Monday, January 07, 2008

Blame it on Steely McBeam

Let's see ... much of what went wrong Saturday night sure looked familiar, starting with the 98-YARD KICKOFF RETURN!

Special teams (specifically kick coverage) have burned the Steelers all year. On Saturday night, just as we were starting to feel good ... pha-phew, the air went out of the stadium. Jackson-vile's Maurice Jones-Drew scooted his way almost all the way, and his return undid all the good accomplished in the Steelers' confidence-building opening drive. Then, Ben started throwing picks. No need to re-cap what happened the rest of the way. It was a valiant effort and a mostly good, if unfulfilling season.

We can (and will) ruminate on what improvements can be made during the offseason. We will probably start (and finish) with special teams. It will be interesting to see whether special teams coach Bob Ligashesky will be retained. He would be an easy target for the Finger of Blame.

Or we could just as easily point to Steely McBeam.