Sunday the conditions at Heinz Field were made for defenses, and clearly the Steelers took advantage of it in their latest win to get to 10-3 on the year, beating the Bengals 23-7.
But as the season progresses, and the Steelers continue to tweak travel plans for hopefully three playoff games including one in Dallas, the offense at some point is going to need to find a way to crack the end zone.
The past two weeks the offense has crossed the goal line just once, and yes, it was a big one time, the TD pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Issac Redman that was the game winner vs the Ravens in the teams 13-10 win last Sunday night.
Sunday they had solid drives most of the second half after a slow start, but bogged down in the red zone, and at one point they had a drive that lasted over 9 minutes and they could not score.
It’s a concern, but one that comes with a win, so it feels just a little less stinging than one that comes in a setback.
“It was a nasty day outside. We started out pretty slow, but we were getting some big plays,” WR Mike Wallace said. “We just weren’t scoring touchdowns. We were getting down there. We just have to finish drives. That’s our biggest problem. We don’t really ever have a problem moving the ball. It’s just finishing drives. We have to score when we get to the red zone.”
Sunday they had drives that covered 13, 10 and 15 plays, yet scored just six points in the course of the three drives, the one that was 15 plays covered 50 yards and ended in a punt.
“I felt like we did some good things offensively like we possessed the ball. I don’t know what the time [of possession] was, but it had to be pretty good,” Roethlisberger said. “I think one drive, we might have gone about 140 yards because we kept going and backwards and going backwards. And those things feel good. But it’s not good enough because we have to score points. Field goals aren’t good enough. Luckily our defense bailed us out.”
That they did. They had two pick six’s, one from Troy Polamalu and the other from LB LaMarr Woodley. So while the offense was able to keep the Bengals off the field with long drives, the defense came up with the big plays that saw the Steelers finally cross the goal-line.
“Our defense is just something else. Troy [Polamalu] and I always talk before the last couple of games. I tell him to do something magical and he tells me to do something magical. Troy always does it,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s something special, that whole unit, LaMarr Woodley. It’s funny because Larry Foote and I were talking right around the beginning of the fourth quarter and he said, “Can you say AFC defensive player of the week.” And he was all about Woodley. So I said, well what about Troy? Then he got that second pick, and I looked at Foote and he said, “co-defensive players of the week.”
Now with three games to go before the team has to start their second season, they have to find ways to get the offense going again. Could trick plays be in the forecast? Or is it just as simple as execution? That’s up to the players and coaching staff, who have to figure it out before they get to a point in a game where they are not getting those defensive touchdowns.
“We’re a team; we’ll get it right,” Wallace said. “Some games, we do really good in the red zone. Some games we don’t. I feel like this just wasn’t a game where we did well in the red zone. The next game we’ll be looking to capitalize when we get down there.”
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mark
December 13, 2010 at 12:14 pm
10-3 is a fine record, no one denies that. The problem continues to be the offensive line. Penalties are certainly an area of concern, but the overall play is just miserable. I understand they are banged-up and we have a make-shift line, but other than Pouncey (who gets a pass as a starting rookie) is there any other player on that line anyone can say is very good? They all seem to be just mediocre players. Ok, the team is winning the past few years with mediocrity in front of a Great Quarterback, but how long will this go un-addressed? Failure to score TD’s the past few games is attributed to horrendous line play. Inability to run,abandoning the run for whatever reason and watching our qb run for his life on practically every drop-back is directly related to the poor play of the o-line. How can a starting left tackle lead the league in holding calls when he has only started about 5 games? Do I think this team can win a Super Bowl with the current state of the team? Actually, yes I still do. The problem is there are teams that will be better at taking advantage of these problems than the Bills/Bengals were. Taking the Patriots out of the equation, the AFC does not have a team that should be favored over the Steelers, regardless of where the game would be played.The play of the O-line makes the Steelers have to play nail-biters against teams they should dominate. I am starting to think that Arians, although I am not a fan of his, is doing his best to move the ball in the face of such poor and unstable lineman. This coming April, the Steelers need to finally address this problem by using their 1st pick (or more) on the line. I dont care what position it is, just improve this line! Grab another lineman in FA if need be. It’s safe to say that for all the woes in the secondary, the O-line is the thing that can ruin this otherwise solid season.
The Tony
December 13, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Lack of scoring is always a concern for any team, however the past two games we have only scored one touchdown, I am still not worried about that. We are moving the ball with ease at times and yet the O-line continues to let us down. The scoring will come, so there should be no need to worry. I have to believe that during the game yesterday the yet again the RIDICULOUS uncalled roughing the quarterback on Ben, if called would have generated more points. Im not positive but I think that on all of the late hits were on the Bongols side of the field. This week we square off against the struggling Jets. A win against them should all but garuantee the win of the division and the 2 seed in the playoffs. I fully expect the Jets to be a hard fought battle, because they have 3 more road games against playoff caliber teams, and if they falter they may not make it to the playoffs. So we definently need to come out firing. The Jets lead the league in blitzes just about over 55% of the time, so running the ball and quick three step passes are going to be key in protecting Ben. Granted the Jets offense is struggling, even worse than ours, but that team still has the talent at any time to put up points so we are going to need to apply the pressure on Sanchez to make him make mistakes. I can confidently say look to Hines Ward to have another big day. Revis is going to have his handsful trying to keep up with Wallace, so look for the quick passes to Ward and Miller. Next to the Ravens and Patriots every Steelers fan should have this game marked down. This is going to be another game that we need to win with Steelers football! Lastly has anyone heard about the progress of Aaron Smith? Can we expect him back for the playoffs? Having Keisel back has been a giant boost for our defense. If we can get Smith back and the rest of our boys stay healthy than look to this team to make a deep run into february!
Brandon
December 13, 2010 at 3:51 pm
I think we will be ok, I just loved seeing ocho cinco and T.O. losing another game, crying like the bitches they are.
Mike
December 13, 2010 at 6:46 pm
I am going to try and defend our oline here and i will do that by making 2 points. First, Ben rarely throws the ball in rhythm. When he does throw in rhythm, 5 steps back, foot in the ground and throw, the offensive line magically has good protection. he holds the ball longer than any QB in the league so that is a factor that can’t be ignored. Secondly, from a run blocking standpoint, Mendenhall is a finess runner that rarely initiates contact trying to make the tough yards. He spends too much time dancing at the line of scrimage. Nothing illustrates that point better than the play yesterday when Flozell was called for holding. 34 tried to bounce it outside instead of pounjding it up the middle. I watched that play about 10 times last night. There was a clear hole that 34 could have gotten 2 or 3 yards maybe more. instead, he takes the finess route and tries to bounce it. I would like to see Redmen get more carries and i would bet if Redmen did get more carries, our line play on runs will get magically better. He is a more physical runner that can get the tough yards.
That said, our oline sucks…
DrGeorge
December 13, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Guys, I agree with all of you. The inability to score in the RedZone is directly due to the injuries on the O-line AND our failure to draft the right linemen over the past three years. We are reaping a legacy of neglect. It is a real testament to Coach Kugler that the O-line has gotten us this far, given the number and seriousness of the injuries to his unit.
For over three years, we have been pounding the table on this site about drafting high caliber linemen. This year we got Pouncey, who has made a huge difference. We stole Foster and Chris Scott in the same draft and signed Adams. So the team is trying to upgrade the O-line talent. But we have not drafted line talent with a consistent vision of what we need.
Our offense is predictable. Arians is running the ball more, but his plays are so pedestrian and so slow to develop that we are very easy to defend. Think of the play calling of McClatchey and Wisenhut; there was a element of surprise and deception in their play calling that is missing now — and Faneca was fast enough to lead the sweep. There is very little deceptive or surprising or fast about the Steelers O-line in 2010.
Injuries aside, our guys are not physically well suited to Arians offense. (Remember we had the same problem in the RedZone last year with healthy linemen.) Our linemen are huge, but slow; they were drafted for a game that doesn’t exist any more. The Saints and Pats have lines that are quick and agile, as the modern game requires. An added deficiency this year is the inexperience of our receivers. Ben is struggling to find open receivers this year, even though they are very talented athletically. Given those limitations, it is Arians job to make the offense work by adapting the offense to the talent he has, as Belichek has done in New England with talent no better than ours. That is my main beef with Arians, and the reason why we will remain anemic in the RedZone –even after all the injuries are healed.
In 2008, with a line only slightly better, we won the Super Bowl largely because of Ben’s heroics. When Ben isn’t healthy and able to elude rushers, the Arians offense fizzles, exposing all of the deficiencies described above.
mark
December 13, 2010 at 8:13 pm
DrGeorge, who is McClatchey?? I assume you were talking about a Steeler coordinator but I have no idea who you mean with this one? Whisenhunt;yes McClachey;no idea???
The Tony
December 13, 2010 at 11:58 pm
I believe the doc is reffering to former Pirates front office man Kevin McClatchy.
DrGeorge
December 14, 2010 at 10:52 am
I apologize, Mark. I misremembered. That’s what I get for trying to dredge up history out of old grey cells.
The man was Mike Mularkey. Wisenhut followed him. Chan Gailey, another offensive genius, provided the basic offensive scheme and showed the disruptive potential of gadgets plays as a standard part of an offense (as opposed to a novelty). Cowher rarely used ‘gadget’ plays before Gailey. Mularkey took the concept and ran with it; in 2003, his offensive was so innovative that he got hired away. Then Wisenhut stepped in and continued the tradition into the Super Bowl.
In my opinion, all three men had a better grasp of the complete offense than B. Arians. Arians’ aerial game is very innovative and sophisticated, but it is challenging for young recievers to learn, and Bruce does not seem to appreciate the virtue of a strong ground game to set up the pass. (Without a genuine run threat, play action is useless.) As for gadgets, surprise, and deception, they are rarely seen in Arians’ offense and they even more rarely work, because he doesn’t practice them enough.
In fairness to Bruce, Vince Lombardi didn’t use many gadgets or surprise plays either. But Green Bay had a magnificent line that bludgeoned its way to the end zone. Lombardi didn’t need gadgets. My point was that Arians needs to design plays that our injured and makeshift line can actually execute, using their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. Keeping opposing defenses off balance helps the O-line a lot. With Ben nearly immobile, the defenses are ignoring the run and going straight to the QB on virtually every play. Our O-line is forced into a passive mode. To offset that, Arians needs to attack by using the run more effectively and employing shorter pass routes and check down receivers. And Ben needs to use them.
In the last four or five games, both Arians and Ben have gotten better in that regard, but then they seem to abandon that approach in the RedZone. The play calling becomes very predictable; the power running game and Redman are ignored (what happened to Lugursky at fullback?); and there is zero deception. At the same time, Ben is less effective in the RedZone because passing lanes are more compressed and narrow (easier to defend), making Ben’s scrambing style less effective, and Ben still does not throw as accurately from the pocket. Defenses, knowing this, blitz and try to keep him in the pocket, and Arians has yet to adjust — whereas, I feel that our former OCs would have adapted long ago.
By the way, all three OCs did well after the Steelers. Wisenhut is head coach, Cardinals); Gailey is head coach, Buffalo; and Mularkey is well regarded, but I don’t know his current position.
DrGeorge
December 14, 2010 at 10:54 am
Amending the comment above, Mike Mularkey is now OC for the Falcons.
mark
December 14, 2010 at 2:43 pm
You know what DrGeorge, I had a feeling thats who you meant! Mike Mularkey. He did well as the Steeler coordinator. The pass happy league were are in now almost makes us forget Ron Erhardt, another good OC who helped the Giants and Steelers regain high status when running the ball meant something! I wonder if anyone would want to see Gary Kubiak become the OC in Pittsburgh next season? He might not be a good Head coach, but his OC resume is very good.
Jeff
December 14, 2010 at 10:01 am
Freaking purple Ratbirds catch a huge break last night by winning that coin toss for overtime! Their D was gassed after giving up 21 points in the 4th and two 90+ yard drives to finish the game. If they lose that coin toss and the Texans get the ball to start the OT, Baltimore would have lost that game I’m certain. I bring this up because with a Ratbirds loss last night we still could lose one of our last three and still be assured of the #2 seed correct? Ratbirds have a tough one at home after a Mon nighter vs NO so let’s hope the Saints Come Marching IN!!!!