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By Dutch Wydo

 

After winning his first Super Bowl as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jimmy Johnson said he needed to be harder on his players the following season if they were going to repeat as champions. Johnson wasn’t the most beloved person during that time, especially among his players, but his reasoning made sense.

A defending champion has to fight a Super Bowl hangover, and the players can’t win this fight on their own. This is when a coach earns his money.

Everywhere the players go, they are told they are the best. It is very easy for a team to lose its focus and its hunger when reminded of how good they are by thousands of people for six straight months.  Johnson was concerned that his team would become satisfied and expect things to come to easily after winning the Super Bowl  the previous season.

The above would best describe the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers through ten games.

Mike Tomlin’s squad only plays for three quarters. Once they get the lead, their play resembles a team that expects the opposition to fold. If the opponent does not surrender by the end of the third quarter, Tomlin’s defense shuts down and allows the opponent to do whatever it is they want.

Instead of turning up the heat on their opponents late in the game, Tomlin’s players are more apt to take personal fouls to vent their frustrations. It’s kind of like a baby that screams when it doesn’t get its way.

Tomlin’s team won’t make sacrifices. They routinely give up special teams returns for touchdowns due mainly to a lack of effort. 

They have the 26th worst ranking in turnover differential.

Santonio Holmes routinely misses his hot routes and is now tied for third in the league with the most dropped balls of any receiver. But instead of taking responsibility for his own play, he blamed his quarterback for the loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. No one would be surprised if they were told that Holmes doesn’t go five minutes without thinking about his Super Bowl XLIII catch.

The Steelers can’t run the ball in the red zone. Here are running back Rashard Mendenhall’s last 13 runs inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.

Mendenhall's Last 13 carries in the red zone -

1st-10, CIN15 R. Mendenhall rushed to the right for 2 yard           

 1st-5, CIN5 5:43 R. Mendenhall rushed to the right for 3 yard loss                   

 2nd-2, CIN13 14:34 R. Mendenhall rushed to the right for 1 yard gain                

  2nd-4, DEN19 7:56 R. Mendenhall rushed to the right for 6 yard loss                

 1st-3, DEN3 2:00 R. Mendenhall rushed up the middle for 1 yard loss        

2nd-4, DEN4 1:35 R. Mendenhall rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain      

2nd-1, MIN18 13:05 R. Mendenhall rushed up the middle for no gain        

1st-9, MIN9 14:08 R. Mendenhall R. Mendenhall fumbled                         

 3rd-1, CLE14 1:19 R. Mendenhall rushed to the right for no gain              

 1st-6, KC6 6:23 R. Mendenhall rushed up the middle for 2 yard loss    

 1st-10, KC11 1:55 R. Mendenhall rushed to the right for 1 yard gain      

2nd-3, KC20 10:45 R. Mendenhall rushed to the right for 2 yard gain           

 3rd-1, KC18 10:04 R. Mendenhall rushed up the middle for 9 yard gain < only successful run in the Bunch.                                                                                                                                                                                              

1st-9, KC9 9:21 R. Mendenhall rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain

 

Running the ball in the red zone is a difficult task, and, so far, the Steelers have not been up to it.

The  Steelers have become a pass-happy team. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 76% of 44 pass attempts Sunday against Kansas City. But throwing the ball over 40 times a game is a losing formula. Consider the following data.

Quarterback career records when they pass the ball more than 40 times in a game (playoffs included).

Peyton Manning = 19 wins, 30 losses

Brett Favre = 24 wins, 45 losses

Drew Brees = 10 wins, 26 losses

Furthermore, the combined postseason record of the three quarterbacks is 1-10 when throwing more than 40 passes a game.  Ironically, the Drew Brees-led Saints are undefeated in a season where Brees hasn’t thrown more than 40 times in any game. Throwing the ball over 40 times in a contest is a losing proposition. When you put the ball up in the air that much, bad things are invariably going to happen.

That doesn’t mean, however, you should run a sweep with Mewelde Moore on a crucial 3rd down and 2 as they did Sunday. The good news is that we at least  now know  what type of play to expect from Arians when he gets a little tight. After all, he has a history there.

The last time Steelers fans witnessed a play call choice that was as poor as the sweep  with Moore, was in the Wild Card round game against Jacksonville at the end of the 2007 season. The Steelers had overcome an 18 point fourth quarter deficit to take a one point lead with Roethlisberger in gun-slinging mode.

Despite all the success Roethlisberger had in the second half passing the football, Bruce Arians called a quarterback sweep on 3rd down and 6 with about two minutes to go. The play had no chance to pick up the first down. It was if Arians had simply handed the game over to the Jaguars. The sweep with Moore on Sunday against the Chiefs was in that same class. Especially considering the fact that Mendenhall had just run for 7 yards and both he and Willie Parker are much quicker around a corner than that of Moore.  It was a bizarre play call with the use of personnel that begs for questioning.

When basketball players tighten up at the free throw line in a pressure situation, they often miss a little short. Apparently, when Steelers Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians tightens up, he calls a sweep.

Tomlin’s Steelers are underachieving this year. When an NFL team has this strong of ranking in yards per play differential at this point of the season, a playoff berth should not be in question. Consider the top teams in last year in yards per play differential.

2008 yards per play differential stats

Steelers +.9       (Super Bowl winner)

Eagles +.8           (lost NFC championship game)

Panthers +.8      (division champ)

Chargers +.6      (division champ)

Cowboys +.6       (missed playoffs, and you wonder why Wade Phillips is a question mark)

Cardinals +.5      (division champ)

Giants +.5           (division champ)

Ravens +.4         (lost AFC Championship game)

Now, consider the current yards per play differential rankings for the 2009 Season.

Colts    +1.4

Steelers +1.3

Saints   +1.2

Dallas   +1.0

Packers  +1.0

Eagles   +1.0

Patriots +0.7

Giants   +0.7

Chargers +0.6

Vikings  +0.5

Two of the top 3 teams in Yards per play differential this season are undefeated. The Steelers however aren’t even leading their division. The unremarkable Bengals are in charge, despite a +0.0 (dead even) differential as they average 5.3 yards per play offensively and allow the same on defense. 

The 2009 Steelers are a talented team. But they lack focus at times and are an undisciplined bunch. They take penalties at the least opportune times. When they get frustrated, they commit personal fouls. They turn the ball over. They play down to their level of competition.  They commit special teams gaffes nearly every game it seems. The defense quits at the beginning of the fourth quarter, seeming very satisfied. 

It is fair to blame the coach for what is quickly becoming a debacle. This all started back at Latrobe during camp cupcake. Tomlin had a soft training camp. He gave the players a full week off without practice during the bye week, instead of working on their game. The special teams coach still has a job. The offensive coordinator removed the full back from the offense and is now trying to eliminate the run game all together. Tomlin  said after the Kansas City game that they needed to get back to the lab and get to work. As one Steeler fan said, maybe the problem is in the lab.