Contributors
The Zone Blitz is a free-flowing style of article that we've started this football season to help review the previous week's action. Occasionally throughout the season, we'll add a Zone Blitz Special Report featuring discussion focusing on a specific hot topic. This week, I've asked mikesteelnation1 to join me in discussing the state of the 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers.
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:56 PM
Subject: Re: Zone Blitz: State of the Steelers
From: trumpetbdw
To: mikesteelnation
Alright boss, I need some help. Please talk me off the ledge with the Steelers this year. Going into the season, I had a hunch that this year would either be really good or really bad. So far, the latter has been true. While I can see the signs that a rise to mediocrity is possible, and things are never as bad as they appear, it's been well over a decade since things have appeared to be this bleak.
In 2000, the Steelers were coming off of back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1985-86. If you'll remember, the 1998 team was a very promising 7-4 heading into a Thanksgiving Day game with Detroit. That game was tied and headed for OT when referee Phil Luckett {misremembered} Jerome Bettis calling "Tails", saying he called "Heads", awarding the ball to Detroit, and forever changing the rules for the coin flip (the next year, the NFL instituted the rule that the coin flip would be called prior to the flip of the coin, rather than while the coin was in the air). That loss was the 1st of 5 straight to close the season, and then led to a 6-10 season in 1999. In 2000, the Steelers seemingly moved on from Kordell Stewart, and signed the immortal Kent Graham to serve as the new starting QB. Graham {shockingly} lost his 1st 3 games as a starter that year (with an incredibly spectacular 0/0 TD/INT ratio), and things couldn't have looked more bleak. Of course, that team had the X Factor on the bench in Stewart, who took over in week 4 and started 11 games that year. They also had a still spry Jerome Bettis, and a young/nasty defense that helped them rebound to a 9-7 finish.
This year's team appears to be the exact opposite of the team in 2000. The best weapons on offense are centered around the passing game, and the defense and running game are both lacking explosion. That team finished with a +14 TO differential, while this team is currently tied for last with a -9 TO differential. This year's team is also sitting on a -32 point differential, which is 29th in the league. It's still early, obviously, but that brings up a truly amazing stat. Over the previous 20 seasons, since Bill Cowher took over in 1992, the Steelers have finished with a negative point differential only 3 times. In 1998, they were at -40, 1999 was -3, and 2003 was -27. So after 3 games, they are already sporting their 2nd worst point differential since 1991.
There were some bright spots last week, as the offense was finally able to consistently move the ball against the Bears. But while Ben threw for over 400, and the running game even totaled 21/80 on the ground, they also committed 5 TOs, and had 2 of those returned to the house, which is never a good harbinger of success.
Le'Veon Bell appears to be coming back this week, but is he going to be the answer? While the Steelers are built around the passing game, are the receivers good enough to help provide consistency to this offense? Can the defense start showing signs of life, or is the diatribe that they're too old actually a reality? And perhaps most importantly, is the coaching staff willing to cease their stubbornness, and take the necessary risks to help turn this season around?
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 2:19 AM
Subject: Re: Zone Blitz: State of the Steelers
From: mikesteelnation1
To: trumpetbdw
Alright buddy, here's my best at talking you off the ledge. At the very least, its a well practiced attempt at talking you down. I've been talking myself off the ledge on a weekly basis so far this season.
While the trip down memory lane shows where weve been, and why Steelers fans are so spoiled it speaks little to now, and our future. The only people that it has any direct correlation to are the rooneys and colbert. They are the only ones I'll address in my reply.
Here's why I have faith to begin with. The Rooneys have gone thru 2 prior down cycles with their 2 prior coaches, given them some time, and everything has worked out well. 3 coaches since 1969 and all 3 have Lombardis. We have the best owners in pro sports.
Colbert came to us and went thru trial by fire in 2000. You chronicled the challenges the team had in 98-00. Lots of parallels to draw to show the "down cycle". Just like that 98-00 stretch, our current season is somewhat plagued with a less than what we expect talent level from top to bottom. That 90's team had 2 drafts that gave them zero talent in successive years (96 & 97), as has this team (08 & 09). All the other years involved 2-3 draftees that turned into long time players. Getting zero from a draft has its impact. This is why we're doing things the Steelers NEVER do this year. Play uber young guys. 2 of our lbs are ROOKIES!! ON A LEBEAU DEFENSE!!! our nickel back is a rookie!! The new CBA has changed how we do business, and the rookies are all playing very well. For as bad as the 08-09 drafts were,the 10-13 drafts are helping to make up for it. Enough about the past... Colbert isn't getting fired, and neither is tomlin!! Moving along to the present...
Let's look at a few of our bright spots, and what looks like it could be before I address our deficiencies. AB looked every bit like a true #1 wr Sunday night, proving we paid the right guy. He did things we haven't seen our #1 do in forever it seems. He went up and fought for a jump ball and WON! He made that ridiculous one handed snatch for a TD in the corner of the end zone. He proved he's capable of taking over a game, and making plays, even when the other team knows that's where we're going. That should open things up for the wildly inconsistent other wr's, as teams try harder to stop AB.
Cotchery had a 2nd bad game in a row. That's a good thing, and here's why: perhaps the coaches finally lost faith in Cotchery being so "clutch" in pressure situations, and that opens the door to see more Wheaton. Hopefully a hell of a lot more than the 14 snaps combined he's played in the last 2 games. He could totally change the way defenses play us. He's our fastest guy, and as such could help roll coverage away from AB. At the very least he could force the safeties to play it straight up, no bracket coverages. Or they bracket them both, and totally open up the underneath game.
An underneath game that would be bolstered by moving Sanders back to the slot, where he's much more effective as a wr. Sanders hasn't done well vs the #2 Cbs he's faced thus far.
Speaking of underneath, we've got heath back, and it showed vs the bears. Especially in our intermediate passing game, and our running game. FINALLY a TE that can legit block, not a guy who gets knocked on his ass trying to block a safety with a ten yard run up!! Yes Mr. Paulson I'm talking to you!! (Nelson pancaked him vs the Bengals on that AWFUL Cotchery end around).
Now add in, we get our #1 rb back. A guy who actually has some speed. Felix looked decent running until he got his bell rung and fumbled (watch the slow mo replay of his fumble. He was 100% out cold upon impact.) Until then his speed was making a difference in gaining yards behind our not so good line. Le'veon should be a huge shot in the arm for our offense, especially for our pass blocking.
Our line is young and not so good right now, they will get better with time. They will especially look better with a legit rushing threat in the backfield. Of course they looked bad pass blocking! We couldn't run! The other team KNEW we HAD to pass, so they pinned their ears back and brought the heat on every down. They had no fear of rushing and as a result over pursuing the play giving a back daylight. Dwyer and Redman inspire no fear with their speed. Peppers knew he could over sell on the rush and pursue on the backside any run and still get to the ball carrier for a minimal gain.
A few legit series of runs from Bell, and the heat on Ben will slow. Especially after he burns them on a play action.
I said it before the season, and I'll say it again. Our team will go where the o line allows it. They have been awful, that's fact thus far. That said, a lot of that stems from 2 things- being super young (102 starts for the entire group combined, 45 of those by foster), and being SOOOOO one dimensional on offense. The more they play, the more they will improve. The most inexperienced line in the NFL is bound to have issues. We just got a lot less one dimensional on offense with the additions of Bell, heath, and David Johnson. There is hope...
I'll speak slightly about our defense before I give the floor back to you. This is a very good defense. They may not have a lot of sacks, or many turnovers, but it's a good defense. They have brought tons of pressure so far. Not many sacks because the other team has ALWAYS been ahead nearly every second of every game we've played. When the other team is ahead, they run a lot and take the safe passes. Tough to get a sack on a 3 step drop. When you're not getting sacks, you aren't getting turnovers. Those statistics go hand in hand, especially when ALL of your db's have mannequin hands but troy and Allen (and Allen has been hurt).
This defense could be a beast, but they need to be fresh, and have a lead for a change. They have been on the field for 34 minutes a game. 34 minutes per game on the losing side of the scoreboard. Even with that, they've only given 298yds a game (5th), and allowed less than 20pts a game that the offense didnt give away via a turnover ... BTW, all 4 teams ahead of us in yards allowed have played less than 27 minutes per game, or 20% less time at the very least. Only 4 teams in the league force their d onto the field more than our offense does, and all of them are in the bottom 10. We have our guys out there as much as the worst 5 defenses in the league, yet we're top 5 in yards allowed. Again, this is a good defense, a very good defense... Our woes have nothing to do with our defense. It's ALL on our offense.
Hopefully this has given you some hope... Back to you...
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 3:46 PM
Subject: Re: Zone Blitz: State of the Steelers
From: trumpetbdw
To: mikesteelnation1
I agree with you 100% on the Rooneys and their patience. I remember very well the backlash when many fans wanted Cowher to go during his rough patch. I don't think there's any chance that Tomlin will be fired. However, Todd Haley could be a different story. We were both a fan of the Haley hire, as I recall, mainly because he's proven that he'll adapt his offenses around his best weapons. In Arizona, he ran a very pass-heavy offense, fully utilizing Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin. In KC, his offense was centered around a running game featuring Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. Even last year, it looked like the hire of Haley in Pittsburgh was working out perfectly. Leading up to Ben's injury, the offense was starting to hum, and Roethlisberger was staying cleaner than he had at any other point in his career. But after he went down, they just didn't have the overall talent, and even when Ben came back, he was clearly compromised. They haven't been able to get in sync since.
It's not the pass/run ratio that bothers me. What bothers me is that when they've been running, they've been running up the butt of the center way too much. They also spent too much time (as in, more than 1 carry), trying to give Isaac Redman a shot. Then when they pass, the play calls have been way too conservative. There has been no rhythm to the offense, and after 2 weeks, they were averaging just over 4 plays and 2 minutes per drive. Yet, if there is a strength on offense the Steelers can exploit, it's that no QB has been better in a 2 minute drill than Big Ben over the course of the past 2 seasons. He's the only QB in that situation with a QBR over 90. To ignore the fact that they needed to mix up the tempo was dumbfounding, especially since Haley's proven to adapt in other coaching situations. With that in mind, is it at least possible that the Steelers offense was struggling not because of Haley, but because of the man directly above him on the totem pole?
Of course, they did open things up on Sunday night, partly because the game circumstances dictated that they had to. They certainly moved the ball much better, and put up points, but at the same time, turned the ball over 5 times, and gave up 14 points to the Bears defense. Which brings up another point. Do they have enough skill-position weapons? They addressed the RB situation in the draft, and it will be nice to see Bell in there this Sunday. But since he's been out, they've been scrambling to find production in the ground game, although I think that their initial decision to cut Dwyer instead of Redman was a mistake, no matter how much better Redman is in pass protection. However, the Steelers also have the smallest group of receivers in the league, and that's been the case for a number of years now. Similarly, the Steelers always seem to underperform when it comes to scoring points with any type of consistency. I feel like the main reason for this is the lack of a legit red zone threat. Heath Miller's return is huge, because he is their best threat in 3rd down situations, and in the red zone, but I think it would help tremendously if they would put a priority in finding a prototypical #1 WR. I love Antonio Brown as much as anyone, and think he's a better all-around receiver than Mike Wallace. But there was an 18 game stretch in 2010-11 where Mike Wallace was as good of an explosive/efficient combo package as there was in the league. AB has shown flashes, but hasn't been consistent in his production, and has yet to definitively prove that he can be consistent enough to be a legit #1 WR. Plus, he's another of their WR under 6 feet.
I feel like AB would a perfect #2, slot, X Factor WR playing opposite of one of the prototypical #1s. Look at the best WRs in the league. With the exception of Victor Cruz, the top 10 WRs are all 6'2" or taller. And also other than Cruz, they're all former high draft picks. Megatron, AJ Green, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Demaryius Thomas, Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant, and Reggie Wayne were all top picks, and other than Wayne and White (who are 6'0" and 6'1" respectively), are all physical specimens. This is the reason why I was so adamant about the Steelers going after Tyler Eifert in the draft. While not a WR (I wasn't buying into Cordarrelle Patterson), he was a player that would have had the ability to diversify the offense along side Heath Miller, and take some of the pressure off AB, while giving them the added possibility of increase red zone efficiency. I love Jarvis Jones, and clearly he's filling a big need, and looks like he's on the verge of being a star for years to come, but they've neglected that one extra element of the offense for too long. When you have the chance to rectify it, I think you have to jump.
I will say that the OL seems to be improving. The interior played much better on Sunday night, but the Tackles are still atrocious. I have hope that Mike Adams will develop, but time is already running out for Marcus Gilbert. On the bright side, the likely high pick they'll be receiving next year should allow them to fix that LT situation that's been a trouble spot for them since Marvel Smith left town.
On defense, I agree that sacks will lead to turnovers. The problem is, this is now a 3 year trend where the sack/TO numbers are way down. Woodley is healthy, and Jones looks like a monster. Plus, there have been some good signs from the DL. But they still haven't gotten to the QB on a consistent basis, and in an extra effort to do so, it appears that the run defense is suffering. While the defense is still good, and Ike Taylor is as good as anyone in the league at shutting down opponent's #1s, the fact is, I don't think anyone is scared of the Steelers defense any more. You used to play Pittsburgh, and know that your QB was going to get beat up, you weren't going to run, and that you were likely going to have to overcome a couple of TOs to win. That's just not the case at this point. Cortez Allen coming back will help, and the continued development of Jarvis Jones and Shamarko Thomas will as well. But this isn't the same shut down defense we're used to, and it's not the same explosive defense we've seen over the past 20 years. Maybe that changes as the season progresses, but I just don't see it. Do you honestly think they'll hold AD under 100 and without a TD on Sunday? I'd have expected it a few years ago, but now, I'm afraid of what he's going to do to them. And that's even with the fact they'll be able to stack 9 in the box to stop him.
I'm going past my limit, so I'll throw it back to you to finish things up. I never expected that I'd turn into the bad cop, but I guess that's my role here. Tell me why I'm wrong, mike. I want to feel better about them. At least I have my Pirates distraction. I sent my first Pirates-related text last year, literally less than 1 minute after Mike Nugent's FG sailed through the uprights for Cincy knocking us out of the playoff hunt, and nothing has happened since to divert my attention. I'm just hoping that next week at this time, I'm still thinking about the Pirates' next game, and not the end of their season. Close us out mike. Tell us all why the Steelers are still a legit threat to take home the AFC North, and compete for a Super Bowl.
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 4:04 AM
Subject: RE: Zone Blitz: State of the Steelers
From: mikesteelnation1
To: trumpetbdw
I agree that I was a fan of the Haley hire, for the same reasons you were. I'm getting more and more off of thinking that every week. You definitely aren't the bad cop here, you just asked me to talk you off the ledge!! What's a good friend to do but go a shade too much Pollyanna to get you not to jump??
Now that I dragged you off the ledge, I'll be a bit more critical. Haley hasn't adjusted like he did previous. The hurry up is a dirty word in his play book. Everything he scripts and calls looks like complete garbage in motion in front of our eyes. The only plays that are worth anything this year is when he isn't involved in the outcome of the play being called. Either the hurry up, or Ben scrambling for his life and making a sandlot play from nothing. The offense has only moved when those 2 things have happened.
Haleys calls have been useless. When you have no useful running backs, no useful tight ends (at doing anything), a horrible o line, and only 2 wrs that see the field capable of making something happen (one much more than the other, and the one who can was rarely targeted in game 2). All the while Haley saw the same things I (we) saw on the field.
Before game 3 the only success we had on offense was on hurry up, yet we only ran it during the final 4 minutes of halves. That didn't change much in game 3, and the other success came with Ben being Ben!! Creating time, and SURPRISE, the wWR Ben has the most continuity with had a career game.
I'm over Haley, and he's probably a dead man walking at this point, unless we see a markedly different product on the field. And I think we will. Heath isn't on a pitch count anymore. We have a legit starting RB now (we hope), and the line should continue to improve. Hopefully Haley uses that, plus what the team is good at (like using the hurry up sporadically to break out of some of the offensive malaise we seem to get stuck in). Not sure if he can contain his hubris to call the hurry up as much as it should be called, I'm certain he can't. Hope I'm wrong...
While I'm feeling good about the additions of Heath and Bell to the line up, it would benefit from a big bodied legit #1 wr. AB is the second best thing though. We've tried to get that big bodied guy, remember Limas Sweed??
We never draft high enough to get "that" guy. You said it yourself, they were all top of 1st round picks. Our ONLY top of first round pick for over a decade has been big Ben. As much as you loved Eifert, Jones was the correct pick. Eifert would have solved zero on offense (he's not good at blocking, and with our line our TEs need to block), meanwhile Jones has made splash plays on defense and been a beast on special teams. He's the STARTER 3 weeks in on a LEBEAU defense, and it had nothing to do with injury. Just skill!!
That said, I'd love a big bodied #1 wr. However, that isn't going to happen for us because our defense does what it does and we have an established franchise QB.
Neither does any other entrenched franchise QB, who's considered among the top 5, unless they inherited them (PM inherited his guy). Sans that ability to pick so high, we've done a damn good job at acquiring WRs in the mid to late rounds. They aren't the biggest guys, but they get open without being a bully, just being a better technician. Unless this is the year we get such a high pick, we should just get used to our smallish guys. Even then, we would likely pick a tackle. So basically, we should get used to our smallish guys. That is unless Moye improves dramatically, and we see his 6'5" frame out there more.
We'll start winning when the offense isn't a disaster. When it doesn't look like a Keystone Kops moment. When the line is half decent, the back gains some yards, and Ben isn't running for his life every second of every snap. With Bell and heath back, that actually seems possible.
About our defense, no one fears us because the rules have changed so much since they did. You can't hammer the QB and WRs anymore. You can't even get a hit on the QB when he's throwing 3 step drops, not enough time. All we've seen is short drops and a completely ineffective offense. One happens because of the other, and always being behind. Given the deficiencies the defense has been handed, it's #5 in yards allowed, eventhough we're nearly last in time on the field.
In closing, while there's lots of reasons to doubt our team, there's enough reasons to have hope. If not for this season, for next. Our depth sucks. That's the price you pay for 2 drafts that yielded you basically ZERO. The youngsters look good. They will get better the more they play..
I'd be insane to attempt to sell you on us being able to win the AFCN, much less a Super Bowl. Rational thought tells us there's no way in Hell that's happening. We'd need a complete turn around, with Baltimore and Cincy slipping up..
That said, remember, any given Sunday applies. We were the first team to win a SB as a 6 seed. We won 5 straight to EARN that 6 seed. Then we won 4 straight on the road to hoist a Lombardi.. still a few players on the squad from then.. most notably, big Ben.
Anything can happen.. what I think and what I hope are in direct opposition. 13 games on the gridiron to decide that.
I'll keep believing for now... Remember, any given Sunday.. I spend too much time and resources to think otherwise..
