Steelers vs. Saints Review

There are two reasons I'm posting this late. One is that I was helping my Dad put up a fence in my backyard. The other is that I'm still not sure what to make of this game. I don't know if anyone else is feeling this way, but I'm conflicted. I'm happy that we won, but...

If we have to spend too much time this season with Tyrone Carter at safety and that Madison kid (didn't even know he was on the roster) at cornerback, we're screwed. It could, however, be very good for Porter and Haggans. LeBeau, if he knows he's got a bunch of JV guys in the secondary, might pull out some really exotic stuff from the archives. This means that Porter and Haggans will be coming on pretty much every play, from all angles, doing stunts and slants and stuff that only LeBeau has thought of. So, I'm excited for that. I'm not excited about the prospect of the other team actually blocking what we throw at them and then exploiting the mismatches in the secondary. Especially since we still have to play the Bengals and Panthers.

When the hell did we start winning games 38-31? In previous seasons, if we put up 38 points, I'd say that the other team scored 10, maybe 20. If we scored 38, that meant that we out-and-out dominated. The reason we scored 38 points is because we allowed the Saints to dictate the game to us. Aside from the 45-7 drubbing that we handed KC, we haven't controlled a game this year. And that sucks.

Sean Payton has a bright future in the NFL. That guy is a hell of a coach. Aside from the absolutely idiotic challenge in the third quarter, he did everything right. Here's what he had to work with: A young team that was missing its most consistent weapon in the passing game (Joe Horn), an undersized defense and horrible linebackers, on the road, picked by Vegas to lose the game (I still think Vegas is in more shock than anyone in Steeler Nation about how this season has progressed), an early 14-0 deficit, and the fact that they had been overachieving all season, so they really didn't know what they had. He took all that and was still in a position to dictate the flow of the game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had his guys ready to play, they never gave up, and they overcame three turnovers, almost coming back to win the game. That's really impressive.

Also, did you notice what he did in the last two minutes of the game? He knew that he was involved in a shoot-out. Either he was going to lose the game by turning the ball over on downs, or he was going to be the last team to score in regulation, willing to take his chances in overtime. Brilliant. That two minute offense was absolutely flawless (except for the fumble at the end, of course). He kept taking time off the clock, calling running plays to mix it up and keep the defense off balance, and made sure he saved his timeout for when it really counted. Really, just a great job.

While we're talking about coaches, Cowher has been involved in two consecutive home games with the season on the line. In both of those games, his team committed multiple errors in judgement and six turnovers. There were too many lead changes to count, and his defense was repeatedly shredded, giving up big plays all over the field. There were also struggles on special teams. Ordinarily, the man would look like Michael Ironside in the last scene of Scanners. In the past two games, he looked more like a man whose three year old daughter dressed the family dog like a geisha. There's white powder all over the place, the dog is having a severe allergic reaction, and she ripped up the wife's favorite kimono to make the costume... BUT SHE'S SO DAMN CUTE. He looked like he wanted to yell, but just didn't have it in him. He's lost his fire. Maybe he'll find it back in Dallas next season.

We rushed for 200+ yards, but 150 of that came on two plays. Did I tell you about their shitty linebackers or did I tell you about their shitty linebackers? Every time the Steelers play someone that has no talent on the perimeter, they should run Willie off-tackle all game. He's going to bounce out of the hole, run to the outside, and leave everyone in the dust on at least one occasion in those games. We need to do this. I'd also like to add that Cowher has absolutely no confidence in Najeh Davenport. This was evidenced by the fact that he called a timeout after Willie's second long run. Didn't need to. It probably affected momentum. We probably would've scored if Duce ran out there in his sweats and took the ball. But Cowher wanted to give Willie a breather because he doesn't trust Davenport. That's been haunting us all season and it will come back to haunt us later in the season.

And, even though I thought the Saints played a better game, we've got four easy games coming up on the schedule: Browns, Ravens, Bucs, Browns. Then we play the Panthers. Then the Ravens and then the Bengals (their season might be over by then). We really can run the table. Not saying it will make a difference, but we could do it. And, if we don't finish at least 8-8, this will officially be the worst coaching job of Cowher's career.