WHO'S FAULT IS IT II

Unfortunately I'm going to have to reprise this feature for a second consecutive week. I didn't want to have to do it again all this year, but unprecedented events occurred this weekend in Steeler Nation. 1. They lost to the BenGals. 2. They lost a second consecutive game and they barely beat the Titans. They need a little home cookin' and a lot of Troy Polamalu back in the lineup. Troy won't be back for another 2 weeks at the minimum though. So who's fault was this most recent loss.

Was it Ben's
Can't lay the blame on this one for Ben. He played well and despite a pick six he put the Steelers in position to win. He even was able to do what the running backs can't seem to do and score a rushing TD. He had 1 passing TD also and should have had 2. Not Ben's fault this Sunday.

Was it the Running Backs fault?
That's singular because for some reason Willie got all the carries and Rashard was nowhere to be found. Willie did a good job and had a very good run the second time he touched the ball, so much so that you wonder why B.A. didn't rush more often. Probably because Frank Summers was not active and David Johnson went out early with an injury. Either Rashard is in the doghouse or Tomlin wanted to send a message that Willie was the number 1 back and he could carry the load. The announcers eluded to Mike Tomlin sending a message to Mendenhall that he needs to have a sense of urgency in practice as well as games. Is it possible that Rashard isn't the hardest working guy in the training room. He was pretty much a no show after his injury last season until the Super Bowl. But, no the running game wasn't the problem this game.

Was it the Receivers' faults?
Did anybody see that guy in a number 14 jersey masquerading as a player. Could that pass be thrown any better, could he be any more wide open. Uh, Ben could you please carry that ball down to the end zone and put it in that guy's hands, because it's not getting there any other way. Do you think Santonio is still a little dazed from that Super Bowl catch? That gives him a pass for several games, but please wake up Santonio. It looked like from reactions that he should have been looking for the pass that turned into a pick six. I had flashbacks to Neil O'Donnell getting picked off and Andre Hastings looking around with a dazed look. Hines provided his usual stability, but he can't bail the receivers out forever. Mike Wallace did a great job on those 3rd downs but he needs to stop falling down. Ben did throw it low to avoid any chance of a INT.

Was it the Defenses fault?
I'm going to lump them all together for this. The Steelers had a 20-9 lead in the 4th quarter and needed a stop on one of two drives. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley are getting little to no pressure on the quarterbacks and although they did not allow any huge runs they were giving up first down after first down on the run. Where is the pressure this year? Troy is sorely missed and Benson would not have had that TD run if he was in there. I have a feeling JH and LW will break out of this, but it better be soon.

Was it the Special Teams fault?
They gave up a long return on the first kick, but it did not lead to a score. Jeff missed another field goal, but that didn't hurt them as much as last week. Stefan had a good return to set up a TD, but he also for reasons unknown, wasn't in position to even make a fair catch on a punt and let it go another 15 yards until it stopped rolling.

Was it the Coaches fault?
The defense is not getting off the field like it should and not providing any pressure. I'd say part of that falls on the coach's but Tomlin, Lebeau, and Arians can't catch the wide open balls in the endzone.

Was it the referees?
They are harassing Hines Ward with all these penalties. It is ridiculous. He needs to blindside one of them and knock some sense into them. Oh yeah, and maybe they get some of the blame for Harrison not getting any sacks. Divert some of your attention to Harrison.

Gotta point my finger for this one to
1. That receiver guy that dropped the TD. I will not refer to him by name until he redeems himself somehow, and if he pulls that stunt again he might move to 4th on the depth chart and not see any more pt unless there's an injury.
2. The defense. They let the Bengals score 2 TDs in the fourth quarter and gave them way too many chances on that last drive. The Bengals controlled the clock as the Steelers did many times last year and did not give Ben any time to make that 2 minute drill drive to win the game.

Steelers Rule!!!!!

Carter Fined

Adding insult to injury, Carter ailing from the Chicago game with a thigh injury was hit by the league for his hit on Greg Olsen. From a fan's standpoint that hit was worth it. Apparently they thought he led with the crown of his helmet. Didn't look like it to me. It looked like he was watching him the whole way.

Obligatory Referee Blasphemy
10 for 80 yards, the refs stunk, obviously for the Bears . The Steelers need to clean this up.

Should Ryan Play in Denver?

I thought this was going to be all nos, but someone decided he should play. I voted no, and I don't think he should take a chance with his life after what happened on his last visit. But, if a specialist in his disorder would give him a clean bill of health and say he is not in danger of further issues than maybe he would choose to play. I think the risk is too much, and it sounds like the Steelers feel the same way. We'll wait and see. Hopefully Troy will be back by then.

How many?

How many wins will the Steelers have. The Poll Results are in and the fans expect 11-12 this season. 13-14 and 15-16 were tied for second place. Not a bad season, that is if it leads to the Super Bowl. We expect those wins on a regular basis now.

WHO'S FAULT?

The one that got away? That would be this game. I'm introducing this new feature to the blog, it's called who's fault is it? Instead of a report card I'll tell everyone who's fault it was that the Steelers lost the game. Hopefully this is the only edition of this feature. So......


Was it Ben's fault?

No, Ben continued his hot streak he ended last week's game with. He was only sacked twice and started of with a TD pass to Matt Spaeth. He threw a few errant passes that didn't make it into his receiver's hands one landing in the defenses hands, but overall played decently.


Was it the Running Back's faults?


They didn't get the ball as much as they probably should have with the weather. But, this game was considerably better than the first. Mendenhall chipped in a long jaunt to set up a TD and Willie had a few decent runs. The bad thing about Running Back by committee is that none of them get in a good groove. Mewelde continued to contribute consistent play. So, no not the Running backs faults.


Was it the Offensive Line?


They provided very good pass blocking and opened up a few holes for the Running Backs to slip through. Can't blame it on them.


Was it the Receiver's?


Well, in the second half after it started raining they (SH) started dropping passes and stopped getting first downs. That's kind of important when you're depending on the passing game to take you down the field.


Was it the DBs faults?

Last week Cutler threw 4 TD's. This week he threw none. In the tying TD drive by the Bears they gave up a long pass to the Bears Olson which put them in good position to score. In short they didn't get off the field when they needed to.


Was it the D-Line and Linebackers fault?


The linebackers didn't come up with any sacks and like the DBs didn't come up with stops in key situations to get themselves off the field. They didn't give up a lot of rushing yards, but did give them up when they needed a stop.


Was it the Special Teams?


Well, I really hate to point fingers especially at a guy that has won many games more than he has lost for the Steelers, but Jeff Reed had 2 chances to win the game and he was 0 for 2. Have to put the blame for this one on Jeff. We still love ya though Jeff.


I really have to wonder if Jeff is 100%, though. He did win the Titans game, but other than that he has not had that many kicks that looked good. I really don't care if they look good or not if they go through. But, if you're barely getting them through or missing 2 in a game there is cause for concern.


Another note: Lots of complaints about the field conditions. Some say it was worse than Heinz in December. Nice to hear complaints about someone else's field.


Up next: BenGals preview

STEELERS-BEARS NOTES

It looks like da Bears have a lot to look forward to in this game. I assume the Bears like to watch a good football team play. So, if that logic holds they'll enjoy watching the Steelers come to town and taking them apart.



QB

Advantage

Steelers - Roethlisberger 2 interceptions 1 TD last week, Cutler 4 ints. Cutler is a legend in his own mind. If I were Josh McDaniel I wouldn't think a second thought about getting rid of him.



Offense

Toss up

The Bears O Line is probably a little better than the Steelers, but the Steelers have the better QB and a corps of talented receivers. Look for the Steelers to improve their running game against the Bears. If Willie doesn't play better look for more passing from Ben and more of Rashard. If Rashard doesn't play better, we may be seeing more of Mewelde Moore.



Defense

Steelers
The Bears are built on defense, but so are the Steelers and last week the Bears lost part of their foundation for the season, Brian Urlacher. They have another guy in Ogundleyahanfad, or something like that is their big pash rusher so he will assume the bulk of the load for Chicago. But, losing one of their big playmakers doesn't help. Of course the Steelers lost one of their big playmakers also last week. But, the Steelers still have James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley as their playmakers and Tyrone Carter will fill in for Troy. The Steelers still have the same defense as last year that was No. 1 in the league minus Troy and Bryant McFadden.

Special Teams
Gotta give this to the Bears
This should be an interesting battle between Stefan Logan and Devin Hester. Logan is supposed to make the Steelers return game 100% better this year and Hester is the league standard in returners, though last year wasn't his best.

Coaching
Steelers
Might as well just say this now. Steelers will win this every game.
Lovie Smith is good but Mike Tomlin and Dick Lebeau have won Super Bowls.

Score
Steelers 27-10

Oh, Ohlendorf

Ross Ohlendorf finished his first year with the Pirates at 11-10. As the optimist, it's another reason the Pirates have to look forward to next season. Ohlendorf, ended up as the Pirates most reliable starter and had some pretty good numbers on this young team

Here's a breakdown of his starts over the season.
29 Starts
Earned Runs per start
0-2 Runs - 14 times
3-4 Runs - 10 times
5+ - 5 times

That tells me that in 14 starts he put the Pirates in a position to win the game. It also tells me that if he was playing for a team with a decent offense he would have put that team in a position to win in 24 games and only in 5 games did he give up 5 or more runs. If all the Pirates Pitchers would have pitched that well I think we would have been looking at at least a .500 season. I'm looking for good things to come from Ohlendorf. There's no reason to put him out there any more this season and risk injury. He's shown what he can do.