Well, another week of the NFL season in the books. There were some key injuries that may change the landscape of NFL playoff picture. Oh yes, and the Steelers lose again to the tune of 55-31 at the hands of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots – loss was expected, maybe even a big loss.
The play of some of our starters was downright abysmal in key situations. Troy Polamalu outside of a great forced fumble was awful on Sunday particularly in coverage. Tom Brady used his aggressiveness against him multiple times. The two most notable instances were when he was looked off by Brady twice in deep coverage which resulted in two touchdown passes. Ryan Clark has been a liability all season and this afternoon was no different. He frequently missed tackles and had to come out of the game for a few plays due to a blow to the head. William Gay also came up small in this must-win game by missing key tackles and getting burned in man coverage. For the life of me, I do not understand why Cortez Allen didn’t play more in a game where Rob Gronkowski amassed 100 yards receiving in the first quarter. I’m assuming coach Dick LeBeau forgot in 2011 when Cortez Allen virtually shut down Rob Gronkowski by himself.
The offense, while a mess at times, showed some fight and effort as they crawled back from a 24-10 deficit to tie the game late in the 3rd quarter and it seemed like Ben Roethlisberger was getting in a nice rhythm. That feeling of hope lasted about two defensive series when it was evident the Steelers defense could not contain the Patriots offense. What was most concerning was the run defense. LeBeau’s scheme is built around stopping the run and getting opposing offenses into 3rd and unfavorable situations to rush the passer. Those match-ups were not afforded to us all game. Even the few times the Steelers forced the Patriots into 3rd and long, the coverage on the back end was so bad that converting in those situations were easy. The middle of the defense is in shambles and the Steelers have to find a way to fix it. Here are some positions they have to improve in the offseason:
1) NT: The Steve McClendon experiment at nose tackle needs to end. It’s clear they need to upgrade that position with a stout power NT that can eat up double teams. McClendon is too aggressive and gets washed out of plays too often. However, he isn’t without talent. Maybe he deserves a shot at DE? In the meantime, Hebron Fangupo may need a shot to show his worth the 2nd half of this season.
2) DE: I think this is the last year for Brett Keisel. He isn’t quite as quick or stout against the run as he once was. It shouldn’t be an issue seeing as two first round picks were spent on DE’s but Ziggy Hood isn’t living up to his first round pedigree. I’ve thought for a while that he is a victim of the 3-4 scheme – he’s not a good fit for it. He may be a good player but he was a bad pick for Dick LeBeau. Cameron Heyward however, has shown flashes of brilliance this season. He was a force against the Patriots with several pressures and a couple of sacks up the middle. Maybe McClendon could be his running mate opposite DE. If not , that’s another pick the Steelers will have to commit to DE in the 2014 NFL Draft.
3) LB: Upgrades need to happen at all positions. ILB needs to be infused with an ILB that can pair with Lawrence Timmons and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. Vince Williams may develop into that guy but that’s a lot to ask of a 6th round pick. I’m not getting my hopes up. I’d be happy with a Larry Foote right now. OLB position isn’t getting it done. Jarvis Jones isn’t strong enough, Jason Worilds isn’t good enough, and LaMarr Woodley has been stealing a pay check for the past 1.5 seasons. The Steelers can help to build for the future by trading LaMarr while we still can get value for him. It may sound harsh but the way I look at it is if I have 60 million dollars tied into a pass rusher, my team better not be bottom third of the league in sacks.
4) S: Free Safety to be exact. Ryan Clark is done. He has been for a season now. He misses too many tackles and misreads plays too often now. The Steelers got the most they could get out of the free agent safety and he was very serviceable for the most part. Unfortunately, it’s time to cut bait and look towards acquiring someone to pair with Shamarko Thomas in the draft or free agency.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying the offense doesn’t need improvements. They need a stud left tackle, a do it all receiver, and a stud tight end. The offense needs to be upgraded to try and court Ben to stay in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career. If the Steelers only get the LT they need and a WR in the draft, the offense will make quantum leaps next year. The defense will lose 4 players in the offseason in my opinion. The other 7 players aren’t locks either.
Defense still wins championships. If the Steelers want one more run with Ben before he hangs up the cleats, they need to re build the defense now.
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