Pittsburgh Steelers Season Review (Defense Up)

[BasX]

http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Super+Bowl+XLIII+03b-9t7kO6tl.jpg

 

If you could describe the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers, two words would come to mind. Those words would have to be "If" and "Streaky". As the defending Super Bowl Champions, Steeler fans expected to be home on Wild Card weekend, but it was supposed to be because of a bye. Many publications saw the Steelers as contenders again and saw no reason for them not to win their division. Even with the Baltimore Ravens having an excellent year before, the Steeler had beaten them 3 times previously and saw little doubt of a change. Everything was in place to win another Championship and they went into the draft with little question marks.

 

Fast forward to early January in 2010, and Steeler fans aren't waiting for an opponent as previously expected, they are in fact waiting the draft, something the team hasn't done since 2006, the year after their previous Super Bowl. This was also Bill Cowher's last year in Pittsburgh, which led way for Tomlin to be ushered in as only the 3rd coach in the last 40 years. The Steelers finished that year 8-8 and in the process eliminated the Bengals from playoff contention with an overtime victory on rookie Santonio Holmes' 67-yard touchdown. The Steelers finished 6-2 in the last 8 after a 2-6 start.

 

However, in 2009 the Steelers were "streaky" to say the least. The streak went in the order of a win, two losses, five straight wins, five straight losses and three straight wins finishing with a 9-7 record. Of the 5 straight loses, 3 came to the likes of Cleveland, Kansas City and Oakland, teams that finished the season with a combined win totals of 14 wins.

 

Throughout these series I will go through what went wrong, what went right and what needs to be improved. Why am I doing this, because the Steelers are my team, my #1, the team is will cheer for until I die. I love my Raptors, Jayhawks and Flyers, but the Steelers always will have a special spot. I also have a lot of time to kill and the Jayhawk, Raptor and Flyer seasons are still youngish.

 

Part 1 - Rookies

Part 2 - Quarterbacks

Part 3 - Skill Players

Part 4 - Defense

Part 5 - Coaches

Part 6 - Conclusion/Draft

Edited January 11, 2010 by BasX

[BasX]

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As the Super Bowl Champions, the Steelers had the last pick of the draft. With that pick, they were expected to go offensive line, because of the issues the team had had the previous year with sacks. However, Ziggy Hood from Missouri was the 32nd pick, a pick that surprised many but was met with little to no negativity. The fans understood the increasing age of the defensive line and saw Ziggy as more than talented to fill in. Kraig Urbik, Joe Burnett, Keenan Lewis, David Johnson, Frank Summers, AQ Shipley and Sonny Harris were all selections that had little to no impact on the Steelers, though Lewis, Johnson and Burnett played throughout the year. However, the 3rd round is where the Steelers took a player that may have turned into one of, if not the, steal of the draft.

 

Mike Wallace, a receiver from Ole Miss, was thought of as a good player but nothing more than a 4th down receiver. That was, until training camp happened, and Wallace impressed the staff to great lengths. He played a large amount of snaps in the season opener versus Tennessee, catching a pass that lead to the winning field goal. Wallace would end up with 39 catches for 756 yards (19.4 average) and 6 TDs, including an amazing catch to win the game versus the Packers while playing in all 16 games only catching a ball less than 2 in two games.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6vaR0nobrU&feature=related

 

Wallace had the best YPC average for a rookie and best overall for someone with more than 20 catches. This is quite an amazing feat considering the 2 receivers ahead of him had more than 1150 yards receiving each and the star tight end had 789 himself. Hey he even rushed for 48 yards on 5 carries.

 

Mike Wallace is without a doubt the best rookie on this roster this year and has benefited from Bruce Arians air it out approach. This kid as a bright future and the Steelers hope, every year is in the Black and Gold.

 

Getting back to the 1st rounder. When looking at stats of the Rook from Mizzou, it is tough to wonder why he was a fist rounder. But when you watch the games closely, you notice certain small things that can make a player good. Ziggy understands his role in a Steelers defense; he is not going to get 10 sacks a year, it is not how the team is structured. However, with the injuries to other linemen, Ziggy was able to not only grab an important sack and fumble recovery in a win over Baltimore, but through the majority of the games Ziggy played, LaMarr Woodley was able to get 11.5 sacks. Ziggy is never going to be a dominant sack artist, but that is not his job. He is the man the linebackers love, and the way he plays, the boys in the middle must love everything this kid brings.

 

If I were to grade the Steelers draft, it would be a B-, but it could be one of the best in awhile if Wallace and Hood continue to improve and the DBs emerge.

Edited January 11, 2010 by BasX

[BasX]

Also, feel free to comment throughout.

[The Artesticle]

Mike Wallace is awesome.

 

Can you explain more on Ziggy? Did he have much of an impact this year, and what type of player do you project him to be in the future.

[BasX]

Mike Wallace is awesome.

 

Can you explain more on Ziggy? Did he have much of an impact this year, and what type of player do you project him to be in the future.

I'll add it to the rookie part, i meant to write more about him, but lost track with Mike Wallace.

 

Edit: up now, last 2 paragraphs new.

Edited January 11, 2010 by BasX

[The Great iBoldin]

Mike Wallace is awesome.

 

Can you explain more on Ziggy? Did he have much of an impact this year, and what type of player do you project him to be in the future.

 

He rotated a fair bit, especially when Aaron Smith went down for the season. He was energetic, as his nickname would suggest. His technique isn't at an elite NFL level yet, but no one expected it to be. He gets by with a great motor and athletic ability. Swings his hips well and got into the opposing backfield quite a bit for a player of his caliber.

 

He's a future starter at either end spot in LeBeau's 34, he can play either. May need to continue to bulk up, but that should be no problem. Hood's probably Aaron Smith's successor in two or three years. Until that time, he'll probably get increased snaps each season.

[CaliCurbStomppa]

Good read. I thought we had great draft and Mike Wallace was def. a steal. He could be the guy that can replace Ward when he retires since Holmes gonna need other help and we already have Miller so were good.

 

About Hood i knew he was a great pick at 32 of the 1st round but like u said we aint expecting the dude to kill it out there with these sacks because we want him to wreck the line so we can get to the quarterback and thats exactly what we are seeing with him this year. He should be even BETTER next year for sure and with Troy Polamalu coming back 100% and Aaron Smith being back and hopefully we resign Ryan Clark that D will be a top 3 in the league.

 

IDK much about other rookies but i thought Burrnett wasnt too bad and i rather see him play more instead Gay because he sucks so bad. Hopefully we have another good draft this year and we gotta try find another steal and get some help at CB and oline.

[BasX]

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He is a two-time champion, the face of a franchise, and is one of the most gifted quarterbacks in football today. He is Ben Roethlisberger and he is fresh off winning a 2nd Super Bowl title, one in which he led his team on a winning touchdown drive in the final seconds. And while the 2009 season saw a lot of similar close finishes, for Ben, it was a bit of a change; he was usually stuck on the sidelines for them.

 

Ben had no doubt one of the best years in Steelers history. He was the first quarterback in Steelers history to throw for more than 4000 yards. He had 26 touchdowns, a QB rating of more than 100 and threw more than 500 yards in one game while only throwing 12 INTs all year. Did I mention he did this while missing one game? However, with all this said, Ben could not guide his team to playoffs, and didn't make the Pro Bowl himself.

 

However, through all that, he still got sacked 50 times, fumbled it 7 times, losing it 3 times. The 50 sacks are the most he has had at any point of his career and for some of them; he has no one to blame but himself. The same thing that can kill Ben is what makes him so good. He is like a hitter who lives and dies on the high fastball, similar to a Jim Edmonds. Ben is the ultimate improv king and he can make plays out of bad situations. He did it in the Super Bowl on a pass to Heath Miller and on a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the AFC Championship game. Adding this to his dynamic pump fake abilities, and it is easy to see why Ben holds the ball as long as he does.

 

All these pale in comparison to the concussion he sustained in Kansas City and it’s impact. While making a play Ben took a knee to the head and was forced to leave the game. The Steelers ended up losing the game and Ben was lost for the follow week’s game versus the Ravens. Dennis Dixon did an admirable job filling in, even running for a TD late in the game that should have won them the game. This decision to rest led to Hines Ward’s comment about Ben and not playing, which the media took as a shot on Ben. It also made the league take a closer look at concussions in football.

 

Regardless of the concussion, Ben still had a productive year on the field but the sting of not making it to the playoff is one that lingers with him. Highlights for Ben including the Packers game where he threw a touchdown on his first and last pass of the game (both to Mike Wallace) and totaled 503 yards. Also, Ben had 5 3-touchdown games while only having 2 games with more than 2 INTs (one of the game was versus Tennessee on a hail mary pass).

 

In 2009, Ben had every chance to throw, and that is direct relationship with his Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians. Like him or not, Bruce will air it out, and it can be tough to argue that game plan with the talent Ben has to work with. It is tough to argue anything Ben did this year and in no shape or form is anything his fault, as a whole. Yes he took a lot of sacks, and had some bad moments in specific games, but he played excellent this year and the lack of success this team had could be attributed to throwing too much. However, he didn’t drop an INT late in the Oakland game, he didn’t miss tackles on Ray Rice in Baltimore, he didn’t miss two field goals at Chicago. He gets an A- for the way he played this year. And if you ever question how much Ben means to this team and organization, Bruce was about to be fired, and Ben said no. Where is Bruce now? He is still in Pittsburgh, and will be there for another year. Ben has done it twice before, no reason to not think he can do it again. PTI’s Mike Wilbon would take this guy as his QB over anyone in the league, if that’s not praise, I don’t know what is.

Edited January 11, 2010 by BasX

[BasX]

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Throughout the Steelers 9-7 season, many question marks arose. However, one place it is tough to put any blame on is the skill players. It was already noted that Ben Roethlisberger had an incredible season passing the ball, but with the stats he had, you know his target should have numbers just as impressive. The Steelers had three running backs, three wide receivers and one tight end in the main rotation of the offense. With this, the first place to look is the running backs.

 

Willie Parker came into the year as the starter and was expected to be solid in the final year of his contract. However, an injury in Week 3 at Cincinnati changed his fortunes. Willie was dressed in 14 of the Steelers 16 games, however in every game from Week 4 to Week 16, either Willie did not play, was on a bye week or did not have more than 10 carries. He broke out in the final game of the year against the Dolphins for 91 yards on 12 carries to help the Steelers finish the season strong. Parker finished the season with only 389 yards on 98 attempts with a 4.0 average with his longest run being 34 yards in Miami. Willie has lost a step and does not have the quickness he once had. He dances in the backfield and cannot hit the hole as well as the 2006 version was able to. However, there is also a very small sample size this season with Willie and the reason for that is the emergence of Rashard Mendenhall.

 

The 2008 draft has been scrutinized as one of the worst in Steeler history. Limas Sweed, Bruce Davis, Tony Hills, Ryan Mundy and Mike Humpal were all Steeler picks in 2008, all but Mundy, seem to have failed. Dennis Dixon was also selected here but he is a back-up QB who will see few to no snaps in his NFL career if everything remains status quo. However, the player who has emerged from that pack is a young RB from the University of Illinois named Rashard Mendenhall. Shard missed most of last season with a shoulder injury caused by Ray Lewis and Mendenhall began the year looking just as much of a joke as the others in his class. He was benched in Week 3 for not trying and not understanding the playbook. That lit a fire under Shard and with Willie hurt the previous week, the start was his. Mendenhall gashed the Chargers defense for 165 yards on 32 carries and 2 TDs. Though Mendenhall would only hit the 100-yard rushing marker three times in the season, he was still able to go over 1000 for the year while averaging 4.6 YPC and 7 TDs. He also finished the year with 261 receiving yards and TD. The only problem Rashard has is he has Adrian Petersonitis, and no that is not a constant drive to run over William Gay, though it really isn’t hard. Rashard has a fumble problem; though the 3 fumbles overall don’t seem to tell the full story. Rashard has also become a great pass blocker that has allowed for more time in the pocket when he is not an option in the flats or down the field. Either way the Steelers have had little issue running the ball, it’s just getting a consistent play call to actually run the ball would help out the team. It must also be noted that maybe the most consistent Steeler, is 3rd down back Mewelde Moore who will never have stats to blow you away but is an excellent pass blocker and is a valuable option out of the back field. As good as the running backs have been though, few have had the great impact that the 4 top pass catchers have had.

 

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Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, Mike Wallace and Heath Miller together make up one of the most talented receiving corps in the NFL. I have already talked at length about Mike Wallace so we will leave him out of this area. We will start with the teams leading receiver Santonio Holmes. Holmes could be the most valuable player this team has, and that Super Bowl MVP trophy is no fluke. He has the ability to be a game breaker on special teams but because of his increased performance on the offensive side, Steeler coaches pass on the opportunity for Holmes to have a Desean Jackson type impact. Holmes totaled 1248 yards this season on 79 catches for a 15.8 average. Holmes only had 5 TDs, one less than each of the other three, but there is no doubt that Santonio is the team best wide out. He has good hands, very fast and he has improved his route running ability. The only game that rubs Steeler fans the wrong way in the game in Chicago where Santonio dropped key passes late in that game, a game the Steelers eventually lost.

 

With Holmes breaking out, Hines Ward has been able to keep up his consistent play throughout his career. Hines had 95 catches for 1167 yards and 6 TDs. Hines at one point of the season led the league in receiving yards and finished T-9 overall; Holmes was 7th. This season also season the emergence of Heath Miller as a receiving Tight End. Heath has always been a reliable player but with 76 catches for 789 yards, he proved to the league that he is one of the best Tight Ends in the game today. Heath is also an excellent blocker and was one of the large reasons the Steelers won SB XLIII.

 

Overall the skill players proved to be more than up to the challenge Bruce Arians pushed their way. It can be argued that Ward, Holmes and Miller could be pro bowlers, but regardless of that fact it is hard to argue Arians passing game plan with the stars he has to work with. The running backs get a B overall (Mendenhall closer to a B+) and the receivers get an A. Overall this season he not a failure because of the success these players had. And it will only get better.

Edited January 11, 2010 by BasX

[BasX]

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If any fingers are going to be pointed at the conclusion of a 9-7 season, the fingers have and will be pointed at the defense. When you look at the stats and the late losses, it is easy to understand why these fingers are being pointed. However, when you look in to three important factors, you are able to understand why this team had very little success defensively. Injuries, the middle linebackers, and the cornerbacks all contribute to the lack of success the defense had.

 

The "if" factor that came into play earlier in the article is directly factored into the injuries portions of this theory. With the late losses, few questions are “If only we stopped them there, or if he caught that ball (Joe Burnett)” but it is more towards the idea of “If only Troy was playing”. In most cases it is tough to understand that logic because injuries are part of the game, but when your backup is Tyrone Carter who can’t hold a candle to anyone, you begin to understand what Troy means to this team. Injuries to players such as Aaron Smith, Brent Keisel, Travis Kirschke and Lawrence Timmons also put a damper on a season that looked destined for a repeat. But with this season gone by, I have no doubts in saying this: “Troy Polamalu may be the best player in football.”

The loss of him made an all-time defense a year ago, look like a JV team at times. If I was 40 years old watching this team who passed and couldn’t played D without one player, it would have made me sick.

 

The loss of Aaron Smith is a loss that people seem to forget. Hampton is a pro bowler player, but so is Smith. He is one of the best running stopping DEs in the league. He also works very well with Brent Keisel who is not quite at Smith’s level but is still good and doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He has long arms and deflects balls very well. Travis Kirschke is the back up and can do an adequate job filling in and Nick Eason came on strong in place of anyone who was hurt. Ziggy Hood was already discussed. Injuries killed this line, but I put very little blame on any of them for the lack of success this team has on defense. This lack of blame also applies to two other pretty good players.

 

LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison may be the best pass-rushing duo is the league and the 23.5 sacks combined echo that statement. Double-teaming one usually leaves the other open, and if you double team both, usually Farrior or Timmons eat you alive. However, there is one point that I used to think Steeler fans were obnoxious about, and that is that James Harrison gets held almost every play. With this said, I decided to watch James with extra incentive this year, and to see if they (Steeler fans) were just finding ways to be angry at officials. Well, I’m here to say, dude gets held a lot, much more than I expected. Now, though he is known as captain obvious, Dan Dierdorf also agreed during a Steeler broadcast earlier in the year. I also seem to remember Troy Aikman saying the exact same thing. And it is 90% of the time a forearm around the neck with body moving forward and head back. Ed Bouchette was even asked about it during James’ DPOY year:

 

Q: What can be done about the non holding calls against James Harrision? He is held on every play.

 

BOUCHETTE: He is being held on every play and that's no exaggeration. However, the NFL rarely enforces a holding call anymore unless a defender is tackled. Harrison should visit a few hockey players and have them teach him the art of the "dive" so he could start attracting holding penalties. If he weren't held, he'd have 24 sacks by now instead of 12. It's another way for the NFL to keep quarterbacks safe and offenses scoring.

 

HERE

 

Obviously the best get held a lot, but it is a gripe the Steeler fanatics actually seem to have that is legitimate. LaMarr usually gets the benefit of single teams or double teams that include a RB and a TE. LaMarr lead the duo in sacks this year with 13.5. All but 2 of them came in the last 8 weeks and this is the closest I've seen to a clutch LB. However, as good as this duo is the second issue is the middle linebackers.

 

Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior having similar talents as the OLBs, but both have separate issues. James is getting older as he just turned 35 five days ago. He still leads the team in tackles, but his coverage skills and instincts are starting to go. Timmons is a victim of circumstance. He is a good pass rusher, but the two of the outside are more talented, leaving Lawrence on the inside. The Steelers let go of Larry Foote in order to make way for Timmons, but he has had troubles with the dynamic packages the Steelers run, something Keyaron Fox had little troubles with when he subbed for Timmons when he was injured. Both are having troubles in coverage but they are not the root of all the problems, though they are not a saving grace either.

 

The problem is the defensive backs, NOT the entire defense. The Steelers lost Brian McFadden to the Cardinals, so they were stuck with starting William Gay this year. It started out okay for Gay, but ever since Adrian Peterson did this to him, he has been maybe the worst player this team has had on either side of the ball:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By3kO1hYvrQ&feature=related

 

Steeler fans are still trying to find William Gay's skill, we tend to think it is on the top of Adrian Peterson's helmet. Maybe that is why he fumbles so much now. Anyway, to be blunt, Gay sucked this year. He WAS a good open field tackler, but I'm not kidding when I say it took a 180 turn after that hit and Gay did not have a single INT this season. However, on the other side, Ike Taylor wasn't much better. When Troy is on the field, Ike can look like a shut down corner, when he's on the field not well, Taylor has troubles. Taylor does not have good ball awareness and will never be mistaken for a ball hawk. Taylor regressed a lot this season. Deshea Townsend is simply getting too old to play a significant role, but he was adequate at best. The other 2 corner backs were rookies, one in which drops an easy INT against the Raiders, which would have won the Steelers the game (Joe Burnett). Through all this, only Gay would receive an F, but he has competition.

 

Tyrone Carter used to have some talent, and has had flashes and he misses getting an F for two reasons. He can make some nice tackles and he had a good game versus Denver when Ryan Clark couldn't play. However, Troy did play and I will admit, Carter plays well when Troy is the other safety. He is a ball hawk in that situation and it works well for him. Maybe Tyrone isn't that bad, but the combo of Carter and Clark is brutal. Ryan Clark is one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, but that's all he really does. He is an okay cover guy and grabs a few INTs a year, but need Troy to be a physical monster. It may not be the defense needs Troy as much as it needs Carter and Clark to not play together.

 

The saddest stat of the season is that the Steelers corners only had 2 interceptions. Both came in the Week 17 game at Miami. Clark and Polamalu lead the team with 3, Carter had 2, while Fox, Taylor, Farrior and Townsend all had one. Overall that is 8 by the safeties, 2 by the linebackers, and 2 by the corners. This is why, even though I am not there yet, that not drafting a ball hawk DB in the first proves either that they trust Burnett and Lewis, or they think Gay can get better. We need a ball hawk at corner, and need to increase this embarrassing INT total.

 

Overall, the D was suspect but it mainly because of the defensive backs and there inability to make plays without Troy Polamalu. It is easy to blame the D as a whole but it is unfair to guys such as Hampton, Hood, Keisel, Woodley and Harrison. Let's get this straight though, this is a team that will be reckoned with next season, and Steeler fans hope that number 43 and number 91 are the reasons why.

 

Or we can just blame Madden. Right?