PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 05: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is chased by Derek Landri #66 and Rashean Mathins #27 of the Jacksonville Jaguars as Roethlisberger tries to run in a two-point conversion during the fourth quarter of the AFC Wild Card game on January 5, 2008 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
It's easy to look back on the Steelers' crushing playoff loss and rip the coaching staff.
It's also highly justified.
Irrational, stubborn and panicky coaching undermined a spirited effort from a wounded team.
Forget hindsight. I'm talking about foresight here. I'm talking about decisions that would have looked every bit as dubious in a crystal ball as they do in the rear-view mirror.
Imagine if you'd been told, before the game, that the following five events would come to pass ...
5. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians will call for a fade to Nate Washington on a critical two-point try.
Nate Washington? It beats the infamous Matt Cavanaugh fade call against Navy, I suppose, but not by much.
4. The Steelers will revert to a see-how-tough-we-are mentality and attempt 13 first-down runs, even after opening the game with six consecutive pass calls on a touchdown drive, and even though their center, Sean Mahan, will be ground into sawdust by the middle of the second quarter.
They will net 24 yards on those 13 runs.
3. Despite the threat of return man Maurice Jones-Drew, special teams demon James Harrison will not be on the kickoff coverage unit after the Steelers go up, 7-0.
Wait, didn't head coach Mike Tomlin say, when asked whether starters would play on special teams, "It's time to leave it all out there?" Didn't he claim to have an "all-hands-on-deck" mentality in regard to special teams?
2. Trailing by five with 10:29 left, the Steelers will frantically attempt a two-point conversion FROM THE 12-YARD LINE!
We won't even try to quantify the level of risk involved in this bizarre decision. Just know that the only other person to attempt such a feat was Evel Knievel - and he landed in the Snake River Canyon.
Big Ben landed at the Jaguars' 3.
1. Leading by one with 3:43 left, the Steelers will take over on their 22 and attempt the world's first 78-yard two-point conversion. Joking. But they will run it three times despite having averaged 1.6 yards on their first 23 rushing attempts. What's more, they will try a designed quarterback end-around on third-and-6, with Roethlisberger running behind third-string tackle Trai Essex.
Yeah, we know, Roethlisberger helped dig his team a hole with three first-half picks. More importantly, he helped dig them out by completing 17-of-23 second-half passes before Marty Schottenheimer phoned in the three run calls.
I wonder if Ken Whisenhunt was watching. Back in August, USA Today asked Roethlisberger about the new offense under Arians compared to last year's under Whisenhunt.
"We were so predictable -- run on first, run on second, throw on third-and-long," Roethlisberger said. "It will be nice to know that Bruce isn't going to handcuff us."
Roethlisberger wasn't handcuffed on the potential game-sealing possession. He was fastened to a ball-and-chain, wrapped in a 900-pound straitjacket and duct-taped to a gurney. Then sent around left end.
Arians and Tomlin turtled. They did not allow the franchise player to attempt a pass -- on second or third down -- with the season in the balance.
Big Ben around left end. It beats the infamous Walt Harris quarterback slide call, I suppose.
But not by much.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
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