Ron Cook: There is no defense for embarrassing play, loss
By Ron Cook / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/r...s/201409290128
If you're ranking Steelers home losses during the Mike Tomlin era, the one Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be the worst.
The losses to Miami last season and to Cincinnati in 2012 were more hurtful because they came late in the season and cost the team a playoff spot. The one to Oakland in 2009 also stung because the Raiders were lousy and the loss was the Steelers' fourth in a five-game losing streak that kept them from the postseason. But the Buccaneers came in with an 0-3 record. They trailed Atlanta, 56-0, in the fourth quarter in their previous game. They are the worst team in the NFC, maybe in all of the NFL. Yet, they won, 27-24.
Shame on the Steelers.
No, actually, the shame would have been if the Steelers had won.
"It stinks. It hurts. I feel sick," safety Mike Mitchell said.
Everyone in the Steelers locker room felt that same nausea. It was a feeling shared by the big crowd at Heinz Field. It wasn't as if there were a lot of boos when Tampa Bay backup quarterback Mike Glennon threw the winning 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Vincent Jackson with seven seconds left. There was more stunned silence. The Steelers lost to that team? After playing so well the week before in a convincing win at Carolina? It made no sense.
Well, it did if you've been paying close attention.
The Steelers are what they are, a mediocre 2-2 team.
Coach Mike Tomlin blamed the defeat on penalties, going so far as to call his players "an undisciplined group." It was an accurate description considering the Steelers were penalized 13 times for 125 yards. But it's not like this was something new. The Steelers came into the game with more penalties than any team but San Francisco -- 31 for 262 yards. The league average through the first three weeks of the season was 20.7 penalties for 180 yards.
What a poor reflection on Tomlin.
"Obviously, we are not coaching it," Tomlin growled. "But we are allowing it to happen. So I take responsibility for that. It's unacceptable. It's inexcusable ...
"We have to fix it. I have to fix it. And I will."
The Steelers were penalized five times for personal fouls. The most annoying was one for excessive celebration against Antonio Brown after an 11-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Brown has become an NFL star. You would think he knows how to act after he scores a touchdown. But he doesn't. He continues to play the fool.
That penalty was one of 10 pre- or post-snap penalties against the Steelers. Tomlin used the world "ridiculous" twice to describe those penalties. Le'Veon Bell was called for taunting after a 16-yard run. Cameron Heyward was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after arguing for what he believed to be a holding penalty on the Buccaneers. There were false-start penalties on David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert and offsides penalties on Darrius Heyward-Bey, Troy Polamalu and Arthur Moats. Maurkice Pouncey was called late for an illegal snap on a play the Steelers coaches believed was going for a game-clinching first down.
Brett Keisel insisted he doesn't believe the Steelers are undisciplined. "But it keeps showing up in stadiums."
Heyward added: "All around, we've got to clean things up. This is unpleasant for everybody. If we continue to do it, it's going to hurt us."
It wasn't just penalties.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked on the second and third plays of the game, losing a fumble at the Steelers 9 on the second sack. That gave the Buccaneers an early 7-0 lead. Roethlisberger was sacked five times in the first half. Defensive tackle Da'Quan Bowers beat tackle Kelvin Beachum for a 6-yard sack on the next-to-last play of the second quarter, taking the Steelers out of field-goal range.
Roethlisberger overthrew open receivers Markus Wheaton and Brown. The receivers had four drops, the most punishing ones by Justin Brown in the end zone early and by Antonio Brown at the Buccaneers 16 late. It's hard to say Antonio Brown had a bad day after catching seven balls for 131 yards and throwing a pass to Bell for a 17-yard gain. But he did.
The mistakes continued to the very end. Brad Wing had a weak 29-yard punt in the final minute that allowed the Buccaneers to start their winning drive at the Steelers 46. Long after the game, he sat in full uniform with his head buried in his locker. He knew his kick sabotaged the team's chances.
Of course, the Steelers defense couldn't bail out Wing. It allowed a 41-yard pass down the middle to receiver Louis Murphy to set up the winning touchdown. Glennon, getting the start for injured Josh McCown, threw for 302 yards, 245 in the second half. He was sacked just once by Heyward. Linebacker James Harrison, who came out of retirement last week, played frequently but was no factor. The Steelers defense did get an interception by Cortez Allen, but that happened only because wide receiver Mike Evans pulled up lame on the route with a groin injury.
"We've got to cut out our mistakes," Keisel said. "That's what's beating us. We can't expect to go out and beat NFL teams and beat ourselves, as well. That's too hard."
It's still hard to believe the Buccaneers were too tough for the Steelers.
It's worth saying again.
Shame on the Steelers.
I've never been one for Tomlins B.S. press conferences after losses to start with, having said that, his tired old bull**** excuses have to be growing weary on the masses as well.
"Unleash Hell, Tomlin!!!"
