Pittsburgh, we have a problem...or do we??

Thoughts by Dean

You know you saw it!  The same pattern emerged Sunday against the hapless Lions that we saw in each of the previous 4 games.  The defense forgot how to close again!  Should we be worried?  Maybe, but maybe not.  Even though we once again took an easy victory and tried to lose it late, I saw a spark.  Ok it was more like a fire!  LeBeau finally unleashed the dogs on Detroits last drive instead of playing prevent defense.  All of a sudden we sacked the QB 3 straight downs in a row--with ease!   It brought me to my feet--FINALLY!!  It was Steeler football!  Can we take those 3 downs and use them as a stepping stone for the rest of the season?  I think so.  Another plus -- Polamalu returns this weekend against Cleveland and that may be all we need to get over the "what the hell is wrong with Pittsburgh's defense" hump.  Oh by the way, we are the #5 defense in the league--in spite of spending many a fourth quarter looking like #32.

On offense, this game should have been over at halftime and we should have hit 38 points minimum.  Rashard Mendenhall was a wild man running the ball for over 70 yards by the time we got midway thru the 2nd quarter, well on his way to another buck fifty in yards.  Can you say Willie who??  But then something funny happened.  Arians decided to get pass happy and ignore the run AND Rashard for some 20 minutes of gametime.  I have to admit that this is the first time this season I am questioning Arians as I think he is doing a (gulp) good job with the offense. (that was hard to admit)  When you have a workhorse and he's running downhill from his first run of the game, you work him til he drops.  Granted, Ben is having a fantastic season and can lead us from anywhere on the field.  But Ben's job becomes so much easier if you ride the horse that's getting the job done to begin with.  And what can you say about the offensive line??  They are repeatedly opening up holes left and right and protecting Ben like I haven't seen in years.  I would have to say they are finally playing as a unit.

So what lies ahead?  Well first and foremost,  a trap game against the Cleveland Browns.  We have to show we are back in all phases of the game against the hapless Browns before anybody will stop the aforementioned defensive issue stories.  This is our last tuneup before things get quite serious on the schedule.  It has to be a smash mouth, beat em til they're dead then beat em some more kinda victory!! The Vikings are coming to town in two weeks.  Some say it's a Superbowl preview--I'm not so sure right now until we straighten out our own backyard.  And then we get the unbelievably lucky Denver Donkeys!  But hey, who am I to say?  They ARE 5 and 0--they got there somehow and they must be taken seriously!  I can see us 5 and 2 going into the bye week before Denver.

Please add your thoughts and opinions!  My wonderful wife put together this site for all of us to share!  Ain't she great?!?  GO STEELERS!!