Monday, November 19th, 2007 by Adam Wagner
Steelers shocked; still best in division
On a day when the Steelers’ could not get anything going on offense and the defense gave up 117 yards to Thomas Jones (yes, that extremely ripped guy on the left is the running back), who has ruined at least one of my fantasy teams this year, Mike Tomlin summed it up best, saying, “Thomas Jones ran the damn ball on us!” Yes, he did, breaking the Steelers’ defense’s 35 game streak of not letting up a 100-yard rusher.
The Steelers simply did not perform in any facet of the game on Sunday afternoon, but the area of the greatest concern was probably the offensive line. Alan Faneca and company had another terrible game against a team that did not enter the game with a particularly vaunted pass rush. The Jets had sacked the opposing quarterback nine times this season prior to Sunday. Somehow, the Jets managed to get past an offensive line that had allowed nine sacks in its first five games for seven sacks of Ben Roethlisberger yesterday. If the Steelers could have kept their quarterback upright, they may have been able to pull out a victory.
Some of the blame, however, falls on Roethlisberger’s shoulders. Analysts are beginning to question whether the young quarterback holds the ball too long, constantly looking to make the big play. There may be some validity in this claim, but that looking for the big play is the same quality that makes Roethlisberger an elite quarterback. He almost certainly needs to become better at feeling pressure, but if they try to hurry his pattern up, the Steelers risk losing some of the effectiveness of one of their most important players.
Another major issue was, again, the special teams. In “the golden age of kick returners”
as Peter King labeled the modern NFL, the Steelers seem to be the type of team that most of these returners can make their name against. The kick teams had effectively avoided Leon Washington, the Jets’ second-round choice in the draft last season, all day until the fourth quarter. Then it seemed like they couldn’t help but give him the ball. The largest mistake definitely came in overtime when Daniel Sepulveda punted the ball right at Washington (for the first time all game) and the returner sped into Steeler territory, effectively ending the game. Special teams needs to begin making plays. The unit is costing the Steelers football games now and that is not how a good team operates.
The injury bug has begun to catch up to the Steelers, as Santonio Holmes injured his ankle, preventing him from playing in much of the fourth quarter and overtime, and Ryan Clark 
is out for the year. Clark’s loss could be a large one, as Clark provided versatility with his ability to play both cornerback and safety and gave the Steelers someone to stick in the game when Anthony Smith stops thinking and draws a flag for his stupidity. Holmes’ loss puts a damper on the passing game, as the Steelers are really not that deep at wide receiver. Holmes is probably the number one right now, with Hines Ward being option 1A and Cedrick Wilson being the #3 wide receiver. After that, the Steelers have Nate Washington and Willie Reid, both players who the fans would rather not see on the field. Holmes’ potential absence could reveal a gaping hole and essentially take away the Steelers’ passing game.
When everything goes wrong to the degree that it did Saturday, it is the responsibility of at least one segment of the team to step up and win the game. That the Steelers did not have someone or some unit step up is just another example of them playing to their opponent’s level. They have beaten good teams and lost to bad teams, which is an example of them looking past certain segments of their schedule, a dangerous habit that could get them in trouble at some point this season if they are not careful.
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