Humbled offense sticks together

[83-Steelers-43]

Humbled offense sticks together

By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 20, 2006


The Steelers' offense never came together Monday night at Alltel Stadium.
One encouraging sign is it didn't come apart after a humbling, 9-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Steelers couldn't run -- or throw for that matter -- in becoming the first reigning Super Bowl champion to be shut out since 1981. But of the problems the Steelers have to address before Cincinnati pays a visit to Heinz Field for an AFC North game Sunday, bickering among its top offensive players is not among them.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made sure that wouldn't be an issue when he shouldered the blame for the loss that dropped his regular-season record to 22-4 as a starter.

Roethlisberger praised his wide receivers and his offensive line. The third-year pro wasn't nearly so generous when assessing his own play in the game that dropped the Steelers to 1-1.

"When you play as bad as I did, that's why you get shut out," said Roethlisberger, who completed 17 of 32 passes for 141 yards and was intercepted twice.

He did play the game with a fever, just two weeks after he had an emergency appendectomy.

Roethlisberger didn't reach for either of those crutches, as he dissected the loss that represented the first time the Steelers hadn't scored in a game since 2003.

Indeed, the only reference Roethlisberger made to what has been a nightmarish past couple of months for him came when he jokingly referred to the "black cloud that's over my head nowadays."

"A lot of mistakes were made on my part," Roethlisberger said. "I couldn't get the offense going."

Only once in 11 possessions did the Steelers' offense cross midfield. Their vertical passing game was virtually non-existent, as 10 of Roethlisberger's 17 completions went to running backs and tight ends.

"I didn't get on the same page with our receivers," Roethlisberger said, "and (I) made some plays that I probably shouldn't have done. It's something I think I'll be able to correct."

Starting running back Willie Parker managed just 20 yards rushing, and the Steelers' 26 yards on the ground represented the lowest total in the Bill Cowher era.

"I'm going to evaluate myself," said Parker, who carried the ball only 11 times, partly because Jacksonville dominated the time of possession. "Forget pointing fingers."

The complexion of the game may have been different had the Steelers converted on a couple of early third downs.

Roethlisberger connected with Cedric Wilson on a pass play at around Jacksonville's 40-yard line early in the first quarter, but the ball squirted loose as Wilson hit the turf. Officials ruled it an incompletion, and the Steelers had to punt.

The Steelers again failed to convert on third down on their next possession, as the normally reliable Hines Ward dropped a catchable pass.

Those two plays foreshadowed the kind of night it would be for the Steelers' offense.

"For me, personally, it wasn't my best game, and I left a lot of plays on the field," Ward said. "I just have to look at it, learn from it and get better."

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_471304.html

[augustashark]

Says alot about leadership when your star QB comes out and takes all the blame on his shoulders. I love to see this, very easy for Ben to fall back on the Motorcycle wreck or even the surgery, but NO he stands up and takes it like a true STEELER! He knows, as should all of us, that this was a poor game and he will learn from it and get better because of it.

As a fan base we should no longer talk about Mondays game, but look forward to this Sunday. Live and learn my friends, thats what Ben will do!

[klick81]

Glad to see him take the resonsibility that comes with his leadership position. As far as his comment regarding the "black cloud" over his head, I hope he does not go through a depression due to his bad luck in the past few months. I know when times get hard, many of us get down on ourselves. Also, winning the Superbowl on only his second season playing may be hard for some people to handle...as ridiculous as that may sound.

[stillers4me]

I just love these guys.......

I'll take a loss with their attitude over the crybaby Mannings and Seahwks anyday. Reading this just makes me proud to be a Steelers fan for yet another reason. We can't win them all.....even though we'd like, too. This is the attitude of champions.

[MyCuz64Furness]

Thats why the Pittsburgh Steelers are who they are today.......Class Act Team

I must say I have calmed down much after the loss and have seen the negative and the positive sides of the game.......Here's to a win Sunday

[Infamix]

The whole orginization has class

[HometownGal]

I had no doubt whatsoever that this offense would join together, look inside themselves and at their performances Monday night, not only as a team, but as individuals, and share the loss equally instead of pointing fingers at each other. Our Steelers are a collection of class professionals who believe in not only themselves but each other. Each and every one of them will bust their behinds in practice this week to prep for the Bungles game and go out there on that field on Sunday, wearing that black and gold proudly and step it up - take that to the bank.

[Atlanta Dan]

What is needed is an early score on Sunday to get the confidence back.

Given the passing problems, I assume Cincy will load up to stop the run and dare Ben to throw. I assume Ben and Whiz are willing to accept that challenge.

[floodcitygirl]

Great attitude! What a team!!!!!

[ROETTI]

At least we've got the players and coaching to bounce back quick. Let's not forget we had that little losing streak last year as well only to pull together one of the greatest runs ever!