The Pittsburgh Steelers went 2-2 without Ben Roethlisberger. Almost anyone would have taken that from the start.
What has changed the narrative a bit and some frustration is how the Steelers played down to their competition in the two losses and saw a coaching staff overthink things vs the Ravens and Chiefs.
Le’Veon Bell not used in key situations vs the Ravens, Le’Veon Bell not used enough vs the Chiefs. It was typical Todd Haley. Goes from calling a great second half vs the Cardinals to trying to become the story a week later in having Landry Jones wing the ball around vs the Chiefs.
The Steelers were too conservative with Mike Vick under center and a bit too aggressive game plan with Jones at the helm.
The risky game plan proved costly with three turnovers.
Jones, though, was adequate enough.
The story of the loss was on the defense.
The inside linebacker play from Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier was below the line and the Steelers defensive front as expected took a big hit without Stephon Tuitt playing.
Cam Thomas was forced into action to play 36 snaps and about all eight snaps from Daniel McCullers were awful one’s.
With this defensive group it’s more likely than not that it has peaked, especially in the secondary where some cracks are showing.
It’s been multiple weeks now that teams are picking on Antwon Blake who is proving he’s a No. 4 – No. 5 type than a No. 2 cornerback.
At some point the Steelers are going to need Brandon Boykin and that time needs to be soon with Andy Dalton, yes Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert coming to town.
The Steelers at 4-3 now get a reboot with Ben Roethlisberger set to return in a divisional showdown with the Bengals on Sunday and three straight home games.
Even with Roethlisberger back this week, nine games to go the Steelers certainly look more like a 9-7 team than an 11-5 team.
We really find out about this defense on Sunday and will learn the following two weeks after whether the Steelers can avoid their history under Tomlin of playing down to competition.
A 2-1 stretch puts them at 6-4 at the 10 game mark before a four game stretch against the Seahawks, Colts, Bengals and Broncos.
I’ll predict 10-6 but would be willing to lean more towards 11-5 barring any major injury. Ben can lead this offense past anybody. The front 7 is growing into a very reliable group but the back end is the worst I have ever seen in Pittsburgh. The D-backfield must be addressed in the offseason in at least 4 picks. Start with Sa’u Cravens at Safety! He’s a spitting image of Polamalu.
9-7 gets them the second wild card in a weak AFC.
This team is an oft injured 12-4 team that suffers more from poor play calls on 4th down than any Steelers team I can ever remember. Thier defense is far from peaking and I would wager that they will be the WC team that nobody will want to face. The Bengals were the team to beat in the AFC North before week 1 and it shocks me that people are surprised by their start. The defense improving quickly is not a matter of better CB play as that is something we are going to suffer all year. The front 7… Read more »
It’s no use trying to predict what the Steelers’ record will be. They beat teams you don’t think they should be able to and then turn around and dump a game to a lousy team. That’s been the pattern for years. End of the day, whether they make the playoffs or not, they’re a notch down from the true contenders and that will play out eventually.
And this is a 10-6 WC team
Make of this what you want. 1.) Roethlisberger after games talks about calling his own plays and how he game plans with Fincher. 2.) Vick when asked about unleashing a bomb gives Ben the credit for calling the play 3.) Against Arizona Ben is told not to interfere with Vick and is relegated to talking to Jones 4.) Every time the camera showed Ben yesterday he was talking to Fincher and not 1 time was he seen talking to Haley.