It is dark times for Beer We Go Nation!
The Ravens beat the Patriots for revenge in the AFC Championship. Now, as Beer We Go Nation, we are forced to choose between protecting “Sixburgh” or rooting for our arch rivals!
Here is my final Report Card for the 2012 Season.
GRADES:
Coaching: B, Mike Tomlin guided the Steelers through his roughest season as Steelers Coach. There were several distractions including the Todd Haley v. Ben Roethlisberger love triangle, as well as several crushing injuries. The Steelers offense looked unstoppable at the beginning of the season but never recovered after Ben’s injury. Dick LeBeau continues to be the greatest defensive coordinator in NFL history. After a very slow start the Steelers defense picked up and were first in passing defense and second in rushing defense. Keep in mind that they lost Polamalu for nine games, Silverback for three, Woodley for three, Ike Taylor for four, and Keenan Lewis for two. The lack of turnovers was a black mark, but the defense really turned it up in the second half. It is hard to argue with the coaches given the amount of injuries.
QB: B, Big Ben was off to the best start of his career when he was sidelined during the Chiefs game. That injury effectively ended both his season and the Steelers. The Steelers lost two of out of the three games. Charlie Batch put an exclamation point on his career with the big comeback win over the now AFC Champion Ravens. I wrote this last season and will write it again, if this is his last season with the Steelers, I will remember him as a great contributor who did what was needed! Byron Leftwich was a ghost and again was injured and ineffective.
RB: F, It was a horrendous season for Rashard Mendenhall and his career with the Steelers looks to be at an end. He had attitude problems and he put the ball on the ground way too much. Ike Redman and Jonathon Dwyer both had flashes of brilliance but were inconsistent at best. Chris Rainey was a huge disappointment and then he decided to punch out a woman so we won’t be seeing his sorry act anymore. This will definitely need to be upgraded in the offseason. The lone bright spot was Will Johnson, who played a great fullback!
WR: C+, It was a very strange season for the wide receivers as Manny Sanders and Antonio Brown were bona fide threats and stars, but both had very costly turnovers. Mike Wallace was dreadful all year and his contract situation was a major distraction. He looks to be on the way out of the ‘Burgh. Jericho Cotchery was solid and the Plaxico Burress show was a nice addition mid-season and deserves an encore.
TE: A+, Heath Miller is the best tight end in football and for the first time in his career got to showcase it. When people run down Haley’s offense I point to the season Miller had. David Paulson was a nice contributor, as was Leonard Pope when called upon.
OL: C, It was a tale of two seasons for the offensive line. The starting line played well and started to gel nicely. Then injuries hit, four out of the five starters went down. Max Starks was the last man standing. The biggest disappointment was Willie Colon, going down for the third year in a row on IR. He played an excellent guard and was an absolute mauler some weeks. But three years on the IR should seal his fate. Maurkice Pouncey was spectacular at times, doing duty at Center where he was an All-Pro and Left Guard. The emergence of Dave DeCastro and Kelvin Beachum together with the development of Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams makes this unit a future bright spot.
DL: C+, The defensive line put together a good, if not very spectacular, season. Casey Hampton, in perhaps his swan song as a Steeler, anchored the line and got better as the season went on. Brett Kiesel put together back to back good seasons. He made several big plays and he pressured the QB all season. Ziggy Hood and Steve Mclendon both took steps forward, “Steelhead” Heywood took a few steps back and needs to put together a better 2013 campaign.
LB: C+, The strength of this team was once again hurt by injuries. Silverback and LaMarr Woodley combined for only ten sacks and only showed flashes of the greatness that they have in the past. Lawrence Timmons is now the best linebacker on the Steelers and he had his best season. He was unstoppable at times and played well within his strengths. Great things are on the horizon for Timmons. Larry Foote put together a nice campaign and provided the veteran leadership that was missing when James Farrior retired. Jason Worilds is developing nicely and had significant playing time, Stevenson Sylvester was injured and took a huge step back! This unit is seriously lacking depth.
DB: A, The Steelers secondary had a great season and again have young, exciting talent that is beginning to develop. Ike Taylor was a great contributor and he had an excellent season until his injury. Ryan Clark was a killer in the secondary and was arguabley the defense’s best and most consistent player. Troy played well when he wasn’t injured, but again, he missed nine games and never got totally on track. Keenan Lewis was injured but had a good season and appears to be headed out of town. That will open the door for Cortez Allen who is emerging.
BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!