Monday Evening Quarterback - October 1, 2007

Requiem for a Dream

The Tomlin era started perfectly. First, it was the way he handled Alan Faneca's minicamp meltdown. Next, it was the way he ran his training camp, and the product he put on the field during pre-season. Then, he started the season by guiding his team to three lopsided victories.

Did anyone expect Mike Tomlin to continue to be perfect all the way through the season? If anyone truly was, that dream is dead. However, the playoffs are a reasonable, attainable goal, despite yesterday's performance.

Debate today has been centered around a variety of issues that were present yesterday, from the struggles of the offensive line to the special teams mistakes to the penalties to the play of Ben Roethlisberger. Coaching also was a major problem, from the gameplan to the proper use of the challenge flag.

However, I've dug deeper and have come to a stunning realization after speaking with team physician Dr. Rumack: on the flight to Arizona, everyone but Santonio Holmes (who ordered steak) had the fish for their in-flight meal. Dr. Rumack himself had the lasagna, but that's not important right now.

Surely that wasn't the real reason for the Steelers' sudden fall from the ranks of the unbeaten - yesterday's game was simply a complete a failure in all three phases of the game. The units won as a team during the prior three outings, but they lost as a team out in Arizona.

A breakdown of the breakdowns:

The special teams unit is clearly going to be a hit and miss proposition until things stabilize, but Tomlin did his team no favors by not adjusting the punt return unit for the re-kick of the punt that gave the Cardinals the lead.

Timeouts are a prized commodity in the NFL, but taking one in that instance would have been better than sending his gassed players downfield moments after sprinting 60 yards full-steam.

However, I don't expect Tomlin to make the same mistake twice, and there are certainly plenty of able bodies on the roster to field good special teams units across the board. I believe that this is an area where continued improvement can be expected over the course of the season.

The defense didn't lose this game, but they didn't do their job in the 4th quarter, allowing the Cardinals to march methodically downfield for a touchdown when they needed to give the ball back to the offense.

Of course, many defensive stars were watching the game from the sidelines at this point, but all it takes is someone to make a play, regardless of what injuries have occurred. No one stepped up.

It was embarrassing to see the Cardinals jam the ball down the defense's throat when it counted, Nick Eason and Travis Kirschke replacing Casey Hampton or not. The New England Patriots have won their championships by getting solid performances from also-rans when they were most needed.

Despite the fact that they didn't lower the hammer, the defense doesn't worry me going forward. They have work to do as far as closing the deal on the pass rush, and I'd love to see Lawrence Timmons and Lamarr Woodley get more time as the season progresses. Assuming they get some of the walking wounded back healthy for Seattle this Sunday, the defense should be just fine.

The offense lost this game, plain and simple.

It wasn't Willie Parker's fault. He ran hard all game long despite the fact that there wasn't a hole to be found.

It wasn't Roethlisberger's fault, though he shouldered the blame in the post-game press conference. Ben fought like a warrior all night long under adverse conditions. He threw a terrible interception and missed some reads, but an average quarterback wouldn't have survived that game with all of their internal organs intact.

The wide receivers (aside from Santonio) didn't help much. Nate Washington looks like an undrafted 3rd year receiver out of Tiffin. The dropped passes from him have been a huge problem, but not running the right routes is even worse, especially as the hot read against the blitz.

The Steelers missed Hines Ward's blocking - having Nate go in motion and then attempt to downblock a defensive end is insane. Cedrick Wilson doesn't get open unless there's some gadgetry going on in the backfield.

But, assuming Ward returns to the field on Sunday, I'm okay with this group of wideouts. Nate is still a decent #3 despite his many warts, and Willie Reid showed some ability in the slot that could push Wilson to the inactive list. It's a group that you can win with.

The tight ends and fullbacks mostly did their jobs. Heath Miller was active in the passing game early. The tight ends can certainly improve their run blocking. Matt Spaeth's return this week should help.

Was there failure among the aforementioned offensive units? You bet. But I've got confidence in each of them long term.

Not so for the offensive line.

Marvel Smith was putrid. Alan Faneca was worse. Sean Mahan was average. Kendall Simmons was Kendall Simmons. Willie Colon looked lost.

When they weren't opening the floodgates for the Cardinals' pass rushers, they were busy committing an obscene number of penalties.

All through training camp, when there were three positions supposedly "open," the argument went something like this: the most important thing as far as the OL is concerned is to keep Ben upright, so Simmons and Colon are the best choices to man the right guard and right tackle positions.

Well, they're not keeping Ben upright. Not even close. It's not just the sacks, it's the constant pressure.

Ben has gone from freelancing on the outside when plays break down to freelancing all the time, because every passing play breaks down. He plays as if he's constantly expecting the rush to get there before his receivers get open, and I can't blame him.

Worst of all, the lack of pass protection in the Arizona game was not an isolated incident - there were plenty of breakdowns during the previous three games that were mostly glossed over because of the outcomes of those games.

If the current "pass protection" line isn't cutting it as far as keeping Ben clean, what's the point? Why lose a ton of muscle in the run game by keeping Chris Kemoeatu and Max Starks on the bench? How much worse could they be in the passing game?

I have to believe that Kemo and Starks would have generated enough push to have a passable, respectable running game against that defense, 8 or 9 men in the box or not. I'm not saying that Parker would have run for 100 yards against that stacked line, but a few more 2nd and 7's would have gone a long way in allowing the offense to operate in a normal manner, instead of under constant duress.

The Steelers are using a platoon at free safety. The Cardinals are having success with a platoon at quarterback. At the least, I very much want to see what the offensive line (and the offense as a whole) looks like with road graders on the right side, if only in a platoon situation.

For the sake of Parker and Roethlisberger, it's time for Tomlin, Bruce Arians and Larry Zierlien to nip this huge problem in the bud. If the Steelers get manhandled up front by the Seattle Seahawks (a near certainty at this point), the bye week looms as the perfect opportunity to make season-saving changes.

The Fine Five

1. New England. Tonight on ESPN, the first in a three part miniseries titled “The Patriots”, a poignant saga of life, love and football featuring the Team of the Millennium.

2. Indianapolis. If he stays healthy, Joseph Addai is going to lead the league in rushing and touchdowns.

3. Dallas. Tony Romo made Patrick Crayton look like Michael Irvin yesterday, minus the bloodshot eyes.

4. Green Bay. They’re not getting a lot of production out of the running game, but it doesn’t matter if Brett Favre continues to play like he’s going to be 28 instead of 38.

5. Seattle Seahawks. Shaun Alexander isn’t himself with a broken hand, but the Seahawks feature what might be the best linebacking crew in football.

Quote of the Week

“I'm really proud of the way the rest of the offense played, O-line, the receivers, some guys really stepped up. It's on me."

Ben Roethlisberger is lying.

The Awards Section

Offensive Player of the Week

Santonio Holmes. Obviously.

Defensive Player of the Week

Darnell Dockett. Was he trying to save the Cardinals’ money for his own looming extension by exposing Alan Faneca? No team should be in a big hurry to hand over big bucks to Faneca unless they’re running the wishbone.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Steve Breaston. It hasn’t been that easy since he was playing at the Wolvarena.

Goat of the Week

Bruce Arians and Larry Zierlien. Both of them put out a bad product. The playcalling was poor. The lineplay was worse.

Stat of the Week

The Steelers put themselves into 6 situations of 3^rd and 15 or longer, and 4 situations of 3^rd and 23 or longer.

Factoid of the Week That I Hope Interests Someone Besides Me

Cardinals offensive line coach Russ Grimm is from Scottdale, PA, the home of 30,000 coke ovens during the early 20^th century and a major boomtown at that time. Scottdale was an architectural hotbed and home to some of the wealthiest families in Western Pennsylvania, with the Victorian, Arts and Crafts and Queen Anne style houses to prove it. Most of these homes survive today, and many have been restored. If you’re ever out by Greensburg, check out the walking tour of Scottdale’s historic homes.

Ten Things I Know I Think

1. Parker benefits from having Hines Ward blocking when he breaks his runs outside. Unfortunately, he's the team's only true flanker, and having him out is asking too much of natural split ends like Washington and Wilson.

2. Anthony Smith needs to be careful, or he’s going to get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty sooner than later. He’s got something to say or do after every play he’s involved in.

3. Going for it on 4^th and inches at your own 29 isn’t something I’d typically recommend, but the quick snap made it a little bit more palatable.

4. There was no excuse for not going to the no huddle earlier. I would have gone to it at the start of the second half. Ben needed to get started, and the no huddle to him is like pushing a standard transmission down a hill and giving it a pop. Plus, it would have slowed the pass rush a little.

5. I can’t help but believe that the Steelers were looking past Arizona, despite all the "storylines." The schedule is about to get tougher: Seahawks, Broncos, Bengals, Ravens.

(Around the League)

6. The Ravens can’t do the things they want to do on defense without Adalius Thomas. Now they just look old at key positions, especially at cornerback. Chris McAlister looks like he aged 10 years from last year, and I always considered him somewhat overrated.

7. I would advise the Bears to tank away the rest of the year to get into position to draft a quarterback, but playing Brian Griese is pretty much tanking when it comes right down to it.

8. The St. Louis Rams would lose to LSU or USC. Probably by a couple of touchdowns. They’re the worst team in football right now, far and away.

9. Oakland scored 35 points, but Daunte Culpepper only completed 5 passes for the game. 299 yards rushing for the Raiders on the day, an utter embarrassment for a once-proud Dolphins defense.

10. The Chargers are a mess. I expect both Norv Turner and A.J. Smith to be shown the door following the season.

Who I Like Tonight, and I Do Mean No One

I’ll be rooting for injuries, post-game arrests, high child support costs due to random supermodel/actress impregnation, an Eric Mangini sighting right behind the Patriots’ bench and lots and lots of pigeon droppings on both teams, to the point that when you're looking down at either bench, you're convinced that each team is fielding 45 Rasheed Wallace clones.