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Anatomy of a Play: One Blitz Paid Off Twice for the Chiefs

JJ Cooper — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:47:00 EST

If you're a Steelers fan, there were a lot of things in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs that would drive a man to drink, but in rewatching the game with an eye on the offensive line play, there was one disappointing aspect that may have been missed when watching the game live.

After not getting any sacks in the first 55 minutes of the game, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger was sacked three times in the final three minutes of regulation. The first sack came on a third down, forcing the Steelers to punt while the third sack, also on third down, ended Pittsburgh's chances of keeping the game from going to overtime.

Now the frustrating part was that both of those third-down sacks came on the exact same blitz call by the Chiefs, both of which took advantage of a flaw in the Steelers' blocking scheme.

On third and seven with 2:44 to go in the game, Pittsburgh lined up with one back, Mewelde Moore, in the backfield, two wide receivers and a tight end flanked out to the right and Santonio Holmes alone on the left. Kansas City had two defensive linemen with their hands on the ground, lined up outside of Max Starks, another lined up in the "A" gap between left guard Ramon Foster and center Justin Hartwig. Kansas City also had three linebackers/defensive ends standing up on the right side of the line and out to Hines Ward while the middle linebacker was lined up on the right side of the nose tackle.

From initial appearances, it looked like Kansas City was lined up for an overload blitz from the Steelers' right side--the three linebackers/defensive ends standing up on that side included Kansas City's top pass rusher Tamba Hali. But looking a little closer, it seems unlikely that Kansas City could send more than one of the three potential pass rushers. It was third and seven, so Pittsburgh didn't need a big gain. And with a base four defensive backs in the game, and only two lined up on the side that had three receivers (Hines Ward, Mike Wallace and Heath Miller) any all out blitz from the Steelers' right would result in a quick dump off to a wideout for a likely first down.

Instead what the Chiefs did was walk safety Mike Brown up to the line just before the snap. He attacked the "A" gap between Foster and Hartwig, as did linebacker Derrick Johnson. By itself that shouldn't have been a big deal--Foster could pick up one of the blitzers and tailback Mewelde Moore could block the other.

But that's now how it worked out. Nose tackle Wallace Gilberry did a good job of firing out to his right, getting his hands on Foster. He then cut back to his left to head towards Justin Hartwig, creating room for the oncoming blitzers. Ideally Foster would hand Gilberry off to Hartwig, then pick up Johnson or Brown. But Foster stuck with Gilberry, which gave Moore, the blocking back, an impossible decision--he could block Johnson or Brown, but not both. Moore took on Johnson and gave a solid effort. But while Moore did his job, Brown was left unblocked for an easy sack.

Here's how the blitz looked in graphic form (apologies on misidentifying Chiefs defensive end Alex Magee as #73 instead of #71).

That's the kind of play that happens in a game. You either have a blocking scheme that isn't really a good fit for the blitz that is called or players don't execute the blocking scheme was it was drawn up.

But where it gets very frustrating is when you see the same blitz work again just two minutes later. The situation was third and five for Pittsburgh with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh was at its own 43, so two first downs could put them in field goal range.

This time Pittsburgh lined up with a wide receiver and a tight end to the left and two receivers to the right. Once again Mewelde Moore was flanking Roethlisberger in the shotgun. And the Chiefs lined up in the same alignment as before. The only difference this time was they flopped the formation with the two down linemen (Gilberry and Magee) on the Steelers' right and the three guys standing up at the line all on the Steelers' left.

Before the snap, Chiefs safety Mike Brown appeared to be lined up in man coverage on Heath Miller. But right before the snap he took off to blitz again, this time aiming at right guard Trai Essex's outside shoulder. Derrick Johnson was coming through the same gap, just like the previous blitz. And just like the last time, Gilberry fired off into Essex, then shifted to attack center Justin Hartwig. Gilberry actually ended up lined up against the left guard Foster before the play was over--that's how far his loop took him. But that was fine for the Chiefs, as Gilberry's job was to give himself up to help create a sack for someone else.

And again, it worked just like the Chiefs drew it up. Essex stayed with Gilberry leaving a gaping hole in the middle of Pittsburgh's line. Moore again was faced with two men to block. He again blocked Johnson and again Brown rushed in untouched.

Unlike the last time, Roethlisberger did have a quick option this time. Heath Miller saw Brown blitz, cut off his route and immediately started looking for the ball. It's questionable whether he would have gotten the first down--cornerback Brandon Flowers was around to possibly tackle Miller before he reached the first down marker, but it was an option if Brown hadn't leaped in Roethlisberger's face, forcing Roethlisberger to pull the ball back down.

The leap meant Brown flew right on past Roethlisberger, but by the time Roethlisberger was ready to throw again Miller was well covered. With no other open options, Roethlisberger stepped up in the pocket, but that just gave Magee and Gilberry good angles to track him down for no gain and the Chiefs' third sack of the game. Soon after that Kansas City had a shocking upset win.

The good news for Pittsburgh's offensive line is that there are less plays where they are being physically beaten for sacks. But they still seem vulnerable to being confused by different blitz packages. That's a big worry going into the Ravens game because Kansas City's blitz package seems like pre-algebra compared to the calculus that is the Ravens' blitz package.

Anatomy of a Play: One Blitz Paid Off Twice for the Chiefs originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Batch's Injury Is a Big Chance for Dixon

JJ Cooper — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:10:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, NFL Quarterbacks

Charlie Batch's 2009 season isn't over yet, but it's fair to wonder if his Steelers' career is almost over. Hopefully for Steelers fans, his replacement Dennis Dixon's career is just beginning.

When Batch somehow broke his wrist during his four-play, no-sack stint against the Chiefs it marked the second time in two seasons that he's suffered a serious injury -- he missed all of the 2008 season with a broken collarbone he suffered in the preseason. As a 34-year-old quarterback who's starting to break down, there have to be questions about whether Batch has much left.

The Steelers aren't putting Batch on injured reserve yet because there's a hope that he could be back in a month or so after surgery to fix a plate to his broken wrist. In the meantime, the Steelers are showing enough faith in Dixon to not sign a veteran backup. If something happens to Ben Roethlisberger this week (and he is coming off of a concussion), Dixon will be getting his first real game action.

The Steelers aren't going out to sign a veteran QB, which is a good sign that they believe in Dixon. And unlike most of the late-round QBs the Steelers have drafted over the past decade, Dixon has given them a lot of reasons to feel confident in him. In the preseason he's shown some running ability, a solid and relatively accurate arm and the leadership ability that stood out when he was starring at Oregon.

Obviously the Steelers are in much worse shape if Dixon has to play this week. But moving up to the backup quarterback role is important for Dixon even if he doesn't get into a game. It means that Dixon will get some reps with the regular offense in practice, something that's rarely happens for a third-string quarterback.

Dixon won't get much experience in Pittsburgh unless Roethlisberger is hurt. But going forward, he does have the potential to be a solid backup for the next several years, which fills a pretty serious need for Pittsburgh, especially with Batch proving to be brittle.

Batch's Injury Is a Big Chance for Dixon originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coach Killers, Week 11: The Steelers

Tom Mantzouranis — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:13:00 EST

Filed under: Chiefs, Steelers

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

You're the Pittsburgh Steelers. You won the Super Bowl last year. You're a big-game-ready team that has matched up against the likes of the Patriots and Colts in recent history. The Chiefs are the very definition of a rebuilding project, with 29 players on the active roster having three or less years of experience. Before you stepped on the field with them, they had only beaten two teams -- the Redskins and Raiders. You just lost to the Bengals. You were angry and had something to prove.

So to walk off the field at Arrowhead, 27-24 in overtime to a team far less talented, is not the sign of one player or one coach bringing the team down. It's the sign of an organizational fail.

Here's what it all has come down to: the estimable Steelers site Post Game Heroes says, "Blame Tomlin for this mess." Their rationale being that players on Super Bowl teams are prone to lapses in judgment, discipline, humility, what have you, and that it's the coach's job to keep every man in his place.

Across the course of a season, yes, these issues all compound into one mess that lies at the feet of the head coach. But individual moments with individual faults make up that mess, and in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Chiefs there were a collection of moments that led to the Steelers' downfall.

The Steelers took a 24-17 lead early in the fourth. That should have been enough. Instead, they let the Chiefs march down the field on the ensuing drive. Deshea Townsend let Lance Long get by him for a 30-yard catch on 3rd-and-9. Ike Taylor got smoked on a Chris Chambers' double move on the next play, giving up 47 yards. The Chiefs tied the game four plays later against a defense that had been playing well the entire game up until that point.

Fast forward to overtime. The Steelers win the toss, and Charlie Batch has to step in for Ben Roethlisberger's cloudy head. Perhaps this is what led to the next misstep -- a toss-sweep to Mewelde Moore on 3rd-and-2 from the Kansas City 35. On a day when the Steelers only ran for 3.7 yards per carry, it was a questionable play call by Bruce Arians (who, to be fair, had an otherwise excellent day) not only to run, not only to run with your third-string back (who only had one other carry on the day), but to call a run which requires the time and blocking for the quarterback to toss to the back and the back to get to the line of scrimmage let alone the two yards needed for the first. Unsurprisingly, the Chiefs stopped Moore and the Steelers had to punt.

Still, all could have been well, given a Chiefs offense that currently ranks 30th in the league, if uber-punter Daniel Sepulveda could have pinned the Chiefs inside their own 10. Instead, he punted into the end zone, giving the Chiefs a touchback.

This is where Ike Taylor returns. Matt Cassell went deep down the middle to Chambers, when Taylor got two hands on a sure interception -- perhaps even a game-ending one -- only to drop it. On the very next play, Cassel made Taylor pay for that drop, and for yet another miscue. On 3rd-and-5, Taylor inexplicably played way off of Chambers, who ran a quick slant completely uncovered and took it all the way to the 4-yard-line, where the Chiefs sealed the win.

Give credit to the Chiefs, they stuck with the Steelers while the defending champ's offense was running at full steam all game long. And, yeah, any given Sunday and all that. Still, the Chiefs aren't supposed to beat the Steelers. All things considered, with so much going wrong in the deciding minutes of this game, it's hard to say the Chiefs took the win from the Steelers. Instead, the Steelers -- all of them -- gave the win to Kansas City.

Adam Gretz contributed to this story.

Coach Killers, Week 11: The Steelers originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Special Teams Problems Lead to Another Steelers Shakeup

JJ Cooper — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:08:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, AFC North

When you're giving up a kick return for a touchdown every week, sitting still and hoping everything will get better isn't really an option.

So for the second consecutive week, the Steelers are shuffling the last couple of spots on the roster in an attempt to improve their coverage teams. Linebacker Donovan Woods, the guy the Steelers added last week to try to fix the problem, was cut along with cornerback Keiwan Ratliff. In their place the Steelers signed ex-Raven defensive back Corey Ivy and well-traveled linebacker Rocky Boiman. Both have plenty of experience on special teams, which is the only place they will be expected to play in the short-term.

Pittsburgh's kick coverage amazingly has gotten worse and worse the more the coaching staff has tried to fix the problem. Last week Football Outsiders mentioned that Pittsburgh was getting close to the record for the worst kick coverage unit since 1994 -- the first year FO has the play-by-play data they need for their extensive stats. This week, Pittsburgh has passed the 1995 Bills. The Steelers are so bad that the difference between them and the 31st kick coverage team (the Lions) is the same as the difference from the Lions to the ninth-best unit in the league.

While Pittsburgh keeps trying out new coverage specialists, it's worth asking why they haven't tried out some kickoff specialists. Jeff Reed is last in the league in average kickoff distance (according to Football Outsiders) and what his kickoffs lack for in distance they compliment with poor hang time. Signing an inaccurate kicker with a cannon of a leg would do more than any one coverage specialist.

Special Teams Problems Lead to Another Steelers Shakeup originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Loss Is a Troubling Sign for Steelers

JJ Cooper — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, AFC North

The Steelers have had a great decade. Two Super Bowl titles, two more AFC Championship appearances and six playoff berths is a record most teams would love to have.

But there have been some bad losses along the way as well, few worse than the loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. Here's a look at the worst five losses of the decade.

No. 1: 2002 Week 14: Houston 24, Pittsburgh 6.

There have been plenty of great wins and a fair number of bad losses for the Steelers this decade, but none was more disheartening for Steelers fans then this inexplicable 18-point loss to the expansion Texans. Pittsburgh's zone blitz schemes left David Carr completely baffled (3-for-10, 10 net yards) and held the Texans to 40 total yards,

But thanks to a fumble return for a touchdown and two interception return for touchdowns, Pittsburgh still lost by three scores. Tommy Maddox threw for more than 300 yards for Pittsburgh, but the Steelers fell apart whenever they got close to Houston's red zone.

No. 2: 2006 Week 8: Oakland 20, Pittsburgh 13.

If you're looking for a game that is the closest thing to a carbon copy of the Steelers loss to the Chiefs, this 2006 disaster fits. The Steelers were a defending Super Bowl champion. Oakland was 1-5, on its way to finishing an awful 2-14. But despite holding Oakland to less than 100 yards of total offense while piling up 360 yards themselves, Pittsburgh lost thanks to a pair of interception returns for touchdowns.

A couple of years ago Football Outsiders did a study trying to determine what are the characteristics of good/great teams. And what they found was, even more than beating good teams, the most common thread was how good/great teams blow out bad teams. The Steelers may have been Super Bowl champs in 2005, but the loss to the Raiders made it clear that the 2006 Steelers weren't great--they weren't even good.

No. 3: 2009 Week 11: Kansas City 27, Pittsburgh 24 (OT).

This one is still fresh enough for everyone to remember.

No. 4: 2006 Week 2: Jacksonville 9, Pittsburgh 0.

The 2006 season is one best forgotten by Steelers fans. Pittsburgh suffered through a post-Super Bowl hangover that was made even more enjoyable by a year of speculation over whether Bill Cowher would retire at the end of the season. But the lasting memory of 2006 was of Steelers offensive line getting blown off the ball. The problems first cropped up in a prime-time loss to the Jaguars. Pittsburgh ran the ball 14 times for 26 yards, most of which consisted of Willie Parker trying to dodge defensive linemen in the backfield.

No. 5: 2008 Week 3: Philadelphia 15, Pittsburgh 6.

Yes, the Eagles were a very good team, but the Steelers have rarely been dominated like this, at least on one side of the ball. This was the game that illustrated all of the Steelers pass protection problems. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson stacked the line with seven or eight defenders, pressuring the "A" gaps between center Justin Hartwig and both guards. The Steelers never figured out who was blitzing and who was dropping into coverage. Philadelphia sacked Ben Roethlisberger nine times. While it may have been only a nine-point win for the Eagles, the Steelers could have played for 120 minutes without scoring 15 points.

As bad as this game was, it is a sign of hope. Pittsburgh worked to eliminate the communication problems on the offensive line that caused the disaster, and that paid off with a Super Bowl win at the end of the season.

Loss Is a Troubling Sign for Steelers originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entire AFC North Fell Apart Sunday

JJ Cooper — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:37:00 EST

Filed under: Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Steelers, AFC North

It was a rough day around the AFC North. A day when all four teams lost games they should have won.

Baltimore came into Sunday with more to gain, and more to lose, than anyone in the division -- beat the undefeated Colts, and Baltimore would stay right in the middle of the AFC playoff race. Lose and the Ravens would be in danger of falling out of the mix altogether.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Baltimore looked ready to give Indianapolis its first loss. But with Baltimore needing only a field goal to take the lead, quarterback Joe Flacco was picked off inside the Colts 20 in the final three minutes of the game. The Ravens had one more chance, but Ed Reed lateraled into a fumble in the final 30 seconds. Now Baltimore sits at 5-5 with two games left against the Steelers and time quickly running out.

But as rough as the Ravens had it , it was even worse for the Steelers.

They were facing the inept Kansas City Chiefs -- a team that is just waiting for 2010 to arrive. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came close to throwing for 300 yards in the first half, but somehow Pittsburgh found itself in overtime against the Chiefs. Then, after K.C. wide receiver Chris Chambers turned a short pass into a 61-yard catch-and-run that set up an easy field goal, the Steelers found themselves losers against a team they were favored to beat by 11 1/2 points.

Sure, the Steelers had a bad Sunday, but can their loss compare to the Bengals? With the Steelers losing a 1 PM game, all the Bengals had to do was beat the lowly Raiders in the late-afternoon slot, and they'd have the division sewn up -- effectively a three-game lead with six games to go. And for 59 minutes, the Bengals followed the script. But when Bruce Gradkowski connected with Louis Murphy for a game-tying touchdown in the final minute, all of a sudden the Bengals were looking at overtime. That is, until Andre Caldwell fumbled the kickoff return on the next play, leaving the Bengals on the wrong end of a 20-17.

As bad as the Bengals loss was, and it was bad, the Browns might have had it worst of all. There has been nothing to cheer about in Cleveland this year -- the team came into Sunday's game with five touchdowns this season. Most fans get to cheer wins, Cleveland fans have to get excited about first downs.

But with a chance to play against a Lions defense that is just as inept as its own, Cleveland finally started scoring some points. Brady Quinn threw four touchdowns in the game, after Cleveland QBs had thrown only three combined in the Browns' first nine games. It looked like it was enough, too, as Cleveland led 37-31 when Matthew Stafford's Hail Mary fell incomplete as the clock hit 0:00 in the fourth quarter. But Cleveland was called for defensive pass interference.

Even that wasn't too bad -- Stafford had taken a wicked hit on the Hail Mary pass, so Daunte Culpepper would have to quarterback the game's final play completely cold.

At least, that was the plan. Cleveland called timeout, which gave Stafford enough time to shake off the cobwebs and return to the field. He found Brandon Pettigrew for the game-winning touchdown on the rare untimed down, then walked off with an aching shoulder.

On Sunday, all four AFC North teams lost. All four lost in heartbreaking ways that might be remembered for months or even years to come. And all four have an argument for having the worst loss of the day -- it is one argument with no winners and four losers.

Entire AFC North Fell Apart Sunday originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steelers' Special Teams Flop Again

JJ Cooper — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Chiefs, Steelers, AFC North

It's fair to blame the Steelers defense for Sunday's shocking loss 27-24 overtime loss to the Chiefs -- Kansas City simply shouldn't be able to drive the length of the field in overtime to beat Pittsburgh. It's also fair to point fingers at a Pittsburgh offense that piled up over 515 yards of offense, but squandered all of it with two interceptions, a fumble and three costly sacks.

But as the Steelers' fans try to figure out what happened in one of the more embarrassing losses in recent Steelers history, the group that once again is most to blame is Pittsburgh's kick coverage unit -- easily one of the worst group of special-teamers in NFL history.

In fact, only one of the Steelers' four losses -- their first loss to the Bengals -- can not be blamed, at least in large part, on poor special teams play.

More: Roethlisberger Suffers 'Concussion-Oriented' Injury

Sunday, Pittsburgh lost by three points in a game that the Chiefs opened up with a Jamaal Charles 97-yard kick return touchdown. Last week, the Steelers lost by six in a game that the Bengals returned a kick for a touchdown. They lost to the Bears in a game that kicker Jeff Reed missed two field goals in the fourth quarter.

They've also managed to survive kick returns for touchdowns against the Browns and Vikings. There have been 13 kick returns for touchdowns this year -- nearly one third of them (four) have happened against the Steelers. There were only 13 kick return touchdowns last season; Pittsburgh is on pace to give up seven this year.

Kick returns for touchdowns are supposed to be such special events. It's like seeing a Ferrari on the interstate -- you don't see one every day so it stands out. Against the Steelers, seeing a kick-return touchdown is like a Toyota Camry at a stoplight. Ho-hum, just a normal part of the day.

At this point, it's hard to see how the Steelers will manage to fix their kick-coverage problems this season. They could hurry up and fire special teams coach Bob Ligashesky now, instead of waiting until after the season. That may make Steelers fans feel a little better, but there aren't any top-notch special teams coaches out there looking for work during the season. They could try to add a special teams ace off the waiver wire, but there aren't really any special teams studs who could fix this problem sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.

So the best answer seems to be that Pittsburgh will have to move some starters back onto kick coverage. Teams don't like to do that because it wears out your starters and risks injury. It's even more of a problem for a team whose defense is filled with guys who are on the wrong side of 30. Mike Tomlin told the CBS crew working this week's game that such a move would be a band-aid when he wanted to fix the problem for good.

But at this point, a band-aid sounds like it would be better than nothing.

Steelers' Special Teams Flop Again originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ben Roethlisberger Goes Down in Steelers' Overtime Loss

Matt Snyder — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:06:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, AFC North, NFL Injuries

After nearly throwing for 400 yards for the third time in his career (he hit on 32 of 42 passes for 398 yards and two touchdowns), quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had to leave the Steelers game in overtime with what appeared to be either a right shoulder or head injury. The Steelers would eventually lose to the Chiefs without him, 27-24.

On a sack in overtime, Roethlisberger was sandwiched between Kansas City's Derrick Johnson and Andy Studebaker and laid on the ground for a few minutes before being helped off the field. He was replaced by Charlie Batch, who did help the Steelers gain one first down before Pittsburgh had to punt.

More: Check Box Score | Warner Hurt, Too | Giants Get OT Win

"He took a blow, needless to say, it was a concussion-oriented thing so I doubt he was going to come back into the football game,'' Tomlin said. "I don't have a lot of information in terms of where he is or his level of availability. We will have more information as we proceed.''

On the subsequent drive, the Chiefs needed just four plays -- due mostly to a 61-yard pass from Matt Cassel to Chris Chambers -- to get the ball all the way down to the Pittsburgh 1 before Ryan Succop connected on the game-winning 22-yard field goal. Kansas City was a winner for just the third time this season, and the Chiefs have now won two in a row to move to 3-7.

The Steelers got big games from Hines Ward (10 catches, 128 yards, touchdown) and Heath Miller (seven catches, 95 yards, touchdown) on offense, but turnovers doomed them. Two Roethlisberger picks -- including one in the end zone -- and a Mike Wallace fumble helped to squander a lot of those lofty yard totals.

Pittsburgh plays at Baltimore next week.

Ben Roethlisberger Goes Down in Steelers' Overtime Loss originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steelers Should Survive Polamalu's Absence This Week

JJ Cooper — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:54:00 EST

Filed under: Chiefs, Steelers, NFL Injuries

Pittsburgh has several easy games on the schedule over the final seven weeks of the season, but it's hard to think of a better week for strong safety Troy Polamalu to miss than this week's game against the Chiefs.

Polamalu will miss the game with a knee injury, although the Steelers are saying he should be back before too long. But even without Polamalu, the Steelers' secondary should be able to handle the Chiefs.

Kansas City is without wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who was suspended four games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug rules. Without Bowe, Kansas City lacks a viable No. 1 or No. 2 receiver. Chris Chambers, who becomes the team's No. 1 receiver, has only been a Chief for three weeks--he was picked up off the waiver wire when San Diego waived him. No. 2 receiver Lance Long was promoted to the active roster until three weeks ago as well. Tight end Sean Ryan is a true journeyman--he's playing for his fourth team in the past two years.

In other words, if there was ever an offense that is tailor-made for Dick LeBeau's defense, the Chiefs would appear to be the team. The playbook can't get too complicated because the players are either inexperienced (Long) or too new to the club. The Steelers start every game defensively by trying to make their opponent one dimensional by shutting down their running game--they are No. 1 in the league against the run.

If Pittsburgh can do that again on Sunday, it's hard to believe that the Chiefs' passing game will be able to consistently outsmart LeBeau's D even if Polamalu is standing on the sideline in sweats.

Steelers Should Survive Polamalu's Absence This Week originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steelers Kick Coverage Team May Break Records ... In a Bad Way

JJ Cooper — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:32:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, AFC North, NFL Analysis

If you're a Steelers fan, you know that the Steelers kick coverage has been putrid, but considering how bad the Steelers coverage teams over the years have been, it's easy to not realize just how rank this year's special teams are. Thankfully, the Football Outsiders are able to give it some perspective.

In the 15 years of stats the FO guys now have data foor, the Steelers are coming up on a very dubious record. The 1995 Bills have the record for the worst kick coverage unit of all time--they are so bad that the difference between them and the second worst team is as much as the difference between the second worst and the 53rd worst unit.
But now the Steelers are not far behind the 1995 Bills for putridity. And it's not just the kick coverage. Jeff Reed's kickoffs have been the worst in the league -- significantly worse than anyone else, which is another argument (besides his run-ins with towel dispensers) why Pittsburgh should be OK with bringing in another kicker next year.

Football Outsiders ranks the kick coverage units by points. The Falcons are the best in kick coverage at 11.1 points. The Lions are second worst at -12.8. Pittsburgh is sitting at -26.2. Only three teams in those 15 years have finished worse than -20 with the Bills' -31 easily the worst since 1994.

It's unlikely that the Steelers will catch the '95 Bills -- it's hard to keep being as bad as they've been in recent weeks, but it is a good reminder that this unit isn't just a group that's having a couple of problems -- it's a group that is one of the worst kick coverage units you'll ever see.

Steelers Kick Coverage Team May Break Records ... In a Bad Way originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steelers Fan Claims He Was Poisoned, Blinded in Chicago Bar

Adam Gretz — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:33:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Steelers, NFL Fans

If you've ever seen the Pittsburgh Steelers play a road game, it's not uncommon to see thousands of fans in black and gold in the stands (much to the chagrin of the local fans/writers), while you can probably find a "black-and-gold-bar" in just about every major city in the United States.

Needless to say, if the Steelers are playing, there's going to be a lot of fans with Pittsburgh-ties in the area. Their Week 2 game in Chicago, a 17-14, loss was no different, and one fan, 46-year-old Zack Eddinger, claims he was poisoned (and blinded) in a Chicago bar after an altercation with a group of Bears fans.

According to WTAE in Pittsburgh, Heddinger said his friends were involved in some trash talk with a group of Bears fans, and eventually the Bears fans offered a drink as a "peacemaker."

That's when Heddinger claims things started to go terribly wrong.

From WTAE:

Not long after taking the drink, Heddinger passed out and was rushed to a nearby hospital, his heart stopping four times.

At first, doctors thought he had too much to drink, but realized there was more to it.

"They thought it was antifreeze or something like that ...because it was so strong," said Heddinger.

Heddinger's family rushed to Chicago to be with him after doctors told them he wasn't going to make.

"I literally watched him say, within a matter of hours, 'I'm getting really scared. I can't see anything,'" said sister Lisa.

According to the report, doctors believe the drink may have been spiked with toxic grain alcohol, while Heddinger added: "I don't think they tried to kill me. I think they tried to hurt me, but the killing came pretty close."

Steelers Fan Claims He Was Poisoned, Blinded in Chicago Bar originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steelers Cut Arnold Harrison As Punishment for Kick Coverage Woes

JJ Cooper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:47:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, AFC North

When you've given up three kick return touchdowns in the past four games, some heads are going to roll. For Pittsburgh, linebacker Arnold Harrison has been deemed the scapegoat, as he was cut on Tuesday when the Steelers started to shake up the kick coverage unit.

When the Steelers gave up a kick return touchdown to Browns' returner Josh Cribbs, it was a minor setback in what was an easy win. Percy Harvin's kick return against the Steelers gave Pittsburgh a scare, but once again, the Steelers figured out how to survive anyway.
But Bernard Scott's kick return for a touchdown last week was a back-breaker and a game-winner, which is a nice reminder that Pittsburgh has to fix its kick coverage problems quickly. To replace Harrison, Pittsburgh promoted Donovan Woods from the practice squad. Both Harrison and Woods are best known as special teamers--Woods played well on special teams last year before a midseason injury--so this should be a simple one-for-one replacement.

But the Steelers special teams problems extend beyond any one player. There have been only 12 kick returns for touchdowns in the NFL this season, so fully one fourth of them have come against the Steelers. The Steelers rank 30th in the NFL in special teams according to Football Outsiders' metrics. Not surprisingly, they are 32nd in kick coverage.

Even if Wood helps the unit improve, Pittsburgh's special teams have proven to be a disappointment. Stefan Logan has proven to be an average returner--no better, no worse--and Daniel Sepulveda has been a good punter. But Jeff Reeed has had his struggles--his missed field goals helped cost the Steelers' the first Bengals game--and the coverage units are downright scary.

Steelers Cut Arnold Harrison As Punishment for Kick Coverage Woes originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bengals, Steelers Remaining Schedules Are Extremely Favorable

JJ Cooper — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:29:00 EST

Filed under: Bengals, Steelers, AFC North

When the Bengals beat the Steelers on Sunday, they came about as close as is possible to wrapping up a division in the middle of November. Cincinnati now effectively has a two-game lead in the division (thanks to their head-to-head tiebreaker advantage) with seven games to go. But more than anything, the easy schedule for the AFC North make it clear that we'll likely see at least two AFC North teams in the playoffs.

As we mentioned last week, the remaining Bengals schedule puts Cincinnati in a very clear driver's seat in the AFC North. Cincinnati's next three games are against the Raiders (2-7), Browns (1-7) and Lions (1-7).

Anything is possible -- as the Bengals' near loss to the Browns earlier in the season showed -- but those are three games where Cincinnati will be heavy favorites. The schedule does get tougher after that with games against the Vikings (8-1) and Chargers (6-3), but Cincinnati ends the season with games against the Chiefs (2-7) and Jets (4-5). Being conservative, the worst-case scenario for the Bengals (barring a collapse) is a 4-3 finish, which would leave Cincinnati at 11-5. But 13-3 seems just as likely.

If that happened, Pittsburgh would have to go 12-4 to win the division, which means a 6-1 finish. While that seems very difficult, the Steelers' schedule to end the season is favorable for a run -- Pittsburgh plays only one game against a team with a winning record. Two games against Baltimore (4-4) are the toughest left on Pittsburgh's schedule. Pittsburgh also has games left against the Chiefs (2-7), Raiders (2-7), Browns (1-7), Packers (5-4) and Dolphins (4-5).

No Steelers-Ravens game is easy, but if Pittsburgh can get healthy, it has the schedule to go on a 7-0 run to end the season (much like it did in the run to the Super Bowl in 2005). Of course with the Bengals' remaining schedule finishing 13-3 might not be enough to win the division.

Bengals, Steelers Remaining Schedules Are Extremely Favorable originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bengals Batter, Bloody Stunned Steelers

Greg Couch — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:45:00 EST

Filed under: Bengals, Steelers, NFL Analysis

PITTSBURGH -- When you go to a Pittsburgh Steelers game, you absorb the vibe. You live it. You expect a day of face-stomping, mouth-smashing and butt-kicking, and you walk away with the satisfying feeling that you've just beaten someone up. It's all about identity.

So it was a little disturbing to see 65,000 people leave Heinz Field Sunday all limping, hunched over, bleeding and holding their arms to their sides. The Steelers are supposed to be the team providing the stomping, smashing and kicking, not the face, the mouth and the butt.

And the last team you would expect to be pummeling the defending Super Bowl champs? Not just beating them, but pounding them? The Cincinnati Bengals.

More: Polamalu Reinjures Left Knee | Updated Standings

But that's what happened, as the Bengals won 18-12 Sunday -- a game that looked like it was played in black and white, the way old-timers say it should be played.

"That was the most physical, grinding football game I've ever been on the sideline to experience,'' Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Our guys did a good job of grinding blow for blow, back and forth.''

This was a big moment for the Bengals, who were already tied for first with the Steelers, and had already beaten them this year. Pittsburgh is the measuring stick for the Bengals, the rival that gets everything, wins in the end. The Bengals are the the little brother always trying to catch up. It's their identity.

Now, they're 7-2 and are going to win this division.

And confirmation is not just about this year, but also about an organization that just a few years ago was the most dysfunctional, most embarrassing in the NFL.

What is the Bengals' identity? It's not easy to just get past all those arrests from a couple years ago. They brought back Chris Henry, who had a bunch of those arrests. And they brought in Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson, who had had their own troubles with the law before arriving.

So I don't know if they just got rid of enough problem players, or if some of them grew up or what.

But the Bengals have been losers for years, patsies to the Steelers, threats to society. And a year like this, a game like this, a moment like this can start to redefine them.

"It's not changing yet; it's not,'' said Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, whose over-the-top, look-at-me show strikes me more as a good time than anything. "We've got to keep going. The name [Bengals] does not ring a bell the way it should.''

And what does this do to the Steelers and their identity?

Nothing.

Their identity is not based on the Bengals. To them, the Bengals are more of a welcome mat.

And last week, the Steelers looked fantastic at Denver, as if they are about to repeat. They have mixed in a running game with Rashard Mendenhall, who apparently has gotten around to learning the playbook. The defense was together with strong safety Troy Polamalu, who left this Sunday's game early after hurting his left knee again. That could be a big problem; an MRI is coming.

And of course, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is always ready to do his best in the toughest moments, winning games with last-minute heroics.

The Steelers are still in position to do big things. But this day was about the Bengals.

Imagine this: Just under 2 minutes left. Cincinnati up 6. Pittsburgh gets the ball at its 33.

You just know what's going to happen, right, Bengals fans? Roethlisberger drives down for the win, right?

Zero. That's how many yards that drive went. Roethlisberger threw four incomplete passes, under pressure on two of them, and that was it.

The Bengals have a tough defense, a mean line and glue for cornerbacks. Lewis is getting through to the them about identity. You could hear it in the words of quarterback Carson Palmer.

"It's about field position,'' he said. "At the end of the day, it's better to take the check down and dink the ball down the field ...

"We don't go into a game saying we have to score 35. We've done that in the past.''

The Bengals did not score one offensive touchdown Sunday. This out-of-control, free-spirited offensive mindset was gone. The game's only touchdown came on rookie Bernard Scott's 96-yard kickoff return.

On top of that, the Bengals played most of the game without Benson, who has been among the league's leading rushers all year. He hurt his hip in what's thought to be a minor injury.

Roethlisberger was sacked four times and the Steelers' running game was held to just 80 yards.

"Physical,'' Palmer said. "If there's one word you're going to describe us with, it's physical.''

Trying to define that identity, Palmer said the Bengals aren't ready to win a Super Bowl or have a dominant playoff run. But they have a real opportunity here. They thought they had one in 2005, when they won the division behind a young Palmer. That still stands as their only winning season since 1990.

Then they went to the playoffs and Palmer hurt his knee. Guess who they were playing, which team ruined everything?

The Steelers, of course. And the moment was gone.

Now, they have another shot, though nine games aren't enough to change everything. Palmer noted that "we don't ever play on national television.''

Well, stomping, smashing and kicking in a game, as opposed to on the streets in society, is a good start.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Bengals Batter, Bloody Stunned Steelers originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Troy Polamalu Exits With Knee Injury

Chris Burke — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:47:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, NFL Injuries

Just when Pittsburgh thought Troy Polamalu was getting back to full health, the Steelers may have lost their superstar safety again. Polamalu limped to the locker room during Sunday's game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and immediate reports were that he had reinjured his left knee. He did not return to the game, which Cincinnati won 18-12.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that Polamalu would undergo an MRI.

More: Bengals' Benson Hurt, Too | Panthers' Lineman Breaks Ankle

Polamalu missed four games earlier this season -- including a Week 2 Steelers' loss to Cincinnati -- after spraining his left MCL in Pittsburgh's Week 1 win over Tennessee.

He returned in Week 6 against Cleveland -- he intercepted a pass in that game, then nabbed another one last Monday night against Denver.

Pittsburgh was 4-0 with Polamalu in the lineup this season and 2-2 without him, prior to Sunday's loss.

Tyrone Carter jumped into Polamalu's spot in the secondary after the injury. Carter had two interceptions, one which he returned for a touchdown, as a replacement for Ryan Clark during the Steelers past the Broncos in Week 9.

Troy Polamalu Exits With Knee Injury originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ochocinco Takes Steelers Fan on a Shopping Spree

JJ Cooper — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:27:00 EST

Filed under: Bengals, Steelers, AFC North

Chad Ochocinco is always looking for the spotlight, but say this for the Bengals wideout: he's more original than anyone else when he's trying to hog the spotlight. And some of his attention getters are pretty nice.

Over at his Twitter account on Friday, Ochocinco tweeted: "Hotel manager name is Jesse, first person to say my name Ocho Cinco to Jesse at the Marriot we about to act a donkey in the mall."

Jesse Staigler, one of the shift managers at the hotel, turned into a minor celebrity as at least 50 people who headed down to the Pittsburgh Marriott to find him (Ochocinco was in town for today's Steelers-Bengals game). David Anderson was the first person to get to the Marriott, so he was the lucky winner of a shopping spree paid for by the Bengals wide receiver. Fans were still calling the hotel hours later asking for Jesse. Like most everyone else who lives in the Pittsburgh area, Anderson is a Steelers fan.

The shopping spree is only the latest in a long line of publicity stunts by Ochocinco. He was fined by the NFL for his fake attempted bribe of an official in last week's game and he had promised to send a crate of mustard the the Steelers' defensive backs because they couldn't "ketchup to him." Bengals coach Marvin Lewis banned Ochocinco from sending the mustard, but a crate showed up anyway with a card saying it was from a Fan of Ochocinco.

Ochocinco Takes Steelers Fan on a Shopping Spree originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Preview: Bengals at Steelers

Chris Burke — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Bengals, Steelers, FanHouse Previews

Pittsburgh doesn't win the AFC North every year -- it just feels that way. The Ravens actually took the division title in 2003 and 2006, and Cincinnati tied the Steelers for the crown in 2005.

That, of course, was the year that Pittsburgh and Cincinnati met in the first round of the playoffs. The Bengals' Carson Palmer went down after one pass attempt with a disastrous knee injury and the Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl.

It has taken Cincinnati since that game to get back into contention, but the Bengals finally appear to be back. They currently sit tied for first place with Pittsburgh at 6-2 overall, and have a win over the Steelers to their credit this year. A win Sunday in Heinz Field, coupled with a favorable schedule the rest of the way, could mean the AFC North title slips out of the 'Burgh again.

More Previews: Broncos-Redskins | Eagles-Chargers | Cowboys-Packers

Three Key Questions:

1. Can Cedric Benson keep up his current pace?

2. Having played Monday night in Denver, will the short week hurt Pittsburgh?

3. How will Cincinnati handle Rashard Mendenhall?

Player in the Spotlight: Mendenhall. The Steelers' second-year running back didn't get a single carry in his team's Week 3 loss in Cincinnati, but he appears to have completely taken over the starting job now. If there was any doubt, Mendenhall may have silenced them with an impressive 22-carry, 155-yard performance in Pittsburgh's Monday win over the Broncos. He brings a more punishing dimension than Willie Parker, and the Steelers' ability to balance their offense will go a long way in deciding this one. Benson will get his yards for Cincinnati -- Mendenhall needs to answer him on the other side of the ball.

Cincinnati's Path to Victory: Cincinnati's 3-0 on the road this season, and that's a record that doesn't come about without solid play on both lines. The Bengals will do their best to take away one aspect of the Steelers' offensive attack -- though the safer bet is probably to limit Mendenhall and the ground game and force Ben Roethlisberger to win the game in the face of pressure. Carson Palmer needs to be solid, but if Benson falls short of 100 yards rushing, he'll have a hard time keeping the Cincinnati offense moving.

Pittsburgh's Path to Victory: The Steelers may have played their best half of the year in the second half at Denver, absolutely manhandling the Broncos en route to a 28-10 win. The defense is really starting to click -- remember, Troy Polamalu's first game out with a knee injury was in Cincinnati's Week 3 win over Pittsburgh, so it's hard to say the Steelers were at full steam. They'll also get Ryan Clark back after he had to sit out in Denver because of his sickle-cell trait. Polamalu's presence can't be understated, and the Steelers will use him to pressure Palmer, as well as to keep Benson in check. Don't be surprised to see Pittsburgh come out throwing early to try and loosen the Cincinnati defense up. Once Roethlisberger got hot in Denver, Mendenhall put the game on ice with some big runs.

Prediction: You really have to tip your cap to the Bengals -- that 6-2 record isn't a fluke. They're already 4-0 within the division, including a sweep of Baltimore. Should they complete their sweep of the Steelers, too, it would be hard to pick against them in the AFC North division race. Pittsburgh's absolutely scorching hot right now, though, with five straight wins. If Mendenhall turns into a legit No. 1 back and Polamalu stays healthy, those are two huge components working in the Steelers' favor that weren't there before. Cincinnati will make a game of it, but the Steelers will find a way at home. Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 17

FanHouse Preview: Bengals at Steelers originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NFL FanHouse Week 10 Preview Recap

Bruce Ciskie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Bengals, Colts, Cowboys, Packers, Patriots, Steelers, NFL Fans, NFL Live Blogging

For weeks, people have asked if the Cincinnati Bengals are for real. The team keeps responding by finding ways to win games, but the questions keep coming in. This week, they get a chance to sweep the defending Super Bowl champions. Green Bay was picked by many to be a playoff team this season, but they've limped their way to 4-4, got worked by a former teammate, and now face a virtual must-win against red-hot Dallas. Meanwhile, the Colts and Patriots are stealing the spotlight for another high-profile meeting.

We'll chat about all of this at 12 P.M. Eastern, and we invite you to join us after the jump!

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=859ac6836f" &amp;amp;gt;NFL FanHouse Week 10 Chat&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

NFL FanHouse Week 10 Preview Recap originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Between the Lines: Who's Allowing the Most Sacks?

JJ Cooper — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: 49ers, Chicago Bears, Packers, Panthers, Steelers, NFL Analysis

Every week FanHouse looks at some aspect of NFL line play for the weekly Between The Lines feature.

Because of bye weeks, most teams are halfway through their season even as we're getting ready to watch Week 10. The halfway point seems like as good a time as any to roll out complete sacks allowed stats.

These stats were culled by watching each and every sack that has occurred in the NFL this season (with the exception of a couple of minutes of a Redskins-Chiefs game that was lost because of a broadcasting problem). In going back and watching every sack, I timed the time from the snap to the initial hit on the quarterback (then rewound it and timed it a couple of more times to confirm the time) and tried to assign blame to the person responsible for giving up the sack.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm sure a couple of these sacks are assigned to the wrong person. Assigning blame for sacks isn't as cut and dried as adding up rushing yardage--sometimes a blitzer may appear to be one lineman's man, but because of the blitz pickup rules on that particular play, he was actually someone else's assignment. But I do believe those are few and far between, and on most sacks it's pretty easy to figure out who's to blame--he's the offensive lineman shaking his head after the play after his man beat him head-to-head.

If you take the time to add all these sacks up, you'll notice that this list is missing more than 120 sacks. Those are sacks that were blamed on the play call or the quarterback. If a team keeps five in to block against a seven-man blitz and one of those unblocked blitzers hits the quarterback, blame the QB for not getting the ball out or blame the offensive coordinator, but there was nothing the line could do. Also, when a quarterback takes off to try to run after dropping back to pass, it's still charged as a sack if he doesn't get back to the line of scrimmage, but an offensive tackle did his job if he walled off his man, only to see him turn around and run the other way to tackle the QB at the line of scrimmage -- that goes on the quarterback. The same can be said for the rare times that a quarterback just runs out of bounds instead of throwing the ball away (well it's rare for everyone but Seattle's Seneca Wallace, who seems to make it a habit of his).

As you will notice and probably not be surprised to see, a pair of Packers rank among the league's worst. It's worth noting that Green Bay's Allen Barbre lost his starting right tackle job while Daryn Colledge's experiment as the team's fill-in left tackle has also been quickly ended and he was moved inside to the less demanding guard position. San Francisco's Adam Snyder has also lost his job at right tackle although like Colledge he was moved inside to guard.

I've included the median time of each sack to demonstrate that all sacks are not created equal. With seven sacks allowed, Duane Brown seems to be having a bad year for the Texans, but Matt Schaub is not doing him any favors. On five of Brown's sacks, Schaub had 3.5 seconds or more to throw, but his tendency to hold the ball meant that Brown's man eventually got the sack. With Peyton Manning at quarterback, Brown would likely have two sacks allowed at most this year. Carolina's Jordan Gross, on the other hand, wins the award for the big-name offensive lineman having the most problems in pass protection.

See List of Sacks Allowed Sorted by Team

SACKS ALLOWED BY PLAYER
Player	Team	Sacks Allowed	Median Time	Player	Team	Sacks Allowed	Median Time
Adam Snyder	SF	7	2.6	Jerome Harrison	CLE	1.5	1.9
Allen Barbre	GB	7	2.6	Jamaal Jackson	PHI	1.5	2.1
Jordan Gross	CAR	7	2.6	Jason Brown	STL	1.5	2.3
Daryn Colledge	GB	7	2.9	Louis Vasquez	SD	1.5	2.3
Duane Brown	HOU	7	3.6	Geoff Hangartner	BUF	1.5	2.4
Stephon Heyer	WAS	6.5	2.8	Anthony Fasano	MIA	1.5	2.5
Levi Brown	ARI	6	2.8	Chris Snee	NYG	1.5	2.8
T.J. Lang	GB	5	2.4	Logan Mankins	NE	1.5	2.9
Mike Gandy	ARI	5	2.5	D'Brikishaw Ferguson	NYJ	1.5	3.1
Sean Ryan	KC	5	2.6	Dan Koppen	NE	1.5	3.1
Jeff Backus	DET	4.5	2.5	Donald Lee	GB	1.5	3.1
Jermon Bushrod	NO	4.5	2.6	Matt Birk	BAL	1.5	3.3
Mario Henderson	OAK	4.5	2.7	Jon Jansen	DET	1.5	3.9
Jeromey Clary	SD	4.5	2.8	Heath Miller	PIT	1.5	4.2
Max Starks	PIT	4.5	3.7	Chester Pitts	HOU	1	1.6
Julius Jones	SEA	4	2	Cadillac Williams	TB	1	1.8
Lousaka Polite	MIA	4	2.2	Cedric Benson	CIN	1	1.9
Erik Pears	OAK	4	2.4	Kenneth Darby	STL	1	1.9
Jason Peters	PHI	4	2.4	Knowshown Moreno	DEN	1	1.9
Eugene Monroe	JAX	4	2.5	Damion McIntosh	SEA	1	2
Demetrius Bell	BUF	4	2.55	Hank Fraley	CLE	1	2
Marcus McNeil	SD	4	2.55	Chester Taylor	MIN	1	2.1
Wade Smith	KC	4	2.65	Brandon Manumaleuna	SD	1	2.2
Chris Chester	BAL	4	2.7	D'Anthony Batiste	WAS	1	2.2
Gosder Cherilus	DET	4	2.85	Felix Jones	DAL	1	2.2
Alan Faneca	NYJ	4	2.9	Joseph Addai	IND	1	2.2
Jake Long	MIA	4	3	Ladell Betts	WAS	1	2.2
Joe Thomas	CLE	4	3	Reggie Bush	NO	1	2.2
Eben Britton	JAX	4	3.05	Zach Miller	OAK	1	2.2
Flozell Adams	DAL	4	3.05	Jahri Evans	NO	1	2.3
Sam Baker	ATL	4	3.25	Keydrick Vincent	CAR	1	2.3
Bryant McKinnie	MIN	4	3.5	Ryan Lilja	IND	1	2.3
Chris Kemoeatu	PIT	3.5	2.7	Stephen Peterman	DET	1	2.3
Floyd Womack	CLE	3.5	2.7	Steve Vallos	SEA	1	2.3
John St. Clair	CLE	3.5	2.7	Vernon Davis	SF	1	2.3
Jonathan Scott	BUF	3.5	2.7	Corell Buckhalter	DEN	1	2.4
Branden Albert	KC	3.5	2.8	Jeremy Zuttah	TB	1	2.4
Chris Williams	CHI	3.5	3.6	John Gilmore	TB	1	2.4
Chilo Rachal	SF	3	2.1	Kyle Kozier	DAL	1	2.4
Michael Oher	BAL	3	2.2	Marc Colombo	DAL	1	2.4
Anthony Collins	CIN	3	2.3	Mark Mason	WAS	1	2.4
Larry Johnson	KC	3	2.3	Matt Forte	CHI	1	2.4
Kyle Williams	CLE	3	2.5	Matt Stinchcomb	NO	1	2.4
Mike Goff	KC	3	2.5	Scott Mruckowski	SD	1	2.4
Tra Thomas	JAX	3	2.5	Casey Rabach	WAS	1	2.5
Harvey Dahl	ATL	3	2.6	Jeff Faine	TB	1	2.5
Joe Staley	SF	3	2.6	Adam Goldberg	STL	1	2.6
Michael Roos	TEN	3	2.6	Brent Celek	PHI	1	2.6
Mike Sellers	WAS	3	2.6	Damien Woody	NYJ	1	2.6
Tony Pashos	SF	3	2.6	Matt Spaeth	PIT	1	2.6
Jeremy Trueblood	TB	3	2.7	Max Jean-Gilles	PHI	1	2.6
Cooper Carlisle	OAK	3	2.8	Tyson Clabo	ATL	1	2.6
Eric Wood	BUF	3	2.9	Aaron Brown	DET	1	2.7
Jeff Otah	CAR	3	2.9	Brandyn Dombroski	SD	1	2.7
Ray Willis	SEA	3	2.9	Chris Johnson	TEN	1	2.7
Donald Penn	TB	3	3.1	Eric Winston	HOU	1	2.7
Stacy Andrews	PHI	3	3.1	Kevin Smith	DET	1	2.7
Travelle Wharton	CAR	3	3.1	Steve Hutchinson	MIN	1	2.7
Kareem McKenzie	NYG	3	3.3	Tim Hightower	ARI	1	2.7
Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	3	3.3	Ben Grubbs	BAL	1	2.8
Phil Loadholt	MIN	3	3.5	David Bass	SF	1	2.8
Andrew Whitworth	CIN	3	3.6	King Dunlap	PHI	1	2.8
Winston Justice	PHI	3	3.7	Max Unger	SEA	1	2.8
Richie Incognito	STL	2.5	2.3	Michael Bush	OAK	1	2.8
Mike Williams	WAS	2.5	2.5	Omar Gaither	BAL	1	2.8
Kirk Chambers	BUF	2.5	2.55	Roberto Garza	CHI	1	2.8
Justin Hartwig	PIT	2.5	2.7	Russ Hochstein	DEN	1	2.8
Chad Clifton	GB	2.5	3	Andy Alleman	KC	1	2.9
Jon Stinchcomb	NO	2.5	3.2	Maurice Williams	JAX	1	2.9
Ben Hamilton	DEN	2.5	3.4	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	1	3
Chris Samuels	WAS	2.5	3.4	Chad Rinehart	WAS	1	3
Ryan Harris	DEN	2.4	3.35	Jacob Bell	STL	1	3
Jason Smith	STL	2	2.05	Justin Smiley	MIA	1	3
Vernon Carey	MIA	2	2.15	Jake O'Connell	KC	1	3.1
Leonard Davis	DAL	2	2.3	Jason Witten	DAL	1	3.1
Brandon Frye	SEA	2	2.35	Kevin Walter	HOU	1	3.1
Chris Kuper	DEN	2	2.35	LeSean McCoy	PHI	1	3.1
Steven Jackson	STL	2	2.35	Reggie Wells	ARI	1	3.1
Naufahu Tahi	MIN	2	2.5	Cornell Green	OAK	1	3.2
Chris Morris	OAK	2	2.55	Jordan Black	JAX	1	3.2
Fred Davis	WAS	2	2.55	Korey Hall	GB	1	3.2
Nick Kaczur	NE	2	2.55	Kyle Cook	CIN	1	3.2
John Sullivan	MIN	2	2.6	Todd Herremans	PHI	1	3.2
Ryan O'Callagahan	KC	2	2.6	Vince Manuwai	JAX	1	3.2
Charlie Johnson	IND	2	2.65	Brad Butler	BUF	1	3.3
Ronnie Brown	MIA	2	2.65	Carl Nicks	NO	1	3.3
Mike Pollack	IND	2	2.65	Deuce Lutui	ARI	1	3.3
Scott Wells	GB	2	2.65	Gary Russell	OAK	1	3.3
David Diehl	NYG	2	2.7	Tony Stewart	OAK	1	3.3
Frank Gore	SF	2	2.75	Kris Dielman	SD	1	3.4
Donald Thomas	MIA	2	2.8	Ray Rice	BAL	1	3.5
Greg Olsen	CHI	2	2.9	Ryan Kalil	CAR	1	3.5
Jason Spitz	GB	2	2.95	Sebastian Vollmer	NE	1	3.7
Fred Jackson	BUF	2	3	Casey Wiegmann	DEN	1	3.8
Jared Gaither	BAL	2	3	Jeff Saturday	IND	1	3.8
Rich Seubert	NYG	2	3	Chris Spencer	SEA	1	3.9
Ryan Clady	DEN	2	3	Mike Brisiel	HOU	1	4
Alex Barron	STL	2	3.05	Tony Richardson	NYJ	1	4
Stephen Neal	NE	2	3.05	Ryan Grant	GB	1	4.2
Trai Essex	PIT	2	3.05	Derek Fine	BUF	0.5	2.3
Deon Anderson	DAL	2	3.15	Derrick Dockery	WAS	0.5	2.3
Todd Light	NE	2	3.15	Greg Jones	JAX	0.5	2.6
Dennis Roland	CIN	2	3.2	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAX	0.5	2.6
Dominic Raiola	DET	2	3.25	Justin Fargas	OAK	0.5	2.7
Will Heller	DET	2	3.25	Shaun O'Hara	NYG	0.5	2.7
Eric Heitmann	SF	2	3.3	Brian Waters	KC	0.5	3
Garrett Wolfe	CHI	2	3.3	Jake Scott	TEN	0.5	3
Daniel Loper	DET	2	3.4	LaDainian Tomlinson	SD	0.5	3
Khalif Barnes	OAK	2	3.45	Nick Cole	PHI	0.5	3.3
Davin Joseph	TB	2	3.6	Frank Omiyale	CHI	0.5	3.6
Orlando Pace	CHI	2	3.6	Nick Hardwick	SD	0.5	3.8
Kasey Studdard	HOU	2	4

Between the Lines: Who's Allowing the Most Sacks? originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rashard Mendenhall's Already Better Than You May Think

JJ Cooper — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:50:00 EST

Filed under: Steelers, AFC North

Just a month and a half ago, Rashard Mendenhall looked to be a big bust. He missed almost his entire rookie season with a broken collarbone, then was benched for the Bengals game in September after Mike Tomlin said he lacked focus.

But in the past month and a half, Mendenhall has shown he is clearly the Steelers running back of the present and the future, but even Steelers fans may not realize just how good he's been.

In his first five starts, Mendenhall has two of the 20 best rushing games in modern Steelers history (going back to 1960). His 165 yards against the Chargers in his first career start was the 11th best game of the past 50 years -- better than any game Jerome Bettis had as a Steeler. Last week's 155 yards against the Broncos was the 18th best game of the modern era.

Mendenhall's big play ability has proven to be the best surprise. He's tied for third in the league runs of 20 yards or longer despite having only 100 carries. His 5.7 yards per carry average is second best in the league (behind Chris Johnson) and he's had a run of 10+ yards in every one of his five starts.

In case you're wondering, here's the top 20 Steelers rushing games since 1960 (thanks to Pro Football Reference's Play Index). Willie Parker has two of the top three, but this is also a good reminder that Barry Foster at his best was very, very good.

Rk	Player	Date	Opp	Att	Yds	Y/A	TD
1	Willie Parker	2006-12-07	CLE	32	223	6.97	1
2	John Fuqua	1970-12-20	PHI	20	218	10.9	2
3	Willie Parker	2006-11-12	NOR	22	213	9.68	2
4	John Henry Johnson*	1964-10-10	CLE	30	200	6.67	3
5	Barry Foster	1992-09-13	NYJ	33	190	5.76	2
6	John Henry Johnson*	1960-12-11	PHI	19	182	9.58	1
7	Barry Foster	1994-09-18	IND	31	179	5.77	1
8	Franco Harris*	1977-11-20	DAL	29	179	6.17	2
9	Barry Foster	1992-11-22	IND	28	168	6	2
10	Dick Hoak	1968-10-20	NOR	16	166	10.38	1
11	Rashard Mendenhall	2009-10-04	SDG	29	165	5.69	2
12	Jerome Bettis	1997-10-12	IND	30	164	5.47	1
13	Jerome Bettis	2001-11-11	CLE	29	163	5.62	0
14	Rocky Bleier	1975-10-26	GNB	35	163	4.66	0
15	Willie Parker	2005-09-11	TEN	22	161	7.32	1
16	Franco Harris*	1975-11-02	CIN	27	157	5.81	0
17	Franco Harris*	1974-11-17	CLE	23	156	6.78	0
18	Rashard Mendenhall	2009-11-09	DEN	22	155	7.05	0
19	Jerome Bettis	2001-10-07	CIN	23	153	6.65	0
20	Franco Harris*	1979-10-07	CLE	19	153	8.05	2

Rashard Mendenhall's Already Better Than You May Think originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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