NEW CASTLE —
This is what we know for sure 41.2 percent of the way into this NFL season.
It’s a tip drill, anyone can go up and grab it.
(Unless your team name rhymes with “Schmleveland Clowns” of course.)
Seven weeks in and we have no clear front-runner, nobody even close. Every team has significant liabilities.
Atlanta is the lone undefeated team in the league, but the Falcons’ frequent postseason flame-outs make them a giant question mark until January. With one of the league’s worst defenses, Baltimore is relying on Joe Flacco to carry them, and that excites only Joe Flacco. Green Bay’s defense is also suspect. New England nearly lost at home to the Jets yesterday and nearly dropped to 3-4. Houston has to prove it over the long haul and lost its defensive captain (Brian Cushing) for the season.
The AFC is particularly mediocre, what with just two teams entering play yesterday with winning records.
Which brings us to the Pittsburgh Steelers ... right back in the thick of it.
Last night's 24-17 victory in Cincinnati was much more impressive than the final score, as they rolled up a 431-185 advantage in total offense. This one was two Ben Roethlisberger turnovers and three Mike Wallace drops away from being a 35-10 rout.
Jonathan “Bus Jr.” Dwyer resembled Jerome Bettis for more than just that little head waggle after a big gainer, he also piled up 122 yards by running straight through the middle of the line. Imagine that!
Antonio Brown continues to gallop around the field Gangnam Style, gathering in seven receptions for 96 yards and always appears to be one slick move away from breaking away.
Heath Miller is playing the best ball of his career, which is saying something, because he has been money since his rookie season. Especially when they actually throw to him.
And the “cramp play” by Emmanuel Sanders? Oscar-worthy.
The defense? Well, remember that “significant liabilities” thing? The Steelers got virtually no pressure on Andy Dalton, who never had to pick his Spock-like eyebrows up off the turf.
James Harrison looked old. He got a whiff on the stat sheet — no sacks, no tackles, no nuthin’. Other than his gift interception, LaMarr Woodley was a nonfactor. At least Ike Taylor played better.
There were a few other concerns, such as why can’t this team play smarter?
There was no reason for Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis to be able to challenge Wallace’s first-down catch late in the game, Roethlisberger should have quick-snapped the ball the moment everyone got set. Tom Brady would have run two plays in the time it took for Roethlisberger to drag his feet, giving Lewis the chance to throw the red flag.
And what’s with the frequent penalties on returns? The Steelers often look as if they are Angry Birds on special teams, running around and hitting everything indiscriminately, hoping for something to fall. Keep it up and Brown or Chris Rainey are going to get a touchdown return wiped out in a big moment.
But in today’s NFL (Nothing’s Foreseeable League), that amounts to nit-picking.
Go ahead and review the Black-and-Gold’s long list of deficiencies, and then compare them to every other team in the conference. Playing a three-quarters complete game like the Steelers did last night might be enough to challenge for the AFC’s berth in the Super Bowl.
Indeed, if the running game can sustain anything near that kind of production (especially if Maurkice Pouncey comes back and stays healthy), if Troy Polamalu comes back and stays healthy, if Wallace can start playing like a guy who is playing for a big contract and if the Ravens continue to self-destruct, it is not hard to imagine the Steelers playing in Houston for the Lamar Hunt Trophy on Jan. 20, 2013.
Or, after RGIII comes in and lights up Heinz Field on Sunday, you can simply resume looking at mock drafts again.
(Steve Treu covers the Steelers for The News.)
Steelers
Related Photos
-
Steve Treu covers the Steelers for the New Castle News.
Discussion
Steve Treu on the Steelers: Pittsburgh gets invite to NFL’s parity party
- Steelers
-
-
NFL Draft: Steelers trade to select QB Landry Jones of Oklahoma
Forget the first three rounds of the draft, it took until the third day for things to really get interesting for the Steelers. A linebacker, a halfback and a wide receiver fail in comparison to what happened Saturday in the fourth round. First, the Steelers traded away a future draft pick for the first time in 40 years, and then they drafted a quarterback!
-
Gene Collier: Jones falls into Steelers' lap during NFL Draft
The surprises didn't exactly come in waves in Round 1 of the NFL draft, which was perfectly thematic because it was certainly no surprise when the Steelers pounced on Jarvis Jones, much in the way they expect him to pounce on quarterbacks as early as this fall.
-
NFL Draft: Steelers looking for depth, not impact players
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert doesn’t believe there’s an immediate starter to be found with the team’s 17th pick in the NFL draft.
-
Steelers sign Gradkowski; Leftwich likely gone
Bruce Gradkowski, who grew up in Dormont and played at Seton-LaSalle High School, has signed a three-year contract to return home to play quarterback for the Steelers.
-
Steelers cut James Harrison in cap move
James Harrison’s snarling tenacity made the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker one of the NFL’s most intimidating players for nearly a decade. Big hits — some legal, some not so much — also turned the outspoken five-time Pro Bowler into focal point for a league-wide crackdown on helmet-to-helmet contact.
-
Big Ben announces K-9 grant for New Castle
New Castle’s police department has received a grant from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation to add to its K-9 unit. The $8,000 grant will be used to buy a dog, either trained or untrained, and a safety vest for the canine. If the dog requires training, the grant covers that cost.
-
County commissioners call meeting on YDC
The Lawrence County commissioners have invited area legislators and other officials to discuss options for the Youth Development Center property. Commissioner Chairman Dan Vogler said the meeting, set for tomorrow afternoon will basically be “a brainstorming session” among the officials “to discuss what options are open to us.”
-
Steelers cut RB Rainey after arrest in Florida
Rookie running back Chris Rainey has run out of chances with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers cut the troubled 24-year-old following his arrest on a battery charge in Gainesville, Fla., yesterday, the latest in a series of off-the-field incidents that have threatened his career.
-
Steelers bracing for changes after 8-8 season
The Pittsburgh Steelers spent all fall claiming the chatter generated by various off-the-field issues was only so much background noise. Through Mike Wallace’s contract status to the relationship between quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley to the injury problems that kept bold-faced players out of the lineup for long stretches, the Steelers insisted they were focused.
-
Steve Treu: Like his Steelers teammates, Big Ben played small when it mattered most
He is the player most responsible for restoring championship glory to the franchise. More than any other, he should get the most credit for delivering the last two Super Bowl titles to Pittsburgh.
- More Steelers Headlines
-
