Steelers Impressive Heading into Bye Week

Nov. 1 will be a quiet day in Western Pennsylvania, as the Steelers will not be on glorious display as they are most other Sundays. In fact, the Steelers will be idle for a total of 15 days, practically an eternity on the NFL calendar.

Though there are some concerns about a tiring and increasingly injured defense, as well as some suspect play on special teams, there is really no need to worry about the defending Champs at this point.

Ben Roethlisberger is on track to possibly have his best season. The passing game is one of the most dangerous in league. Rashard Mendenhall has propped up a shaky run game, while the offensive line has steadily improved and is starting to finally mesh as a group.

The defense has shown it can withstand one major loss (Troy Polamalu) and will have to do so again, playing out the remainder of the year without Aaron Smith. Their first game without him was encouraging, as the NFL’s leading rusher was only able to accumulate 69 yards on the ground.

And for those who like to nitpick, lest we forget that these 2009 Steelers are basically two plays away from being undefeated. Here are four encouraging signs for the Steelers as they approach their one-week hiatus…

1. They Have Yet To Play Their Best Game

Anyone who watched the first six games can explain why each game was far from perfect. There have been ugly mistakes on offense (Who can forget that fumbling contest they had with the Browns?) and some lapses on defense, most notably during those blown fourth quarter leads at Cincinnati and Chicago. For every big play, there has been a key drop or a seemingly back-breaking turnover.

Pittsburgh has yet to play the complete, 60-minute, dominating game that they are capable of. The closest they have come in 2009 was last week’s game against Minnesota (more on that below), but even that was mistake-laden.

Remember, in 2008 the Steelers didn’t have a convincing, dominating win until Week Seven against the Bengals (and it really wasn’t that impressive, considering how poor the Bengals were a year ago). The true statement game didn’t come until Week 13, when they demolished the undermanned Patriots.

The statement game in 2009 is yet to come.

2. They Are Sticking to What They Do Best on Offense

For the first time in a while, it can be said with some certainty that Pittsburgh’s strength lies not in the running game, as it usually does, but in the explosive passing attack. They are seventh in the NFL in total offense and fifth in passing, throwing for 276 yards per game. (By comparison, Roethlisberger threw for 170 per game in his rookie season.)

On any given play, Big Ben (one of the top quarterbacks in the game) can throw to Hines Ward (Pittsburgh’s all-time leading receiver), Santonio Holmes (reigning Super Bowl MVP and future Pro Bowler), Mike Wallace (speedy Rookie of the Year candidate), or Heath Miller (the most underrated tight end in football).

He also has three running backs who are capable pass catchers, and yes, that includes Willie Parker, whose five catches thus far have nearly doubled his season total of three receptions in 2008.

The offense has been borderline unstoppable at times, especially in the red zone. They reeled off one stretch where they scored eight consecutive touchdowns in eight trips inside the 20. They have been derailed at least a couple times by red zone turnovers, but overall seem to be able to punch it in when they want.

(I would tell you more about fancy stuff like red-zone efficiency and run-pass ratio, but—as crazy as this sounds—these stats are nearly impossible to find online. If anyone can find some, please let me know.)

3. The Schedule!

Trips to Arrowhead and Cleveland Browns Stadium (Could there be a worse stadium name?) are sandwiched between a home date with Oakland on Dec. 6. Three easy wins? Of course not, but wins the Steelers should have and must have if they are going to be a playoff team.

Other than that, Pittsburgh has two games that should be very tough (at Denver, home against Green Bay) and the annual home-and-away bloodbaths against Baltimore, which should come down to the wire as usual, but don’t seem as daunting as they did in September when the Ravens looked unstoppable.

The Broncos game is formidable, but 1) Denver is due for some bad luck, and 2) Pittsburgh normally plays well on Monday nights.

4. The Win over the Vikings Was Impressive on a Number of Levels

Lost in the hullabaloo of the fourth quarter fireworks in that game was how disciplined the Pittsburgh defense played on a day when the offense was up-and-down.

LeBeau was a mastermind. He took away the quick passes—Favre’s biggest strength—for most of the game. He made sure Adrian Peterson wasn’t able to get to the corner. The defense played admirably, swallowing up the run game while Polamalu and Ryan Clark made key plays deep in the secondary to keep the game close.

(Clark is out for the Denver game, and if he misses more than a week, the Steelers may be in a bit of trouble. When he got hurt in 2007, the defense eventually unraveled without his steady play.)

Back to the Minnesota game: The Steelers defense scored twice in a matter of minutes on 70-plus yard plays. That might have been the craziest stat I’ve heard in quite some time, except on that same Sunday I heard these two stats, each more incredible than the next:

•Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson was called for his first penalty in 27 games; and,

•the Buffalo Bills offense had only one first-and-goal for the entire season until they finally got another one in the third quarter of their game at Carolina.

Again, back to the Minnesota game: The best thing about the victory is that the Steelers played just OK. Average at best on offense, not very good on special teams, and just good enough on defense. Usually playing that way isn’t going to cut it against a 6-0 team. Unless you’re the defending Champions.

However you slice it, the Steelers head into the bye week at 5-2, after a 1-2 start, and in position to defend their AFC North title and return to the playoffs. 2006, it ain’t.

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