Monday Evening Quarterback - September 24, 2007

Rush the Quarterback

Third and long. It engenders a Pavlovian response in any fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense, and it's far from a positive reaction.

Most NFL fans salivate when their team puts the opposing offense in this situation. It's when sacks happen. It's when interceptions happen.

Not so in Pittsburgh for much of the past 7 years, and the villains have been many.

First, it was the sub-par secondary. Chad Scott, Dewayne Washington, Lethon Flowers and Brent Alexander certainly deserved much of the blame for routinely giving up first downs on 3rd and long at the turn of the millennium.

Then, it became an issue with the pass rush, with last season serving as notice that the pressure wasn't what it used to be. Joey Porter became the sacrificial lamb of blame, despite the fact that he was often used in coverage in packages. The Steelers finished with only 39 sacks last year, an extremely low figure for a Bill Cowher team.

Three games into the 2007 season, it's time for Pavlov to recondition his control subjects: the Steelers are taking care of business on 3rd down and are getting off the field, holding the offense to a 38% conversion rate on 3rd down.

Here are a few of the reasons for the sudden 3rd down success:

1. More pressure. The Steelers are 2nd in the league with 12 sacks, and those sacks have come from all over the place.

8 players have registered sacks so far this season, even though the player expected to improve the pass rush the most due to his changing role (Brett Keisel) has been shut out so far despite pressuring the quarterback numerous times.

Especially effective has been the Steelers' use of a four-man line in their packages that consists of four defensive linemen instead of the traditional look that featured two OLB's with their hand down. The added girth was meant to slow the running game against DB-heavy packages, but has worked as a means to pressure the quarterback.

Keisel and Aaron Smith can both win on the outside against tackles, and they make it easier for any additional blitzers to find creases to the quarterback because they successfully push the pocket.

This is a major change from the days where a 250 pound linebacker was expected to provide pressure while lined up against a 300 pound tackle play after play. The only viable move was the wide rush around the tackle, and that move was easily countered by chipping the rusher or having the QB simply step up in the pocket.

The defense has used substitutions more often that at any time during the Cowher era. Whether it's been subbing in the entire 2nd string defensive line or getting rookie Lamarr Woodley into the game as a pass rush specialist (he has 2 sacks this season despite coming off the bench), the defense has been fresh throughout the game.

This is a direct contrast to the days of Porter, Clark Haggans and Aaron Smith playing almost every defensive snap game after game.

2. Secondary play. The Pittsburgh Steelers will never be a press team, but defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau has played with less cushion than any Steeler defense since the days of Rod Woodson.

Against offenses who try to get the ball out quickly, press coverage can be extremely effective, allowing the corners to jump routes and make big plays.

After three games, all three "starting" cornerbacks have made interceptions, not because they were in press at the time of the pick, but due in part to the fact that playing tighter coverage tends to have a positive influence on a corners’ psyche, allowing him to dictate to the wide receiver instead of having to purely react.

The Steelers have also received great production from the two-headed monster at free safety. Nominal starter Ryan Clark is smart and steady, allowing Troy Polamalu to do what he does, while Anthony Smith rotates in and provides big hits and intimidation.

The dime package has benefited by having super subs like Bryant McFadden and Smith - they both could start for 75% of the teams in the league, and have much more experience and talent than most 5^th and 6^th DB’s.

3. Total offensive ineptness by the competition. The Steelers have made out like Tusken Raiders against some very poor offenses. That’s what a good team is supposed to do.

This is about to change, and we'll get a better idea of what's in store for the season defensively over the next few weeks. Arizona presents a challenge because of their in-house advanced scouts among the coaches.

There's also a lot of room for improvement despite the early success.

Rushers aren't closing the deal with the type of efficiency that top pass rushing teams display. For all the plays Ben Roethlisberger has left on the field with the offense, the defense has done the same by not finishing plays.

There's a glaring lack of speed amongst the current pass rushers as well, something that was evident as Alex Smith continually evaded the initial rush and couldn't be caught afterwards. Increased playing time for Lawrence Timmons would go a long way to inject more speed and closing ability into the front seven.

There's still an X-factor remaining - Lebeau hasn't come close to showing his hand, and there should be plenty of surprises in store for opposing offenses.

The Fine Five

1. New England

They've scored 38 points for three weeks in a row. They might score twice that against Cincinnati next Monday night.

2. Indianapolis

For the second week in a row, the Colts limped past an AFC South rival, beating the Texans 30-24. Anyone else think Andre Johnson would have made a little bit of a difference in that game?

3. Pittsburgh

Tomlin preached productivity in all three phases. The offense needed a late Najeh Davenport run to beat the other two phases of the game in the touchdown department.

4. Dallas

Their offense is full of weapons, and is clicking on all cylinders. Tony Romo doesn't get great protection, but he's gritty and makes plays. I'm still not a believer in the Dallas defense. And remember, Dallas spelled backwards is sallad. As in tossed.

5. Green Bay

Their ranking is purely because they're undefeated - I still don't think they'll make the playoffs. The media has actually toned down the All-Favre, all the time coverage that they've been known for despite Favre tying Marino's touchdown record. Strange what NFL types consider "news."

It would have been the biggest thing ever if he had thrown the tying touchdown during a 45-14 loss while coming off of a vicodin bender and a death in the family.

Quote of the Week

"I thought he did OK. . . . But at the same time remember this: Make sure you're ready so that when it comes . . . you know, don't cry about the ball and then not catch the ball."

Niners Coach Mike Nolan on Vernon Davis

The Awards Section

Offensive Player of the Week

Heath Miller. Miller caught everything thrown his way, though his best effort was correctly ruled an incompletion. Miller finished with 4 catches for 82 yards on the day, and is averaging 15.1 yards per catch this season. Believe it or not, Miller does not turn 25 years old until October.

Defensive Player of the Week

Casey Hampton. Stopping the run is the first priority for the Steelers' defense, and Hampton made sure that the 49ers would give up on Frank Gore early. He rag dolled McKittrick Award Winner Eric Heitmann unmercifully, and had a big hand in making the 49ers painfully one-dimensional.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Allen Rossum. Not much need to elaborate here. Remember that in the 3rd game last year, Ricardo Colclough was "handling" most of the return chores, with disastrous results.

Goat of the Week

Darryl Johnston. It's hard to be more annoying than Tony Siragusa standing on the sidelines (dreaming of Donnie Brasco's friend from Florida and the size of her areolas, no doubt), but Moose pulled it off.

First, it was Moose exclaiming "Good job Alex!" as McFadden bowled him over to get into the end zone after Smith's pick 6.

Then, it was Moose claiming that the 49ers "stood toe to toe with the Steelers" at the end of the game and should be proud of themselves for losing by 21 points.

The NFL should expand concussion testing to include former players who've moved on to the broadcast booth.

Stat(s) of the Week

- Najeh Davenport leads the NFL in yards per carry (7.2) among players with more than 10 carries.

- Steelers are #1 in scoring defense at 8.7 points per game.

- Willie Parker is averaging 5.3 yards per carry running left, 3.5 yards per carry running up the middle and 5.1 yards per carry running right.

Factoid of the Week That I Hope Interests Someone Besides Me

The NFL sent a memo to all of its teams laying down rules for where cheerleaders are allowed to warm up. Apparently, the Patriots were the source of the complaints.

Fred Kirsch of Patriots Football Weekly (the official team publication), spent last Friday whining on his podcast about opposing cheerleaders warming up near the Patriots in an effort to distract the team before a game.

"This is distracting and inappropriate and it is to be stopped immediately, and teams will be monitored from this point on as to how their cheerleaders behave,” Kirsch said.

He's either trying to draw attention away from VideoGate or he's trying to prevent Tom Brady from fathering another child. Either way, what a sad man.

No word yet as to whether the Carolina Panthers' cheerleaders will still be allowed to “warm up” in bathroom stalls.

Ten Things I Know I Think

1. Kendall Simmons is a monstrous disgrace. Expecting him to slide outside and pickup a linebacker is even more of a disgrace. Simmons needs to be hidden. Asking him to make the block on the Roethlisberger fumble is not the way to do it.

What a bad contract extension - the only way out of it is to hide him the rest of the season to retain the opportunity to induce a trade from a real sucker of a team. Maybe he could fall asleep with an icepack and get frostbite again. That might help.

2. Charlie Batch is an invaluable asset to Roethlisberger. He instantly provides feedback as far as what Ben might have missed and allows Ken Anderson to sit in the booth upstairs. Tommy Maddox could have instantly provided a lower insurance premium and a primer on the value of the fetal position immediately after plays, but Batch actually accepts his backup position and makes the most of it.

Batch is Steel Valley High School's greatest alum, except maybe for Andy Vettel, designer of Kennywood's Thunderbolt.

3. McFadden's effort to down Sepulveda's punt inside the 10 yard line was one of the most beautiful special teams plays I've ever seen.

4. See Daniel Sepulveda punt. See Daniel Sepulveda hold for placekicks. See Daniel Sepulveda recover fumbles. See Daniel Sepulveda recover the onsides kick. See Daniel Sepulveda's remaining to-do list:

- Run a fake punt

- Run a fake field goal

- Take over kickoff duties

- Destroy a return man in the open field

5. Sorry to harp on Daryl Johnston again, but I must. Moose was aghast that the 49ers didn't attempt a hail mary to close out the first half. News flash, Moose: Alex Smith can't throw the ball 60 yards.

(Around The League)

6. Forget about LaDainian Tomlinson's problems in the running game. San Diego is losing because their defense lost Donnie Edwards and Randall Godfrey. Both were very long in the tooth, but their replacements (Stephen Cooper and Tim Dobbins, who is starting in place of the injured Matt Wilhelm) just don't strike fear into anyone, especially from a coverage standpoint.

Contain Shawne Merriman, and you can pass all over the Chargers' very weak secondary.

7. Carson Palmer looked relieved when Glenn Holt fumbled the final kickoff, ensuring the Cincinnati loss. There's too much weight on Palmer's shoulders for him to have much success in terms of winning, as Rudi Johnson had 17 carries for 9 yards yesterday.

The Bengals are beginning to look a lot more like the Bengals of the 90's. Jeff Blake airing it out to Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott, with little else in the football toolbox, from running game to defense to special teams.

8. To me, it seemed like moving Matthias Kiwanuka to linebacker was a very bad idea for the Giants during the off-season. His play on the field has proven me wrong. He finished with 8 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble against the Redskins, and was a terror all over the field.

9. Right about now, it looks like Bobby Petrino would have been better off taking the Raiders' job. Wow, did I just type that? Not much else can go wrong for the Atlanta Falcons. Hopefully there's video of the "mob justice" performed on DeAngelo Hall.

10. Lyle Sendlein (not former Steeler Chukky Okobi) started in Al Johnson’s place against the Baltimore Ravens. Sendlein is a rookie free agent, undrafted from the University of Texas.

Who I Like Tonight, and I Don't Mean LSU

The Saints are vastly overrated, and should be 0-3 after tonight.

I expect Vince Young to put on a show against a porous New Orleans defense, one that's ranked 21st in the league against the run.

The Titans are averaging 211.5 rushing yards a game, tops in the league.