The Jets’ Michael Vick throws to his right, away from Mike Mitchell in New York’s win Sunday. — GETTY IMAGES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One last look at the Steelers’ last game …
• Could anyone have guessed Mike Mitchell would have this little impact?
Yes, I know pretty much everyone involved was responsible for the Steelers’ 20-13 loss to the Jets, so this isn’t about singling anyone out. But at the same time, when Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin signed Mitchell to that five-year, $25 million contract this past spring, he was expected to be more than Ryan Clark’s replacement. He was thought to be a young player breaking out.
Well, to turn to my adjective of choice from the game column, Mitchell has been terrible.
Forty-four safeties in the NFL have played 500 or more defensive snaps. Mitchell has 630, Troy Polamalu 550. And of those 44, Mitchell is No. 30 in the Pro Football Focus safety rankings. He is at No. 32 against the run, No. 30 in coverage. He has zero interceptions, zero passes defensed, an average of 78.9 percent of balls thrown to his man being caught (third-most among those with 500-plus snaps), and he’s served no other purpose, either, with zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and five missed tackles.
But man, apply that burning spotlight to zero passes defensed.
The man hasn’t laid his hand on a football in the air through 10 weeks!
His work against New York was par for the course: His minus-1.6 grade was the lowest on the Steelers’ defense for pass coverage, he recorded two tackles and missed one.
Oh, and he embarrassed the Steelers another way, as well, by blitzing into the Jets’ victory formation on the closing series. prompting center Nick Mangold to flip Mitchell in the air.
“It’s a dirty play,” Mangold said. “That’s what it is.”
“I think it was B.S.,” said old friend Willie Colon, who also got in Mitchell’s face. “I love that team. I was birthed into that organization. But I thought it was uncalled for.”
Both are right. Seconds later, as Rex Ryan began his trot to shake Tomlin’s hand, Ryan, too, had words for Mitchell. And he wasn’t alone. Brett Keisel, to his inestimable credit, also got in Mitchell’s face, to the point that Mitchell, who didn’t have an interview session, later sought out Keisel in the locker room to apologize.
This guy isn’t a Steeler in any sense of the term.
What was management thinking?
Mitchell did have positive grades in his final season with the Panthers, but Carolina also had the NFL’s most productive front seven. One would like to think the Steelers employ scouts capable of discerning that a safety benefits in a big way from that.
• Ryan Mundy has played almost as many snaps for the Bears and is rated slightly higher.
• The secondary as a whole had zero interceptions and one pass defensed Sunday, the latter by Willie Gay, who did not play well at all.
• On the bright side, hey, how about that Martavis Bryant?
Not just the 80-yard touchdown that, given the score, felt a little hollow. I’m talking about the four catches on seven targets for 143 yards, including the 40-yard grab in which he deftly pushed off Phillips Adams — legally, no doubt — to make up for earlier not having battled for a 50/50 ball.
I’m also talking about Bryant looking and sounding like this despite his big day:
Not a bad move being humble. Ben Roethlisberger had just shown up at the next stall.
• While we’ve all looked elsewhere, Le’Veon Bell has now rushed for 20 and 36 yards over his past two games, carrying only 10 times in each.
“They did a good job of having long drives in the first half, not allowing the offense to get into a rhythm,” Bell said. “We had nine snaps in the first quarter. We had 20 in the first half. It was nothing they did schematically. We just didn’t have the opportunity to get into a rhythm.”
The opportunities actually were there, but the Steelers’ 10 drives ended this way, in order: Punt, fumble, interception, field goal, interception, punt, missed field goal from 23 yards, field goal, turned over on downs and Bryant’s touchdown.
The Jets had 11 drives and scored on the first three.
• It didn’t help Bell or LeGarrette Blount that Ramon Foster’s run blocking was graded well below that of his fellow linemen. The top run blocker on the day, tellingly, was Heath Miller.
• On the already infamous goal-line throw to James Harrison, Antonio Brown and Bell watched from the sideline. It’s called out-thinking yourselves, gentlemen.
• Stephon Tuitt played seven snaps. I give up on this one. Really.
• Say what you will about Polamalu’s twilight, but he’s still by far the best option at hand. Will Allen’s minus-3.1 overall grade Sunday from Pro Football Focus was the worst of any player at any position on either team.
• Best player? Harrison. On defense, anyway.
• I’m not big on coin-flip debates, but the Steelers deferring after winning this toss didn’t appear to be founded in anything beyond naive stubbornness. The offense was coming off 94 points the previous two weeks. The defense had given up points in all but two of its first nine games.
Tomlin’s brazenly arrogant explanation for deferring: “I’ll leave that decision-making to us.”
Good teams stomp on inferior competition before they can take a deep breath.
• Keisel summed up the Steelers’ mood best, from what I could gauge: “You have to seize every opportunity in this business. Everyone talks about NFL teams’ records, but the bottom line is they have a lot of good football players over there. We have to take one step at a time. Everyone is upset right now. Everyone is frustrated. But there are still six games left. We’re still in the mix of this thing, and we still have to come out and finish this thing.”
Take a look at the Steeler at the far right edge of the video clip. Not sure who it is, but as Mitchell goes flying, he makes a gesture that can only mean, "man, what are you doing?"
Such a frustrating game, but it was almost expected. Monday night against the Titans, we either win by 70 or look like the team that came out against Tampa and the Jets.
What is the status of Shamarko Thomas? Is he back from his injury? He clearly deserves to play over Mitchell, regardless of Thomas being groomed as Troy's replacement.
DK, fellow Steelers, how much do you think Mitchell is just struggling to figure out the LeBeau D which we all know is often too complicated for guys just in the door?
I don't think scheme has anything to do with it. I think Mitchell just needs to make a play. Scheme has nothing to do with seeing the ball and attacking it. I think we make too big of an issue of Lebeau's scheme. It is hard, but isn't like it's trying to learn Slovak. Us fans use the scheme as a built in excuse all the time. Especially when someone is not performing.Not am attack on you Andrew. I have just heard this a lot the past 3 years.
I'll raise a counterargument RE: deferring the choice.
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I've often heard it said that a good team says, "We'll go out on the road, stomp you on defense for a three-and-out, THEN we'll score and shut your stadium up."
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To me, that's more demoralizing.
It's one thing to lose a game that should not be lost. It's another whole level to royally stink while doing so. Again, this does not reflect well on a coaching staff's ability to get people ready to play. No momentum at all from three big wins? Pathetic.
The players and their professionalism also must be called into question. At this level the coach shouldn't have to get you ready to play. You have a job to do and you go do it. Getting paid to play a wonderful game should be motivation enough.
Call me crazy, but I still don't understand the point of running a defensive system that is so complicated that rookie's can't pick it up and it takes them 2 or 3 years to really learn. In a salary cap league how are you supposed to stay competitive?
You're crazy! Actually, you're far from crazy. I guess the year spent learning the system does allow them to develop and hopefully come good whilst peaking physically.
With you Mwehrle27. AND, by the time we can finally figure out if a player is even any good or not, those three years and a roster spot have been wasted. Like the Zigfield Folly.
Mike Mitchel was signed because our drafting has been poor in recent years and no adequate replacements. If Tomlin can't figure out after several years how to motivate team against bad competition, just play Raven lunatic's HC locker room tirade how we got our butts kicked.
More I think about Tomlin's rude one-liners, more peeved I get. Was a scene in Warren Beatty's "Bullworth" where the honorable senator gets stoned and starts guffawing and hooting at everything said to him. That how press should respond to EVERYTHING Tomlin says from now on.
Pretty safe to say that to this point, whoever among the FO and Coaches influence (I believe 99% Colbert/Tomlin) FA signings and extensions isn't having their best year. Mitchell and Thomas have been awful. Moore very little impact. Best signing (Harrison) was forced.
Call it bad preparation, players lacking personal accountability, inability of coaches to lead, Whatever. There is something seriously missing when they look like a completely different team week to week. You don't need play charts or PFP grades. The eye test is sufficient.
In the 4 games at Balt,Jax,Cle and NY they have scored 3TDs---and 2 were in garbage time.
Yesterday I knew Ben was off when threw a pass to man 5 yards behind the LOS. Looked confused and a little rattled. The NY d-line dominated Munchaks boys.
Five yards behind the LOS and covered, and tackled immediately. Why not throw it at his feet and save a sure loss? That kind of decision-making (or lack thereof) is baffling. When things go right, great, but when things go wrong you do it anyway?
The arrogance of HCMT is appalling. Does this guy just not get it?? Or have anyone telling him how foolish it makes him and the organization look? The way he talks down to the media is just sad.
We lost to Tampa, who has exactly 1 win this season. NYJ, 2 wins. And it took a late pick 6 to seal the deal against a Jaguars team with 1 win. Those 3 teams are an incredible -320 in point differential. Absolutely pathetic job by this coaching staff.
I don't have a problem w/ Mitchell's last play. It's not like they were losing by 30 points. All they needed was a touchdown to tie. If he had knocked the ball loose & a teammate returned it for a touchdown, he'd be a hero. I've never understood why people don't try that play.
MT can speak to the media any way he pleases; it means nothing in the scheme of things. That being said, here's hoping they stakc some losses and miss the playoffs. Some serious management level introspection is needed for the long term.
Couldn't disagree more. If Ben doesn't force the ball at the goal line that got picked, and Willie Gay makes a play (he was darn close) on the long bomb it's a completely different game. The other guys also get paid to play.
For all the hell you guys give the coaching staff and their lack of preparation, why does no one ever seem to want to criticize the actual players? Brown fumbled twice yesterday, Ben threw two inexcusable picks; they should be getting blame too, not just Tomlin.
So Mitchell / Allen seem like a good use of 50 million dollars. Fact the Steelers can eat this money while Pirates struggle with signing Martin show the difference in the 2 sports
Don't disagree about Mitchell, but sometimes you need to rely on the eye test than just PFF grades. You accurately called Ben terrible as well, but he had the highest grade on the offense.
Players certainly have big responsibility, but I agree with DK, Tomlin's "explanations" are arrogant and smell of a coach who is not doing his job. 1-8 against teams with .200 or worse win %. If we miss the playoffs AGAIN this year, he should be gone.
I remember seeing Carolina get dusted in the playoffs at home 2 years ago. Mitchell and Co. Made no plays and also got called for multiple personal fouls for late hits and arguing with refs. I couldn't believe how idiotic he was in that game. A couple months later we sign him...
You were 2 kind DK-Tomlin was not just "brazenly arrogant" but also out coached by a guy who will be working on TV next yr. Rex kicked his ass & enjoyed doing it.
I hate this coach-I hate the fact he represents a team I love. Thoughts I shared with Dan Rooney today FWIW
So just where does the buck stop? Undisciplined, wreckless, poorly coached teams, do stupid things, take too many penalties and lose games they shouldn't lose.
I dread the bottom teams with this Steelers lineup, been the same for the past several years. I promptly deleted this one from the DVR after getting back from youth hockey games. Listened a bit on the drive home, and had no desire to watch it.
Pro Football Focus rated Mitchell #101 out of the 102 safeties they ranked. Considering Tomlin was a DB and DB coach one would think he would do a better job of evaluating DBs. But Mitchell, letting K Lewis go and keeping C Allen, drafting C Brown, etc. dispel that.
Tunch on The Lockerroom today: I break down a lot of tape. I never thought Keenan Lewis could play the system here or ever learn the system. I fully supported letting him go and signing Cortez Allen. I thought Cortez better.
Clearly I was wrong.
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Good honest admission. Me too
Mitchell is an embarrassment. I think I've noticed him three times this year and once was crashing the victory formation.
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Conversely, I notice Big Dan and Tuitt every time they're in the field.
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To summarize....awful coaching, worse preparation, and virtually nil self scouting.
"Tomlin’s brazenly arrogant explanation for deferring: 'I’ll leave that decision-making to us.'"
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He's the smartest guy in the room, remember? All decisions unassailable, Mr. Renegade Journalist.
the OL continues to struggle moving bodies. reason? Ramon Foster and Kelvin Beachum. so answer this why is Foster team spokesman? he may be nice guy, but he's way to top heavy and clearly the weak link and huge problem. Steelers must move Decastro next year and draft a guard and decide on Mike AdamaLT.
This is my go-to place, but I do read other sports writers’ opinions. I cannot believe some are placing the majority of blame for the continued failures - over a period of years - against inferior teams on the players in an apparent attempt to deflect criticism from Tomlin.
What changed in the talent evaluation around here. Ryan Clark faded towards the end but he was an awesome signing. Colbert brought him in. The same guy brought in Mitchell and signed Cortez. Did he just lose his touch or do others have more say? His drafts were gold in years past
(Cont)... and now there are misses all over the place. He constantly made every correct decision on when to let a guy walk and who to resign or pick off the free agent market. Now every move is wrong. What gives? People blame Colbert often but the same guy was a genius for years
I won't say that Tomlin has lost the locker room this season -- my view is he never had it after his second or third year. Steeler fans need to accept the fact that it isn't just the dinosaur coaching staff that is stubborn and unchangeable, it's the ownership as well.
Seriously. You could tell Mitchell wasn't an ideal Steeler, since his first snap of the preseason. Give him props for being a man and apologizing to Brett though
I think getting into issues with the coin toss is what is called a "real" reach. Personally I would prefer they always defer, but can't see making a point either way on that. They stunk. Time to get ready 4 next game.
November 10, 2014
Steelers PATs: Mike Mitchell, Mr. Zero
by Dejan Kovacevic • News/views • Steelers
The Jets’ Michael Vick throws to his right, away from Mike Mitchell in New York’s win Sunday. — GETTY IMAGES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One last look at the Steelers’ last game …
• Could anyone have guessed Mike Mitchell would have this little impact?
Yes, I know pretty much everyone involved was responsible for the Steelers’ 20-13 loss to the Jets, so this isn’t about singling anyone out. But at the same time, when Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin signed Mitchell to that five-year, $25 million contract this past spring, he was expected to be more than Ryan Clark’s replacement. He was thought to be a young player breaking out.
Well, to turn to my adjective of choice from the game column, Mitchell has been terrible.
Forty-four safeties in the NFL have played 500 or more defensive snaps. Mitchell has 630, Troy Polamalu 550. And of those 44, Mitchell is No. 30 in the Pro Football Focus safety rankings. He is at No. 32 against the run, No. 30 in coverage. He has zero interceptions, zero passes defensed, an average of 78.9 percent of balls thrown to his man being caught (third-most among those with 500-plus snaps), and he’s served no other purpose, either, with zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and five missed tackles.
But man, apply that burning spotlight to zero passes defensed.
The man hasn’t laid his hand on a football in the air through 10 weeks!
His work against New York was par for the course: His minus-1.6 grade was the lowest on the Steelers’ defense for pass coverage, he recorded two tackles and missed one.
Oh, and he embarrassed the Steelers another way, as well, by blitzing into the Jets’ victory formation on the closing series. prompting center Nick Mangold to flip Mitchell in the air.
“It’s a dirty play,” Mangold said. “That’s what it is.”
“I think it was B.S.,” said old friend Willie Colon, who also got in Mitchell’s face. “I love that team. I was birthed into that organization. But I thought it was uncalled for.”
Both are right. Seconds later, as Rex Ryan began his trot to shake Tomlin’s hand, Ryan, too, had words for Mitchell. And he wasn’t alone. Brett Keisel, to his inestimable credit, also got in Mitchell’s face, to the point that Mitchell, who didn’t have an interview session, later sought out Keisel in the locker room to apologize.
This guy isn’t a Steeler in any sense of the term.
What was management thinking?
Mitchell did have positive grades in his final season with the Panthers, but Carolina also had the NFL’s most productive front seven. One would like to think the Steelers employ scouts capable of discerning that a safety benefits in a big way from that.
• Ryan Mundy has played almost as many snaps for the Bears and is rated slightly higher.
• The secondary as a whole had zero interceptions and one pass defensed Sunday, the latter by Willie Gay, who did not play well at all.
• On the bright side, hey, how about that Martavis Bryant?
Not just the 80-yard touchdown that, given the score, felt a little hollow. I’m talking about the four catches on seven targets for 143 yards, including the 40-yard grab in which he deftly pushed off Phillips Adams — legally, no doubt — to make up for earlier not having battled for a 50/50 ball.
I’m also talking about Bryant looking and sounding like this despite his big day:
Not a bad move being humble. Ben Roethlisberger had just shown up at the next stall.
• While we’ve all looked elsewhere, Le’Veon Bell has now rushed for 20 and 36 yards over his past two games, carrying only 10 times in each.
“They did a good job of having long drives in the first half, not allowing the offense to get into a rhythm,” Bell said. “We had nine snaps in the first quarter. We had 20 in the first half. It was nothing they did schematically. We just didn’t have the opportunity to get into a rhythm.”
The opportunities actually were there, but the Steelers’ 10 drives ended this way, in order: Punt, fumble, interception, field goal, interception, punt, missed field goal from 23 yards, field goal, turned over on downs and Bryant’s touchdown.
The Jets had 11 drives and scored on the first three.
• It didn’t help Bell or LeGarrette Blount that Ramon Foster’s run blocking was graded well below that of his fellow linemen. The top run blocker on the day, tellingly, was Heath Miller.
• On the already infamous goal-line throw to James Harrison, Antonio Brown and Bell watched from the sideline. It’s called out-thinking yourselves, gentlemen.
• Stephon Tuitt played seven snaps. I give up on this one. Really.
• Say what you will about Polamalu’s twilight, but he’s still by far the best option at hand. Will Allen’s minus-3.1 overall grade Sunday from Pro Football Focus was the worst of any player at any position on either team.
• Best player? Harrison. On defense, anyway.
• I’m not big on coin-flip debates, but the Steelers deferring after winning this toss didn’t appear to be founded in anything beyond naive stubbornness. The offense was coming off 94 points the previous two weeks. The defense had given up points in all but two of its first nine games.
Tomlin’s brazenly arrogant explanation for deferring: “I’ll leave that decision-making to us.”
Good teams stomp on inferior competition before they can take a deep breath.
• Keisel summed up the Steelers’ mood best, from what I could gauge: “You have to seize every opportunity in this business. Everyone talks about NFL teams’ records, but the bottom line is they have a lot of good football players over there. We have to take one step at a time. Everyone is upset right now. Everyone is frustrated. But there are still six games left. We’re still in the mix of this thing, and we still have to come out and finish this thing.”