Bad signs everywhere for 1-2 Steelers as team heads into bye week

[ricardisimo]

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.
Signs the Steelers’ troubles can’t be fixed merely by the return of Rashard Mendenhall, James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, whenever that occurs.
Signs that this 2012 season has already taken a sharp and perhaps irreversible turn for the worse. Signs that the problems — and they are many — might not be fixable this season.
Bad signs, too, especially for a team that, after coming out of its bye week by facing Philadelphia at Heinz Field on Oct. 7, plays three of its next four on the road. The Steelers (1-2) have lost four of their past five away from home.
One half isn’t enough
The defense, statistically the NFL’s best last season, can’t get off the field in the second half. The Broncos and Raiders had eight meaningful second-half drives between them. The result? Eight scores. The Steelers have been outscored 44-37 in the second half despite a 14-0 edge over the Jets on Sept. 16.
“We’ve got to close out,” Mike Wallace said. “If we want to be a playoff, Super Bowl-caliber team, we’ve got to be able to close out games.”
One dimensional won’t work
Ben Roethlisberger is off to the best start of his nine-season career, playing at a level only the megastars do; he is 82 of 120 for 904 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception and a rating of 109.2 that was 120-plus the past two games. Three receivers already have 15 catches or more.
But the running game (195 yards in three games) is abysmal. And when was the last time a Steelers coach tried three different running backs in the same game in an effort to generate yardage, as Mike Tomlin did Sunday by using Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer and Baron Batch?
Mendenhall appears to be close to returning. For this running game, it can’t occur soon enough.
“The more we run the ball, the better we’ll get,” an optimistic Willie Colon said.
Whose plays are these?
Roethlisberger made the surprising comment that he called some pre-Todd Haley plays while running the no-huddle during the 34-31 loss in Oakland on Sunday. Was it the levity a player of Roethlisberger’s skills is permitted? Or a yearning for the Bruce Arians days?
“There were plays out there that I called that weren’t in our playbook,” he said. “I know it sounds crazy; things we’ve had from years past that guys were on the same page with and it worked.”
Maybe it’s not the schemes
Several Raiders players said the Steelers’ blitzes and pass coverages were predictable at times. But maybe it’s not the schemes, maybe it’s the players carrying them out. The Steelers have only five sacks, and the pressure has been nonexistent at times.
Lawrence Timmons isn’t making the impact predicted of him. LaMarr Woodley is seeing more double teams than Randy Moss in his prime. The defensive linemen aren’t getting penetration, as evidenced by their zero tackles for losses.
Old, slow and done
Warren Sapp’s prediction a year ago that the Steelers were past their prime didn’t hold up in 2011. But the defense is built around players who started for them five years ago. In the NFL, that’s an eternity. And as the long-time starters leave (James Farrior, Aaron Smith), the replacements to date haven’t played up to their level.
Bad karma
The Steelers’ worst two seasons since 2003, 2006 (8-8) and 2009 (9-7), were punctuated by losses to bad Raiders teams. The Raiders and Broncos have won only two of their past six games since late last season; three of those four wins were against Pittsburgh.
Third and long (drives)
Opponents have converted on 16 of 33 third downs. That kind of consistency keeps drives going, and keeps the defense on the field too long.
There’s still time to get it done; 13 games can be an eternity. But what the Steelers haven’t shown is that the players are here to get it done, except in the passing game. And that might be the most troubling sign of all.

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[jjpro11]

Hopefully Harrison still has enough left in the tank to make an impact and free up Woodley and our other pass rushers a bit. If not, we are screwed. Last year's dreadful turnover production probably wasn't an aberration, rather more of a foreshadowing.

[Steelerindc]

I kinda agree with the notion that the defense is predictable, especially to a QB like Palmer who has seen this same defense his whole career.

The second half tells me the Raiders made adjustments to what the Steelers were doing especially with the help of Carson's previous experience.

The problem is the Steelers/Labeau never adjust and stick to the line that if it's not broke don't fix it......well it's broke gentlemen and it needs some fixing.

Now watch we get lit up by Vick and the eagles while other teams have been making them look at best average and not very good.

[steelfury02]

many offenses over the past few seasons have said the defense is predictable and that they were doing the same thing over and over again - of course that is easy to say after a win, but:

this is why I've posted about this defense taking more risks, and getting at least more rotation time for the young guys - I think it is a real possibility that if we show teams different personnel variations on a consistent basis, that might be able to create some more confusion. At this point, I think they should be in the mode of trying to find a spark in someone or some other idea

I say let's see some fresh ideas out there. Other than losing more games, it can't get worse. I'm not in the mindset of Troy and Harrison being the fix all, especially on the road

[Steelerindc]

Originally Posted by steelfury02

many offenses over the past few seasons have said the defense is predictable and that they were doing the same thing over and over again - of course that is easy to say after a win, but:

this is why I've posted about this defense taking more risks, and getting at least more rotation time for the young guys - I think it is a real possibility that if we show teams different personnel variations on a consistent basis, that might be able to create some more confusion. At this point, I think they should be in the mode of trying to find a spark in someone or some other idea

I say let's see some fresh ideas out there. Other than losing more games, it can't get worse. I'm not in the mindset of Troy and Harrison being the fix all, especially on the road

Agreed! I believe by saying Troy and James is not there is just like saying our defense is no good without star players. You should be able to scheme a good defense no matter whose out there.

The defense doesn't need an overhaul just tweaked a bit.

[Steelerfreak58]

The 2 games we lost this year both teams adjusted at half time well and we did not (defensively). If it continues it will be a blueprint on how to beat this team.

[Stairway to 7]

Originally Posted by steelfury02

many offenses over the past few seasons have said the defense is predictable and that they were doing the same thing over and over again - of course that is easy to say after a win, but:

this is why I've posted about this defense taking more risks, and getting at least more rotation time for the young guys - I think it is a real possibility that if we show teams different personnel variations on a consistent basis, that might be able to create some more confusion. At this point, I think they should be in the mode of trying to find a spark in someone or some other idea

I say let's see some fresh ideas out there. Other than losing more games, it can't get worse. I'm not in the mindset of Troy and Harrison being the fix all, especially on the road

They're not a the 'fix' any more, does any seriously believe Harrison is going to be really effective? I don't. Troy can still change a game, but this isn't 2008 Troy and it's not the 2008 defense.


We're looking at 8-8 the way things are going. This 5 weeks stretch of games are brutal when we get back.

[plenewken]

Originally Posted by Stairway to 7

They're not a the 'fix' any more, does any seriously believe Harrison is going to be really effective? I don't. Troy can still change a game, but this isn't 2008 Troy and it's not the 2008 defense.

We're looking at 8-8 the way things are going. This 5 weeks stretch of games are brutal when we get back.

I'm afraid you're right.

[Fire Arians]

we just can't win on the road, plain and simple. ever since tomlin took over we haven't been able to. unless something changes with that, we need to count on being the #1 or #2 seed to have a shot at a super bowl

[Hawaii 5-0]

Post-Oakland thoughts

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012
posted by Dale Lolley

This game reminded me of on in Chicago in 1995 when the Steelers got into a shootout with the Bears. The last team to have the ball was going to win it.

Only that Steelers team had a great defense to go along with an emerging offense.

This team has established stars all over on offense and Ben Roethlisberger is playing the best football of his life.

As for a great defense, not so much - at least on the road.

As Brett Keisel said after this one, this team needs to find a way to win on the road if it is going to get to where it wants to go.

That being said, Denver and Oakland are two tough places to open. There are easier road games coming, and the Steelers had to be pleased that they put up 31 points in a very hostile environment.

But the defense allowed scores on five consecutive possessions. Can't somebody, anybody, make a play?

While the Steelers have spent some big money on offensive players in recent years, they've also dropped some heavy coin on a couple of defensive players - LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons - as well.

They're not getting their money's worth right now.

Sure, Woodley had the team's lone sack Sunday and also had a tackle for a loss. But he finished with four tackles.

That was still better than Timmons, who had three tackles. In fact, after recording seven sacks and four forced fumbles in 2009, Timmons has five sacks and two forced fumbles - in the past two-plus seasons.

At this point, he's not even as impactful on a game as Larry Foote, who doesn't have nearly the athleticism of Timmons.

Often times, tackles are a matter of opportunity. But there's something to be said about players who make their own opportunities as well.

@ If you had any question about Mike Tomlin's faith in his defense to stop the Raiders in the second half, you only needed to see him go for a fourth-and-1 at his own 29.

At that point, it was the right call. As we saw, the Steelers couldn't stop Oakland's offense.

With that in mind, I'd have given serious thought to going for it on fourth-and-9 from the 36 as well.

@ Ben Roethlisberger played an outstanding game, leading the team to 31 points while continuing his hot play on third downs, where the Steelers converted 8 of 14 for the game.

But he once again had a chance to lead a fourth quarter, game-winning drive and failed.

In the past two seasons, Roethlisberger has led exactly one game-winner, and that came against lowly Indianapolis last season.

In his first seven seasons, Roethlisberger led 26 such drives, many of which came when he was, you know, just a game manager.

@ This is still a pretty good team with a chance to get much better coming out of the bye when it gets Rashard Mendenhall, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison back.

Mendenhall has looked good in practice and has to be able to give the team something better than the 2.6 yards per carry it's currently averaging.

Polamalu is still Polamalu, while even a one-legged Harrison would give this team some kind of pass rush outside of Woodley.

The Steelers are on pace to allow more touchdown passes (32) than they have sacks (27).

You want to know what's wrong with this defense? That's it in a nutshell. The lack of pressure is killing it.

@ That was a bad fumble for Jonathan Dwyer. With Mendenhall coming back and Barron Batch showing a little something as a third-down back Sunday, Dwyer could find his opportunities dwindling quickly.

@ On the positive side, with the return of Mendenhall, this offense has a chance to be one of the more dynamic ones in the NFL. If the defense can play average football the rest of the way and the offense continues to click, the Steelers still have the look of a 10 or 11-win team.

But unless they figure out how to win a big game on the road, any hopes of another Super Bowl run are just that, hopes.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/sidelines/