Week one came, and for most of the members of Steeler Nation, we wish it hadn't.
Yeah, the Steelers got two points at the very beginning of the game when Tennessee's kick returner left the endzone and then re-entered the endzone to down the ball giving the Steelers a safety, but then until the final two minutes of the game the Steelers didn't score again.
So here we go with the first edition of The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly for the 2013 season.
The Good
Honestly, there is very little good coming from this game. It was brutal. I had the Browns game on my television (I live in Cleveland, so that's the game that was on) and I was streaming the Steelers game on my laptop. If it wasn't for uniforms, I would have been confused on which game I was watching at any time because the most popular play of both offenses was the punt.
So the good is the fact that the defense played well. They gave up 16 points, and that damn sure isn't bad at all seeing how much time they spent on the field. Tennessee's offense was on the field for 34:01. If the offense could have sustained drives and allowed the defense to catch their breath, they would have won this game.
Also, on the good part, the rest of the division lost. The entire division goes into week two with a record of 0-1. So we are tied for first, or last depending on how you look at it.
The Bad
What the hell was the offense doing? We couldn't run, and the passing game was inept until the end of the game when Ben drove them down the field for a touchdown. Redman fumbled on the three yard line, the ball was recovered in the endzone by the Titans for a touch back. No running back gained even 20 yards yesterday, and three of them got carries!
Normally I am not "blame the offensive coordinator" guy, but Haley's play calling was putrid. This is his second season running the offense. All I read leading up to the season was that he was more comfortable with the players and they were more comfortable with him. I didn't see any of that yesterday. I saw a team with no identity. At least with Whisenhut the players knew the offense would be run based and with Arians the players knew the team would be pass based. I don't think even Haley knows what he wants to do on offense. When it was obvious that we couldn't run the ball, he should have adjusted to more of a pass based offense. Instead, he kept trying to beat a dead horse.
The offensive line is horrible. Again. I thought maybe this was fixed seeing how second round picks had been used at the tackle positions and two first round picks had been used on a center and a guard. But this offensive line looks no better than ones of the past made up mostly of mid-round picks. If the Steelers are going to even reach the 8-8 record they had last year, this offensive line is going to have to shape up and give Big Ben some time and our running backs some type of hole to run through. I'm not asking for the HOGS of Redskins fame, but I've seen better offensive line play in high school football games. Hell, a local high school might have done a better job on Sunday than the guys wearing Black & Gold. The offensive line play was that brutal.
The Steelers resigned Jonathon Dwyer, a running back that they cut just nine days ago. He was last year's leading rusher with 623 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was brought back because of the lack of a run game, and because of a season ending injury to LaRod Stephens-Howling. I know the coaches want Le'Veon Bell, their second round pick, to be the starter however he's currently out with a foot injury. So this is Dwyer's chance to seize the starting running back position. If he doesn't impress, Bell will be inserted when healthy.
The Ugly
Injuries, injuries, and more injuries. The Steelers are looking more and more like a MASH unit than a football team, and we are just a week into the season.
Pro Bowl starting center Maurkice Pouncey is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL in his knee, after fellow offensive lineman David DeCastro dove or fell (depending on your point of view) and crashed into the back of Pouncey's knee. Pouncey was our best offensive lineman, considered by many to be the second best center in the AFC. Now he's gone for the year. The Steelers signed former Titans center/guard Fernando Velasco. Seeing how he wasn't on a roster in week one, I don't know if he's going to replace Pouncey in the middle of the line or is just a depth signing because they're going to reshuffle the line.
Starting veteran inside linebacker Larry Foote sustained a ruptured tendon in his bicep, and is also out for the season. I have no idea who is going to replace him. On the two-deep the backup ILB's are Vince Williams (rookie) and Kion Wilson. I have a feeling they might move Chris Carter inside seeing how he has the most experience of the three in our defense. I really wish Sean Spence had never gotten that freak injury, because he would have been able to step in here, and I felt he was going to be a future star LB for this team. Now I am really hoping he can make a full enough recovery to play again, because Foote's career is likely over now.
LaRod Stephens-Howling tore his ACL in Sunday's game, which is a big reason why Dwyer was resigned today. He was expected to be a third down back and be fresh legs in the backfield this season with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He was also probably the fastest RB on the roster.
Those are just the season ending injuries sustained yesterday.
Shaun Suisham is having hamstring issues, so the Steelers signed Shane Graham, who was recently cut by the Cleveland Browns a little over a week ago, after spending all of training camp and preseason with the team competing for the then vacant kicker position. Matter-of-fact, the Browns cut BOTH kickers on final cut day and opted to try out two guys that were free agents and hadn't been in camps and use one of them. So we now have a kicker who wasn't even good enough for the Cleveland freaking Browns! And we currently have two kickers on the roster, meaning we would have to cut from another position (or place on IR) to bring in a LB for depth until Suisham is healthy.
Folks, it doesn't get much uglier than that!
