The Steelers are 2-2. Pretty sure Icky Woods could come out of retirement and get 100 yards on the defense. Ben Roethlisberger is looking more like David Carr with the amount of turf he's been eating. Things aren't looking up to standards in Steeler Nation.

On the other hand, the Steelers have 12 games left in the regular season and their schedule isn't that difficult. The only two losses came against very good teams. But then again, those two very good teams completely dominated the Steelers in almost every facet of the game. Good teams don't get blown out.

Maybe the team just played a couple bad games and they'll regroup and finish strong. We'd all like that to be the case. We all hope the defense is old enough to accept a loss and not let it affect them, but young enough that a bunch of 27-year-old offensive linemen can't freely bulldoze them out of the way on every play.

Is it overreacting to think that the defense is too old to compete in this league? To start planning for a defensive rebuild?

Is it naive to assume they can rebound and be just as good as they were in 2008 when they were the backbone of a championship team?

And what about the offensive line? They certainly don't pass the eye test (or any other test for that matter) and everyone is clamoring for change. Have we forgotten the 2008 line that featured Justin Hartwig and Darnell Stapleton? Who is Darnell Stapleton? Is he available right now?

Again, would we be overreacting to suggest that the OL needs a complete overhaul? After all, we said that in 2008, and Ben Roethlisberger iconically ended the season yelling, "Offensive line, who's laughing now?" as he stood on the podium holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

But with the state of the line today, will Ben Roethlisberger even be there at season's end? Will Rashard Mendenhall even get near 1000 yards rushing? Mike Wallace wanted 2000 receiving yards and he was playing like he could get there. As fast as he is, the QB is on the ground before he even gets on his route. Does he really have a chance?

But that has to be overreacting, right? The line is young now, and they'll get a chance to grow together and improve over the season, like they did three years ago. Or maybe they really are that bad and I'm being an optimistic homer. I really can't tell yet. I don't think any of us can.

I would say this will be an interesting season, but every season is interesting and that's a dumb cliche. So I will say that this will be a long season. I don't mean that in a negative way. I mean that there are still three months of football to be played and that's a long time for a team to fix some things.

The luxury for fans is that we aren't the ones who have to act on it. We can place our trust in Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin to get this team back into winning form. We get to sit back and see if they can build a winning football team with the pieces we have here. It sounds a little nicer when you phrase it like that, doesn't it?

Go Steelers. 

Ouch. Not sure who made the bigger statement: The Texans or the Steelers. On one hand, the Texans played like a winner, methodical on offense, stingy on defense, and enough poise to overcome their mistakes. On the other hand, the Steelers were awful. If yesterday was any indication, the Steelers can't hang with the big teams in the NFL right now. We know the final score was only 17-10, but it was never that close. Houston was totally dominant.

Baltimore's total dominance on defense on national TV makes it even more unsettling. Recap inside.

This one went about how I expected it to. Ben Roethlisberger had no time to throw the ball and the Steelers defensive line was pushed around throughout the game. Arian Foster ran for 155 yards on 30 carries. 

The Steelers briefly came to live for a few nice drives in the 3rd quarter, but after a long Foster TD run, the Texans pass rush shifted into another gear down the stretch and Roethlisberger and the offense didn't have much of a chance.

The Texans also had 2 touchdowns erased by dumb penalties so this one was that close to being a complete blowout. 

Looking ahead, the Steelers have major issues on both sides of the ball and have played poor games in 3 out of their 4 contests so far this season. Pittsburgh looks more like an 8-8 also-ran then a playoff team right now. 

The Texans are a team that the Steelers don't usually see a lot of. I exchange emails with Dustyn from Texans Tribune earlier this week to get the lowdown on Brian Cushing vs James Harrison, the Texans gameplan and his prediction on Sunday's game. 

In 2010 we were 2-0 and were blown out by the Cowboys at home. In 2011 we were 2-0 and lost a game we could have won at New Orleans. This team definitely feels different. The new defense Wade Philips has installed has been a big reason for this. Last week vs Drew Brees not withstanding, the defense has much more talent this season and is well suited for Philips' 3-4.

I read what Harrison said and I really didn't have much reaction. That's kind of what Harrison is. He likes to talk and stir it up. Most Texans fans probably don't even remember Harrison saying what he did. Cushing was caught and suspended for PEDs so this is no surprise to us. It will be interesting though to see if Cushing and the Texans remember Harrison's comments. I'm sure it will be on their minds.

The Texans offense is very balanced and with the return of Arian Foster will be even more explosive. In my opinion, to slow down the Texans offense you have to hit Schaub. He doesn't do well under pressure like Roethlisberger and if he gets hit a lot he can go south fast. Foster is a great back in the Texans one cut, zone blocking attack. To slow down the run game you have to hit Foster in the backfield or before he gets to the hole. Once he sees a gap and is able to cut into it, he is gone for big gains.

I've thought a lot about this game and see two teams who could provide a great game. I think the Texans defense led by Mario Williams, Antonio Smith, and rookie JJ Watt can put pressure on Ben and the Texans offense can score enough on the Steelers D. I'll take the Texans to win 24-20 but I'm not very confident in the pick. I could really see this game going to overtime.


I also answered a few questions for Dustyn, including my prediction for Sunday.  

Sunday night's game at Indianapolis wasn't even over and people were calling for the Steelers to bring back two former offensive tackles: Max Starks and Flozell Adams. A few very smart people who are 'in the know' even predicted Adams would be back in town by Tuesday. 

It's Tuesday night now and neither of the players are on the roster who have even been contacted, to the best of everybody's knowledge. During his press conference this week, Mike Tomlin basically said that the Steelers were only looking to bring somebody in to fill a practice role. They are sticking with their guys, despite the injuries and struggles on the field. 

While Starks and Adams both played decent football during their time in Pittsburgh, there are very good reasons that neither of them are on the roster now. Max Starks is coming off a pretty serious neck surgery and was rumored to have weighed in the high 300s when he reported for camp. The Steelers were expecting him to be the starting LT for this team in 2011 and they would not have released him unless something was seriously wrong. Flozell Adams is too slow to play LT at this point and the Steelers re-signed Willie Colon to fill that role in the offseason. Rookie Marcus Gilbert looked somewhat promising at times Sunday going against one of the best pass rushers he'll face on the right side in Robert Mathis. Adams might be a slight upgrade over Gilbert or Trai Essex, but he is 36 and not an above-average blocker by any means. 

It's also important to note that both Adams and Starks remain unsigned and the Steelers definitely aren't the only team with issues at the tackle position. It's not like this is Jonathan Ogden and Willie Roaf sitting out there in the free agent market.

Kevin Colbert and the rest of the Steelers' front office are as savvy as they come and the moment a good LT option is available that makes sense, I'm sure the Steelers will make their move. Above average LTs aren't just sitting out their unsigned, though, and I won't be shocked if that moment doesn't arrive until next April.

First up, Evgeni Malkin is on Twitter. If you care, you probably already knew that.

Apparently he spent his Sunday night the way we all did: watching the Steelers squeak out a win against the Colts on NBC. He also recognized Troy Polamalu's greatness when he picked up a fumble and returned it for a TD.



 D'awww. You're right, Geno. He best.

What a strange game. At times it looked like a boring affair, at times it had you on the edge of your seat. At times the Steelers looked like they were in cruise control, at times the Colts looked like they were going to pull off the upset. The Steelers looked like they played down to the level of an inferior opponent, a problem that has plagued them all too often in recent seasons. Despite a few late-game scares, the black and gold held on for the win. Recap after the jump.

After a quarter, it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers would steamroll the Indianapolis Colts just like everybody but expected. But, once again, turnovers by the Steelers and a long Indianapolis TD drive led by...Curtis Painter made this one a lot more interesting than the Steelers would have liked. A Shaun Suisham field goal with under 10 seconds left pushed the Steelers to a 23-20 victory. 

The Steelers offensive line was putrid once again and Ben Roethlisberger was under siege all night long. Roethlisberger fumbled twice, one of which was returned for a TD by Jamaal Anderson. The offensive line also failed to run block against a small and usually weak defensive front for Indianapolis. Rashard Mendenhall averaged 2.1 yards on 18 carries. Ugh. 

But that's not all. The Steelers lost 3 more starting offensive lineman during this one. LT Jonathan Scott, who was abused all game by Dwight Freeney, left the game late in the 4th quarter with what looked like a serious lower leg injury. I would expect him to miss some significant time. Starting RT Marcus Gilbert also missed most of the 2nd half with an injury, but he returned for a couple of plays on the last drive after Scott's injury. Doug Legursky also got banged up with an arm/shoulder injury, but it didn't look too serious. 

After a long Mike Wallace TD catch in the first quarter, the Steelers failed to score a TD until James Harrison hit Curtis Painter forcing a fumble that Troy Polamalu returned for a TD. It was the first turnover that the Steelers have forced in 2011.

As Mike Tomlin says, style points don't matter in the NFL and this one looks the same in the standings as last week's blowout win against Seattle.

But it's hard to not be discouraged after an effort like this against an Indianapolis team that isn't very good. The Steelers are making too many mistakes on both sides of the ball and certainly don't look like a Super Bowl contender at this point. 

Simply put, they've got to play better starting next week. The Steelers face a potent passing attack and a pass rusher even better than Dwight Freeney in Houston.  

8:20 PM | Lucas Oil Stadium | TV: NBC



The Indianapolis Colts have long been looked at as one of the model franchises in the NFL along with teams like the Steelers, Patriots and others. 

But with Peyton Manning's injury, the Colts are now a shell of their former selves and are a cautionary tale for all NFL franchises.

A player like Peyton Manning only comes around every 20 years or so and the Colts did a great job drafting and developing him. But Manning's skills and work ethic were able to cover up a lot of mistakes that the franchise has made over the last 10+ years. 

The Colts rocky start to 2011 is a lesson to all teams that player development, drafting and coaching matter no matter how well the team is performing. While the Colts have been elite, their drafting has been poor. Since 2005, their first round draft picks have been Marlin Jackson, Joseph Addai, Anthony Gonzalez, Donald Brown, Jerry Hughes and Anthony Castonzo. The jury is still out on a few of those players, but so far none have had the type of impact that you'd like to see from a 1st round pick. 

The Colts have always been one injury away from being a 6-10 team and it's an amazing testament to Peyton Manning that it hasn't caught up to them until now.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Freeney and Mathis. The Colts have a very quick pass rush off the edge, especially at home. Roethlisberger is going to get knocked around a little bit in this one. Hopefully the protection is good enough that the Steelers can still put up some points.

2. Fast track for Steelers WRs. While the turf helps out the Colts pass rush, it's also going to be a boost for the Steelers young WRs. Look for Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown to go down the field often. Matt Schaub was able to exploit the Indianapolis secondary in Week One and I'd expect the Steelers to try and do the same thing.

3. Make Collins feel the heat. Kerry Collins might be the most immobile quarterback the Steelers face all season. He's also looked rusty early on in the season. The Steelers need to make him miserable in and out of the pocket all game long. Pittsburgh should be primed for a dominant performance from their linebackers.

Prediction

As I mentioned on the radio with ESPN Williamsport last week, this is pretty much a lose-lose situation for the Steelers. Everybody is expecting them to blow out and dominate the Colts. Anything less than that is going to feel like a letdown. I think the Colts will be able to move the ball through the air at least a little bit and their WRs will make the game interesting at least for a while. Steelers 24 Colts 14. 

Raheem Brock was fined by the NFL for hitting Ben Roethlisberger in the knee on Sunday. He has decided to appeal the fine. This post is about Raheem Brock not understanding what is going on.


This past Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger completed a long pass to Heath Miller down the sideline. It was, however, a negative play because Seahawks defensive lineman Raheem Brock came off a block as Ben threw his pass, and dove into the side of the quarterback's right knee. Brock was flagged for roughing the passer, but Steeler Nation's attention was immediately focused on Ben's knee. We all know why, but go ahead and read on after the jump. no comments