Pittsburgh Steelers

While the offseason has arrived for all but four teams, we continue on, recognizing the excellence of individuals for seasons well played. We began our look at the 2011 All-Division teams yesterday with the AFC East, but today it’s the AFC North’s turn to take its place in the limelight.

As with all of these teams we’re using some discretion when it comes to personnel and system in order to get the best possible lineup on the field from each division, so don’t necessarily expect to see the teams match in that regard.

Here is PFF’s All-AFC North Team for the 2011 season.

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Pittsburgh traveled to Denver to take on the Broncos sporting a record that was four wins better than their adversaries over the regular season. It stood to reason that the Steelers were expected to walk away from this game the victors after proving to the league why Tim Tebow can’t get it done on the big stage. As usual, it just didn’t work out like that.

The Pittsburgh offense was able to overcome injuries (and a clearly restricted Ben Roethlisberger) to score 23 points and move the ball pretty well, but for once they were let down by their defense–a D that sold out against the run more than we can ever remember seeing a team do before, daring Tim Tebow to beat them deep. Unfortunately for them, he obliged, and ultimately it cost them the win with one play in overtime that encapsulated the encounter.

Tebow was able to hit the deep passes against man coverage all night and the Steelers never backed off their aggressive game plan. As a result, Denver now moves on to play the New England Patriots, while the Pittsburgh Steelers move on home.

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Pittsburgh may have won 12 games, but they did not take the AFC North and, as such, they travel to the heights of Mile High where they face the AFC West winners, the 8-8 Denver Broncos. The home field advantage at Mile High is a significant one, claiming its first victim even before the teams have arrived to play. Steelers’ safety Ryan Clark has been told by his head coach that he will not be playing in this game, after the last trip to Denver caused him to have a nasty medical reaction to the rarified air that resulted in a hospital stint and a serious risk to his health.

Pittsburgh is reeling from several injuries in recent weeks that have robbed them of some of their better players, and they have struggled in their past few games because of this. They may be, in theory, the much better side, but they showed last week against Cleveland that they are unlikely to blow anybody away, let alone a playoff team. 

The Steelers are four wins better than the Broncos this season, but this is the playoffs where anything can happen, and if there is any time for Tim Tebow to prove that he really does just get the job done, this would be a pretty good stage to prove it on. Read the rest of this entry »

The Pittsburgh Steelers got some ideal preparation for the postseason in the form of a closely contested divisional clash that featured some wintery weather and went down to the last play. Unfortunately, they also got some bad news after the game when it was revealed that running back Rashard Mendenhall had torn his ACL on an innocuous-looking play in the second quarter.

The Steelers hung on to beat the Cleveland Browns 13-9 when a last-second Hail Mary pass fell incomplete and now travel to Denver for a postseason game on the road. Despite losing Mendenhall, they should still be favorites, although a lot will depend on how Ben Roethlisberger’s ankle holds up, because it still seemed to be limiting him here.

The Browns year ended with a spirited effort and they will look to retool in the offseason, especially on the offensive side of the ball, as they only scored more than 20 points once all season and that was back in Week 2.

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After Week 1 their defense was too old, after Week 9 the Ravens had their number. Yet here we sit in Week 17 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, defending AFC Champions, waiting to pounce and retain the AFC North crowd should Baltimore slip up again.

This is the last chance for the Browns to show what they can do and make a big statement against a divisional rival heading into the final week of the season. Their playoff hopes ended long ago but you can bet they’d take an enormous amount of satisfaction from making sure the Steelers don’t win the AFC North, regardless of what happens in Cincinnati between the Bengals and the Ravens.

I’m a big fan of ending the season with divisional games and with the battle atop the AFC North heading into the final week it makes this one even better. So with that in mind let’s take a look at the thee areas to focus on this week.

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Without Ben Roethlisberger I thought maybe the St Louis Rams could spread a little Christmas cheer to their fans by causing an upset against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I was wrong to even contemplate it.

Instead, the Steelers dominated in every phase, with the Rams’ hopeless offense reduced to running out the clock while laying an egg on the scoreboard to hasten the end of their disappointing season. And some people are inclined to think Josh McDaniels deserves another head coaching job after this year?

The Steelers had no trouble against an overmatched Rams offense while getting good enough play from Charlie Batch to complement a rushing attack that picked up 6 yards per attempt. So easy were things they even found a way to manufacture catches via screens and shovel passes in an attempt to get Hines Ward to that magical 1,000 receptions figure. Read the rest of this entry »

After starting off the year as the favorites for the NFC West, things haven’t got quite to plan for the St Louis Rams. The introduction of Josh McDaniels has been labeled as the problem by some, but injuries to key players and problems on the offensive line (health and performance related) haven’t helped matters at all. You’d almost be forgiven for thinking the Rams would be better off if the season ended today, because really what good can come of the a trip to Pennsylvania to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers?

While the Steelers may be without Ben Roethlisberger they still have plenty of defensive firepower that will be looking to wrack up some stats against a line that features none of it’s opening day starters in the position they begun the year in. Indeed with guards playing tackle, you have to think Kellen Clemens could be in for a very tough day as the Steelers try to keep up their hopes of winning the AFC North.

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Nationally televised games offer players a chance to raise their profile with a big performance in front of the entire football nation. Situational players and those from off-the-radar teams have the chance to grab the limelight and give their name a much needed boost.

This Monday night, in a statement game for the San Francisco 49ers, their first-round pick Aldon Smith did just that, exhibiting in one game what he has been doing all season for the 49ers as a situational pass rusher. As with other rookies converting to a 3-4 defense, Smith’s rookie season has been limited to playing in nickel defenses as a pass rusher. This has allowed the 49ers to make excellent use of his phenomenal pass-rushing talents without putting excess pressure on him to learn an entire defensive playbook in order to contribute in all facets of the base defense. Read the rest of this entry »

The timing of Ben Roethlisberger’s ankle sprain could hardly have been worse with the Steelers travelling to Candlestick Park. Containing the trio of Aldon Smith, Justin Smith and Ray McDonald is a tall task in itself but with Ben’s inability to escape sacks and extend plays it made it all the more difficult. It didn’t help that the left side of Pittsburgh’s line played so pitifully but then better players than Max Starks, Trai Essex and Doug Legursky have suffered at the hands of this San Francisco defense.

For the 49ers it was another game where smash mouth football paid off. Alex Smith failed to capitalise on some early drives where they were forced to settle for field goals but he got better as the game went along. His perfectly weighted pass on a play action throwback to Vernon Davis highlighted just how far he’s come this season.

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When the season started, it wouldn’t have been a stretch if I were to tell you that heading into their week 15 matchup the Pittsburgh Steelers were 10-3 and needed a win to keep pace with the leaders in the AFC. But, if I were to tell you that it would be a matchup with a 10-3 San Francisco 49ers team and potentially a Superbowl preview, quite naturally people you would suggest I put a straitjacket on. Lo and behold, that’s where we stand with the 49ers rejuvenated under Harbaugh and looking to beat the hobbled Steelers and stay on pace with the New Orleans Saints for the right to a first-round bye.

Missing James Harrison due to his suspension after the hit on Browns quarterback Colt McCoy, and potentially minus a number of other key players like: Roethlisberger, Pouncey, and Gilbert, it will be an uphill battle for the Steelers. On the bright side for the Steelers, the 49ers haven’t looked as formidable as they did earlier in the season after two losses in the last three weeks. Read the rest of this entry »