Steelers must plan for next year

by M. Stewart
Regular readers will note that I stopped writing about football several weeks ago. I did so not because the Pittsburgh Steelers were having a lousy season, but because the topic didn’t seem to interest readers much. Well, interest or no, I’m bringing back football to ORL as of today.

After Sunday’s 27-0 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers have hit bottom. I agree with Bob Smizik of the Post-Gazette. This is no longer about a championship team with bad luck and a few head problems; the Steelers truly are a bad football team. The following observations are shared by many:

Since the first few games of the season, head coach Bill Cowher has clearly been emotionally disengaged on the sidelines. No spitting, no screaming, no jaw. The guy just stands there like he’s not even watching the game. I’m certain this will be Cowher’s last year with the Steelers. Much has been made of his North Carolina “dream home” and his refusal to discuss his future, but when management looks back on this disastrous season, it will be the poor coaching that counts. For whatever reason, Bill isn’t into it anymore. He’s done a good job in Pittsburgh for a long time, but when you lose interest, it’s time to move on.

The Pittsburgh running game is a joke. Of course, Willie Parker is going to break some runs and look good now and again, but he’s not the kind of back who can carry the team. Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker, yes, but not Parker alone. I don’t even know who the other running backs are this year. It really doesn’t matter.

The defensive backfield is among the worst in pro football. As such, most teams have thrown the ball at will on Pittsburgh all year, and they will continue to do so until better players arrive. Cornerbacks Deshea Townsend, Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, Anthony Madison—this crew makes mediocre quarterbacks look great. The only reason they made it through last season was that other teams had yet to figure out Pittsburgh’s linebacking scheme. Pressure on the quarterback took pressure off the cornerbacks. This year, teams have watched enough film to pick up the Steelers blitz and give QB’s time to exploit the weak secondary.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has had a bad year. He leads the league in interceptions and has been a model of inconsistency. TV announcers continue to gab endlessly about the motorcycle crash and appendicitis, but I think Ben’s problem goes deeper. First of all, his receivers are weak. Hines Ward seems to have lost a step or two since last season, and Cedric Wilson just isn’t very good. Santonio Holmes may end up being a decent receiver, but there is no sign of future stardom. Tight end Heath Miller has the best hands of the bunch, but the coaches rarely call his number. Go figure.

Secondly, Ben may not be as good as people think. The jury is still out, of course. He deserves a year or two more to prove himself. No question the guy has the talent and the tools, but you can’t let a quarterback get beat up like that week after week and expect him to develop properly. There is no such thing as a good quarterback without a good offensive line.

Speaking of which, this season also has shown the offensive line can’t play with good defenses. The line played so badly against Baltimore that midway through the third quarter I started thinking Pittsburgh might want to forfeit the game just to keep Roethlisberger from getting killed. Trooper that he is, Ben refused to say anything bad about his line after the game, but he didn’t need to. This offensive line is terrible. Not only do they not protect the quarterback, they are unable to open running lanes for Parker. If you can’t pass protect and block, what good are you?

Special teams have sucked all year, but that’s almost a Pittsburgh tradition. I haven’t looked at the numbers, but it seems to me that the Steelers have had bad field position all year long. TV announcers tell us every time Chris Gardocki punts that he’s never had one blocked, but he sure doesn’t offer much in the way of hang-time and distance. On special teams it’s all about fundamentals—blocking, tackling, running, kicking, catching—and Cowher has not been able to establish a special-teams discipline in Pittsburgh.

Wow, what else is there? The Steelers are a team in big trouble. They are weak at far too many positions to remedy with a good draft. If there is a coaching transition (and I’m certain there will be), fans are most likely in for a few lean years. The organization is strong, however, so I don’t look for anything like a complete breakdown. Assuming the new head coach will be a strong leader with a plan, the down time might be minimal. We can only hope.