What has gone right?
Not a whole lot, it has been a miserable first half for the Steelers. That being said, the receivers are plain awesome. Without a doubt the best feature of this team are the pass catchers and Antonio Brown was definitely the right choice over Mike Wallace. Brown is leading the league in catches and has been everything that the Steelers could have hoped for. Manny Sanders has been a top performer and has done an excellent job complementing Brown. Jerricho Cotchery has been solid and made some tough catches. Derek Moye and Markus Wheaton have yet to contribute but the future looks bright.
Cameron Heywood has finally started to come into his own and he looks like a solid 3-4 Defensive End. Ziggy Hood has also had a nice start and while he has slipped behind Heywood, he has had a fairly good season. Ike Taylor has played well throughout most of the year and if he could actually catch he would be making Revis money now.
What has gone wrong?
How about EVERYTHING other than what was written previously. Seriously, where do you begin? Starting 0-4 was pretty bad, starting 0-4 and losing to Minnesota which might be the worst team in the league and the Titans makes it that much worse. The Steelers also lost to the Raiders who just got wasted by the Eagles. Getting BBQ by Tom Brady who is having the worst season of his career was the perfect bookend for a lousy first eight games.
The offensive line is so bad there aren’t enough adjectives to describe it. Ben Roethlisberger probably has a twitch at this point. He is absolutely getting whipped up on mercilessly. Every play he is picking himself up off the ground. The Steelers need to fix the left tackle spot and they need to fix it while we still have a Quarterback who can walk. Mike Adams was awful and a potted plant could have blocked better, he has to be considered a huge disappointment. Levi Brown play a total of ZERO plays and didn’t even make it out of warm ups. Kelvin Beachum can help this team but it doesn’t look like he can do it at left tackle. On top of that everyone has been injured an out at one point or another. DeCastro sat last week, Ramon Foster the week before and the Steelers lost Maurkice Pouncey in the first quarter of the first game. Marcus Gilbert was injured. He has shown the most promise of everyone on the line. Fernando Velasco has been a pleasant surprise and has filled in admirably for Pouncey.
The offense is inconsistent and takes forever to get going in every game. Ben has done an admirable job given the lack of protection but he is also making several mistakes and turning the ball over at an alarming rate. Ike Redman washed out after one week and the running game while showing signs of life recently has been virtually non-existent. Le’Veon Bell is a minor bright spot, but we still haven’t seen his best football.
The defense has been inconsistent and mostly AWOL when they are needed most. They continue to make mistakes and have been getting pushed around up front. In games when the offense has clicked the defense has not. LaMarr Woodley needs to play better and needs to be a bigger threat. Too many times this year the pass rush has been non-existent and that starts and ends with LaMarr. Both Troy and Ryan Clark look like they are slowing down, but before we run them out of town, let’s see how they do when they have a pass rush helping them. Jarvis Jones and Vince Williams both look strong and athletic but both need classroom time to learn the defense and not get caught out of position. Both players will contribute at some point.
Special teams has been lousy…AGAIN. The return games have been respectable, the kick-coverage teams have been solid, but the kicking has hurt badly. Zoltan Mesko was a complete bust and McBriar doesn’t look much better after one game. Shaun Suisham who has done a great job had a meltdown in Oakland and it cost us the game. This unit needs to play better and at least not mess the struggling offense and defense up.
INJURIES, INJURIES, INJURIES AGAIN. This was posted last season and it rings true again. We lost LaRod Stephens-Howling, Maurkice Pouncey, Larry Foote, Plaxico Burress, David Johnson and Matt Spaeth plus several nagging injuries that have kept players off the field.
Reasons for Concern: Offensive Line HAS to be better or you can say goodbye to any respectable record. The defense looks very shaky.
Offensive Game Beer: Has to be Antonio Brown. He has stepped up and while he has made some mistakes, he has been an offensive force and one of the lone stars this season.
Defensive Game Beer: Cam “Steelhead” Heywood, he has come into his own and he has been a solid pass rusher from the 3-4 DE spot. This was his last chance and he is making the most of it.
Disappointment of the first half: Losing in front of a packed house in England. Maybe this is personal but the English Steeler fans LOVE THE STEELERS and I can’t believe they didn’t come through. As for a player, Mike Adams has been absolutely a train wreck, he needs to be better or he will be gone.
Most Improved: Again, I am going with Cam Heywood, he looks like he can anchor that line. I also am not giving up on Ziggy Hood, as he has showed marked improvement.
GRADES:
QB: B, Big Ben has played well given the circumstances, we haven’t seen Gradkowski or Jones yet, but trust me at this pace it is coming.
RB: D, This would have been an F but Jon Dwyer and Le’Veon Bell have stepped it up and showed signs of life.
WR: A-, They have had a great season and all need to be applauded.
TE: C+, Heath Miller has played well, though he looks slowed by his injury. Dave Johnson was lost for the season, Paulson has been mediocre.
OL: F, The left side is just plain awful, the right side looks like it is developing.
DL: C-, Have played okay, looked great in some games, looked terrible in other games. McLendon is more athletic than Hampton but he gets pushed all over the field on the run.
LB: D+, LaMarr Woodley needs to play better. Vince Williams and Jarvis Jones need to play more disciplined and they will be nice additions. Worilds has been okay and Timmons has been good but he still isn’t at his best yet.
DBs: D, This probably would have been a C until the meltdown in New England, Troy and Clark look like they have lost a few steps, Ike Taylor still holds his own, Willie Gay has been decent until last weekend and Cortez Allen needs to improve if he wants back in the lineup. I think this group can hold its own if they can get a pass rush going.
Coaching: D, This has easily been Mike Tomlin’s toughest season. Dick LeBeau has come under fire recently after getting pasted by New England. Todd Haley is the most hated person in Pittsburgh right now. The issue is every decision that has been made has backfired or turned out wrong. The Steelers sleep walking through Oakland and the debacle against Tennessee reflects very poorly on the Steelers coaching staff. They have gotten off to too many slow starts and it has plagued us all season.
What does part two look like: The Steelers can lose to any team and that has been proven, I also believe they can beat any team. Realistically looking at it, I don’t see any way to get to 500 again, the Steelers at best will finish 7-9 at worst 5-11. Let’s see who steps up.
BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!