Jacoby Jones Redux

Here we go again.

The Steelers have contained some of the NFL's most dangerous kick returners the past several games: Atlanta's Devin Hester; Kansas City's Knile Davis and De'Anthony Thomas; and Cincinnati's Adam Jones.

Now here comes Jacoby Jones, an old nemesis, and every time the Steelers kick off -- and let's hope it's often -- we'll no doubt be reminded of Mike Tomlin's sideline two-step at Heinz Field in November 2013.

As a wide receiver, Jacoby Jones has become mostly irrelevant, having caught just nine passes. Curiously, somehow he's coughed up four fumbles in 2014, losing two.

He remains one of the NFL's most dangerous kickoff returners, however, ranking second (behind Adam Jones) in average yards per return (30.6), with one touchdown and a longest return of 108 yards. He ranks ninth in the NFL in punt return average (9.2 yards, one spot behind Antonio Brown's 10.6 yards).

The Steelers' kick return coverage units will have to on top of their game. Again.

Ray Fittipaldo Nails It: Lousy Special Teams Cost the Steelers in 2013

Antonio Brown, out of bounds

Fans who watched the Steelers in 2013 remember the frustration and dismay we all felt over continuously poor field position on both sides of the ball.

The Steelers' punters were, for the most part, abysmal. They rarely flipped the field. It seemed the opponents' offense was always starting possessions after punts near mid-field.

Meanwhile, because the Steelers' own kick-return game (on kickoffs and punt alike) was so lousy, the Steelers' offense always seemed to be starting on about their own 20-yard line.

Jacoby Jones

Special teams put the Steelers in a hole all season. Then, for every rare positive big play the Steelers made on special teams, it seemed they would allow a negative one on the other side. The Jacoby Jones kick return in the pivotal loss to Baltimore is Exhibit 1 in that department.

The Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldi documents all these woes, and more, in excruciating but compelling detail in an excellent article that you can read here.  The photo accompanying the article shows the infamous "everything-but-the-Stanford band" kickoff return at the end of the Miami loss, when Antonio Brown veered barely out of bounds with the left half of his left foot on the sideline white stripe. If not for that gaffe, the Steelers would have made the playoffs, although it's not likely they would have gone far. The caption for that photo ironically points out that Brown and kicker Shaun Suisham were the two bright spots on special teams.

While both were mostly very good, Fittipaldi notes they also had major flaws. Brown made too many fair catches on returnable punts. Suisham missed two crucial field goals that may have won the Oakland game. Worse, and this has been the big flaw in Suisham's game all along, his kickoffs don't go deep.

If you remember when the Steelers came out of training camp last August-September, they made a series of roster moves that continued through the 0-4 start to the season.  In the week between the final pre-season game and Game 1 of the regular season, the Steelers made five roster moves. This sort of maneuvering continued. Players were waived or added. Others were moved to and from the practice squad. In 2013, the Steelers had a roster of between 20-30 percent new players.  They weren't ready to start the season. And the result was an 0-4 start that buried them.

You'd think Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin would know better. This year, let's hope they give special teams their due. Coaches always blather about the importance of special teams and how they are "one-third of the game," but then special teams get treated as an afterthought. Punters and kickers are disparaged as not being "real" football players.

The reality is, huge chunks of field position can change on any kick or punt.  Kickers and punters are absolutely crucial, as are returners, gunners and other specialty players. For the Steelers, there is ample room for improvement.

One footnote: When the Steelers signed punter Brad Wing early this off-season, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls wrote a lengthy, researched post that got lost in Blogger-space somehow and was never posted. We'll try to recreate it at some point. Wing has an interesting story, and we have cautious, tentative hope that he will seize the job and make a difference. Wing has potential to be the best punter the Steelers have had in a long time.

Bigger picture, there is room for improvement in all phases of the special teams, as Fittipaldi painstaking explains in his excellent article. It's worth reading.

Midweek Malaise

Just think how much more promising interesting the final three games would appear if Antonio Brown had managed to sidestep the sideline and tightrope it the way Baltimore's Jacoby Jones (yeah, that guy) did in the last minute of the Ravens' theatrical win over Minnesota last Sunday.

Instead, this craptastic Steelers season slogs on its futile procession through the final three games: Bangles at Heinz Field; against the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay; and, finally, the Clowns at Heinz Field.

Mike Tomlin's Tuesday news conference gave us little to chew on that we didn't already know (the defense can't stop anybody and gives up too many big plays), so we turn to other sources.

Gene Collier points out the sequence of questionable play calls ...

" ... with a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter, on a snow-covered field, the Steelers' play-calls went, pass, pass, pass, pass, run, pass on one possession. Then pass, run, pass, pass, pass on a second. 

"That's against a Miami defense ranked 25th against the run."

Dale Lolley at The Washington Observer-Reporter makes an interesting point about Jason Worilds:

"... there's no way the Steelers can afford to allow Jason Worilds to walk. 

There really isn't a comparison between Worilds and Keenan Lewis. Lewis made some plays last season, but nothing nearly as impactful as the way Worilds has played. Lewis is also 27 this season, while Worilds is 25 and would play an entire 4-year contract extension under the age of 30. 

The Steelers might have tipped their hand with what they're planning with Worilds when they kept him at left outside linebacker and moved LaMarr Woodley to the other side."

If the Steelers are serious about keeping Worilds, they would almost certainly have to move Woodley -- and we don't mean to the other side of the linebacking corps, but rather off the roster, mainly because of his salary cap hit, which will be significant in any case.

Fine Tomlin, but leave the draft picks alone

Mike Tomlin's sideline shenanigans, hijinks, skullduggery and tomfoolery may cost him a six-figure fine from the NFL, but there is also speculation the NFL may take a draft pick away from the Steelers.

Tomlin should be fined. The NFL simply cannot allow coaches or anybody else on the sidelines to pull such stunts. Would Steelers' fans want John Harbaugh or Marvin Lewis doing that sort of stunt? No.

A hefty fine would be appropriate for Tomlin and a deterrent to other coaches -- $100,000 sounds about right. Too much? Not given the furor this week. We'd be surprised, however, if there's a one-game suspension.

And a draft pick? No. Joey Porter's Pit Bulls take issue with the loss of a draft pick. Penalize the coach, but not the franchise. This was not organizational malfeasance (a la Spygate). A six-figure fine on the guy who did it would make the point.

Here's another point about the draft pick: Tomlin is by no means a lame-duck head coach, but what if some future sideline-stepping scalawag were a lame-duck head coach who already knows he won't be around to pay the price of a lost draft pick and, in fact, wouldn't mind hampering his successor's future success?

Leave the draft picks alone.

So, NFL, go ahead and fine him six figures -- it's not our money. But a draft pick? Nuh-uh.