At Least 1 NFL Analyst Not Impressed by Steelers

At least 1 NFL analyst not impressed by Steelers
By Alan Robinson
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#axzz3CSal2mjG

Ike Taylor loves this Steelers defense and believes it will be special the way the 2005 and '08 defenses were.
“Man, we've got it,” Taylor said. “As much as you all can't see it, I'm telling you it's going to be there.”
Brian Baldinger can't see it at all.
This Steelers defense is supposed to be younger, faster and better. Baldinger, a decade-long lineman in the league and an NFL Network analyst, sees the younger and faster. He doesn't see the better.
Baldinger believes 33-year-old Troy Polamalu is slowing to a crawl. Ryan Shazier will look lost at times. Jarvis Jones might quit against superior NFL linemen. Taylor and Cortez Allen will have coverage problems. And Dick LeBeau will wonder why he's still doing this at (come Tuesday) age 77.
Baldinger was the Eagles' TV analyst for the Steelers' disturbingly bad 31-21 loss Aug. 21 in Philadelphia, and he saw many signs that point to trouble.
“I would have loved to watch the game with Dick LeBeau to see how many problems they had in that game,” Baldinger said. “There were some plays where they didn't stop anybody, three or four plays where they didn't cover anybody. I don't know if it was mental breakdowns or problems with assignments.”
This was the night Polamalu erupted on the sidelines after Eagles quarterbacks Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez shredded the defense for nearly 500 yards while Philadelphia opened leads of 17-0, 24-0 and 31-7.
Maybe the problems Baldinger foresees won't show up Sunday against the Cleveland Browns and a roster that's one-fifth rookies. But he suggests they can't be corrected entirely with practice or by game-planning.
• Baldinger on Polamalu: “Polamalu doesn't want to be put in a position where he's got to cover anybody (one on one). … Polamalu looks really slow. He's covering the slowest tight end in the league in Brent Celek on a post corner and got completely burned. … Everybody in the league right now is trying to get their hands on safeties. I know they picked up Mike Mitchell, but it doesn't look like it's a strong position for them.”
• On Shazier: “(He) broke down and overran plays. … It didn't seem like he had any nose for the ball at all. … Those linebackers can really skate, but they're not downhill, take-guys-on types.”
• On Jones: “After a while against (left tackle Jason Peters), he just quit, like he just realized he wasn't getting around that guy. (That's) discouraging because they're counting so much on his ability, hopefully, to rush the passer.”
• On Taylor: “(He) got smoked and was out of position, and the tight ends (Celek, Zach Ertz) just killed them down the middle of the field. … Can Ike Taylor hold up in pass coverage in a pass-happy league? He looked questionable. Cortez Allen looked questionable.”
• On the execution: “They couldn't get lined up. Assignment-wise, if the receivers are double stacks to both sides and you don't have enough players to cover the receivers, that's a problem. … (Going against) a spread offense, they continued to break down. Just a really bad job.”
We'll find out if it was one bad game by a good defense or one bad omen for the season.