Fresh off one of the most dramatic wins in recent franchise history, the Steelers came home and laid a Casey Hampton sized egg against the San Diego Chargers. Yes, the same San Diego Chargers that came into the game with a 4-8 record and a particularly haunting past in Pittsburgh.
Yet, despite the bad record, missing three starting offensive linemen, playing with four defensive linemen, and being led by a coach who will be fired at the end of the season, the Chargers crushed the Steelers. Philip Rivers threw for three touchdowns and zero turnovers. Of course, it’s hard to turn the ball over when you’re throwing to wide open receivers; even for Rivers.
But how surprising was this game for Pittsburgh fans? Was it really a shock that the Steelers played flat against a bad AFC opponent considering their previous performances this season? Remember, this team blew a lead against the Raiders, lost on a field goal to the Titans, lost to the Browns, beat the Chiefs in overtime, and beat the Eagles on a last second field goal.
Whatever message being conveyed to the team isn’t working. Whatever the team does to get focused, especially against inferior teams, isn’t working. The preparedness and game planning done by the coaching staff is the issue. Obviously, missing Ike Taylor was a huge blow to the defensive backs as they were picked on all day. But, this team is still considerably better than the aforementioned teams that have made up four of their six losses this season. If they weren’t good enough to beat teams like the Raiders and Chargers, then they wouldn’t beat teams like the Ravens and Giants.
Quite simply, they aren’t ready against lesser opponents and it stems from their head coach. When a situation arises, the head coach makes a poor decision. And when the media asks him about his poor decision, he gives a poor answer.
A perfect example was brought up by Joe Starkey of the Trib. When asked if he considered going for two after a late-game touchdown, Tomlin responded with this:
“No. Until we stopped them it was going to be insignificant. I was holding the two-point plays for that reason and that reason only. Now, we still have them in our hip pocket. Those specialty plays we didn’t want to put on tape unless we had an opportunity to close the gap. As you can see, we didn’t.”
That would have been an understandable strategy had Tomlin pulled his oft-injured franchise quarterback as well. Instead, he elected to keep Ben Roethlisberger in the game, putting not only his quarterback in jeopardy, but also the season. What makes it even more frustrating is the fact that the Steelers dealt with the exact same problem last year in San Francisco and it resulted in having Roethlisberger at 50% against Denver in the playoffs.
Look, Tomlin may have been the head coach when they won the Super Bowl in 2009, but we are still waiting for him to put his thumbprint on this organization. The historically good 2009 defense featured only one player drafted under Tomlin: Lamarr Woodley. The rest were selected by Bill Cowher. At the time, it was easy to overlook Tomlin’s mishaps because the team was in its prime. But now, as players start to ride off into the sunset, the team starts to decline and the head coach doesn’t know what to do.
It is entirely possible that the Steelers could finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs. The question is, do you have confidence that this team will be back to contending for a Super Bowl next year after they lose Mike Wallace, James Harrison and possibly Casey Hampton and Max Starks? What about the following year when they lose Troy Polamalu? How will this defense stay atop the NFL’s best without Dick Lebeau?
You would like to believe this team would rebuild through the draft and come back strong; however, given the selections of players like Chris Carter, Jason Worilds, Stevensen Sylvester, Curtis Brown, and Ziggy Hood, it doesn’t seem likely. All teams go through highs and lows over the years but with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, the Steelers should be more competitive. And when they go out and lose to bad teams, they not only miss opportunities over the course of a season but also a career.
Is the window closing in Pittsburgh? Or is it shut completely?
Photo courtesy of Philly.com
