Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

[fordfixer]

Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers
December 13, 2010 - By John Mehno [email="johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com"]johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com[/email]
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P ITTSBURGH - Sunday was a productive day for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

They knocked off the Cincinnati Bengals 23-7 at Heinz Field and moved a step closer to nailing down the playoff spot that eluded them last season.

They did what they had to do against the underachieving Bengals and now have three games left, two of them at home.

The situation looks good.

But if you're looking for something to worry about - and that's what we provide here, you're welcome - you're completely justified in having major anxiety about the offensive line.

The line was a concern heading into training camp, and it's a bigger worry now that the postseason is looming.

The Steelers have enough skill to succeed on offense. The question is whether those players will have the time and space they need, and that's where the line becomes an issue.

Injuries have taken a huge toll on a group that wasn't that solid from the beginning. Willie Colon was lost in the offseason. Max Starks went down several weeks ago, and won't be back until next season.

Chris Kemoeatu and Flozell Adams are playing hurt.

It's not like the Steelers want to play Jonathan Scott and Ramon Foster. They have no choice.

They're another pulled hamstring away from opening the Rolodex to find guys who are unemployed in mid-December.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a broken nose and a broken right foot. He's scrambling for his life on too many plays.

Roethlisberger is good at improvisation. He made an incredible play last week to get rid of the ball when Baltimore's Terrell Suggs was pawing at it and trying to knock him down at the same time.

Roethlisberger had the presence of mind and physical ability to heave the ball out of bounds and save yardage.

On Sunday, he ducked two tackles on a flea flicker gone awry, and he was able to shotput the ball ahead to Rashard Mendenhall to avoid a loss.

Good work.

But it would be better if Roethlisberger could drop back and have some time to find his receivers.

He's operating on one leg and dealing with a broken nose that was protected with a bandage and a face shield, the latter only for the first half.

You just wonder how battered Roethlisberger might be at this point if he hadn't sat out the first four games because of his NFL-mandated suspension.

If the Steelers are going anywhere, they need Roethlisberger.

Back-up Byron Leftwich hasn't played since the last pre-season game. Third-stringer Charlie Batch wasn't even supposed to make the team this year.

Protecting Roethlisberger is paramount if the Steelers expect to do anything in the postseason.

They should be able to get by Carolina and Cleveland to finish with a minimum of 12 victories.

The New York Jets, this week's opponent, don't appear to be as strong as they looked earlier in the season. The Steelers could wind up 13-3.

If they don't do a better job of taking care of their quarterback, they could wind up very disappointed.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

our line is a complete mess right now.

but you know, we find ways to win in spite of the fact we really can't block anyone consistently. not too many teams could withstand the loss of both starting OTs (thank goodness we signed Flozell)...yet here we are at 10-3 and in 1st place of our division.

[Crash]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

The OL is only half the problem.

I've said it all year. Predictability based on formation.

That's the killer right there.

[phillyesq]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

I've seen the Steelers bring in Essex as an extra TE in running situations. Why not do the same thing from time to time in passing situations? Plug him in on the left side from time to time to help Scott with some of the better pass rushers (he really needed help with Suggs).

Teams flip lineman and bring in extra OTs to help with Harrison and Woodley; seeing some of the same creativity from BA would be great.

But I don't want to be too negative today. Great win. Go Steelers.

[Oviedo]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

Every week or so we read something about the team bringing in na guy for a look see but never an OL. That just really confuses me especially when you have a veteran guy like Tony Ugoh sitting out there waiting for a phone call. No way is he worse than some of the guys we have playing right now.

I think one of the big mysteries of the post-draft is whatever happened to OT Ciron Black from LSU. The guy was once a potential 1st Round pick who got passed over in the draft and was never signed as a UDFA (he was rumored to have been on the verge of signing with the Steelers). Everything and everytime I ever saw him he looked like a legit prospect.

The reality is that the poor performance of our OL will probably mean that we can't reach the Super Bowl this year.

[snarky]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

So what's the dilemma?

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

The OL is only half the problem.

I've said it all year. Predictability based on formation.

That's the killer right there.

Pretty stupid to have your QB taking 5 and 7 step drops behind a horrible offensive line. And yes, the formations are so predictable. Even the timing of play calls is pretty predictable.

[Ghost]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

How big of a piece of crap is Tony hills (as a player) if he can't get on the field right now? Is he injured and they haven't reported it? Might as well cut him - total waste.

Why is it the line does ok except when they get close. Yesterday the steelers had a 15 play, 9 + minute drive that resulted in a punt. They were good enough to controll the ball for a huge amount of time. But close to the goal line and they sh!t the bed?

There was a play yesterday - I believe it was 3rd and 7 (correct me if I've got that wrong) where Ben hit Wallace on a quick, hard slant for the 1st. It was awesome. Why don't we see more of that?

[feltdizz]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

How big of a piece of crap is Tony hills (as a player) if he can't get on the field right now? Is he injured and they haven't reported it? Might as well cut him - total waste.

Why is it the line does ok except when they get close. Yesterday the steelers had a 15 play, 9 + minute drive that resulted in a punt. They were good enough to controll the ball for a huge amount of time. But close to the goal line and they sh!t the bed?

There was a play yesterday - I believe it was 3rd and 7 (correct me if I've got that wrong) where Ben hit Wallace on a quick, hard slant for the 1st. It was awesome. Why don't we see more of that?

because our OL gets called for every hold while the opposing team gets away with tackling our LB's.

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

I know J Scott is a favorite of Koogs but he really is struggling. The Steelers like what the have apparently...But that is a hard fact to swallow. They never brought in Tony Ugoh after he got healthy & he was signed elsewhere. Adam Terry is now available. After seeing Scott fill in, is there nobody who could play better? A new face would take some time to learn the system....And the clock is ticking. So why haven't either been added to add depth and learn? Is Tony Hills better than who is/was out there??? If the Steelers are saying J Scott is better than Hills and Hills is/was better than anyone out there...We are in big trouble if there is another injury at OT. The warning light has to come on here soon.

Our offense is right handed and pair that with the predictabilty based on personnel, it makes the OL look bad. Mendy is not a good compliment to the way this offense runs right now in 12, 21, & 22 personnel. I would bet that Redman & Moore would have more productive games behind this OL in that personnel because the are 1 cut runners. BA needs to run out of the spreads and also commit to unbalanced fronts to take away the handing of the offense and keep the defenses guessing. It isn't a big mystery BA. It is really a growing trend across this league with OT playing the TE role. We saw it yesterday across the line for the Bengals. You aren't fooling anyone with a 3 TE set with Johnson at FB. You aren't running PA out of those personnel groups with 4 man patterns...Why wouldn't you add to the run blocking when there isn't any sense of confusion what is going to happen? Play to the weakness of the team right now...Not the strength of your playbook. Help the OT out by running out of the 3 WR sets. Give the outside guys a reason to be disciplined. If you aren't going to run a counter or draw out of the shotgun, the outside rushers will continue to pin their ears back and come when the see 3 or more WR. They could use the help!

[SteelTorch]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

I know J Scott is a favorite of Koogs but he really is struggling. The Steelers like what the have apparently...But that is a hard fact to swallow. They never brought in Tony Ugoh after he got healthy & he was signed elsewhere. Adam Terry is now available. After seeing Scott fill in, is there nobody who could play better? A new face would take some time to learn the system....And the clock is ticking. So why haven't either been added to add depth and learn? Is Tony Hills better than who is/was out there??? If the Steelers are saying J Scott is better than Hills and Hills is/was better than anyone out there...We are in big trouble if there is another injury at OT. The warning light has to come on here soon.

Our offense is right handed and pair that with the predictabilty based on personnel, it makes the OL look bad. Mendy is not a good compliment to the way this offense runs right now in 12, 21, & 22 personnel. I would bet that Redman & Moore would have more productive games behind this OL in that personnel because the are 1 cut runners. BA needs to run out of the spreads and also commit to unbalanced fronts to take away the handing of the offense and keep the defenses guessing. It isn't a big mystery BA. It is really a growing trend across this league with OT playing the TE role. We saw it yesterday across the line for the Bengals. You aren't fooling anyone with a 3 TE set with Johnson at FB. You aren't running PA out of those personnel groups with 4 man patterns...Why wouldn't you add to the run blocking when there isn't any sense of confusion what is going to happen? Play to the weakness of the team right now...Not the strength of your playbook. Help the OT out by running out of the 3 WR sets. Give the outside guys a reason to be disciplined. If you aren't going to run a counter or draw out of the shotgun, the outside rushers will continue to pin their ears back and come when the see 3 or more WR. They could use the help!

Wait, so our offense and OL is struggling, even with Ben back? Who on earth could have predicted this???

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

I know J Scott is a favorite of Koogs but he really is struggling. The Steelers like what the have apparently...But that is a hard fact to swallow. They never brought in Tony Ugoh after he got healthy & he was signed elsewhere. Adam Terry is now available. After seeing Scott fill in, is there nobody who could play better? A new face would take some time to learn the system....And the clock is ticking. So why haven't either been added to add depth and learn? Is Tony Hills better than who is/was out there??? If the Steelers are saying J Scott is better than Hills and Hills is/was better than anyone out there...We are in big trouble if there is another injury at OT. The warning light has to come on here soon.

Our offense is right handed and pair that with the predictabilty based on personnel, it makes the OL look bad. Mendy is not a good compliment to the way this offense runs right now in 12, 21, & 22 personnel. I would bet that Redman & Moore would have more productive games behind this OL in that personnel because the are 1 cut runners. BA needs to run out of the spreads and also commit to unbalanced fronts to take away the handing of the offense and keep the defenses guessing. It isn't a big mystery BA. It is really a growing trend across this league with OT playing the TE role. We saw it yesterday across the line for the Bengals. You aren't fooling anyone with a 3 TE set with Johnson at FB. You aren't running PA out of those personnel groups with 4 man patterns...Why wouldn't you add to the run blocking when there isn't any sense of confusion what is going to happen? Play to the weakness of the team right now...Not the strength of your playbook. Help the OT out by running out of the 3 WR sets. Give the outside guys a reason to be disciplined. If you aren't going to run a counter or draw out of the shotgun, the outside rushers will continue to pin their ears back and come when the see 3 or more WR. They could use the help!

Wait, so our offense and OL is struggling, even with Ben back? Who on earth could have predicted this???

Our offense is struggling because the injury @ LT & weakness at RG have clearly caught up to us. On top of that, BA isn't helping the cause. Losing Starks made this offense right handed and Scott's lack of production is disrupting the timing. Foster is filling in well enough to keep the right side running sound but teams are adjusting to it. Not having a RG who could pull left and a LT who can't hold his own has taken the discipline out of the defensive front on the right side. What makes it worse is BA isn't conceding to the adjustments that need to be made nor trying to exploit the defenses keying on his own tendacies.

What scares me most Torch is in this "copycat" league...The blueprints are slowly being passed around...And a more important fact for this week, the Jets have all the notes for our architect BA compliments of Holmes. Everyone will get to see this next game what coaching abilities BA has and what his future holds, in my opinion. Watch and see what caliber of a coach BA is. By games end...Everyone will know the answer by the outcome.

[JPbucco]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

I thought Hills looked very good in preseason. I can't believe Scott is playing LT in front of him.

[steelz09]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

I know J Scott is a favorite of Koogs but he really is struggling. The Steelers like what the have apparently...But that is a hard fact to swallow. They never brought in Tony Ugoh after he got healthy & he was signed elsewhere. Adam Terry is now available. After seeing Scott fill in, is there nobody who could play better? A new face would take some time to learn the system....And the clock is ticking. So why haven't either been added to add depth and learn? Is Tony Hills better than who is/was out there??? If the Steelers are saying J Scott is better than Hills and Hills is/was better than anyone out there...We are in big trouble if there is another injury at OT. The warning light has to come on here soon.

Our offense is right handed and pair that with the predictabilty based on personnel, it makes the OL look bad. Mendy is not a good compliment to the way this offense runs right now in 12, 21, & 22 personnel. I would bet that Redman & Moore would have more productive games behind this OL in that personnel because the are 1 cut runners. BA needs to run out of the spreads and also commit to unbalanced fronts to take away the handing of the offense and keep the defenses guessing. It isn't a big mystery BA. It is really a growing trend across this league with OT playing the TE role. We saw it yesterday across the line for the Bengals. You aren't fooling anyone with a 3 TE set with Johnson at FB. You aren't running PA out of those personnel groups with 4 man patterns...Why wouldn't you add to the run blocking when there isn't any sense of confusion what is going to happen? Play to the weakness of the team right now...Not the strength of your playbook. Help the OT out by running out of the 3 WR sets. Give the outside guys a reason to be disciplined. If you aren't going to run a counter or draw out of the shotgun, the outside rushers will continue to pin their ears back and come when the see 3 or more WR. They could use the help!

This is why I'm convinced that people here are brighter than Arians. These are all great points. If we can see this stuff as fans then why can't Arians see it. And why doesn't Tomlin call him out for it behind closed doors. It's not the players and it's not the play book. It's the timing of the play calls in the playbook. There is no way anyone can convince me that the Saints (the WR's were nobody's before Brees), Patriots or the Chargers have better offensive personnel outside of the OL but yet tey're offenses can be dominant compared to ours.

[feltdizz]

Re: Line situation turning into big dilemma for Steelers

The difference between the Saints, Chargers and Pats is trust IMO...

Rarely do we see passes thrown before the WR breaks...

I see Brees throwing passes on back shoulders that wouldn't be thrown half the time by Ben.

Those catches that ARE and Hines made... we were acting like we won the SB at Fox and Hound because we aren't used to seeing our WR's go up and get the ball like that...

but if you watch any of those other teams listed above play.. those catches are routine.

My biggest concern is the YAC... I'm just not seeing our WR's (besides Wallace) run after the catch. Everything is between the numbers and has our WR's falling down. Brown has yet to turn the jets on and neither has Sanders.

Until this trust and repitition happens we will continue to look like we have. Hopefully the young guys get more reps with Ben next year. Those missed 4 weeks were huge..