The Blitzburgh Report

Why Can’t We Talk About Officiating?

Why Can’t We Discuss Poor Officiating as Well?

I don’t understand why it is so taboo to talk about officiating and its effect on the outcome of games. Yes, I see a problem with blaming it as the sole reason for a loss (aside from some extreme cases where the result is blatant). But why can’t we discuss it just as you would an interception or poor special teams play or bad play calling?

It is part of the game and poor officiating is out of the player’s control, but it certainly contributes to a team winning or losing. Again, I do find a problem with blaming the officiating as the sole reason for losing, but I think it is fair to add it to the laundry list of reasons why your team didn’t succeed.

The common phrase is “Well, good teams overcome bad officiating”. That’s true, just like good teams overcome turnovers and other mistakes. If you acknowledge that it is part of the game then I think it is fair to acknowledge its effect on the outcome.

The Steelers lost, in part, because of Ben’s play in the first half. The Steelers also lost because of their horrible special teams play. The Steelers also lost because of bad play calling. The Steelers also lost because of a phantom holding call on Sean Mahan and no holding calls on David Garrard’s run for a first down. What is so wrong about saying all that?

2008 Looks to be a Tough Schedule

The Steelers are going to have one heck of a tough schedule next season. Eight of the teams they will face are playoff teams this season. Because of parity and not knowing how good teams will be next year, you can’t predict too early how tough a schedule will be. But there is a pretty good chance most of those teams are still going to be pretty good next year as well. Take a look at their 2008 opponents:

Ouch. At least if they win the division again next year, no one can say that they didn’t earn it.

A Final Look At the Injuries

The injuries were probably the biggest story about the Steelers this season and ultimately they had just too many major ones to overcome. Heading into the Jaguars game, the Steelers injury report looked like this:

Injured Reserve:
Ryan Clark
Dan Kreider
Clint Kriewaldt
Willie Parker
Aaron Smith
Max Starks
Jerame Tuman

Injured:
Marvel Smith T Back
Troy Polamalu S Knee
Allen Rossum CB Hamstring
Bryant McFadden CB Ankle
Willie Reid WR Shoulder
Deshea Townsend CB Foot
Hines Ward WR Knee

That is quite a list, though not unheard of for an average NFL season. The Steelers did a great job earlier in the season of playing well without key players. A perfect example was the Seattle game where Ward, Casey Hampton, Polamalu, and Santonio Holmes were all out, yet the Steelers had probably their most dominant game of the season.

But as the season wore on, I think the injuries really took their toll. Especially ones to the more unsung heroes such as Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, and Dan Kreider. They are the types of players that most don’t appreciate fully until they are gone.

Injuries are a part of the game and the Steelers were lucky in the past few years to not have many serious ones. This year they got hit and ultimately the team wasn’t able to plug in all the holes left by the injuries, something any great team needs to do.

For better or worse, this season will be defined by injuries. If the Steelers lose in the playoffs, the talk will be about how the team went on a slide after starting 9-3 and how much the major injuries played a role. If they win it all this year then the story will be about how they overcame the significant injuries on a memorable run through the playoffs.

The injury bug has hit the Steelers hard this season

This has certainly been a particularly bad year for the health of Steelers players. Currently, the Steelers have seven players on injured reserve. Losing any player for the season is usually a big deal, but each of these players had an important role with the team.

Ben Roethlisberger put in another gutty performance last Sunday against the Jaguars. He has almost single-handedly won some close games for the Steelers this year. He is emerging as a leader for the offense, someone that the guys can rally behind.

But it makes me wonder-just who is the leader on defense? I’m not so sure that they have a true leader. They have a number of guys like Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton, and James Farrior who are great players, but more of the lead by example type. I am starting to think that they need more of a vocal leader.

The defense has the talent and coaching to be the top defense in the league, that has been proven. But the times that the team has needed the defense to step up most, they haven’t. How many times this season have we seen the opposing team march right down the field, quickly even, when the team needed a huge stop? It happened last Sunday on the Jaguars’ last drive. It happened against the Browns (luckily they missed the field goal). It happened against Denver where they kicked the game winning field goal. It happened in the Jets game where they went down the field and tied it to send the game into overtime.

That’s where I think a vocal leader is needed. Someone to rally the players, get them pumped, and get them focused. You can say what you want about Joey Porter, but being a leader was a large part of what he brought to the team. The Steelers were right in getting rid of him, as proven by his play with the Dolphins. However, they still ended up losing the defense’s leader, if not the team leader at that point.

There just hasn’t been anyone who has taken his place. He may have looked foolish sometimes, or gone too far at others. But you can see the power he had just by looking at the 2005 playoffs and the effect he had on the team during their Super Bowl run. Remember the “weak Colts” and Jerramy Stevens?

Bill Cowher being gone is another lost leader, I believe. He was the so called “players coach”, someone who showed a lot of emotion, especially for defense. Mike Tomlin is quite the opposite in this regard. I understand that there are different approaches to coaching, and pros and cons to each. I’m not even sure I could tell you which method is more effective and this is not a knock on Tomlin’s style. But, when the game is on the line and the pressure is turned up- I want to see the guys fired up and ready to take someone’s head off.

The defense is good; they wouldn’t be number one in the league for most of the season if they weren’t. But they have had so much trouble stepping up, being physical, and showing emotion when it matters most. I really think that is when guys like Joey Porter or Bill Cowher shined, and the team really misses that. The Steelers are going to need someone to step up and be the person that the defense rallies behind.

The Steelers will be sending five of its players to the Pro Bowl this season. The two starters are Alan Fancea and James Harrison. Willie Parker, Ben Roethlisberger, and Troy Polamalu are in as reserves.

Big congratulations are in order for both Big Ben and Harrison. Ben could have easily made the Pro Bowl in 2004 or 2005, so it is good to see him finally get in. Hopefully it goes a long way in garnering him some respect, however, some idiots such as Vic Carucci still don’t give it to him. He said he would replace Ben with Derek Anderson. Anderson is of course having a good season, even a Pro Bowl one, but not at the expense of Ben’s spot. Ben is having a better year when you look at the stats, and he even beat the Brown’s twice.

It is also great to see James Harrison make the Pro Bowl in his first year as a starter. I think his career game on Monday night against the Ravens really opened a lot of people’s eyes. He is having a great year and has brought a lot of excitement back to the Steelers’ linebacking corp.

Willie Parker also deserves his spot. He has struggled at times this year, but does lead the league in rushing. It is his second Pro Bowl in a row. Not bad for an undrafted free agent who didn’t get a fair shot in college, eh?

But it isn’t all roses. We are always reminded that a lot of the Pro Bowl voting can be a bit of a joke and that a lot of people make it on name alone. We all love Troy, but he missed a ton of games this season because of injuries. I’m not sure he was the most deserving and I am sure he would say that himself. Same with Faneca. He’s a great lineman and still one of the best, but he also hasn’t had his best year. Not to mention he was voted as the starter on the Pro Bowl roster. You don’t really look at the job the line has done this season and think “Pro Bowl”.

But regardless, congrats to all five of the Steelers who made the 2007 Pro Bowl.

It is losses like the one the Steelers suffered today that make you wonder that identity that a team has. Usually by this point in the season, you know what teams are all about. It seems like the Steelers went from a team with an identity to one without as the season wore on. Their inconsistency is a bit baffling and you can’t really get a read on what their deal is. That said, here are a few observations from the game:

• I’m not saying giving up so many rushing yards was all because Aaron Smith was not in, but it makes you wonder, doesn’t it? We’ve said all along that losing Smith was going to be huge and this proves it. You can’t say that it was all because Smith wasn’t there but you can certainly say it had a lot to do with it…

• …but whatever it was, the defense just looked anything but the best in the league today. The Jaguars’ two running backs are very talented, but their offense isn’t exactly known for tearing up opposing defenses. But the Steelers got torn up badly. The stats speak for themselves: 421 total yards, 147yards and a TD for Fred Taylor, 69 yards for Maurice Jones-Drew, and three TD’s for David Garrard.
   
  This wasn’t the Patriots or the ’99 Rams that they played against. In the past it wasn’t often that you would see the Steelers get out-muscled, something that has really become an identity for the team. But it has happened numerous of times this season. Quite honestly, when the Steelers aren’t pounding the ball and playing tough, physical defense it just feels wrong. That’s who they are and what they do… at least it used to be.

• This team just makes no sense this season. You just don’t know if they are good or bad. They’ve had some bad losses, but any team that has already won nine games can’t be all that bad. They have (had?) the number one defense in the league- yet they have given up real stinkers like this game where they let the Jags put up over 400 yards of total offense. Willie Parker leads the league in rushing, but has had some pitiful games, and in of all those yards he hasn’t been able to provide any of those game changing runs that he has in seasons past.
   
  Even in the losses and close wins they’ve been hard to classify. In both this game and last week against the Patriots they’ve had moments where they’ve looked brilliant, then looked horrible. The Denver game they beat themselves but still made a come back and almost won. They played poorly in the last Browns game but battled back to win. They almost won again today. They show both flashes of a great team and flashes or a horrible one.
   
  Who are these Steelers? What is their identity?

• As much as I hate to agree with Dan Dierdorf, I do agree when he said that Ben Roethlisberger was giving it his all out there. He’s done that a lot this season and I believe he is really emerging as a leader. He has nearly single-handedly won some games this season and almost led them on another one today.
   
  Also, congratulations to Ben on throwing 29 touchdown passes this season, which breaks Terry Bradshaw’s record of 28. He’s having a heck of a season and he appears on pace to be one of the all-time greats, even if few outside of Steelers Nation give him the respect he deserves.

• The offensive line was back to its old tricks again. They gave up five sacks and looked shaky. Particularly Marvel Smith. I’m not sure if he is still hurting or not, but he had a pretty bad game against a back ups. In fact, I believe the Steelers pulled him on the last few drives. Again, I’m not sure if that was because his back was acting up again or because of his play.
   
  Max Starks was once the scapegoat of the line, but it seems like he possibly playing better then Marvel has been. Max, overall, has held his own over the past few games and if Marvel is hurt and/or just playing poorly, maybe it is time to give Max another shot.
   
  Honestly, at this point something has to happen. I’m not sure if the answer to fixing the line lies within the players we currently have, but they’ve got to figure something out fast.

• The two-point conversion that the Steelers ran was actually a nice call for once by Bruce Arians. I give Cedrick Wilson a lot of knocks, but that was a pretty nice ball he threw to Santonio Holmes. At least two point conversions is one thing the Steelers have done right this year.

• Why do the Steelers seem to run a draw play on every third and very long this year? How successful is it really? I know sometimes you can catch a team off guard with it, but when you run it nearly every time you have about 15 or more yards to go then they probably expect it. I don’t have a problem with the play, just that you can do it every time. Try taking some shots down field.

• It was nice to Troy Polamalu back in action. I, as well as others, have commented on his lack of big plays this season, but today showed that a lot of his contributions are just making plays (tackles, knocking the ball down) at opportune times. He may not be getting the interceptions or sacks, but he’s a ball-hawk and is usually in the right place at the right time. He wasn’t perfect, but at least he was one guy out there that appeared to be giving it his all.

I think I’ve ended all my recaps after losses this season with a lot of optimism and saying that the sky isn’t falling. I’m not so sure I feel as strongly right now. The sky isn’t falling, and I think the Steelers will in fact win the division still. But I don’t think right now that this team is giving any indication that they have it together enough to put together a Super Bowl run. Something just feels off about them, doesn’t it?
 
I’m asking you, Steelers fans, what’s wrong with the Steelers right now?

Here’s a look at seven questions the Steelers have heading into Sunday’s game against Jacksonville:

How will Ben Roethlisberger’s shoulder injury affect his play?

Ben finally returned to practice on Friday after sitting out the two previous days. He has shown the ability to play with injuries in the past, though not always quite effectively. With such a big game, everyone is going to have to be in top form. Ben’s play has been the difference in a lot of close games this year so they really need him to be on point.

How badly will Aaron Smith be missed?

The injury to Aaron Smith has the potential to be a big one. The 3-4 defense all starts with the big men up front, and Aaron is one of the best in the league. Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason are OK in a pinch, but their potential to be long-term fill ins is very questionable. Injuries are part of life in the NFL and championship teams suck it up and get through them. The back ups are really going to have to step it up to fill Aaron’s shoes.

Can the defense get back on track after getting whooped last week?

The Jaguars aren’t an offensive juggernaut, but they have two very talented backs in Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Normally the Steelers don’t fear any running back, but they did give up their first 100 rusher in 35 games a few weeks ago. Not to mention, David Garrard is very accurate and has only thrown one interception in 10 starts this season…

What about Troy?

…Which leads to the next question- what impact will Troy Polamalu returning have on the defense? Those saying the secondary perhaps performs better without Troy in there where were shown they should be cautious saying that after what Tom Brady did to Anthony Smith and Tyrone Carter last week. In crunch time and in the playoffs, Troy’s athleticism and experience are going to be needed to help keep opposing offenses in check. Troy has struggled a bit this season, but now that he is healthier will he regain his form?

Is Willie back?

Last week Willie Parker rushed for over 100 yards, his first since week 10. He currently leads the league in rushing but has struggled a bit during the second half of the season. He finally had a couple of long runs against the Patriots and looked more like his old self. Can he carry the momentum against a tough Jaguars defense?

Has the offensive line finally gotten it’s stuff together?

The line looked terrible for much of the season, but has performed markedly better in the last three weeks. Are they finally coming together as a unit and defending the schemes that teams used to beat them? Or was it more of a coincidence with two of the games played in bad weather and teams focusing more on coverage then pressure? Either way, they’ve had a good streak going that they can use to build upon. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to not worry about the line this season (and the immediate future for that matter), but at least they have shown some progress.

Just how well is Santonio Holmes’ ankle holding up?

Santonio finally returned to action last week, but only saw limited time. He has mentioned that his ankle is still sore, but he doesn’t anticipate missing any more time this season because of it. If healthy, he will go a long way toward helping the Steelers get some big plays on the stingy Jag’s defense. He was turning into an exciting deep threat this season but his injuries have really slowed him down just when things were getting exciting. Will his ankle injury keep him down for the rest of the year?

This is a big game for the Steelers, with lots of playoff implications. In fact, given how close the teams are in the standings, you could argue that this game is more important than the Patriots game was (especially now since the Steelers lost that game and some of their lead in the AFC North.) It figures to be a physical and exciting game, and another one that might be played in poor weather with a chance for some snow. It should be a fun one.

Smith’s injury will likely have a huge impact on the defense

Mike Tomlin said in his press conference today that defensive end Aaron Smith has a torn biceps and is likely done for the rest of the season. In his words, “there is a strong possibility” that the injury requires surgery that would end Smith’s season.

This is a huge blow to the defense. The three big men up front are really the unsung heroes of the Steelers’ defense, and a pro bowl player like Smith not playing will probably have a ripple effect. Tomlin said that Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason will help fill in but they’re not great long term options; not that you can easily replaced a player like Smith anyway.

Injuries are a part of every football season, but the Steelers have been hit particularly hard. For starters, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Casey Hampton and Troy Polamalu have all missed significant time. But the three players done for the season have more impact then some may notice at first glance.

Smith is a pro bowl player, who as I said, is an integral part of the 3-4 defense. Ryan Clark is a consistent, reliable player who’s loss was especially felt last Sunday against the Patriots. Dan Kreider was injured just when many of us were clamoring for the Steelers to start using him again to help protect Ben and lead the way for Parker.

The injuries really add up and just when it seems like the team was starting to get guys back, they lose Smith. But as with any season, injuries happen and players have to step up. They’ve been very good at this in the past and if they hope to make it far this season, they will have to do it again.

(Update: It is now official, the Steelers have placed Aaron Smith on injured reserve. They also moved defensive end Ryan McBean (not to be confused with Steely McBeam) up from the practice squad to the 53 man roster.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Steelers’ 3-0 victory over the Miami Dolphins was a win none the less. Though, I’m not sure that you can take much away from this game in terms of real analysis. The field condition was just so horrendous that honestly the game was a toss up.

That said, the Steelers did win and it shows that they can win in adverse conditions. I don’t think the game will have the bonding effect on the team that the Hurricane Game in Miami did a few years ago but at least they can take away that they toughed it out and won.

• Joey Porter actually had a decent game with six tackles and an interception. I suspected he might do OK only because he feeds so much off of emotion and I knew he’d be hyped for this game. That said, it was his only decent performance of the season and proves that the Steelers really know when to cut ties with players.

  Still, it was good to see Joey smiling on the sideline when Steelers players did his “boot” celebration. I’m grateful for the leadership and emotion that he brought the team over the years, but it was time for him to go. Unfortunately, I think the Steelers right now are really lacking a true leader, at least an emotional one. Mike Tomlin is more of the cool/clam type and players like Ben Roethlisberger, Casey Hampton, and Troy Polamalu are far from loudmouths. I think there is something to be said for “rah rah” guys who can get the team amped up.

• The offensive line was terrible again and I really don’t know what else to say on the matter. I’ve talked some about possible changes as well have many other writers and fans. It is hard to comment on their performance because it was an odd-ball game, but they still gave up a ton of sacks. Though I must say that Ben did hold onto the ball a bit long again; something that may be just as much a factor on all these sacks as blown blitz pick ups.

• Hines Ward came up huge last night. I’ve almost commented a few times over the last number of weeks how he hasn’t been as sure-handed this season, but he usually ended up making enough catches that I thought maybe I was being too critical. However, last night he caught basically everything thrown his way, including two huge third down catches that were unfortunately negated by penalties.

  He had nine catches for 88 yards in a game where the Steelers needed him most. His great diving 21 yard catch on the scoring drive is what really helped win the game as it marked the only time either team even made it into the red zone.

• What was with the team stalling on third down? The field excuse only goes so far as they moved the ball relatively well overall on first and second downs. It seemed like every third down either Ben got sacked or there was a dumb penalty that gave them even longer yardage to convert. What was worse was that those sacks often took the team out of field goal range (even if the changes of making it were low).

• The playcalling last night was suspect at best and unfortunately continues a trend with Bruce Arians. He started the season quite impressively, but now has some real head-scratchers. The highlight had to be the last three offensive plays for the Steelers.

  If you remember, the team made it down to the six yard line with 1:19 left. At this point, you would think the team would run the ball to run down the clock and leave the game up to a Jeff Reed kick at about as close as you can get.

  Only the ran a dangerous pass play on first down that Joey Porter knocked down. OK, they took a chance to get the score to avoid having to kick on the horrible surface, I guess I can live with that even if I don’t agree with it. On second down they ran it which made sense. Miami stopped the clocked with their last time out and you would suspect that the Steelers would run the ball again to A) try to get the ball in a good spot to kick from, and B) run out the clock to leave the game up to Reed’s kick. Passing the ball would be a terrible idea, you would think, because A) Ben seemed to get sacked every third down pass, and B) an incompletion would stop the clock.

  So what did the Steelers do? They ran a pass play and Ben was sacked. Fortunately, the clock kept running and the Steelers were able to take it down as far as they could, call a time out, and eventually make the game-winning kick.

• It just seems to me that Arians tries too hard to do the opposite of what you expect them to. Yes, of course you want to try to surprise the defense from time to time, but sometimes you just need to man up, make the smart call, and execute. Arians seems to be outsmarting himself lately.

• All told, it was a win and I’ll take it. I really had the feeling that on a clean field the Steelers would have won comfortably. But because of the conditions, the game was truly a toss-up and a slipping player away from being another major upset. I don’t think that you can take a whole lot away from this game in terms of performances and what they mean, but they did get the win and ultimately that is all that matters right now. All I can really say is that I hope the field is fixed and it good shape in time for the game next week, especially considering the long-term forecast right now calls for more bad weather.

Steelers MVP

The Steelers MVP of last night’s game was Hines Ward. It was tempting to give it to Jeff Reed for the winning kick, but Hines’ nine catches were huge and a classic example of a player stepping up just when you need him most.

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Last time Santonio Holmes and Troy Polamalu were out the Steelers went on to play their best complete game of the season, shutting out the Seattle Seahawks and putting up 21 points. Things could be a little harder this time, however.

I know the next opponent, the winless Miami Dolphins, aren’t the strongest foes but we said the same thing of the Jets last week. Unfortunately as well, Holmes (high ankle sprain) and Polamalu (knee) might be out for multiple games and with the Bengals, Patriots, and Jaguars coming up that isn’t exactly exciting news.

This time, there will be some new faces stepping in. Nate Washington will be replacing Holmes this time instead of Cedric Wilson. Wilson was solid in replacing Holmes last time, catching five balls for 69 yards, but the coaching staff would like to see what Washington can do. Washington normally is the back up flanker, but will be trying his hand at split end. The switch is not trivial, however, as Washington recently told the Post-Gazette:

“It’s totally different from the Z,” Washington said, referring to flanker, the only position Washington has played since joining the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. “It’s totally different blocking schemes and the sights [adjustments] are different. I’ll be in my book a lot more and studying film a lot more this week to prepare myself to play [split end].”

Washington offers up some big play ability over Cedric Wilson, and I suspect the coaches pegged him to start to keep up the same deep threat that Holmes has turned into. Washington is still a bit inexperienced and drops some balls. This coupled with his new blocking assignments will mean that he’ll have his hands full and will really need to be prepared.

On the other side of the ball, Tyrone Carter will be filling in for Troy Polamalu. This will be different then the last time Troy was injured, because veteran Ryan Clark was then paired with second year playerAnthony Smith. With Clark now on injured reserve, Carter and Smith will be the starters. Smith has been exciting but at times his inexperience shows. Carter has done well enough the times he has filled in during the past, but he is mostly good when needed in a pinch. He’s not a guy that you want to rely on for multiple weeks.

Another wrinkle into the whole thing is that the Post-Gazette also reports that rookie linebacker Lawrence Timmons might take Troy’s spot in the dime package. In that package, Troy plays more of a linebacker role, so it makes sense. But we have seen next to nothing of Timmons this season so it will be very interesting to see him out there.

The point is that while on paper it seems like the same situation as the Seahawks game, this time it is a bit different. There will be new players stepping in for Holmes and Polamalu, possibly for multiple games. One thing the Steelers have been great at is having back ups step in and not miss a beat; hopefully that continues.

I believe I caught someone on ESPN saying yesterday that the Steelers have won 12 Monday night games in a row at home, their last loss being in 1991. I am glad that trend seems to be continuing under the new head coach. That said, last night was a game that the Steelers could not lose. Monday Night Football is big enough, and the AFC North implications aside–how could you go out and lay an egg in front of all those great former Steelers? Fortunately they did the direct opposite.

Here are some thoughts from a thoroughly enjoyable Monday night:

• When is the last time you have seen a worse offensive performance than what the Ravens put up last night? It really looked like Steve McNair wasn’t even trying. On the flip side, when is the last time you have seen a performance like the one James Harrison put up…

• …With all due respect to the night Ben Roethlisberger had, James Harrison was flat out amazing. Nine tackles, three and a half sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and an interception. I think we as Steelers fans saw a game like this in James Harrison, but hopefully now the rest of the league takes notice. Check out a very humble Harrison after the game:

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