Pittsburgh Steelers, What Now? Steelers Must Retool for a Return To Title Game
It's a sad, very subdued morning in Pittsburgh. This town, these fans aren't used to losing Super Bowls. It's been 15 years since a Pittsburgh squad failed in the biggest of games.
But this morning, everyone is suffering from a different kind of Super Bowl hangover. Green Bay outplayed the Steelers last night in Dallas, beating the Steelers 31-25 in what was one of the best Super Bowls I've witnessed.
But I'm not here this morning to talk about the game. There's plenty of time and plenty of others to play Monday morning quarterback. I'm here to talk about where Pittsburgh goes from here. They are, in a way, in uncharted territory.
Here are five things the Steelers must do to avoid the Super Bowl letdown and make a triumphant return to the title game.
1. Get Over It
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There's no reason to dwell, assign blame, or point fingers. That's not the Steeler way, it's not smart football, and it does nothing to change or better the facts of what happened.
It's going to be a long offseason. What happened will surely play on the minds of the coaches and players involved. The key is to get past it mentally as fast as you can and use it as a motivating factor in the coming season.
Teams that dwell on Super Bowl losses don't return to the playoffs the following year or, in some cases, for many years afterward. Big losses like that, in any sport, have a way of killing off a lot of overall momentum for a franchise. That shouldn't happen here.
The reality is that there were two teams left standing. Pittsburgh was one of them. That alone is an accomplishment given all that happened this season. Coach Mike Tomlin isn't one to dwell on things. He's a motivator and a doer. Both of those qualities will serve him well now, when he needs them most.
So, in short, the first step to returning to the thick of the hunt next year is to get over the fact that things didn't work out this year. The sooner everyone gets over it and turns it into nothing more than another reason to fight even harder, the sooner this team will get to the other issues at hand.
2. Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes to The Roster
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Unlikely to Return:
Keyaron Fox, Flozell Adams, Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, Shaun Suisham, Jeremy Kapinos
Fox's special teams penalties have become a major issue this season. With young linebackers Stevenson Sylvester and Jason Worilds on the roster, it'd be surprising to see Fox back. There are other needs that can be shored up with the money they'll save. Fox also seems to want a shot at being a starter, which some teams are likely to give him. He's not a bad linebacker, he's just not smart on special teams.
Adams will likely either retire or be part of the June cuts. He's under contract, so if he plans on playing, Pittsburgh should keep him around as an insurance policy in case they can't work out something with Willie Colon or a free agent lineman (Logan Mankins?)
Batch is another potential retiree. If he does retire, he could take a coaching or advisory role with the team. It's unlikely Pittsburgh will let him go somewhere else when he's been so important to Ben Roethlisberger's football development.
Leftwich could be back, but he may still have an itch to be a starter. If he does, he'll likely try to go somewhere where he can at least compete for a job. There should be several open options with the quarterback position being in transition on several teams in the league.
Suisham filled in admirably this year, but his leg strength and erratic accuracy are major concerns to a team playing in cold weather for almost half of every season.
Kapinos also filled in admirably and may be back depending on the health of Daniel Sepulveda. If he can't go, Kapinos would be a good option to fill in until Sepulveda is ready for action.
2a. More Changes to The Roster
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Possibly Due for Replacement:
Trai Essex, Willie Colon, Bryant McFadden, William Gay
Essex fell out of favor with the staff and lost his starting job to Ramon Foster around midseason. He did an okay job of filling in at the tackle spots, but he's clearly not an answer on the offensive line. There are a ton of questions along the line, but it seems quite clear that Essex will not be part of the starting mix again and may be too expensive as a backup.
Colon is a free agent and he's got an interesting case. He was, when healthy, Pittsburgh's best lineman. He wouldn't have been cheap, but since he was injured, he may have to drop his asking price considerably. If he's healthy, it's reasonable to think the Steelers will do their best to work out a deal, but he's another player who may just be too expensive given the severity of his injury.
McFadden and Gay were both largely ineffective during the season. It seemed like one or the other was involved in most long pass plays. Gay is a huge liability in man coverage and doesn't have the speed to recover. McFadden isn't explosive and is probably best suited to a nickel or dime role.
About the Backups
Several of the backups could be replaced as well. Depth is a huge concern for a team that's obviously starting to feel the effects of age on the defensive side of the ball and years of ignoring the offensive line and defensive backs. Some of the late round attempts to fix those areas are littering the roster and could be replaced with better talent and fresh blood this year.
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3. Coaching Changes
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He may have had a good overall season, but this was likely the final year in Pittsburgh for Bruce Arians.
He's been maligned for his sometimes strange and single-minded play calling and he's been drug over the coals for virtually every loss in the last three years.
The big problem here is that, for all the success the offense enjoyed and for the albeit limited creativity Arians finally showed at times this year, the Super Bowl was lost by the Steelers' offense. Three turnovers, several odd sequences, and an all together out of sync effort conspired to cost Pittsburgh another title.
That responsibility falls at the feet of Arians. He's not alone and he shouldn't bear the blame by himself, but he's the boss of that unit. When the whole unit can't deliver, the boss is in trouble.
Arians is not under contract and it's likely that Pittsburgh will put a lot of their effort into resigning defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and potentially replacing linebackers coach Keith Butler. The Steelers would be wise to look outside the organization to replace Arians and find someone with a creative, balanced philosophy similar to Mike Mularkey or Ken Whisenhunt.
Pittsburgh has several tools that weren't utilized this season and needs someone who can help develop the relationship between Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace. The two seemed out of sync almost all season long. That has to change before Pittsburgh can claim another big victory.
4. New Philosophies
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The Steelers need to find and commit to an offensive philosophy. Part of that will be helped by a new coordinator who will, hopefully, have a definite idea of what to do with this offense.
The Rooneys asked for Tomlin and his coaches to recommit to the running game, which has been the backbone of successful Steelers teams since the beginning. There are certainly more great Steelers running backs than there are quarterbacks or receivers. The Steelers ran more and better in 2010, but they still look and act like a passing team. Perhaps a commitment to balance would be more helpful than anything.
Defensively, the Steelers need to abandon their late game prevent packages and need to re-evaluate how they play with a lead.
Too often, Pittsburgh's defense bent once they had a lead. They didn't surrender games the way they did in 2009, but the potential was clearly there for problems. Another year older and slower, and this defense might be in trouble. You can't be lucky all of the time.
The best course of action for the Steelers' defense is to keep pressure on and continue using exotic blitzes regardless of the situation. If they keep pressure on, there will be very little likelihood of a comeback and will therefore take pressure off of the offense.
5. Utilize The Draft
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Kevin Colbert gets a lot of due credit for his work in building a consistent winner. The Steelers, during his tenure, have always been competitive and have made the playoffs almost every season. Even during their losing campaigns, they've been a tough out.
But Colbert's recent drafts haven't been as glowing as most would think. After the success in the first round, things get sketchy. Only a couple of second round picks (most notably Lamarr Woodley) have worked out. More often, those players have been spectacular failures (Ricardo Colclough, Alonzo Jackson). The late rounds are even more sketchy.
Colbert needs a couple of deep drafts to infuse this team with talent again. The Steelers are, in reality, starting to age. Most of their superstar players are thirty or above. Several are starting to become injury prone as well. It's time to start looking at the future.
The team needs a shutdown corner. This might be one of those rare times when trading up in the first round would be beneficial. They also need a few good linemen and would be wise to spend their second and third picks in that area. They could also pick up a kicker late and perhaps a few other defensive backs.
The only area where the depth chart appears set is at wide receiver, running back, and linebacker. Everywhere else could use an infusion of some sort even if the starters at those positions are well-entrenched.
Super Bowl Thoughts
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Before I wrap my Super Bowl coverage and begin looking ahead to free agency, the draft, and the continual issues with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, I wanted to leave you with my impressions of the Super Bowl.
1. If you have to lose to a team, it should be a team like Green Bay. Among the other 31 teams, no one has the continued standard of excellence exhibited by the Green Bay Packers. I feel a great deal better knowing that Pittsburgh was defeated by one of the league's finest organizations.
2. Anyone who didn't like the halftime show is crazy. It was enjoyable, an artistic spectacle, and was full of excellent performers and great music. On the other hand, the national anthem was a disaster. Maybe it's time to bring back marching bands for the pregame. Maybe there's safety in numbers.
3. The worst play of the game by Pittsburgh wasn't one of the turnovers. It was the 52 yard field goal attempt. The Packers were on their heels. The Steelers gave them 17 yards of field position on an obviously bad call. They should have either punted or went for it. A field goal there was a lose-lose proposition.
4. Did anyone else think that the turf in that stadium was junk? Too many injuries occurred, too many players slipped and fell. That was an awful surface.
5. Jerry Jones should be ashamed for more than the field. The stadium, as 400 unlucky people found out, isn't finished yet. About 1,250 seats aren't completely installed. How does this happen to a venue that knew it was hosting the Super Bowl before it was even finished? Unreal.
6. Aaron Rodgers belongs among the elite quarterbacks of the league right now. So does Ben Roethlisberger. One game doesn't and shouldn't make or break a career and both of these guys are young stars in a great position to add another ring or two each.
7. Green Bay could repeat and I'll tell you why. Their starters lost 91 games due to injury and they still won the Super Bowl. Imagine them at full strength! Plus, when health fails, this team has a ton of heart and drive. You can't quantify that, but you can feel it in everything they do.
8. In a way, it's all appropriate. Lombardi is coming home.
9. I think awards need to be announced during the bye week. A lot of very important awards (not to mention the Hall of Fame inductions) are lost in the shuffle of the game and its media coverage.
10. The Steelers overcame a lot of adversity to get where they were. They didn't play a good game in the Super Bowl, but nothing should take away the fact that this was a fine job by everyone. Who'd have thought this team would have been 12-4 and in the Super Bowl?
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