Antwon Blake arrives too late to prevent a touchdown by the Falcons’ Roddy White last Sunday. — GETTY
Go right ahead and lay the Steelers’ seismic meeting Sunday with the Chiefs on the secondary.
No, lay the entire season on the secondary.
“Do it. Seriously, do that,” Antwon Blake fairly interjected when I broached that topic this week at the South Side HQ. “You know, that’s something Ike Taylor’s been telling our whole group. The whole game is on us. Everything is on us.”
That notion is generally preposterous, of course.
For one, this team is built on its No. 1-ranked offense. As we’ve seen time and again, when Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown aren’t at their best, the chances of victory ranged from minimal to zero. And as we’ve further seen, when the offensive line, Heath Miller, Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant aren’t at their best, the big three struggle to be at theirs.
For another, there’s no such thing as a pass defense without a strong, sustained pass rush, combined with sound run defense. If Cam Heyward, Lawrence Timmons and Jason Worilds aren’t at their best … one gets the idea.
For yet another, as it relates to this specific Sunday, Kansas City hardly represents some significant aerial threat: The pass offense ranks 29th of the league’s 32 teams, averaging only 197 yards and 1.4 touchdowns per game. Alex Smith’s next 300-yard output will be his first. The top receiving targets, Travis Kelce and Dwayne Bowe, have 56 and 51 catches, respectively, each total less than half of Antonio Brown’s 115.
That said, I’m right there with Blake: This is on the secondary.
Not just this game. But everything about where the Steelers might be headed.
See, when scoping this team from the broader context of what lies ahead with a playoff berth, the offense and even the defensive front seven, to an extent, are known commodities. The offense is talented enough and — now, anyway — smart enough to score on anyone. Certainly anyone in the AFC. The defensive front seven isn’t spectacular, but the returns of Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones, combined with the emergence of Stephon Tuitt, Vince Williams and Arthur Moats, should make up for Brett Keisel’s loss. The group actually could improve. It’s showing signs.
But this secondary … it won’t be great. It just won’t. The capability isn’t there. Troy Polamalu is a shadow even of the player he was the past two seasons, now sadly below-average by any reasonable standard. Taylor isn’t even that. There’s no need to pile on in either case. Polamalu will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Taylor was an exemplary performer. But counting on these two to anchor the secondary was by far the biggest mistake Tomlin and Kevin Colbert made heading into 2014, and there’s no quick fix for that. The ceiling will remain low.
What this secondary can be, though, is ordinary.
Is that asking too much?
Honestly, I don’t think so. Remember that Taylor and the soon-to-self-destruct Cortez Allen were the starting corners for the opener. And the unquestioned starters, I might add. Willie Gay stepped in after Taylor’s arm injury and, while he hasn’t had nearly as big an impact as his three pick-6s might suggest, he’s been an upgrade. Once Tomlin finally had seen enough of Allen, Brice McCain was called upon, and all he’s done is improve every week. This past week in Atlanta, Matt Ryan targeted a McCain-covered receiver only four times, according to Pro Football Focus, only once according to McCain. That’s far more impressive than any picks or passes defensed. And Blake, a special teams ace, has added a nasty edge that’s been missing from the secondary since Troy was still Troy. He’s also consistently wrapped up: Although he was targeted for seven catches Sunday, he conceded only 20 total extra yards after those.
McCain and Blake aren’t headed to anyone’s Pro Bowl anytime soon, but they’re upgrades, too.
What’s more, it’s easy to see, even off the field, how they’re growing as a group:
Address the secondary, and suddenly all the greater concerns about the Steelers as a contender go poof. Simple as that. And the same can’t be said for any other facet.
Polamalu and Taylor are doubtful. Mike Mitchell strained his groin in Atlanta — twice, actually — but he assures me he’ll play against the Chiefs. That puts Will Allen at safety in Polamlus’s stead. Allen gets exposed when he plays too much, but he’s provided quality in short bursts over the years.
Sunday could be quite the day for the Steelers. A victory, as all know, puts them in the playoffs for the first time in three years. Achieving that in a season that included losses to the Jets and Bucs is no small feat, if only because it illustrates what they’ve had to overcome. It would be quite the boon, not just for this group, but for this franchise to resume righting itself.
It also would be a welcome departure from the norm if Heinz Field became Heinz Field again. A few players have spoken about it publicly this week, and even Tomlin brought it up in Atlanta, but it’s been a while. Sure, that starts with performance. But the fact here — and take it from someone who has covered every game, home and road, for five years now — is that the Steelers’ faithful on the road have been far more passionate than their brethren here.
Really, again, it could be quite the day.
But the primary significance will come with still more strides for the secondary.
“Are we getting better?” Gay repeated back a question I offered. “I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting better. We take that on ourselves as a secondary. We’re the ones out there on the island. We know what’s expected of us. We know the talent we’ve got and the job that needs done. But ultimately, it’s about the Pittsburgh Steelers getting better.”
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Column: Second life for Steelers’ secondary
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Steelers
Antwon Blake arrives too late to prevent a touchdown by the Falcons’ Roddy White last Sunday. — GETTY
Go right ahead and lay the Steelers’ seismic meeting Sunday with the Chiefs on the secondary.
No, lay the entire season on the secondary.
“Do it. Seriously, do that,” Antwon Blake fairly interjected when I broached that topic this week at the South Side HQ. “You know, that’s something Ike Taylor’s been telling our whole group. The whole game is on us. Everything is on us.”
That notion is generally preposterous, of course.
For one, this team is built on its No. 1-ranked offense. As we’ve seen time and again, when Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown aren’t at their best, the chances of victory ranged from minimal to zero. And as we’ve further seen, when the offensive line, Heath Miller, Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant aren’t at their best, the big three struggle to be at theirs.
For another, there’s no such thing as a pass defense without a strong, sustained pass rush, combined with sound run defense. If Cam Heyward, Lawrence Timmons and Jason Worilds aren’t at their best … one gets the idea.
For yet another, as it relates to this specific Sunday, Kansas City hardly represents some significant aerial threat: The pass offense ranks 29th of the league’s 32 teams, averaging only 197 yards and 1.4 touchdowns per game. Alex Smith’s next 300-yard output will be his first. The top receiving targets, Travis Kelce and Dwayne Bowe, have 56 and 51 catches, respectively, each total less than half of Antonio Brown’s 115.
That said, I’m right there with Blake: This is on the secondary.
Not just this game. But everything about where the Steelers might be headed.
See, when scoping this team from the broader context of what lies ahead with a playoff berth, the offense and even the defensive front seven, to an extent, are known commodities. The offense is talented enough and — now, anyway — smart enough to score on anyone. Certainly anyone in the AFC. The defensive front seven isn’t spectacular, but the returns of Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones, combined with the emergence of Stephon Tuitt, Vince Williams and Arthur Moats, should make up for Brett Keisel’s loss. The group actually could improve. It’s showing signs.
But this secondary … it won’t be great. It just won’t. The capability isn’t there. Troy Polamalu is a shadow even of the player he was the past two seasons, now sadly below-average by any reasonable standard. Taylor isn’t even that. There’s no need to pile on in either case. Polamalu will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Taylor was an exemplary performer. But counting on these two to anchor the secondary was by far the biggest mistake Tomlin and Kevin Colbert made heading into 2014, and there’s no quick fix for that. The ceiling will remain low.
What this secondary can be, though, is ordinary.
Is that asking too much?
Honestly, I don’t think so. Remember that Taylor and the soon-to-self-destruct Cortez Allen were the starting corners for the opener. And the unquestioned starters, I might add. Willie Gay stepped in after Taylor’s arm injury and, while he hasn’t had nearly as big an impact as his three pick-6s might suggest, he’s been an upgrade. Once Tomlin finally had seen enough of Allen, Brice McCain was called upon, and all he’s done is improve every week. This past week in Atlanta, Matt Ryan targeted a McCain-covered receiver only four times, according to Pro Football Focus, only once according to McCain. That’s far more impressive than any picks or passes defensed. And Blake, a special teams ace, has added a nasty edge that’s been missing from the secondary since Troy was still Troy. He’s also consistently wrapped up: Although he was targeted for seven catches Sunday, he conceded only 20 total extra yards after those.
McCain and Blake aren’t headed to anyone’s Pro Bowl anytime soon, but they’re upgrades, too.
What’s more, it’s easy to see, even off the field, how they’re growing as a group:
Address the secondary, and suddenly all the greater concerns about the Steelers as a contender go poof. Simple as that. And the same can’t be said for any other facet.
Polamalu and Taylor are doubtful. Mike Mitchell strained his groin in Atlanta — twice, actually — but he assures me he’ll play against the Chiefs. That puts Will Allen at safety in Polamlus’s stead. Allen gets exposed when he plays too much, but he’s provided quality in short bursts over the years.
Sunday could be quite the day for the Steelers. A victory, as all know, puts them in the playoffs for the first time in three years. Achieving that in a season that included losses to the Jets and Bucs is no small feat, if only because it illustrates what they’ve had to overcome. It would be quite the boon, not just for this group, but for this franchise to resume righting itself.
It also would be a welcome departure from the norm if Heinz Field became Heinz Field again. A few players have spoken about it publicly this week, and even Tomlin brought it up in Atlanta, but it’s been a while. Sure, that starts with performance. But the fact here — and take it from someone who has covered every game, home and road, for five years now — is that the Steelers’ faithful on the road have been far more passionate than their brethren here.
Really, again, it could be quite the day.
But the primary significance will come with still more strides for the secondary.
“Are we getting better?” Gay repeated back a question I offered. “I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting better. We take that on ourselves as a secondary. We’re the ones out there on the island. We know what’s expected of us. We know the talent we’ve got and the job that needs done. But ultimately, it’s about the Pittsburgh Steelers getting better.”
Or, it’s one and the same.