches, but given the same situation with Cowher at the helm, there’s no way the Steelers even try an onside kick. The game would’ve finished a rout and the Steelers would be heading into next week’s game on a real downer. At least Tomlin helped give them a bit of hope. Props to you, Mike!
I’m really trying not to overreact to this loss, but if the Steelers play anything like they’ve played in the past month (particularly on defense), they’re not going to win next week. I can only hope that the rest to our key players and the fact that the Jags are already 1 point favorites at Heinz Field will be motivation enough for the Steelers.
Hidden Play of the Game
“Hidden Plays” are the ones you rarely see in the highlights, but they are key performances that help determine the outcome of a game.
Pittsburgh is still behind 27-7 early in the fourth quarter. The Ravens face a 3rd and 8 from their own 31 yard line. A stop here could give the Steelers decent field position. Troy Smith throws one of his six passes to Derek Mason for 13 yards and a first down. The Ravens, just like the Rams the week before, picked on Ike Taylor all the live-long day and it worked beautifully.
Had the Steelers been able to stop the Ravens on that play, it would have given them almost four more minutes on the clock at the end of the game to mount their comeback.
Missed Opportunities
“Missed Opportunities” are the crucial points in a game that teams fail to take advantage of. The consequences can sometimes be disastrous.
Pittsburgh is behind 7-0 on their first drive of the game. Facing 4th and 1 from the Ravens 32 yard line, Mike Tomlin elects to go for it insetad of kicking a field goal. A gutsy call that showed the Steelers, indeed, have come to play. But instead of running it or calling a QB sneak, Bruce Arians has Charlie Batch throw the ball. Result: Incomplete pass - Ravens ball.
I actually didn’t mind the call to go for it, but I wish there was enough faith in this weak offensive line to run the ball instead of passing it. A first down may not have resulted in a TD, but it would have definitely given the Steelers a spark after fumbling away the beginning of the game. And, had they just kicked a field goal, Batch would have had a minute and a half at the end of the game to try and get the Steelers in range for a tying field goal instead of trying to go 98 yards for a TD.
Quote of the Game
“The loss was similar to a lot of our losses in that we have some self-inflected wounds early.”
-Mike Tomlin
No kidding, Sherlock!
So what’s your analysis of the game? Come and tell the Swami what you think!
December 30th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
huhhhh!
December 30th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
I totally agree with everything you said and if we dont get it together and start fast, we are done! What the hell is wrong with our defense other than Aaron Smith being out. Can one man make that much of a difference? It just seems that the only people playing on D are Casey Hampton and Harrison. I am hopeful but not very optomistic about our chances. However I do love my Steelers, go Steelers beat the Jags!
December 31st, 2007 at 6:53 am
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December 31st, 2007 at 8:10 am
I would like to assume that Pittsburgh has been holding back it’s defensive scheme the past couple of weeks to bring out the blitzburgh party in the playoffs. They pretty much had the playoffs wrapped up 4 weeks ago. So let’s just hope and pray that Tomlin and Lebeau were just holding out on us.
December 31st, 2007 at 8:58 am
It was painful to watch that game. However, I think that the Steelers realized that they would be the fourth seed all along and put it on cruise-control yestrday. At least, I hopeso.
December 31st, 2007 at 9:00 am
Face it, they’re not that good.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:07 pm
The quote from Tomlin about playing a base defense really says it all.
This was something I was wondering about since the Jags game. When you are consistently getting beat in your elaborate schematic approach then there is a serious problem. Seeing our defense like this is as terrorfying as Amityville. Being gutted for hundreds of yards on the ground in the past 3 weeks sends chills down my spine for the playoffs.
The reality is, I think Tomlin is right. If you cannot execute your assignments on the DL and at LB in a 3-4, particularly, in run control, you are in serious trouble. The fact that we have players getting blown off the ball, players out of position, missing tackles, AND NO SACKS, only leads me to believe that a Base Defense is the best course. Why not? If we cannot do what, traditionally, our 3-4 has always been able to do, then why continue to expose ourselves?
It really is about adaptation and evolution(See New England for the football translation over the past 6 years)
The discussion of going from a 3-4 to a 4-3 is a very long one. The fact is, whatever your scheme, you need the athletes to execute it. If they can’t execute what they are trying to do right now, which they haven’t over the past month, then what is the point?
A Base 4-3, or 3-4 with a Cover 2, or Cover 3 might actually be beneficial. How? Well, for starters, the assignments are basic, and there are less holes in the secondary.
I’m rambling……I know….but…
I will say, didn’t anyone notice the outstanding play of Casey Hampton? If it wasn’t for him the Ravens would have rushed for 250 yards.
At this point, I am not naive to think we have a realistic shot at a Super Bowl. Too inconsistent, and not playing at a high level going in. I would merely be happy to get to New England on January 12th and put up a good fight.
In closing, and this is kind of redundant, but we now see first hand how important and vital a consistent and accomplished offensive line is. And we now see how important it is to our defense to stop the run. Two things many of us fans have taken for granted over the past few years.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Ben Roethlisberger has proven himself as a QB, Willie Parker has proven himself as a RB, and the Steelers have Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, & Heath Miller, now if they could land Cameron as the OC the Steelers offense would be a handful. Look at the stats that LT & Ronnie Brown put up under Cameron, Willie Parker has that ability to be special. I know that Parker was the NFL’s leading rusher before he got hurt, but he also had the most carries. Willie also didn’t have the long runs this season that he had in the past. And the Steelers have seemed unable to run the ball when they need to which unlike the Steelers. The Steelers offense also struggles in the redzone. These are all problems that Bruce Arians’ led offenses also had in Cleveland when he was the OC there. Cameron seems to get the most out of his RBs and knows how to use them. In SD he had Rivers, LT, & Gates….in Pittsburgh he’d have Big Ben, Fast Willie, & Heath Miller….along with Hines Ward & Santonio Holmes. Before Cameron got to Miami, they couldn’t run, they said the O-line was horrible, but with basically the same players Cameron had Ronnie Brown running all over people with basically no QB. I know Arians’ may still be under contract next year, but teams are always looking for better players, they should also be looking for better coaches. Cameron is an upgrade over Arians as an OC, so please Steelers, get Cameron as your OC.
January 5th, 2008 at 10:55 am
The guys were just saving their energy last week, so they’d be ready for the Jags today. May the Towel be with them.