It was only six days ago that the Steelers' season appeared to be imminently doomed because of poor offensive-line play and terrible coaching from Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians.
After the debacle in Philadelphia, Tomlin seems to have not only learned his lesson but is reaping the rewards of learning so quickly. The Steelers are overcoming their flaws and are getting better at working within their faults.
The Steelers have the hardest schedule in the NFL and there are no "breathers" on their schedule. (Even the Bengals will provide a serious challenge this year...maybe not.)
Ben Roethlisberger has been hit multiple times in the last few games, but all in all, it could have been a lot worse! Ben is getting rid of the ball quicker, and the Steelers are also going into "max-protection" by having two people on the sides of him to pick up defenders to give him more breathing room.
The reason that this is so important now for Ben and Tomlin is, because of the Steelers' defense, they are in every single game. Teams simply can't pin too many points on the board against this unit. If the offense can avoid sputtering like it did in Philadelphia, the Steelers will consistently win games.
With Polamalu having a rebirth, and Woodley looking like a mix between Greg Lloyd and Joey Porter, the defense is tough and nasty. Harrison is looking like an All Pro and Bryant McFadden is proving that he deserves to start and stay with the Steelers beyond this year.
Now, if the Steelers can get the offense moving consistently and not kill their momentum with penalties and sacks, the Steelers will have a chance to play deep into January. They need to keep learning to protect Roethlisberger, because the games are only going to get tougher.
If someone were to tell me that the Steelers would be 4-1 after five games with Willie Parker injured, Mendenhall out for the year, and Hampton missing significant time, I would be thrilled!
Hopefully the Steelers can get healthier over the bye week by getting Parker and Hampton back. And hopefully, Tomlin is helping this team and preparing them to get better.
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