Pittsburgh Steelers: Is team in midst of downfall?
Back in April, I stumbled upon an interesting Bleacher Report article, penned by lead NFL writer Michael Schottey, which listed the win-loss predictions for each team. It was pretty standard stuff, most of which I agreed with.
Until I got to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Schottey, foreshadowing an inconsistent offense and leaky defense, predicted a 6-10 finish (third place in AFC North) for the Steelers, who, in his estimation, will lose four out of their final five games.
At first, I scoffed aloud. I couldn’t imagine a Mike Tomlin-led team — especially one as prestigious as Pittsburgh — closing out the campaign on such a down note.
And then I thought back to 2013.
In case you forgot (sorry to bring it up, Steelers fans), the team dropped its first four games to open last season (their worst start since 1934), finished with a lackluster 8-8 record, and missed the playoffs for the second-straight year (the first time that’s happened since 1999-2000).
I remember watching the Steelers last season and thinking to myself, “This just don’t look like the Steelers of old.” They lost games to inferior opponents (Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders) and suffered close, mistake-filled defeats. Heck, even some of their victories felt like losses. It was just an uncharacteristically down year for the black and gold.
Could that have been a sign of things to come? Were the Steelers in the midst of a transition, going from perennially dominant AFC contender to rebuilding in mediocrity? It was hard to wrap my mind around, but certainly not impossible, especially after laying eyes on Schottey’s piece.
After all, the defense, led bylegendarycoordinator DickLeBeau, was a year older. Guys like TroyPolamalu, as good as they are, have shelf lives. The unit was also weakened by departures of solid veterans, such as Ryan Clark,LaMarr Woodley, Ziggy Hood, and Larry Foote. Yes, they used their first-round draft pick on RyanShazier, a promising young linebacker, to shore up the middle, but he was (and still is) a tad rough around the edges.
The offense suffered, too. Gone were mainstays such as Emmanuel Sanders, Jonathan Dwyer, and Jerricho Cotchery. A year after losing Mike Wallace in free agency, they were left with Antonio Brown and … well, not much else — wide receivers who are truly dependable, anyway.
There was also a bit of hoopla raised over the future of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has two years left on the eight-year, $102 million contract he signed in 2008. While at one time it seemed certain Big Ben would get a new deal — general manager Kevin Colbert said it’s “unanimous” within the organization that he should retire a Steeler — nothing ultimately was done about it.
“There doesn’t appear to be any sense of urgency on the Steelers’ part to get something done,” ESPN beat writer Kevin Brown wrote in March.
Which leads me into the young 2014 season, which already is two weeks in. And, up to this point, they were a disappointing two weeks for the Steelers.
In Week 1, taking on the ballyhooed Cleveland Browns at home, they looked utterly dominant in the first half, building a 27-3 lead by halftime. Then the Browns roared back with 13 third quarter points. And another 10 in the fourth. And suddenly the game was knotted at 27. The comeback was complete, and the fans that packed Heinz Field were in disbelief.
The Steelers would go on to escape with a 30-27 victory, but concern was raised about their near epic collapse. Those whispers only grew louder in Week 2, when they traveled to the friendly confines of Baltimore to take on their old pals, the Ravens, under the bright lights of Thursday Night Football.
It proved to be no contest, as the Ravens thoroughly shellacked their divisional rivals, 26-6, in a game that was hardly competitive. The Steelers were outgained in first downs (25 to 17), total yards (323 to 301), and time of possession (35:08 to 24:52). Roethlisberger finished with a nondescript statline, completing 22 of 37 passes for 217 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Their running game, headlined by Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount, were invisible, combining for 67 yards on 14 carries.
In all, it was about as un-Steeler-like a performance as I (and many others) have seen in some time. It doesn’t get any easier for them in Week 3, when travel to take on the hard-nosed Carolina Panthers on Sunday Night Football.
Thus far, Schottey’s predictions (I swear I’m not plugging him) are right on the money. And so are his concerns about the team on both sides of the ball. He’s hardly Nostradamus, but you have to begin wondering if the arrow is indeed trending down in the Steel City.
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