This is why you can’t have nice things…

The Pittsburgh Steelers laid a 35-3 beatdown on the outclassed Oakland Raiders yesterday afternoon.  However, instead of talking about the Black and Gold’s finest effort of the season, we’ll probably spend the week discussing the pathetic events which occurred between plays.  This game was a travesty, a sham, a complete mockery of what we as NFL fans expect.  And I hold Roger Goodell, the NFL, and the Raiders responsible for this utter travashamockery of football.

We should probably begin with Raiders DT and lead thug Richard Seymour, who sucker punched Ben Roethlisberger after a 22 yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders.  Seymour was ejected for his Rampage Jackson-style right cross but that is not enough.  This was a criminal act the likes of which I have never seen on an NFL field.  The Ginger Dictator loves fining players for legal yet vicious hits in the name of protecting their safety.  How safe is it when you have goons like Seymour physically assaulting defenseless men after a play?

Seymour should not only face the stiffest fine ever levied but suspended for 2 to 3 games for his reprehensible actions.  In fact, I DEMAND IT.

As if the lousy sportsmanship wasn’t bad enough, the officials did everything in their power to ruin the game.  The Steelers set a team record with 14 penalties for 163 yards.  The Raiders as a team only had 182 yards TOTAL.  Ordinarily, I’d lay blame for this fiasco on the players and Mike Tomlin.   But I really have nothing to admonish them for since only about half those calls were legitimate fouls.

There’s a phenomenon known locally as Pittsburgh Paranoia.   It’s a feeling Pittsburgh sports fans have where they constantly feel leagues, networks, and especially the media either ignore or attempt to diminish our teams.  Usually I laugh at these conspiracy nuts even though there is a kernel of truth to their argument.  However, after yesterday, I’m fully on board with anybody who wants to argue the NFL is attempting to sabotage the Steelers.

Even now, some 12 hours later, I can feel myself slipping into a boiling rage over the grossly inept display of officiating.  The Steelers were called for two personal fouls on absolutely clean sacks, one of which negated a pick-six.  James Harrison, after clocking Jason Campbell, was flagged for coming down “with his full weight on the QB.”  So that’s a penalty now?  What about 3/4 body weight?  Or 1/5?  How much weight is permitted to touch a precious QB before a flag is thrown in this increasingly pussified game of football?  It was a form-perfect hit.  What’s he supposed to do?

The Ginger Dictator should just issue a press release saying, “James Harrison is no longer permitted to touch any quarterbacks under penalty of fine and/or personal foul.  Sorry, I just don’t like him or the Steelers.  In fact, if he scowls at the QB in a threatening manner, I may penalize that, too.”  It’s pathetic.

When the Steelers weren’t being called for phantom personal fouls, they were getting flagged for phantom pass interferences.  Ike Taylor, who was the man denied his pick-six, got flagged for PI on a ball that overshot the receiver by about 20 yards.  I could go on and on and on but I don’t know what to say.  This was the most atrociously refereed football game I’ve ever seen.  The league should be embarrassed.

Let’s talk some positives.  Sean Kugler continues to work miracles with the offensive line.  The starting group of Flo-Foster (starting for a benched Trai Essex)-Pouncey-Kemo-Scott was fairly impressive, keeping Ben clean and providing a nice pocket.  Meanwhile, the vaunted run D the mouthbreathers from Oakland who invaded my blog raved about was getting gashed until injuries to our already banged up O-line started piling up.  If this group can get healthy come playoff time, we might have something.  That’s a big IF, though, as Scott and Kemo were both hobbled leading to super-sub Essex entering at various points.  Then there was Pouncey, who was replaced by Legursky after re-injuring his gimpy knee early in the second half.

Big Ben was brilliant.  Of course, a late scratch of Raiders star CB Nnamdi Asomugha helped.  But this was the Ben we expected once he returned from his unfair uncalled for suspension.  Quick, decisive, and pinpoint accurate, the offense was firing on all cylinders after a few rough drives to start the game.  Ben completed 18/29 for 275 with 3 passing TDs and one 16 yard TD scramble.  I particularly enjoyed the 16 yard FU touchdown to Issac Redman with a little over a minute left in the game.

What was most impressive about the passing game was the variety of targets utilized in the attack.  Ben hit eight different receivers, six of whom had multiple catches.  Naturally, Mike Wallace had the big game (3 catches but 116 yards!   52 of which came on his lone TD.) but rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders (whose leaping 22 yard TD catch was sweet) finally made some plays.  Hines and Heath were dependable safety valves, as usual.

On the flip side, the run defense was fantastic.  They held the Raiders to only 61 total yards on the ground, lowering their yearly yards against average yet again.  At the rate they’re going, this may end up being statistically the best rush defense in NFL HISTORY.  Harrison, when he wasn’t being unfairly persecuted, had a monster game, posting five tackles, two sacks, picking off a pass and forcing a fumble.  Ike Taylor also forced a fumble in addition to the pick-six he was denied.

Shaun Suisham made all his extra points so I have nothing to comment on in that regard.  Got a good laugh at the crowd roaring on his first PAT.  Enjoy the love while you can, Suissy.  We’ll be ready to run you out of town as soon as you shank a 35 yarder with the Steelers up by 20 in the fourth quarter.

I’m torn on what to take from this game.   There is the positive of our team playing tremendously on both sides of the ball which is negated by the fact the Raiders are a pathetic team.  I’m sorry, I truly gave them too much credit in my preview as it’s clear they beat up on a bunch of bottom-feeders and in reality aren’t in the same class as the league’s top tier teams.  Then we have the positive of being able to wash the taste from last week’s debacle out of our mouths.  Which is countered by this game being a debacle of a different sort, albeit one which ended well.  I guess at the end of the day that’s all that matters.

The Oakland Raiders continued their run of ineptitude last year, going 5-11 to extend their streak of 11 loss seasons to seven.  Of course, one of those five wins was against a reeling Pittsburgh Steelers.  That wasn’t the first time a defending Super Bowl champion Steelers team suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Raiders.  In 2006, the Black and Gold lost to an Oakland team which would win only two (TWO!) games that entire season.

That was then, this is now.  I don’t know how many virgins (assuming you can find one in California) the immortal Al Davis sacrificed to please his dark master but some sort of mystical forces have conspired to make the Raiders one of the NFL’s most surprising teams.  No word on whether Count Al will make the trip to Heinz Field this Sunday.  I hope he does because I’m kinda curious if he sparkles in the sunlight.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. RAIDERS OFFENSE

The Raiders finally cut bait on Jamarcus Russell, the biggest draft bust in history.  Jason Campbell brings respectability back to the quarterback position.  Campbell never lived up to what Joe Gibbs saw in him and it seems the change in scenery  has done him a world of good.  His numbers aren’t great (7 TD-5 INT) but he’s been coming on in recent weeks with 5 of those touchdowns over the past three games.

This match-up will be an interesting test for the Steelers D.  Some people like to parrot what they hear on TV or the radio about “the NFL is a passing league, you must throw the ball 55 times a game to win!” which is utter stupidity.  Every team is different and you win by doing what you do well and minimizing what you do bad.  There is no “magic formula.”   Case in point is the Raiders.

Oakland has averaged 25 rushes per game and over 100 yards per game over the last 5 games.   They are 4-1 over that span.  Meanwhile, the Steelers have been throwing a lot more over the past three games, losing two of them.  The Raiders recognize they aren’t an explosive offense and don’t try to be something they’re not.  Too bad Bruce Arians doesn’t follow their example.

Speaking of offensive coordinators, a large part of the Raiders improvement can be traced to Hue Jackson taking over playcalling duties from head coach Tom Cable.  He’s simply decided to put the ball in the hands of his best player, the Reggie Bushesque Darren McFadden.   D-Mac is a multi-purpose threat averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 10.1 yards per reception.  He is backed up by bruising Michael Bush, who could probably start for many teams.

Last week, the Patriots exposed how lousy the Steelers secondary is.  This week, Tom Cable has already said they aren’t going to try copying their example.  Of course, this may be classic coach misdirection.  If we know that they know that we know they aren’t going to pass then they may actually do the opposite of what we thought they said we thought they weren’t going to do.

The Raiders may not have much choice since their top receiving threats WR Darius Heyward-Bey, WR Chaz Shilens and TE Zach Miller are all nursing injuries.  The Steelers are suffering a rash of injuries, as well.  Troy Polamalu hasn’t practiced with a strained achilles tendon, which may explain his steep decline the past few weeks.  Brett Keisel is still hampered by a hamstring while his backup, Nick Eason, has been sick with a mystery illness.  The good news is defensive MVP Lawrence Timmons has practiced and is expected to play.

Since Aaron Smith went down, we’ve been wondering if the run defense would go along with him.  The Patriots, Bengals, and Saints aren’t running teams so those weren’t the most stiff of tests.  Well, this week we play the 2nd best rushing offense in the NFL.  The Steelers rush D is still ranked #1 overall.   Something has to give.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. RAIDERS DEFENSE

This match-up also presents some interesting questions.  The Raiders defense was so lousy, they traded next year’s first round pick to the Patriots for 31 year old Richard Seymour.   Then they went out and spent their first two picks on Rolando McClain (8th overall) and Lamarr Houston (44th) in an effort to bolster last year’s 29th ranked rushing defense.  It worked so well, they’re now ranked 24th.

On the flip side, CB Nnamdi Asomugha has battled injury but remains one of the best corners in the league.  Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson are the unfortunate duo who get picked on because teams stay away from Nnamdi.  I’m sure a lot of people are saying, “Who?”   Fair question but they, combined with a strong pass rush from Seymour and emerging star Tommy Kelly, are doing something right because the Raiders have the 2nd best pass defense in football.

Which is why I say this is an interesting match-up.  The Raiders strength is secondary, their weakness is stopping the run.  Since Ben Roethlisberger‘s return, the Steelers have steadily moved away from running the ball to the point Rashard Mendenhall, once the league’s second leading rusher, had only 11 carries for 50 yards last week.  Chris Kemoeatu has practiced and is expected to play which means with the exception of Max Starks, our starting offensive line should be back together.

Kemo is a much better run blocker than pass blocker.  Ditto with Flozell Adams.  Same with Trai Essex.  This is why the line looked so impressive in opening up gaping holes for Mendy while allowing few sacks the first month of the season.  The offensive playcalling emphasized their strengths (rushing) and tried to downplay their weakness (pass blocking).  Things have gone awry the past few games as Bruce Arians has attempted to bring his Flying Circus back into town.

Bottom line:  this week we have an offensive line that is good at run blocking for a very good running back facing a defense that is fantastic against the pass but struggles against the run.  Naturally, I expect Arians to roll out his empty backfield four wide set on the second or third play of the game.

Last week, I said that game was the tipping point for the entire season.  I won’t make any grand proclamations this week.   All I’ll say is nobody wants to relive the nightmare that was 2009.   A loss to a Raiders team that is very much improved over the Raiders we lost to last season and it will be deju vu all over again.