By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
They lined up to take blame after the Steelers' 17-14 loss to the Chicago Bears Sunday. Jeff Reed, obviously. Hines Ward, who said the offense left too many plays on Soldier Field. Brett Keisel, who said the defense had no business blowing a fourth-quarter lead.
All were right, of course.
None more than Keisel, though.
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox makes a touchdown catch past Steelers safety Tyrone Carter in Sunday's game at Soldiers Field in Chicago.
Maybe that's because so many of us hold the Steelers' defense to a higher standard than the offense and special teams. The defense is largely the same as last season when it was the NFL's best. There's also no ambiguity when that bunch is involved. With the offense, we're left to wonder the true meaning of Steelers football these days: Is it run first or pass first? But with the defense, it's clear: Steelers football is stopping the run, not giving up big plays, getting off the field after third down, sacking the quarterback and forcing turnovers.
Hey, at least they stopped the run Sunday.
Clearly, that wasn't enough.
The defense's performance, unfortunately, brought back bad memories from Super Bowl XLIII. That night, the Arizona Cardinals scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to wipe out the Steelers' 20-7 lead. If not for that miracle 78-yard drive led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and that fabulous touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes at the end, the defense would have been remembered for the greatest collapse in Super Bowl history.
At least the great Kurt Warner and the incomparable Larry Fitzgerald were the ones playing pitch-and-catch in that game.
Sunday, the Steelers were beaten by quarterback Jay Cutler throwing to receivers named Johnny Knox and Kellen Davis. Cutler hung up a 104.7 passer rating on 'em, this after he was intercepted four times a week earlier in a loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Steelers didn't get one pick, didn't force any turnovers, actually. They also had just one sack officially -- by defensive end Aaron Smith -- although safety Tyrone Carter should have been credited with another when he tackled Cutler for a 1-yard loss after a scramble.
It's no wonder the defense couldn't hold a 14-7 fourth-quarter lead.
Not having Troy Polamalu was a big part of it. Absolutely, that was huge. It's hard for anyone to replace him, as Carter found out, especially after his left thigh was badly bruised in the second quarter. He shouldn't have been on the field when Knox beat him with an inside move for a 7-yard touchdown catch that tied the score, 14-14. "In hindsight, I hurt the team," he said. "I knew I couldn't cover him on that play."
Polamalu will be out for at least a few more weeks with his left knee sprain and Carter, who was limping badly at team headquarters yesterday, might miss the game at Cincinnati Sunday. Ryan Mundy would appear to be next in line at strong safety, which can't be a good thing because of his inexperience.
Still, the Steelers are going to have to show up at Paul Brown Stadium. As coach Mike Tomlin often says, the standards don't change because of injuries. Certainly, no one wants to hear excuses.
A better pass rush would help. The Steelers have just two sacks after the first two games, none by outside linebackers/sackmasters James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. At least Woodley got after Cutler a few times and hurried him into a couple of incompletions and an intentional-grounding penalty. Harrison, on the other hand, was most noticeable when he was penalized for a personal foul for hitting Cutler late and low on a first-down play at the Chicago 3, helping the Bears to dig out of a very deep hole.
"Teams aren't holding onto the ball as long," Woodley said yesterday. "They're throwing quick passes instead of going for big bombs."
Still ...
"We had opportunities to get sacks [Sunday]. We just didn't take him down," Woodley said, mentioning his chances and those of linebacker James Farrior. "It kind of felt like we beat ourselves a little bit."
More pressure on the quarterback and actually finishing the sacks occasionally will take a lot of pressure off the secondary on those third-down plays. The Bears converted 3 of 3 on their 13-play, 97-yard touchdown drive in the first half and 2 of 2 on their nine-play, 72-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Cutler also completed a 5-yard pass to wide receiver Devin Hester on third-and-4 on their winning field-goal drive at the end.
Keisel was right on for fingering the defense for this loss.
"We've got to have enough pride to keep a lead in the fourth quarter if we want to be the team we want to be," he said. "Losing a game like that is something we can't let happen."
Not in Cincinnati Sunday.
Not again, period.
Aired out
The Steelers' defense has given up an uncharacteristic amount of yards through the air in the past three games going back to Super Bowl XLIII:
Date Opponent PYd Avg. RYd Avg. Total
Feb. 1 vs. Arizona Cardinals 374 8.3 33 2.8 407
Sept. 10 vs. Tennessee Titans 321 6.8 86 1.6 357
Sept. 20 @ Chicago Bears 232 5.9 43 2.4 275
2008 AVERAGES 157 5.4 80 3.3 237
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on September 22, 2009 at 12:00 am
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