Steelers - 19 / Broncos - 31 - Thoughts and Reactions



Alot of Good and Bad in the Loss to Denver


This might be a long post after the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Denver and are coming back with a Loss for the 2nd consecutive game that actually counts.  Nonetheless, after every game I will post my Thoughts and Reactions to the game...here goes nothin':

- Play Calling...Or Whatever That Was Called - Whether it was the 3 straight passes from the 3yd line that failed, or the amount of times Haley was going to call Redman up the middle for a gain of 1 or 2, it just seemed to me that the Steelers never got into a rhythm offensively.  I understand sometimes Ben can check out of a play, but at the same time Haley's play calling had me scratching my head.  I know Mr. Rooney wants to run more, but whats more important...wins and a possible championship? or running the ball more?  Ask Willie Parker what is more important.  Take notice of this too...the Steelers moved the ball extremely well in the no-huddle...guess who calls the plays 90% of the time during the no-huddle.  Big Ben, not Todd Haley...I'm just sayin.

- Speaking of RBs...Hello Jonathan Dwyer - I like Isaac Redman.  Now that we've gotten that out of the way, sometimes his running style just isn't affective.  If you keep him between the tackles he is a hit the hole and get 2 yds kind of back.  Get him in the open field and he can spin like a pin wheel to get out of would-be tacklers grasps.  Denver kept him between the tackles and he was not a factor.  Ankle hurting him?  Maybe, but Jonathan Dwyer stole the show amongst the Steelers RBs.  He deserved more carries and more playing time after the way he carried the rock.  Hopefully the film says the same and Dwyer takes over as the #2 back on the depth chart when Rashard Mendenhall returns.  I can't believe I'm saying I am looking forward to Mendenhall returning...

- Injuries Hurt the Steelers - The Steelers were able to generate a pass rush against Manning in the 1st half, but the second half it became non existent.  All the pressure came from the inside LB position because Carter wasn't beating his man, making all the coverage roll to Woodley on every play.  This just goes to show how much the Steelers miss James Harrison.  When Harrison is in there and healthy you have to choose who you are taking out.  You going to cut out Woodley?  Then Harrison takes over from the other side.  Maybe the biggest spot that wasn't filled last night was Ryan Clark.  Ryan Mundy is an okay backup, but what Clark and Polamalu have going is second to none.  Troy can come to the line of scrimmage, fake the blitz, and fly back to his safety position because he knows Ryan Clark will cover his back.  Mundy doesn't have that kind of connection with Troy, and you saw that last night.

- Defensive Struggles vs. No Huddle Offense - I can only imagine what the Defensive Meeting room sounded like before the Broncos game.  "Hey, you think we should prepare to face a no-huddle offense?" "No...Peyton won't do that."  I know that didn't happen, but it sure as heck seemed like it.  The Steelers had NO answer for Peyton's fast paced / muddle huddle / no huddle offense that he perfected in Indy.  It was amazing to me that the Steelers has ZERO stops in the second half against the Broncos offense.  Watching some interviews in the post game and you could see the Steelers defenders were upset about their performance, as they should be.  They better improve or else more teams will go no huddle vs the Steelers and it could be lethal.

- Rush Defense = ??? - I said before the season started that one area of the Steelers defense that would be lacking this year was the rush defense...and I was right in game 1.  The no huddle gave Willis McGahee HUGE holes to run through as he broke off 9, 10, 11 yd rushes like it was nothing.  Granted, with the Broncos you can't just load the box to stop the run, but I expected the Defensive Line and LBs to make the Broncos more one dimensional.

- Peyton Manning is STILL Really Good - I don't know if some Steelers fans thought this was going t o be an easy game, but they were still playing against Peyton Manning.  Manning looked like the Manning of old, and he shredded the defense in the 2nd half when it mattered most.  Mark Sanchez next week should look like a HS QB compared to Manning this past Sunday.  The Steelers lost to a good team, not a scrub team.  I expect both the Broncos and Steelers to be in the mix when all is said and done.

- Sloppy Play / Penalties - There were some HUGE penalties (especially on offense) that caused the Steelers into 3rd and LOONG situations.  Luckily for the black n gold they were able to convert alot of those third and longs, but you can't expect that to happen all the time.  Pass Interference lead to a TD for the Broncos and I don't know how many false start / illegal procedure penalties were called on the OLine.  Typical Week 1, but something that needs cleaned up before Week 2.

All of this aside I think the Steelers are still going to be a good team this year and fans shouldn't freak out about this loss.  Remember last year's opener in Baltimore...that was ugly, and this wasn't that bad.  The Broncos are good, Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning, and if the Steelers get healthy they will be a tough team to beat down the stretch.  Remember, this is just one of 16.