Disappointment In Pittsburgh: Reasons For Steelers' Loss vs. New York Giants

As I sat in awe of the Pittsburgh Steelers horrible showing Sunday against the Giants, I realized how many things did not go in our favor throughout the whole game and week leading up to it.

First was the issue of Willie Parker still being out and Rashard Mendenhall losing his season a few weeks ago, leaving our third string RB to play; Even though Mewelde Moore has been doing outstanding since he took over the starting role.

Moore started playing well, capping off the Steelers first drive with a 32-yard touchdown run. He had a few big gains but did not do anything special against the Giants' tough defense.

If Parker had played, I have a feeling he would have used his quickness to get around the outside and make some big runs along the sidelines, which could have produced more scoring drives and probably helped us win.

Then it was Santonio Holmes and his weed. He was not high when the police pulled him over Thursday so he was let go at the time with a misdemeanor offense. The Steelers, with no action from the league, deactivated him for Sunday's game. This led to the Steelers running more which did not work out all that well.

I just did not understand the Steelers' play calling. They still have Hines Ward and Nate Washington, and even Heath Miller, so why run it so much against that tough Giants' D? Ben Roethlisbeger is a good quarterback, when he is able to actually throw it.

Next it was the Steelers' starting safety Ryan Clark injuring his arm while defending the Giants' Steve Smith. This made it more difficult for the Steelers' defense to defend the pass well.

He did miss the entire season last year after I believe a surgery, but I'm not sure. All I know is that we missed him a lot because Tyrone Carter makes quite a few mistakes sometimes. I have always liked Clark as a nice combination with Troy Polamalu.

And finally the most important reason the Steelers lost, Ben Roethlisberger's play. Normally I am the last to say Big Ben played bad, but he did. Maybe he didn't get enough pass plays during the game or wasn't used to not having Santonio Holmes as an option, who knows, but he played horribly in my opinion.

He couldn't convert on third and fourth downs, which eventually did the Steelers in at the end of the game.

And it kills me when Roethlisberger holds onto the ball for five or six seconds. There is no need for that kind of time to be holding the ball. He is really indecisive, especially after his horrible season with tons of interceptions two years ago. It seems like most of his throws come while being dragged down by defenders or chased by a huge linebacker, which is not how it should be.

But you cannot expect the Steelers' offensive line to hold their blocks for five to 10 seconds, so Ben really needs to get better at getting rid of the ball quickly. I have also noticed that he does not run the ball when he needs to as often as he used to. Yesterday was the first time I saw him running the ball since last season almost. His decision making needs to get so much better.

With all of these problems for the Steelers as a team, the defense has really had to step up and play well. And they have, but you can't win with just defense.

The Steelers really need to get their stuff together if they want to make it far in the playoffs. And with a tough schedule the next few weeks, these problems really need to get fixed and quick.

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