Merry Christmas!

 

That's It, Fort Pitt

R.I.P. 2012 Steelers season. It was a flaccid, disappointing season from the very first game, a loss in Denver, all the way through embarrassing losses to Oakland, Tennessee, Cleveland and San Diego, narrow wins over bad teams, and then the final kockout blow delivered by Cincinnati on Sunday at Heinz Field. It was a lousy season by what turned out to be a bad team with too many players who played casually and soft too often.

We have some thoughts on this team and will share them over the next few days. Clearly this team missed the leadership provided by departed veterans like Aaron Smith, James Farrior, Hines Ward, Chris Hoke and others. Injuries took their toll, of course, as they do with most teams over the course of the brutal NFL season. For us, though, the most disappointing mark of this team was the apparent inability of some of the younger players who failed to seize opportunity and seemed to have no concept of what it means to be a Steeler.

Some of those younger players seemed content to think they'd arrived -- when, really, they haven't done squat. It seems some of them just don't get what it takes to achieve and sustain success in the NFL, let alone what it means to be a Steeler.

A real Steelers team would never have allowed a loss to the Bengals, at home, on the 40th anniversary of the  Immaculate Reception.  Plenty of blame to go around on this team. From the coaching staff, to Ben Roethlisberger and too many other players to name here. There's plenty of time for finger-pointing. Very disappointing.

Merry Christmas. 

Defeat Cin(cinnati)

There is not much to say about today's Steelers-Bengals game that hasn't been said already.  The Steelers need to win; so do the Bengals, but the Steelers really need to win.

On the night of Sunday, Oct. 21, the Steelers, fresh off an ugly loss to the woeful Tennessee Titans, defeated the Bengals, 24-17 in a close, mistake-laden game that seems long ago. It was the first of four straight wins for the Steelers.

Since those wins, however, the Steelers have lost four of their last five games. The Bengals have won five of their last six.

The Steelers have gotten worse, and the Bengals have gotten better. Or, maybe, both teams are playing to their true level.

Today, the Steelers have one last chance to get it right.

Garrett Jones: "A Poor Man's Josh Hamilton"

Neal Huntington should not be allowed to make any more trades for the Pirates. Just stop it. When Huntington swings a deal, the problem always is the return. He rarely gets true value in return. Huntington's track record speaks for itself.

This post is not to decry the Joel Hanrahan trade to the Boston Red Sox, although we're tempted. We simply don't know enough about the two suspects prospects the Pirates received in return, but you can't blame us for being skeptical about minor leaguers Jerry Sands and Stolmy Pimintel, whom the Red Sox seemed to proffer with a shrug.

Rather, let's just say we simply don't trust Huntington and Frank Coonelly to do the smart thing, let alone the right thing. We just don't trust them. Period. Whether their actions are driven by perfidy or stupidity, we just don't trust them.

Which brings us to Garrett Jones.  Before Huntington-Coonelly do anything stupid -- like, say, include Jones as part of the rest of a deal with Boston -- humor us this query: Why do the Pirates under-value Jones?

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls consider Garrett Jones a "Poor Man's Josh Hamilton."  Don't laugh. Clearly, Hamilton's the better player, and we're not even comparing the two -- just suggesting that for the money due Jones this year, the Pirates should keep him, especially in terms of relative value.

Taking a closer look ...

• As a second-time arbitration-eligible player, Jones's contract might be $2.25 million this year.  
• Hamilton will make more than 10 times that: $25 million (in the first year of a five-year contract worth $125 million).  

• Both Jones and Hamilton are 31 years old. 
• Both are left-handed batters.

• Jones is listed at 6'4, 30 lbs.
• Hamilton is 6'4", 240 lbs. 

• In 2012, Jones appeared in 145 games with 515 plate appearances and 475 at-bats, 33 walks (2 intentional) and 103 strikeouts.
• In 2012, Hamilton appeared in 146 games with 636 plate appearances, 562 at-bats, 60 walks (13 intentional) and 162 strikeouts.

• Jones posted a .274 batting average, a .317 OBP, .516 SLG and .832 OPS with 245 total bases.
• Hamilton posted a .285 batting average, a .354 OBP, .577 SLG and .930 OPS with 324 total bases.

• Jones scored 68 runs, had 130 hits, 28 doubles, three triples, 27 home runs and 86 RBIs. 
• Hamilton scored 103 runs, had 160 hits, 31 doubles, two triples, 43 home runs and 128 RBIs.

Clearly, Hamilton is the better player. All we're saying is that for the production -- assuming we can project it to continue along similar lines -- Jones is a bargain at one year for $2.25 million -- especially when considered vis-a-vis Hamilton's $25 million (as the first installment of a $125 million commitment over five years).

At Jones's salary, ironically, the Texas Rangers (Hamilton's former team) come to mind as a club that would probably love to get him; or the Red Sox, or the Yankees, or just about any other "real" team.

And the Pirates are giving all indications they can't get rid of Jones fast enough, just like they couldn't get rid of Hanrahan fast enough. Stupid.

The Pirates Present a Shiny Lump of Coal to Fans for Christmas

Merry Christmas! 

From the Pirates, however, another Erik Bedard lump of coal in our stocking.

Until we heard detailed terms of the Francisco Liriano contract announced yesterday, we were mildly interested to see the Pirates had signed him, although he had an ERA over 5.00 each of the past two years. 

We figured, well, they're taking a long-shot flyer on a guy who may regain some flash of the magic he had seven years ago, and they probably signed him for one year, maybe about $2.5 million.  

Then, we heard the terms of the contract: two years for $14 million??!!! That is just ridiculous. Absurd. Especially if they're going to jettison Joel Hanrahan, who is due $7 million this year.  And they seem intent on doing that.

It was about time the Pirates spent money, but the Liriano signing is not smart.

On the MLB network last night, this signing was the lead topic for discussion with Paul Severino, Mitch Williams and Larry Bowa. They spent about seven minutes on it. All negative. They were extremely critical of this signing, and they gave very thoughtful, detailed reasons to support their rationale.  

Among the highlights (paraphrasing, but roughly approximate):

Larry Bowa said, "I don't like the amount of money, and I don't like that he doesn't throw strikes. He gives up a lot of walks. The guy throws a lot of pitches, a ton of walks, he has no control. He doesn't go deep into games, won't get you a lot of innings, and he'll wear out your bullpen. Your defense is going to be back on its heels, and he'll give up runs in a hurry."

Mitch Williams said, "A ton of money to pay a guy who last year had an ERA over 5.00. In my day, he'd be in the minors. Way too much money. He cannot control his pitches. His mechanics are terrible. He opens up that front step, and he cannot command the ball on a strike-to-strike basis."

Severino pointed out that there may have been other, better and cheaper options available, including Carl Pavano, Joe Saunders and Brett Myers. Joey Porter's Pit Bulls would can throw Shaun Marcum's name in that discussion, too. Jeff Karstens, for that matter. Williams and Bowa said any of one of Pavano, Saunders or Myers would eat up innings and would been a smarter, cheaper signing than Liriano.

Another point of discussion was the fact that Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are on the horizon. Williams and Bowa agreed, emphatically, that Cole and Taillon should be in the mix this year. 

Williams said, "Without question, the Pirates should bring these guys up, let 'em work out of the bullpen first as middle-inning guys, let 'em work though a lineup, gain some confidence and then work them into the rotation. Without question."

As for Joel Hanrahan, all three agreed, "If the Pirates think they can contend, keep him. If they trade him, that sends a message from the front office that says, we don't think we can win. It's a terrible message to send to the other players."

Agreed. We didn't like the way Hanrahan fell off the table in the second half of each of the last two seasons, at all, BUT trading him now feels like the wrong move. 

The Pirates will say that Jason Grilli will be the closer. He fell off in the second half of the season, too. We might see a return of Matt Capps. Seriously.

Fourteen million dollars for two years to jam up the rotation with Francisco Liriano?  Y'know what?  Put that money instead into an extension for Neil Walker.  Or upgrade the coaching staff, or the minor league player and development system. 

Or, better yet, invest that money in a new general manager to replace Neal Huntington.  Yeah, how about that?  

And while we're at it, bring in Kim Ng from the MLB executive offices and replace that clown Frank Coonelly and his minions, Kyle Stark & Co.  

The Pirates' instincts are off. Again. And again. And always, it seems.

Idle Thoughts

 For the Steelers and Bengals, the playoffs start on Sunday at Heinz Field.  A bit early for that, isn't it?

• We wish Roger Goodell would nix the idea of expanding the number of teams in the playoffs and lengthening the regular season to 18 games. The playoff format is fine the way it is, and the season is plenty long enough. For that matter, Thursday night games can go away, too. We wouldn't miss them.
• Goodell will keep pushing, of course. It's all about the money. Television rules. 
• Ryan Clark may well be the Steelers' MVP this season. One could make the case for Heath Miller, Ben Roethlisberger, or even Max Starks. It will be interesting to see who the players choose.

The Steelers activated Justin King, who will probably replace DeMarcus Van Dyke ("DVD") as the gunner on punt coverage and backup corner back. Once a star player at Gateway High School in Monroeville, Justin King is a familiar name in Southwestern Pennsylvania. He left Penn State early to enter the NFL draft in 2008 and was selected in the fourth round by the St. Louis Rams. King sustained a halux (big toe) ligament injury, however, in his very first preseason game, and maybe he never fully recovered. At corner, though, can he really play much worse than some of what we saw in Dallas?

A Flawed Offensive Strategy & More Not-So-Special Special Teams Play

To paraphrase Ricky Ricardo in the vintage TV comedy series, I Love Lucy, "Todd Haley, you got some 'splaining to do."

Maybe Haley, the Steelers' offensive coordinator, can explain why the Steelers didn't run the ball right up the gut of Dallas's depleted defense on Sunday. The same Dallas Cowboys who had surrendered 7.3 yards per run last week vs. the Cincinnati Bengals and were missing their top two inside linebackers (Sean Lee and Bruce Carter), plus their top backup, and their top two nose tackles (Jay Ratliff and Josh Brent). In fact, the Cowboys were probably as surprised as anybody that the Steelers didn't run the ball consistently between the tackles or even, for that matter, even try to establish a running game on Sunday in Dallas.

Why, Todd Haley, why?  Was it because Jonathan Dwyer got tired (again) and tapped out (again), although he had only nine carries? Was it because Isaac Redman got hurt near the end of the third quarter, after just three carries? Did Chris Rainey get only three carries because he still thinks he's in the SEC?

One pass too many: Brandon Carr's interception in overtime.

Steeler running backs carried the ball only 15 times for 67 yards and tallied just two first downs. It bears repeating: Fifteen rushing attempts. For the entire game.

By contrast, Ben Roethlisberger tried 25 pass attempts in the first half. By the end of the game, he had dropped back to pass 46 times.

Of those 46 drop-backs, Roethlisberger completed 24 of 40 pass attempts, was sacked four times (for 20 yards), scrambled twice (for two yards), and threw the fatal interception in overtime.

Considering the Steelers unbalanced offensive game plan, it shouldn't be much of a shock that Dallas dominated time of possession, 34:24 to 27:00 in the Cowboy's 27-24 overtime victory over the Steelers.

Steelers' fans showed up in force.

On to other matters: Once again, special teams hurt the Steelers.

Although Antonio Brown is generally good on punt returns, his pivotal fumble at the end of an excellent return in the fourth quarter led to seven points for Dallas, and that was the turning point.

More puzzling was Brown's off-kilter positioning for fielding the next punt, which Dallas's Brian Moorman kicked from about his own five yard line. Brown set up about 70 yards away -- 15-20 yards up field from where he should have been.

Sure 'nuff, Moorman's punt landed well in front of Brown and proceeded to bounce all the way to the Steelers' 20. The consequent field position cost them dearly -- denying the Steelers any opportunity at a game-winning field goal. Why was Brown set up so far downfield?  Where was the special teams coach?  Even a fair catch would have saved 15 yards or so, and that may have been enough for a field goal attempt.

Also notable was the poor punting of Drew Butler, who had six kicks for a net average of 30.0 (not good). His low kick in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter was returned for a long gain and nearly cost the Steelers the game right there.

On defense, the theme again was too little pass rush (one sack) and too few takeaways (one forced fumble, by James Harrison). For the season, the Steelers are a minus-14 in turnover ratio.

To their credit, the Steelers committed no penalties in Dallas. That is small consolation.

This Steelers team looks like what it is: a very ordinary, mediocre team with a 7-7 record. Pheh.

A Tipping Point

The Steelers vs. Cowboys: "Two trains on a track," as Mike Tomlin would say.

As the Steelers prepare to trudge into Cowboys Stadium on Sunday, it's almost easy to overlook the fact that this is a match-up of two 7-6 teams.  All season, most Steelers' fans looking at the schedule pointed to this as a winnable game, just as Denver, Tennessee, Oakland, Cleveland and San Diego also appeared to be winnable games.

From the Dallas viewpoint, though, the Steelers must look eminently beatable ("defeat-capable" as Mike Tomlin might say). At this point of the schedule, Tony Romo & Co. must be licking their proverbial chops at the prospect of facing a reeling Steelers team with an injury-depleted secondary and leaky offensive line coming into Jerry Jones's Megaplexopalos, the DFW Metroplex's video-screen-dominated monstrosity sports-and-entertainment palace.

No doubt, the Cowboys and their fans see this as "a winnable game" for Dallas.

The Cowboys always seem to be loaded with talent, but they chronically under-achieve. Head coach Jason Garrett's career record is just 20-17 in this, his third season, with no playoff appearances. By comparison, Mike Tomlin, now in his sixth season, has won exactly twice as many regular-season games as he's lost, 62-31, for a career winning percentage of .667.

By the way, it's worth noting that Tomlin's career regular-season winning percentage is the highest among active NFL coaches who have coached at least 80 games, ahead of Mike McCarthy (.661 with Green Bay), Bill Belichick (.649 at Cleveland and New England) and Andy Reid (.591 in Philadelphia).

So, with both teams at 7-6, Sunday's game represents a tipping point of sorts for the Steelers and Cowboys. The winning team makes a statement abut the direction it's taking, catapults itself to an 8-6 record, and maintains peripheral relevance in the continuing discussion of potential playoff scenarios. The losing squad goes home to regroup and answer more questions about what went wrong.

One presumes the Cowboys want this win very badly.  The question is, "Do the Steelers?"

It's a fair question in light of their performance vs. San Diego last Sunday.

This Week's Money Quote From Mike Tomlin's News Conference

"We live in our hopes, not our fears, with eyes forward."

That's the money quote, as far as we're concerned, from Mike Tomlin's press conference yesterday. Every week, Tomlin  delivers some pithy aphorism than can be entertaining (at the very least); mystifying (occasionally) and even inspiring (sometimes).

Usually, there are a couple such quotes, and we are grateful that he routinely provides so much fodder for frothy discussion. "if you will."  His news conferences are much more entertaining than the ones delivered by most other NFL coaches, including his predecessor.

On Tuesday, Tomlin described the Dallas Cowboys' secondary as "zone-corner capable" and "salty," and we've come to expect such descriptions from him on a regular basis. If anything, we wish he would scale back the effusive praise he lavishes on each week's upcoming opponent. It must be inspiring and motivational for a member of the sucky defensive corps of the Raiders, say, or the Titans, Chiefs, Eagles or Cowboys to get such praise. You can just see some of these guys singled out by Tomlin saying to themselves, "Hey, maybe I'm not such a lousy, underachieving slug, after all. From what Tomlin says, I am salty, grimy and 'coverage-tackle capable.'"

After all, "There is a fine line in this league between squashing grapes and drinking fine wine," as Tomlin famously said last year.  Let's hope the Steelers are done being grape-squashers and, for that matter, getting squashed like over-ripe grapes.

Opportunity Lost

Another galling thing about the Steelers' loss to San Diego on Sunday is that the Ravens and Bengals also lost. The Ravens are reeling and, conceivably, coming back to the pack. In fact, the Ravens not only lost on Sunday, they panicked and fired embattled offensive coordinator Cam Cameron on Monday -- with three games left in the season! A first-place team with a 9-4 record!

Obviously, there is discord in Baltimore, and people there have been concerned about the Ravens' offense for quite a while. In fact, just after Charlie Batch led the Steelers to that improbable win in Baltimore on Dec. 2, at least one writer in Baltimore pointed out the very real concern that the Ravens could easily lose to the Redskins, Giants and Bengals -- three of their last four games.  And, if that were to happen, the Steelers could actually beat them out for the division crown -- if the Steelers won out.  That's not going to happen, of course.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Ye-eccchh!

Once again the Steelers played down to their competition.  A 10-point loss at home in December to a 5-8 team with a lame-duck coach is not a good thing,  The Steelers were outcoached and outplayed from the coin toss. They came out flat and went down from there. The Chargers dominated, and the game wasn't nearly as close as the 10-point margin might suggest.

Ben Roethlisberger looked off, never mind the final stats. He was awful. This was the wrong week to start him. It looked like he wasn't ready, his timing was off, and the entire team seem to lack focus to the point of distraction.  Roethlisberger looked tentative and hesitant in the pocket; his interception was abhorrent; and the hideous pass that bounced off the back of David Paulsen was even worse.

The coaches should have known better. Roethlisberger said he was ready, and the doctors cleared him to play; but he wasn't ready, and neither was the team.

It was not Mike Tomlin's best day, to say the least. Tomlin's decision to go for a first down on fourth and one late in the first half was a mistake, as was the failure to attempt a two-point conversion later in the game. The running game was abysmal, and the offensive line was no help at all. And the special teams once again got burned, this time on a fake punt.

Although the Chargers started a patchwork offensive line, the Steelers front seven couldn't capitalize. San Diego was 12 for 22 on converting third downs. And a 17-play drive covering nine-and-a-half minutes to start the second half?  Puh-leaze.

Another ugly loss in an upsie-downsie season.  This team has given us no reason to feel confident they can beat Dallas, Cincinnati and Cleveland, let alone do anything meaningful in the post-season, if they make it.

Back in Business!

Charlie Batch led the Steelers to victory on Sunday in Baltimore.  That's right, Charlie Batch led the Steelers to a crucial win that made a statement to Baltimore and the rest of the NFL that the Steelers are not done yet.

Good for Charlie.  He would have had more than 300 yards passing if not for a couple of drops by Emmanuel Sanders, but those didn't matter in the end. Good time Charlie. If Ben Roethlisberger needs more time, let him take it. Believe it or not, the Steelers can win with Charlie Batch.

Sticking to their pattern for most of the season, the Steelers controlled time of possession (34:21 to 25:39), which was crucial, with the difference being the Steelers' ability to run out the clock on the final drive. The Baltimore run defense has been uncharacteristically slack all season and, while it surrendered only 96 yards rushing, the Steelers got tough yards when it mattered most, and Batch kept the Ravens off-balance enough.

In a game that felt like it would come down to the last possession, with the Ravens holding home-field advantage, the Steelers controlled the final 6:41 of clock and drove to Shaun Suisham's game-winning field goal.

The Steelers were buttressed by a defense that once again stymied Joe Flacco (for the second time in three weeks), holding him to just 16-34 passing for only 168 yards and a mere 5.5 yards per completion.  Major credit goes to the Steelers secondary, notably the young corners, Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown (with Ike Taylor missing nearly the entire game with an ankle injury).  Kudos also to safeties Ryan Clark, Will Allen and Troy Polamalu whose return to action can only help.

That'll teach Ray Rice not to mess with the towel/.

No less importantly, the Steelers contained Ray Rice (for the second time in three weeks),holding him to just one reception for five yards and 78 yards rushing. Also, crucially, the Steelers didn't allow Jacoby Jones to return any punts, and the Steelers kickoff-coverage units limited Jones to 24.7 yards on three returns, while Pittsburgh's Chris Rainey averaged 30.5 yards on his two returns.

Beginning with the Steelers' first possession, it was evident they came to play. They hung tough, overcame a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit and stymied Baltimore at every turn when it mattered most.  The Steelers proved they can beat Baltimore on the road, and that is a very good sign for the post-season, assuming the Steelers make it.

Now, let's hope they keep it up. The Steelers have had an annoying tendency to play down to their competition all season. Next up: San Diego at Heinz Field.

A Statement Game, One Way or the Other

We've only just begun to fight.

The hobbled Steelers prepare to limp into MT Stadium on Sunday to face a cocky Baltimore Ravens squad confident they will clinch the AFC North Division title and, in the process, bury the Steelers, once and for all, emphatically.

No doubt, the Ravens would love to make this a statement game, with that statement being that the torch has passed, that the Baltimore Ravens own the AFC North. Just like they did last year, with wins in both Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and the Baltimoreans would love to assert that this is the way it's going to be for a while. The Ravens rang up 55 points on Oakland a few weeks ago. Obviously, they'd love to do the same, and worse, to the Steelers on Sunday in Baltimore.

Not so fast. Granted, on the surface, the Steelers are ripe for the picking. The patchwork offensive line is in disarray. The receivers and running backs are hobbled, although you won't hear that from coach Mike Tomlin. When asked this week about Chris Rainey's cracked ribs and apparent ankle/knee injury at the end of the loss in Cleveland, Tomlin said, abruptly and dismissively,"He was seeking comfort."  That's the same Chris Rainey who's been saying, basically, that he knows what the NFL is all about because he played in the SEC. Well. Think again.

Welcome to the NFL, Chris Rainey.  

After all, according to Tomlin, "Excuses are the tools of the incompetent," and the Steelers should have no excuses. And, really, they don't.

Time to go old-school.

There are no excuses for losses to losses to horrendous teams in Oakland, Tennessee and Cleveland.  Even in wins, the Steelers struggled and squeaked by with close victories over bad teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chefs. They looked deceptively good against a lousy Jets team in disarray; against a Redskins team that dropped 11 passes; and against a Giants team shaken and ill-prepared in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

The Steelers played the Ravens tough at Heinz Field on Nov. 18, but Jacoby Jones's punt return for a touchdown killed them, and Byron Leftwich played hurt and woefully bad.

The defense played well, however, and has been very good in recent weeks. Several players have stepped up their game, including Keenan Lewis, Will Allen, Steve McClendon and even, just this past Sunday, Jason Worilds.  Others have played to their traditional standard of excellence: Ike Taylor, Brett Keisel, and, of course, Ryan Clark (the defensive MVP).

In any case, against Baltimore, the defense absolutely must get takeaways; the unit simply hasn't  much of that for the past two seasons. On the other side of the ball, it's worth noting, the Ravens haven't turned the ball over much this year (just nine times).

Lots of "ifs" for the Steelers this weekend.  If the Steelers win this game, it will definitely announce to the league they're not done yet. And, yes, this is the sort of game, historically, the Steelers find the wherewithal to win. The proud Steelers, the tough Steelers, the resourceful, determined and plucky Steelers, the Steelers who won't back down from anybody or any challenge. This will be a defining game.  One way or the other. No excuses.

Links 'n at

• Make sure to check out Steel Reign and the other fine writers at Pittsburgh Sports Forum. Good stuff on the Steelers, Pirates, Penguins and other fun goings-on.
• As always, Nice Pick Cowher offers lots of trenchant, interesting observations on the state of the Steelers.
• Over at Behind the Steel Curtain, Neal Coolong presents a typically cogent analysis, including a look at Baltimore's edge on special teams.
• Dave Bryan at Steelers Depot details one of the key match-ups, which is the seeming mismatch between the Ravens' Paul Kruger (and, at times, Terrell Suggs) vs. Pittsburgh's new right tackle, Kelvin Beachum, the rookie out of SMU, who was the fourth of the Steelers' four seventh-round draft picks this year.