Steelers - 24 / COWBOYS - 27 (OT) - QUICK HITTERS

Steelers Need Ike Back To Sure Up A VERY
Shaky Secondary

I know I typically post my "Quick Hitters" article the day after the Steelers play,  but sometimes life gets in the way.  Nonetheless, there is plenty to yell and scream about after the Cowboys beat the Steelers in OT on Sunday.  I think the day off helped keep this article from setting a record for longest rant of the season...

- Turnover, Turnovers, Turnovers - Can anyone out there remember the last time the Steelers had a game without a turnover?  I sure can't.  It has plagued this team all year.  Think back to the loss at Oakland.  The Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown fumbles killed the Steelers chances of winning that game (and don't forget Jonathan Dwyer's fumble in that game as well), and that trend has carried on this entire season.  The turnover bug continues to deliver loss after loss to this Steelers team and the fumble by Antonio Brown triggered the collapse in the 4th quarter.  The defense had just gotten off the field, and then to give the ball right back couldn't have happened at a worse time.  Ben's INT sealed the win for the Cowboys, but it has been a trend that is disturbing.  Throw the fact that the defense is not doing their job forcing turnovers (although they did get a big one on Sunday) and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.  When will the Steelers turn things around??  When the team starts protecting the football and taking it away from the opposition.

- Lack of Running Game - The Steelers have struggled, and one of the reasons, in my opinion, is the lack of a running game.  There are alot of different fingers that can be pointed in different directions.  One could be pointed at the injuries on the offensive line.  In the last 3 games, the Steelers have had 3 different sets of offensive linemen in the games...there is no continuity amongst the big boys up front.  Another could be said for the offensive play calling.  The Steelers are now sporting some bruising running backs (Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman), but almost 95% of their runs are designed to go between the tackles.  Even Isaac Redman has the speed to be able to get outside the tackle and follow some lead blockers.  Chris Rainey certainly has the speed to get that accomplished.  All of these issues are making it easy for defenses to stop the Steelers running attack by bottling up the middle and not having to worry about "contain".  The running game needs to be revived if the Steelers hope to make a run at the playoffs.

- Secondary is Hurting - If watching Phillip Rivers and Tony Romo carve up the Steelers proud secondary wasn't enough to make you realize how bad things were, maybe Andy Dalton to AJ Green will help drive the point home.  The Steelers passing defense is hurt beyond belief.  Ike Taylor remains out, and Steelers fans were saying "Who is this dude in dreads names Victorian?" on Sunday.  Cortez Allen should return to help out Keenan Lewis at the CB position and the nickel back could be a variety of warm bodies disguised as Steelers players.  Regardless, the Steelers are certainly in need of some players returning from injury, and some players making big plays (We are looking at you #43).  The Secondary will be tested this Sunday, and its up to the Steelers to make sure they protect against the pass better than they have the past 2 weeks.

- Where is the QB Pressure? - One of the ways to protect against the pass is to put solid pressure on the QB.  The Steelers were able to force Tony Romo into a few "throw aways" but also missed some opportunities to bring down the Cowboys QB.  This defense needs to go back to being based around pressuring the QB and forcing them into mistakes, instead of the "rush 4 and hope for the best on the back end" defense.  Dick Lebeau needs to go back to the drawing board in terms of creating some new blitzes that can be affective against the Bengals.  Lets be honest, the season boils down to this Bengals game.  If the Steelers win, they have an excellent chance to get into the playoffs.  If they lose this game, nothing else matters.  The Steelers need to put packages in that are built just for the Bengals and no one else...its the last case scenario.

- Special Teams Gaffes - The Steelers special teams has had its issues this year on many different levels.  Whether it was giving up big returns, or even getting penalized on almost every big return of the season.  The special teams mistakes continued on Sunday, but some might not have viewed it that way.  The Steelers punting unit underperformed greatly in terms of flipping field position.  The Steelers stalled on offense on several occasions and were forced to punt.  Anytime the offense is near the 50 yard line, the punt team should be able to pin the opposition inside the 20.  Whether it is with a fair catch, or with downing the ball with your "gunners".  Regardless, the Steelers missed several opportunities to back up the Cowboys, and the field position flipped in their favor.  Put Antonio Brown not coming up to fair catch the punt on the final drive of regulation in the category of Special teams gaffes.

- Tackling Practice Coming Up - One thing stood out on the Steelers defense as I watched the game with friends and family...the Steelers tackling in the first half and part of the second half was horrendous.  Demarco Murray was gashing the Steelers with YARDS AFTER CONTACT.  Something that the Steelers pride themselves on was the main thing that was giving up tons of yards on the ground.  The defensive backs were bashed earlier in this article, but there were times when it looked like Ryan Clark was the only player who knew how to tackle.  Troy Polamalu at one point dove over a ball carrier for some reason....not sure why, but he did.  The Steelers need to do the little things better if they want to contend for a playoff spot...not just show up and think the other team is going to just fall down.