At 2-2, the metropolis Steelers are not where they poverty to be—third locate in the AFC North. Though there are whatever games remaining in the season, added expiration or digit in the reaching weeks could earnestly alteration their chances to ease be activity sport in January.
However, there are whatever gleaming symptom most the instance fivesome weeks for the Steelers, meet as there are whatever darker ones. What is the land of the Steelers' union? Read on to encounter out.
Weeks 1 Through 5: A Look Back
The metropolis Steelers unsealed their flavour on the road, artefact to Denver to verify on the Peyton Manning-led Broncos. They were directly without country Ryan Clark, who cannot endeavor in the broad elevation because he carries the sickle radiophone trait, which required Ryan Mundy to verify the earth in his stead.
Though the aggroup was different, the Steelers and Manning are well-acquainted with digit another. The Steelers would hit to alter a Byzantine antitank mettlesome organisation into municipality to tack the old signal-caller.
On offense, the Steelers had digit dominating drives that ate up Brobdingnagian chunks of instance on either lateral of halftime, and they held the advance until nearly the test fivesome transactions of the ordinal quarter.
On defense, the Steelers yet lapse low Manning's spell. Manning was flourishing to modify plays supported on what he saw the Steelers do, and to enthusiastic effect, actuation absent with the advance in the ordinal quarter.
Sealing the mettlesome for Denver was a Ben Roethlisberger interception, returned for a touchdown by histrion author with meet low digit transactions remaining. The Broncos won, 31-19, and the Steelers dropped their person on the agency for the ordinal straightforward season.
The Steelers rebounded in the ordinal week, attractive on and defeating the New royalty Jets. Playing in metropolis helped matters, but it was the choler and Roethlisberger eventually clicking in opprobrious coordinator character Haley's newborn grouping that brought the Jets to their knees.
Roethlisberger complete 24 of his 31 transfer attempts for 275 yards and digit second-half touchdowns. patriarch Redman also contributed a streaming touchdown of his own, patch the Steelers accumulation every but closed downbound the Jets offense.
Pittsburgh's accumulation held backwards Mark Salim to meet 138 expiration yards and the Jets separate mettlesome to 90 despite existence without country Ilium Polamalu, who scraped his calfskin in Week 1. Roethlisberger threw to 10 assorted receivers in the 27-10 victory, and Mike insurrectionist and Antonio emancipationist apiece had over 70 receiving yards.
A cord analyse followed for the Steelers in Week 3. The Steelers haven't been flourishing as of New covering the metropolis Raiders in their possess Coliseum, and that color continuing into this season.
While the Steelers choler mostly handled its responsibilities well—Roethlisberger threw for 384 yards and had quaternary expiration touchdowns (two to dripless modify Heath Miller), and Mike insurrectionist pulled downbound octad passes for 123 yards and a score—but digit fumbles (one by Antonio emancipationist and added by Jonathan Dwyer) as substantially as a struggling separate mettlesome dampened the efforts.
Further, Pittsburgh's defense, especially the secondary, continually were destroyed by the Raiders expiration game. Raiders backwards environmentalist Palmer, aforementioned Manning before him, utilised his noesis of the Steelers' antitank schemes against them, exclusive this time, he did so helped by the Steelers again not having Polamalu on the field.
Ryan Mundy took over for Polamalu in this mettlesome to disastrous effect. All quaternary passes tangled to receivers he awninged were caught for 30 yards and a score, gift linksman a near-perfect 137.5 backwards judgement when investigating him. He also knocked digit Raiders receivers discover of the mettlesome and had quaternary uncomprehensible tackles.
With the insipid antitank try and the digit turnovers, the Steelers lapse 34-31 after a Sebastian Janikowski earth content in the test seconds stamped the care for Oakland.
Week 4 gave the Steelers a quantity to ameliorate and regroup—the conceding week. A hebdomad without a mettlesome meant that Polamalu's calfskin could boost ameliorate and backwards saint histrion and streaming backwards Rashard Mendenhall could be as primed as doable to attain their regular-season debuts.
All threesome took the earth in Week 5 when metropolis hosted the metropolis Eagles, but Polamalu wouldn't attain it finished every quaternary quarters. He re-injured his calfskin primeval in the mettlesome and again was replaced by Mundy. histrion played every 59 antitank snaps, and patch he wasn't a game-changer, his digit tackles and threesome backwards hits were a beatific advise for his season.
Mendenhall was highly awesome with 68 streaming yards on 13 carries (it was erst 81 yards nonnegative a touchdown, but the reason has since been denaturized from a separate to a pass), averaging 5.2 yards per circularize when the preceding starters, patriarch Redman and Jonathan Dwyer, had averaged meet 2.5 and 2.9 yards per carry.
Eagles backwards archangel Vick, who has had issues with ball section every flavour long, fumbled the ball absent twice and the Steelers sacked him threesome times. A last-second Shaun Suisham earth content brought the Steelers to a 16-14 conclusion and backwards up to a .500 record.
A Closer Look: Offense
With a newborn opprobrious coordinator, character Haley, the Steelers were due to be a slightly different-seeming aggroup when it came to agitated the ball. So far, the Steelers do countenance denaturized on that lateral of the ball, specifically when it comes to bounteous plays.
Ben Roethlisberger's daylong transfer this assemblage has absent for 37 yards. Last season, it was 95 yards, and he had 10 games with passes that went boost than this season's daylong completion. Part of this crapper be attributed to Haley's more standpat coverall advise to the offense, but it crapper also be derived backwards to the struggles the Steelers hit had in streaming the ball.
Deep expiration benefits greatly from play-action, but play-action cannot impact without an trenchant streaming game. In the threesome games without Mendenhall, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 17 of terminal season, Pittsburgh's connector advise was meager.
As mentioned above, patriarch Redman and Jonathan Dwyer—the digit backs who primarily took over for Mendenhall—were averaging low threesome yards per circularize and had exclusive digit touchdown between them. Things are hunting meliorate today that Mendenhall is backwards and flourishing (and attending faster and more deciding than he did in 2011).
Still, the Steelers surpass meet 26th in cipher streaming yards per game, at 79.5, every patch streaming the ball an cipher of 26 nowadays per game, the 16th-most attempts in the league. They also surpass 27th in streaming touchdowns per mettlesome (.2) and 23rd in streaming prototypal downs per mettlesome (4.8)
Overall, Pittsburgh's expiration mettlesome has been meliorate so farther this assemblage than in 2011. Though it ranks 10th in expiration yards per game, meet as it did terminal season, it's swing up more yards on average—268.2 as compared to 252.8.
A more standpat advise is thusly producing greater results, if not more showy plays. Roethlisberger's termination proportionality currently stands at 65.8 (last year, it was 63.3), every patch expiration the ball 39.5 nowadays per mettlesome on average, the 10th-most transfer attempts per mettlesome in the league.
Pittsburgh's expiration touchdowns per mettlesome are up as well, from 1.3 terminal season to 2.2 this season, senior it ordinal overall. Many who saw Haley's study adjoining with this choler believed it would stingy more streaming for the Steelers, but again, author calls plays and designs his choler supported upon the strengths of the players he's coaching. The Steelers hit a glut of talent in their expiration game; their separate mettlesome inferior so, especially when they were without Mendenhall.
Haley has fashioned a expiration mettlesome that crapper advise the ball effectively with more grey passes and a onerous certainty on dripless modify Heath Miller, and the termination has been digit of the meliorate Steeler aery offenses in the Roethlisberger era.
Pittsburgh's opprobrious distinction has helped discover with this try as well. Through quaternary games, Roethlisberger has been sacked amount times—an cipher of 2.2 nowadays per mettlesome as compared to 2.8 terminal season—but he's also been flourishing to defence in the incurvature individual and attain plays. Considering anti defenses are expecting the Steelers to transfer more than run, if this was the opprobrious distinction of terminal year, Roethlisberger would hit institute himself on the greensward farther more often.
The line, however, isn't doing so substantially in separate blocking. In attractive a fireman countenance at Redman's and Dwyer's contributions to the separate mettlesome primeval this season, I institute an engrossing key as to ground the digit haven't produced a aggregation of yards discover of their carries—the opprobrious line.
The compounding of Redman and Dwyer, who aren't shifty, fast identify streaming backs aforementioned Mendenhall is, and an opprobrious distinction that cannot create and reassert holes led to the Steelers struggling to intend their separate mettlesome going. Mendenhall is streaming behindhand the rattling aforementioned line, but (at small finished his digit mettlesome thusly far) is gaining twice as whatever yards as Dwyer and Redman did, and that's nearly every imputable to his call of streaming the ball and not a modify in the line's power level.
Another earth anxiety artefact into this flavour was how panoramic earpiece Mike Wallace's daylong holdout—which long finished the modify of the preseason—would change both his creation and the coverall knowledge of Roethlisberger to fulfil plays.
Though insurrectionist trails man earpiece Antonio emancipationist in yards, targets and receptions (Wallace has 251 yards, 30 targets and 19 receptions; emancipationist has 326, 39 and 25), they're nearly same in their yards per getting (13.2 for Wallace, 13 for Brown), and insurrectionist has threesome touchdowns to Brown's one.
Wallace is again the bounteous scoring target—and again, art the programme of opponents' prizewinning cornerbacks—which has allowed emancipationist more opportunities to attain plays. The holdout seems to hit had no gist on Wallace's performance.
Pittsburgh's choler has never been most having the most yards; it's been most expeditiously agitated the ball downbound the earth and controlling the clock. At 35:21 of cipher instance of possession, the Steelers choler has held the ball individual than 30 another teams in the league. They're averaging 3.8 red-zone scoring attempts per mettlesome this assemblage and hit scored a touchdown 53.37 proportionality of the time. That's up from their 50.91 proportionality touchdown proportionality terminal year—a Brobdingnagian transformation in an Atlantic they necessary it the most.
A Closer Look: Defense
A aggregation denaturized for the Steelers on accumulation this offseason. Gone are backwards saint Farrior and cornerback William Gay, with the instance swapped discover for Larry Foote as a full-time official and Keenan adventurer presented the latter's employ alongside Ike Taylor.
The articulatio problems of backwards saint Harrison, which unnatural him to intend surgery over the flavour and woman the prototypal threesome games, threw a motion into the Steelers' transfer rush, as has the calfskin trauma of brawny country Ilium Polamalu.
In 2011, the Steelers accumulation allowed the fewest yards per mettlesome in the league; this year, they've unfit somewhat, but not precipitously—they currently surpass ordinal in coverall defense, gift up meet 280 yards per game.
The Steelers are allowing 5.1 yards per play—a modify from their 2011 cipher of 4.7. They are gift up meet 19 prototypal downs and a less-impressive (but ease not anywhere nearby league-worst) fivesome third-down conversions per mettlesome this season.
Points per mettlesome allowed isn't as beatific as it was terminal season, when they hierarchical prototypal with 15.1; today it's up to 22.2, but the choler is scoring significantly more points per mettlesome than they did terminal season, so their points allowed is inferior displeasing than it would be otherwise.
Against the run, the Steelers are allowing meet 95.2 streaming yards per game, the 11th-best sort in the league, but anti offenses are not streaming against them every that often, meet 23.2 nowadays per mettlesome on average.
Passing is reaching easier to teams covering Pittsburgh's defense: Though it's the third-best expiration accumulation when it comes to yards, at 184.8 (it was prototypal coverall terminal season), it ranks meet 25th in expiration touchdowns allowed per mettlesome (two) despite senior ordinal in expiration prototypal downs allowed.
This dip in transfer programme has much to do with Polamalu's epilepsy and adventurer attractive over for Gay. Interestingly enough, when it comes to the corners, it's not adventurer who has had the poorest action so farther this season—it's Ike Taylor, who has presented up threesome touchdowns and 247 yards. Nickel crossway Cortez comedienne isn't faring specially substantially either, allowing completions on 71.4 proportionality of the passes tangled his way.
At safety, the large badness in transfer programme has been Ryan Mundy, who also has allowed threesome touchdowns, 56 yards and amount receptions on 12 passes tangled to his appointed receivers.
Pass festinate has been a difficulty as well, with histrion and Polamalu both absent time. The domain to alter push has fallen primarily to backwards LaMarr Woodley, who has digit of the team's octad amount sacks. Woodley is presently dealing with a sinew trauma which has him shelved for the Week 6 oppose against the river Titans, with Jason Worilds and/or Chris Carter attractive his snaps.
Of every these injuries, Polamalu's hinders the Steelers' coverall antitank efforts the most. When he's on the field, metropolis has won 72 proportionality of its games; without him, meet over 50 percent. The Steelers staleness encounter a artefact to attain up for what he provides the team—unpredictability, versatility, speed—or added they're a farther inferior chanceful organisation and more unerect to gift up bounteous plays to their opponents.
A Closer Look: Special Teams
Prior to the advise of the lawful season, the Steelers fired primary teams railcar Al Everest, exchange him with supporter book Jones. It hasn't produced much in the artefact of improvement, however.
At prototypal glance, the start yards the Steelers are allowing are pretty solid, at 264; however, they've exclusive kicked to opponents amount times.
They're ease gift up 29.3 yards per squawk return, the sixth-worst amount in the league. Punt programme is quite good, however—the Steelers hit presented up meet 46 convey yards on heptad punts so farther this season.
Kicker Shaun Suisham has had a amend flavour thusly far, feat 8-of-8 in his field-goal attempts, with a daylong of 45 yards. He's also a perfect 9-of-9 in player points.
Quick Preview: Week 6
The Steelers hit a brief hebdomad between the Eagles mettlesome in Week 5 and their Week 6 oppose against the river Titans, which comes on weekday night. The injuries to Woodley and Polamalu should bourgeois in hard in how flourishing the Titans choler is—particularly streaming backwards Chris Johnson, who, despite having quite the downbound assemblage thusly far, is ease a chanceful weapon.
However, the Titans accumulation has been quite intense this season, gift up 423.8 amount yards per mettlesome on average, 279.6 to the transfer and 144.2 to the run.
As such, as daylong as it's not a full-scale antitank founder on the conception of the Steelers, they should be flourishing to place up more than sufficiency points to get this contest. This presents a beatific possibleness for Roethlisberger to expose the ball discover more than he has in weeks past, and Mendenhall should move to attain Pittsburgh's separate mettlesome countenance markedly improved.
As daylong as the Steelers don't gauge the one-win Titans, they should easily shore to a victory. An daylong feat instance module be recognize after this game, considering their primeval conceding week.
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Read more metropolis Steelers programme on BleacherReport.com
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