I was born in 1973, went to College in PA from 1991-1995, and have had DirecTv since 2001, and I can honestly say that this was the worst Steelers game I have ever seen. While it is easy to use the excuse of no Ben, I find it extremely hard to put this at Charlie Batch’s doorstep when the team turned the ball over and astounding EIGHT times. There is no formula for winning that way. This game was an absolute horror show. The fact that the Steelers still even had a chance to win it, is a testament of how bad the Browns actually are. It also continued the trend of the Steelers losing to the bottom feeders.
Also adding insult to this was… No Troy again, Woodley was injured again, and the Steelers lost two offensive linemen, Willie Colon in warmups, and Mike Adams during the game. Both their replacements struggled, as Legursky didn’t play well in pass protection and Kelvin Beachum was penalized (UNFAIRLY) for holding on a huge gain by Heath Miller.
Charlie Batch will be the story today in the national media. Also, that the Steelers don’t have a credible backup. There is no way Batch could be faulted for yesterdays loss. While his stat line was awful, two of the three interceptions he threw were the fault of Plaxico Buress and Mike Wallace respectively. While his play was far from good, it wasn’t the reason the Steelers lost. That fault would be on the running backs!
All four of the running backs — Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer and Chris Rainey — lost fumbles. They are solid players but all of them now have to be considered turnover risks. Their performance was one for the dubious history books. Rashard Mendenhall has fumbled three times this year on only 34 carries! It was just an awful day for all of them.
On a brighter note, the defense, despite a lack of turnovers, did a GREAT job in keeping the Steelers in a nearly unwinnable game. Silverback is beginning to break out of his slump and Lawrence Timmons continued his excellent play! Ryan Clark has become a dominant force and the secondary is rounding into shape. Also, the stats don’t tell the story for the D-line. They played a good game, despite giving up 108 on the ground. The Browns had seven runs for zero or negative yards and averaged just 3.2 yards per attempt. Brett Keisel tipped the ball that allowed Lawrence Timmons to make a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Coach Tomlin is going to whip these guys this week. This is another crossroads for the Steelers, and the good teams bounce back, the bad teams go home. The story of the 2012 Steelers is still up in the air!
Beer We Go Steelers, Beer We Go!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Lawrence Timmons, whose interception(pick6) was one of the few bright spots in the game! Also considered: Silverback, who is beginning to ratchet up his play and Brett Kiesel who had a sack and helped force the int.
Where I watched the game: At the house with all my family. The beer of choice was Kona Fire Rock IPA which was terrific. KGB put out a ridiculous spread including a Cheese Plate, Kielbasa pigs in a blanket with hot mustard, and an artisan Pizza. The kids RAVAGED the food!
My Stat of the week: The stat of the week.. 10 wins against 23 defeats is the combined record of three of the teams(Raiders, Titans and Browns) that the Steelers have lost to this year!
My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers have next to no shot against the Ravens on the Road without Ben. I just don’t see it.