Steelers’ Offense Sticks it to New England, Just as Planned

There truly are not many feelings in sports better than sticking it to the New England Patriots.

There is a smug arrogance about that Pats that defies description.  It permeats virtually every player and coach in the organization.  The trail of arrogance and ego starts with their condescending, know it all head coach and filters down through their condescending pretty boy quarterback. I respect Bill Belichick’s success as a coach. I respect Tom Brady’s brilliance on the field. And I truly cannot stand either one of them.

They don’t inspire quite the visceral hatred of say the Baltimore Ravens, but they’re definitely a close second.

Even as I know that next week’s game with Baltimore is the most important of the season, I’m downright giddy about yesterday’s result. They don’t hand out the Lombardi trophy in late October mind you but understand this; there are moments in sports truly worth savoring that do not involving winning a championship.

Yes it’s childish, yes it’s petty, yes it’s vindictive. So be it. Watching Brady and Belicheat slump off the field in defeat is worth a little premature celebration. Especially knowing how this victory was accomplished.

For the first time in a decade, the Steelers clearly and unequivocally out schemed, out coached, and out played the Patriots with Brady behind center.

The Steelers’ performance was eerily reminiscent of their playoff victory in Indianapolis in January 2006. That was the last time the Black and Gold went so out of character in a victory. It was also the last time they so thoroughly out played and out coached an elite opponent.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are built first and foremost with defense. They hire defensive minded head coaches and focus the greater percentage of their cap space and draft choices on the defensive side of the ball. The defense dictates games and the offense plays an important but often complimentary role. That’s Pittsburgh Steeler football and it has been for four decades.

Well, four decades with a few notable exceptions, such as yesterday.

Yesterday the Pittsburgh Steelers changed their identity, by necessity. It was the offense that dictated and controlled the game. Not only that, they did it almost entirely by throwing the football. The Steelers controlled the entire game with a high percentage passing attack that ground up yards and clock with equal proficiency.

In so doing, they exposed the obvious weakness of the New England defense, its inability to stop the pass. And they took out New England’s greatest strength, Brady’s pinpoint passing. I don’t care how good a QB Giselle’s husband may be, he can’t win football games standing on the sideline.

This is my 32nd year of watching Pittsburgh Steeler football and I cannot ever remember a game plan like this for a full game. Even that famous game in Indy where the Steelers went airborne for 30 minutes and then settled back in to running in the second half. More than that, the Steeler defense that day dictated the game to Peyton Manning. Yesterday’s defensive performance was solid, but very much complimentary.

To be clear, I’m not dismissing the defense in any way. This was bar none the best game plan Dick Lebeau has ever engineered against Brady. The Steelers got in the face of his wide receivers and did not allow Mr. Bundchen the easy completions of prior years. That’s a tribute to Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu and a secondary that is considerably improved in 2011.

It’s also a credit to the substantially improved defensive line play, a wake up from Lamar Woodley, and a much needed shuffling out of aging players in the last four weeks.

On merit alone, the Steelers finally stopped Brady; finally stopped him from exploiting the obvious mismatch he presents to the typical Lebeau scheme. In so doing they validated a group that has been shockingly steady this season while rarely imposing its will on opponents.

At the same time, I cannot fathom this much success if Brady had the ball for 30 minutes instead of 20, especially given Woodley’s 4th quarter injury. We saw this on New England’s last touchdown drive where Brady went right back to slicing the Steeler D. Ask yourself this question. If Brady gets the ball back with two minutes left and at least one time out, are you confident in a Steeler win?

Simply put, the most effective scheme the Steelers used to stop Brady was to keep him on the sidelines gnashing his teeth. There is nothing wrong with that. As noted above, its brilliant total football strategy and solid execution, lead part and parcel by Ben Roethlisberger.

I continue to fight the dreaded and ignorant “game manager” characterization of Big Ben. I’ve come to resent even more those who say, “It’s not pretty but he finds a way to win.” Both labels unfairly demean the accomplishments of one of the truly great and truly under-appreciated quarterbacks of this generation.

On Sunday, Ben was brilliant and effective, and everything else his critics claim he cannot be. Excepting one truly awful interception, he played a tremendous football game. The Steelers ran a New England offensive game plan against New England. It worked because Big Ben out played Brady and made it work. Somehow I don’t see this game plan with Neil O’Donnell, Kordell Stewart or Phillip Rivers behind center.

He did not do it alone of course. He was helped by and offensive line that has improved ten-fold in the last four games. It’s amazing what a difference Max Starks has made since his return. He was helped by a young core of receivers that has matured brilliantly before our eyes. And let’s not forget Heath Miller whose great start today was reminiscent of that playoff game in Indy. Miller’s best effort of the year, hands down.

At the same time, kudos to Mike Tomlin for clearly out coaching Belicheat. Credit to the far too often maligned Bruce Arians for putting in place a great game plan. It’s not easy for a leopard to change its spots but the Steelers did it with shocking ease on Sunday.

Sadly we get less than a week to savor this victory. As great as this game was, Sunday night’s battle with the Ravens is the game of the season, a true must win. As is so often the case, this game will dictate the Steelers ultimate post season path. A victory makes home field advantage and a first round bye a realistic course. A loss almost certainly requires the arduous wild card route in January.

It seems almost unfair for the Steelers to run this schedule gauntlet; to face their two most hated rivals in back to back games. Not to mention the surprisingly improved Bungles before the bye.

Such is life. If there is one team in sports that can overcome this it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers. The standard is the standard as coach Tomlin says, regardless of the opponent(s). Beyond that, the Steelers should be pretty frosted about their horrific performance on opening day against Baltimore. Avenging that embarrassment should bring added levels of motivation, focus, and determination to a team that does not lack these traits to begin with.

For now, let’s savor a tremendous victory; one that showcased the talent, heart, and brilliance of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let’s enjoy truly sticking it to Brady and Belicheat for once. The Ravens can wait…at least a few days.

HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO !!!

The Ghosts of AFC Championship Games Past

I remember with shocking clarity the Steelers’ loss to San Diego in the 1994 AFC Championship game.

The final play is burned in my memory, a desperation Neil O’Donnell pass towards Barry Foster that was batted down in the end zone. Just as clearly I remember what lead to that. A slowly building feeling of doom as the Steelers dominated the first three quarters but failed to score. The moment of shock and terror when Alfred Pupunu torched Tim Mckyer for a long touchdown reception. The flicker of hope as O’Donnell led the Steelers down the field towards a potential winning touchdown. And the ultimate moment of dread when the drive failed.

One of the worst losses in Pittsburgh sports history for my money. At a time when there was an abundant supply to choose from.

Here is the other thing I remember. I remember going in to that game feeling with absolute certainty that the Steelers were going to win. There was not a doubt in my mind. The Chargers were a mediocre, warm weather team. The Steelers had nearly beaten them in San Diego on Jim Sorgi Sunday with a slew of back-ups in the game. I felt the game was little more than a coronation for Bill Cowher’s AFC Super Bowl representative.

I could barely sleep the night before. My 15 year wait to finally see the Steelers in the Super Bowl was finally going to end. All I had to do was sit through was a three hour demolition of Stan Humphries and friends. I did not know if the Steelers could beat San Francisco or Dallas in the Super Bowl but San Diego…please. That was a gimme.

That’s why I sat motionless on my couch in State College for a good 90 minutes after that game ended. I just could not comprehend that the Steelers lost to that joke of a team. I still can’t believe it and it’s been 16 years. I put that right up there with the Penguins losing to a beer league expansion team in the 1996 conference finals, excluding 20,000 plastic rats of course.

I can honestly say I’ve never been that confident going in to a championship game since.

That my friends, is what we call emotional scars. And when it comes to the AFC Championship game…I have many.

Rest assured it’s not just that one horrifying loss that caused this. It was three subsequent losses over the next decade, all at home, all against teams I perceived at the time (correctly or not) to be inferior. Five times in 11 seasons I prepared for a potential Steeler Super Bowl appearance. Four times I went home bitterly disappointed.

Even the one victory came with a healthy dose of pure angst. We all remember that the Steelers were a dropped hail mary pass from losing to a 9-7, Jim Harbaugh lead Indianapolis team in 1996. What you may not remember is that just like the San Diego game, the Steelers dominated play and yet fell behind late in the 4th quarter. This time, O’Donnell was able to pull off the late comeback, though not without help. Two weeks before he killed us in the Super Bowl, our buddy Neil threw a perfect pass in to the gut of a Colts defender. Amazingly, he dropped it and a few plays later the Steelers scored. Otherwise we would be talking about a 5th home loss.

Then of course came a loss to Denver following the 1997 season and losses to New England after 2001 and 2004. At the time those games were played, we thought the Steelers were superior to all three of those clubs. Denver was a wild card team with a history of playoff chokes. New England in 2001 was thought to be a fluke with some dopey second year QB from Michigan. And the 2004 Steelers were 15-1 and had battered New England in the regular season.

Of course given 15 years of perspective, and more importantly two Super Bowl championships to ease the pain, I have a far different view point on things. That Denver team went on to win back to back Super Bowls. That 2001 Patriots were the first of three champions in four years. And in all three cases, there was a tremendous disparity at quarterback. I’m sorry but all things being equal, Kordell Stewart is not going to beat John Elway in a championship game (not to mention Bill Belicheat). The true miracle is that the Steelers got to five championship games and a Super Bowl with a significant deficiency at quarterback.

(Note, I consider Ben Roethlisberger without question one of the top five QBs in football. That does not change the fact that as a rookie, he was not ready to win playoff football games, especially against a mini-dynasty and a future first ballot hall of fame QB).

You might think that armed with this perspective, I would be able to cope with those previous losses better, or at least not let them effect my view of this Sunday’s game with the Jets. And you would be wrong. I simply can’t shake the haunting memories of those bitter home defeats.

I came to this realization two years ago when the Steelers played Baltimore in the AFC Championship game. Notwithstanding that we had won the Super Bowl three years earlier, I was an emotional wreck. I knew the Steelers were the better team and I knew that the Flacco factor would likely doom the Ravens. And yet my head could not convince my heart of this.

When Baltimore got the ball, down 16-14 midway through the 4th quarter, I could foresee history repeating itself. The Steelers were clearly outplaying their hated rivals and yet I just sensed somehow Matt Stover was going to bank a 52 yard field goal off the cross bar and we were going to be left with yet another crippling home loss in a championship game.

A rational mind does not think that way but when it comes to the final game before the Super Bowl, I become devoid of such clarity. I just keep having flashbacks to those other losses. I see blocked field goals returned for touchdowns, kickoffs returned for touchdowns, and interceptions…returned for touchdowns.

That’s why I spent three plus hours that day alternately pacing, screaming, swearing, and throwing a roll of paper towels (the latter reaction I blame entirely on the late, great Limas Sweed). That I did all this in direct view of my future wife makes it all the more frightening. That’s how deep the scars run.

Thankfully, the incomparable Troy Polamalu picked off Flacco and the Steelers went on to one of the greatest victories in Super Bowl history. It’s telling of my scars that I was far more calm when Ben took over after the Larry Fitzgerald touchdown than I was while leading against Baltimore. It’s almost as though I have more faith in the Steelers to win on Super Bowl Sunday than I do if they are at home two weeks earlier.

So here we are again, another AFC Championship game at home against what appears to be a lesser opponent. We got exactly the scenario we wanted. The Jets knocked off Giselle’s husband and his arrogant, cheating head coach giving us a home game against a wild card team with a shaky second year quarterback. We could not get a better situation, unless Stan Humphries was behind center for the Jets (oops). And guess which fan and part time blogger is nervous beyond belief?

What’s amazing was I was totally relaxed and confident going in to last Saturday’s game. I never lost my faith in the Steelers, even down 14 to a hated rival with a bruising defense. Conversely, I started worrying about the Jets about ten minutes after they left the field in New England. I assure you it’s not because I think the Jets are better than Baltimore, New England or the Steelers.

I find some inner peace in my new found belief that champions find a way to win, regardless of obstacle or path. The Steelers showed their championship metal last Saturday. How many teams could overcome a 14 point deficit against Baltimore? How many quarterbacks could play like Big Ben did in the second half and especially on the winning drive?

That’s why I believe deep down the Steelers will win. It’s not about being better than the Jets, because the better team does not always win. It’s about having that championship metal, an exceedingly rare quality in sports.

These Steelers have great players; but more importantly players who know how to be great when it matters most. They have a quarterback who excels in the highest pressure moments, and a defense that dominates with shocking consistency. They accept no excuses, the standard is the standard. They never quit on a game, even when circumstances look dire.

My head thinks the Steelers will win 23-17. So does my heart. Sadly those title game scars will not let me believe that…until it happens.