Bell Suspended, DeCastro Extended, Steelers Scheduled Presented and CBs Visited

Thursday proved to be a busy day for the Pittsburgh Steelers. There was good news, there was bad news and there was Hall of Fame news. Well, sort of...

Early this morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell has been suspended by the NFL for the first three games of the season: "@AdamSchefter: Pitt RB LeVeon Bell suspended 3 games, fined additional game check for violating substance abuse policy, per league sources. He is appealing."

As NFL.com reporter Gregg Rosenthal posted regarding the August 20, 2014 incident, "Detective Brian Kohlhepp of the Ross Township, Pennsylvania Police Department confirmed to NFL Media that running backs Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount were pulled over Wednesday around 1:30 p.m. ET. They, along with an unidentified female passenger in the backseat, were taken into custody and admitted to marijuana possession." The arresting officer had found a "20 gram bag of marijuana inside the car."

Regarding the appeal, Steelers beat writer for ESPN Scott Brown doesn't believe the suspension stays at three games saying, "...there is no way the three-game suspension sticks. The collective bargaining agreement -- not to mention common sense -- won't allow it." - http://tinyurl.com/jww9jwv

Regardless, as it is that the Chong to Bell's Cheech, erstwhile teammate and current New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount, was also suspended (one game) for his part in the incident, the NFL will likely no longer pair the two teams on its opening weekend Thursday Night Football kickoff as both teams will be without two of their stars.

Next came word Thursday that Steelers exercised the extension on right guard David DeCastro. Picking up DDC's option means he'll make the average of the salaries for the "3rd-25th highest paid" OG's in NFL, per Pro Football Talk. Being that the option is for injury only, and that he is set to receive a salary of $8,070,000 in 2016, a longterm deal is likely imminent.

Signing him to a new deal would seem especially prudent considering that DDC truly established himself this past season and should've been a Pro Bowl participant. The last thing the Steelers want is for the player many are calling 'the next Alan Faneca" to become...the next Alan Faneca.

"Steelers Live" announced the team's preseason schedule at 4 pm EST and probably drew a greater audience than whatever baseball game was on at the time. The only date known at present "obviously" is the Hall of Fame game on August 9, 2015. - http://stele.rs/2run1 

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TIDBITS:
Ohio State cornerback Doran Grant had already visited the Steelers, then Thursday saw more CBs making trips to the Southside. As first reported by Steelers Digest's Bob Labriola, Stanford's Alex Carter, Washington's troubled-yet-mega-talented CB Marcus Peters and Virginia linebacker Max Valles made visits.

Though we believe Carter is a potential Steelers 2nd-round selection, the focus was definitely on Peters. Even though he was kicked off of his college team, Peters is considered by many as the best CB in the NFL Draft and that he would be a good fit with the Steelers. Interestingly, in addition to Thursday's visit, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin met with Peters at the NFL Combine. Further still, defensive backs coach Carnell Lake and former Steelers tight end and current scout Mark Bruener were at Washington's Pro Day.

If It Ain't Steel's preference may be Wake Forest CB Kevin Johnson in the first round, but we wouldn't be in any way hurt over Peters' being selected instead. Just sayin'...

With Free Agency Looming, The Worilds His Oyster

Pittsburgh Steelers free agent outside linebacker Jason Worilds would like to stay in the the Steel City. The Steelers would like Worilds to stay. Done deal, right?

"If the circumstances are right, for sure," Worilds told ESPN approximately a month ago. "They haven't been right for me in the past."

Ok, well what circumstances?

"I wouldn't want to fall back into (not starting) again. I've just been patient and (am waiting to) see how the Steelers view me," Worilds further said.

In that case, let's just lay this one out there: assure Worilds his starting spot and re-sign him. This needs to be GM Kevin Colbert's main priority

Worilds says he is open to re-signing with the team before the start of free agency on March 11th, as long as he is a starter. This is by no means an outlandish request, either.

He is after all a former second-round draft pick who is entering his fifth season. He sat behind James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley his first three years, and also endured some (hamstring and wrist) injuries that kept him out of starting opportunities as well (opportunities inauspiciously filled by Lawrence Timmons and Chris Carter). So his wanting a sense of security is completely expected.

Once Worilds had enough playing time to finally prove himself and gain invaluable experience, he made the left outside linebacker spot his own.

So much so that when Woodley came back from yet another injury, he was moved to the right side. Then when Jarvis Jones was subbed into the game, Woodley came off the field instead of Worilds.

Worilds' second-half performance this past season was no fluke, either. Some players just need a little extra time to have it all click. Something along the lines of Keenan Lewis the year before. Success builds confidence. He had put up similar numbers in even less time on the field, and is now increasing his repoitore of moves. 

Worilds finished the season with eight sacks - seven of which coming in his final eight games of the year. He also had 16 of his 21 quarterback hurries, and 20 of his league-leading 21 quarterback hits in that same span. He also recorded 63 tackles and two forced fumbles in his 15 games and 11 starts. Very good numbers for a 3-4 outside linebacker.

The future is now, and his is a brighter one than Woodley's at this point. Worilds is just 25 years old and should only get better.

The problem is that other know all of this as well

Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net wrote Monday morning that "at least a dozen teams" are interested in Worilds. He says that signing Worilds is a near impossibility because of the problems with Woodley's contract.

"LaMarr Woodley’s contract (is) likely to make re-signing Jason Worilds very difficult if not impossible. I’m told at least at least a dozen teams here at the combine have expressed great interest in Worilds if he hits free agency." - http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=9449

Woodley, who will be 30 in early November, suffers from chronic, repetitive soft tissue injuries. Injuries that, in the name of business and for the sake of the team, all but require him to be cut. Unless he takes a pay cut (not likely), he is likely to be cut.

Doing so after June 1st would be a savings of $8 million over the next two years each. But, per Ed Bouchette, cutting him now would be "a significant cap savings -- a total of $25.5 million (his salaries) in both real money and cap savings over three seasons with none of it counting after this one. - http://t.co/Gl54s0WLLJ

But, once again, what has to be remembered is that Worilds wants to stay. So, if someone does make him a bigger offer, would he want to uproot and re-learn?

Possibly not per Steelers Digest's Bob Labriola. He responded to a similar question a couple of weeks ago on his Twitter (@BobLabriola) account by saying, "Not so sure Worilds even wants to leave. A competitive offer can get it done. It doesn't have to be the most $$$."

Now that the NFL Salary Cap has been projected even higher at $132 million, with the definitive word coming as of the owner's meetings in March, the Steelers now have more room to make something happen.

Plus, the Steelers have approximately $1.35 million left over from 2013 that they can use. So the Steelers' adjusted Cap at this point, assuming these projections are accurate, is $133.35 million. That puts them almost even as far as the Rule of 51 is concerned, being only about $2 million over at that point minus dead monies.

Though Colbert has stated that the Steelers won't be using them, the Franchise Tag, which would be around $10M, might be to their advantage as it would give them time to get a long-term deal done and then remove the tag. This would be done ONLY as a last resort, though. They've done it before, both with the Transition and Franchise Tags, and could do it again here.

If not, if he's allowed to test the free agent waters, one of those 12 teams who've expressed interest in him will definitely overpay (as someone always does) an amount the Steelers match, and then the Worilds would be Jason's oyster.

Art Rooney II: Steelers Will Appeal Further Punishment, Praises Tomlin; Khan Gone?

Wednesday morning, Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II addressed the media regarding several matters associated with his team. Included among were support for head coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and various other points.

Art II said that he would expect NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the league to notify the team of any additional discipline - the losing of a draft pick - before the Spring owners' meetings, and that they would appeal it.

“(We've) notified the NFL that we would appeal if there is additional discipline," said Rooney II via Steelers Digest's Bob Labriola. "(We'd) disagree strongly if that were to happen.”

As Rooney II stated further, Tomlin has paid the piper. He took full responsibility for his actions and insisted that they were not intentional. He referred to them as "embarrassing" and "inexcusable" in the subsequent Tuesday press conference.

Tomlin paid the price dearly in fact, as he was fined $100,000 by the league for stepping onto the white area of the sidelines and nearly onto the field during the long kickoff return by Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones.

Never mind that similar incidents of coaches actually stepping directly onto the playing field had occurred previously and since, meeting little to no punishment. Now Emperor Goodell wants to take away team draft picks also?

“Mike has paid the price and as far we’re concerned," Rooney II further said. "It should be behind us.”

Yes, it should.

More from Rooney II: Preparing for next year, as he put it in his interview, starts from the top down. That means an evaluation of the head coach. Have no fear (or "eat it" to the haters), Rooney II is completely fine with Mike Tomlin.

"I thought Mike did a very good job in the sense that, even though we created our own situation, our team continued to play hard through adversity," said Rooney II. "That's not always easy to do. They continued to fight, continued to believe in themselves, and most of that is a tribute to Mike and the kind of coaches and players we have here. They fought hard all the way through, and in the end, we came pretty darn close to being in the playoffs. Like I said, I believe we were playing our best football at the end, which is what you want to have happen, and I think that's obviously due to coaching."

So, he's here to stay. Thankfully.

Someone, however, may not be here to stay. The Miami Dolphins have requested permission to interview Steelers Director of Football & Business Administration Omar Khan. Though he is mainly a Salary Cap wiz, don't underestimate the possibility of his leaving. Thus the hiring of Samir Suleiman last year as their Football Administration Coordinator and Khan assistant after the Jets showed interest in Khan. Is he a personnel guy, though? Plus, the Dolphins are a mess at this point. Time will tell, but Behind The Steel Curtain gives a further breakdown here: http://tinyurl.com/l99u4jo

Art Rooney II - The State Of The Steelers, pt. 2: "Turnovers"

"We need to get more pressure on the quarterback, because as everyone will tell you that creates turnovers." - Art Rooney II

Those words were quoted and briefly touched on in part one of this series, and he is correct. Those, among many other "blunders" committed by the Steelers this past season, were collectively responsible for the disappointing 8-8 campaign. - http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/ron-cook/ron-cook-blunders-added-up-to-highly-frustrating-8-8-season-668939/

But Rooney II emphasized two of the more important. Ergo, pressure on the quarterback and the totality of turnovers are appropriately a priority for 2013. - http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Rooney-Takeaways-tied-to-sacks/74d97f8f-bd11-4b3e-8d74-993a1b4cd637

"If you look at the playoffs, teams that are on the negative side of the turnover ratio are not in the playoffs. It's really as simple as that," said Rooney II. "That was an area on both sides of the football that we fell short of, and certainly something we can improve upon and something we need to improve upon."

There's no denying that. There was a direct correlation between the lack of pressure and the subsequent lack of turnovers, as Bob Labriola of Steelers Digest pointed out in the article posted to Steelers.com. In the 2008 Super Bowl season, "the Steelers posted 51 sacks and 29 takeaways," and in the 2010 Super Bowl season, "they had 48 sacks and 35 takeaways."

In comparison, "there were only 35 sacks and 15 takeaways in 2011, followed by 37 sacks and 20 takeaways this past season." Point taken.

If you need further numbers backing up this summation, consider that the teams with most takeaways this season were: Bears (44), Patriots (41), Giants (35), Cardinals (33), Redskins, Seahawks and Falcons (31), and the Bengals (30). Five of those eight teams made the playoffs, with one more only missing out (Bears) because of losing their quarterback for a period of time.

By contrast, the teams with the fewest takeaways were: Chiefs and Eagles (13), Colts (15), Dolphins and Cowboys (16), Lions (17), Raiders (19) and the Steelers (20). Only one of those teams made it to the postseason.

Principally mentioned by Rooney II as ones relied upon to provide those defensive splash plays were James Harrison, Lamarr Woodley and Troy Polamalu - all of whom were injured and/or ineffective much of it. According to Rooney II, those players needed to be "difference makers," but weren't.

Harrison, who was already having back problems, entered the season coming off of summer knee surgery and was hampered by those issues most of the year. He didn't really round into form until approximately the 15th week. That had a profound affect on the overall pass rush and low sack numbers.

As far as Woodley is concerned, though he has had groin and hamstring problems the last two years, he was hardly even effective when he was healthy. Mark Kaboly gives a bit of insight into how far his productivity dropped in 2012. - http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/3188450-74/woodley-game-roethlisberger?showmobile=false#axzz2I7jCYgR7

As his position coach Keith Butler said of him last offseason, “Wood has to decide if he wants to be a great player,” and not to "come to camp weighing 290 (pounds)." That excess weight would of course inhibit his ability to recover as quickly and/or completely as he could otherwise.

Point blank, if Woodley is to be a part of the Steelers long-term plans, he is going to have to rededicate himself this offseason to being the "bear" that Butler says he can be, and not the sloth he was this season when he had all of four sacks, rarely pressured the quarterback and was hardly a run stopper. Because, as SteelBlitz.com plainly expresses, his absenteeism was "alarming." - http://steelblitz.com/after-steelers-poor-2012-season-blame-pointed-at-one-player/2422/2013/01/09

Of course, to aid in those splash plays and to eventually push one of the two linebackers, another player must be drafted. A list of possibilities were discussed in a previous blog article. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2013/01/fixing-steelers-starts-with-drafting.html

The third player Rooney II mentioned, Polamalu, who was injured the majority of the season also. What he brings to the playing field when healthy was made evident in the final two games when he was back to wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage and recording more Troy-like stats of 10 tackles, one sack and one interception.

At one point Rooney II said that the Steelers "would have been competitive" if they had made playoffs. Um...no. No, they wouldn't have.

The realization of that set in when having all three of those men on the field at the same time still resulted in a loss. At home. When they needed it. Realizations that they can't just flip a switch, as it were, or just walk out there and expect to win. Realizations that Polamalu hopes humbles them. - http://triblive.com/sports/-topstories/3188480-74/polamalu-steelers-bowl#axzz2GOLR2ff1

The point was further driven home when seeing the scores of the divisional weekend's games. The four games had an average score of 38.5 - 30.5, with the high being 45 points. When was the last time the Steelers scored 45 points? October 15, 2006, 45-7 over the Kansas City Chiefs.

That brings us to the offense, which was all too eager to give the ball to the other team this season. The Steelers turned the ball over 30 times this season. Five of the eight games lost this season were by three points and another by six points. Four of those game had a late turnover that led to the loss, and a fifth (Denver) that had a pick six to seal the victory.

Then consider that there were over 100 points scored directly off of turnovers. Now, let's assume that eliminating those blunders would have led to 100 more points for the Steelers instead. The Steelers scored 21 points per game this season, up from 20.3 PPG last season. Add those assumed 100 points and the average jumps to 27.25 PPG and five more games are won.

Granted, that is oversimplifying things, but the point is that turnovers take their toll. They are a like a pothole-filled road: some are bigger than others, but they all inhibit being able to have smooth, or efficient, ride, and ultimately cause underlying damage.

Case in point, the teams with the most turnovers in 2012 were Chiefs, Eagles and Jets (37), Bills and Cardinals (34), Lions (33), Steelers (30), Cowboys (29) and Titans (28).

Conversely, the teams with the fewest turnovers were the Redskins (14), Patriots, Ravens, Packers and 49ers (16), Texans (17), Falcons and Seahawks (18).

The teams with the best turnover differential in 2012 were the Patriots (+25), Bears (+20), Redskins (+17), Giants (+14), Falcons and Seahawks (+13), Texans (+12) and Ravens and 49ers (+9).

Worst 2012 turnover differentials belonged to the Chiefs and Eagles (-24), Lions (-16), Jets (-14), Bills and Cowboys (-13), Colts (-12) and Dolphins and Steelers (10).*

The teams with the fewest all made the playoffs. The teams with the most got lovely parting gifts. All but two of the teams with the greatest differential made the playoffs. All but one of the teams with the worst differential received extra vacation time.

Do you notice a pattern developing here? This isn't rocket science. Regular readers of this blog know that we preach execution and fundamentals. The lack of those key elements were rampant all season.

Some of that is on the coaches, yes, but the majority is on the players themselves. Because, as was expounded on before, not one coach fumbled, dropped a pass or threw an interception. As Rooney II said, "It's really as simple as that."

However, what isn't so simple is what each of the players highlighted in this article had in common: injuries. The three usually defensive stalwarts missed a total of 15 games due to injury.

How do they alleviate them? Is it pandemic? Is it cyclical? Are they snake bitten? These and other questions will be addressed in part three of this series examining Art Rooney II's interviews.


* Thanks to Russell S. Baxter of profootballguru.com who did the legwork on these turnover stats. You can also find him on Twitter at @BaxFootballGuru.

Steelers' Inept Play Ruins Anniversary Ceremony, Playoff Hopes in 13-10 Loss

What's an antonym for "immaculate?" Dirty? Filthy? Foul? Tainted? Unclean? Unsterile? Well, pick one, because they all fit the Pittsburgh Steelers overall performance against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in a 13-10 loss. Here are the highlights from the game: http://tinyurl.com/d4noqw9

That's it. After that, then the opening kick, it got really ugly.

For Ben Roethlisberger and the offense, it was an utterly pathetic showing. Granted, Big Ben was 'almost dead' five weeks ago...how much did that affect his arm strength? That can't be quantified accurately, but he wasn't the Ben we know for more than a handful of plays.

As Big Ben accurately stated, "We should be (going to the playoffs) if it wasn't for me." - http://tinyurl.com/cqrn7hj

As Dejan Kovacevic, sports columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, tweeted on his official Twitter (@Dejan_Kovacevic) account, and with which we agree: "I love Ben, always have and have always defended him...BUT he should take a lot of the blame...not all, but A LOT." - http://tinyurl.com/cjg5y4a

Was he actually still ailing? Let's hope it's nothing else. Regardless, Big Ben deserves the brunt of the blame for the last two losses. Ben just hasn't been Ben since coming back from his injury and the difference is staggeringly obvious.

BIG BEN pre-injury:

209 - 316 passes
66.1% completion
17 TD passes
4 interceptions
QB Rating of over 100.0 and 121.1 on 3rd down with the team just under 50% on 3rd.
3 game-winning drives.

BIG BEN post-injury:

60 - 110 passes
54.5% completion
6 TD passes
4 interceptions (half of season total)
QB Rating in the 80.0's (58.6 on Sunday) and the team converting only 2 of 14 3rd downs.
3 blown chances at comebacks or game-winning drives.

The offense as a whole wet the bed and wasted a nearly brilliant defensive performance in which Cortez Allen, the Steelers Digest Player of the Week, had two interceptions and a forced fumble, the Steelers first multi-interception game in over a year (their first since Cleveland last December).

It was also a game in which the defense recorded six sacks, their most in one game all season, and where an unusually animated Troy Polamalu had his first sack since September of 2011 in a 24-0 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

But their performance couldn't offset the inept play of the offense. An offense that had actually been the ones carrying the defense in recent weeks. And as has been the case too many times this season, one wasn't enough. - http://tinyurl.com/br2thgt

The offense had far too few bright moments, Sunday and all season, and turned it over far too many times. That's a failure for both the players and the coaching staff.

No, the coaches don't throw interceptions, fumble or drop passes, but they are ultimately responsible for repetitive problems and continued insanity (insanity: doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result).

One dropped pass is a mistake, two fumbles is a pattern, and three interceptions is a habit. Or, in this case, a problem. A problem If It Ain't Steel said was needed to be avoided in our pre-game article. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2012/12/for-steelers-playoffs-begin-sunday.html

The players, for the little good it meant, recognized it also. "I'm not surprised at all," said running back Isaac Redman. "Turnovers at key moments of games have just crushed us all year long."

(Getty Images)
The final crushing blow was dealt once again by quarterback Big Ben who threw two interceptions in the game, the first being returned for a touchdown. For the second straight game, Big Ben threw a costly interception that led to a loss when Reggie Nelson picked him off with 14 seconds remaining and the score tied.

The Bengals (9-6) then only needed a 21-yard completion to A.J. Green to set up the game-winning field goal. This is the first time since 1981-82 that the Bengals have reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons. - http://tinyurl.com/d6jbnk7

Though he also threw a touchdown pass when he and wide receiver Antonio Brown made it rain on Adam "Pacman" Jones for a 60-yard score, the Steelers (7-8) lost for the fifth time in six games. This will be the first season since 2006 that the Steelers will enter the regular season finale with no chance of making the playoffs.

According to Steelers left tackle Max Starks, though, they'll be ready: "There won't be any quitting going into next week," he said after the game.

Next week will be it for this season, however. Time to start taking a serious look at everything and everyone. Injuries decimated this team from virtually day one, yes. But there were obvious inherent problems that need addressing.

"We have to do a better job as players of playing," said Steelers linebacker James Harrison, "and a better job as coaches of coaching."

One thing they have to absolutely do better is block. Finding a number one running back would help and they had injuries at all positions but one. But the offensive line was never completely consistent in its blocking and got progressively worse as the season went along.

In fact, we warned how bad it could get with defensive tackle Geno Atkins in town. It was expected that Ramon Foster would see him, instead he lines up over rookie David DeCastro most of the day. Atkins feasted on the youngling, having 2.5 sacks for a total of 13 this season.

The problems that need to be addressed will be discussed at length in future articles, as we have a long offseason to address them. All that is left is to salvage the season and avoid being the first losing year since 2003.

It won't take an immaculate performance against fellow cellar dwellers, the Cleveland Browns, just one that isn't the same inept showing seen lately. The standard should be a higher one.

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TIDBITS: In Mike Tomlin's post-game press conference, he announced that Baron Batch broke his arm and that Heath Miller suffered a PCL and MCL injury. Injured reserve for both for a certainty.

Curtis Brown (Achilles), Mike Wallace (hamstring), and center Maurkice Pouncey (knee-MCL) all dinged up, but status unknown. - http://tinyurl.com/c3qbr5f

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After his suspension, Rashard Mendenhall returns to have 11 carries for 50 yards. He returns to the scene of the crime (sort of) next week against the Browns. - http://sulia.com/channel/pittsburgh-steelers/f/c554e1aa-a4c2-431e-97b1-9ae34aa3b64b/

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Steelers 2013 opponents now set following loss to Bengals: http://sulia.com/channel/pittsburgh/f/90c0e581-dcbf-4d7a-869f-964a6142aa34/

Cowboys Capitalize On Steelers Miscues, Win 27-24 In OT

This one hurts.

Personally, there is no team that stirs emotions like those stirred by the Dallas Cowboys.

But, congratulations, to the Cowboys. They deserved the win Sunday. They outplayed the Steelers in every facet of the game, handing the Steelers their fourth three-point loss of the season, 27-24 in overtime. The first ever overtime game between the two teams in their 31 all-time meetings. - http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000112303/Steelers-vs-Cowboys-highlights

It was a loss that handed the Baltimore Ravens a playoff berth and damaged the Steelers' chances, though not ruined, for taking the division and for making the playoffs period.

Now the Steelers playoff season starts earlier than expected. For all intents and purposes, they open their playoff run with the Bengals at home on December 23, of all days, at 1:00 EST.

If the Steelers can't find it within them to celebrate with a win the birth of their franchise's taking over the NFL, what will?

Since the NFL-AFL Merger in 1970, the Steelers have an NFL best 403-256-3 record. They have an NFL best six Super Bowl wins. They are tied with these Dallas Cowboys for the most Super Bowl appearances (8). They are also tied with the Cowboys for the most playoff wins (33).

None of that matters now.

The Steelers could’ve moved to within a game of the first-place Ravens with a victory. Instead, they’re looking up at the Bengals and Colts as they fight for a wildcard spot. At 7-7, the Steelers are now two games behind Indianapolis and one behind AFC North rival Cincinnati. Not a good place to be with two games left.

That said, they still have a chance. In a 3-way division tie at 9-7, the Steelers would have a 3-1 head-to-head record among the Ravens and the Bengals with Baltimore at 2-2 and Cincinnati with a 1-3 record. In that case, the Steelers would win the tiebreak.

Not necessarily probable, but possible.

But that's of little concern tight mow. The only goal for the team right now is to win the next game. Then make playoffs. After that, if their talent can show itself and they can get relatively healthy, they still are a dangerous team. - http://tinyurl.com/cyhwzxj

IF.

For two weeks now, though, the Steelers have been outplayed. Once again, they also were bereft of a running game. Aside from a 22-yard gain by Isaac Redman, the Steelers gained just 47 yards on 16 carries.

Mainly, though, it was senseless miscues and numerous mental errors that sealed the Steelers' fate. It was a truly pathetic showing at times. Nonetheless, believe it or not, they still control their own destiny. Next week is a must win.

As far as Sunday this loss is concerned, it was the secondary and special teams that killed the Steelers.

The Steelers defense got virtually no pressure on Tony Romo. As a result, Romo was the first quarterback this season to throw for over 300 yards against the Steelers. What's worse is that the Steelers gave up approximately half of his 341 passing yards after the catch. That's not 'tackling the catch.'

Mike Tomlin said in his post-game press conference that he thought his young secondary competed, but that they they just did not make enough plays critical plays. - http://tinyurl.com/d45qvjy

The secondary doesn't get a pass. Mental errors and miscues did the Steelers in and Dallas took advantage as much as they could.

With the Steelers leading 24-17, Cowboys linebacker Victor Butler stripped Antonio Brown on a potential, game-breaking punt return midway through the fourth quarter with tight end John Phillips recovering the fumble at the Pittsburgh 44-yard line. DeMarco Murray tied the game with a touchdown run seven plays later.

If Brown doesn't fumble, the Steelers probably clinch the game. Brown knows that and was remorseful in his comments after the game.

"We definitely have to be better and that starts with myself," Brown said afterwards. "I can’t put the ball on the ground. It was just careless. You have to protect the ball in the open field. I’ve got to a better job of protecting the ball. It was definitely my fault.” - http://tinyurl.com/d6nkgh4

The special teams almost allowed a win in regulation when the Cowboys' Dwayne Harris returned a punt 39 yards with 47 seconds remaining. It gave the Cowboys a shot, but the Steelers forced a punt.

But what ultimately ended the night was the Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger interception on the second play of overtime. Big Ben threw a lazy pass too far inside, well behind Mike Wallace, and in a place where really only the Cowboys Brandon Carr could catch it.

Carr snatched up a diving interception and returned it 36 yards to set up the game-winning, 21-yard field goal.

Big Ben had some Houdini-like big plays in the game, including a remarkable touchdown-pass play to Heath Miller, the Steelers Digest Player of the Week, before the half that had enough pump fakes and spins to give defenders Vertigo. - http://www.nfl.com/videos/pittsburgh-steelers/0ap2000000112195/Big-Ben-goes-yard

Unfortunately, the interception was the mistake he couldn’t afford to make.

Big Ben complained after the game about not going to the no-huddle more often. Because he took the blame for the interception, I don't have a problem with his complaint. He's the team leader and should be able to have a say in what they call. - http://tinyurl.com/c9lmnrh

Would the no-huddle have won it for them. Hard to say...it didn't in overtime. But maybe it keeps the defense on its heels.

The Steelers had the ball with 6:48 and 1:47 left in regulation and with three timeouts, so I'm sure those are situations to which Big Ben was referring. After keeping Ben upright most of the game, the offensive line allowed both of those drives to be killed by sacks.

Then the aforementioned miscues and final turnover were the proverbial nails. Not in the season, though. There is still time to salvage it. And like Steelers linebacker Larry Foote said, they just have to keep fighting "until they say, ‘don’t play no more.'"

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TIDBITS: STEELERS INJURIES: starting cornerback Keenan Lewis suffered a groin injury in the second half (how many of those this year???); backup cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke - separated shoulder early in the game; wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders - rib injury.

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Steelers average starting field position was last week was their own 19-yard line. Sunday it was their own 24-yard line. The best starting field position was at the 49-yard line.

Steelers Lose Again To Raiders Amidst Turnovers And Penalties

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What started out so good ended so badly. It was 2006 all over again.

The first play of the game between the long-time rivals Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders resulted in a Raiders turnover as free safety Ryan Clark with the interception. It was looking good.

The Steelers went for for it on 4th-and-1 from the Raiders' 27 and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger moved the chains by throwing to wide receiver Mike Wallace for 19 yards. Then, for the third straight game, tight end Heath Miller scores the Steelers first touchdown. He was wide open for a 5-yard touchdown throw from Big Ben.

The Beaver County Times Mike Bires tweeted from his personal Twitter account that, "When I asked Roethlisberger about Heath Miller on Wednesday, he said 'We want to get him to the Pro Bowl.'" It was looking very good.

Then it became clear that the Black Hole would become more like the Twilight Zone.

In three plays the Raiders tied it up in an improbable way. Darren McFadden broke loose for a 64-yard touchdown run. It was improbable because the Steelers rarely give up yards on the ground in such a manner. Improbable also because McFadden had rushed for only 54 yards in the Raiders first two games.

The Raiders sealed off the backside linebacker and it was up to the safety. Brett Keisel should've spiked inside. Lawrence Timmons had a terrible first read, Casey Hampton made a horrible effort, and Ryan Mundy lost his socks on McFadden's shoulder shake...just terrible defense on that touchdown run.

It has become an all-too-common situation now with the Steelers defense. They're either caught out of place, they don't play their gaps and they can't get stops when needed. Whether it's scheme, alignment, coaching, players or a combination of all of the above, the defense is offensive.

Want proof? In the last 10 road games the Steelers defense has recorded all of 10 sacks. The Steelers are 5-5 in those games. The vaunted Blitzburgh has been Splits-burgh.

Want more proof? Historically the Steelers don't allow 100-yard rushers. From 2005 to 2010, six years that included three Super Bowl appearances, the Steelers defense allowed four such games by running backs. They've allowed four in the last 19 games going back to week one of 2011.

Plain and simple, the defense, or lack thereof, is a concern. - http://tinyurl.com/9ush4xd

Back to the game specifically, an amazing 73-yard punt return for a touchdown by Antonio Brown was nullified by two flags on the Steelers on the play. TD negated. Game changed.

The Steelers were flagged 10 times for 81 yards with only three flags being called on the Raiders. No excuses being made this week either. The penalties were mostly correct. The refereeing was horrendous around the league yet again, so there's no point in dwelling on the referees.

You can't win playing such poor defense and stopping your own drives with penalties. Those were only two parts of the triad of problems causing the Steelers loss today. The third made this eerily similar to the last trip to the Twilight Zone...er uh...Black Hole.

Turnovers plagued the Steelers again in this trip to Oakland. In 2006 there were four interceptions by Big Ben Roethlisberger, two of which returned for touchdowns. One of 24 yards by Nnamdi Asomugha in the first quarter and the backbreaker being of 100 yards by Chris Carr in the fourth quarter.

Sunday the turnovers were by all but Big Ben. Antonio Brown had two of them, one of which he miraculously recovered for a touchdown. The other wasn't and led to Raiders points. Jonathan Dwyer coughed up the other fumble that wasn't recovered by the offense. Turnovers lead to points that ultimately lost it for the Steelers.

"We expect more and better from ourselves," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "We turned the ball over. We can't do that..." - http://tinyurl.com/9az2pfm

He also mentioned special teams. Tomlin fired former special teams coach Al Everest right before the season. Amos Jones was promoted.

More first downs then and now, more turnovers then and now, more yards then and now...oh, and more penalties then and now.

How can a team that allowed Mike Wallace to be so wide open be the same team that played playoff defense down the stretch?

Spreading the wealth again by Big Ben, who was the Steelers Digest Player of the Week, was the only bright spot in the game, as he connected with 10 different receivers again. He went 36-49 for 384 with four (maybe 3) TDs.

This wasn't on the implementation of the offense at all. Yes, it was questionable and even stagnant at times, but it's still a work in progress. That work in progress scored 31 points and could've (read: should've) scored more.

This was about lack of execution/penalty miscues on offense and poor play on defense. A defense that has secondary and pass rush issues. Issues that won't be solved with the return of Troy Polamalu and James Harrison respectively, either. They are issues that have been on the horizon for some time.

Still, it's early enough in the year where we don't think there's reason to panic. We predicted a 10-6 season anyway and still believe that's possible. Games will be won that should've been lost and games will be lost (ahem) that should be won.

Most importantly, none of the rest of them will be played in the Twilight Zone.

Steelers Defeat Jets 27-10 Despite Officiating

I told y'all not to panic.

"Redemption week" part two is in the books and Mike Tomlin, the first Pittsburgh Steelers head coach to go 6-0 in his first 6 home openers, said he expected as much from his "A-players". - http://tinyurl.com/92om282

Steelers win at Heinz Field today over the New York Jets, making it the 10th straight home opening victory and 9th straight home win vs. non-divisional opponents. The game wasn't a blowout from the start, though.

The Steelers opened up with a 3-0 lead, but surrendered a 90-yard touchdown drive on the next series. Former Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes was eating up Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor early in the game via drawn penalties and a scoring a 14-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.  

Jeremy Kerley also caught a 45-yard pass over Keenan Lewis in that series.

Neither was heard from the rest of the game.

The Steelers defense was being handled well early, the Jets were averaging 4.0 yards per run, but that changed as the Steelers settled down in the second quarter.

On third downs the Steelers started getting off of the field. After being down 10-6, they started playing what most fans consider Steeler football: defense and ball control.

On defense, Ike Taylor played great defense on Santonio Holmes, breaking up pass and forcing punts. On offense, Big Ben was shrugging off rushers saying, "GET OFF ME!"

Jonathan Dwyer showed he had good feet and good hands as a receiver by making a shoestring catch for 12 yards and a first down. Redman also started looking more like Redman as the game progressed as well.

Speaking of defense, Ryan Mundy (5 tackles) and Ryan Clark (team-high 8) combined for 13 of 44 Steeler tackles. They swapped positions throughout the game, playing free and strong safety. One time Clark cuts down a runner in the backfield, another time Ryan Mundy knocks Jets running back Shonn Greene out of the game.

Ryan Clark's return was triumphant as he reminded us how much we missed him and earned Steelers Digest Player of the Week. - http://bit.ly/QiVzwl

Antonio Cromartie was pretty much watching Mike Wallace man-to-man, while Kyle Wilson, starting in place of Darrelle Revis, was on Antonio Brown. Neither had much success.

Roethlisberger threw a 37-yard TD pass to Mike Wallace who had five catches for 74 yards on the day, and Antonio Brown caught seven balls for 79 yards. Even taking shots, the receivers went on undaunted.

Asked about LaRon Landry's hit on him after a catch, Brown said, "Good hit, good catch. I've got a reputation, too"

LaMarr Woodley got his first sack of the season on third down early in third quarter, helping to back up his guarantee of a win. After the game, he let Steelers fans know about it.

Woodley tweeted: "I told yall we wouldn't be 0-2!! LOL.. We got back 2 playin @steelers football 2day.. appreciate all the noise @ heinz!! http://t.co/yXjZ4UZV"

The worst part of the day was the officiating. We're not normally one's to bash the officials, but Sunday was just awful. Case in point, a phantom pass interference call in the third quarter on Ike Taylor, the second of the day.

On the two questionable pass interference calls, Ike Taylor said, "Them [refs] got a difficult job as is. I can't worry about what they call, I just play football."

Maybe I'm wrong, I might have been looking through Black and Gold colored glasses. You tell me if you see a pass interference on this sequence.

Yeah, exactly.

The true player of the game, though, was Ben Roethlisberger, who has now thrown four TD passes this season - two to tight end Heath Miller and two to WR Mike Wallace.

Big Ben Roethlisberger had a sizzling 144.7 passer rating into the second half,  158.3 is a perfect rating going 15 of 19 for 196, 2 TDs and no interceptions.

Big Ben would eventually cool down, but not by much. Ben had the highest quarterback rating (125.1) for a Jets opponent since Tom Brady in December of 2010. Jets coach Rex Ryan wasn't too thrilled that Big Ben's passer rating was 2nd highest ever vs. the Jets. To put it in perspective, the other was by Dan Marino in 1986 when he passed for 448 yards and six touchdowns.

Big Ben passed the 27,000 yard barrier, being only the second Steelers QB to do so. I'm told the other guy was someone named Bradshaw. Big Ben is due to pass that guy's career mark in only a few more games at this current pace.

~

TIDBITS: Good hustle by newest Steeler, CB DeMarcus Van Dyke, showed his speed on a muffed Jets punt that Ryan Mundy recovers at Jets 42 yard line late in the game.

Sanchez went zero for his last five passes of the first half after a 4-for-5 start. He, in real time, went about two hours between completed passes in one stretch.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Rex Ryan on the Steelers defense: "They did a great job of press coverage. They have really big physical corners" No more huffing and puffing?

Steelers Sign Cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke

A fast secondary just got faster. A lot faster. 

According to Pro Football Talk, the Pittsburgh Steelers will sign former Miami Hurricane cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke. When the Oakland Raiders signed veteran cornerback Joselio Henson on Monday, they waived Van Dyke.

Van Dyke passed through waivers unclaimed and will complement an already fast group of defensive backs, all sub 4.45, with his 4.28/40 NFL Combine speed. - http://youtu.be/ot6IHMroG0A

That type of speed is something the Raiders covet and it helped him become their third-round pick. He just can't do much else. Neither could the rest of the Raiders cornerback corps, though, as they allowed 251 yards per game through the air last year.

So, the 6'1" 187 pound Van Dyke is a project. He doesn't have great control once he gets turned, doesn't have great balance over his hips, but he has NFL length and NFL speed.

Should mean no Trai Essex after all now, and David DeCastro most likely goes on 8-week IR. 

UPDATE: Steelers Digest writer Bob Labriola has finally announced that "CB DeMarcus Van Dyke just signed today. Will wear jersey No. 30." No word yet on corresponding roster move. We still contend that it will David DeCastro to the short-term Injured Reserve.

Mike Signs Contract, But Mike Doesn't: Latest On Wallace

Anything exciting happen yesterday?

Doesn't take much to get Steeler Nation up in arms, does it? Well, it was dealing with Mike Wallace after all. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you must have been under that rock from the Geico commercial. 

Tuesday afternoon, Jim Wexell, of Steel City Insider and Steelers Digest, reported that "Channel 11 [in Pittsburgh] reporting Mike Wallace and Steelers have agreed to 5 yr $42 million contract with $20m guaranteed." In a nutshell, he was wrong. It wasn't long after this that he admitted it as well.

"Apparently 'someone pulled a fast one on me' is what my source is saying. Sorry, no Wallace signing."

He later would apologize again and even poked fun at himself when certain ones in Steeler Nation and, apparently other members of the media, were taking their shots: “@jimwexell: "@BladedWedge I get the feeling that some members of the media are finding joy with @jimwexell getting duped" -- he's not well-liked.”

Another "source" also took blame for the faux pas. His name is Bill P. and he goes by @SteelerBill13 if you're on Twitter. You can also call him and complain. His number is 1-412-... (lol Sorry, Bill...just takin' a jab)

It's easy to understand, though, the heights of elation and then the depths of deflation to which Steeler Nation was sent. This was about the speedy and promising wide receiver whom we can't go a day without hearing about. Young Money. One of the Bugatti Boys. "Da kidd" you'll find "in someone's end zone." Of course it was big news!

Don't get me wrong, though. Mike did sign on the line that is dotted. Mike Tomlin, that is. The Omar Epps look-a-like signed a three-year extension keeping him in Black and Gold through 2016. 

Other notable organizational moves, as reported by Ed Bouchette include the Steelers promoting Omar Khan to Director of Football & Business Administration ("Football" added to title), and the promotion of scout Dan Rooney Jr. to Player Personnel Coordinator. Listed No. 2 behind Colbert in that department.

Back to the main issue, though. Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported, "Looks like mike Wallace isn't going to show. According to Emmanuel Sanders he is expecting him to show in '3 or 4' days."

Hard upon that information, though, came information from both Kaboly and Emmanuel Sanders that there are rumblings in Camp that there might be a contract in place soon. 

Sanders: "I hear things...a couple rumors, that things are starting to get closer to signing." Definitely good news and completely feasible. A deal is not only possible, but easily worked out for a math genius like the aforementioned Omar Khan. 

The Steelers are currently about $6 million under the salary cap with the release of Jonathan Scott. With the probability of a Wallace contract containing a $15 million signing bonus for a 5 year contract, that would break down to approximately a $3 million a year cap hit, plus first year salary, proration of signing bonus for 5 years. Again, easily fits under the cap. 

Now, you might wonder about what would happen if the Steelers are $13-15 million over the cap next year considering Rashard Mendenhall, Antonio Brown and Sanders are due to be up? Trust me, a fair deal could still get done for several reasons. 

First, Lawrence Timmons and Lamarr Woodley can have a good portion of their 2013 base turned into a signing bonus. If they release James Harrison, which I recently blogged as being a real possibility, there is an approximate $7 million saved. Plus, depending on this year's performance, if Mendy should get a new contract it shouldn't have more than a moderate 2013 cap hit.
 
That's most of it right there. Let's say more is needed, though. In the second year of Wallace's contract they could restructure to save cap room by turning a portion of his salary into a signing bonus and then prorate it out over the remaining years. Bottom line: an approximate 5-6 year contract of about $47-$53 million, with that previously mentioned $15 signing bonus, is doable. 

As I've said before, I'm no salary cap guru but I know that this is fairly accurate information because I make sure to pay attention to people like Ian Whetstone of Steel City Insider. 

More information, speculation and drama is sure to surface in the next few days to come. So, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

McLendon Isn't 280 And It Isn't 4:20 In Pittsburgh

"I'm back." - Michael Jordan

"I'm thinkin' about makin' a comeback." - Muhammed Ali, The Greatest

"Don't call it a comeback!" - LL Cool J

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, Steeler Nation. We at If It Ain't Steel have come out of rehab following a nervous breakdown to get back into the ring and we're coming out swinging. Not pulling punches, just throwing haymakers!

On Wednesday, Pro Football Talk posted what seemed to be a well-written article regarding Steelers nose tackle Steve McLendon. The problem is that they listed McLendon at 280 pounds. He isn't 280 lbs. and hasn't been for about a year now.

The article "Steelers’ Steve McLendon: I can play nose tackle at 280 pounds." Not that McLendon didn't say those words, because I'm sure he did. My problem is that I can't find the actual quote. I've looked over the Internet and can't find those specific words within an article, just those eight words.

Everything I'd read, and that I've written, to this point has been that McLendon had bulked up the last year and a half. He was supposedly closer to 300 lbs. last year and is reportedly around 320 lbs. now. Don't believe me? Ok, that's cool. But you should believe Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider and Steelers Digest and Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a couple of guys who spend a little bit of their time around the team and facilities.

On his Twitter page Wexell tweeted this in response to Pro Football Talk's article: "@jimwexell: Steve McLendon can play nose at 280 http://t.co/uTjFhJpQ Because he's 320."

He then tweeted this: "@jimwexell: McLendon's actually 325. Been listed at 280 since was URFA in 2009. Listing must be reason so many media predicted Steelers would draft NT."

The "listing" comment has real validity. Do the eyeball test, people. Did Big Ben LOOK like he was 241 lbs. a couple of years ago? I would have debates with fellow fans about his weight...but we were debating about 250 lbs as opposed to 260 lbs. I would venture to guess that, using the eyeball test, McLendon looks at least 300 lbs when watching him on the field.

Now, what about Kaboly? What'd he have to say? "@MarkKaboly_Trib: #Steelers NT Steve McLendon weighs 325-330 pounds."

He also touched on the original weight listing when he tweeted, "@MarkKaboly_Trib: Don't believe weights on #Steelers roster. They don't change them after initial rookie weigh-in."

Even if he isn't quite the 330 lbs. claimed by Kaboly, the Steelers coaches certainly have confidence in McLendon. We quoted Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell in a previous blog post saying as much. It was after the NFL Draft when he praised and defended McLendon. Read what Mitchell had to say here: http://t.co/2sClOgUG

~

Wednesday morning, a respected member of the media, when speaking of this Thursday's NFL Supplemental Draft, suggested something the Steelers might do. He surmised, "What if Steelers surprised everyone & took Josh Gordon in tomorrow's supplemental draft. Big receiver. Would send loud message to Wallace. He's there in the 6th RD they better take him."

My response to that when I read it was an expected one: What are you smoking?!?

Actually, that's an easy answer: the same thing Gordon, the 6'3" 225-pound former Baylor wide receiver who ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at his pro day Tuesday, was smoking that got him suspended. The suspension which led to him being in Thursday's supplemental draft.

"It (suspension at Baylor) was due to a failed marijuana test," Gordon told the Houston Chronicle after his Pro Day work out Tuesday. "It was against school policy, of course, and I was (suspended) in the summer. I've definitely put that part of my life behind me. I don't plan to ever go back there. It was a difficult time, but I learned from it, and I've moved on."

Ok, I'll buy what you're selling. You did it in under 420 characters too. The Steelers, though, have already invested some green in purple, and they won't do it again. Sacrificing a draft pick for a weed-smoking risk won't happen. Not judging him at all, I just know it won't happen. Especially since there's varying opinions on his worth in the first place.

He's projected to go in the third round to the Cleveland Browns, according to Sigmund Bloom of FOOTBALLGUYS.COM, and Albert Breer of NFL.com says Josh Gordon may be "overhyped" http://t.co/G6CEqo5d

Not nearly enough to burn a draft pick (no pun intended).

~

TIDBITS: Brief salary cap news from Brian McIntyre of NFL.com Tuesday, the Steelers are somewhere between $116-$117 million for the Rule of 51 number, which, according to NFL.com, puts them $3.734 million under the salary cap number.

In the report they state that the Steelers adjusted cap number is $121.195 million: the $120,600,000 base 2012 salary cap figure, plus the $506,000 remaining cap space left over from last year and other Chinese arithmetic.

Bottom line: the Steelers have room for Mike Wallace (y'all knew we couldn't do this without mentioning him) and an 11th hour move should an injury occur. Like, for instance, if I go to Latrobe and go all Tonya Harding on Jonathan Scott's leg. Not that I would, I'm just sayin...though, it would also save money in the process. Hm...