.Jarvis Jones wraps up Eli Manning for a 9-yard sack in the first quarter Saturday night. — GETTY IMAGES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Whatever becomes of the 2014 Steelers, this 20-16 preseason loss to the Giants on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium shouldn’t be seen as anything more than the opening act of the prenatal stage. That’s it. It barely qualifies as DNA. It’s a series or two for the starters, then a slew of second-half backups and bungles that only the Edmund Nelson in your life could appreciate.
“You got that right!” the big man was telling me before tending to his annual role as KDKA-TV’s preseason commentator. “I love it!”
Takes a special kind.
Which isn’t to suggest, of course, that nothing at all should be culled from the evening.
There was, for example, another BIG PLAY AGAINST THE DEFENSE.
“We are going to have runs that break out every now and then,” Mike Tomlin said by way of describing Rashad Jennings‘ 73-yard touchdown on the opening salvo of the Giants’ second series. If Jennings had set off with a flag in his back pocket, he’d have been able to twirl it for the end-zone celebration. “We’ve got to get it on the ground in the secondary. It was a gap integrity issue in the core, but that is less of a concern. I’m more concerned that, when those things do occur, we do a good job of trying to minimize the explosion play and make it an 8-, 10-, 12-yard gain, not a 73-yard play.”
Obviously.
So while it would be more fun and at least moderately relevant to review the promising work of some of the youngsters, particularly Dri Archer’s electrifying 46-yard run off a Ben Roethlisberger screen pass, or Jarvis Jones’ hyper-athletic 9-yard sack, or a spry Le’Veon Bell, or a stout first-team offensive line, or Sean Spence’s remarkable return not only to football but also to occasional dominance — there actually was a lot to like — the cold fact is that, until the Steelers solve this little issue of the BIG PLAY AGAINST THE DEFENSE, the rest won’t mean a whit.
And they know it.
“That’s our whole goal as a defense, our No. 1: Minimize the big plays,” cornerback Cortez Allen was telling me afterward. “We set that as our goal again right before this game.”
Let’s review this latest mishap, first by taking another look …
There’s no singular blame to lay, at least from my view, but one might start by noting that the Steelers were in a nickel defense on first-and-10, a sorry remnant of the 2013 season when Troy Polamalu was forced to play linebacker and there often were only two down linemen. Polamalu didn’t play in this one, and Ryan Shazier’s “boo-boo” kept him from suiting up. Maybe that explained the nickel, maybe not. Maybe it was that LeBeau really meant it the other day in Latrobe when he stated that youth and speed are fine “as long as they’re going in the right direction.” Or maybe it was that all this talk about boosting takeaways by becoming more aggressive on the pSs rush has been mere talk.
Whatever the case, the execution of that nickel wasn’t worth a gum-stained penny.
Stephon Tuitt, who otherwise continued to impress, was nullified at left end, the point of attack. And related to that, Cam Heyward, who had lined up well to Tuitt’s right in lieu of a nose tackle, was blown back off the ball. That created the initial sea of green that welcomed Jennings.
For what it’s worth, Heyward flatly told me he blamed himself …
Funny, but Lawrence Timmons did much the same. He was held, flagrantly so, and thrown to the ground. There was no flag, but there also was no play on his part, which was pretty much all that bugged him.
“I’ve still got to be there to fill that gap, so that’s on me,” Timmons said. “I’m not going to complain about refs in the preseason. I’ve still got to get there and do my job.”
As for the rest, Spence, the other inside linebacker, rushed off the left edge and over-pursued. And the secondary was nowhere to be found. Only Will Allen lay so much as a hand on Jennings. Mike Mitchell, the other safety who’s fresh off a groin injury, managed a lunge.
It was London calling all over again, shades of Adrian Peterson sprinting across the English Channel. Or, thousands of miles and a couple weeks later, Terrelle Pryor bursting across the Bay. Or any of the 11 total plays of 50 yards or longer in 2013 that Dick LeBeau correctly described as “a very important part of what went wrong for us last season, something that really skewed all of our numbers.”
One for sure: LeBeau’s defenses allowed three such plays in 2011 and 2012 combined.
“It’s something that just can’t happen,” LeBeau said.
But here it did again. And based on the exhaustive emphasis on this facet for two weeks at Latrobe, be certain it’ll overshadow all else in advance of the Sept. 7 real opener against the Browns and big-play big shot Johnny Manziel.
For the most part, the Steelers’ players seemed to take this mistake in the proper spirit: Better to learn now than later.
“We just had a guy get out of the gap,” Mitchell said. “It’s preseason Week 1. We’ll learn from it.”
Think lower-case letters.
More online: Game center / Multimedia / Photos
Does anyone know if Shazier’s injury is serious?
Tomlin called it a “boo boo”. No idea what that means in coach speak.
Just more proof that the STEELERS D under DLB is stale and boring.
Regarrdless of WHO is on the field, the SAME THINGS continue to happen against this defense!
For whatever reason, DLB has gotten a free pass.
It’s the first preseason game missing 2 starters on defense. Seriously don’t overreact.
No, it’s YEARS of big plays against and giving back points after the O scores. This is just continuing a trend.
Did you not notice in the article where he said they only had 3 plays of over 50 yards combined in the two previous seasons to last year? I don’t know how 1 year is considered YEARS of such plays.
All the DLB sheep already defending him. LOL! Comical!
Are 3rd down conversions big plays? How many years have they struggled to get off the field on 3rd down?
The speed we added won’t matter if DLB still plays the DB’s 8 yds off the receivers on 3rd & 5. I gues that doesn’t happen either, right?
Let me be the one who first noticed The Clash reference.
Did anyone else notice Shamarko Thomas’ tribute to Ryan Clark/Sean Taylor with the finger tape tonight?
My biggest defensive concern the last few years has been the inability to stop third down conversions. 1st down: stop. 2nd down: stop. 3rd down: 17 yard completion, 1st down. Lather, rinse, repeat. Just watching game now, so I don’t know if that’s a problem tonight.
So let’s review:
Run run pass 1st red zone possession.
Give back points twice on defense.
Blown 4th quarter lead.
Damn you Bruce Arians.
How did Spence look? Impressive the kid made it back to the field.
Spence looked very good I thought. Seemed quicker than I was expecting. Very instinctive and didn’t seem like his body was holding him back. I mainly wanted to see Tuitt, but had an eye on him too. ILB looks like they will be deep.
Spence looked GREAT! So happy him!
JAL’s Chelsea Morning Morning Links
1 Detroit Free Press
John Lowe’s Past Time: The bad, good for Tigers in Pittsburgh
http://www.freep.com/article/20140810/SPORTS02/308100111/John-Lowe-s-Past-Time-bad-good-Tigers-Pittsburgh
2Fansided
Give It a Rest, Baseball is a Game
http://fansided.com/2014/08/09/give-rest-mlb-baseball-game/
3 San Diego Union Tribune
Stults bests Liriano, Pirates in win
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/09/padres-stults-victory-pirates-francisco-liriano/
Thanks, Joe. The Detroit Free Press article reminded me of the year-by-year World Series anthology that my parents bought me when I was 8. The last series summarized was 1973. Because of that book, I remember more facts about those early series than the last 40.
The song for which after Chelsea Clinton is named.
I’m guessing it was playing . . .
I thought this was a Steelers conversation. I love the bucs too, let’s stay the course. I think the D will be great again, I saw some positive things out of Spence, tuitt, Mitchell, and lets no forget this is the 1st preseason game. It’s practice televised essentially. Calm down
Agreeed. Thought they brought consistent pressure on QB.
Didnt like Bryant appearing to try and draw PIs. At this point rookie WR should ALWAYS look to make plays on the ball. Let officials worry about fouls.
Big guy moved better than I thought for 350+.
I agree the big boy has a future. Also this is a great problem to have… We have too many good linebackers. I really like the kid from UCLA. Nose for the ball and brings the wood.
Huh?
I was referring to the big kid from Tennessee, name escaped me and bring the wood is an old expression for a hard hitter.
Seconded, re Steelers conversation.
Except there wasn’t anything BUT Steelers conversation.
Could watch or listen to game (some streaming foul up), but did McCullers get any plays and how did he look?
If Lawrence Timmons wasnt flagrantly held on thr Jennings run or if a flag was thrown …which neither occurred…there would be no story here.
Also when Heyward recognized what was happening if he holds the spot just a beat longer there is nothing but a minimal gain.
Not sure about Archer returning punts either.
Archer returning punts is the best way to get him destroyed. #smh
Had to watch the game on replay after a 12-hour drive… Wish now I had just gone to bed! Gawd do I hate preseason games. I used to love preseason, and trying to project who would be a contributor, but anymore the games are boring. Please, Goodell, make the 18-game season happen!
Dejan, I just looked at the end of your AM article. I found the area for comments finally