Respect the Towel

Happy New Year, Steelers Fans

2012-01-01T01:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is how I spend New Year's Eve, alone in my apartment blogging away.

I've been meaning to update this blog to let my fellow Steelers fans know what's going on with Respect the Towel, and this is really the first time I have a chance.

Hopefully most of you know I've started writing about the Steelers for Bleacher Report. My goal is to be read by a wider audience and hopefully get some sort of return on all the time I spend blogging about the Steelers.

In my first month on Bleacher Report, I've already been promoted to Steelers Featured Columnist. So it seems like a good move so far.

However, if you've been following me on Respect the Towel and Bleacher Report, you might be wondering why I didn't post any columns on the Steelers' last two games on either site.

I feel I need to explain this since I posted columns on every Steelers game from Week 1 of the 2007 season until the Steelers' win over the Browns this season.

As a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist, I'm required to write at least two columns a week. These aren't necessarily live game reactions, but rather assigned titles that call for analysis or opinion on the season in general.

The Steelers' game against the 49ers came during my trial as a Steelers' Featured Columnist. By the following afternoon, I had to post a Bleacher Report article about how Rashard Mendenhall ranks among AFC North running backs (second to Ray Rice). I really couldn't blow that, so I wrote that rather than an article specifically about the game.

Then I crammed most of my Christmas shopping into three days, wrote another assigned Bleacher Report article and went home to New England for Christmas.

I watched the Steelers' win over the Rams at a sports bar in Rhode Island, but then visited family right after the game. No time for a blog post about the game, especially with my Bleacher Report requirement fulfilled for the week.

With the holidays behind us, hopefully I can get back to doing game articles. Most likely I'll be filling assigned Bleacher Report titles directly related to the game. Hopefully the Steelers provide plenty of games for me to write about over the next month or so.

I'll post occasionally on Respect the Towel so this blog doesn't wither away, but most of my Steelers writing going forward will be on Bleacher Report.

Thanks for reading. Happy New Year and Go Steelers.

Steelers fans should be Tebow fans today

2011-12-18T12:32:00.001-05:00

So who should Steelers fans root for in today's showdown between Team Evil and Team Tebow?

Do we actually want a Patriots win, which would decrease the Steelers' chances of running into Tebowmania in the playoffs?

Or do we want a Broncos' win, which would put them in a good position to win the AFC West?

I think Steelers fans should take a knee and pray.

Even if the Steelers somehow win the AFC North, they still need one more loss out of the Patriots or Texans to get a first-round bye in the playoffs.

The Steelers would lose a three-way tie with the Patriots and Texans.

Today's game in Denver is probably the Steelers' best hope for a Patriots or Texans loss for the rest of the season.

The Patriots host the Dolphins and Bills in the final two weeks of the season. The Texans host Carolina today, are at Indianapolis next week and home to Tennessee in Week 17.

Even if the Broncos win today, the Steelers still need to win out and get a Ravens loss to earn a first-round bye.

But if God really is on Tebow's side, He's also on the Steelers' side on this Sunday.

Week 13: Steelers 35, Bengals 7

2011-12-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

I'm on Bleacher Report Now

If you're wondering where my column on the Steelers' win over the Bengals is, it's on Bleacher Report, which is probably where my game articles will be going forward.

I still plan to keep Respect the Towel up and running. Every once in a while I might have some esoteric, quirky thoughts rattling around my head that wouldn't cut it on Bleacher Report. No swearing on Bleacher Report, either, so I'll need Respect the Towel as an outlet for some of my adult language.

Below is the link to this week's article. Thank you for your support, and go Steelers.

http://tinyurl.com/bwx6mer

Week 12: Steelers 13, Chiefs 9

2011-11-28T22:53:00.000-05:00

Steelers win, for real

So who survives cutdown day?

What? That wasn't a preseason game on Sunday? The Steelers actually get credit for a regular-season win after that performance?

Weslye Saunders. Ryan Mundy. Keenan Lewis. Jason Worilds. Those names normally remind us of August in Latrobe, not November in Kansas City.

Yet Saunders scored the game's only touchdown and Worilds had the Steelers' only sack, both career firsts, and Lewis and Mundy made their first career interceptions.

The truth is these guys are more than just practice fodder and special teams soldiers. Damn good thing, too, because most of the Steelers' household-name guys took the night off.

The Steelers, leading by four points with four minutes left, were once again setting an "American Idol" stage for an unknown quarterback to hit the big time. Who can forget Curtis Painter, even though he's still no one's idol, tying the game in the final two minutes in Indianapolis? Jacksonville's Blaine Gabbert came oh-so-close with his Hail Mary in Week 6.

Combine all those skeletons in the closet of the Steelers' defense with the vivid memory of Joe Flacco's winning drive three Sunday nights ago, and it seemed there was no way the Steelers were going to stop Tyler Palko with four minutes to go and 70 yards to defend.

Then Lewis intercepted Palko with 38 seconds left to save the Steelers' ass. He also had a key pass breakup on a ball thrown to Steve Breaston that would have given the Chiefs a first down at the Steelers' 40 with two minutes left.

Mundy Night Football

Until Sunday night, perhaps the most memorable moment of Lewis' career came during a 2010 preseason game when Mike Tomlin grabbed the front of his collar and chewed him out like some bad-ass high school principal talking to a punk in the hallway. Lewis has come a long way since then. Now he's got a huge interception to show for all that progress.

Speaking of interceptions, if I would have told you that the Steelers would be 8-3 heading into December and Mundy would have more interceptions than Troy Polamalu, you would have thought I was so full of shit that my eyes were brown.

The Steelers played 56 minutes of the game without Polamalu, who was done after introducing his head to the knee of tackle-turned-receiver Steve Maneri. This is the second time this season Polamalu has left a game with "concussion-like symptoms." Isn't that a little bit like saying a woman has "pregnant-like" symptoms?

The fact is Polamalu has had so many concussions that one of these days he'll probably give himself another one shooting a Head & Shoulders commercial. That's how sensitive that noggin is.

Mundy might not fly all over the field like Polamalu, but he did lead the Steelers with seven tackles and he was where he had to be to get that pick, which gave the Steelers the ball on the Chiefs' 24 on a night when a long touchdown drive just wasn't happening. The second-quarter turnover led to Ben Roethlisberger's 2-yard pass to Saunders, the Steelers' backup tight end, and a 10-3 Steelers lead. Good for Saunders, although "WES-LEEEEEEE!" doesn't have the same ring to it as "HEEEEEEAAAAATH!"

Steelers get their take

Like Mundy, Worilds showed he was more than just a warm body filling in for one of the cornerstones of the Steelers defense. He provided the Steelers with their only sack Sunday, which forced the Chiefs to punt late in the third quarter.

That was all well and good, but boy do the Steelers need LaMarr Woodley back. Any quarterback not named Tyler Palko would have sliced and diced a defense with a puny pass rush like that. Hell, Tyler Perry probably would have done a better job.

Even on offense, the Steelers were bailed out by guys we don't expect much from. Hines Ward, who everyone figured would be buying announcer's suits during the bye week, tied for the team lead with four catches. He needs just 15 to reach 1,000 for his career.

Shaun Suisham made both of his field goal attempts, including a 49-yarder outdoors on a cold night to give the Steelers a 13-6 halftime lead. He's made 18 of his 23 field goal attempts this season, including 11 of his last 12. All that said, he's still not the guy I want kicking a 45-yard field goal with three seconds left and the Steelers down by two in a playoff game. He's getting there, though.

The Steelers would not have won without Suisham's field goals. They also would not have won without forcing four turnovers, the most they have forced in a game since Week 2 last season in Tennessee, when they forced seven. By forcing those four turnovers and turning it over just twice, they spared us my weekly turnover tally, because while their 10 takeaways and minus-8 turnover margin are still pretty pathetic, those stats are no longer of historic proportions.

An interception by Ike Taylor, not the first of his career although it seemed like it, and a fumble recovery by Brett Keisel accounted for the other Steelers takeaways. They needed all four of those turnovers to serve as a masking agent for everything that's wrong with this team.

The Chiefs gained just 90 yards on 34 carries, less than three yards a carry. But the Steelers' run defense seems to have a soft underbelly. They just don't seem to be stopping the run like they used to.

The Steelers offense was shut out in the second half for the third time this season. It didn't help that they were just 3 for 11 on third down. Rashard Mendenhall had his first bad game since Arizona, rushing for 57 yards on 17 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry.

How did this team beat the Patriots?

For the Steelers to win the AFC North, they're going to have to run the table and hope for one more Ravens loss. Or if they lose one, they'll need two Ravens losses. Right now, the Steelers don't look like a team that can run the table. If they play the way they did Sunday, there's at least a couple more losses down the road.

But like they did in Indianapolis and at home against Jacksonville, they played well enough to beat the team they played Sunday.

That's all that really matters.

Steelers win: My first 100 (or so) words

2011-11-27T23:59:00.000-05:00

Well, not exactly the kind of performance needed to raise the Lombardi Trophy now, is it?

But, all the Steelers had to do Sunday was beat the Chiefs, and they completed that assignment, 13-9.

However, a championship team doesn't let Tyler Palko come that close to beating them. That's almost as bad as letting Curtis Painter tie the game on you in the final two minutes.

Oh, wait. That happened, too, didn't it?

There's a lot that needs to be fixed.

Halftime report: Steelers 13, Chiefs 6

2011-11-27T22:06:00.000-05:00

5 Strange Things from the First Half

1. Troy Polamalu said "four" when they asked him what city he was in.

2. Maurkice Pouncey is puking in the locker room (probably).

3. Mewelde Moore is leading the Steelers in receptions with three.

4. Shaun Suisham kicked a long field goal.

5. The Steelers have forced half as many turnovers tonight as they have in the first 10 games.

Steelers-Chiefs: It's that time of year again

2011-11-27T03:02:00.000-05:00

Oh what a day

Late November down in Kansas City

What a very shitty time for me

This bastardization of The Four Seasons' "Oh, What a Night" does not mean I'm predicting a Steelers' loss tonight at Arrowhead Stadium. I'm not even talking about tonight (notice the "Oh what a day" and not "Oh what a night"). I'm talking about what happened to the Steelers two years ago in Kansas City.

The Steelers entered the game 6-3 and lost 27-24 in overtime to the Chiefs, who were in the midst of a 4-12 season. It was the second of five straight losses for the Steelers, and we all know the rest of the story.

After dropping to 6-3 this season, the Steelers won two weeks ago and nixed a remake of the 2009 script. They're coming off a win and not a loss as they enter KC.

Still, by sending the Steelers to Kansas City in late November, just like they did two years ago, the NFL schedule makers are acting like that weasel of a teacher who keeps putting the same trick question into his tests until you get it right.

The Steelers need to stomp this demon to truly put 2009 in the past.

Steelers Bye Week

2011-11-20T01:18:00.001-05:00

Giving Thanks and Wanting Stuff

Since the NFL started instituting bye weeks in 1990, this is the latest the Steelers have had theirs.

This bye is so late that it runs through Thanksgiving, and by the time the Steelers play their next game Nov. 27 at Kansas City, the Christmas shopping season will be well under way. For that matter, who among us this week hasn't seen Christmas decorations on light posts or heard Christmas carols at WalMart?

So let's be grateful and greedy. Let's give thanks and then tell Steeler Claus what we want under our tree this year.

Six Things Steelers Fans Are Thankful For:

1. Ben Roethlisberger's Toughness: As long as his head is attached to his shoulders, No. 7 will be calling signals. Good thing, too, because while the Steelers' offensive line seems to be getting better, there's still a lot of room for improvement. Now Roethlisberger's got a broken thumb, but says he won't miss any time. Seems to me throwing a football with a broken thumb is like driving a car without a steering wheel. No matter what happens to Roethlisberger's body, he always gets up and keeps playing. Let's not take that for granted. Throughout his career, Roethlisberger's never been called the "best" quarterback in the NFL. There's always been a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning and now an Aaron Rodgers in front of him. But I challenge anyone to find a tougher, more durable quarterback.

2. 2009's History: It was a scary case of deja vu, a lot of spooky parallels to the Steel Market Crash of 2009. The 2011 Steelers started 6-2, then lost at home to a division opponent. In 2009 they started 6-2 then lost at home to the Bengals to start a five-game losing streak. In both 2009 and 2011, the Steelers had the Bengals and Chiefs back-to-back on their schedule. But the Steelers prevented a re-enactment of 2009 by beating the Bengals last week. That doesn't mean the Steelers still can't collapse this season. But at least there won't be any desperate talk of unleashing hell in December, especially if the Steelers can take care of business against the Tyler Palko-led Chiefs.

3. Antonio Brown's Rise: It was third-and-19 when Brown went all David Tyree and pinned the ball against his helmet to set up the game-winning touchdown in last season's playoff game against the Ravens. It was third-and-19 from the Steelers' 15 last Sunday when Brown caught a 21-yard pass to keep a field goal drive going after the Bengals had narrowed the Steelers' lead to 14-10. Let's just call him Third Down Brown. He leads the AFC with 18 third-down catches and 282 third-down yards. You could argue he is the Steelers' best receiver. Mike Wallace catches the home run balls and has learned to catch passes in traffic, but Brown can make the circus catches. His Tyree-like catch last January was just the beginning.

4. Hines Ward's Maturity: Perhaps Ward was on to something when he dressed like a cheerleader on "Dancing with the Stars." With his drop to No. 4 on the Steelers' wide receiver depth chart, Ward said he'll be the Steelers' biggest cheerleader. How many other players, especially wide receivers, would say that? Ward always has stood apart from other divas at his position with his hard-nosed blocking. Now he's setting another example by putting the team ahead of himself. He needs 30 receiving yards to reach 12,000 for his career. He'll probably get that. But he needs 19 more catches to reach 1,000 for his career. He'd have to average more than three catches a game in the Steelers' six remaining games . That might not happen. Something tells me, however, that Ward's still got some key catches left in him, and if someone gets hurt, he'll be ready to step in.

5. Troy Polamalu's Health: Unlike Ben Roethlisberger, we never take Polamalu's health for granted. He's missed at least some time the last two seasons with injuries. So far, so good this year. Except for his fumble recovery and touchdown that helped the Steelers beat the Colts (how embarrassing would it be now if the Steelers had lost that game?), Polamalu hasn't made any "splash" plays on defense. That doesn't mean he's not playing well, however. He's got 62 tackles through 10 games this season. Last season, he had 63 tackles in 14 games. He made 73 tackles in 2008, the last time he played a 16-game season. So Polamalu is still making an impact. I'd love to see another 16-game season (and beyond) out of him.

6. Max Starks' Availability: It's a damn good thing no one signed Starks. Tell me again why the Steelers didn't want to start the season with him? There are probably better left tackles in the NFL than Starks, but Jonathan Scott sure as hell isn't one of them. In the Steelers' first four games, Roethlisberger was sacked 14 times, putting him on pace to be sacked 56 times this season. Roethlisberger's been sacked 17 times in the six weeks since Starks returned. Now the Steelers have a shot at keeping Roethlisberger's sack total under 50 this season. Starks has helped stabilize the Steelers' offensive line. Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert really should be thankful that no one signed Starks. It helped them undo a major personnel blunder.

Six Things Steelers Fans Want for Christmas:

1. LaMarr Woodley Back: Move over, Reggie Jackson. Woodley was this year's Mr. October. He registered 7.5 of his nine sacks during the month before going down with a hamstring injury. Woodley's performance helped fuel the Steelers' four-game winning streak. Even without his sacks, the Steelers sacked up and beat the Bengals last Sunday. They also should be able to beat the Chiefs without Woodley if his hamstring needs another week. But there won't be a lot of January football this season if they don't get Mr. October back.

2. Antonio Brown Special Teams Touchdown: We can't ask for much more from Brown this season, but there is one more thing Brown can do for us. At some point the Steelers might need a touchdown on special teams. Brown is tied for second in the NFL with five punt returns of 20-plus yards. The 49ers' Ted Ginn has seven. Brown is only averaging 11 yards per punt return, however, because of all his fair catches. In the first NFL game Brown suited up for, he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown last season in Week 2 at Tennessee. He's due for another special teams touchdown.

3. Pro Bowl for Ike Taylor: Let's get Ike Taylor lei-ed. The Pro Bowl is back in Hawaii this year, and Ike Taylor deserves to be there. Of course, we don't want Taylor to actually go to the Pro Bowl, because that would mean the Steelers won't be playing in Super Bowl XLVI the following week. We just want him to be invited. Seeing the way Taylor's played this season, it's hard to believe he's never been to a Pro Bowl. It's because he doesn't get a lot of interceptions (just 11 in his nine-year career). Hopefully this year he can prove that you don't need "ball skills" to get lei-ed.

4. More Ravens Losses: With no Steelers game to watch this Sunday, let's all take an orange salad bowl, draw black stripes on it with a magic marker, put it on our head and pretend we're Bengals fans. The Steelers still can win the AFC North and maybe get a first-round bye in the playoffs, which has benefited them in their last two trips to the Super Bowl. The Steelers just need the Ravens to lose one more game than they do the rest of the way. That means if the Steelers run the table, they'll still need the Ravens to lose one more. If the Steelers go 5-1, they'll need the Ravens to lose two more. The Ravens have followed up both of their wins over the Steelers with losses, and there also was that loss to Jacksonville. At least when the Steelers lose, they lose to decent teams. Despite their three losses, the Steelers look like a team that can beat anyone. The Ravens have shown they can lose to anyone.

5. Faith in Shaun Suisham: Maybe I'm being too hard on Suisham. He's made nine of his last 10 field goals, including a key 39-yarder against a stiff wind in Cincinnati. He's 16 for 21 this season. But is Suisham the guy you want attempting, say, a 42-yard field goal with the Steelers down by three points with three seconds left in a playoff game? I didn't think so. Some clutch kicks from Suisham would be a nice Christmas gift.

6. Century Club Membership for Rashard Mendenhall: We really can't complain about Mendenhall's performance in the last three games. He's not used much because the Steelers are a pass-first team. Against the Patriots and Ravens, he had a combined 112 yards on 26 carries. That's 4.3 yards per carry. He had just 44 yards on 16 carries against the Bengals, but showed a real nose for the goal line on his two touchdown runs. With the weather getting colder and maybe snowier, the Steelers might need a few 100-yard rushing games from Mendenhall, who can be a fun running back to watch when he's got it all together.

Week 10: Steelers 24, Bengals 17

2011-11-14T22:39:00.004-05:00

Steelers back in 1st place

The Steelers have joined the Occupy First Place movement.

It seemed the Steelers would never again set foot in the AFC North's top spot after their loss to the Ravens last week.

But what did I tell you about the Ravens? I said last week that a loss Sunday in Seattle wouldn't surprise me at all. They conquered their black and gold demons by completing a season sweep of the Steelers, then Sunday it was Letdown City.

The Ravens' 22-17 loss to the Seahawks, combined with the Steelers' 24-17 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati, gave the Steelers (7-3) a half-game lead over the Bengals (6-3) and Ravens (6-3).

Because of their bye next week, there's nothing the Steelers can do if the Ravens win in Cincinnati. It would put Baltimore back in first by virtue of the tiebreaker, but for now the Steelers are occupying first place, protesting the Ravens' crowning as division champs.

Ooh, that smell

William Gay is doing a lot more than just occupying the starting cornerback job opposite Ike Taylor. He took a big leap in securing that role Sunday.

A Steelers defense that couldn't protect 92 yards in the final two minutes against the Ravens had only 49 yards behind it with four-and-a-half minutes to go Sunday. The Steelers led by seven, so the smell of overtime was in the air.

Then Gay freshened the scent.

The Bengals got to the Steelers' 25 when the fifth-year cornerback made his second career interception, jumping the route on a pass from rookie quarterback Andy Dalton to Jerome Simpson.

The Steelers got a couple of first downs from there to run out the clock. The final one came on a pass in the flat to Mike Wallace, who caught six passes for 54 yards. Considering how lah-di-dah Ben Roethlisberger has been on some of his passes in the flat this season (see Terrell Suggs), I think there might have been safer play calls in that situation. There was nothing but green turf in front of Nate Clements if he had somehow intercepted that ball.

Thankfully, it's a play call no one will remember.

Among the things Steelers fans will remember about Sunday's game is Gay's performance.

The Steelers' third-down defense sprung a few leaks against the Ravens, but Gay helped patch that up by ensuring three-and-outs on the Bengals' first two possessions Sunday. He broke up a third-down pass on the Bengals' first possession. Then on the first play of the Bengals' next series, he turned a completion into an incompletion by knocking the ball, and maybe a little snot, from Simpson after Simpson caught the ball.

Both of those defensive stands were followed by touchdowns. The first one was a 16-yard reception by Jerricho Cotchery, his first TD as a Steeler. The second was a 2-yard run by Rashard Mendenhall that gave the Steelers a 14-0, first-quarter lead.

Discipline on defense

Just when it seemed like the good ol' days, when the Steelers could walk into Cincinnati and do whatever they wanted, the Bengals reminded everyone that this season might be one of those once-every-few-years reprieves from all those 4-12s and 5-11s of autumns past. These cats had enough fight to eventually tie the game 17-17 in the third quarter.

The Steelers regained the lead when Mendenhall again showed some goal-line grit, breaking free from numerous Bengal claws for a 9-yard TD run to give the Steelers a 24-17 lead late in the third quarter.

It didn't seem like a lead that would last for 17 minutes. Not on a day when the Steelers looked sloppy with their tackling, allowing 4.1 rushing yards per carry. Not on a day when the Steelers were penning another chapter in their historic tale of turnover futility.

Gay wasn't feeling so generous.

On first-and-10 from the Steelers' 47, Gay broke up a pass intended for Andre Caldwell and rerouted it into the hands of Lawrence Timmons with about 12 minutes left in the game.

Gay's own pick later gave the Steelers their first multiple-takeaway game of the season. Good thing, too, because while there have been days this season when the Steelers' defense was good enough to win without forcing turnovers, Sunday was not one of those days.

Let's not forget that the Steelers didn't have to worry about A.J. Green for three quarters of the game. The Bengals were right back in the game at 14-7 when the rookie speedster split the double team of Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark for a 36-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. This being Cincinnati, Clark went a little Kimo von Oelhoffen and rolled into Green's knee after the play, taking him out of the game.

Clark clearly did not hurt Green's knee on purpose, yet provided the Steelers a little unintended help on that play. He also helped by breaking his streak of consecutive games with a 15-yard personal foul. A little discipline goes a long way.

Considering how suspect the Steelers' defense looked Sunday, I can't help but think that Green might have made a difference had he not been limited to the Bengals' Sideline Spinning class for the rest of the afternoon.

As they battle for AFC North supremacy, the Steelers are in an equally tenacious fight with the Dolphins to avoid a dubious place in history. They're still tied with the Dolphins for fewest takeaways in the NFL, and the Dolphins have played only nine games. The Steelers' six forced turnovers are still the fewest in NFL history through 10 games. But perhaps the better job Gay is doing at cornerback will help them turn the corner in that department.

What can Brown do for you?

Let's hope Gay's breakout follows a trajectory similar to that of Antonio Brown.

Of Brown's 44 catches this season, 26 have come in the past four weeks. He caught five for 86 yards Sunday, including four for 74 yards on a second-quarter drive that resulted in a 39-yard Shaun Suisham field goal and a 17-10 Steelers lead.

The Steelers faced a lot of obstacles on that 16-play, 87-yard drive, including a gimme sack after Roethlisberger lost his shoe. Roethlisberger was sacked again a play later, and the Steelers faced a third-and-19. No problem. Brown took care of that with one of his two 21-yard receptions on the drive. The other one put the ball on the Bengals' 13, well within Shaun Suisham's field goal range.

Speaking of Suisham, maybe even he's getting his ass in gear. He's now made 16 of his 21 field goals, and that 39-yarder in the whipping Cincinnati wind wasn't exactly a chip shot.

Gay, Brown, Suisham and the rest of the Steelers have earned their week off. Maybe they can spend it being Bengals fans so they can occupy first place for another week.

Steelers win: My first 100 (or so) words

2011-11-13T16:20:00.001-05:00

See? Was that so hard? The Steelers finally won a turnover battle, using two fourth-quarter interceptions to preserve a seven-point lead and beat the Bengals 24-17.

So everyone breathe a sigh of relief. This WON'T be another 2009. The Steelers (7-3) won't lose five in a row after starting 6-2.

William Gay's pick saved the game for the Steelers. After that, he appeared to have a nice little sideline conversation with Ike Taylor. Anyone else hoping he was teaching Ike how to catch?

Week 9: Ravens 23, Steelers 20

2011-11-07T12:21:00.000-05:00

Substandard defense

I know Pittsburgh poet laureate Mike Tomlin says "The standard is the standard."

But I'm a little worried that LaMarr Woodley might be the new "Steelers defense isn't the same without him" guy, inheriting that honor from Troy Polamalu.

Joe Flacco's 26-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith with eight seconds left gave the Ravens a 23-20 win over the Steelers Sunday night. The pass completed a 92-yard drive that began with 2:24 left in the game.

The failure of the Steelers' defense was not limited to the last two minutes. All night, the unit was more accommodating than the staff at the Omni William Penn, particularly on third down, where the Steelers allowed the Ravens to keep drives alive 14 of 21 times.

Woodley's absence didn't help. He's out with a hamstring injury. Who knows when he'll be back? Those hamstrings can be tricky.

But, the standard is the standard, right?

Well, not really.

The Steelers showed that Tomlin's mantra is nothing more than hot air when they collapsed in 2009 when Polamalu went down.

Polamalu patrolled the gridiron Sunday night, but the hair didn't scare the Ravens. On their winning drive, an incompletion bounced off Ray Rice's hands, and Polamalu was so tantalizingly close to an interception, but just not where he needed to be. We seem to be seeing that a lot lately, going back to Super Bowl XLV. Could it be that at 30 Polamalu's no longer fast enough to get to a ball hanging in the air?

During the Steelers' four-game winning streak that was snapped Sunday night, Woodley was the transcendent player that Polamalu used to be. Of his nine sacks this year, seven-and-a-half came during that quarter-season stretch.

Sure, James Harrison came back with a vengeance, sacking Joe Flacco three times and forcing a fumble that William Gay recovered. But he couldn't do it by himself. No one else sacked Flacco, and that one turnover wasn't enough, especially when the Steelers committed two (technically, the second one came on a fumble by Mike Wallace on the final play of the game).

Woodley didn't get his ass in gear this season until after Harrison hurt his eye in Week 4 at Houston. So the outside linebacker tandem of Harrison and Woodley has yet to be on the field together at peak level this season.

Perhaps that's the reason the Steelers have forced just four turnovers in nine games. This year's Dolphins, who just got their first win Sunday, are the only other team in the history of the NFL with four takeaways through nine games.

We're past the point of this turnover drought being some statistical quirk. We're past the "Oh, the turnovers will come" stage. Something is missing from this Steelers defense.

Too good to be true

It's too bad Steelers defenders not named James Harrison let the team down, because Sunday night was the finest hour for some Steelers, and it was all in vain.

Jerricho Cotchery had his best game as a Steeler, catching three passes for 44 yards, including a third-down conversion with less than four minutes left when the Steelers were trying to protect a 20-16 lead.

Cotchery and his Jets teammates came damn close to dancing on the Heinz Field turf last January. The way he played Sunday, it sure was nice to see him wearing the mustard yellow of the Steelers retro uniforms and not green and white.

For that matter, the Ravens could have had him, too. Imagine how bad the Steelers' defense would have looked Sunday if Flacco had Cotchery as an option?

The Steelers were thin at receiver with Emmanuel Sanders out and Hines Ward hurt early in the game. The Steelers needed Cotchery to finally be a factor, and he answered the call.

Also rising to the occasion, and then some, of this crucial AFC North showdown was the Steelers' offensive line. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just once. He didn't even have to live up to his nickname, The Grimace, because he wasn't touched enough to show any pain on his face. When will we ever see that again?

Even Rashard Mendenhall averaged four yards a carry, rushing 13 times for 52 yards. He hasn't been used all that much over the past two weeks, but when called upon he's averaged 4.3 yards per carry.

No, Mendenhall wasn't the running back who made us reach for the Tums this week. Unfortunately, it was Mewelde Moore.

You always can count on Moore to come off the bench and make a big catch when the Steelers are trying to run out the clock with a lead.

Until Sunday.

On third-and-5 from the Ravens' 29, Moore didn't turn around in time to catch a pass from Roethlisberger. Had he caught the ball, the Steelers would have had a first down with 2:37 left. Instead, Shaun Suisham lined up for a 46-yard field goal attempt.

Does anyone really trust Suisham from 46 yards?

Well, apparently the Steelers don't either, because a delay of game penalty forced the Steelers to punt. I can't help but wonder if that penalty was on purpose. Perhaps they figured Suisham would miss, giving the Ravens the ball at about the 36-yard line. Better to give Jeremy Kapinos more room to punt and try to pin the Ravens deep.

Well, the Ravens had to start at their own 8 needing a touchdown. A championship-level defense doesn't allow a touchdown in that situation.

In fairness, the Steelers forced the Ravens' second three-and-out of the game on their previous possession, with less than five minutes left. They shouldn't have had to take the field again.

But like the honor society student who comes home with a big, red "F" on his paper, Moore disappointed us.

Let's complete the confluence of blame by giving Roethlisberger his share. What did he do to thank his offensive line for keeping him clean and pretty much taming Terrell Suggs? He threw a lollipop that Suggs picked off on the Steelers' first possession of the second half.

Trailing 9-6, the Steelers drove to the Ravens' 14 when Roethlisberger tried to find Wallace in the flat. The ball floated like a balloon and Suggs intercepted it, sparking a Ravens' touchdown drive and a 16-6 deficit the Steelers had to overcome.

Before the interception, neither team had scored a touchdown, which made that drive seem too good to be true.

You know what they say when something seems too good to be true.

Damage control

I'm wondering why the Ravens weren't sporting AFC North Champions caps with the tags still on them after the game. After all, Sunday's game was touted as the game that would decide the AFC North, right?

OK, it's not bloody likely the Steelers will win the division. That first-round bye the Steelers have had on their way to their last two Super Bowls? We probably can kiss that goodbye.

All that said, divisions aren't won in early November. Yes, the Ravens (6-2) own the tiebreaker over the Steelers (6-3). But it's not impossible for the Steelers to finish with a better record than the Ravens.

None of the Steelers' three losses this season have been what you would call "What the Fuck?" losses. They've lost to the Ravens and Texans, both teams that would make the playoffs if the season ended today.

The Ravens, on the other hand, have lost to the Titans (4-4) and Jaguars (2-6), the latter being a true "WTF?" loss. The Steelers haven't lost to bad teams this year. Not yet, anyway. The Ravens have.

That loss at Tennessee came the week after the Ravens trampled the Steelers in the opener. They had that opener circled on their calender since the NFL Network's schedule show in April. That loss in Tennessee had letdown written all over it.

The Ravens are at Seattle Sunday. Do the Seahawks suck? Yes. But Seattle is a tough place to play, and the Ravens have proven this season to be more prone to upsets than the Steelers.

After that, the only really easy games left on the Ravens' schedule are at Indianapolis and home to Cleveland. They still have to play the Bengals (6-2) twice. They have to go to San Diego. And coach John Harbaugh's little brother Jim will bring his 49ers (6-1) to Baltimore.

Not that the Steelers have an easy schedule. They, too, have two games against the Bengals, who also might have something to say about who wins the AFC North. The Steelers have to go to Kansas City (not as scary considering the Dolphins won there Sunday) and San Francisco, where they will try to prevent the Harbaugh Hat Trick.

No matter what happens, though, the Steelers will need to do some scoreboard watching. Now, even if they win the rest of their games, it might not be enough to win the division. Imagine being 13-3 and having to go on the road for a wild card game?

This is the fourth straight season the Steelers have dropped to 6-3 after going 6-2 at the halfway point. They dusted themselves off and got to the Super Bowl in 2008 and 2010. But in 2009, it was the beginning of the end.

So now it's all about damage control. That starts Sunday in Cincinnati. If the Steelers lose there, mediocrity beckons.

Steelers lose: My first 100 (or so) words

2011-11-07T00:31:00.000-05:00

Well I guess that means the Ravens are the AFC North champions, right?

Sunday's game was billed as the game that would decide the division.

Well, it's hard to win a division in early November. It will be very difficult, but not impossible, for the Steelers to win the division.

Right now, however, the Ravens are the better team. They've beaten the Steelers twice this season, and basically have the Steelers defense figured out. They were 14 of 21 on third-down conversions and methodically marched down the field when they needed 92 yards in the final two minutes.

The 23 points the Ravens scored were the most allowed by the Steelers defense since the 35 the Ravens scored in the opener.

The Steelers don't usually lose twice to a division opponent in the same season. The last time it happened was 2009 when they lost to the Bengals twice. In 2006, they lost to the Ravens twice. What do those two seasons have in common? The Steelers didn't make the playoffs either year.

Ravens-Steelers halftime

2011-11-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

Halftime: Ravens 9, Steelers 6

You get the feeling the first team to score a touchdown is going to win this game?

Here are three things I like from the first half and three things I don't like.

Things I like:

Steelers are stopping Ray Rice: He's got 26 yards on 12 carries.
Rashard Mendenhall: I know he's only got 18 yards on five carries. But I just like the way he looks and think he can be a factor in the second half.
Offensive line: I know Ben Roethlisberger got sacked, forcing the Steelers to kick a field goal. But one sack in a half isn't bad. Especially with Terrell Suggs lurking.

Thinks I don't like:

Steelers' defense on third down: Can't find the stats. But I know it sucks.
No turnovers: No longer am I the lone voice in the wilderness on this. NBC had a graphic demonstrating the Steelers' turnover futility. Of course they don't jinx that.
Steelers' kickoff coverage: David Reed had a couple of long ones.

Good omen for Steelers?

2011-11-06T16:13:00.000-05:00

Oh, Danny boy.

Once again, Steelers punter Daniel Sepulveda is out for the season.

Could this actually be good news for the Steelers?

Since the Steelers foolishly used a fourth-round draft pick on a punter to take Sepulveda in 2007, he has finished just two seasons, 2007 and 2009. In 2008 and 2010, Sepulveda went on injured reserve with a right-leg injury, and the Steelers went to the Super Bowl both times.

It's almost as if an off-the-street punter is a good-luck charm for the Steelers in their Super Bowl seasons. In 2008, it was Mitch Berger. Last season, it was Jeremy Kapinos, and they signed Kapinos again Saturday.

I think the Steelers got all they could out of Sepulveda this season, anyway. After all, that one punt last week against the Patriots probably took a lot out of him.

Linebacker update

Enough about punters. Let's talk about real, you know, football players. In this case, let's talk about linebackers.

James Harrison probably will play tonight against the Ravens. James Farrior is a maybe. LaMarr Woodley is out.

If the Steelers lose this game, it shouldn't be because Woodley is out, even though he has nine sacks this season. Jason Worilds is expected to return from injury and start at left outside linebacker opposite Harrison. Worilds is a second-round draft pick in his second year. So it's about time he shows us something.

Wonders never cease

Former Steelers general manager Tom Donahoe said this week that the Steelers' offense seems to struggle against stout defenses. The last time the Steelers' offense was really tested, it was shut out in the second half against the Jaguars.

This, of course, would be a concern tonight. The Steelers go from facing the Patriots' defense, which is the worst in the NFL, to the Ravens' defense, which is the best.

It's amazing how things change in a week. Last week, we wondered if the Steelers' defense could handle a legitimate offense like that of the Patriots. Now, we're wondering if the Steelers' offense can handle a legitimate defense.

Even if the Steelers win tonight at Heinz Field, we'll probably wonder if they can beat a good team on the road. But that hopefully wouldn't matter, because they'd have the inside track on home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

That's how big tonight's game is.

Ravens-Steelers preview

2011-11-04T15:05:00.000-04:00

How to beat the Ravens

Last week at this time, it seemed we were all scratching our head trying to figure out how the Steelers could beat the Patriots.

We were almost like fictional New Englander Will Hunting in front of a chalkboard.

Professor LeBeau solved the problem by frequently using six defensive backs and covering each receiver man-to-man.

No such mathematical formula will be needed this week.

Steelers, you know how to beat the Ravens. Just go out and do it.

Week 8: Steelers 25, Patriots 17

2011-10-31T15:46:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween

The Steelers finally figured out the trick to beating the Patriots Sunday. Now they have a huge bag of treats to enjoy.

It might be tempting to bite into some of that candy and savor this victory over the Patriots, the Steelers' first win over Tom Brady since Facebook was still just for college students.

But when you went trick-or-treating as a kid, wasn't there always some old coot in the neighborhood who dropped an apple into your bag?

What a bummer that was.

Well, the Steelers better not chuck that apple. That apple is the Ravens, who visit Heinz Field Sunday night. As sweet as beating the Patriots is, beating the Ravens is better for them.

If the Steelers lose to the Ravens, winning the AFC North will be harder than getting Bill Belichick to do stand-up comedy. The Ravens would hold the tiebreaker with two wins over the Steelers.

Then, the Steelers go to Cincinnati in two weeks. Like the Ravens, the Bengals are 5-2 and a half-game behind the Steelers in the division.

As liberating as a win over the Patriots is, it will ring hollow if the Steelers can't take care of business in the division and eventually have to navigate the wild-card route to the Super Bowl.

All that said, a win over the Patriots usually signals a deep run in the playoffs. Since 1995, every win over the Patriots has pointed the Steelers to at least the AFC championship game.

It's too early to tell if that will be the case again this year, but we do know that the Steelers now have a showcase victory to highlight their four-game winning streak, a streak in which they haven't been behind since trailing the Titans 3-0 in the first quarter three weeks ago.

Prescription for winning

What makes the Steelers' victory over a Brady-led team so uncanny is the fact that they did it by giving the pretty-boy quarterback exactly what he wants. Plenty of face time. That is, lots of shots of him on the sidelines with his helmet off. You beat the Patriots by keeping Brady off the field.

The Steelers gave the Patriots a taste of their own medicine (doesn't Belichick always look like he's swallowing bitter medicine?) by using the passing game essentially as their running game. The Steelers possessed the ball for 21 minutes, 13 seconds in the first half. Ben Roethlisberger completed 23 of the 32 passes he threw, leading the Steelers to a 17-10 halftime lead.

Roethlisberger threw to nine different receivers in the game (even Jerricho Cotchery caught his first pass as a Steeler). Antonio Brown caught nine of those passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. I thought the Steelers were going to need a punt or kickoff return from Brown to have any chance to win this game. But Brown's more than just a returner now. He's pretty much the Steelers' No. 2 receiver. For the second straight week, he's surpassed a career high for receptions in a game.

A common thread of the Patriots' success over the past decade has been their ability to take away their opponent's biggest strength. Mike Wallace had a reception of at least 40 yards in six straight games. The Patriots made damn sure that didn't happen Sunday. But Wallace still caught seven passes for 70 yards, showing he's a complete receiver.

Heath Miller also caught seven passes, including four for 55 yards on the game's opening drive, prompting enough baritone "Heeeeeaaaath!" rumblings in Western Pennsylvania to register on the Richter scale.

The Steelers' use of the tight end on that drive was a nice little game of "See, We Can Do That, Too." The Patriots gouged the Steelers' defense with their tight ends in last year's win at Heinz Field.

Rob Gronkowski, who scored three touchdowns against the Steelers in that game, still caught seven passes for 94 yards, but the Steelers limited the damage by employing the Cavalry Defense. After the 6-foot-6, 265-pounder caught a pass, one Steeler would hold onto him and wait for teammates to get there and help bring him down. On one play, Troy Polamalu rode Gronkowski like a jockey until the cavalry arrived.

Patriots fans are going to say that Gronkowski should have had a touchdown when he caught a pass at the goal line with 4:15 left in the game. Yeah, it probably was a touchdown, but didn't Gronkowski do enough scoring during the Patriots' bye week?

After getting the ball to the 1 on that play, the Patriots had a dumb spell and managed the clock poorly before finally getting a touchdown with 2:35 left, narrowing the Steelers' lead to 23-17.

Turnover talk

Yeah, it got a little hairy at the end, despite the Steelers' dominance in the game.

Why is that?

To answer that question, we have to have our weekly turnover talk.

Do we really have to do that again, you ask? The Steelers finally got that long-awaited win over the Patriots, can't we reward them by not pointing out their takeaway futility for one week?

No. Because the Steelers once again failed to force a turnover Sunday. The Patriots did get an interception, which put the ball on the Steelers' 8 and led to a touchdown to cut the Steelers' lead to 10-7 in the second quarter.

That means the Steelers lost the turnover battle. That's why their lead was a puny 17-10 at halftime despite all the good they did in the first half. That's why we couldn't be sure of a Steelers win until eight seconds remained in the game.

From the Broken Record Department, the Steelers are the only team in the history of the NFL with just three takeaways through eight games, according to profootballreference.com. At the season's midpoint, they're on pace for six takeaways in 2011. That would be just half of the 12 the Redskins had in 2006. That's the record for fewest takeaways in a 16-game season.

The Steelers join the 1983 Raiders (who won the Super Bowl), the 1971 49ers and the 1945 Lions in going 6-2 despite a turnover differential of minus-10 or worse.

Going the distance

The only other time the Steelers beat Brady, they blindsided the Patriots with turnovers. After taking a 7-3 lead in that game in 2004, they strip-sacked Brady on the first play of New England's next possession and eventually scored to make it 14-3. Then on the first play of the Patriots' next drive, Deshea Townsend scored on a Pick 6, and it was 21-3 in the first quarter before the Patriots knew what hit them.

So instead of knocking out the Patriots with turnovers like they did seven years ago today, the Steelers went the distance with the Patriots Sunday. Without the knockout punch of a turnover, they stood toe-to-toe with them and outpunched them.

For a while there, though, it looked like the Patriots were going to find a new way to beat the Steelers. For all the Patriots' mastery over the Steelers before Sunday, they've never come from behind to beat them during the Brady Era.

Down six, the Patriots had the ball at their own 22 with 19 seconds left and no timeouts. Was Brady going to add a whole new dimension to our frustration with a miracle?

Thankfully, no.

On a play that crystallized the Steelers' stellar coverage of the Patriots' receivers, they rushed only three, but Brady found no one open. Brett Keisel, who already had his customary batted pass earlier in the game, knocked the ball loose. Polamalu punched the ball through the end zone for a safety. It might have been illegal, but that's for Spygate.

Speaking of people who get away with things, Ray Lewis and the Ravens come to town Sunday in a game even more important than this one.

Steelers beat Patriots: My first hundred (or so) words

2011-10-30T20:09:00.001-04:00

Today's win means the Steelers have started 6-2 in all five seasons that Mike Tomlin has been their coach.

That's the biggest thing to take from this win, right? Otherwise pretty ho-hum, no?

Oooooh, yeah. There is this small matter of beating the Patriots. Not only beating the Patriots, but beating Tom Brady for the first time in six years, 364 days.

So Troy Polamalu got away with batting the ball into the end zone to give the Steelers a safety and secure the win. Has anyone ever heard of Spygate?

LaMarr Woodley haunted Brady on Halloween Eve with two sacks before going out with a hamstring injury. On the surface, it doesn't seem like anything serious, but those hamstring injuries can linger. We'll have to keep an eye on that.

Let's keep this victory in perspective. It's only one win. If the Steelers beat the Patriots January, then we can say for sure that Brady no longer owns them.

2011-10-30T19:15:00.001-04:00

Somehow I see Mewelde Moore touching the ball here in the last 2 minutes. Go #Steelers

2011-10-30T18:55:00.001-04:00

Patriots still have shot, especially if Ike is out. Go #Steelers

2011-10-30T18:48:00.001-04:00

I don't think Keenan Lewis has to rent month to month anymore. Go #Steelers

2011-10-30T18:40:00.001-04:00

#Steelers closing in for the kill and just got an FG. Red zone is where not having Hines Ward hurts. 23-10

2011-10-30T18:31:00.001-04:00

All #Steelers fans hold four fingers high above your head. It's the fourth quarter. 20-10

2011-10-30T18:20:00.001-04:00

Once again Ryan Clark keeps both teams in the game. Go #Steelers

2011-10-30T18:17:00.001-04:00

Let's hope Brady froze his nuts off during that long #Steelers drive. Definitely not in his rhythm today.

2011-10-30T18:14:00.001-04:00

OK, 20-10 #Steelers. Keep the pressure on Brady. Good runs by Mendenhall on drive.

2011-10-30T17:43:00.001-04:00

The way #Steelers have dominated 1st half, I'm not comfortable with 17-10 lead. Still don't think they win without a takeaway.

2011-10-30T17:23:00.001-04:00

Belichick looks constipated. 17-7 #Steelers

2011-10-30T17:11:00.001-04:00

#Steelers won't stay ahead on scoreboard if they don't win turnover battle. That means D MUST force turnover at some point. 10-7

2011-10-30T17:03:00.001-04:00

New nickname for Big Ben: The Grimace. 10-0 #Steelers

2011-10-30T16:32:00.001-04:00

Antonio Brown fair catch? You never see that :~/ go #Steelers

2011-10-30T16:26:00.001-04:00

See Patriots? #Steelers can throw to their tight ends, too. 7-0

2011-10-30T14:15:00.001-04:00

The #Steelers lost to this team 35-7?

2011-10-30T13:46:00.001-04:00

No Ward, no Farrior today. #Steelers can handle loss of Ward. But Farrior? Who starts at ILB? Carter? Sylvester?

2011-10-30T13:41:00.001-04:00

Scouting Ravens-Cards. Must not be FOX's top game. Who the hell are these announcers? Go #Steelers

2011-10-30T13:11:00.001-04:00

Coming to you from behind enemy lines today. Will be watching game in Massachusetts. Go #Steelers

2011-10-30T13:05:00.001-04:00

Greetings yinzers and non-yinzers alike. Holy War at Heinz Field today. Go #Steelers.

Patriots-Steelers preview

2011-10-28T03:37:00.000-04:00

It's not just Brady

We've been hearing it all week. "Tom Brady owns the Steelers. Tom Brady owns the Steelers."

Why does Tom Brady own the Steelers?

The answer is in the following mathematical formula:

Tom Brady = Elite NFL Quarterback

Elite NFL Quarterback = Trouble for Steelers Defense

Therefore:

Tom Brady = Trouble for Steelers Defense

It's as simple as a = b, b = c. Therefore a = c.

Or something like that.

Brady isn't the only elite NFL quarterback who makes the Steelers' defense look like a bunch of ham-and-eggers. The Steelers were 0-3 last year against the triumvirate of Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.

Brady led the NFL last year with a quarterback rating of 111.0. Rodgers was third at 101.2. I was surprised that Brees was 12th with a 90.9 rating. But I'd still call him elite because he owns a Super Bowl ring.

Brady is second this season with a 104.8 rating. The only other quarterback in the top five who the Steelers have faced this season is the Texans' Matt Schaub, and he's the last quarterback who's beaten the Steelers.

Really, the best quarterback the Steelers can beat is Joe Flacco, and we'll find out next week if they can even beat him anymore.

So here are four things the Steelers must do if they want to have any shot at beating the Patriots Sunday:

Troy Polamalu must stay deep

Brady basically has Polamalu chasing his own hair whenever they're on the same field. In last season's 39-26 Patriots' win at Heinz Field, the Patriots led 17-3 in the third quarter when Brady got Polamalu to bite on a play-action fake, and hit Brandon Tate over the middle for a 45-yard gain, leading to another touchdown and a 23-3 Patriots lead. Game over. In the 2004 AFC championship game at Heinz Field, the Patriots took control of the game when Brady sold Polamalu on an underneath route, and fired a 60-yard touchdown to Deion Branch, giving the Patriots a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Against Brady, Polamalu is more useful staying back and helping out the cornerbacks.

Get help from special teams

The Steelers have had a two-point conversion scored on them on a fake point-after. They've had both a field goal and a punt blocked. They've allowed an opponent to recover an onside kick and they kept an eventual touchdown drive alive with a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a punt. Shaun Suisham made all three of his field goals in Arizona, but that's not enough to restore my faith in him. He's missed four field goals this season. It's not a good idea to be vulnerable on special teams with the Patriots lurking. That's how the Patriots upset the Steelers in the 2001 AFC championship game. Two of their touchdowns came on a punt return and a blocked field goal This would be a good week for Antonio Brown to finally break one, because the Steelers are going to need points from more than just their offense.

Win a shootout

A Steelers win would pretty much guarantee an exciting game, because the Steelers can't rely on their defense to stop Brady and the Patriots. This one's on the offense. Every time the Patriots score a touchdown, the Steelers will have to answer with a touchdown. There hasn't been a shootout at Heinz Field since Week 15 in 2009, when the Steelers beat the Packers 37-36. That was before Aaron Rodgers was Aaron Rodgers. The outcome of Sunday's game might depend on who has the ball last.

Stop Rob Gronkowski

During the Patriots' bye week, Gronkowski hung out with a porn star. In last year's win over the Steelers, the tight end scored three touchdowns. So maybe the Steelers can't really stop Gronkowski, just hope that instead of catching passes from Brady he catches something from the porn star and can't play.

Week 7: Steelers 32, Cardinals 20

2011-10-24T13:19:00.005-04:00

Steelers play Cards right

Funny how the biggest highlight of the Steelers' win over the Cardinals Sunday was a reminder of what might have been.

The same play that fell apart and allowed the Packers to take control of Super Bowl XLV worked to perfection Sunday, allowing the Steelers to take control in their Super Bowl XLIII rematch.

In Super Bowl XLV, the Steelers were at their own 7-yard line, and Ben Roethlisberger tried to find Mike Wallace on a sideline route. But Roethlisberger's arm was hit on the play, and the Packers' Nick Collins grabbed the fluttering ball and returned it for a Pick 6 and a 14-0 Packers lead. If only Roethlisberger had released the ball cleanly, Wallace would have been gone and the game would have been tied.

On Sunday, the Steelers were at their own 5 and, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, were going to try a short pass to tight end David Johnson to get them a little breathing room.

But Roethlisberger saw that Wallace was open going down the sideline, just like he was in the Super Bowl. This time, nobody in a red shirt touched Roethlisberger before he got the ball off, and he connected with Wallace on a 95-yard touchdown pass, the longest pass play in Steelers' history.

This time, the 14-0 lead belonged to the Steelers.

Touch of gray

Wallace was preparing for the NFL Scouting Combine three years ago when the Cardinals were giving the Steelers all they could handle in Tampa. The Cardinals wouldn't go quietly on Sunday, either. The 17-7 halftime score was discomforting. That was the halftime score of Super Bowl XLIII, and the second half of that game was a little too white-knuckle for my taste.

The lead was chopped to 17-14 Sunday when Kevin Kolb, who looks like he's permanently afflicted with bitter-beer face, threw a short pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling that turned into a 73-yard touchdown. While overall the Steelers' defense played "above the line," as Mike Tomlin would say, that play revealed another gray hair on a unit that isn't getting any younger.

Yeah, we saw the 2009 James Farrior there. Stephens-Howling couldn't have embarrassed him any more if he had pulled his pants down.

With a few more gray hairs added to the heads of their fans at this point, the Steelers regained command of the game with an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.

Heath Miller caught two passes for 38 yards on the drive. Emmanuel "Remember Me?" Sanders caught three of his five balls on the drive, including one for 20 yards that got the Steelers to the 2. Two plays later, Roethlisberger found Sanders again for the touchdown, dodging unblocked former teammate Clark Haggans before firing the pass.

We're probably going to see Tom Brady do a lot of things next Sunday at Heinz Field, but I guarantee you we won't see him avoid a sack like Roethlisberger did on that play, because that's one thing that Roethlisberger can do that Brady can't.

A penalty yanked the Cardinals back to their own 7 on the the ensuing kickoff, and on the first play LaMarr Woodley, who already had two sacks, roamed free in the backfield and waved his arms at Kolb as if to say "Yeah, it's me again" in a schoolyard kind of way.

Woodley forced Kolb to intentionally ground the ball in the end zone, giving the Steelers a safety and a 26-14 lead.

Suisham settles down

It's funny how the two points gained from a safety, that most emasculating of football plays, can change the complexion of a game. Now the Cardinals needed two touchdowns, not just a touchdown and a field goal.

But first, the Steelers got the ball back on the free kick, and Shaun Suisham booted a 42-yard field goal to make it 29-14. Now the Cardinals needed two touchdowns and a two-point conversion.

The Steelers could loosen their ties even more after Suisham's 39-yarder later in the fourth quarter, which made it a 32-14 and a three-score game with less than seven minutes left. The Steelers' kicker, who has been shaky this year, made all three of his field goal attempts Sunday and gave us a week off from worrying about him.

The Steelers' running game wasn't quite as impressive, gaining just 3.3 yards per carry. However, after the Cardinals scored a throwaway touchdown (and missed the 2-point conversion) to make it 32-20, Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore came out of the bullpen to close out the game.

Seriously, these guys should get some kick-ass closer's music when they step on the field, because when the Steelers are trying to protect a lead late in the game, they've proven they can run the ball, move the chains and drain the clock better than Rashard Mendenhall (13 carries, 32 yards). They combined for 27 yards in the final 3:53 as the Cardinals did not touch the ball again.

Let's not forget, too, that Antonio Brown (career-high seven catches) caught a first-down pass to keep the drive going and Sanders, who caught all his passes in the second half, twice gave the Steelers a new set of downs on the drive.

More turnover talk

Sanders wasn't the only weapon the Steelers dusted off Sunday. The defense forced its first turnover in two weeks. Lawrence Timmons (Correction: James Farrior) tipped a Kolb pass on the opening drive and Ryan Clark intercepted it, leading to a 12-yard touchdown pass to Miller and a 7-0 Steelers lead.

While that turnover had quite a bit of impact, allowing the Steelers to score first in a game in which they never trailed, it was the Steelers' only takeaway of the game. That means I again had to comb the annals of ProFootballReference.com to find other teams that had just three takeaways in the first seven games of a season.

I couldn't find any.

That's right. According to Pro Football Reference, your 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team with just three takeaways in the first seven games of a season.

The Steelers almost had a second turnover Sunday, but Troy Polamalu dropped an easy interception. Several times this season, it seems the Steelers' mane man has been just a hair away from where he's needed to be to get an interception. It was encouraging, then, to at least see Polamalu in position to make a pick Sunday.

The good news is that on the other side of the ball, the Steelers had their second straight turnover-free game, chipping away at their ghastly giveaway-takeaway ratio, which stands at minus-9.

In the last 50 years, the 2001 Dolphins, the 1983 Raiders and the 1977 Vikings are the only other teams to go 5-2 despite a turnover margin of minus-9 or worse, according to Pro Football Reference. Interestingly, the '83 Raiders won the Super Bowl despite turning the ball over 13 more times than their opponent.

So I guess you don't have to win the turnover battle to win a Super Bowl. That said, the Steelers don't beat the Patriots next week if they cough the ball up more than they snatch it away. The Patriots are too good.

The Steelers have beaten the Patriots only twice since the turn of the century, and are 5-8 against them since 1995. But all five of those wins have come in seasons in which the Steelers have at least reached the AFC championship game.

I can't wait for the week when the Steelers' defense puts together four, five or six turnovers and I no longer have to scour the Internet for historic perspective on their turnover futility.

How about next week? Because if the Steelers beat the Patriots, no number crunching will be required for us to know that they are again capable of playing well into January.

Blazing Arizona

2011-10-23T20:22:00.001-04:00

The last time I walked out of a Steelers bar in Manhattan in the darkness of night, it was in the dead of winter after the Steelers lost Super Bowl XLV to the Packers.

Now, the football season is young again. The Steelers are 5-2 after Sunday's 32-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals and have a full head of steam going into the brutal Patriots-Ravens leg of their schedule.

Now, instead of the barren winter, the darkness and slight chill outside Reservoir signal the anticipation of autumn. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all in front of us.

And Patriots Week is here.

2011-10-23T19:36:00.001-04:00

That's right, Cardinals. That's right Whisenhunt. I don't care how close Super Bowl XLIII was, you are the #Steelers bitch. 32-20 final

2011-10-23T19:08:00.001-04:00

Guess Ward can't be hurt too much if he's smiling. Go #Steelers

2011-10-23T19:02:00.001-04:00

Correction Part II: Kolb looks like a hung-over Vince Vaughn, not Val Kilmer. Cards still need 2 TDs. 32-20 #Steelers

2011-10-23T18:54:00.001-04:00

Correction: Cardinals need three scores. Two TDs can't beat #Steelers

2011-10-23T18:53:00.001-04:00

Three huge points with Suisham FG. Now E TDs can't beat #Steelers. 32-14

2011-10-23T18:38:00.001-04:00

Big Ben looks like a ragdoll that's been chewed up by a dog. At least Suisham is showing some sack. 29-14 #Steelers

2011-10-23T18:25:00.001-04:00

OK. Woodley's back. 26-14 #Steelers

2011-10-23T18:17:00.001-04:00

I'm Emmanuel Sanders. Remember me? 24-14 #Steelers

2011-10-23T18:02:00.001-04:00

That TD is on Farrior. ... Kolb looks like a hung over Val Kilmer. 17-14 #Steelers

2011-10-23T17:42:00.001-04:00

17-7 #Steelers was also halftime score of SB XLIII, and second half of that game was a little too scary for my taste.

2011-10-23T17:24:00.001-04:00

Well there's seven gift-wrapped points. Thanks a lot, zebras. 14-7 #Steelers

2011-10-23T17:05:00.001-04:00

If you're even, you're leavin'. Mike Wallace TD. 14-0 #Steelers.

2011-10-23T16:51:00.001-04:00

Roethlisberger still struggling with accuracy. Out-threw Wallace there. Seems he's getting there, though. Go #Steelers

2011-10-23T16:33:00.001-04:00

My apologies. There are seven former #Steelers on the Cardinals coaching staff. Correction from preview post.

2011-10-23T16:23:00.001-04:00

It's OK, Troy. Still forced Cards to punt. Go #Steelers

2011-10-23T16:19:00.001-04:00

#Steelers up 7-0. But I think Mendenhall's already lost the same number of yards he gained last week

2011-10-23T16:16:00.003-04:00

0 #Steelers

2011-10-23T16:16:00.001-04:00

That's what you call a turnover. See what happens when you start a drive with the ball where YOU want it, and not where the punter or kicker wants it? 7-

2011-10-23T16:07:00.001-04:00

How does the ball fall off the tee indoors? Go #Steelers

Playing Cards

2011-10-23T12:23:00.001-04:00

Greetings yinzers and non-yinzers alike. It's Gameday once again. Late game today, so I'm getting a little bit of a late start with the blogging.

In the Arizona Cardinals, the Steelers have their most intriguing interconference rivalry since they volleyed trash talk with Tampa Bay in the early 2000s.

Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm already had bugs up their asses because they both think they should have the Steelers head coaching job. Then on top of that, the Steelers broke their hearts in Super Bowl XLIII.

I have a feeling that as long as the Cardinals beat the Steelers, Whisenhunt doesn't care if the Cardinals go 2-14 and he gets fired and works at Chick-Fil-A for the rest of his life.

What I'm trying to say is this game will be a tough one for the Steelers.

The Cardinals' coaching staff includes four former Steelers employees. Joining Whisenhunt are former Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend, now Arizona's assistant defensive backs coach, and former Steelers secondary coach Ray Horton, now the Cards' defensive coordinator.

Ex-Steelers Joey Porter and Clark Haggans will be on the field today. They're joined by former Steelers Crezdon Butler (cornerback) and Nick Eason (defensive end).

You know damn well all of those guys were pumped for Steelers trade secrets Gitmo-style. I'm surprised they weren't given new identities, considering Arizona is the Witness Protection State. It says that on their license plates, doesn't it?

Oh, Whisenhunt did give back Bryant McFadden. But the Cardinals totally fucked him up and he sucks now.

Thanks, Whiz.

I think Mike Tomlin needs to show today in no uncertain terms why he is the Steelers coach and not Whisenhunt.

Week 6: Steelers 17, Jaguars 13

2011-10-18T12:14:00.001-04:00

Steelers are good, true or false?

The halfway point of the 2011 NFL season is approaching. That means the Steelers are taking their midterm exams.

On Sunday, they passed the True-False portion of the exam.

Barely.

Here's a tip, kids. Most True-False tests have more true answers than false answers. So you probably can pass if you put down "True" for everything. It also helps if you know how to make the letter that looks like both a "T" and an "F."

It was with the same half-assed effort that the Steelers won Sunday's game over the Jaguars.

To fully restore their status as Super Bowl contenders, the Steelers (4-2) needed a convincing victory over the one-win Jaguars. But the Jaguars had a chance to win this game until the very last second. Thankfully, Blaine Gabbert's lame-assed Hail Mary found nothing but black shirts in the end zone.

The Steelers will take the multiple-choice portion of their midterms Sunday at Arizona. In the same way that multiple choice can be tricky (all of the above, none of the above, some of the above), weird shit tends to happen to the Steelers in Arizona. Although the game will be at University of Phoenix Stadium, the Steelers won't be able to take this test online. They have to show up.

Then the material goes from tricky to tough. The next phase of midterms will be essay questions, which the Steelers will have to answer in two weeks when the Patriots visit Heinz Field. That's going to require a lot of studying. The good news is that Bill Belichick will be proctoring the test, and he thinks cheating is OK.

Then, the Steelers will go from the classroom to the schoolyard for the last part of the exam -- the bully test. The Ravens bloodied the Steelers' nose in the season opener, and visit Heinz Field Nov. 6. To pass that part of the exam, the Steelers will have to win the fight with the bully, which is really all you need to learn in school to be ready for the real world.

What this midterm exam analogy means is that the Steelers have one more week to get their shit together before the Patriots and Ravens come to town.

Give and take

The Steelers nearly let a 17-0 lead slip away, at home, against a team with a rookie quarterback that had scored just five touchdowns heading into the game.

We can choose to be alarmed at all that, or we can choose to be encouraged that the Steelers have forced just two turnovers this season yet somehow are 4-2.

You know the only other team in the history of the NFL with just two takeaways in its first six games, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com? This year's Dolphins, who dropped to 0-5 Monday night.

At least the Steelers didn't turn the ball over Sunday. They've had just five giveaways since their seven-turnover debacle in Baltimore, Still, their turnover differential remains at minus-10. Only the 1960 Giants (4-1-1, minus-10) and the 1960 Bears (3-2-1, minus-11) had winning records with a turnover ratio of minus-10 or worse through six games, according to Pro-Football-Reference.

Another interception or two could have turned a loss into a win in Houston and made Sunday's win a little bit easier.

We can bellyache about how bad the Steelers' offense was in the second half Sunday or how the defense wasn't able to stop the run. But just one takeaway could have given the Steelers a short field to work with and maybe another score. That would have made the offense look better with more points on the scoreboard and it would have made the defense look better with fewer rushing yards for the Jaguars, who ran for 133 yards at a 4.4-yard-per-carry clip.

Turnovers aren't just window dressing for a defense, folks. They're a necessary tool for winning. Trying to win without getting turnovers on defense is like trying to bang nails into a wall with a baseball bat. Eventually you're going to need that hammer.

The Steelers' defense has to start taking the ball away at some point, right? The law of averages almost dictates it. In a way, it's comforting to think that winning should be easier when those takeaways start catching up to the giveaways.

But what if the turnovers don't come? Is the inability to grab fumbles and pickoffs a sign of the Steelers' age on defense? What makes this more confounding is the fact that Troy Polamalu has been healthy, despite Sunday's scare, and playing well. But he's usually good for an interception or two by this point in the season. He is 30 now. Are the hands the first thing to go?

One encouraging sign is that the Steelers had a similar shortage of sacks earlier in the season. Through the first four games, they had just seven. They've had eight in the last two games, including two Sunday by Brett Keisel. By the way, let's not underestimate how much he was missed in Indianapolis and Houston.

Sacks and turnovers have been signatures of the Steelers' defense since Bill Cowher rejuvenated the franchise nearly two decades ago. It took a while for the Steelers to get to the quarterback this season, but eventually they did. Hopefully one of these sacks will knock a ball loose and open the floodgates for turnovers.

Familiar script

There have been times this season when I didn't think I'd write the following words: The Steelers would not have won Sunday's game without Rashard Mendenhall.

Seeing the running game function without him last week seemed to spark Mendenhall the same way as his benching early in the 2009 season. He ran the ball 23 times for 146 yards and a touchdown that gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead. Mendenhall's 68-yard run set up a Shaun Suisham field goal and a 17-0 Steelers lead in the second quarter.

In between those scores was a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace and a 48-yard completion to Wallace. The second of those receptions marked the fifth straight game in which Wallace has caught a pass of at least 40 yards, the longest such streak since Terrell Owens did it in 2004. If that streak doesn't end Sunday, something tells me the Patriots will end it in two weeks.

Alas, that bomb to Wallace, which put the ball on the Jacksonville 31, didn't lead to any points. The drive ended with Suisham missing a 46-yard field goal. Suisham has made just seven of his 11 field goal attempts this season. Am I the only one who's nervous about this?

The trajectory of Sunday's game was eerily similar to the AFC championship game in January. The Steelers build a big lead in the first half. The opponent gets a field goal to gain a little momentum before halftime. The Steelers go scoreless in the second half and have to hang on for dear life to get the win.

It's one thing to win in this fashion when a trip to the Super Bowl is at stake. It's quite another when the other team has no shot at getting to the Super Bowl. Or even the playoffs.

If they play like that on Sunday, the Steelers will flunk out of University of Phoenix Stadium.

See you in Arizona, Troy

2011-10-17T22:19:00.000-04:00

The last time Troy Polamalu played against the Cardinals, he was damn near invisible.

The Steelers play the Cardinals for the first time since Super Bowl XLIII Sunday. Thankfully, Polamalu will be visible. And in uniform.

I hate myself for saying this, but I was actually relieved to hear that the reason Polamalu was taken out of Sunday's game was "concussion-like symptoms." It's the knee, ankle, Achilles, ACL, calf, heel and toe jam you have to worry about with Polamalu.

If Polamalu actually had a concussion, at worst he'd be out for a game. But injuries to anything sheathed in those yellow uniform pants (or at least those parts not also covered by underwear) are like a nail to the Steelers' tires. Two years ago, Polamalu's injuries took the air out of the Steelers' season. He didn't miss nearly as much time last season, but had he been healthier, the Steelers probably would have raised their seventh Lombardi Trophy.

Not to minimize concussions. Polamalu has had them before. It's sad to think that a respected and likeable player like Polamalu is vulnerable to dementia and depression in 20 years or so.

The concussion scare Sunday came when Polamalu torpedoed Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew on third-and-1 from the Jacksonville 30-yard line. The play forced the Jaguars to punt trailing 17-10 with less than nine minutes left in the game.

I thought the impact came when idiot Ryan Clark knocked helmets with Polamalu to celebrate the play. It wouldn't have been the first time Clark hurt a teammate. During last year's AFC divisional playoff game against the Ravens, he tried to hit a Ravens receiver but instead hit Ike Taylor. Fortunately, Taylor wasn't badly hurt.

It turns out the impact came when Polamalu's helmet appeared to hit the piston-like leg of the 5-foot-7, 208-pound Drew.

So it wasn't Clark's fault. Still, he needs to be more careful with his teammates.

While scouring the Internet Sunday looking for information about Polamalu's condition, it looked like there was something on ProFootballTalk.com, but it was about Polamalu possibly being fined by the NFL for talking on his cell phone during the game. C'mon. Really?

If anyone should fine Polamalu for that, it's the Steelers. He's got a possible concussion and he's letting cell phone radiation seep into his head?

While he was sitting there on the phone, it looked like for the third year in a row a Steelers' season would be compromised by a Polamalu injury.

Fortunately, that's not the case. Not yet, anyway.

Steelers beat Jaguars, kind of

2011-10-16T17:39:00.001-04:00

The Steelers beat the Jaguars 17-13 Sunday, barely passing the True-False part of their midterm exam. What does that mean? It means the shitty Jaguars still had a chance to win this game with two seconds left.

As Chris Moltisanti would say, "That ain't good."

I'll take the midterm exam theme further when I write my full column tomorrow night.

I also hope to have more on Troy Polamalu's health. He might have a concussion. I'll be really pissed if I find out it happened when Ryan Clark head-butted him after he tackled Maurice Jones-Drew on that 3rd and 1 play in the fourth quarter.

If Polamalu has a concussion, the Steelers are just going to have to sack up and win in Arizona next week without him.

That's it for now. More tomorrow.

2011-10-16T16:01:00.001-04:00

#Steelers win, I guess. Will have postgame mini-column when I know what's wrong with Polamalu.

2011-10-16T15:37:00.001-04:00

Yep. Polamalu hurt. #Steelers season goes down drain in 3, 2, 1

2011-10-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

Hurt or just praying, Troy? Stop scaring us. Go #Steelers

2011-10-16T15:28:00.001-04:00

Nervous. MJD is on the edge of breaking one. Go #Steelers

2011-10-16T15:27:00.001-04:00

Still waiting on that Pick-6 I ordered, guys. Much-needed. Go #Steelers

2011-10-16T15:18:00.001-04:00

I'm feelin' a pick 6 here. Go #Steelers

2011-10-16T15:07:00.001-04:00

An uneasy feeling. Jags hanging around, starting to assert themselves on D. And Ike got beat on TD. 17-10 #Steelers

2011-10-16T14:30:00.001-04:00

Halftime: Jags dropped 2 INTs on last drive. Rashean Mathis almost had his 4th career Pick-6 vs. #Steelers. Jags still in game. 17-3

2011-10-16T14:15:00.001-04:00

Suisham, you're a wimp. What's Gary Anderson doing these days? Hell, I'd settle for Harry Anderson. Go #Steelers

2011-10-16T14:04:00.001-04:00

Keisel bats so many passes he should be in the cleanup spot for the Pirates. 17-3 #Steelers

2011-10-16T14:03:00.001-04:00

Speaking of low-testosterone names, "Blaine" was the name of Andrew McCarthy's character in "Pretty in Pink." Go #Steelers

2011-10-16T13:55:00.001-04:00

Despite his boy-band first name, Trai Essex threw a key block on Mendenhall's big run. 17-0 #Steelers

2011-10-16T13:49:00.001-04:00

That'll make the list of the Top 10 Dumbest Reverses in the History of Football. Go #Steelers

2011-10-16T13:45:00.001-04:00

To be fair, at least Public House played a little AC/DC after Miss Mister. TNT to be exact. Btw, go #Steelers

2011-10-16T13:42:00.001-04:00

They also would never play Broken Wings by Mister fucking Mister at #Steelers bars not named Public House. 14-0

2011-10-16T13:37:00.001-04:00

Legursky hurt. Ya know, #Steelers O-Line is more fragile than a collection of little glass swans.

2011-10-16T13:23:00.001-04:00

Heath Miller 2 catches on TD drive. Here's what u don't get at Public House in NYC that u do get in other #Steelers bars: "Heeeaaath!"

2011-10-16T13:20:00.001-04:00

Mendenhall averaged more than 4 yards a carry on that drive. Good job. 7-0 #Steelers.

2011-10-16T12:57:00.001-04:00

Mendenhall has a determined look in pregame warmups. #SteelersNation

Will the real Steelers please stand up?

2011-10-16T11:14:00.001-04:00

Today, the Steelers are seeking their first home victory over Jacksonville since 2001, when they were still AFC Central rivals.

It's funny how quickly things change from week to week in the NFL. At this time last week, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Steelers had lost to the Titans. Now, I'm thinking the Steelers better damn well beat the Jaguars, who have scored just five touchdowns this season.

So I've gone from resigned to the Steelers falling to 2-3 to expecting nothing less than 4-2. I'm glad I don't, um, overreact to any single win or loss.

In all seriousness, I don't think I overreacted to their loss to the Texans. In a way, it reminded me of their early-season loss in Philadelphia in 2008.

Why am I bringing up a game that happened three years ago? Because the Steelers won the Super Bowl that season, and let's face it, the Lombardi Trophy is the standard in Pittsburgh.

The 2008 loss in Philly, in which Ben Roethlisberger was sacked nine times (nine times, as Dan Rooney's distant cousin Ed Rooney would say), and this year's loss in Houston were similarly discouraging. But if the Steelers could recover from that debacle in '08 and win the Super Bowl, they can do the same thing this season.

The real 2011 Steelers are somewhere between what we saw two weeks ago and what we saw last week. To provide further evidence that they're more like the team we saw last week, they'll need a convincing win over the Jaguars today.

Week 5: Steelers 38, Titans 17

2011-10-10T12:09:00.001-04:00

New faces

Daniel Sepulveda. Ryan Mundy. Jonathan Dwyer. David Johnson.

Not exactly the Steelers' Mount Rushmore.

But this quartet played a big role in chiseling out the Steelers' 38-17 win over the Titans Sunday at Heinz Field. These guys pretty much turned a 7-3 game into a 21-3 game, helping to slow down the run on ulcer medication in Western Pennsylvania this week.

The Steelers led 7-3 early in the second quarter and were about to punt from the 50. Instead, Sepulveda threw the ball to Mundy, a backup safety, for a 33-yard gain. Two plays later, Ben Roethlisberger threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward for a 14-3 lead.

Ward, who caught two TD passes Sunday, needs 26 receptions to become the eighth player all-time with 1,000.

Johnson reached the 10-catch milestone for his career later in the second quarter when he hauled in a 1-yard TD pass from Roethlisberger to give the Steelers a 21-3 lead. It was the first career touchdown for the blocking tight end. Dwyer set that up with a 76-yard run to the Titans' 14.

With guys like Dwyer and Isaac Redman getting carries in summer-like weather, this might have seemed like a preseason game. But thankfully, this win counts. It was the Steelers' third victory of the season, and the first without a "yeah, but" element to it.

Guys who fight for their jobs in August answered the call Sunday because of injuries that, curiously, seem to be just what the doctor ordered in the Steelers' problem areas.

The Steelers haven't been able to run the ball this season. Then Rashard Mendenhall gets hurt and they ground and pound their way to 174 yards on 28 carries. Dwyer ended up with 107 yards on 11 carries despite not getting the start. Redman started and had 49 yards on 15 carries. That's just over three yards a carry, which is less than impressive, but he just seemed harder to take down than Mendenhall has been.

Mendenhall was in uniform Sunday. He stood on the sideline with his helmet off, looking like a restless kid in church. Do the Steelers now have a running back controversy? My guess is Mendenhall gets his job back when he's healthy. Hopefully seeing that the Steelers can run the ball without him is the jolt he needs.

Another reason the Steelers were a .500 ballclub entering Sunday's game was their inability to stop the run. Then Aaron Smith and Casey Hampton go down, and look what happens, they stopped the run.

Sunday brunches turned around and made their way up the esophagus of many a Steelers fan when Titans' running back Chris Johnson gained 21 yards on the game's first play from scrimmage. But that was as bad as it got. Johnson had just 51 yards for the day, 34 of them on that first drive. Chris Hoke filled in well at nose tackle and Brett Keisel returned to the defensive line after being hurt for a couple of games. And a lot of bacon, eggs and pancakes resumed their normal digestive process.

Speaking of digestive systems that get a lot of action, tell me again why Max Starks hasn't been at left tackle all season?

OK, so Starks might have put on enough pounds to have his own TV show, The 400 Club. He was cut during the preseason but signed out of desperation this week. Even with a spare truck tire around his waist, it seems the Steelers could have used him for the first four games.

Roethlisberger was sacked 14 times in those games, but was sacked just once Sunday despite moving around like his left foot was in a bucket. Could Starks rescue the O-Line the same way Flozell Adams did last season? Better yet, let's start Adams on the Max Starks Diet and get him back at right tackle.

The offensive line helped pave the way Sunday for just the second five-touchdown game of Roethlisberger's career. The last of those touchdowns was a 40-yard connection to Mike Wallace that made it 38-17 with less than three minutes left in the game. One of the few weapons the Steelers have been able to count on this season is a bomb to Wallace. The speedy receiver has caught a pass of 40 yards or more in four straight games, and the Steelers needed his touchdown Sunday to quiet rumblings of a Titans comeback.

The Titans recovered an onside kick late in the third quarter after pulling to within 28-10. Then LaMarr Woodley, who decided that Sunday would be a good time to start earning his money, immediately intercepted a Matt Hasselbeck pass to squash any momentum from the onside kick. Woodley also had a sack in the game and shared another sack.

While that takeaway couldn't have come at a better time, it was the only one forced by the Steelers Sunday. The defense still has forced just two this season, but somehow the Steelers are 3-2.

There's always a chance the aging Steelers' defense paralleled the weather Sunday and experienced an Indian summer phenomenon. Maybe it was one of those "that old dog can still hunt" kind of days. But they've allowed 89 points through five games. The only other team that's played five games and allowed fewer points is the 49ers with 78. So this Steelers defense has to be doing something right.

Let's not forget, too, that three of the Steelers' first four games were on the road. Now, three of their next four are at home. Their next two games, home to Jacksonville and at Arizona, are against 1-4 teams. Hopefully the Steelers can ace those pop quizzes and bone up for mid-term exams at home against the Patriots (Oct. 31) and Baltimore (Nov. 6).

Wins in those two games might have a way of making the Steelers seem a few years younger.

Steelers beat Titans, 38-17

2011-10-09T16:31:00.001-04:00

I figured this game was a loss after the Steelers' performance last week. A few talking points before I write my column later.

1. Let's not forget the Steelers played three of their first four on the road. So maybe a 2-2 start isn't the worst thing in the world. Three of Steelers' next four are home.

2. Considering Steelers still have only two takeaways, 3-2 is pretty amazing.

3. Mendenhall can't run out the clock when the Steelers have the lead the way Redman and Dwyer did today.

2011-10-09T16:06:00.001-04:00

CBS doing awesome job of getting audio of "Hot for Teacher" opening before kickoff. Heinz Field tradition

2011-10-09T16:04:00.001-04:00

No #Steelers win complete without home run ball to Wallace. 38-17

2011-10-09T15:31:00.001-04:00

I support breast cancer awareness, but Starks looks like a giant popsicle in that pink cap. 31-10 #Steelers

2011-10-09T15:25:00.001-04:00

Was Mendenhall smiling while warming up on the sidelines with Redman hurt?

2011-10-09T15:19:00.001-04:00

I like this new guy Woodley. Second turnover of season for #Steelers, first interception

2011-10-09T15:06:00.001-04:00

Throwing a challenge flag? You don't really think you can still win this game, do you Munchak? 28-3 #Steelers

2011-10-09T15:00:00.001-04:00

Hopefully Pouncey just has a shoe injury. Go #steelers

2011-10-09T14:30:00.001-04:00

Big Ben getting too fancy on that last drive. 21-3 #Steelers at halftime

2011-10-09T14:29:00.001-04:00

Can't be slipping like that, Sanders. Too many good receivers on this team. Brown's moved past you in pecking order.

2011-10-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

Great run by Dwyer. Looks like he still could lose a couple of pounds, though. Go #Steelers

2011-10-09T13:56:00.001-04:00

Antonio Brown end around key on that TD drive. Is there anything he can't do? 14-3 #Steelers

2011-10-09T13:51:00.001-04:00

Tomlin showing some balls (not literally, of course) on the fake punt call. Go #Steelers

2011-10-09T13:45:00.001-04:00

#Steelers stopped run pretty well on that drive. I was thinking maybe Keisel's return might help

2011-10-09T13:33:00.001-04:00

After last week, somehow it seems cathartic that the #Steelers have the lead. 7-3

2011-10-09T13:25:00.001-04:00

Three Gators (Starks, Pouncey and Gilbert) on #Steelers O-Line

2011-10-09T13:19:00.001-04:00

Can you say "sack" boys and girls? That's a new vocabulary term for #Steelers fans. Woodley just had a big one. 3-0 Titans