On Myron Cope‘s 82nd birthday, the team he loved the most gave him the gift which was undoubtedly at the top of his list.   Hum-Hah!  The Pittsburgh Steelers soundly defeated the New York Jets 24-19, earning a trip to Super Bowl XLV.  Sounds okel dokel to me.

Much like last week, this game was a Jekyll and Hyde affair.  Unlike last week, the Steelers got off to great start by playing one of the most dominant halves of football in playoff history.  The Jets had one yard rushing at halftime.  ONE YARD.  Before Dick LeBeau called off the dogs toward the end of the half, New York was staring at epic futility of less than thirty yards of total offense.

In a fitting tribute to Myron, the Steelers got off to their great start by going Old School.   Pittsburgh’s opening drive lasted fifteen plays and consumed over nine minutes, thanks to the tough running of Rashard Mendenhall.  This was vintage Stillers Football at its finest.   Mendy, who would have 100 yards by halftime, continued pounding the rock on the next three drives, running over and past the big green pylons who barely tried to stop him.

The only thing stopping the Black and Gold juggernaut was a sputtering passing game led by Ben Roethlisberger.  Big Ben’s best contribution came in the form of several key scrambles where he showed the guts and heart missing from sissy-girl cowards like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.  Ben left a number of plays on the field, particularly underthrowing a wide open Mike Wallace early in the second and overthrowing a wide open Heath Miller on a play where Heath’s spectacular catch was later taken away by the clearly biased officiating crew.  When the game was on the line, Ben made the throws he needed to make but this was far from his best effort.

To be fair, Ben was facing the best secondary in the league.  After throwing only five interceptions all season, he threw two picks yesterday and very easily could have thrown two or three more.  His 55.3 quarterback rating was the second worst of his career, behind only his infamous Super Bowl performance against the Seahawks.  Playing most of the game with his key offensive lineman sitting on the sideline probably didn’t help.

Maurkice Pouncey was injured on the opening drive and spent the rest of the game on crutches.  Without him, the Steelers still managed to run the ball effectively throughout the first half.  The Jets couldn’t run at all while Mark Sanchez would throw five yard checkdowns on third and long.  After Ike Taylor forced a fumble on a corner blitz and William Gay picked it up for a defensive touchdown, the game appeared to be over.   Even going to a loose prevent type defense which allowed the Jets a face-saving last second field goal didn’t set off any warning signals.

Then the second half began and everything was reversed.  The breaks starting going the Jets way, starting with a quick touchdown on their opening drive when Face Me Ike slipped, allowing Santonio Holmes to run all alone in to the end zone.  The Steelers answered with a drive of their own but it ended badly when Ben threw his second pick on a fourth and two.  Offensively, Mendy would rush for only 26 more yards after his dominant first half performance.  Worst of all, Bruce Arians seemingly shut his brain off at halftime because he began dialing up some of the dumbest play calls I’ve seen all season.

THIRD AND TWO AND YOU GO FIVE WIDE EMPTY BACKFIELD?!?!   WTF?!?

The key to the second half was the drive New York began at the end of the third quarter.  LeBeau played a bend-but-don’t-break zone type defense, allowing Sanchez underneath stuff in exchange for time on the clock.  Down by two touchdowns, Gang Green consumed over eight valuable minutes of the fourth quarter driving down to the Steelers 2.  From that point, the Steelers D stood strong on four consecutive plays, finally stonewalling LaDainian Tomlinson on a fourth and goal from the one foot line.

If Steeler Nation started breathing a little easier after that, they should know better.  This team NEVER MAKES ANYTHING EASY.  On the very first play backed up in their own end, the absence of Pouncey finally reared its head when Ben fumbled a poor snap from back up center Doug Legursky.  Ben smartly fell on the ball, sacrificing a safety to save a touchdown.  But the two points and free kick signaled a clear change in momentum for the downtrodden Jets.

Sure enough, the Jets took the ball and drove for a touchdown to make the margin an uncomfortably close five points.  The bad news was a 24 point margin had shrunk faster than Bret Favre in an ice bath.  The good news is all these shenanigans had left only three minutes on the clock.  With three time outs and a two minute warning, Rex Ryan chose to kick off.   And that was Sexy Rexy’s fatal error.

As my granddaddy says, never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line!  Or maybe that was The Princess Bride.   Anyway, you never put the ball in Big Ben’s hands when a game is on the line.  He’ll make mistakes, he’ll miss receivers, he’ll get the crap pounded out of him…  But when the pressure is on and you need a play, NOBODY IS CLUTCHER THAN BIG BEN.

After a run netted nothing, Ben hit Heath for 14 yards and a first down.  Two more runs later, the Steelers were staring at a third and long with two minutes left.  Thirty other teams would just run the ball, take time off the clock, then kick and hope your defense can hold for the final ninety seconds.   Not the Steelers.  Not when you have Big Ben.

Ben scrambled to his right, saw rookie Antonio Brown break open, and hit him with a strike for a first down.  I would call it a gutsy call but how much courage do you need when you have the best big game quarterback in the NFL behind center?  Great catch.  Great throw.  Game over.

Just like that, a season that began in turmoil is finishing up in JerryWorld.  But this really isn’t the end but rather a beginning.  The beginning of a two week odyssey which will reaffirm the Steelers position as the greatest franchise in NFL history.  An odyssey which will establish Mike Tomlin as the game’s brightest young head coach and Ben as the game’s greatest big game quarterback.

Here we go…

This Sunday, Rex Ryan and his New York Jets take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for the right to play in Super Bowl XLV.  Not much more needs to be said.  Which is ironic since Ryan is known for saying his peace and then some.  Whether he genuinely respects the Steelers or is just worried about winding up with his foot in his mouth (rather than his wife’s), he’s been remarkably restrained to the point of boredom.

The closest we’ve had to trash talk was when Ike Taylor said he wouldn’t hesitate to lay out his old buddy Santonio Holmes if given the chance.  To which ‘Tone responded he doesn’t care about the Steelers anymore.  Wait, so a defensive player will still do his job in the biggest game of the year even if his opponent is a former teammate?   And a pothead wide receiver cares more about his current team than the one who flushed him like a bag of weed during a drug bust?

SHOCKING.

Truth is, Rexy can call Mike Tomlin “one of my favorite people” in football and Tomlin can say he loves Ryan’s style all week long.  Trevor Pryce can call Big Ben “a polar bear” while complimenting how he plays the game. None of it matters.  When the whistle blows and the ball is kicked, both teams will bring all they have for a chance to play on the biggest stage of them all.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. JETS OFFENSE

Mark Sanchez is the key to the game.  Last week, we saw Bert Flacco fold like a cheap lawn chair when the pressure was on.  Sanchez is a similar kind of quarterback who leans on a strong running game and is protected by safe, short throws when they pass.  Thus far, he has avoided the game-changing mistakes other young quarterbacks have made despite shaky protection due to an injury to his usual starting right tackle, Damian Woody.

The two-headed monster of Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson are a young quarterback’s best friend.  Against the Steelers staunch run defense, they combined for 100 yards.  They may not have won the previous meeting but their effective running kept the pressure off Sanchez by controlling the clock and providing manageable third downs.  If they’re kept in check, it becomes an entirely different game with the ball put into Sanchez’s hands.

Taking a page from the Ratbirds, the Jets tried to cover for inexperience at QB by surrounding him with star wide receivers.   Make no mistake, the duo of Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards are second to none.   Mix in slot man Jerricho Cotchery and dependable tight end Dustin Keller and you have an excellent supporting cast.  Still, in last week’s effort against the Patriots, Sanchez missed a number of throws and generally looked shaky outside of one or two key plays (he was helped immensely, for example, by a helluva catch by ‘Tone in the end zone).  While he has the admirable tendency to make a play when he needs to make one, the Steelers best bet would still be to turn the game into a track meet and dare Nacho to beat them.

The last time these two teams faced off, Sanchez didn’t have to worry about the flowing locks of Troy Polamalu.  Troy had a miserable game against the Ravens but if I were I betting man, I wouldn’t like the odds of him playing two poor games in a row.  Troy is exactly the kind of unpredictable wild card which gives young quarterbacks nightmares.  I fully expect him to be the difference between this game and the last one.

All other hands would seem to be on deck.  Bryant McFadden left the Ravens game with an abdominal strain but returned to practice and expects to play.  With Ike Taylor shutting down the opponent’s star receiver, it’s crucial for B-Mac to line up on the opposite side.  William Gay has played solidly when called upon although we saw what happened with him last season.  Not to mention with McFadden hurt, that leaves Anthony Madison as the nickel.

The only other notable injuries are to special teams players Arnaz Battle and Will Allen.  I note this because in the first meeting between the teams, the key play was Brad Smith’s opening kickoff return for a touchdown.  The good news is Smith is injured and, while he will play, may not handle returns.  The bad news is his replacement is Antonio Cromartie, who is every bit as dangerous.  The special teams played a lot better this season but were terrible last week and if one or both of our special team specialists can’t go, that’s not gonna help matters.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. JETS DEFENSE

If Sanchez is the key for the Jets, Ben Roethlisberger is the key for the Steelers.  Both teams are roughly equal when you compare them position by position.  Except when you look at the quarterback position.  Big Ben is the best big game quarterback in the NFL and perhaps of all-time.  As Hines Ward said following the Ravens game, “When you walk in to the huddle and see #7 there, you know you always have a chance.”

Another big change from last time is the presence of Ben’s favorite target, Heath Miller. Those who saw the first meeting between the teams might recall Matt Spaeth being open all over the field.   But Spaeth does as he is known to do and dropped as many as he caught.  Miller will not disappoint in the same fashion.  Last week, Patriot tight ends had over 100 yards receiving while the Jets D have surrendered a league high 9 TDs to TEs during the season so to say having Heath back is extremely important is an understatement.

Make no mistake, the Jets have one of the finest defenses in the league.  They scheme extremely well and take full advantage of weaknesses in their opponents game.  They also take a page out of the Steelers book by blitzing from unpredictable places and at unpredictable times.  It surely helps that Flozell Adams appears to be over the flu bug although Jonathan Scott was also banged up last week and he was the biggest weak link in the previous meeting.

While the Jets play solid defense, they can be exploited.  Rashard Mendenhall had 99 yards rushing in their prior encounter.  The Patriots, who are a below average running team by nature, still ran the ball effectively with itty bitty Danny Woodhead.  While the Steelers are no longer a ground-and-pound “Stiller Football” style offense, it wouldn’t hurt to pound the rock enough to slow down the pass rush just a little bit.

However, the game will still come down to Big Ben.   Darrelle Revis seems to be hitting his stride so I wouldn’t expect much from Mike Wallace this week.  Luckily, the Steelers are five deep when it comes to receiving threats.  Antonio Brown caught maybe a dozen balls all season and then came down with a 58 yard bomb in the most critical moment of the year.  Drew Coleman, Brodney Pool, Kyle Wilson, and even Antonio Cromartie can be exploited.  Hines and Heath are the steady veterans while Ben has shown no fear in calling the numbers of Emmanuel Sanders or A-Brown when need be.

Fellow CMU graduate Nik Bonaddio ran a statistical analysis of this game which I would gladly explain to you if I didn’t fall asleep during stats class sophomore year.  Suffice it to say, his extremely detailed breakdown has the Steelers winning 24-17.  Sounds about right.  Games like this are won or lost on cheap points.  The first time these teams met, the Steelers gifted the Jets nine undeserved points by allowing a kickoff return and then running an idiotic draw in the end zone for a safety.  After last week’s sloppiness, I don’t expect the Steelers to shoot themselves in the foot yet again.  Good for Steeler Nation, bad for Rex Ryan and Gang Green.

Can’t win ‘em all.

Although the Pittsburgh Steelers had plenty of chances to win on Sunday.  Sadly, the hated Baltimore Ravens handed the Black and Gold their first loss of the season by pulling off a heartbreaking last second 17-14 victory.  It was your typical close, hard-hitting game between the two rivals.  At the end of the day, though, what will stick with me is all the missed opportunities.

Charlie Batch (12-21 141 yards 0/1) had an up and down game.  Last week, it seemed as if he was born with a rabbit’s foot wedged firmly between his buttocks.  But Lady Luck is a fickle mistress.  This week, he left a number of plays on the field, played scared at times, and simply couldn’t catch a break.  If this was the final start of Chaz’s career, it was an honorable if disappointing way to go out.

The Steelers began the scoring on their second drive of the afternoon.   A number of short runs by Rashard Mendenhall (25 carries 79 yards) and a pass interference call on Baltimore set the Steelers up on the Ravens 37.   Batch lofted a bomb down the left sideline where Antwaan Randle-El made a fantastic leaping catch over the cornerback for a 34 yard gain.  It was truly Swann-esque.   Mendy banged it home for the first of his two TDs on the day for an early 7-0 lead.

The Raven answered immediately with a touchdown drive of their own.  They exploited the middle of the field quite effectively.  They discovered a weakness in the Steelers D where on three WR sets, they’d try covering the slot guy with either a linebacker or safety.  Well, as fast as Lawrence Timmons or Ryan Clark are, they aren’t going to keep up with Anquan Boldin or Derrick Mason.  A 40 yard play to Mason and an 18 yarder to Boldin set them up at the Pittsburgh 9.   James Farrior was caught flat-footed allowing Willis McGahee to blow right by him for a TD.

Late in the half, the Ravens followed the same formula to move into field goal range as time expired.  Kicker Billy Cundiff, who missed one on Baltimore’s opening drive, knocked this one home for a 10-7 halftime lead.

Things completely fell apart for the Steelers in the second half.  People are going to bring up 2009 and blame the defense for surrendering a late lead but that is absolutely unfair.  With one exception, the defense was the only thing keeping them in the game.  They didn’t give up a point in the entire second half until the last 30 seconds of the game.   They forced two turnovers in Ravens territory.  And they had a tremendous four-down goal line stand to preserve what should have been a victory.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, James Harrison wrapped up McGahee and punched the ball free.  Timmons scooped it, setting the offense up at the Baltimore 27.  Bruce Arians, who called his first idiotic game this season, ordered up a reverse to Mike Wallace that got nothing.   After a short gain by Mendy, Batch was sacked for a seven yard loss.  The offense had no flow and no coherent game plan.   Like I said, you could say “Baltimore attacked the middle of the field.”   The Steelers did a little bit of this and little bit of that.   And almost nothing worked as they finished with a puny 210 yards of total offense, 93 of which came on a single drive in the fourth.

After the three and out, Jeff Reed doinked his kick off the goalpost.

A couple drives later, Joe Flacco threw up a duck which Ike Taylor fair caught for his first interception of the season.  Wait, did I just type that?  IKE TAYLOR INTERCEPTED A PASS!!!  The apocalypse must be nigh.

Starting at Baltimore’s 33, the Steelers offense went three and out yet again.  This time, they did manage a bit of a threat as Batch hit Wallace with a bomb in the end zone.  The pass was perfect and Wallace had it in his grasp but the Ravens cornerback managed to rip it free before he could complete the catch.  As I said, Lady Luck is fickle and there was no love for Charlie.

Skippy lined up for a 45 yarder and this one missed wide left.  That’s your Franchise Player, Steeler Nation.

The Steelers finally put together a decent drive early in the fourth.  Starting on their own 7, Batch connected with Heath Miller for gains of 19 and 13 yards.  He did catch a break on a deflected pass which fell harmlessly between three Baltimore defenders.  Randle El caught a 16 yarder to move them down to the Ravens 26.  Mendenhall toted the rock on three of the next four plays, finishing the long drive with a 7 yard touchdown which put the Steelers ahead 14-10.

Flacco immediately answered with a 21 yard pass to TJ Houshmandzadeh.  The Steelers began playing soft coverage (not quite a prevent) and gave up catches in ten yard chunks as time ticked down.  With a little over three minutes left, Baltimore found themselves with a first and goal on the Steelers 8.  A fade pass to Boldin fell incomplete and a Ray Rice plunge netted only 6 yards.  Then the incredible happened.  Willie Gay rose up to make two fantastic plays for the Steelers.   He saved a touchdown on third down by breaking up a pass intended for Mason.   On fourth and goal, the Ravens tried another fade to Boldin but he couldn’t escape tight coverage from Gay and it again fell incomplete.   Willie Gay = Hero?

The end really must be near.

Taking over at their own 3, the Steelers ran Mendy up the gut three times.  The first time netted two yards but a false start set them back.  The second run got nothing.  The third attempt gained three yards but, repeat after me, a false start set them back.  So the Steelers kicked.

Baltimore fair caught but…wait for it…there was a penalty on the Steelers.   Add ten more yards so instead of starting on the 50, the Ravens began at the Steelers 40.  Now notice how I’m not bitching and moaning about all the flags against the Steelers, who were penalized 11 times for 88 yards.  The Steelers played sloppy and stupid, plain and simple.  It’s not some vast NFL fueled conspiracy against the Black and Gold.  Take note, Ratbird fans.

The Steelers decided to play a prevent this time.   What’s worse, it was a stupid prevent.  The Ravens were out of time outs and there was less than two minutes left.  If you’re going to surrender yards, at least take time off the clock and/or make the Ravens rush to run their next play.  Incredibly, almost every play ended with a Ravens’ receiver going out of bounds.  This allowed Flacco to calmly stroll to the line of scrimmage and call the next play.  Also, in prevent, you’re supposed to never ever ever ever let a WR get behind you.   Yet, Housyourdaddy blew right by Bryant McFadden and caught a strike from Flacco for an 18 yard TD.

Now some people are going to blame Skippy for blowing two makeable field goals.  And that’s fair considering how he cried and whined about wanting to be the highest paid kicker in football.   Money kickers make those kicks, Jeffy.  And some people are going to say “It’s 2009 all over again!” and blame the defense for giving up that touchdown at the end of game.  But the bottom line is the OFFENSE HAS TO SCORE.  When two drives begin deep in Ravens territory and you not only fail to score one measly touchdown but can’t even make a freakin’ first down, that’s embarrassing.  If  the Steelers capatilize on even one of those golden opportunities, everything else is moot.

Help us, Obi-Wan Ben Roethlisberger.   You’re our only hope.

Ah, sweet sweet TIVO.  Allowing me to maintain some semblance of a social life and still blog about our fifth string wide receiver’s route running ability.

Some random thoughts from the Pittsburgh Steelers Meaningless Game #2:

QUARTERBACKS - Ben Roethlisberger saw his first action of the season.  He looked to be in mid-season form.  And by “mid-season form,” I mean he ran around in the pocket like a kid with ADD and then showed his typical bad decision making by throwing a poor ball that resulted in a pick.  He also held the ball too long on a 2nd and goal resulting in a sack and five yard loss.   These blunders helped contribute to his being the only quarterback who failed to lead a touchdown drive on Saturday.  To be fair, he appeared to be in good physical shape and showed some nice ability to roll out while making crisp throws on the run.

Byron Leftwich looked pretty good in his brief appearance, highlighted by a 68 yard bomb to Mike Wallace which he dropped in perfectly to the speedy wideout.  Of course, the ignorant bloggers and columnists are using this as proof positive that the Great QB Controversy of 2010 is over.  To them I say this:  the Giants were clearly playing vanilla schemes and generating ZERO PASS RUSH.  On one play, Lord Byron actually SCRAMBLED away from two defenders and lumbered forward for 5 yards.  The chances of him doing that in a real game are about as likely as the Pirates winning the World Series.

Mark my words, as soon as the season starts and he faces a real honest to goodness pass rush, his statue-like pocket presence will doom our offense.

Dennis Dixon looked fantastic as usual but it was strictly in mop-up time.  At this point, there’s no use in my singing his praises until we start the season 0-2 under the immobile Leftwich.

DEFENSE - The Giants held Eli Manning out after suffering a gaping head wound in their first preseason game while backup Jim Sorgi is hurt.  So they went the entire game with third stringer Rhett Bomar.   I’m not trying to sound any alarm bells based on meaningless games but you don’t exactly want to see practice squad fodder like Bomar lead a TD drive against your FIRST TEAM defense.  Which is exactly what happened in the second quarter.

Bomar bomar’d a deep pass to Other Steve Smith for a 45 yard play on coverage by Bryant McFadden.  Granted B-Mac was playing looser than a sorority girl down in Milledgeville but I’d like to see better from a secondary that was torched last year.

Then again, that secondary may have been a bit confused due to Ike Taylor getting tossed from the game four plays into the game.  I always figured players treated these contests like a joke but there was Face Me Ike swinging punches at Hakeem Nicks for some inexplicable reason.  Maybe he had dinner reservations at Tavern on the Green or something.

Slightly more encouraging was the play of second year corner Joe Burnett.  He made a fantastic reaching INT of a tipped Bomar pass.  Considering nobody in our secondary could hold on to a pass last year, I think Burnett may merit a move up in the depth chart past Willie Gay if he continues to show good hands.

Second rounder Jason Worilds saw his first action of the season and showed very little.  He got stood up at the line of scrimmage on almost every play which was the knock on him coming out of college (good rusher, bad run stuffer).  Speaking of which, Keyaron Fox showed very good sideline-to-sideline movement when in with the second team.  Meanwhile, speedy RB Ahmed Bradshaw beat beat both James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons to the outside on a 9 yard TD.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Daniel Sepulveda handled the kickoffs and may have taken the job away from Skippy.   His kicks traveled about 5 yards farther than Reed’s and more importantly, he’d get enough loft on the kicks that the coverage could get into place.

On returns, rookie Antonio Brown saw time as a kick and punt returner.  He didn’t set the world on fire but handled the job capably enough.  I wouldn’t say he’s an upgrade over Stefan Logan but I don’t think he’d be any worse either.   Which is my long-winded way of saying Joystick may be in danger of not making this team.

RUNNING BACK – The Steelers’ commitment to the run is admirable.  And necessary because they aren’t going to win without a good run game.  The problem is, we’re two games in and I’m not convinced they can run effectively.  Mendenhall ran 8 times for a measly 11 yards.

Which isn’t all his fault because anything up the middle is doomed due to massive penetration allowed by a leaky offensive line.  Runs around the corners aren’t much better.  Flozell Adams, in particular, seems to be struggling with the move to RT.  I’ll chalk some of it up to just not knowing the schemes (yet) but he needs to get up to speed soon.

Mewelde Moore had a couple nice runs which should solidify him as the #2 back.  Although Issac Redman continued to impress.  They used him as a fullback on some first team formations giving them the option of handing off to either FB/RB.  And he scored another red zone TD although this one was from 12 yards out.  At this point, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it as the 3rd back.

All in all, a good night for the Steelers against a depleted and half-assing Giants team.  With cut downs looming, there should be a couple hard decisions to make in the near future.

Thursday Night Football features the season’s second match-up between the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleveland is easily the worst team of 2009. First year coach Eric Mangini was fleeced in two trades with the Jets, which led to his puppet G.M. getting canned mid-season. Their defense is on pace to surrender more yardage than any team this decade. The starting QB spot has ping-ponged from Brady Quinn to Derek Anderson back to Quinn with neither player getting the job done.  In fact, if you subtract Quinn’s four TD outburst against the equally sad Detroit Lions, the Browns have scored less than a dozen touchdowns ALL SEASON.

What I’m trying to say is the Browns are the type of team the Steelers should pound into a fine paste.   Which is exactly what I said when we played Kansas City and Oakland.  Yet, we all know how those games turned out.  No game is a gimme for the Steelers because the Steelers refuse to let it be.  That’s why the enemy this week isn’t really the Cleveland Browns.

The Steelers enemy is themselves.

Here’s a perfect example.  Hines Ward tweaked his hamstring on the second to last play of last week’s loss.  Working on an extremely short week, it appears that Hines will not play.  Hines practiced a little but the signing of an extra WR off the practice squad indicates the team isn’t optimistic.  Now, anybody with a brain in their head knows Ward is one of the toughest Steelers EVER.  He was Super Bowl MVP despite playing with a separated shoulder while in last year’s game he attempted to play on a partially torn MCL.  The man is a warrior who will do anything to help his team win.

So what does Ben Roethlisberger say when asked about the possibility of Hines not playing this week?

“Hines will do what’s best for Hines, I’m sure.”

This was the perfect opportunity to take the high road and work toward unifying the locker room.  Especially now that the team’s backs are up against the wall. Instead, Ben decided it was better to get a little payback by making a petty self-serving comment.  Way to show your “leadership” skills, Ben.   No wonder 50% of the locker room thinks you’re a dick.

This sort of nonsense is exactly what I’m talking about.  Bill Cowher took fifteen years to win a championship but his teams ALWAYS put forth maximum effort.  I don’t see that this year.   The players don’t seem to care.  Veteran leadership is totally lacking.  And the coaches, particularly Mike Tomlin, like to talk a big game but seem incapable of motivating anybody while repeatedly putting players in position to fail.

The irony in the whole Team Hines vs. Team Ben debate is they both need each other.  Hines lives to win and Ben is most definitely a winner.  Without him, he wouldn’t have those two shiny rings on his fingers.  Likewise, Ben is a mediocre passer who relies on his receivers to make big plays for him.  He’ll learn to appreciate Hines when he hits Limas Sweed (our #3 WR this week) in the hands only to watch the ball slip through his greasy mitts.

Of course, the big news this week was Tomlin calling out his secondary, particularly CBs Ike Taylor and Will.i.am Gay.  I’ve stated many times I think Ike is an extremely talented cover corner but he does have a tendency to get lazy.  Which is why Cowher had to bench him for five games back in 2006 after he did a fantastic job in the playoff run of 2005.  No word on whether Tomlin is going to go that far although I’d like to see a message sent.

Gay has sucked all season which Tomlin is evidently just getting around to noticing.  It appeared the Steelers had an easy out this week with Gay suffering a concussion at the hands of Ryan Mundy last week.   However, William practiced normally all week which means he’d have to be benched as well.  My medical expertise is limited to playing doctor with Tina DiCapula in the fourth grade but I can almost guarantee he knows if somebody starts in his place and plays better than him (impossible not to), his starting spot is gone.  It’s amazing how minor side affects like excercise induced headaches don’t matter when you’re not in a position to be a whiny primadonna.

Regardless of who starts, expect rookie corners Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett to get long looks.  With the playoffs a long shot, the rest of this season should be about the future.   And nothing is more important than figuring out our secondary mess for next year.  Lewis is a tall, rangy athlete with excellent leaping ability.  The concern on him is his speed, which led some to think his best position would be to put on weight and move to safety.  I was very impressed with Burnett during the preseason.  He’s small but fast and has a nose for the ball.   We saw a little of that last week when he had the game sealing INT all but handed to him.  In college he was a ballhawk so I’m hoping it was rookie jitters because I think he could be a keeper.

There may be other players seeing more action than usual.  Ryan Clark has totally degenerated to the point I think the coaching staff wants to take a look at Mundy.   I have no idea why since all he seems to know how to do is cheapshot people.  Also, Keyaron Fox, who has played fantastic when given the opportunity (maybe because he’s HUNGRY?), may split time with Lawrence Timmons.  To be honest, James Farrior is the weaksauce of the LB corps but he can’t be taken out because he’s the captain in charge of setting the defense and calling all the signals/audibles.

Oh, and of course, Troy Polamalu is out.

Which probably means Brady Quinn will throw three TD passes then go home and celebrate by being a human pommel horse for his girlfriend, Alicia Sacramone.  Not that I want that to happen, mind you.   At this point, I’d rather adjust my expectations downward so I’m not so crushingly disappointed.  Yes, the 2009 season has come to that.

And the Steelers have nobody to blame but themselves.