Week 2 NFL Analysis - Steelers Offense vs. Bengals Defense

Steelers O vs Bengals D - Who has the Advantage?

I took to Twitter and asked SteelerNation what their story lines would be for the upcoming Monday Night Football game, but more specifically, the Steelers Offense vs the Bengals Defense.  Well, I had a lot of good responses, but the responses were all the same thing.  The Offensive Line.  I shouldn't have been shocked by this as atrocious the performance was this past Sunday.  Nonetheless, I will address the OLine questions, as well as some other key storylines that all Steelers fans should acquaint themselves with before the big matchup Monday Night.  Here goes nothing...

- Offensive Line Cohesion -All of SteelerNation has voiced their concern over the Steelers' starting Offensive Line, and especially after Maurkice Pouncey got taken out by "friendly fire" in the 1st quarter against the Titans.  After the Titans won the game, I wrote about how the Steelers' offensive game plan was basically shot to hell with Kelvin Beachum being forced to play center, and the Steelers essentially without a decent blocking tight end.  The Steelers signed a center, but whether he will start on Monday Night has yet to be decided.  The OLine would be better with Beachum rotating at TE to help with both run and pass blocking.  Besides Pouncey, the Steelers OLine is still intact and that is a good thing.  The Steelers had some mental mistakes in the trenches, and that is something that is going to happen with young and inexperienced players.  The biggest question is...can the OLine issues be fixed in a week as they face a stellar Cincy defense?  Fixed might be a stretch, but improved might not be a stretch.  This unit will essentially dictate the success or demise of the Steelers as an offensive unit.

- Play Calling Must Be Better - Todd Haley deserved a grade of 'F' for his performance as play caller against the Titans.  Thats over and done with, and now the offense has to function better that it did against the Titans.  Todd Haley would be smart to actually be more innovative in play calling against the Bengals.  Doing so might keep the new Steelers Center out of the lineup due to an inexperience with the system.  If I were calling the plays, youd see gadgets, no huddle, new formations...whatever it takes to get this offense rolling and to keep the Bengals off balance will only increase the Steelers chances of winning.  For crying out loud, I'd take giving Haley a 'C' rather than another 'F' dud like he had last week.

- Game Plan Has to Change - The Steelers are a team that doesn't like change.  They don't like change in the front office, their General Manager, their head coach, and they are very loyal to their players.  This also includes how the Steelers play the game.  The Steelers offense hasn't changed much through the Ben Roethlisberger years, and because of that opponents (especially divisional opponents) have been able to prey on the Steelers predictability.  Its up to Mike Tomlin, Todd Haley, and the offense to change up the game plan.  Go ahead and burn the Titans game film and put together a plan that is bound to have a high success ratio.  After all, can the offense get any worse?

- ZERO Turnovers - Lets be 100% honest here.  If there Steelers turn the ball over, chances are they won't win.  Just like in baseball when the theory isn't how many hits you get, but WHEN you get them, the same is for football and turnovers.  To me, it isn't just about turning the ball over, but WHEN you turn the ball over.  Look at the Titans game.  Redman's fumble into the endzone which would have at least led to 3 points.  Big Ben's INT on 1st down after the defense just got a 3 and out...that "short field" led to the lone Titan's touchdown.  Turnovers will kill a team, and the Steelers need to post a goose egg in that category on the offensive side of the ball.

- Can a Steelers RB Please Stand Up - The Steelers RB situation is muddy at best.  Le'Veon Bell is doubtful to make his NFL regular season debut on Monday Night, Larod Stephens Howling tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the year, Felix Jones isn't quite ready to be an every down player as he is getting acclimated to the system, Isaac Redman can't hold onto the football, and Jonathan Dwyer is back in the mix (and he couldn't hold onto the football in the preseason either).  Yep...stellar group.  The Steelers are desperately awaiting a RB that can stand up and take the job, at least until Le'Veon Bell proves that he is 'the guy' in amongst the group.  Alot lies within the offensive line, but at the same time, the backs need to see the plays develop AND do a better job with pass protection.

These are just a few of the storylines that I chose.  Thanks to everyone the helped develop these storylines from my Twitter followers (Follow me - @BnGBlitz), and check the site early and often for more Steelers articles and analysis leading up to Monday Night Football.