Decline of the Steelers Defense: Is Dick LeBeau to Blame or the Personnel?

Contributing writer, Larry Sayre

I know that some will be curious at first about the title and theme of an article about the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL in 2011.

It's true, though. There are noticeable chinks in the armor of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. There were signs of rust in the Steel Curtain that could be seen as far back as 2008, but definite corrosion had set in starting in 2010.

I know the arguments: the 2008, 2010 and 2011 teams were all 12-4 and had the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 1 ranked defenses. Two of those were Super Bowl teams, including a Super Bowl winner. Though they lost in the first game of last season's playoffs, it can be argued that the loss of five starters to injury or ailment, not to mention a hobbled quarterback, were key reasons for that loss.

Mark Twain is credited with the quote: "There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics. And those stats have lied, to some degree, with the Steelers defense of late.

The poor performance we saw in Sunday's loss to the Oakland Raiders prove some numbers don't lie, though. Meaning the numbers of missed sacks, missed tackles and the many missed assignments. The defensive players talked about some of these after the game. -http://tinyurl.com/d9op85h

Ryan Clark said the lack of performance "wasn't from a lack of trying." LaMarr Woodley admitted that they got pressure a few times, but that it wasn't enough. The Steelers did actually have nine pressures, along with Woodley's sack, against the Raiders, with Foote and Keisel leading the way with three each. Like Woodley said, though, it wasn't enough.

It isn't enough when the Seattle Seahawks recorded nine sacks, not pressures, sacks, against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. In fact, the Seahawks had more sacks in the first half of that game than the Steelers have in three full games this season (8-5).

That used to be the Steelers forte: a rock-hard, fearsome defense that punished quarterbacks, and teams in general, when they faced the Men of Steel. They led the league or were top three in the league in sacks six times in the 10 years from 2001-2010:
2001 .................. 55
2002 .................. 50
2003 .................. 35
2004 .................. 41
2005 .................. 47
2006 .................. 39
2007 .................. 36
2008 .................. 51
2009 .................. 47
2010 .................. 48

That's the crux of this article: the defense isn't feared as it has been even in the recent past, nor does it cause the chaotic confusion it once did. A confusion that is the driving force behind the 3-4 scheme defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau uses. Raiders wide receiver Derek Hagan even said the Steelers were doing pretty much the "same thing they did six, seven years ago..." Carson Palmer all but said as much as well. - http://t.co/lxs2hxI9

This begs the question then: Is it execution of the personnel, quality of personnel or is it just time for a change in coordinators?

Look, it hurts to even ask the third part of that question, let alone write an article on it. LeBeau is tremendously respected and is one of the best all time at what he does. Few have achieved more in football than Dick LeBeau, as a player, as a coach and as a man. Who doesn't love Coach Dad?

Still, it's a subject that needs to be addressed based on what has been seen in the three games this season, on how last season ended and on how certain trends have developed. The word "predictable" has now even been used in connection with Lebeau and his schemes. - http://tinyurl.com/bpepgoz

First of all, be honest, did you see any real adjustments on Sunday to what Palmer and the Raiders offense were doing in the second half?

Considering the defense hadn't gotten any significant pressure from a four-man front before, was there any sense in rushing only four on third-and-10 late in the game?

We've questioned Lawrence Timmons' play in previous articles and ask now if there was any logic to what he was doing all day. We didn't see any creative ways to get a pass rush off the right side from Chris Carter or Jason Worilds. (I checked the tape, they were actually there.) Nor did we see much of anything from the middle, such as the crossfire blitz we suggested in the Raiders preview blog. Did you?

There is other evidence. Let's go back a ways, though, in order to see the genesis of it more clearly.

Everyone remembers the same big plays from Super Bowl 43: James Harrison's Super Bowl record 100-yard interception return and the 82-yard (really 92) drive that ended with the Immaculate Reception II. If you also remember, it was Woodley's strip sack that ended SB 43 and saved the game after a near collapse that started late in the second half after a 20-7 lead.

There were signs even in that game, though, of the issues regarding LeBeau's tendencies.

To be as succinct as possible regarding the game, Arizona had about 15 yards of total offense after the first quarter. They had about 127 yards of offense in the second, most of which came on one drive. They had about a 142 yards in total offense in the first half, 91 came on one drive. Only seven points were given up in the first half. The defense had done an outstanding job to that point.

The 11:30 mark of the 4th is when it went downhill fast. If I remember correctly that is when we started to drop the safeties back, giving a much bigger cushion. Troy Polamalu was rolling over into coverage on Larry Fitzgerald. Polamalu's playing deeper allowed Fitzgerald to get open underneath. It allowed the Cardinals to get momentum and confidence.

That was evidenced by the go ahead touchdown to Fitzgerald when both safeties were very deep. This is an example of what can be bothersome with LeBeau.

The Steelers had been executing a great game plan. Why call off the dogs? Why change what was working? It almost cost the Steelers a Lombardi.

We don't look at the 2009 season itself as an indictment considering that the special teams unit surrendered so many returns that influenced games that year. Nonetheless, the bend-but-don't-break defensive philosophy LeBeau tends to employ late in games, the calling off of the dogs mentality, often comes too quickly. It allows the other team's offense to gain confidence and get into a groove.

It was still seen enough times in '09 to mention it, nonetheless, the Chiefs and Raiders games to name a couple. Though, many times they had been playing very well up to that point, LeBeau started playing passive in those situations which resulted in losses. They basically played to protect a lead, not to plunge the dagger deeper and win.

Super Bowl 45 is obviously on the list of example, but was a little different. It wasn't so much a collapse as it was the Green Bay Packers just exploiting a weak secondary all game. Most Steelers fans knew that would be an issue and it was. It could have been worse, actually. The Packers receivers dropped several balls, including a few that would have been big gains.

What was most bothersome, though, was after the Steelers had stormed back and made it a 28-25 ball game with just over seven minutes left, the defense gave up a huge clock killing field goal drive. The Steelers didn't get the ball back till the 2:07 mark. The defense just couldn't get off the field. Like they couldn't Sunday against the Raiders.

Two straight Steelers' Super Bowls where the defense does not show up late in the fourth quarter when needed most.

Especially now with this last example being presented, was this completely a coaching/scheme issue? Could it be instead a personnel or execution problem? After all, LeBeau has shown the ability to change his attack given the circumstances, as was evidenced in the New England Patriots game last year in 2011. And no one is going to present an argument convincing enough to make believable that LeBeau suddenly forgot how to run a defense.

So we don't think LeBeau necessarily needs to be replaced. He simply needs to get out of this comfort zone, especially at the end of ballgames. His defense was No. 1 in total defense/yards per game at 282.1, in passing yards at 180.4, in passing yards per attempt at 5.6 and in points per game at 15.1. Excellent!

That leads us to the execution of the schemes by the players on the whole.

Without a healthy James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley together most of the year, though, the pass rush was hindered. As has been seen, it hindered the secondary tremendously. Consistent pressure leads to creating more turnovers. Two things the Steelers have severely lacked of late.

Such players as Keenan Lewis and Cortez Allen seemed to emerge. Tez was a big part of the success in the aforementioned Patriots game. He locked down on their tight ends, Gronkowski specifically. Ike Taylor had a very good year as well.

They haven't been stellar this year, though. The Steelers haven't had a true lockdown cornerback since Rod Woodson, nor as elite a corner/safety combination since Woodson and Carnell Lake. All due respect to Ike, he is NOT an elite cornerback. And the youth of Lewis, Tez and Curtis Brown have yet to truly distinguish themselves and give Steeler Nation that warm and fuzzy feeling.

The pass defense is something that can be helped with the return of a healthy Polamalu. Helped, not fixed. - http://t.co/sdwtrKcx

Neither have the youth in the linebacking corps. Worilds, Carter and, to a lesser degree, Stevenson Sylvester haven't yet emerged as a replacement for the aging James Harrison and the retired James Farrior. A linebacking corps that was responsible for allowing 99.8 rushing yards per game last season (only No. 8 last season) and 4.0 yards per attempt (No. 9 last season).

This season has been no different. In some ways it's actually worse. Though, we may see Sylvester after the bye against the Philadelphia Eagles, we won't see Harrison. - http://t.co/sa00Iahz

Certain cognoscenti even have suggested or surmised that Harrison might even be put on IR. Either way, we shouldn't see him before the Tennessee Titans game. That way he'd have a built-in bye week to see if the knee will have been able to respond after actual game time.

If either of two of the last four NFL Defensive Players of the Year returns the defense will be helped. Again though, helped, not fixed. It needs more. To quote Lance Williams of Steel Curtain Radio, the young guys have to become the guys.

The Steelers historically have always been great against the run. Not lately, though. They need help at inside linebacker also. This is where the loss of one of those young guys, Sean Spence, to IR really hurts. Hurts more than the loss of guard David DeCastro. A lot more. Spence was the draft pick who was brought in to be the hybrid linebacker, the one who could rush, tackle as well as cover tight ends and running backs out of the backfield. Not immediately, but as the season went along he was expected to contribute.

Pointedly, there are two obvious differences from years past to now that smack directly at those linebackers: (1) they are giving away pre-snap reads on blitzes, as alluded to in the Carson Palmer article by Mark Kaboly. And (2) they don't seem to audible out of defensive alignments or assignments as in the past. Like we've written several times this season already, they're caught out of position too often.

Sylvester will be back soon and should help in this area. Spence won't. It hurts a lot more.

Lastly, if it is the players, are they simply not of the caliber that Steeler Nation is used to seeing? Kevin Colbert is known for having a keen eye for talent, but no one is perfect. It's at least feasible that the majority of this crop of talent is that in name only.

If that is the case, it might behoove LeBeau and company to borrow from Art Rooney II and "tweak" things some. Maybe try some defensive changes that suit the personnel. Persuade LeBeau to use more 4-3 (Woodley did play defensive end at Michigan after all) or 4-2-5 alignments. It isn't as if the 3-4 doesn't work, as the Arizona Cardinals under former Steelers assistant Ray Horton, use it quite effectively. They have the players for it, though.

As an extra element to consider regarding the 3-4, the Chicago Bears are the absolute last team to never have used it in some form. With so many teams using it part-time or as their base defense, the element of surprise or at least unfamiliararity is gone. For a deeper look at it, please review an article we wrote on it last year. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2011/10/3-4-vs-4-3-defense-is-it-time-for.html

That being the case, use Steve McLendon to attack more - Hampton clearly isn't getting it done as it is. Use Cameron Heyward more as well to help spell Brett Keisel and to get more comfortable with the defense and more experience in it. The standard is supposed to be the standard, right?

The point is that they need to either be more flexible with their schemes, LeBeau's defense is very complex as it is, draft better players or execute better. The first among those would seem to be execution. - http://tinyurl.com/9g33t72

All things considered, the Steelers defense isn't doomed for the doldrums of the NFL anytime soon. The issues they have are not truly problems yet, especially with two, possibly three, players coming back in the next few weeks. They will, though, be forced to find some way to at most instill that fear once again or at least slow down their opponents when it counts most. Neither of which they have been able to do in a long time.

Steelers Lose Again To Raiders Amidst Turnovers And Penalties

Submitted for your approval...

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 at Raiders - Commitment to Mediocrity

A long time ago in a galaxy far away...

Years ago when the Oakland Raiders were a power in the NFL, their eccentric owner Al Davis coined slogans such as "Commitment to Excellence" and the famous "Just Win, Baby."

These are not your father's Raiders.

Since being blasted in the Super Bowl in 2002, they have gone a combined 45-99 through 2011. So far in 2012, they're 0-2 and hurting at key positions.

The Raiders of this generation look nothing like what Al Davis built for so many years: there is no air of supremacy when they step on the field, there is no fear of the big, bad silver and black and they just don't win, baby.

It has been a commitment to mediocrity.

Despite that, the 2006 2-14 Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-13. It was a game in which a concussed, recently stitched up and lucky to be alive Ben Roethlisberger shouldn't have played. He threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. We wrote in out last article about their secondary problems, so don't expect a repeat performance. - http://tinyurl.com/9y7h3xw

Nonetheless, this is the NFL and an overlooking of an opponent can lead to a loss. We've seen it yet again this season around the league already and are sure to see it again...just not this weekend.

The Steelers may have their issues, especially running the ball, but the Raiders are worse. They have a very poor running game that only averages only 2.0 yards per carry (YPC). They also have their troubles in the air.

Starting quarterback Carson Palmer has already thrown 94 passes, second highest in the NFL. Palmer has the yards to show for it (670), but he’s only produced two touchdown passes. He ranks 22nd in the league with a 84.1 passer rating.

The coaching staff is still weary of the veteran QB and what the potential the Raiders offense has.

"This guy is a veteran guy, who is very familiar with us and how we attack people," head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday. "He probably has as much experience against facing our defense and our pre snap looks and our blitz packages, as any quarterback in football. He's always represented himself well against us."

That's a bit of Tomlin-speak actually. Palmer has completed just 234 of 410 pass attempts for 2,402 yards and 17 touchdowns against 11 interceptions when facing the Steelers in the regular season action with 11 interceptions.

They don't exactly have All-Pros at wide receiver either. Instead of T. J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry and the vociferous Chad Johnson/Ochocinco/Johnson/Inmate 92-3654AJ-42, Palmer has Darrius Heyward-Bey, Rod Streater and Denarius Moore to catch his passes.

I thought it was interesting to see Dick LeBeau experiment with the 4-2-5 alignment five times against Jets when he hadn't used it in Training Camp or preseason. - http://tinyurl.com/8mp6fst

Equally interested by the lack of snaps for Steve McLendon. Casey Hampton still getting the greater number of snaps. Especially with use of the 4-2-5, I would have thought McLendon would see more snaps. Not yet, though.

I would think we'd see more of the more agile McLendon if the Raiders do use Darren McFadden in the Wildcat formation like the Steelers expect they might. - http://t.co/bPdndfk0

The Raiders, though, will be without starting right tackle Khalif Barnes which should allow LaMarr Woodley to be able to have his way with backup Willie Smith. Their suspect interior should be susceptible to LeBeau's crossfire blitz scheme as well.

The Steelers have blitzed on 50.8% of the passing plays against them this year so far. Without James Harrison and Troy Polamalu once again (and probably until the Tennessee Titans Thursday night game, that may increase Sunday.

Defensively for the Raiders, it should be noted that they've allowed 295 yards on the ground in two losses, putting them in the bottom five of the league in run defense. So, running on them should aid the Steelers paltry numbers on the ground.

Last Sunday, 47% of the plays executed by the Steelers’ offense were runs, but Redman only had 25 yards on 12 carries, while Dwyer had only 28 on 12 attempts. Most of this came on the 10-minute scoring drive. Tomlin recognizes the need for improvement.

"We’ve got to get better on first-and-10, second-and-medium. We’ve got to block better."

Steel Curtain Radio's Lance Williams considers the Steelers inability to run and the Raiders inability to stop the run to be a wash, though. His latest podcast brilliantly breaks down what to expect this Sunday. - http://steelcurtainradio.com/?p=273

The difference once again might just be the passing game. The difference in the Steelers wide receiving corps and the aforementioned Raiders WRs is most evident in this stat: the Steelers are tops in the NFL in converting third downs at 55.9%, including 8 of 13 when needing at least nine yards. The Raiders, on the other hand, are dead last at 22.2%.

Naturally, a big part of that is quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger. He's been lethal on third down in the first two games and is completing approximately 65% of his passes and has a 99.5 passer rating. An "MVP-type of quarterback" according to wide receiver Mike Wallace.

These are not your father's Oakland Raiders. Don't expect another Immaculate Reception. - http://tinyurl.com/8mw7wr5

Should all of this play out like I expect it to, look for the Steelers to go to 2-1 on the season with a 24-13 victory.

Secondary Of Primary Concern Sunday At Raiders; Goodbye, Steve Sabol

On Coordinator Thursday, offensive coordinator Todd Haley noted that Oakland does not play as much man coverage as in the past. "The [Oakland] Raiders look different than what you're used to seeing."

Very different. Primarily because their secondary is in such disarray.

Injuries have plagued the Raiders starting the opening day against the San Diego Chargers when starting cornerback Ron Bartell went down to a broken scapula (or, shoulder blade - the bone that connects the humerus/upper arm bone with the clavicle/collar bone), and has been placed on the short-term IR.

Add to that, they lost their other starting cornerback Shawntae Spencer in the Miami Dolphins in week two for several weeks to a sprained foot. They will likely be starting Pat Lee and Joselio Hanson, soon-to-be NFL All-Pros I'm sure, against the Steelers on Sunday.

Coye Francies was promoted off of their practice squad on Sunday, and Ohio St. Buckeye product Chimdi Chekwa could be promoted as well at some point, for depth and for serving Nickel and/or Dime and possibly special teams. They also have Philip Adams on their roster, but he is mainly for returns.

Yet, they traded DeMarcus Van Dyke. That's fine, gold is worth more than silver anyway. - http://preview.tinyurl.com/9ffufa7

That said, this is still the NFL and we all know what former commissioner Pete Rozzelle maintained.

On any given Sunday in 2006, the Steelers went into the Black Hole to face a 1-5 Raiders team (they ended up 2-14) and lost 20-13. This version is winless, but could easily be 1-1 if they hadn't lost their long snapper Jon Condo to injury with a blow to the head. That spelled disaster as reserve middle linebacker Travis Goethel went in to sub for him and saw three snaps. Only one of them was a successful punt.

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, though, said that the crowd noise of the Black Hole won't affect how they do things. Specifically speaking of the noise that can be generated there, he knows it can be a factor but he won't change what he wants to do.

When asked if crowd noise ever dictates going to the no-huddle offense, Haley replied, "No I don't think it will ever be a factor if we go to it. Crowd noise can always be a factor....It's always an issue but it will never be a big enough issue that you don't do it. You are going to have to use it in the two-minute situations at the end of the half and at the end of the game, and throughout the game whenever you see fit."

Not that this is surprising, but Haley also said the Steelers will ease Rashard Mendenhall back into normal workload when he is cleared.

"When the green light is given, you still have to be smart with it. The guy has been out a good part of a year....Easing him into it would be the way to go about it."

All of what Haley said regarding attacking the Raiders was recorded on Steelers.com on Thursday. - http://tinyurl.com/czh98en

The Raiders aren't the only ones with secondary issues, though, as safety Troy Polamalu missed practice for the fifth day in a row and isn't expected to play again Sunday in Oakland. For that matter, neither is James Harrison. - http://t.co/08ZcH7tA
http://t.co/pFf957m1

Every Steelers fan know what Polamalu means to this defense. Fortunately, the defense also has free safety Ryan Clark back, which Polamalu acknowledges is a boon to the defense.

"He studies a lot of film, got a great sense of our defense, a natural leader, an awesome football player."

Broadening the defensive look a bit, Stevenson Sylvester was back at practice on Thursday and that's good news to a defense short on linebackers. He knows his presence will be welcomed because of all of the injuries to the position.

"Linebacker position is hard, it's hard to get away from injuries, this year we got a little bit but we're making a comeback," he said.

He's right, which means veteran linebackers need to prove worthy of the money they've been paid. Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley NEED to lead these this corps from this point on. This is an important year for Jason Worilds as well. All are very important while Polamalu and Harrison remain sidelined.

Not just for Sunday, but as a realistic at what could the lineup as early as next season.

~

We at If It Ain't Steel were going to do a specific tribute to Steve Sabol for his contributions to the NFL and each of our individual lives. When, though, we saw the emotion on host Rich Eisen's face as he announced the passing of Mr. Sabol on Tuesday, September 18, we knew we couldn't write anything more moving or poignant than what was in his eyes and in his countenance.

We capitulate to human emotion and provide you the segment NFL Network provided: http://tinyurl.com/bquwu5v

Too Soon To Question Steelers Identity

"I don't understand the rush to define, or box in by definition, a Steelers offense that's in the embryonic stages. I like the fundamentals." - Jim Wexell (@jimwexell on Twitter).

We at If It Ain't Steel were discussing this topic, amongst others, Monday morning as we reflected on the NFL football weekend. Excited about the Steelers win, yet keeping it in perspective, debating the age-old 'did this one lose the game or did that one win it' angle when talking about the Ravens vs. Eagles games, etc...

Regarding the Steelers we simply called the game a win without attempting to define them any further than that...yet. 

Consider the offensive line and running backs briefly. While the offensive line played fairly well, they were still better in pass blocking than in run blocking - only two true sacks were given up. 

The running backs, Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer, looked good in spurts, especially on the more than 10-minute drive that was the icing on the Renegade cake. 

They're hardly going to be ground and pound offense, though. There are 14 players who have more yards rushing yards than the Steelers do as a team.

In fact, through the first two games, the Steelers offense looks a lot like last year's: a shaky offensive line and pedestrian run game (Is that an oxymoron?). 

The main bright spots yet again are Ben and the receiving corps. With due respect to safety Ryan Clark getting the Steelers Digest Player of the Week nod, Ben Roethlisberger was best on the field Sunday after redeeming himself from last week.

The first two games from last year to this year are even similar: after a disappointing loss to a team that seemingly had more riding on the game, the Ravens still smarting from the previous season's third playoff loss to the Steelers and Peyton Manning wanting to prove he was still Peyton Manning, they go out and pummel their next opponent (24-0 and 27-10).

Even the yardage given up by the defense is nearly identical - the defense has surrendered all of 4 yards more this season through two games. 

On the subject of the defense, they had a good performance, yes, but Mark Sanchez is no Peyton Manning and the receivers dropped at least five passes. 

SteelerAddicts.com's Marc, aka @SteelDad on Twitter, aka Daddio, tweeted regarding the Steelers defense: "[Florida] Gators using zone blitz effectively. I remember when the Steelers did that."

Four sacks in two games adds weight to his sentiment. 

That said, the defense did allow just 10 pass completions from Sanchez. As was written about last week, they were much better at the yards they allowed after the catch. I don't have exact numbers, but I know just from watching that the defense allowed fewer than 50 YAC, with 14 of those yards coming on the pass from Sanchez to wide receiver Jeremy Kerley on the New York Jets first offensive possession.

All told, the defense allowed just 3.4 yards per catch and only, when you take away the lone Wildcat play of the game, 3.09 yards per rush. They also limited the Jets to two explosive/splash plays. 

They were greatly helped, though, by the fact that the Steelers had the ball except for all but 2:43 of fourth quarter. The catalyst of that disparity was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Big Ben was 24-31 for 275 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He was superb all game. The previous week he was neck-and-neck with Manning, until the very end, as he continually converted on third down. 

This week was even better. 

Per the Steelers official website, Big Ben's passer rating was above 125 for the 19th time in his career, It was 125.1 on Sunday. 

Big Ben looks very comfortable distributing the ball all over the place, especially on third downs, hitting 10 different receivers vs. the Jets.

As was mentioned earlier, Big Ben has been money on third downs through two games as he converted 11-of-14 against the Broncos and was 8-of-10 including a touchdown against the Jets.

With Hines Ward now sitting in the NBC Sunday Night Football booth waiting for the opportunity to blindside Mike Florio (hey, I can dream), the Steelers underrated tight end Heath Miller has been the Steelers third down target of many of those, mainly in the red zone, so far this season. 

In a previous If It Ain't Steel article, it was predicted that this would be the case, pointing out that Heath had seen few such opportunities under former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, and that Todd Haley would emphasize the tight end. 

Case in point, Heath already has as many touchdowns as he had all last season: two. 

Teams will eventually key in on this which will open the door for the four wide receivers to get more touches on third downs, red zone and otherwise. 

Though I'm certainly not now about to advocate throwing it all over the field on every down, Todd Haley still needs to recognize that the offense goes through Big Ben. Instituting the offense and running the ball more is fine. At times, though, Ben just needs to be Ben. Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review agrees. - http://t.co/LySOsHIm

Big Ben is seeing field very well and his remaining upright will only benefit the team when they'll need him the most come playoff time. It doesn't mean, though, that you don't keep working on the run game. It will get better, especially once Rashard Mendenhall returns. 

The running game isn't currently very good, no, but it was effective late in the game Sunday, proving that you must stick with it. It keeps the defense honest and disallows them from simply pinning their ears back and zoning in on the quarterback. 

When the Steelers absolutely had to pass at the end of the Broncos game, that's exactly what their defense did, because they knew the Steelers absolutely had to pass. Remember the results?

We mustn't assume, either, that the defense is a No. 1 ranked unit just by stepping on the field. They'll go through growing pains too. Fortunately, they will get two starters and a third key backup, out with injuries for Sunday's game, in James Harrison (knee), Troy Polamalu (calf) and Stevenson Sylvester (knee) back after the bye week. The return of these players will only bolster the defense.

So, let's hold off on trying to label the team yet or trying to define what they'll be. Because the only thing we know for a certainty at this point is that Big Ben Roethlisberger wears the number that we're all striving for when it's all said and done...and there's a lot of improvement needed before then.

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?

Despite Steelers Injuries: "No Excuses...We Just Gotta Get Better”

Tim Tebow, Mark Sanchez and the rest of the New York Jets bring their sometimes quasi-West Coast/rhythm offense, sometimes Single Wing/Spread Option/Wildcat offense into Heinz Field to battle the Steelers. In a game where they will be smarting from a loss to the Broncos, the man who was primarily responsible for the previous loss in Denver will be seen yet again. The Steelers plan to be ready for what may be thrown their way. 

Outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, reflecting the necessity to avoid two conference losses this early in the season, was direct about it. Along with his quote above stating that they must get better he also offered a guarantee, of sorts: “We will not be 0-2.”

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was more diplomatic when he spoke of the Jets and what they may throw the Steelers way. 

“I really think what we saw in their last game is just the tip of the iceberg,” Tomlin said when referring to Tebow’s Wildcat role in the Jets’ 48-28 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. “It will require some extra work on our part. It will not be an extended or unusual extra amount of work [though] in preparation.”

Tony Sparano first brought the Wildcat offense to the NFL when he was the Dolphins coach. He used running back Ronnie Brown as a Single Wing-type tailback who could rush or pass. Tebow beat the Steelers in the 2011 playoffs in Denver, though, with more of the Spread Offense than the Wildcat when he accounted for 346 total yards and two touchdowns. - http://t.co/s02vdtLq

Sparano is now the Jets offensive coordinator and, while he uses Tebow in that Wildcat, actually getting ready for the more conventional rhythm offense with Mark Sanchez should be priority. As Tomlin said, there "will not be an extended or unusual extra amount" of practice for the Wildcat. Rightly so, considering it is Sanchez who is coming off a career game where he was 19 of 27 for 266 yards and three touchdowns. He lead the Jets to a team record in points for an opening weekend.

Jets running back Shonn Greene needs to be accounted for as well as he ran 27 times for 94 yards, exactly what the Broncos recorded against the Steelers Sunday. There are also tight end Justin Keller and wide receivers Stephen Hill, Jeremy Kerley (who may not play due to injury) and some guy named Antonio or Santonio or something. 

The Jets have weapons and, despite the fumbles by Greene and the ineffective play Tebow on Sunday, they can beat you on the ground as well as in the air. The Steelers must be ready in all phases of the game in defense. 

Because of that potential versatility of the Jets offense, Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau must be able to adjust, must not be stubborn in his schemes/play calling and must PREACH being gap sound (especially in the Wildcat) and tackling the catch. He and the Steelers were poor in all of those areas against the Broncos. There have even been rumblings that LeBeau has been guilty of at least two of the three for a few years now. A solid, if not dominant, performance this week and beyond will quiet that talk.

The defensive line didn't hold the point of attack like we've seen them do in the past, though it was at least better than opening day last season and the season on the whole. They only gave up 3.48 yards per carry (YPC), as opposed to last year's Cut Block Bowl in which the Ravens gashed them for 5.48 YPC, versus a 4.0 average given up last year. Let's hope it's the start of something good.

Despite most likely being without James Harrison again this week, and, along with Stevenson Sylvester, possibly not until after the bye, the thought of dominance may be a stretch, but a solid, Steeler-like defensive performance isn't. It just means we need Larry Foote, Lawrence Timmons and Jason Worilds (who may start ahead of Chris Carter) to pick up the slack...and for LaMarr Woodley to actually make it out of the locker room this time. 

It also means that the secondary needs to redeem themselves. Too many yards were allowed after the catch last Sunday. Players were out of position to make necessary tackles. When, then, they were in position to make the tackle, they didn't. Remember when the Steelers secondary was a fierce, sure-tackling unit? Carnell Lake does. 

To be fair, I remember when Ike Taylor could be counted on that way. I still feel he has the ability to do that and can remind Cortez Allen and Keenan Lewis how to also. We need to see it again. Desperately. Especially with trading Ryan Clark for Troy Polamalu, who is possibly out Sunday. According to LeBeau, Polamalu’s status is questionable after he sat out the past two days of workouts with a strained calf muscle. - http://tinyurl.com/8qscpca

No matter who's playing or not, the Jets free safety LaRon Landry says they'll have the better defense in Heinz Field on Sunday. 

"We can be as great as we want to be. I'm not about to turn it into a controversy, but I think we can win over them, declared Landry. "I think we have all the pieces that they have, even better. To answer your question, I think we'll pull it off. If you look at the starter at each position....I like the matchup. I choose my guys over any of their guys, especially in our defensive scheme." - http://t.co/36o7QaK2

He is certainly one who backs up what he says, as evidenced by knocking Bill's wide receiver Fred Jackson from the game and forcing a fumble last Sunday, and the Steelers know it. Most notably among those is Steelers WR Jerricho Cotchery who once played with the Jets. 

"We’re seeing some of the same stuff with Rex and how he calls it - guys all over the place. But I think the presence of (the) safety, Landry, I think that’s something I really haven’t seen," said Cotch. "He’s a physical presence. You have to find him. It’s been a while. He’s an excellent player and he’s making a lot of plays for the defense."

"The guy looks like Popeye...He's got the built-in spinach. He brings it," Cotch added.

Regardless of what Landry may bring to the game, the Steelers, especially the receivers, welcome the challenge the Jets defense brings. 

"We love it. We love when we see one-on-one coverage.You gotta beat your man then, and that's what we gotta do," Steelers WR Antonio Brown on facing the Jets man coverage. 

Steelers WR Mike Wallace on Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis: "He's a great player. He's probably the best in the league at what he does. But, I don't feel like he's going to change what we do out there. We're just going to go out there and play our game. Hopefully, we have success."

Wallace should expect success, he caught seven balls for 102 yards back on December 19, 2010 when he last faced the Jets. If Revis does play Sunday, though, as he's not practiced this week through Thursday due to a concussion, he more than likely would face Brown leaving Cromartie, the longer of the two cornerbacks to face Wallace. 

The man passing to those receivers, Ben Roethlisberger, has a new target also, though: Heath Miller. I pointed out in a previous article how seldom he'd been used in the red zone under Bruce Arians. I then suggested that in Todd Haley's offense Heath could get career numbers in either catches, yards and/or touchdowns. We saw a glimpse of that Sunday as he just missed having two scores in the red zone. Whether a 12, 21 or 22 personnel package, expect Haley to use him again that way Sunday. 

Haley also seems to be comfortable letting Ben call plays in no-huddle, something Big Ben talked openly about Thursday. - http://t.co/omlrkmIR

Haley wants to run a ball control offense, knowing that the ability to run the ball early in the game opens up the passing game, but Big Ben still has to get involved early too. If they do that, I expect the Steelers will back up Woodley's "guarantee" and get their first win.