Welcome Back Steelers’ Defense…We Missed You

I’m going to climb way out on a limb here and suggest that maybe, just maybe, the Steeler defense is back.

You remember that defense yes? Two years ago it was so dominant that Mike Tomlin shackled his future hall of fame quarterback; lest the offense sabotage it with even one mistimed turnover. Last year that same defense was so bad in the 4th quarter that Tomlin tried an onside kick…with the lead. The frightening thing is that all things considered, it was the right call.

Wow what a difference a year can make. Or two years in this case.

Let’s start off by acknowledging something that is now impossible to ignore. The loss of Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith was a devastating blow to last season’s defense. If we were not sure of that before Troy went flying over the Tennessee offensive line to tackle Kerry Collins, we are now.

(Editors note: As required by Pennsylvania state law, I will now acknowledge that the renowned football analyst Christopher Disque has been making that same argument for about 10 months with great vigor. As required by the marital vows I took last May, I will further acknowledge that my wife Emily has been making the same point about Polamalu since the moment he went down last season).

I admit I was hesitant to believe that losing one or two players could decimate a defense that was so dominant the previous season. I’m still not totally sure that was the exclusive issue in the demise. That being said, it’s hard not to notice Polamalu when he makes game changing interceptions in each of the first two weeks. On the other hand, you generally do not notice Aaron Smith until you realize that a record setting NFL running back was completely ineffective yesterday.

So again, just so there is no confusion in my argument, the return of Smith and Polamalu is huge. So was bringing back Bryant McFadden, providing the solid cover corner we lacked last season. That being said, I still say there is more to the story of last season’s collapse.

The Steeler defense in 2008 was the game changing, brutally physical, dominating unit we saw yesterday. They played with a chip on their shoulder about the size of say, Baltimore. That chip was missing last season. I was live on site in Chicago, before Smith went down. They were tentative and a step slow. It was not just an issue of schemes or of being less aggressive without the million dollar hair on the field.

Last week against Atlanta, the Steelers rediscovered that game changing defensive dominance. Yesterday, they rediscovered the nastiness. They chip was back, much to the dismay of Vince Young. Last year the goal was to hold a star running back under 100 yards. Yesterday the goal seemed to be giving Chris Johnson a true, physical, beat down. So much for the guy claiming he was going to run for 2,500 yards this year. That’s the Steeler defense we’ve been accustomed too since the chin showed up in 1992.

For my money, the most improved players this season are James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons.

(Editors note #2, my attorneys have advised me that I can not praise Timmons in writing without acknowledging numerous preseason emails touting his greatness from the aforementioned Christopher Disque. So it shall be written, so it shall be done).

Two years ago, Harrison was more than just a dominant linebacker. He was the baddest man on the planet. I can think of numerous painful medical procedures I would have without anesthetic as opposed to messing with number 92. You don’t win defensive player of the year by being good; you win it by being scary good.

Harrison was a seriously scary guy in 2008. And he’s a seriously scary guy now. He does not want to tackle a ball carrier; he wants to implant him in the turf. For my Penn State friends, think Big Al meets Matthew Rosenberg circa 1992.

Last year, that extra element of nastiness was missing. You can talk Troy until your blue in the face. I focused on Harrison throughout the season and he simply was not the same player. This year, he’s back in a big bad way.

The other colossAL improvement is from Timmons. That smack down he put on Johnson in the first quarter was the point where Johnson seemed to lose his mojo. Timmons was ok last season but this year he’s playing like a dominant inside linebacker and a first round draft pick. I’m not mentioning Lamar Woodley only because he’s the one linebacker I thought played to his full ability last year. Call him a push.

Let’s be honest, the Blitzburgh defense is built around the linebackers. They whole defense funnels through them. More important, those guys set the tone. You got the feeling yesterday they were trying to destroy Young, Johnson and the entire Titan offense; rather than just beat them. Of course it does not hurt that number 43 is running all over the field scaring the you know what out of quarterbacks. Maybe the entire defense, Harrison included, should start using Head and Shoulders!

I still have concerns over the age and durability of the front seven, especially the d-line. That being said, seeing young Ziggy Hood playing so well mitigates some of those fears. And to be clear, my concerns are not performance related. I’m concerned about whether they can continue to carry the team; especially with two brutally physical opponents in their first four games. That combined with the 100 degree heat issues we had yesterday and likely next weekend in Tampa.

I’m not going to spend time harping on the offense. If you take the ESPN view of football, analyzing solely based on highlights and statistics, the offense is awful. If you look at the intelligent coaching view of football, the offense yesterday was brilliant. How do I define brilliant? I define it as doing exactly what is necessary to win. And yesterday the offense did that. In short, they stayed out of the way.

There is nothing and I mean nothing good that can come from Byron Dixonbatch trying to make big plays offensively. The Steelers took one crack at that in the first two games, an open backfield set in the first quarter yesterday. The line could not block it, Dixon held on to the ball too long and worse did not feel the pressure. The result, D.Dix got creamed, Tennessee recovered a fumble and got their only meaningful points of the day. Those three points were strictly on the offense.

That play sent a clear message. When you are playing third and fourth string QBs, behind three back-up offensive linemen, you go very conservative. When you add in a defense that can dictate and win games on its own, you go beyond conservative. You flat out stay out of the way. I watched the Bears win 11 games that way with an overwhelmed rookie Kyle Orton in 2005.

Please don’t waste any time analyzing Bruce Arians’ play calling. The Steeler offense yesterday was playing the 4th line role in hockey. Get the puck in deep, forecheck, don’t make any mistakes that result in points against. In essence, their role was effectively to let the defense rest.

Can they win playing that way all season? Of course not, nor will they have to. When Ben gets back, they will return to having an effective and hopefully balanced offense. I’m not even sure they can win their next two games playing that way. Alas, that’s not the point.

The defense was dictating yesterday’s game in dominant fashion. As long as they defense kept creating turnovers and easy points, there was simply no reason to take any offensive risks. If this was the situation all season, I would have concerns. Knowing that we will add a hall of fame QB in three weeks makes this easier to accept. So does seeing the coaching staff design a brilliant kick return play that resulted in crucial, game changing early points.

(Editors note #3: I was all over Antonio Brown in training camp; he’s Shawn McEachern fast).

For whatever its worth, I would stick with Batch this week. The Steelers need a caretaker at QB the next two weeks and Batch is by far the most comfortable in that role. Regardless of Dixon’s talent, he simply does not seem comfortable the caretaker role. With all that said, I expect Lord Byron will be behind center on another hot day in Tampa.

Give Mike Tomlin huge credit for playing to the strengths of this team. We all thought the Steelers needed to survive the no Ben zone 2-2. Now 3-1 or even 4-0 is possible. If they do that, Tomlin is in line for coach of the year. Much to the chagrin of his persistent and narrow minded critics.

More important, give the defense full credit for not just beating but beating down the Titans. It was classic black and gold defense, Dick Lebeau style. It was the kind of dominating defense we’ve grown accustomed to the last 19 years, but was far too often missing last year, especially in the 4th quarter. Welcome back Steeler D, we missed you !

HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO !