So, you may ask, what the hell are you talking about? Well, on opening night, right before the Titans game, I was talking with my dad, and he asks me what I thought of the Steelers' chances this year. I responded by saying that I thought this was the best team the Steelers have fielded since 1979. "Wow" was how my dad responded to that. But I felt justified in making this claim, because, if you look at it, this team looked pretty freaking good. Coming off of a Super Bowl win, we had reached a point where it was clear that Ben could run the 2 minute offense against the 75th Anniversary team, and still score. Willie was finally going to be healthy, and we had this kid Mendenhall who, hopefully, would blossom into a player worthy of a 1st-round pick. At wideout, Hines and Heath were good as ever, Santonio was coming into his own as a playmaker, and the team featured some excellent role players - Sweed had all the potential in the world, Mike Wallace looked good in camp, and Shaun McDonald was a solid #5. This was certainly an upgrade on Nate Holmes, right?
On defense, we returned basically the entire starting cast of one of the best defenses in recent memory. Larry Foote was gone, which sucks, but it looked like Lawrence Timmons was ready to step up into that role. And, frankly, Foote can't hold a candle to Timmons talent-wise. Timmons has some of the best closing speed in the league, and has the potential to be a poor-man's Ray Lewis. And in the d-backfield, we replaced McFadden with Gay, and after Gay had already played half of last year anyhow, I wasn't terribly worried that we would be seeing much of a downgrade there.
So, the offense looked to be better than last year, and the defense looked to be just as menacing. On Special Teams, we had HUGE upgrades, with Sepulveda coming back and signing of Stefan Logan. Anyone who watched the second Ravens game last year knows that our inability to punt turned that into a game - while we were driving 80+ yards for scores, Baltimore was getting the ball at midfield, and only have to find 20-30 yards of offense to get points on the board.
So, yeah, I thought this was the best team we had fielded in 30 years, potentially.
And last night, they showed it to me. Well, for about 40 minutes of game time, anyhow.
The offense yesterday was flawless. There's really no other way to put it. Just take a look at the drive summaries:
(1) Recv'd kickoff, 6 plays, 79 yards, TD, 3:11 (3 runs-14 yards, 3 passes-65 yards) - They only faced one second down on the drive, and that was a 2nd and 1 from the San Diego 5.
(2) 11 plays, 81 yards, TD, 6:27 (5 runs-22 yards, 5 passes-49 yards, 1 penalty-10 yards).
(3) 10 plays, 57 yards, Punt, 6:40 (4 runs-34 yards, 4 passes-36 yards, 2 Ben sacks (both his fault) -13 yards).
(4) 13 plays, 79 yards, TD, 6:07 (6 runs-20 yards, 7 passes-54 yards, 1 penalty-5 yards)
(5) Kneel down at end of first half.
(6) 8 plays, 81 yards, TD, 5:01 (4 runs-20 yards, 4 passes-61 yards)
(7) 6 plays, -3 yards, Punt, 2:54 (1 run, -5 yards, 5 passes, 17 yards, 2 Steelers penalties for -15 yards).
(8) 8 plays, 70 yards, TD, 5:19 (4 runs-35 yards, 4 passes-35 yards).
(9) 10 plays, 51 yards, FG, 3:48 (6 runs-39 yards, 3 passes, 22 yards, 1 Hold -10 yards)
(10) Kneel down at end of game.
So, like I said, astounding. Really, the Chargers only stopped us on one drive. And that was only because we put ourselves in a 3rd and 30 hole. Even then, Heath made a good run at the first.
But let's get to the bad - specifically, the defense's unwilingness to play a full 60 minutes. I'm not sure where this is coming from - remember that this is the defense who would regularly shut down the opposing team and give the offense its 2-3 minutes to work with last year. This is the defense that, tied 13-13 with the Cowboys, forced Tony Romo to throw a pick-6. This is the defense that ended games forcing fumbles (although, I suppose that did happen last night). This isn't a defense that gets a 28-7 or 35-14 lead, and then gives up two real quick TDs. I mean, seriously, you have the game salted away. But that doesn't mean that you stop playing. It means, if you're on defense, you let it all loose. You try to make that big play, you try to make something happen. Instead, you have one of the weakest efforts I've seen in a long time.
Seriously, though, this defense is going to need to step it up. They've looked fucking abismal in the last quarter of games lately, and it's all on the defensive backfield. Yeah, I understand that Troy may cover up some of your mistakes. But, man, you guys need to get your shit together. You play way off. You don't cover. You don't tackle. You don't think. They're playing like a shitty fucking college team out there, like a bunch of 19 year olds who don't have the commitment or the discipline to play until that final gun. And that just won't cut it. We'll keep winning if we get up by 3-4 TDs every game. But, clearly, anything less will be in jeopardy.
Here are some other thoughts on the game:
- The Stefan Logan fumble was sketchy. Under NFL rules, if a player's forward progress is stopped, with little chance (not "no chance") of being resumed, the play is dead. Now, again, I was at the game, and couldn't really see all that well, but Stefan Logan looked to be moving backwards well before the ball was stripped. In fact, I was told that a Chargers player was actually holding Logan up, to make it easier to strip the football. Now, I know that all these things are judgment calls, but 60,000 people at Heinz Field didn't even realize what was happening, because everyone assumed the play was dead. That says to me that the officials were maybe not quite on the ball with that one.
Now, this brings me to another point - how are NFL referees not full-time? MLB umpires are, and in a much longer season, MLB umpires seem to get it right on a far more regular basis - or at the very least, understand the rule. I mean, there have been some pretty egregious calls in the past few years, and yet NFL referees go on being part-time, working their regular jobs during the week. How, exactly, this is OK is beyond me. I think it's about time they start paying full-time salaries, and get professionals out there to officiate a game played by professionals. - A lot of people left the game early yesterday. Yeah, I know, it was a Sunday night, and we were up by 21 with 7 minutes to go. But I feel like this kind of behavior happens a lot, and it kind of bugs me. I feel like most people don't get how much of a privilege it is to have seats to a Steelers game, or for that matter, any other sporting event. It comes as kind of an afterthought, but as someone who cheered on his Steelers for 21 years from places like Connecticut and Indiana (hardly hospitable environments for catching a lot of Steelers action), and only got to his first game at age 24, people should be a little more respectful for the opportunity they have. Yeah, if you get to go to every game, I guess it doesn't mean that much to you. But just remember that there are hundreds of thousands of fans out there, in Pittsburgh and elsewhere, who would give a lot to be able to sit in the stands at Heinz Field every other week between September and February. If we really are the best franchise in all of sports (which, I think, there is an argument for), I think that a little more respect for the great gift we have is in order.
- If you've never been to a Steelers game in Pittsburgh, you've never lived. Can't sit in that stadium at the start of the 4th quarter, here them play "Renegade" by Styx, and not get chills. The Steelers are fucking awesome.
And let's also not forget this.
So, yeah, it sucks. But it also happens. How about you buckle down and play the fucking game. Oh, and wonder why people would have doubts about the Ravens? That's why.
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