Pittsburgh Steelers: 6 Most Disappointing Steelers in 2011

The Pittsburgh Steelers have stumbled their way to a 2-1 record to open the 2011 season. In many ways, the entire team has been disappointing.

They’ve managed to survive their early schedule more so than they’ve actually dominated it, and several players have been big disappointments so far.

Really, only Mike Wallace and Ike Taylor have truly wowed in each contest. The rest of the team is fighting to get on track.

Here’s a look at the six most disappointing Steelers so far in 2011.

Hines Ward

Through three games, Ward has 12 receptions for 117 yards. That’s good for fourth on the team. For some perspective, Ward has only twice as many yards in three games as Mewelde Moore.

Ward has clearly taken a step backward in the last two years as he is finally succumbing to age and his punishing style of play, but Ward is currently on pace for only 580 yards receiving. He’s never had that low of a total since he became a starter.

I won’t blame Ward for the offense's struggles, but he’s clearly lost his clutch target status to Heath Miller and Emmanuel Sanders.

At this point, he’s probably best suited to play exclusively in the slot and cede the flanker position to Sanders.

Ben Roethlisberger

This was supposed to be the year that Ben Roethlisberger finally silenced everyone. He was going to throw for 4,000 or more yards, make the best receiving corps in the NFL look like they’d earned that title, and just generally be the most clutch quarterback in the league once again.

Through three games, Roethlisberger has been up and down. He’s thrown for 942 yards (which puts him on pace for over 5,000), but he’s also thrown four interceptions against only three touchdowns, and he’s fumbling the ball at an alarming rate.

Ben’s numbers are due to a lot of things—the lack of a consistent rushing attack, the poor blocking along the line—but he must step up and must better control the ball to prevent turnovers.

He’s never been as susceptible to turnovers as his current pace, which is very concerning. The last time he had so much trouble controlling the ball, the team finished 8-8 in 2006.

Lamarr Woodley

Woodley and his hefty contract extension were a huge offseason priority. Shortly after the lockout ended, the two sides settled on a nice six-year extension that will pay Woodley generously. Since then, he’s disappeared.

Through three games, Woodley has notched 11 tackles (seven solo) and only one-and-a-half sacks. While those numbers, like those of Roethlisberger, aren’t truly terrible for a three-game stretch, they are certainly not those of a player with a $61.5 million contract.

Woodley also has had trouble shedding blockers and geting penetration into the pocket, two things he was excellent at last year.

Until he gets on track, the Steelers will continue to struggle to create sacks and turnovers on defense.

Bryant McFadden

I struggled with putting him on this list, but to me, he’s very disappointing. McFadden has played in one game this season and was the picture of awful in that Week 1 contest; Joe Flacco and his receivers were able to burn him continuously during the game.

Since then, he’s been out with injury and may have lost his starting spot to William Gay and Keenan Lewis, who’ve tag-teamed opposite Ike Taylor for the most part. While those two barely represent an improvement, we haven’t seen the big plays that marred Pittsburgh in the season opener.

McFadden returned to Pittsburgh last year after a so-so season in Arizona, and since his return, the once-promising corner has been anything but effective.

If he can’t get on track soon, he’s going to find himself on the street.

Aaron Smith

There was a time when Aaron Smith was the most consistent defensive end and the most unsung hero of NFL defenses. Those days now seem to be a memory.

Steelers defensive ends don’t do a lot of work on the stat sheet; their job is primarily to occupy blockers and open holes for the linebackers and defensive backs to blitz through. The line has always done that very well. This year, however, there are weaknesses.

Smith blocks in front of Lamarr Woodley and he may be partially responsible for Woodley's decline, but we can’t be sure. What we do know is that Smith isn’t shedding blocks or making the plays he did a year or two ago. He’s a little slower too.

I’ve long advocated that Ziggy Hood should be the team’s starter on that side and that Smith would be best used in a part-time role. It appears that the time has come to finally make that change (provided Brett Keisel is back quickly).

Rashard Mendenhall

Like Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers expected Mendenhall to have a big season. So far, he’s struggling to have a big play.

After three games, he’s averaging three yards a carry (148 yards on 49 touches) with one touchdown and a long of 23 yards. If you take away that long carry, his average drops to 2.6 yards.

That won’t cut it for an NFL starter. Actually, that barely would cut it for any NFL rusher.

Lately, Mendenhall has started doing some odd things on his runs. He’s been hit hard quite a few times and seems to be slower to the hole than he was just last year. He’s also turned his back to contact a few times. That’s robbed him of that bruising ability he’s shown in the past.

If Mendenhall can’t get on track, the Steelers will struggle not to be one-dimensional. Isaac Redman is a great change-of-pace back and needs to get more carries regardless of Mendenhall’s status, but he’s not the starter. The Steelers need that running game. Right now, it’s hurting them.