Brett Keisel lets out a yell to Steelers fans at LP Field late Monday night. — GETTY IMAGES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One last look at the Steelers’ last game …
• Remember when everyone was all fired up that one time Antwon Blake picked off a pass?
Well, what did everyone think Monday when he flailed helplessly at a Tennessee TD?
We all love the backup when the starter isn’t faring well. And when the backup makes a play or two, we’ll rush to anoint him as some found treasure. Trouble is, they’re backups for a reason.
Blake is a special teams gunner and a really good one. That’s it. As a member of the secondary, he’s much more in line with what happened in the 27-24 victory over the Titans than anything else.
Same goes for Brice McCain, whose minus-4.7 grade from Pro Football Focus is fueled almost entirely on poor pass coverage. And for Sean Spence, whose return to the NFL is a wonderful story but who isn’t coming close to replacing Ryan Shazier at inside linebacker. And for Will Allen, whose mistakes haven’t been magnified much because Mike Mitchell has fared even worse at safety but whose play has not come close to compensating for Troy Polamalu’s loss.
See the pattern?
All are on defense. And all need to get back to the sideline sooner rather than later.
“We’ve got some men we’re looking forward to having back,” was as diplomatically as Mike Tomlin chose to word it. “We’ve got some time here.”
These 13 days between Titans and Saints could be huge on that count alone. The full starting 11 on defense might not be great, but they’re markedly better than what’s been out there of late. Shazier could have a freeing effect on Lawrence Timmons, who has looked almost invisible without him because he’s stuck doing routine labor. Polamalu would singlehandedly upgrade the run defense, among other facets. Even Ike Taylor, for all his shortcomings, would be a marked improvement at corner.
• I’m all emptied out on LeGarrette Blount. Advocated his release in the game column, addressed his release in the Tuesday 12 Qs. Good riddance to him. And welcome to Josh Harris, if only because he’ll hang around.
• The Titans pretty much assaulted Heath Miller at every turn, a palpable bid by Ken Whisenhunt and Ray Horton to take away Ben Roethlisberger’s beloved over-the-middle option. They’d tackle him at the knees at every chance, and Daimion Stafford took the even lower route by crushing Miller in the helmet while Miller was already wrapped up, an offense that stunningly wasn’t flagged but surely will be fined.
And yet, check out Miller when I prodded him on the topic:
• And that, kids, is how you get to be an All-Pro tight end: Miller was targeted five times, caught all five and averaged only 2.5 yards after the catch. Which tells you how closely he was covered.
• How good is Kelvin Beachum becoming?
The line as a whole allowed five sacks, but he allowed none and, for that matter, not even a hurry on his 38 pass-blocking snaps. What’s more, 45 of Bell’s 204 yards came running off left tackle.
Raise your hand if you’d lost hope for him after Week 2.
• There’s almost nothing I like about Mitchell’s play or personality, so take this however you want: As I was asking Willie Gay what happened on that 80-yard Tennessee touchdown to Nate Washington — where Gay bit hard on a beautifully executed play by the Titans — Gay began to explain: “I just need to be more aware, keep my focus and …”
Before he could finish, Mitchell at the next stall interjected: “That’s my fault, no one else’s. I’ve got to get back and make that play.”
I’m not sure about that, and Tomlin declined to address the play specifically when asked. So chalk that one up to posturing to protect a teammate. Or make himself look like a good teammate. Or whatever.
• You and I remain tied with Mitchell in interceptions and passes defensed. The only difference is that he’s been on the field for 668 snaps, he’s been targeted for 20 passes and allowed a catch on 15. The other five presumably were sucked into this polar vortex.
• So wait, do we credit the Steelers for bringing back Brett Keisel, or cringe that they almost didn’t?
He was the highest-graded defensive player, partly for his stats — two batted balls, a QB hit, a hurry and a run stop — but also partly for his timeliness: The hit and hurry both came on third downs and killed Tennessee drives.
• Timmons, apparently plotting a mayoral candidacy, on all the late offense: “That was just great management, and it goes to show you Todd Haley is a great OC. That was the story of the game.”
• Tomlin, on having both a 500-yard passes and 200-yard rusher a couple of weeks apart: “We’ve been very upfront that we want to be a balanced group. We want to be capable of stepping in a stadium and throwing with anybody in the NFL or running with anybody in the NFL. I think we’re rounding into form in that regard. And then, we can just do what the game presents to us. I think that’s a recipe for real, long-term success.”
The Steelers rank fifth in passing offense, 11th in rushing, fifth overall.
• Found this interesting, from Jason Worilds, on where the Steelers are at the bye week: “Yes, our goal was to get to seven wins.”
Nashville's a very underrated city. There's so much musical talent there, it spills over into the local bars and nightclubs. You can walk into a place thinking you'll stay for a beer or two, and end up mesmerized by how good the band or soloist is.
Mitchell is a clown, but he reminds me of a guy who just doesn't get it. He tries too hard to fit into the culture of the team, but doesn't know how. He just doesn't get Steelers football yet. Not playing well either. On a side note, why is Tuitt not playing?
I always get a chuckle and a smile reading your stuff DK! No other sports writer with a Pittsburgh sports focus does that to me. And no one who has that focus comes close to you. You say exactly what I believe the majority of fans are thinking and do it objectively and logically
I know it is all said and done about Blount, but I was surprised by the same response by the Steelers players to the situation - it sounds like everyone, including those that supposedly are his friends, are happy that he is gone. Was he really that unpopular in the locker room?
@Bridge - that was my intepretation as well. Most football teams play up the "one-week season" kind of mindset. So, it could have meant, "Our goal THIS WEEK was to get to seven wins entering our bye."
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I'll give the benefit of the doubt on this.
I would say that if you have six wins going into the game before your off week then 7 wins is your goal. If you have 8 wins going in then 9 is your goal. I don't see anything inherently mediocre in that prediction. Just the goal to win the next game.
I tweeted yesterday that, if told at the beginning of the season these Steelers would be 7-4, I would've been happy with that. But, wow, I never expected them to arrive there this way. They have not inspired confidence - mainly on the defense, but I'll review after New Orleans.
Agree Jonathan - I had hoped for 8-3, but thought 7-4 would be "acceptable". The two games with the Bungles are the key to the season - win them both and the playoffs are probably secured - split and then you have to work some magic against KC and/or NO.
I was one of the ones that wanted the Steelers to go CB in the 1st Round last year and certainly not as late as the 5th. Now that we actually KNOW what the backups can do, Ike aging and Cortez imploding, here's hoping Colbert has a rabbit to pull out of his hat for next season!
Maybe should have used that 3rd round pick on a DB that could actually stick around for more than a cup of coffee. Overall though the draft class is pretty good. Shazier, Tuitt, and Bryant. Watching the Ravens game though I wondered if we should have drafted Mosely and Jernigan.
A few observations: The 7-win goal for the bye week was probably made after the loss to the Jets. Brett Kiesel hasn't lost a step, and may be better than last year. And, I wish more young football players would emulate Heath Miller's humble attitude and demeanor.
You would think that they would want to look up to Heath. The role model is there but the young kids could care less. It's ridiculous. On Heath getting 2.5 yards after the catch I think that is just as much a function of Heath running into guys instead of around them.
Watch the highlights on espn. The MNF crew shows evidence that it was probably Will Allens responsibility and not Mitchell. Although both safeties are named as such for a reason. Also 7 wins are great. It's just maddening when it could be 9 right now (Jax NYJ).
Evidence? What about the grassy knoll? I hear the Mafia was involved. ;) But seriously, regardless of that play and who was more culpable, Mitchell was bad throughout that game and this season to date, and absolving him of responsibility here and there isn't going to change that.
Careful. You're setting yourself up for flames. The record is all that matters, not the way they got there, the quality of the wins, or the horrendous nature of the losses. Nothing messy about 7-4 if you cross you eyes and hum loudly. Try it. See!
Steve B.,
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They're half a game out of first in the division and still have two with the Bengals. Like it or not, they're in the thick of things heading into the last stretch.
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But yes, let's blow it all up.
DK, would you consider doing a piece on explaining the PFF grades? What is good, a +2? +4? Anything positive? What constitutes a pass defensed, because we've surely seen Mitchell prevent passes from being completed (see at Cleveland). What's the difference?
PFF is a joke. They have no idea of any play call or what individual assignments are on any given play. Therefore, the "grades" are for amusement purposes only. I do give PFF credit for getting people to pay for this "service" though.
Seriously doubt any NFL team uses PFF. They have plenty of their own film and stables of QCs, assts, interns and position coaches breaking down film in minute detail as to who did what correctly or not.
I like what Timmons said about Haley. Give him credit, when the game was getting out of control Monday night, it seemed like he adjusted his play calling and gave Bell the ball a lot more. The running game seemed to work early, and it obviously worked late.
DK - you were there to allow for context..is it possible the "goal" Worilds referred to was one discussed the week of the game? Get to 7 wins, tops in division(wins) and get healed up over the bye week. That's seems plausible.
Our secondary is abysmal. It has to be the worst in the league and it doesn’t look like it will get much better next year. Troy is still good against the rush but an old man against the pass. Gay is a #2 CB at best.
DK well covered Mitchell and McCain. In McCain’s defense he was never a starting caliber CB. It’s unfair to place him against a good #2 WR. Don’t forget, he was out of job this last offseason and is not starting.
Since Beachum and Gilbert have settled in at OT, Bryant has stepped at WR, and Heath has shown no signs of slowing down, we really shouldn’t hit any offensive position in this draft until the 4th round at the earliest. Obviously the secondary needs to be addressed and that will be apparent when we face the saints and falcons in the upcoming games.
DK, love the opening piece about back-ups. The vast majority of questions I get from fans about our basketball team are, "Why doesn't X play?" because they see him make a nice play in five minutes of a scrimmage against a lower-tier school.
My standard response is, "Come watch five days of practice next week, you'll see."
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There definitely is a fascination by fans about the unknown in the form of bench players.
I predicted 10-6 before the season began, so 7 wins is about what I expected. None of the remaining games are easy. I envision a split with the Bengals, a win against the Saints and Falcons, and then the KC game will determine a lot in terms of making the playoffs, seeding, etc.
To follow that up, had those losses to Tampa Bay and the Jets been wins this could have potentially be a 13 or 14 win football team. Obviously 12-4 is the best possible attainable scenario moving forward, but this season could have been so much more.
If he is not that will probably mean that we will be ignoring the position of CB again in the draft to address the OLB need. All we will have left is Jarvis Jones.
I agree with your assessment. I’m afraid if we sign him, he’d get big money for a contract he doesn’t deserve but we already have so many holes to fill. A tough decision.
I guess saying he’s average at best is harsh. He seems to have high and low games and certainly hasn’t been playing poorly by any means. I do think the position needs to be improved upon in our defense.
No, he does very little disruptive and rarely beats his man. His sacks and pressures are almost always scheme design or an O-line blown assignment. They are rare but, a 3-4 defense works when you have at least one guy who can beat "their" guy.
Gilbert's the one who seems to have backslid the last couple games. Overall, though, I agree with DK that 2-3 (my count) of the sacks Monday were on Ben. He never seems to throw it away any more. Almost never.
For those who haven't noticed, comments have been streamlined to a single layer of replies. It's for a good cause. Immensely simplifies the impact on app/mobile with a goal of having uniform commenting on all platforms.
Since I tire of going through and canceling all "—1" votes on principle, when are you going to follow through on the promise to get rid of voting on comments?
Pleased that one of my favorite Pirate possibilities is back in the fold——Brad Lincoln. DK and I used to "disagree" about him at another location.
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His signing will somewhat ease the pain of losing another of my favorites——Chase d'Arnaud. Live long and prosper as a Phil, Cd'
Love having Lincoln back on the team. Drafted after Lincoln in the 1st round of the 2006 draft: Clayton Kershaw. Tim Lincecum. Ian Kennedy. Not meaning that the Pirates or Lincoln failed, but that at one time he was considered a BETTER prospect than those guys, by most scouts.
500 passing 1 week / 200 rushing next = balanced? I thought a balance would be 250 passing / 100 rushing in 1 game.. Great to see Bell get going again on the ground
Antwon Blake is actually a decent CB. He's usually got his man covered and in good position to defend the pass. His only drawback is that he's a couple inches too short.
No question a weak AFC slants the wins loss picture here. The Steelers as I see them against the teams playing well are just not in that zip code. I thought the Steelers would be a below to average team. I see nothing to change that. 12-4 in 2011, lost to Tebow.
Im a huge homer but ill be first to say i had no problem with heath getting hit. He was no longer catching the ball and was moving forward. In my eyes that hit was someone trying to make sure he didn't keep going. That said, you can't call it sometimes and not others
i thought helmet to helmet only mattered if he was in the act of catching. Once you establish yourself as a runner, helmet to helmet contact is allowed is it not?
Really? Maybe you're right about that, in which case I am surprised. I personally want as much as possible done for getting head injuries reduced all that they can. The jab to the head by same player was gratuitous, BTW.
I've been as all over the board rating this team as their play has been this yr. Up one minute, down the next. My original assessment was that they are a team of a handful of superstars with a whole bunch of subpar players around them. I think I'm back to that assessment now.
"My original assessment was that they are a team of a handful of superstars with a whole bunch of subpar players around them."
Yes. The superstars they have truly are superstars. But they're all on offense and there only are 3 of them (4 if you count Pouncey). Not nearly enough.
“I actually know him and a lot of people don't know him,” Mitchell said. “He is a competitive guy who wants to be on the field, wants to win games, wants to help us win games.”
November 19, 2014
Steelers PATs: Subs well past expiration date
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Steelers
Brett Keisel lets out a yell to Steelers fans at LP Field late Monday night. — GETTY IMAGES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One last look at the Steelers’ last game …
• Remember when everyone was all fired up that one time Antwon Blake picked off a pass?
Well, what did everyone think Monday when he flailed helplessly at a Tennessee TD?
We all love the backup when the starter isn’t faring well. And when the backup makes a play or two, we’ll rush to anoint him as some found treasure. Trouble is, they’re backups for a reason.
Blake is a special teams gunner and a really good one. That’s it. As a member of the secondary, he’s much more in line with what happened in the 27-24 victory over the Titans than anything else.
Same goes for Brice McCain, whose minus-4.7 grade from Pro Football Focus is fueled almost entirely on poor pass coverage. And for Sean Spence, whose return to the NFL is a wonderful story but who isn’t coming close to replacing Ryan Shazier at inside linebacker. And for Will Allen, whose mistakes haven’t been magnified much because Mike Mitchell has fared even worse at safety but whose play has not come close to compensating for Troy Polamalu’s loss.
See the pattern?
All are on defense. And all need to get back to the sideline sooner rather than later.
“We’ve got some men we’re looking forward to having back,” was as diplomatically as Mike Tomlin chose to word it. “We’ve got some time here.”
These 13 days between Titans and Saints could be huge on that count alone. The full starting 11 on defense might not be great, but they’re markedly better than what’s been out there of late. Shazier could have a freeing effect on Lawrence Timmons, who has looked almost invisible without him because he’s stuck doing routine labor. Polamalu would singlehandedly upgrade the run defense, among other facets. Even Ike Taylor, for all his shortcomings, would be a marked improvement at corner.
• I’m all emptied out on LeGarrette Blount. Advocated his release in the game column, addressed his release in the Tuesday 12 Qs. Good riddance to him. And welcome to Josh Harris, if only because he’ll hang around.
• The Titans pretty much assaulted Heath Miller at every turn, a palpable bid by Ken Whisenhunt and Ray Horton to take away Ben Roethlisberger’s beloved over-the-middle option. They’d tackle him at the knees at every chance, and Daimion Stafford took the even lower route by crushing Miller in the helmet while Miller was already wrapped up, an offense that stunningly wasn’t flagged but surely will be fined.
And yet, check out Miller when I prodded him on the topic:
• And that, kids, is how you get to be an All-Pro tight end: Miller was targeted five times, caught all five and averaged only 2.5 yards after the catch. Which tells you how closely he was covered.
• How good is Kelvin Beachum becoming?
The line as a whole allowed five sacks, but he allowed none and, for that matter, not even a hurry on his 38 pass-blocking snaps. What’s more, 45 of Bell’s 204 yards came running off left tackle.
Raise your hand if you’d lost hope for him after Week 2.
• There’s almost nothing I like about Mitchell’s play or personality, so take this however you want: As I was asking Willie Gay what happened on that 80-yard Tennessee touchdown to Nate Washington — where Gay bit hard on a beautifully executed play by the Titans — Gay began to explain: “I just need to be more aware, keep my focus and …”
Before he could finish, Mitchell at the next stall interjected: “That’s my fault, no one else’s. I’ve got to get back and make that play.”
I’m not sure about that, and Tomlin declined to address the play specifically when asked. So chalk that one up to posturing to protect a teammate. Or make himself look like a good teammate. Or whatever.
• You and I remain tied with Mitchell in interceptions and passes defensed. The only difference is that he’s been on the field for 668 snaps, he’s been targeted for 20 passes and allowed a catch on 15. The other five presumably were sucked into this polar vortex.
• So wait, do we credit the Steelers for bringing back Brett Keisel, or cringe that they almost didn’t?
He was the highest-graded defensive player, partly for his stats — two batted balls, a QB hit, a hurry and a run stop — but also partly for his timeliness: The hit and hurry both came on third downs and killed Tennessee drives.
• Timmons, apparently plotting a mayoral candidacy, on all the late offense: “That was just great management, and it goes to show you Todd Haley is a great OC. That was the story of the game.”
• Tomlin, on having both a 500-yard passes and 200-yard rusher a couple of weeks apart: “We’ve been very upfront that we want to be a balanced group. We want to be capable of stepping in a stadium and throwing with anybody in the NFL or running with anybody in the NFL. I think we’re rounding into form in that regard. And then, we can just do what the game presents to us. I think that’s a recipe for real, long-term success.”
The Steelers rank fifth in passing offense, 11th in rushing, fifth overall.
• Found this interesting, from Jason Worilds, on where the Steelers are at the bye week: “Yes, our goal was to get to seven wins.”
Who set that goal?