The Problem is simple: our players aren't good enough.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

It's not coaching, motivation, brain freezes, refs conspiring against us, or anything else.

We are just short a few key pieces - a corner that can do the job, an O lineman or two ... etc., etc. Nothing fancy, just an old-fashioned talent deficit.

We're just not that good with all our stars injured (and frankly, even with everyone healthy we've still got the Ike millstone around our neck).

The "go for it or not" 4th down situation at the end ... the fact that we were even in the position of having to "try not to lose" is the problem - the hard choice itself is just a symptom of a talent deficit.

[SteelBucks]

Anyone can coach a talented team. I may get bashed but for the first time, I'm starting to question whether Tomlin has "it".

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Anyone can coach a talented team. I may get bashed but for the first time, I'm starting to question whether Tomlin has "it".

Need eggs to make an omelette, no matter how good a chef you are (not a bash, SteelBucks .:Cheers ).

[SDSteel1]

If in talent you mean a guy who can kick a 55 yard field goal then you'd be correct. Otherwise our team's talent is as good or bad as anyones.

[Steel Life]

Anyone can coach a talented team. I may get bashed but for the first time, I'm starting to question whether Tomlin has "it".
Yes he does.

[Steelhere10]

I think they are not starting the better players. Steve M, Hayward any human over Ike and Mundy and throw slow azz Foote in the pile also. But yes they need more talent.

[chiken]

they have the talent. Its time for a new philosophy. Last week against the eagles (a more talented team on offense in regards to big play ability) w/o Troy, and Harrisons 1st game back what do we do - we send the hounds, repeatedly. Last night against an offense waiting to be destroyed what do we do, EVERYTHING we could to make the guy comfortable.
IF we are going to give up plays why do dont we give them up attempting to make a play.. We play a brand of Defense that looks good on paper (Stat Wise) but sucks in the game.
They didnt even run no huddle last night, and CJ looked like CJ of old.. please send pressure. who cares if they give up the big play, we should be use to it, we have been giving up the big play on Defense since we played the Cards in the superbowl.

[Oviedo]

they have the talent. Its time for a new philosophy. Last week against the eagles (a more talented team on offense in regards to big play ability) w/o Troy, and Harrisons 1st game back what do we do - we send the hounds, repeatedly. Last night against an offense waiting to be destroyed what do we do, EVERYTHING we could to make the guy comfortable.
IF we are going to give up plays why do dont we give them up attempting to make a play.. We play a brand of Defense that looks good on paper (Stat Wise) but sucks in the game.
They didnt even run no huddle last night, and CJ looked like CJ of old.. please send pressure. who cares if they give up the big play, we should be use to it, we have been giving up the big play on Defense since we played the Cards in the superbowl.

The schizophrenic defensive playcalling week to week drives me insane. Freakin attack and at least go down fighting, that is what Steelers defense is about.

[Dee Dub]

Ike Taylor, Larry Foote, Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton, in my opinion are liabilities on defense. That's 4 starters. And when good players like Harrison, Woodley, Polamalu, and on occasion Clark, aren't in the lineup, you are now playing average players to go along with those sub-par players. That is a bad formula.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Ike Taylor, Larry Foote, Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton, in my opinion are liabilities on defense. That's 4 starters. And when good players like Harrison, Woodley, Polamalu, and on occasion Clark, aren't in the lineup, you are now playing average players to go along with those sub-par players. That is a bad formula.
I know he's a liability in coverage, but I think Foote has actually had a pretty good season (surprising me). I agree with you, though, that Taylor and Keisel appear to be losing it. And why is Hampton even on the field? Every time McLendon comes in, he looks at least twice as good as Fat Casey.

Woodley may be a good player, but he hasn't played like one this season, even when he wasn't injured. Who knows if we can count on Polamalu and Harrison to ever be healthy again?


The question is, why haven't the Steelers drafted and groomed players who can step in and replace players like Taylor, Keisel, Polamalu and Harrison?

And maybe another question--why hasn't LeBeau adjusted his defense to better suit the players he has on the field?

[SidSmythe]

LARRY FOOTE at this point in the Season has been one of our most reliable players along with Ryan Clark.

Our weaknesses is depth at OLB, Ryan Mundy, Casey and worst of all IKE TAYLOR.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Any OC we face for the rest of the year that doesn't target IKE between 6 and 10 times a game would have ZERO basis for stating they still deserved a job.

IKE ZERO.

Weren/t we talking about Pro Bowl for him at the beginning of last season? I've never seen anyone go downhill so quickly ...

[pittpete]

I think Foote has been a pleasant surprise this year on defense.
At least hes consistent
Ikes days as a corner should be numbered.
Maybe try him at safety?

[NW Steeler]

I agree. Foote has been solid so far and Timmons is playing very well. Ike is playing horrible. Its like the Denver game in the playoffs last year is still in his head. Hold constantly, gets beat and then gets in the receivers grille afterwards. His schtick is getting old.Lewis is bad. Put Allen and Brown in already. And please figure out something to do at SS. Yeesh.

[Dee Dub]

I do not agree with you guys. I am seeing Foote being pushed back 5 yards on run plays. He to me is a liability. He can't stop the run and he can't cover. Stop watching the ball and focus on him and you will see what I am seeing.

[flippy]

I do not agree with you guys. I am seeing Foote being pushed back 5 yards on run plays. He to me is a liability. He can't stop the run and he can't cover. Stop watching the ball and focus on him and you will see what I am seeing.

That's always been the story for Foote. He's small and slow. But he's smart and has some of the best instincts to put himself in the right spot to make plays. I think you can make do with a guy like a Larry Foote. Some of the other players hurt us much more.

[hawaiiansteel]

Cook: A loss that will sting in December

October 12, 2012
by Ron Cook / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://d4493f2df0d1b95cfc62-773cd17a86049dd672fafb96394debed.r5.cf2.rackcdn.co m/2012/285/601/suisham-misses_420.jpg

Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham hangs his head after missing a potential game winning field goal against the Titans last night in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Steelers aren't a very good football team.

Can we agree on that this morning?

It's not just their 26-23 loss Thursday night to a really bad Tennessee Titans team. It's not their 2-3 record with all three losses against AFC opponents. It's not their silly penalties, their inability to run the ball or their failure to stop their opponent in the fourth quarter.

It's all of it.

Much of the season remains, 11 games. It is too early to pronounce the Steelers dead. But at this point, they have the look of a .500 club at best, certainly not a playoff-caliber team. They are physically beaten down. But their pride hurts worse, much worse.

"We let Steelers Nation down tonight," guard Willie Colon said. "We let ourselves down. We know we can play so much better than we did."

This loss was on everyone, including coach Mike Tomlin. He gambled that kicker Shaun Suisham could make a 54-yard field goal with 54 seconds left to break a 23-23 tie. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Suisham had made a 52-yarder to give the Steelers a 23-16 lead with 8:18 left. This time, Suisham was short. The Titans took over at their 45 with 49 seconds left and turned the possession into the winning field goal at the gun, a 40-yarder by Rob Bironas.

"I take the responsibility for the miss," Tomlin said.
Good thing. He deserves blame.

But that decision wasn't what beat the Steelers. They made big mistakes in every part of the game. They got what they deserved. It just wouldn't have been right if they had won.

Sure, injuries were a factor. The Steelers defense didn't have safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker LaMarr Woodley coming in. During the game, the offense lost center Maurkice Pouncey, tackle Marcus Gilbert and running backs Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman. The offense's injuries surely factored into its inability to run the football. It gained just 56 yards on 22 carries with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, of all people, having the longest run, a 14-yard scramble in the fourth quarter.

But good teams find a way to overcome adversity to win. It is worth saying again: Right now, the Steelers don't even remotely resemble a good team.

There is a bit of positive news, though. The Steelers don't play again until a week from Sunday night against the Bengals in Cincinnati. It's a good thing they have the extra time between games. They have so much to improve.

For the third game in a row, the Steelers defense couldn't protect a fourth-quarter lead. It got stung in Oakland, got away with it against the Philadelphia Eagles at home Sunday when Roethlisberger led a late winning drive and paid a big price Thursday night. It allowed the Titans to go 80 yards in 11 plays for the touchdown that tied the score, 23-23. Then, it couldn't protect that short field at the end.

Awful. Just awful.

"I'm sure the offense is going to say it's not on us, that it's a team game and they should have made more plays," safety Ryan Clark said. "But that's not true. They gave us enough points to win. We just didn't do what we had to do."

This defeat felt even worse than the Oakland loss. The Titans came in with a 1-4 record with each of their losses by at least 21 points. It almost appeared the Steelers tried to keep them in the game with mistakes. They succeeded.

Penalties? The Steelers were the most penalized team-per-game in the NFL coming in and cut down on the number, but cornerback Ike Taylor was called for two big ones. His 25-yard pass interference penalty on the Titans' first possession led to a Tennessee field goal. He then was called for holding on a third-and-10 play at the Steelers 15 late in the game, a penalty that led to the Titans scoring the touchdown that tied the score, 23-23, with 4:19 left. Yet another pass interference call on Taylor didn't count because wide receiver Kenny Britt caught the ball anyway for a 37-yard gain.

To top it off, Taylor was beaten for the 5-yard touchdown pass to Britt that made it 23-23. Taylor played a rotten game.

Special-team blunders? A blocked punt counts, right? The Titans blocked a kick by Drew Butler on the final play of the first quarter, leading to a 1-yard touchdown drive that gave them a 13-10 lead.

Turnovers? The Steelers were moving at the Titans 32 late in the second quarter when Roethlisberger threw an interception to cornerback Jason McCourty. It was Roethlisberger's first interception in 137 passes -- he hadn't had one since late in the Denver game in the season opener -- and it lead to a Titans field goal and 16-10 lead on the final play of the first half.

At that point, you thought it couldn't get worse for the Steelers in the second half. But it did. It got much worse.

"It's tough," Redman said. "We're still winless on the road. Good teams have to win on the road to get where they want to go."

Should I write it one more time?

No, it's not necessary.

I think you know the Steelers aren't a good team.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/ron-cook/cook-a-loss-that-will-sting-in-december-657275/#ixzz299kF895m

[Dee Dub]

That's always been the story for Foote. He's small and slow. But he's smart and has some of the best instincts to put himself in the right spot to make plays. I think you can make do with a guy like a Larry Foote. Some of the other players hurt us much more.

Flippy, Foote is an average football player every other game and a sub-par football the rest of the time. I do not want that anymore at the heart of the Steelers defense. Please wake up and realize that this is the lifeline of what the Steelers are on defense.

[Steel Life]

I do not agree with you guys. I am seeing Foote being pushed back 5 yards on run plays. He to me is a liability. He can't stop the run and he can't cover. Stop watching the ball and focus on him and you will see what I am seeing.
I agree with DD...Foote has been good this season on blitzes & such but he is a liability in pass-coverage either paying too close to the line or dropping too far back. Forget Ike, a team could have a field day by focusing on Foote against a RB.