Steelers-Jets Review

This was a tough game to get a handle on, because there was good, bad, and ugly involved.

The Good:

1. Even though the Steelers lost, they still qualified for the playoffs. This team is going to the playoffs. OK? They're going to the playoffs.
2. The hated Ravens won, but they're still in second place behind the Steelers for the division lead. That means that the Steelers are currently the #2 seed, with the #3 and #4 seeds both holding six losses. That means that it would take a pretty serious meltdown by the Steelers for them to lose that seeding -- and both six loss teams would need to win out.
3. It was a great game to watch and the Steelers -- who had no business still being in the game after that safety -- almost pulled out the victory.
4. You have to admire that Sanchez keeper on fourth and one, even if it meant the Steelers let up a touchdown. That was just a great call.
5. Blitz pick-up. I was very impressed for most of the day on how well everyone on the offensive line and the running back kept in to block did in this area.
   

The Bad:

1. With the Sanchez keeper and a few other plays, the Jets used a lot of misdirection and brought basically everything but the kitchen sink on defense. The Steelers... not so much. They kept Roethlisberger in the shotgun to give him more time to throw and ran effectively out of that formation (more on this in a moment), but they really didn't get too fancy. If they're saving the "sizzle" for the playoffs, that's fine. But, they can't expect to win many postseason games with a totally vanilla approach on offense and defense.
2. I didn't like the fact that they handed the ball to Mewelde Moore when they were backed up against their own goal line, which led to the safety. I actually liked the call -- they were running out of the shotgun effectively all day -- but I didn't like the fact that they handed the ball to Moore, not Mendenhall. And, to clarify, they did not run a draw or a delayed draw on that play. It was a handoff from shotgun formation. A draw play -- especially a delayed draw -- is blocked like a passing play and the quarterback waits for a little bit to hand the ball off to the tailback, hoping to take the defensive line out of the play because they're trying to get upfield. That was a straight handoff. I watched the replay several times. It was a good call, but a bad personnel decision. Mendenhall had been making guys miss in the backfield all day and broke a couple of big runs off those misses. He should have had the ball, not Moore.
3. Zero turnovers forced, one sack for zero yards lost. They need to do better than that in bigger games. The team that wins the turnover battle wins the game in the playoffs and this team is going to the playoffs.
4. Too many pass attempts deep to the perimeter. There are stats to follow later. But, it looks like Roethlisberger can't plant and throw deep to the sidelines. He's been off target on those passes all season, even before he hurt his foot and his ankle. This either needs to be improved or it needs to stop.

The Ugly:

1. Matt Spaeth. I don't want Heath Miller to rush back, but Spaeth really sucks. He was targeted eight times and only caught three balls for 27 yards, dropping 15 passes by unofficial count. My best guess is that the Jets just left him open, figuring that he'd either drop the ball or that there was no way on God's green Earth that Matt Spaeth was going to beat them.
2. Roethlisberger fumbled twice. He didn't lose either fumble, but that didn't make it any less scary.
3. Not sure where this belongs, but I don't remember thinking, "If only Troy were in the game, he would have totally made a play there." Maybe part of the awesome of Troy is that you never know when he's going to do something totally amazing, but I don't think his absence is why the Steelers lost.

Some Statistics:

I was on this statistics website the other day and found some interesting stuff...

1. This should come as a surprise to no one, but you can't run on the Steelers in any direction. Up the middle, off guard, off tackle, to the outside. Can't run anywhere. Usually a run defense has a weakness, but the Steelers don't seem to have one. Except on the Sanchez keeper.
2. Bryant McFadden has been targeted to the short area -- passes traveling one yard to ten yards in the air -- on his side of the field more than any other cornerback in the league. He's currently allowing only 5.18 yards per attempt in the short area, which is eighth in the league. Targeted more times than any cornerback in the NFL, still solidly in the top ten in terms of performance. He's not allowing a high average per attempt, even if he allows a lot of yards. So, I still think he's good. So there.
3. The Steelers are completing 67.86 percent of their passes to the deep middle -- passes traveling more than ten yards in the air -- and averaging 15.57 yards per attempt. That is an absurdly ridiculous percentage and average. They're completing 40 percent of their passes deep to Mike Wallace's side of the field and averaging 11.24 yards per attempt. They've attempted to the third most deep passes to the right side of the field in the league and seventh most passes to the deep middle. I think they need to switch those rankings and keep throwing to the deep middle until someone stops them. In fact, they can throw to Wallace on a deep post. Just because he starts out on the right side of the field doesn't mean he has to stay there. Something to think about for the balance of the season and the playoffs.