WHO GETS CREDIT - DETROIT EDITION

If you ask me this one was way closer than it should have been. Detroit, that is the Detroit that did not win a game last year, seems to be better than last year and has surpassed last season's win total by 1 game, but they are still Detroit and they are missing the current edition of their franchise quarterback, Mathew Stafford. Put it simply, they are not good. They finally wised up and got rid of Matt Millen and his annual number 1 Wide Receiver pick. But it will take some time to clean up the mess he created. So, this should be an easy W, right? The Super Bowl Champs versus the only team to go without a win in a season. Shouldn't even be close.

But, the Stillers pulled it out and the credit for this one should go to...



Should Ben get the credit for this one? Ben played well, except for that pick 6 that made it's way into William James' hands and then to the wrong endzone. Ben ended up with 3 TDs and a passer rating in the 120's. Could have had a 4 TD day if Mike Wallace didn't drop another TD. He gave the Steelers what they expect from him. I could give the credit to Ben for every game. But that's no fun.



Should the Running Backs get the credit? Rashard Mendenhall again started with Willie's toe injured and again is making a case to take over the starting role permanently. Not so fast though. Willie still has those 2 Super Bowls in his back pocket. If he's healthy, he's probably still got a 1,000 yard season in him or 2. It's good to have depth though and quality depth at that. Rashard had 60 in the first half before the Lions started playing keep away and he finished up with 77. The Steelers barely touched the ball in the 3rd quarter. Rashard also chipped in a TD in the red zone and recovered a fumbled handoff when the ball was surrounded by Lions. Mewelde provided his consistent play and the running backs did what they were asked to do.

Should the receivers get the credit? Three receivers had TDs for the Steelers, Hines Ward had his first of the year, Mike Wallace had his first of the year and Heath Miller. Hines and Heath both had blue collar TDs working for each yard. Hines timely leap and reach move got the ball over the goal line and Heath got some nice blocks on his way into the endzone. Mike Wallace, see the poll in progress on the blog, was wide open on 2 potential TDs. He dropped one and made up for it by catching the second on the goal line and leaning over for the TD. Ben underthrew him a bit but he was so open that even waiting for the ball the DB couldn't catch up to it. They definitely need to have at least 2 streaks down the sidelines with this guy. He outruns the defense and the ball.

Should the O-Line get the credit? They again played well opening some big holes for Rashard in the first half. The only reason he didn't get 100 was the Steelers had the ball very little in the 3rd quarter. They gave up 3 sacks, which really isn't many when it comes to Ben. They sealed off the right side for the most part in Rashard's TD run and he did the rest.

Should the Defensive Line get the credit? Again these guys stopped the run for the most part. They let Duante Culpepper to escape a few times, but that's more on the linebackers. Not much pressure on the QB either. But, they stopped the run and that's what they're there for.

Should the Defensive Backs get the credit? Part of the reason the Lions were on the field so much was that Duante Culpepper escaped the backfield and found a receiver or got downfield with his feet. The responsibility for stopping him falls equally on the DBs and Linebackers and they were not able to make a stop in the 3rd quarter. Help is on the way probably next week with Troy coming back.

Should the Linebackers get the credit? James Harrison provided the pressure and came up with 3 sacks in the game and LaMarr Woodley finally got his first of the year and ended up with 1.5 for the game. Lawrence Timmons also had 1 in the game. They let Culpepper get by the line too much, but hopefully the sacks got something started and with Polamalu coming back they may have more time to get to the quarterback.

Should the Special teams get the credit? Stefan Logan came up with a big Kickoff return, but other than that there was nothing outstanding. As long as they don't allow any big returns that's what the team needs.

Should the Coaches get the credit? The Steelers were in control for most of the game. Even though the Lions threatened in the 4th quarter they were still playing catch up most of the game. Arians got a little pass happy with RM running the ball well, but his offense will lean on Ben to win the game. Dick Lebeau made some huge calls on that last drive to seal the W.

So.... this win came down to 3 crucial plays. On the Lions last drive of the game when the Lions were bearing down and approaching the endzone, the Steelers came up with 3 crucial sacks on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd downs to push the Lions way back and attempt a hail mary on 4th down, which Ike Taylor skyed and knocked down. The credit for this win goes to Dick Lebeau for drawing up those sacks and calling the plays. He called the same play twice and it worked both times with William Gay taking down Duante. Remember Joey Porter coming around the end to sack Peyton Manning on the way to Super Bowl XL. Who was the D Coordinator back then? Oh Yeah, Lebeau. This one goes to Dick Lebeau and it's not the first or probably the last.