The Steelers Never Gave Batch A Chance

All last week Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had one message for his team: make things easy for 37-year-old third-string quarterback Charlie Batch. Something must have gotten lost in translation because instead of taking care of Batch, the Steelers never gave him a chance. Not only did they lose the ball five times on fumbles, but without a running game Batch threw three interceptions as the Browns beat the Steelers, 20-14. Mike Wallace had just one catch against the Browns and couldn't hold onto a pass that turned into one of Batch's three interceptions. "Coach kept saying be quarterback friendly the whole week," said safety Ryan Clark. "He wanted to find ways to help him."

The Pittsburgh Steelers came to Cleveland with four running backs and all of them lost fumbles to a hard-hitting defense. It started with Rashard Mendenhall's fumble in the first quarter. After Mendenhall fumbled, Isaac Redman did the same on the Steelers' 19 in the second quarter. Jonathan Dwyer kept the ball bouncing with another fumble in the second quarter. Chris Rainey added the fourth late in the fourth quarter. Batch, however, was intercepted by Sheldon Brown midway through the third quarter. The Browns turned it into another touchdown for a 20-14 lead. In all, the Steelers turned the ball over eight times.

The Steelers still managed to keep the game close despite those turnovers and the penalties. They had 10 penalties for 90 yards. Flags routinely put the Steelers in terrible field position, wiped out long gains or forced the struggling Batch to throw the ball down the field into coverage.   Miraculously, the Browns only scored 17 points off the turnovers. The Cleveland Browns turned Mendenhall and Redman's fumbles into 10 points. Here's what happened following the Steelers' eight giveaways: four punts, two touchdowns, one field goal and one turnover that ended the game.

Injured Ben Roethlisberger Inspires Steelers To 14-3 Win!

Already smarting from a broken thumb and wearing a splint on his throwing hand, might be enough to inspire any team to victory. But the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback showed how tough he really is when he experienced an unexpected injury that would have sidelined most players. Ben Roethlisberger was not going to let his team down in a game the Steelers needed to stay ahead of the Baltimore Ravens for the lead in the AFC north division.

The 9-3 Steelers were favorite to beat the 4-8 Cleveland Browns on Sunday and resume their march toward another playoff appearance . The crowd at Heinz field was glad to see Big Ben put together a masterful drive to give the Steelers a 7-3 lead before half-time. But, with less than 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, Ben was sacked and was unable to get up. After being looked at on the field, he was helped to the locker room for x-rays.

It seemed like all the air was sucked out of the stadium. No one knew if he could even return to the sidelines, let alone play the second half. Back up Charlie Batch filled in, but was ineffective. Roethlisberger wasn't the only Steeler injured in the first half. All-pro center, Maurkice Pouncey also left the game with a leg injury and didn't return.

To everyone's surprise Big Ben limped unto the field to start the 2nd half. Apparently he had a high ankle sprain but wanted to play anyway. With his ankle, shoe and lower leg heavily taped, he inspired his offensive linemen to give him the protection he needed to finish the game. After throwing an interception that almost cost them the lead, he found Antonio Brown down the sidelines for a touchdown that sealed the win.

It should be noted that Pouncey also had a high ankle sprain and Troy Polamalu had a slight hamstring injury. At one point in the game it looked like Polamalu was having safety Ryan Clark pull on his arm as if he had a dislocation. At least the Steelers will have 10 days to heal before they have to play the 10-2 San Francisco 49ers on NFL Monday Night Football.

The Best Offense Is A Good Defense!

I know I'm late with this post, but anyone who saw the Pittsburgh Steelers offense Sunday would agree: The best offense was a Great defense. The Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-7, but Ben Roethlisberger and company could only score 9 points on three field goals.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense scored 14 points with two touchdowns. Troy Polamalu and Lamarr Woodley scored enough points to beat the Bengals without the offense. They both returned Carson Palmer interceptions for TDs leading the Steelers to a 10-3 record and a spot in the NFL playoffs.

Pittsburgh is atop the AFC North division with three game left on their schedule. They will try to beat the New York Jets this week, then the Carolina Panthers and division rival, Cleveland Browns.  Let's hope they can muster more offense than three field goals against the Jets. If not, I hope the defense can score some points.

Pittsburgh Steelers "Too Little - Too Late"

     Have you ever noticed how some teams come out of the locker room ready to play and other teams seem less prepared and unenthusiastic? Well, that was the scene in Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football. A week ago the New England Patriots got blind-sided by the Cleveland Browns. That high powered Tom Brady offense stumbled as the Browns poked holes in their defense. Well, Monday night the Patriots figured out what was wrong and put a 'W' on the sleep-walking Steelers.

     I know Pittsburgh has some key injuries to their offensive line and Hines Ward was hurt early in the game. But, they still managed to get 26 points on New England's ''D'. We know Ben's going to try and do too much and give up a couple of sacks and an interception or two. He still has a good core of receivers, even without Ward. And let's not forget how Cleveland exploited New Englands' young secondary.

     Even with the injuries to the Steelers defensive linemen, the soft coverage and lack of aggression was noticeable in the first half, especially. You give Brady the kind of time the Steelers did and you have no chance to make a play. He went virtually untouched for most of the game and Belicheck had his team ready. Mike Tomlin didn't.

     The Steelers defense had given up an average of 15.7 points a game. The Patriots almost tripled that in the 39-26 beating of the Steelers. I just hope the Pittsburgh coaches can do what the Patriots did when the Steelers play the Raiders next week. Pittsburgh remains tied atop the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens at 6-3. New England is tied with the New York Jets form the best record in the NFL at 7-3.

Is There Still Hope For The Steelers?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-5 and tied for last place in the AFC North division with the Cleveland Browns. The defending Super Bowl champions have been struggling to score touchdowns, except for the 45-7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Turnovers have killed them. They generated 360 yards of offense to Oakland's 98 and lost 20-13. Ben Roethlisberger threw 4 interceptions and 2 of them were returned for touchdowns. The defense, working with a short field because of the other 2 inteceptions and a fumble, alowed only 6 points. But, if you look closely at the seven games they've played so far, there are about six plays, had they gone Pittsburgh's way, they could be 6-1.

The Steelers have played the easiest part of their schedule and will have to get through Denver, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Baltimore twice to make it to the playoffs. It seemed almost impossible for them to get to the Super bowl last year, but they did what they had to do and won. They have the personal and talent to win and that's why there is still hope. They have to take care of the football and reduce the turnovers. If they can do that, they'll have a chance to win a few games. It seems that with the loss of Jerome Bettis to retirement, Ben Roethlisberger will have to pass more (without interceptions) and get it in the end zone to bring the Steelers back.