Steelers Get Purple Hearts As They Notch 2nd Straight Win

courtesy of Billy Hartford

"What I'm most proud of is it was a team win. All three phases did something to contribute positively today. How it has to be." - Brett Keisel

The veteran defensive end was correct as the Pittsburgh Steelers had their first complete game of the season en route to a 19-16 over the hated Baltimore Ravens.

Le'Veon Bell, Lawrence Timmons and finally Shaun Suisham ran, tackled and kicked the Steelers to something Steelers' fans haven't seen yet this season - a winning streak.

Break up the Steelers!

They're actually looking now like the team we expected from the beginning of the season. The running game is finally looking like something worthy of the team that leads the entire NFL since the 1970 merger. The Steelers ran for 141 yards, which was the first time they went over 100 yards as a team since November 18, 2012 - against the Ravens.

Bell himself shown great patience and vision in running for 93 yards on just 19 carries, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. With doing so against the seventh-ranked run defense going into the game, Bell was assuredly pleased with his performance. Right?

"I'll go to a C-," Bell said laughingly, referencing the "D" he gave himself last week. - http://tinyurl.com/kv6xwte

The humble young running back received slightly higher praise from his teammates and coach.

"He did a great job! You know, he was patient when he needed to be, physical when he needed to be. He used his speed...I thought that he did a great job today," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "He's got that patience, he's a good runner and he knows his surroundings.” - http://tinyurl.com/kns6p9l

Head coach Mike Tomlin looked a bit miffed that neither of the first two questions at his post-game press conference were about his running back.

"Any questions about Le'Veon Bell today? No?" Tomlin quipped. - http://tinyurl.com/lwxpxvn

Bell was who Tomlin wanted out of college and was practically glowing when talking about him back in April. Tomlin even went to Bell's defense during his weekly press conference last week after the running back came under criticism. Bell has finally now shown what Tomlin, and those few of us who had knowledge of him in college, knew he could do.

In averaging 4.9 YPC, 12 of Bell's 19 carries today went for four yards or more. Only two carries went for zero yards or less. Also, 62 of Bell's 93 yards came on first down.

The Steelers much-maligned offensive line opened holes and got push for the Steelers and Bell, but also in protecting Big Ben who played a turnover-free game and directed the game-winning drive. Point blank, the Steelers were simply the more physical team Sunday. Both on offense and defense.

The blitzes, the multiple looks, the push from the interior of the defensive line, Troy Polamalu lining up everywhere, LaMarr Woodley, who recorded another sack, and Jason Worilds bringing pressure on Joe Flacco and stuffing running backs, Cortez Allen being brought off of the slot on a run blitz throughout the game, William Gay providing good coverage...this was swarming Steelers defense.

But the one who should receive the most praise was inside  linebacker Lawrence Timmons who had a career-high tying 17 tackles. Not bringing any undue attention to himself, he summed up the overall performance succinctly, ultimately giving credit to the coaches.

"It's the Baltimore Ravens," he said. It's a defensive player's type of game....They're passing more because Flacco throws a great deep ball. The run-and-gun coaches prepped us well."

But, even with all provided by the aforementioned players, it came down to kicker Shaun Suisham.

Big Ben marched the Steelers downfield, after Emmanuel Sanders was one heel away from taking a kickoff all the way, to get into Sushi's range. As always, Sushi was as cool as a Canadian autumn as split the uprights for the last-second win.

Are the Steelers enjoying this? Are they exhaling?

"{No.} We're still a 2-4 football team," Sanders said, "{but} we're pointed in right direction."


Several quotes from Ken Laird of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

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TIDBITS: The only significant injury was Marcus Gilbert's deep quadriceps bruise. Brett Keisel's ribs were of the "minor bumps and bruises" category. 

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Ben Roethlisberger is 10-4 in his career vs. the Ravens (including playoffs), and ties Peyton Manning for most wins vs Ravens by starting quarterback.

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John Harbaugh on the onside kick: "We were struggling to get possessions and get our offense on the field. We needed a TD either way to tie or win."

"A guy offsides when we do a surprise onside kick...that's the part that ticks me off more than anything"

Harbaugh on Dumervil's face-mask of Big Ben: "You can't grab it but Ben ducks all the time. Biggest, strongest QB in the NFL. Have to wrap strong."

Harbaugh on the Steelers run offense: "Credit to them. Good job of scheming. The wildcat...extra OLinemen...give them credit."

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"@MarkKaboly_Trib: David DeCastro is quickly turning into one of the best guards in the AFC."

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Sunday was the fourth consecutive Steelers-Ravens game that was decided by three points.

Steelers Get Much Needed Win, Now Must Get Back To Work

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao-tzu

The Pittsburgh Steelers did something they hadn't done in the previous eight games - they won.

Now the work begins.

After an ignominious start - left tackle Levi Brown tore his triceps muscle in pre-game warmups (I don't know, don't ask), and Kelvin Beachum's game looked as if it had been also - the defense kept the team in the game until the offense settled down. They expiated for a listless performance in the London loss to the Vikings where they missed 17 tackles. 

In doing so, they improved defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's record against rookie quarterbacks to 16-2.

They also allowed the team as a whole to do things that led to the win.  Things that they can use to build momentum. Like head coach Mike Tomlin said in his post-game conference, "hopefully, it's a spring board of things to come." - http://tinyurl.com/kkno8cp

• Shaun Suisham's 48-yard field goal with :45 to go in the 1st half marked the largest lead the Steelers have had this season - Sushi is 42 of his last 43 inside 50 yards.

• After leading 9-6 at half and the offensive line actually giving Ben Roethlisberger some semblance of a pocket, Emmanuel Sanders victimized (as we said could happen with the receivers) cornerback Antonio Cromartie for a 55-yard touchdown pass from Big Ben - the longest of Manny's career.

• What did If It Ain't Steel say would happen if they could sustain a lead? With just under eight minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, the Steelers finally got a takeaway when safety Ryan Clark intercepted rookie QB Geno Smith at the 1-yard line - one of two on the day, the second by Lawrence Timmons.

• The win made the Steelers the first AFC team and only the fourth team in NFL history to reach 600 franchise wins (including the postseason).

• The win took the Steelers to an NFL best 146-2-1 (since 1992) when posting a lead of 11 or more points.

• On a more personal note, wide receiver Antonio Brown tied the club record receptions over a three-game stretch with 30 (he tied someone named after the stadium I think. "Heinz Ward" or something like that. Anyone know the guy?).

• Coach Tomlin improved to 18-6 in the month of October.

But...all this is now in the past. The Steelers still have MUCH work to do.

There are still OLine issues, especially now when considering Levi Brown's injury. They are really limited now when it comes to protecting Big Ben's blind side.

Though the effort and the blocking were there, the running game is still limited. That, however, was somewhat expected considering the Jets went into the game only allowing 76 yards per game. Still, the more efficient the running game, the better the passing game will be.

Speaking of which, Big Ben had a great game going 23-30 for 264 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he had no turnovers.

The entire offense finally stopped being so charitable and, on top of that, the defense finally got greedy. More of each is needed. A lot more.

It's good to get the win, and they should enjoy that win. Today. Tomorrow is the next step in the journey back to respectability. A step that begins against the Baltimore Ravens. 'Nuff said.


Stats provided by Bob Labriola of Steelers Digest and Steelers PR guy Burt Lauten

Steelers Prepare For Redskins As Training Camp Ends

The Pittsburgh Steelers ended their latest stay in Latrobe yesterday as they took the field in shorts and without running like tackle drills. They took it easy on their last day there before heading to Heinz Field for the upcoming season.

However, it wasn't just Saturday. They won't be live tackling anymore until the season starts per head coach Mike Tomlin.

As they leave, they look to prepare for the second leg of their tour of the NFC East as they play the Washington Redskins on the kickoff to ESPN's Monday Night Football lineup. The NFL's main marquee will be missing a few names as Robert Griffin III won't be playing for the Redskins, and the Steelers could be without running backs Isaac Redman and Le'Veon Bell.

The Redskins' RGIII is still recovering from his ACL and LCL injuries. He has returned to practice, but head coach Mike Shanahan rightly won't release him to play. As for Redman and Bell, they scared everyone within a stone's throw of the three rivers and everywhere else in Steeler Nation when they went down within a half hour of one another in practice Thursday. Redman suffered a stinger, and Bell re-aggravated his left knee.

Both running backs returned to practice on Friday, but remain game-time decisions. If one or both are down, that puts Jonathan Dwyer back into the position of starter. Once again, though, it would be because of injury. But, as Behind The Steel Curtain's Neal Coolong wrote, "it may be his last chance to do so." - http://tinyurl.com/k9khge8

The Steelers have endured their share of injuries this off-season, however they aren't nearly as bad off as the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers and Cleveland Browns. If the Steelers can be considered relatively healthy otherwise, what does that mean for them going into Monday night's game?

SHOW ME SOMETHING SPECIAL -
Monday night's game could ultimately reveal a lot about Danny Smith and his special teams unit's preparation. This is more than just another preseason game, it's a game that provides nine days of rest after the New York Giants game. Being new to all of the men in front of him, he needed every bit of that time.

“We're mixing and matching a lot of guys. And that's hard. It's not only hard on me, it's hard on them, to be honest with you,” Smith said. “When you start playing next to a guy, you get a feel for the other. But when you're trying to find those fits, it's difficult. It's a process.” - http://tinyurl.com/mqcgov5

It being a difficult process was proven true last Saturday when the unit made mistake after mistake. At least one of which that could be considered a game changer.

One area that isn't of concern is kicker Shaun Suisham, who was 28-of-31 on field goals last season, with only one of the three misses actually being shanked. He showed an even stronger leg during Training Camp by nailing a 60-yard attempt last week.

THE NEW AND IMPROVED -
We were told that the offense was streamlined to fit quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and company. The distance between the first game of preseason and the first game of the playoffs is chasm-like, but more is still expected from them than what seen lastly. Especially from the No. 3 and No. 4 men, John Parker Wilson and Landry Jones.

They ran fairly well, blocked fairly well and the passing game looked fairly well at times. But "fairly well" is a C to C+ if you're grading. It is basically middle of the road, and middle of the road in the NFL is 8-8.

WILL THE REAL ROLB PLEASE STAND UP? -
Last week, Jarvis Jones said he wasn't happy with his performance. It was other people who said they weren't happy with Jason Worilds'. Including his coaches and the NFL. Per Ed Bouchette, linebackers coach Keith Butler was not at all happy with Worilds' two personal foul penalties in three plays and even called him "selfish."

"It's something we can't do. We can't hit the quarterback in the head, we can't hit him with the head and that's what Jason did." - http://t.co/4eMvfLZ47P

Also, on Thursday, the fourth-year linebacker was fined $15,750 for one of those penalties.

As for Jones, he has said that he just wants to get better each time he's out there, that he studies film on his own and that he wants to learn. All well and good, but there is a short window of opportunity in which to do that if he's going to start at any point this season. And as If It Ain't Steel has said many times, he won't. But he 'must unlearn what he has learned' before we see him in numerous subpackages.

Nonetheless, both may possibly have their pass coverage skills tested as Redskins' tight end Fred Davis will play more of a role Monday night.

IS IT ALL GOOD WITH HOOD AND WOODS? -
Was last week Al Woods' coming out party? Will Ziggy Hood ever have one? Is Cameron Heyward ready to take over? Is Brett Keisel ready to bow out?

Only one of those questions will actually be answered Monday night. If Woods can play as well as he did against the G-Men, then he'll move higher on the depth chart, or at least in the rotation. As for the other men, those questions will be asked (by us) and answered as the season itself goes on. For now, Woods, Alameda Ta'amu, Hebron Fangupo and possibly Brian Arnfelt will continue their fight over the two remaining defensive line spots.

UPDATE: Mike Prisuta of the DVE Morning News tweeted from his Twitter (@DVEMike) account: "Le'Veon Bell scheduled to get the start at RB for the Steelers tonight against the Redskins”

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TIDBITS: Terry Hawthorne and other defensive backs made their way back to the practice field this week, which helps them get back into contention for the final roster spots. Another defensive back whose spot was already set is coming along more slowly.

Cortez Allen, who has been out for nearly all of Training Camp, was recently asked if he feels like he's made the progress he'd hoped to make.

"Yeah, I feel good," said Allen. "The rehab has been going good and I'm just out there testing it out to see where I'm at."

He went on to say "it's still a day-to-day thing, but I do feel that I've made a lot of progress from when it first happened, and I'm positive about the future of it and getting back on the field."

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Steelers NT Alameda Ta'amu is on the road to redemption, wants to prove the Steelers were right to give him a second chance. - http://t.co/peEzxF6HBS

The 2012 Steelers - All The King's Horses..., pt. 3: Special Teams

by Jayden and Jason

They had a great fall...
It's fitting that this final piece covering the Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 season begins with an ending. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Saturday that Amos Jones, the Steelers now-former special teams coach, accepted the same position with Pittsburgh West, formerly known as the Arizona Cardinals. - http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-assistant-coach-amos-jones-heads-to-cardinals-672084/

In part one of the All the King's Horses series, we addressed where quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, offensive coordinator Todd Haley and even team president Art Rooney II all had a hand in the demise of the offense. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-2012-steelers-all-kings-horses-pt-1.html

In part two we took on the defense and how numbers can be misleading. Yes, they were ranked No. 1, but there were key components missing that prevented the unit from being truly dominant. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-2012-steelers-all-kings-horses-pt-2.html

Now, the third installment covers the final field unit: special teams.

The lone bright spot for the special teams unit this season was the Wunderkind himself, Shaun "Sushi" Suisham. Sushi was 34-34 in extra points and 28-31 in field goals, with two of those missing kicks being from 53 and 54 yards, which was good for 90.3% and seventh in the league. That's basically where the good news ends.

Drew Butler, the son of former NFL kicker Kevin Butler, was an undrafted free agent rookie signed by the Steelers who beat out Jeremy Kapinos for the starting punter position. But he was inconsistent and ranked 18th overall among NFL punters, and his 43.8 yard average landed him all the way down at 26th among his brethren. While punt coverage, or lack thereof, can affect averages, it ultimately still falls on the punter.

Speaking of "coverage," it almost seems a bad word to use in this case considering that's something the Steelers' special teams did so little of this season. They were ranked 12th and 23rd in opponents kick and punt returns in 2012, allowing 24.0 and 10.2 yards respectively.

The punt unit also allowed a touchdown, which was the straw breaking the Steelers' back in the first Baltimore Ravens game, and committed costly penalties in several other games that altered field position as well as outcomes.

The Steelers ranked 12th and 23rd in returning kicks and punts also, averaging 25.3 and 7.3 yards in each category, with Antonio Brown averaging only 6.8 yards on 27 punt returns.

Days before the season, head coach Mike Tomlin fired then-special teams coordinator Al Everest and Jones was promoted to the head position. They were no better in 2011 under Everest.

The Steelers ranked 19th in the NFL in opponents' kick returns and 25th in punt returns. They ranked 25th and 14th in their own kick and punt returns.

It is unclear why Everest was ever let go in the first place, but 'philosophical differences' seemed to be the reasoning. One feather in Everest's cap was that there were no returns for touchdowns, something that had plagued the previous regime.

And now Jones is gone too. Who'll replace him? We don't know, but it couldn't be difficult to make a lateral shift. Based on his team's performance, Jones comes off as if he could go bobbing in a barrel of boobs and still come out sucking his thumb.

Since the Steelers organization hasn't said much of anything about it, we believe that he simply didn't have his contract renewed.

The Steelers special teams unit this season often seemed disjointed, out of position, overly aggressive and overly penalized at different times. Fumbles and missed tackles also plagued them. It's an ugly, ongoing trend that all the Rooney's horses and men must rectify in order to put this back together again.

UPDATE: After the posting of this blog, Ed Bouchette reported that the Steelers were granted permission to interview Washington Redskins special teams coach and Pittsburgh native Danny Smith. Rather than write another piece on this, we'll let Behind The Steel Curtain do the talking for us: http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/1/28/3925028/pittsburgh-steelers-special-teams-coach-coordinator-interview-danny-smith-washington-redskins

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TIDBITS: Two-time Super Bowl champ "Big Play" Deshea Townsend will lead Mississippi State's cornerbacks. - http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/20567462/mississippi-st-hires-2-defensive-assistants

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Mike Tomlin has to replace more than one position coach, including the offensive line coach. Russ Grimm won't be on the short list. Per Ed Bouchette, Grimm thought he had the Steelers head coaching job when Bill Cowher quit. Instead, the Rooneys gave it to Tomlin, and Grimm bitterly left with Ken Whisenhunt to Arizona. To quote Bouchette, "there is no way he would come back for the same job as line coach."

Steelers Get Their Revenge; Beat Ravens Without Roethlisberger, 23-20

726 straight days, 15 games in a row at home and the last 12 games in the AFC North. The Ravens streak now reads zero.

And on the 727th day, the Steelers rested.

More important for the fans may have been the fact that the Baltimore Ravens (9-3) were 5-0 when the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) were without Ben Roethlisberger. Thanks to Charlie Batch, James Harrison and Heath Miller, that's no longer an issue.

After they did all the heavy lifting, wunderkind Shaun "Sushi" Suisham batted clean up and sent one through the uprights to bring the Steelers a hard-fought 23-20 victory over their hated rivals. - http://tinyurl.com/c2lx4pt

Uncle Charlie Batch, 38 on Wednesday, was 25-36 passing for 276 yards and was the Steelers Digest Player of the Week. It was the most yards that Uncle Charlie has thrown for as a Steelers quarterback. And it was certainly his biggest victory as a Steelers starter.

He also threw a touchdown pass to Heath Miller for the tying score. It was Miller's 38th career touchdown, passing Elbie Nickel for the most touchdowns for a tight end in Steelers franchise history. He had five catches total for 97 yards.

Harrison's strip sack, recovered by Ziggy Hood, late in the game led to the touchdown in question as the Silverback welcomed Michael Oher (more commonly know to Steelers fans as "Deebo's b**ch) back to the blind side. He finished with seven tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

Then kicker Shaun "Sushi" Suisham drove home a 42-yard field goal as time expired to cement the win, his 7th career game-winning field goal.

Running back Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 49 yards and scored the other touchdown - the first of his career.

The Steelers rebounded from last week’s disaster-ridden, turnover-laden game and "only" gave it away three times. Even those shouldn't have happened, and the Steelers paid for them early.

A trick play of a fake end-around from wide receiver Antonio Brown across the field to Jonathan Dwyer was intercepted by Ravens cornerback Corey Graham. Four plays later, Flacco hit Anquan Boldin for a 28-yard touchdown.

Emmanuel Sanders inexplicably lost handle of the ball as he tried to secure it by switching hands. Instead of tucking the ball away, he coughed it up and lost his second fumble in as many games. It was the ninth lost fumble for the Steelers as a whole in the last four games.

What's worse is that he so open that there was nothing in front of him but grass. With his speed it would easily have been a touchdown.

Six plays after Sanders' fumble, Ray Rice scored on a 34-yard run. Rice had only 34 yards rushing up to that point. He finished with 78 yards on the ground.

The other was an ill-advised throw over the middle that was intercepted by (who else?) Ed Reed. Uncle Charlie is 15-year veteran. He should know that you never throw it late over the middle. Especially when Reed is playing centerfield. Bad decision. Bad throw. Bad results.

Earlier in the game Uncle Charlie had actually overthrown Mike Wallace who was wide open in the back of the end zone as a result of a mix-up in coverage. A play similar to what happened with Wallace against the Oakland Raiders earlier in the year. Big Ben hit Wallace on that play for the touchdown. Uncle Charlie's pass hit someone's Terrible Towel in the first row.

Ultimately, though, that last gaff didn't matter because the Steelers bounced back as they had all game. Mainly by way of the Harrison forced fumble and sack.

After Reed picked Batch in the end zone, the Silverback made his biggest play of the season. That led to a 7-yard touchdown pass to Miller who scored by stretching forward and, keeping his foot from stepping out of bounds, hitting the pylon with the ball.

Then the Steelers defense, the No. 1 unit in the NFL, got the ball back for the Steelers and Uncle Charlie completed all five passes on the final drive for 45 yards to get the Steelers in field-goal range. - http://tinyurl.com/bqkqkrr

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who is usually better at home, was streaky throughout, finishing 16 of 34 for 188 (177 minus the sacks) yards, one interception and the fumble.

This was a telling game for the Ravens. They might just be third best team in AFC North at present. They have a big lead, yes, but the Steelers were the better team in both games against them. Baltimore actually should have lost to Leftwich too. Now they go to Washington and could lose there next week with the threats the Redskins have. If so, watch out.

Think about it: Could they have gone into Pittsburgh and beaten the Steelers and Big Ben with their back up quarterback, let alone their third stringer? Not. A. Chance. The next four weeks will be telling.

Maybe another streak has already started.

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TIDBITS: In his post-game press conference, Mike Tomlin said Emmanuel Sanders suffered a shoulder joint sprain, but he did return and should be fine for next week.

Fullback Will Johnson may have suffered a concussion. More on him later.

Tomlin said Ike Taylor needs an MRI after suffering an ankle/lower leg injury. Per Pro Football Talk, league source says Ike has fibula injury; fears are that it could be significant, 2-6 weeks absence. More will be learned on Monday via MRI and will be disclosed by Tomlin at his Tuesday press conference. - http://tinyurl.com/csl9v5j

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Paul Kruger on his roughing the passer penalty: "It was a big mistake on my part. I just can't believe I put my teammates in that situation."

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Ray Rice: "This game is not going to make or break our season. Give credit where it's due. They made the plays we've been making over the last few times. They were the last team to beat us here. I guess they're on their playoff run right now. They deserve it. The flip of the coin didn't go our way this game. We'll live to fight another day."

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Speaking of Ray Rice, remember his quotes last week? We put them in our pre-game blog. They were all warm and cozy, weren't they? Well, did anyone see the exchange between the head coaches Tomlin and John Harbaugh? Heh...

Harbaugh says congrats and Tomlin had zero time for him. Harbaugh pulled him back and Tomlin acted as if he'd said all he needed to say. Here's the video of the Mike Tomlin-John Harbaugh "handshake." - http://tinyurl.com/d8zsjep

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Then...
Ed Reed takes pot shot at Charlie Batch: http://tinyurl.com/bsomke6

So much for warm and cozy. But, it's all good, we hate you too. See ya in the playoffs, Ratbirds.