Monday Evening Quarterback - Week 12

It's time to look past the cooks and look at the guy who prepped the food and the guy who bought the food.

Bruce Arians hasn't been perfect this year, but he has put his players in position to make plays.

Dick Lebeau hasn't been perfect this year, but has put his players in position to make plays.

Neither is the root of the problem.

Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert deserve the blame for the tailspin this team is on.

First, Tomlin.

I said it the third week of the season.  Tomlin is still drawing up his formula for winning like it's 2008.  It's not 2008.

The defense can no longer be trusted to win games.  The offense should be trusted earlier.  Put the ball in the air.  Extend games.  Give Ben multiple chances to overcome the mistakes that he's prone to making.  Stop trying to win games 20-14, because in doing so they're letting teams hang around and win.

Stop playing vanilla, bend and then break defense.  Force the issue with teams.  The thing about giving up big plays is that the offense gets the ball right back.  Giving up painful 10 play drives to end games has been a familiar theme all year long.

These are overall strategic philosophies that fall at the feet of Mike Tomlin.

Worse than that is Tomlin's game management at this point in the process.  Why in the world would Tomlin not send Jeff Reed out for a 53 yard field goal in Kansas City with the game on the line, but send him out for a 53 yard field goal early in the 4th quarter when the Steelers were actually starting to impose their will?

Tomlin made his first mistake this season by running an easy training camp, where he taught players that showing up was good enough this season.  After all, they were the defending champions, had almost all of their starters back and had an easy as pie schedule sitting in front of them.  Nothing this year was going to be as hard as last year was the message, and the players took it to heart.

Nothing has woken up this team.  Not losing to the Bengals at home with the division title on the line.  Not losing to a terrible KC team.  Not losing to a crappy Ravens' offense in the 4th quarter.  Will losing to the Raiders do it?  I don't see any reason why it would.

I have no idea what Tomlin says behind the scenes.  I have no idea if he's riding these guys or letting them be.  In any event, there were buttons that needed to be pushed that for whatever reason Mike Tomlin couldn't identify.  It's interesting that the only group on the entire team that has improved over last season is the offensive line, and it's no coincidence - they were the only group on the team that entered the season being doubted, having something to prove.  The Steelers have needed each of their units to play with purpose and a chip on their shoulders like the OL, and none have stepped up.

The biggest issue is the fact that it's not really his young guys who are making mistakes, it's his veterans.  Is he slow to come down on guys who made him the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl?

If that's the case (and even if it's not), some of the blame has to fall on Kevin Colbert.

As the architect of this team, Colbert has by and large done a great job.  However, he repeated his mistakes of 2006 by failing to inject new, hungry blood into a defending team.

The Patriots' title defense earlier this decade was spearheaded by adding new faces like Corey Dillon.  The Steelers added no one this year.  I'm not talking about breaking the bank for a guy, I'm talking about filling out the roster with just a couple competitors to keep things hungry. 

Instead, Colbert re-signed bottom of the roster players who were fat and happy after last season.  I'm not worried about the Hines Wards or the Ben Roethlisbergers of the world reacting to success, I'm worried about the guys doing the dirty work and how they'll react to success. 

Sometimes this strategy can work - you keep continuity without being forced to make picks at positions where all that is needed is a few special teams guys who could play in a pinch if they stay hungry.  Unfortunately, a lot of these guys haven't stayed hungry. 

I praised this approach last year when it happened, but that strategy has to be followed with some trust in the draft class you made room to select in the first place, and that hasn't happened.  Burnett was buried while Keiwan Ratliff was burned.  Keenan Lewis has been mysteriously inactive most of the year.  Ziggy Hood has been getting uneven snaps.  They'd rather dress 5 DL than give Sunny Harris a hat.  Maybe these guys just aren't that good right now, which is a viable argument.  But the counter argument is that at some of these positions they simply couldn't be much worse.

Beyond that, the failure to address the safety situation or the linebacker depth in the draft and free agency truly hurt this team.  First off, the special teams are built with these players.  Beyond that, injuries in the secondary have exposed the obvious lack of talent.  If the OLB's had gotten hurt, it would have been the same thing but different.  Instead of lack of coverage, it would have been a lack of pass rush. 

Colbert can't address every single area in every single draft.  But who can argue that this team would be in much better shape if they have devoted a pick or two over the last few years to the safety position?  Anthony Smith flamed out, and this team was left with Mundy and Carter as safety backups, and that's just not good enough.

When things are this bad, the blame can usually be spread far and wide.  And that certainly applies in this case.

So what is the answer?  I don't have one for this season.  The damage has been done.  The Steelers' playoff hopes aren't done for, but they'll need to start playing like they mean it and they'll need some help.  That's a lot to ask of this team right now.

But here is the answer - this team can never take anything for granted again.  Kevin Colbert has to learn that if his roster isn't getting better, it's getting worse.  Mike Tomlin needs to learn that no season is a gimme.  He needs to convince his players that games against the Raiders are as important as games against the Ravens - this has been a Tomlin issue since 2007, playing down to the competition.  The players need to learn that just showing up doesn't win football games.

This season might be lost.  If it is, they have to learn from it and never repeat the same mistakes again, or else all of this pain will be in vain.  If Tomlin and Colbert learn and grow because of this fiasco, their next title defense attempt will be far more successful.

FURIOUS FIVE

1.  Indianapolis Colts

Our hopes hinge on them continuing their undefeated season.

2.  New Orleans Saints

I had a feeling they'd struggle with the Redskins on the short week, but they pulled it out in the end.  Quinton Ganther and Rock Cartwright got yards on the ground against the Saints.  That's not good.

3.  Minnesota Vikings

The Arizona Cardinals did a great job of taking away Adrian Peterson, who didn't look right to me.  Still, the Vikings are a major contender.

4.  San Diego Chargers

If you would have told me after week four that the Chargers were going places and the Steelers weren't, I would have called you crazy.

5.  Cincinnati Bengals

Lost in the Steelers' woes is the fact that the Bengals are where they are due to some very close calls against some very bad teams.  The Bengals were a Jonathan Fanene pick six away from full-on struggling against the Lions.

AWARDS

OFFENSE

Santonio Holmes

His rise continues.  He might have 200 yards receiving against the Browns on Thursday with Ward likely out of the lineup.

DEFENSE

Lamarr Woodley

Woodley typically benefits from James Harrison getting all the attention.  It's nice to see him capitalize off of it when he gets that advantage, and he did so yesterday.  He's quietly got 6 sacks over the 4 game losing streak.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Stefan Logan

He finally broke a kickoff return and the Steelers couldn't capitalize on it.

GOAT

William Gay

I defended him last week but cannot do so this week.  He got played, plain and simple.  After a few weeks where he was giving up too much in front of him, the Raiders wisely went to some double moves with Johnnie Lee Higgins who has great speed, and Gay was no where near up to the task.

QUOTABLE

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

- Yoda

STATS, STAT

Ben is 2nd in the league in completion percentage.  11th in the league in touchdown passes.  6th in the league in QB rating.  8th in the league in passing yards.  And 17th in attempts.  Ben needs to throw the ball more, not less.

MAKING THE ROUNDS

1.  So, what is the offensive strategy for the remainder of the season?  We've argued all season about what the Steelers' offense should look like, how does being 6-6 change things?  This is all going to come down to personal preference.  Me, I send my Babe Ruth up to the plate and I let him swing away.  All-Ben, all the time.  Throw it all over the place.  Let him learn a little bit and play around with the offense.  People are on Ben for that one throw that has been costing this team.  Well, guess what folks.  That one throw a game has been there for Ben's entire career.  You have to give him as many chances as possible to make up for it, and the best way to do that is to keep the ball in his hands.  Ben threw 11 passes against the Raiders in the 2nd half.  He completed all of them except for the hail mary at the end of the game.  He needs more chances, not less.  Making it even more important is the fact that the Steelers have the perfect opportunity to see what they've got with their young wide receivers with Hines Ward likely out this week.  Get Sweed and Wallace a ton of work, and not as run blockers.  It can't backfire.  If they play well, maybe that helps you win out and get a ticket.  If they play poorly, at least you know for sure going into next year.

2.  I agree with FC - Heath Miller's contract may go down in Kendall Simmons-type infamy.  2nd highest paid player on the offense.  Sad, really.

3.  The one adjustment that Dick Lebeau never made should have been obvious to the coaching staff given that it's how teams deal with Ben Roethlisberger.  Bruce Gradkowski (he reminded me so much of Jeff Garcia yesterday it was eerie, right down to the number 5 and the style of his facemask) was killing the Steelers by escaping from pressure and making plays.  Where was the contained pass rush designed to keep him in the pocket, forcing him to make reads and throw into tight windows?

4.  Oh, the list of names who have contributed to the downward spiral.  Bernard Scott.  Jonathan Fanene.  Lance Long.  Andy Studebaker.  Paul Kruger.  Hiram Eugene.  Bruce Gradkowski.  Not exactly a list of All-Pro's, which makes the losing hurt even more.

5.  I want to see one thing for the rest of the year.  Pride.  That's all.  Be embarrassed about what's going on, shut your mouth and go out and do something about it.  This isn't over until the math majors tell us so.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

6.  The Jaguars held off a late surge from the Texans to move to 7-5, as three different Houston throwers had interceptions, including RB Chris Brown on a bad attempt at a halfback pass.  The Jaguars finish with Miami, Indianapolis, New England and Cleveland.  If the Steelers beat the Browns and the Jaguars lose to the resurgent Dolphins this week, things could get interesting.

7.  Denver/Indianapolis is a huge game this week that the Colts need to win for two reasons.  One, it give the Broncos another loss.  Two, it gives the Colts motivation for the Jaguars game the next week as they close in on wrapping up homefield.  They must stay undefeated.

IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Mike Tomlin

Everything that could have gone wrong...has.  Games that were easy wins...weren't.  Players who have been trusted...have failed.  It all falls on the head coach.

Tomlin needs to buck up and win some games to close out this season, plain and simple.  I can deal with losses.  I can deal with missing the playoffs.  I cannot deal with a coach who allows a team to fold up its tent and go home. 

These next 4 weeks will tell me a lot about Mike Tomlin and his relationship with his football team.