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Monday, September 13, 2010
PITTSBURGH - SEPTEMBER 12: Michael Turner #33 of the Atlanta Falcons attempts to run through Lawrence Timmons #94 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the NFL season opener game on September 12, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
It's almost laughable how the Steelers are expected to play defense. Two years ago, the Steelers led the NFL in total defense and won Super Bowl XLIII. Last year, the Steelers "slipped'' to No. 5 in total defense and missed the playoffs.
One of the popular talking points making the rounds a year ago was the defense didn't score enough points to help the offense.
Football is supposed to be a team game - except when it comes down to comparing the Steelers offense and defense.
The Steelers defense is held to a much higher standard, which is perfectly fine with 35-year old inside James Farrior, who was as responsible for Sunday's 15-9 overtime win over the visiting Falcons as anyone on the roster.
"The standard was set long before we got here,'' said Farrior, referring to Steelers defensive giants who played before him named Greene, Greenwood, White, Holmes, Lambert, Ham, Blount and Woodson. "We just try to do our part to uphold that standard.''
Still, it's almost impossible to hold an offense led by Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Roddy White without a touchdown for 60 minutes and change. But somehow, the Steelers did just that.
What's more, on fourth and 1 from the Steelers' 5 late in the fourth quarter, the Falcons played not to lose and kicked a short field goal that tied the score, 9-9.
Falcons coach Mike Smith's offense played cautiously all day. His reluctance to attack played into the Steelers' hands.
Ryan was 27 of 44 for 252 yards, but he was sacked twice and finished with a passer rating of 67.6. Turner averaged 2.2 yards on 19 carries with a long run of seven yards. White had a game-high 13 catches for 111 yards, but he averaged a meager 8.5 yards and was targeted a whopping 23 times.
"They seemed to play very conservative,'' said Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith, who was a welcome sight after sitting out the last 11 games last season because of a shoulder injury.
His performance yesterday reminded everyone just how much he was missed.
The Steelers' front seven completely took Atlanta's offensive line out of the game.
"We didn't block them up front,'' Mike Smith said. "We didn't get movement on the line of scrimmage. They obviously had the best of us in the running game."
Safety Troy Polamalu, who played in only five games last season because of a knee injury, was another welcome sight. Late in regulation, Polamalu got the best of Atlanta when he intercepted Ryan before tumbling out of bounds at the Falcons' 30.
"Troy made the call work, doing what Troy does," Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. "It was a great individual play.''
Although normally reliable Jeff Reed missed what would have been a game-winning 40-yard field goal following Polamalu's interception, the Steelers' defense got the ball right back to the offense in overtime. Rashard Mendenhall's winning 50-yard touchdown burst rewarded his deserving defensive teammates.
"We've got a lot of veterans on defense who have been in situations like that before,'' said defensive end Brett Keisel, sending a message to skeptics who may believe some of the Steelers defenders are too old to still dominate the way they did against Atlanta. "We understand that if we keep points off the board, we're going to give our team a chance to win.''
Asked if his defense was under additional pressure because Dennis Dixon was playing quarterback instead of Ben Roethlisberger, Farrior responded as though he had bitten into a garlic clove.
"That's something we want to do every week,'' Farrior said, "not just because Ben is out. We know we need to help our offense a little bit more than usual. We definitely want to play that way no matter what.''
The Steelers are proof positive that while offense wins games, defense wins championships.
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