Three Wishes Granted, More Work To Do

The Steelers' offense has evolved, for better or worse.  On the plus side, the offensive changes (with a heavy emphasis on the short passing game) have made it harder to get to Ben Roethlisberger, while minimizing his exposure to hits.  It has kept the defense off the field and has allowed the Steelers to control the ball for longer periods of time.  On the other hand, this offense is one that isn't going to put up a ton of points unless execution is near-perfect, and that's something that will need to improve further if the Steelers are going to do damage down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Is this the game the Steelers truly want to play?  I don't believe so.  However, the group it benefits is the offensive line, as it serves to hide their weaknesses in pass protection.  It has kept the Steelers afloat despite their offensive struggles, and that's the important thing.

The adjustments made so far have come in the form of wishes granted - fans have been pining for something different ever since the Philadelphia game.  

Unfortunately, these "gifts" will only go so far without hard work and legitimate improvement.


Quick Passes

We've probably seen more examples of the ball immediately coming out of Ben's hand in the last 3 weeks than we have in the prior four and a half seasons of Ben's career.  Last year, Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians took a lot of flak for not only refusing to go to the quick passing game, but for downright disparaging the effectiveness of the philosophy.

Well, things have changed, and the Arians has stubbornly but effectively adapted.  The Steelers can no longer depend on solid pass protection to allow the 5 and 7 step drops this offense has typically favored.  They also do not have a dominant running attack, reducing the effectiveness of the previously ubiquitous play action passing game.  This is change for the better, at least for the moment.  If the personnel gets better in the offseason, I would hope for a return to the run strong/throw long offense that suits Ben so well, with this quick stuff mixed in.

The short passing game is an offense that tends to rack up the yards but will leave the team wanting for points.  We've seen this already, as Ben has thrown for 277 yards per game over the last three weeks, while the offense has scored only 19 points per game during that stretch.  Offenses have to execute perfectly to finish drives when they depend on the short passing game, and that's where legitimate improvements can be made.

Ben has become more comfortable in this offense over the last few weeks, and you can see it in his confidence both before and after the snap.  He's doing a better job of getting out of bad plays, and he's making the right decisions based on his pre-snap read.  He needs to show further command not only of what this team is out to do right now, but what defenses are out to do to him.  With a string of games coming up featuring defenses that are based on confusing at the line of scrimmage and putting doubt in a quarterback's head, Ben is going to need to be at his best mentally.  If he can effectively put points on the board without making big mistakes against the Patriots, Ravens and Titans, he will position this team for a nice seed in the playoffs.  Plus, the only way he's going to see defenses that good in the playoffs is if the Steelers play one or some of those teams again, which of course is very possible.

Further, the wide receivers seem to be running the correct route with the correct adjustments more often than just a few short weeks ago.  Are they perfect?  No, but they're getting better.

Unfortunately, they're still having problems holding onto the football, and that's got to change.  The only reason the Steelers didn't blow out the Bengals early last week was because Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Nate Washington all had big drops of catchable passes.  You have to wonder if the wide outs are thinking too much before and at the snap of the ball.  It's got to end.  The receivers have been the healthiest group of the offense, and it's time they collectively step up and start making plays for their quarterback.

Eventually, this team is going to have to start making some plays deep in order to back the opposing corners off.  Otherwise, teams will start collapsing even more, which could lead to jumped routes and pick sixes.  That starts with Ben and his shoulder and ends with the receivers making plays.  I'd love to see the emerging Limas Sweed get a couple of deep balls out of the four wide receiver set.  He's got the ability to get behind and go up over most 3rd and 4th corners.


Balls to the Tight Ends and Backs

This one dates back over a decade, to the days of John L. Williams and Eric Green.  Sure, there's been an occasional oasis of action for receivers who aren't wideouts, but it's been a WR-centric passing offense for a long time.  

Ben has completed 34 passes to his TE's and RB's over the past 3 games, which has to be a personal record for him.  Not only that, but his RB's and TE's have been consistently adding yardage after the catch and picking up crucial first downs - even big Matt Spaeth has added some important RAC yards to easy pitch and catch plays.

This must continue.

Even if teams collapse and start trying to more aggressively take away the short game, there's only so many receivers they can give extra attention to, and chances are their names are going to be Santonio and Hines.

This offense is predicated on nothing more than taking what's there.  With the offensive line the way it is, it's the only way the offense will succeed.  When an offense is forced to teeter on the brink and do everything perfectly, it can't afford to ignore important weapons.


Getting Back the Running Game

The Steelers have reduced the number of slow-developing running plays they run and have tried to simply move the LOS and take what's there.  It's a positive development that could help hide a weakness.

Willie Parker isn't going to be 100% until next year in training camp.  However, I'm hopeful that whether it's next week or in January, he still has a major role to play on this team.

With Willie Parker in the game, defenses show far more respect to the run.  The NFL is about respect.  Get a defense to respect one of your weapons, and so much opens up.  As far as a traditional running game is concerned, no back on the Steelers' roster (or on their IR) gets as much respect as Willie Parker.

Mewelde Moore has been a true savior - he's a Swiss Army Knife of a back who runs hard and makes plays.  Gary Russell has had some great moments in limited playing time the last two weeks, showing an ability to do the job in situational football.  If Parker is to miss significant time, it would be nice to see Russell get even more action, perhaps a series or two of his own each game.

The Steelers have had a little more success the last two weeks in the running game, though it took the Steelers passing the Bengals out of high box counts to get it going.

From here, the Steelers are simply going to have to manufacture rushing yards with whatever they have available.  This is on Arians.  He needs to show some creativity, because he can't simply line 'em up and hit 'em with what they're expecting.  Those days are gone, at least for now.  Two big calls in the Bengals' game gave me hope - the 3rd and 1 handoff to Carey Davis from the fullback position and the outside TD run for Gary Russell on the goal line.  As a viewer at home, I expected neither, and the Bengals' defense was just as surprised.

The Steelers are an offensive team in flux.  They've got to be able to put points on the board and limit mistakes if they want to make the playoffs, because their schedule isn't going to allow them much room for error.  If the Steelers simply stick with what has worked so far, teams will adjust by the time the playoffs arrive.  They'll need to do two things - get better at what they're doing right now and figure out how to add more wrinkles to keep defenses off balance.



THE SPURIOUS FIVE

1.  New York Giants

They spanked a supposedly dangerous Arizona club on the road without Brandon Jacobs or Plaxico Burress.  The Giants are playing like a gang of assassins right now, taking tough teams to the woodshed and getting big efforts from role players.

2.  Tennessee Titans

It had to end at some point.  However, this was the third week in a row that the Titans had some problems stopping the run, and that should be disturbing for Titans fans.

3.  New York Jets

They beat the only remaining undefeated team and move up.  Brett Favre has only thrown 2 interceptions in his past 4 games.  For him, that's pretty good as far as taking care of the ball.

4.  Carolina Panthers

They lost on the road to a Falcons team that simply played a great game.  They valiantly tried to come back, and were within striking distance until Falcons' WR Harry Douglas (whom I really liked coming out of Louisville) made two huge plays, a 69 yard catch and a 61 yard punt return.


5.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers

They were down quick early to the lowly Lions, but stormed back behind their defense.  Ronde Barber's two interceptions both helped set up touchdowns.



WEEKLY AWARDS

OFFENSE

Ben Roethlisberger

A big night could have been even bigger if he got more help from his wide receivers.


DEFENSE

James Farrior

Farrior had two huge stops in the run game to deprive Cincinnati of two first downs, and seemed to personally take offense to the fact that Cedric Benson had some success against the Steelers last time around.


SPECIAL TEAMS

Gary Russell

Russell chipped in big-time with a 43 yard kickoff return that flipped the field, and was solid on coverage units.


GOAT

Paul Ernster

It was like preseason in November, with Steeler fans around the nation yelling "you're cut!" each time he punted.



QUOTABLE

"A hearing for Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes on a misdemeanor charge of possession has been postponed until Feb. 26, which will be after the NFL season concludes."

- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The most important news of the week, as Holmes is now in no risk of a league suspension this season.  The Steelers could not afford to lose Holmes for a game or two during this stretch run.


STATS, STAT

Steelers:  26 TD's.  Patriots:  27 TD's.  Perception is truly not always reality.  The Steelers are "struggling" offensively while the Pats are supposedly "high powered."  The truth is, as usual, somewhere in the middle.



MAKING THE ROUNDS

1.  In the battle of play calling vs. execution, let's all remember one thing:  the worst play call in the world can be overcome by great execution, while bad execution ruins even the best play call.

2.  Don't look now, but according to Stats, Inc. Nate Washington is statistically the Steelers' most reliable wide receiver right now.  Hines Ward has been charged with 7 drops in 85 targets (1 in 12).  Santonio Holmes has 4 drops in 80 targets (1 in 20).  Nate Washington has 2 drops in 45 targets (1 in 22.5).

3.  It's been over 2 years since Troy Polamalu's last sack.  That streak ends this week.  He's going to be instrumental in keeping Matt Cassel from doing damage on the ground, which means getting him around the line of scrimmage and into the backfield.

4.  Brett Keisel would be a huge loss if he's going to be out for an extended period of time, but this defense has overcome his absence before during this season, and he's nowhere near as irreplaceable as Aaron Smith.

5.  Remember how it felt when the Steelers lost to the Pats last year?  Tom Brady's absence this season would make it even worse.  The Steelers have to win this game for the sanity of Steeler Nation, period.  


AROUND THE LEAGUE


6.  Could Oakland win the AFC West?  Someone has to.  Denver's got the Jets, Chiefs, Panther, Bills and Chargers down the stretch, and they might only win one of those games, putting them at 7-9.  Mathematically, the 3-8 Raiders are only 3 games off the division lead.  Now, the Raiders aren't good and they would be lucky to win 3 more games, so I don't believe this will happen.  But it's possible, and that's a sad statement about a sad division.  Let's hope it stays that way - the Steelers play the AFC West next season.

7.  Is it time for the Ken Dorsey era to begin in Cleveland?

8.  NFL Network's Bob Papa is a knowledgeable, intelligent play by play guy who stays away from annoying theatrics and simply calls a game.  But boy is he boring.

9.  The Bills really missed cornerback Jabari Greer and safety Donte Whitner against the Chiefs.  They scored 54, but gave up 30, with Tyler Thigpen putting up big numbers despite a couple of INT's.  Greer is a player I really like, and is a free agent after this season.  He's the type of guy I could see the Steelers targeting if Bryant McFadden were to get a big deal elsewhere.

10. I wish the Ravens had played the Eagles in Week Three, with the Steelers getting their crack at Philly yesterday.  It's a completely different Eagles team, with no confidence and looming changes.  That's the one thing I've learned this year - every week each team is totally different, and it's impossible to analyze things by comparing common components if those games are any more than a few weeks apart.



IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Lewis Sanders and Ellis Hobbs.

The Patriots' secondary is a royal mess, and starting free safety James Sanders was hurt late in the game on Sunday.  Ellis Hobbs is a borderline starter who always benefited from having Asante Samuel on the opposite side, and Lewis Sanders has failed with three different teams, never even earning playing time on some bad Browns teams.  

The Steelers need to capitalize not just by completing passes, but by making big plays after the catch.  It's time to turn the tables on the Patriots.