Ask A Steelers Fan...

I’d say Ben’s issues with sacks are a result of both his patience with the ball in his hands, and our lines inconsistent play. We’ve got some talent up front, but no one is going to be able and block someone if they are unsure how long they’ll need to or where their QB will be next. If I personally had to place blame I’d say 40% line play, 40% QBing, and 20% playcalling. Which brings me to your next question…

We have an identity crisis on our hands like no other is Steelers history, in my opinion. We went from the tough, shove it down your opponents throats offense to a more pass happy team. That is a change that quite a few fans were not only not ready for, but a change they don’t want at all. Bruce Arians has not made many friends in the fanbase, to say the least. His comittment to the run is highly questionable and he is all over the place in terms of play selection. It seems he just loses track of the situations he is in on the field (ie: In the shotgun with 5 wides on 3rd and 1; calling long pass plays regularly when in reality we only need modest gains to keep the chains moving). These plays just seem to very rarely work, but he keeps going back to them in similar siuations. My opinion of Bruce is he’s stubborn to the point of unreasonable, and believes whole heartedly in what he is doing. While at times this is an admirable quality, this is not one of those times.

I’ll put it this way, his ideas of what our offense can do and should be doing, just do not mesh well with the fans. The fact the offense is stagnant currently and we’re losing to teams we “should” beat as a result has snowballed into an all out disgust with his gameplan.

The shift we made when Coach Tomlin took over was two fold. It was a change at the top but we also lost our offensive coordinator and O-line coach to Arizona. As a result, we changed blocking schemes (from man to zone) and changed offensive playcallers (from the Whiz, Whisenhut, to Bruce Arians). Bruce was a member of our staff before, as QB coach, so it was a move for continuity in the clubhouse and for Ben, but as a result we lost our old identity. We have shifted from the run heavy to the pass happy. To some degree the move was inevitable, with Ben progressing and his ability to take on added responsibilities. And when you realize where Arians was prior to us, Indianapolis with Peyton Manning, it’s fairly odvious where Arians gets his mentality from. But, instead of dipping our toes in the water that was this change, we went in head first.

To answer your question, our identity currently appears to be “In Ben We Trust” and it is as he goes we go. As you can tell by our record, this is not always a great way to go about it. It’s not that Ben can’t handle the responsibility, but he can’t do it all. He’s still growing mentally into this role and I think we’re seeing some severe growing pains. My hope, and I’d assume Bruce’s, is that these growing pains turn Ben into a field general similar to what Peyton is. I doubt anyone can do what Peyton does, to that level at least, but I can hope (so can Bruce).

But when you lose the best player on the field, everyone is effected. Our corners don’t have the assistence they’re used to in coverage. The linebackers don’t have their extra man in the box who is everywhere he needs to be. The line and pass rushers don’t have the extra time his presence gave them to push the pocket and presure the QB. To sum it all up, he makes everyone just that much better. He makes the big “splash” plays that get the defense going. I don’t have the exact numbers, but in the four games he’s played in we have combined for something like 3 or 4 times the number of turnovers we have in the 9 games he has missed, collectively.

We’ve also lost Aaron Smith, who is as dominating as a 3-4 defensive lineman can be, and are having some real problems in pass coverage after replacing a starter from last year with his backup (Bryant McFadden out, William Gay in), who hasn’t played at the level he showed promise of last year. We have a young athletic linebacker (Lawrence Timmons) who has an increased role this year, but unfortunately he has also been slowed down by injury and hasn’t been quite what he was hyped to be as of yet. These roster moves seemed minor in the offseason, but the turnover cannot be overlooked as a possible reason for some of the drop off.

Can’t deny we looked flat, and flat is probably an understatement. I think that the losses just compiled on our guys mentally, and the short week leading up to the Cleveland game didn’t help either. This is a group of guys not used to losing 2 or 3 in a row. Five is just plain painful. I have confidence in my team in every single game they play. I see an angry, hungry group of guys doing whatever it takes to win on Sunday. That being said, I thought that before every single game this year, so… yeah. If you want my honest opinion, we snuck out of that game against the Vikings with a win. While we played well, we caught some big time breaks in the fourth that swung the balance in our favor.

As far as Willie goes… it’s tough to say. As with most things it’s a combination of factors. Willie had some injuries that played their part. A leg injury that ended his season two years ago, and his turf toe that pushed Mendenhall into a starting role week 4. Last year there was a lot of problems with our offensive line, which could not open a hole for the life of them. This season, early on at least, he was not getting the holes consistently, and when they were there, he seemed to miss them. He did a lot of running into the back of his linemen (from what I hear, they just love that) and when he did, his legs seemed to slow or stop. He just couldn’t keep them moving, not good for a RB.

When you factor all that in, combined with his lack of pass catching prowess, and his blocking, which leaves a lot to be desired, he just hasn’t been able to find the field since his return (Mendenhall is a much more complete back). He’s had about 15 or so carries in the last month, but for the most part the spell back duties fall on Mewelde Moore. You may remember him from his days in Minnesota.

I’m very boring, I know. I’m one of those people who really does believe in any given Sunday, so I’d argue that 50/ 50 is as good as it gets, in most cases.

You get the edge on offense, we get the edge on run defense, you get the edge on pass defense, we get the edge on special teams (which I haven’t said one time this year until now). It’s a toss up to me.

It’s the only screen we run regularly, and it actually works most of the time. I’d expect at least one this week.

when was the last time a wild card team secured a playoff spot.

we may secure a spot before a division leader (cards)

His athleticism goes both ways because he’s never been quick, he’s never been fast but he’s been labeled the strongest player on the Packers pound for pound and he is very intelligent. Since he was never fast and never overly quick, his age hasn’t been that much of a factor. That being said, his career (as an effective player) might be done since he tore his ACL and he is 35. It’s wait and see now.

Everybody loves LeBeau, and understandably so. The guy whose players refer to him as Coach Dad has been as good of a coordinator as there is in the game.

Capers is good, and has been great this year, but LeBeau should get Hall of Fame consideration. He has reinvented defensive football with the zone blitz on top of many other schematic moves that were just not done before him.

But here were Bill Polian’s comments in direct regard to your question DD.

He pulled the defensive coordinator away from the Pittsburgh Steelers, where opponents stayed out of the end zone more than anywhere else, and turned over the keys to his new franchise to the workaholic Capers.

“I’m not sure that there’s anybody, including Dick LeBeau, who plays that defense, who puts it together in a game plan and calls it, as well as Dom does,” said Polian. "He had a terrific vision for what he thought the team could be, and what he wanted it to be and a terrific grasp for how he wanted to play defense.

“We built the team right along according to Dom’s blueprint and it worked out great.”

So even though I love to have Capers as DC and would love to have LeBeau as well, Bill Polian seems to think that Capers is a better defensive mind.