Rashard Mendenhall's Return Keys Steelers 16-14 Victory

I said in a recent blog regarding the Battle for the Keystone State that if the Steelers ran for what the Eagles defense was giving up on average, 91 yards per game at 3.8 yards per carry (YPC), that I'd go back to bed thinking that I was dreaming.

Now that I'm awake again, did I miss anything significant? (Congrats, Drew Brees on number 48.)

The running game, boosted by the return of starter Rashard Mendenhall, ran the ball for a total of 136 yards on 31 carries, an average of 4.38 YPC.

Welcome back, Mendy! He ran the ball 14 times for 81 yards himself and said he felt good about his performance and the win. - http://tinyurl.com/8bfmsyx http://tinyurl.com/9ztk7fj

In the previously mentioned blog post, I'd said that the Steelers could exploit the middle of the Eagles Wide 9 line. I said "don't expect them to run it up the gut 30 times," but that "they must attack the middle."

According to ESPN's statistics Twitter feed, @ESPNStatsInfo, the "Steelers ran for 99 yards inside the tackles in Rashard Mendenhall's return."

You're welcome.

In the game, Mendy gained 101 total yards from scrimmage. More importantly, he made defenders miss and ran hard throughout the game. Mendy picked up a lot of yardage that wasn't initially there.

When it can down to it, however, Big Ben Roethlisberger overcame a 1st-and-20 start to drive the Steelers down field, setting up the game-winning field goal by Shaun Suisham with three seconds left. - http://tinyurl.com/9jcbgnr

It ended up being a tight game after a 10-0 halftime lead for the Steelers as they and the Philadelphia Eagles took all 60 minutes to figure out who'd get the chicken dinner.

With this win, the Steelers are now 100-60-1 all time against the NFC. They've also won 27 out of the last 33 vs NFC, including eight straight at Heinz Field. They are only 27-46-3 with this win, though, against the Eagles during the regular season, including 18-18-1 at home.

It almost didn't happen, however, because the Steelers seemingly went to sleep for a while in the second half. The defense allowed the Eagles to run 28 plays in the second half - 25 of them being for scoring drives. It continues a trend of letting teams back into games late.

The Eagles drove, despite what one may think of the officiating, right over the Steelers to take a 14-13 lead. The Steelers took over after that touchdown with 6:33 remaining and used every second to take a 16-14 lead and victory with Suisham putting a cap on the 14-play, 64-yard drive. - http://tinyurl.com/8uvz6ow http://tinyurl.com/8oxqnpb

The 4th quarter comeback led by Big Ben was the 21st of his career. He was 21-37 for 207 yards and no touchdowns, no interceptions and suffered no sacks. It was also the 27th game-winning drive orchestrated by the two-time Super Bowl winner. - http://www.steelers.com/video-and-audio/videos/Ben-Roethlisberger-Post-game---vs-Eagles/9d1a639e-07a8-46bf-a2e4-2c28d86c0319

It was only the 2nd game-winning drive in last 21 games, though, for the nine-year veteran. But a win is a win, and the Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin recognizes that they weren't as sharp as they could've been coming off of the bye. - http://tinyurl.com/8epalrc

Neither side of the ball was completely sharp on Sunday. The Steelers yet again hurt themselves with penalties. They saw so much yellow laundry that it looked like fans were throwing their Terrible Towels on the field.

They were flagged nine times in all, with Willie Colon Cancer hitting a grand slam as he saw four of them. Two more were personal fouls where their safeties were flagged for illegal hits.

Probably the biggest news of the game, though, was the injuries sustained by the defense. Troy Polamalu re-injured his calf and linebacker LaMarr Woodley tweaked his hamstring. Both left the game and did not return.

With the Steelers having a short week, it is doubtful that they will be on active status as the week progresses toward Thursday's game.

Despite those losses they still played a fairly good defensive game. Actually executing the game plan meant they weren't hurt by big plays. DeSean Jackson had one big catch of 24 yards and Brandon Boykins had one big punt return of 25 yards.

They also kept Michael Vick contained. They confused, pressured and hit him all day, resulting in two lost 2 fumbles. Part of which being aided by the return of James Harrison, who was supposed to split time with fellow linebacker Chris Carter.

That didn't happen as Deebo amazingly played almost every down.

The Steelers put the Silverback in positions that allowed him to be effective. He was used on X-stunts, in coverage, on blitzes...they moved him around to make people have to be accountable for him. He alone had three hits and the Steelers had three sacks all told to go along with the turnovers.

Lawrence Timmons, the Steelers Digest Player of the Week, was all over the field also. He had 10 tackles, three QB pressures, one QB hit and one forced fumble.

The defense had its questionable moments, but as a whole got back to Steelers football. LeSean McCoy was just a shadow of his normal self as he was held to only 53 yards on the day, averaging only 3.3 YPC.

Instead it was Mendy, not Shady, who led his team to victory on Sunday.

Fall Is Time For Steelers LaMarr Woodley to Rise

Ahh...Fall is here. Smell the autumn leaves burn, feel its heat as the lazy smoke from it rises up over the West Virginia mountain top...and see LaMarr Woodley finally start to show up in football games.

Woodley, for whatever reason, is a notoriously slow starter to this point in his career. We're seeing it again this season as he only has two sacks, one of which was a miscue where it could easily have been Larry Foote who got to Carson Palmer.

Granted, Woodley has been chipped and double-teamed with the absence of James Harrison on the other side. But he should be doing more to warrant the major money thrown his way by the Rooneys.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler also believes he can do/be more.

“Wood has to decide if he wants to be a great player,” Butler said, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review back in August. “When he decides that, he is going to be a bear.”

The numbers seem to prove that to be a fair assessment when you break it down. Look at how each year as a starter has gone.
2008:

First 4 games - 3.5 sacks

Last 12 games - 8 sacks

2009:

First 4 games- 0 sacks

Last 12 games- 13.5 sacks

2010:

First 4 games - 2 sacks

Last 12 games - 8 sacks

2011:

First 4 games - 1.5 sacks

Next 4 games before injury - 7.5 sacks

Not counting this year or his non-starting rookie season (4 sacks), Woodley has seven sacks in the season's first four games during his career as a starter (16 total). That is less than a half of a sack per game. In the final 12 games of the season in his career as a starter, which totals 41 because of games missed due to injury, he has 37 sacks. That is almost a full sack per game. In other words, his production doubles.

Why can't we see that all the time? And that doesn't even include his playoff numbers.

While I personally am a firm believer that the way you end a matter is better than how you start it, Woodley needs to find a way to put up greater numbers before the autumnal equinox.

Like Lance Williams of SteelCurtainRadio.com is fond of saying: "The young guys have to become the guys." With the exception of Lawrence Timmons, with no one is that more true than Woodley.

Especially now that James Harrison is obviously in the twilight of his career, and if this defense stays in a base 3-4 alignment, Woodley has to do more to be a disruptive force.

Harrison's return may help to get a head start, though, on that run that Woodley routinely makes. It isn't the fifth game, but it is the fifth week and the presence alone of the Silverback could bolster Woodley and the defense.

Linebacker Chris Carter, who has inadequately filled in via a dual threat with Jason Worilds, said of the Harrison effect: "When he steps on the field he's the man. We respect that around here. He runs the show when he's there"

As a matter of fact Deebo's return means that Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles will mark the first time since last year's opener that the Steelers will have their projected starting defense on the field at the same time. And the Silverback has guaranteed that he will be present.

Per ESPN's Josina Anderson, @JosinaAnderson on Twitter: "James Harrison in the locker room just now: 'Yeah, definitely, I'll be ready for Sunday.'"

That's good news considering the Steelers need this game and will also want to maintain a trend. They don't often lose to NFC teams, winning 26 out of the last 32 against NFC opponents, including their last seven games at Heinz Field. Another trend the Steelers want to maintain is winning after a bye week. They have only lost once after a bye with Mike Tomlin as head coach.

Having Deebo back on the field, even if it is no more than about 30 snaps, will help bring balance back to the front seven. Because without him the Steelers have started slowly also.

Woodley recognizes this: "The last two games we lost, we didn't make the [opposing offense] one-dimensional."

Well, it's time for him to do his part and rise up now that Fall is here.

~

TIDBITS: ESPN's "Tools For Victory": Wide Receivers - http://tinyurl.com/9mwm7x9

ESPN's Playbook: Eagles vs. Steelers - http://tinyurl.com/9mruchg

Antonio Brown "disses" Brandon Boykin. - http://tinyurl.com/986ecso

Brandon Boykin responds to Antonio Brown's 'candy bar' comment. - http://tinyurl.com/996c94k

David DeCastro (knee) on the mend...and getting his teammates snacks. - http://t.co/wGl5iQp4

Return Of Key Steelers Players Important But Unknown Element vs. Eagles

"The most elementary and valuable statement in science, the beginning of wisdom, is 'I do not know.'" - ScientificQuotes.com

The post from the Pittsburgh Steelers official Twitter site Thursday said that Rashard Mendenhall, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison all practiced fully. Add to that Stevenson Sylvester who will return to play this Sunday and, again, it's all hands on deck.

The fact that these players is back is one thing. They're potential effectiveness is quite another. Thus the quote above. While we love getting our stars back, we still don't know what we'll exactly get from them.

In a recent article we asked if James Harrison had maybe played his last down. Seeing that Harrison practiced two days in a row is very encouraging. His practicing Monday and coach Mike Tomlin saying that he worked out heavily last week is nothing short of surprising.

This is a situation where we love being wrong. Even so, as alluded to above, the question is how effective he'll be. How many snaps or series will he see? We're still talking about a man who didn't participate in any OTAs, minicamps or Training Camp. It will be interesting to see his snap count and how many series he'll see on the whole.

Polamalu shouldn't be as much of a concern as he saw all of those offseason camps and has seen game action. From all that has been reported, he seems good to go. Coach Dick LeBeau says, though, that neither of them may "play the whole game." - http://tinyurl.com/8pj7fo3

As for Mendenhall, running backs coach Kirby Wilson has already said that it isn't as if Mendy will get 55 snaps Sunday, but said that they would like him to get "a significant amount of work." - http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Mendenhall-believes-he-will-play-Sunday/ff96d32a-cfa8-40d2-9314-ed8c4b09fc0f

That makes since. Since it sounds like he's ready, he should get the work. His balance and vision will be welcome. As long as he just hits the hole, that is. And providing there are any.

With the offense in mind, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that an array of 11-personnel packages may be used to spread the Eagles defense out. The Steelers will want to get one-on-one coverage against the Eagles dangerous bump-and-run cornerback tandem of Nnamdi Asomogha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie with Pro Bowl wide receivers Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace.

Though Asomugha has not been quite the ballhawk so far that he was for years with the Oakland Raiders, rookie cornerback Brandon Boykin and veteran Brandon Hughes have helped make up for it. Hughes has been more than effective filling in for Asomugha when he has been sidelined, and Boykin has been impressive in the slot. Emmanuel Sanders could see a lot of him. Read Neal Coolong, and follow him (@NealCoolong) on Twitter, of Behind The Steel Curtain break that probability down beautifully. - http://tinyurl.com/8tega7h

So spreading them out to give the wide receivers room to hit their routes and hot reads will be important. The use of the tight end and the running backs out of the backfield will also be important as the Eagles will press the edges with the Wide 9 formation they use. A defensive front that almost dares you to run it up the middle. They shave the edges as good as anyone with Jason Babin and Trent Cole and look to apply constant pressure. They can be run on, though.

"They're pretty much trying to sack the quarterback, they're not really worried about the run," said Isaac Redman regarding the Eagles defense. "They're not built to stop the run."

Defensive end Cam Heyward spoke on their defensive formation also. "They rotate like nine guys on their D-line. We don't have as many guys, but I'd like to think our line gets the job done."

The Steelers run game has been insultingly bad this season, so don't expect them to run it up the gut 30 times against them. They must attack the middle enough, though, to slow down the Eagles excellent pass rush. They must get effective yards, not necessarily a lot of yards. Having Mendy back can aid in that, but we still expect a balance of carries between the backs.

To that end, Jonathan Dwyer, on the possible running back rotation, said: "We're going to do what works at the time. If (someone) has a hot hand, we'll keep going with the hot hand."

The Eagles defense has allowed 91.5 yards per game rushing and 3.81 yards per carry. Something to which the Steelers should look to attain. The way things have gone this season, though, if the Steelers offense would attain those numbers sunday, I'll go back to bed assuming that I was asleep and still dreaming anyway. But, I digress...

If Mendy does make it to the field Sunday, it should help the running game, but it will by no means be a panacea. Like Max Starks said regarding the run game, "It just takes a rhythm and a tempo. You look at certain games, you try and take advantage of other team's weaknesses."

Still, Jonathan Dwyer looks forward to the return of Mendenhall. "He's a great player. He's a Pro Bowl caliber running back and he got drafted in the first round for a reason. He just adds more athleticism and talent to the group. It makes us more talented, more special, and more dangerous."

Even so, the key is still Ben Roethlisberger. The nine-year pro is playing some of the best ball of his career early in the season. Big Ben is second in the NFL in passer rating, second in fewest interceptions, fourth in touchdown passes, fifth in yards per game, fifth in completion percentage and is tops on third down with a 146.8 passer rating. Per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, he's 28 of 37 for 374 yards and five touchdowns. Dwyer sums it up succinctly.

"Ben's on fire right now...so you can't take away the fire from the guy with the hot hand."

Steelers offensive line has to protect Big Ben against that Wide 9 attack. If they can hold their blocks just a hair's breadth longer, especially Marcus Gilbert, Big Ben can connect with his receivers. Even if the Eagles do get pressure, Big Ben is showing himself to be adroit at completing the short pass, the dump off, to his running backs and tight end Heath Miller, a top red-zone target. - http://t.co/wFiak9Mx

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley has been pleased with his production but knows there is still work to do. He said he doesn't "care whether we throw it 50 and run it 10," he just wants the production. - http://tinyurl.com/9n9zgyp

Stevenson Sylvester is a key special teams player and looks to make his season debut against the Eagles to help the special teams unit. His return will be a welcome sight.

Special teams hasn't exactly been stellar on defending kickoffs so far through three games. Steelers kick coverage has been pathetic allowing a 33.2 yard average, which is 31st in the league.

All-in-all, the return of such key players is a definite bonus for the Steelers this weekend. How much they'll be able to contribute is another consideration. If Harrison can look like Deebo, if Polamalu can look like The Tasmanian Devil and if Mendenhall can look like...Mendy, then we should see the Steelers come away with a close, needed victory.

Isaac Redman, Max Starks And Players To Watch

"I wasn't sure how my body would react, but I don't feel anything right now. Kind of feel like I never really injured it."

Those words were spoken by the Pittsburgh Steelers running back Isaac Redman after practice on Thursday as he prepared for the third preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Regarding the game itself, he said further, "I'm anxious to get out there. I want to get out there and play and give it my all."

Redman had to sit out the Steelers second preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts because of a hip injury. Since Redman's health status was unclear and Rashard Mendenhall, who was just removed from the Active PUP list, certainly won't be ready, until now we'd had Dwyer as the starter not only in Buffalo, but in Denver on September 9th also. Looks like that might not be the case after all.

Nonetheless, Redman has seen little action this preseason. He was in for 11 plays in the first preseason game against the Eagles and carried the ball just five times for 14 yards. He also caught a pass for five yards on the first play of the game.

So, Redman will play Saturday night in Buffalo, but what's unknown is how much. Tomlin has stated that the starters will play at least the first half, maybe more. Since Jason Ford, who has a hamstring strain, won't make the trip, the carries will be divided between Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, Baron Batch and Chris Rainey. 

Per Mike Tomlin on Thursday, the inactive list for Saturday will consist of Ford, James Harrison, Mendenhall and Stevenson Sylvester. Hampton is traveling with the team, but is unlikely to play. None of the others will even make the trip. As a matter of fact, Mendenhall says he has no timetable at all yet on his eventual return.

“To be real, I don’t know when I’ll be ready to play,” said the running back who injured his right ACL in the 2011 regular-season finale at Cleveland. “I’m just working with the training staff and doing what I can to get on the field.”

Unlike most recovering from ACL injuries, Mendy downplays the mental hurdles involved: "Theres a physical difference, and once that's gone, I'll be able to play."

Regardless, that timetable he doesn't know about? Don't expect him back before the bye.

Max Starks will also start against Buffalo. Whether he plays for a quarter or a half is unknown, since he nor the coaches wants to overdue it. Tomlin, expressively forthcoming as always simply said, "Our intentions are to let him play."

Tomlin also said it's unlikely that fourth-string quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who seemed a little more comfortable his second time out, will play against the Bills. Though, Tomlin didn't make a determination who the 2nd QB is yet, I would expect to see Byron Leftwich before Charlie Batch this time. 

~

PLAYERS TO WATCH in Saturday's preseason game against the Bills: 

DAVID GILREATH is consistently good in short area quickness and burst. He's still trying to earn a spot on this roster, but should be considered the frontrunner for the fifth wide receiver spot.

CHRIS CARTER is taking advantage of a golden opportunity and is "improving daily." With Harrison still ailing, look for him to stake a claim for the starting right outside linebacker position (with a solid performance over Cordy Glenn Saturday) against the Broncos to start the season.

JUSTIN PEELLE is a tight end who has played fullback and was brought in to replace the Steelers' David Johnson who was a tight end who had played fullback. Someone needs to be able backup WVU product Will Johnson and still play TE as well. 

MORTTY IVY, another WVU product, may just find a way onto the roster this year considering all the injuries to the position. If he has another solid game and can hold off Adrian Robinson, he just might do it this time. Though, both could make the initial 53-man roster with the aforementioned injuries being an issue. 

AL WOODS and CORBIN BRYANT are battling for the same position and one has to go. Woods had the big interception that he took about 50 yards into the red zone. It must've taken a lot out of him because Bryant received the majority of the snaps in the second game. Who'll step up Saturday?

New Steelers Offense Starts To Come Into Focus; Injuries Hit Early

Going into the Pittsburgh Steelers first preseason game of the 2012 NFL season, there were three main things for which I was looking forward to watching: DeCastro, Adams and the offensive line, Cortez Allen and the defensive backs, and the tight ends and fullback battles. 

The fifth and sixth wide receivers battle was of interest also, but knowing Big Ben Roethlisberger, and even to some degree Byron Leftwich, wouldn't be in long, watching that battle can wait.

Before going any further, though, I want to comment on what I've been reading on the social media websites. Some of the different reactions from fans are extremely unrealistic and, honestly, pathetic. It was ONE PRESEASON GAME. Not the fourth game of the regular season, not the 12, not a playoff game...ONE preseason game. Back away from the ledge, people. Like one person said, "teams NEVER show what they're going to do during the regular season [in] the preseason. They'll try [things] out here and there, but they will NEVER completely...give away what they intend to do during the regular season."

To place this in a bit of perspective, the Washington Redskins went 0-4 in the 1991 preseason, and looked fairly pedestrian in doing so, only to go on to win the Super Bowl that year (the Dallas Cowboys I do believe did the same in 1992). Conversely, the Detroit Lions went 4-0 in the 2008 preseason and went 0-16 when the games counted. Calm down, people. Calm down. 

That being said, we saw the aforementioned battles played out to some degree and one definitively settled...just not the way one would hope. 

For some reason I read a few somewhat negative reviews on rookie offensive guard David DeCastro's preseason debut. They're all wrong. Great start for DeCastro. Looks like he may have won a starting job Thursday night. Though, DDC did figure in on one of the seven sacks. 

On the other hand, rookie left tackle Mike Adams had a rough night. He allowed 2 1/2 sacks in around 10 plays before leaving with a knee injury, which he hurt recovering a fumble. More will come regarding that subject. 

In his defense, Adams wasn't the only tackle to have trouble with the Philadelphia Eagles pass rush, as Marcus Gilbert, Trai Essex and Kelvin Beachum all struggled on the edge.

We were able to get overall glimpses of what we should see come the regular season. I liked what I saw from Todd Haley's offense in the first game. Long, sustained drives with a good mix of runs, shorts throws and some deep passing routes. I'd mentioned in a previous blog that Haley's offense would require Big Ben to get the ball out of his hands quicker and to drop off to the running backs. The first play of the game was a screen to the running back. 

Speaking of running backs, I am declaring my man-crush on Chris Rainey. Speed kills. 

Overall, it was a success for Haley's new offense. It may have been "vanilla" because of being the first preseason game, but he looked to accomplished what he set out to do. The players agreed. 

As brought to us by Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Antonio Brown said, "We came out, executed, got our looks, executed our new offense, got an opportunity to get a look at a defense opposite of ours."

Big Ben was more concise about it: "We just wanted to come out and be physical and see how we could match up."

On defense, the players who stood out to me overall were the linebackers. Namely Adrian Robinson, who provided very good pressure once he entered the game late, Brandon Johnson, who was responsible for the pressure that led to Al Woods' interception, Sean Spence and Stevenson Sylvester. All had good games.

Starting nose tackle Steve McLendon, though, was the Steelers Digest player of the game and for good reason. He was virtually unblockable Thursday. The third play of the game saw McLendon snag Michael Vick and put him on the ground. He played one-gap and two-gap, had three tackles and the sack just mentioned. Unblockable. 

Also having a good game was the man I was looking for to separate himself, cornerback Cortez Allen. He was the one cornerback to now expect to be the leader in the clubhouse. When Curtis Brown was in, the drop off could be seen. He gave up a big play in the second half and looks as if he's better suited for the slot/nickel position.

That brings us to the final players and position I focused on during the game Thursday: the tight ends and fullbacks.

David Johnson had been the coaches' darling and the star of Friday Night Lights. Tomlin had said that DJ would play both tight end and fullback, which was basically the H-back position he played last year. That's not going to happen anymore as DJ suffered an ACL tear and is done for the season. 

Will Johnson, the West Virginia product, is now your fullback, the only one on the roster. The Steelers will probably sign another one now because of that fact. As far as tight end, after Heath Miller and Leonard Pope, you have Wes Saunders. Very possible that those are your three tight ends. Period. And since Pope can't block, Saunders may be the number two.

This new offense that Haley has installed could very well bring career numbers for Heath Miller in catches, yards and or touchdowns. Especially in the red zone. Under Bruce Arians, Heath Miller was targeted just seven times inside the red zone in 2011 and had only three catches for 27 yards with two touchdowns. In 2010, Miller was targeted only eight times inside the red zone resulting in four catches for 29 yards and two touchdowns. Look for those numbers to increase.

Last point I want to touch on is the other injury. Mark Kaboly reported Friday that running back Jonathan Dwyer suffered a injury to the left AC (acromioclavicular) joint Thursday night. 

The left shoulder sprain is not considered serious, according to head coach Mike Tomlin, Kaboly reported that Dwyer will undergo treatment and won't be out very long.