The Joe Lodanosky Show

Pittsburgh Steelers

8-7; tied for second place AFC North

2009 Week 17

By Kenneth Torgent

NEXT GAME

Miami Dolphins (7-8) at Land Shark Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Sunday, January 3 – 1:00 PM on CBS

LAST WEEK

Dolphins: Lost to the Texans 27-20 in Miami

· Miami came out flat in the first half, falling behind in a hurry under the weight of Houston’s offensive prowess. The Dolphins recovered in the second half, but it was too little, too late.

· After a quick field goal by Houston and a stalled drive by Miami, the Texans capitalized, ending an 80-yard drive with a 10 yard TD pass from QB Matt Schaub to WR Andre Johnson on fourth-and-one.

· After a three-and-out by Miami, Houston struck again; this time is was Schaub to WR Jacoby Jones for a 44-yard catch-and-run TD.

· After Dolphins QB Chad Henne threw an interception on the first play of the ensuing drive, Houston scored again, this time on a 17-yard run by RB Arian Foster.

· After another short drive by Miami and a field goal by Houston, the Dolphins finally got on track, executing an 18-play drive in the last four minutes of the first half. Miami was forced to settle for a field goal, however, and faced a 27-3 deficit at halftime.

· Miami came out of the half with a little more gusto, scoring on the first offensive drive with a two-yard run by RB Lex Hilliard with Pat White as the wildcat quarterback. However, the Dolphins lost RB Ricky Williams on the drive due to an injury.

· The teams would play a field position game until the fourth quarter, when Miami QB Chad Henne found Hilliard for a 10-yard touchdown pass. With the loss of Ricky Williams and the fact that Miami fell behind quickly, Henne was forced to throw a career-high 55 times in the game.

· A field goal by Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter brought the game within a touchdown, but Miami was unable to recover an onside kick and Houston ran out the clock.

· Playing in place of Williams, Lex Hilliard showed off his receiving skills out of the backfield, catching nine passes for 74 yards and a TD.

Steelers: Beat the Ravens 23-20 in Pittsburgh

· Pittsburgh kept its playoff hopes alive, using timely plays and fortunate penalties by the opposition to beat division rival Baltimore.

· The first quarter saw both teams move the ball within the opponent’s 10-yard line, but both came away with field goals. Jeff Reed would boot two in the first quarter, giving the Steelers an early 6-3 lead.

· A shanked punt by Baltimore punter Sam Koch gave the Steelers a short field, and they capitalized. Rashard Mendenhall bounded into the endzone for a 4-yard TD and a 13-3 lead.

· Baltimore responded with a seven-play TD drive capped off by a beautiful pass from QB Joe Flacco to TE Todd Heap.

· Rashard Mendenhall fumbled the ball away on the ensuing drive only to see Ravens RB Ray Rice fumble it back on the very next play. Even with the fumble, Rice became the first back in two seasons worth of games to break the 100-yard mark on the ground. Rice finished with 141 yards on 30 carries with one reception for 14 yards.

· QB Ben Roethlisberger took over at the end of the half, moving the ball 94-yards through the air and ending the drive with a 24-yard TD toss to WR Santonio Holmes. Pittsburgh took a 20-10 lead going into the half.

· The Ravens came out hot on the first possession of the second half, moving the ball efficiently before Flacco found Heap once again for a seven-yard score. Heap had two catches on the day; both were touchdowns.

· After Big Ben was intercepted on the first play of the next drive, the Ravens tied the score at 20 with a 35-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff.

· Pittsburgh’s offense would go three-and-out giving the ball back to Baltimore, but the Ravens’ mistakes began catching up with them. The Ravens drove into the red zone, but an offensive penalty erased a TD run by RB Willis McGahee. Two more penalties took the Ravens out of the red zone and, eventually, out of field goal range.

· A field goal by Jeff Reed gave the Steelers a 23-20 lead with just over five minutes left to play. On the next drive, LaMarr Woodley took over, posting consecutive sacks on third and fourth down and forcing a fumble which rookie DE Ziggy Hood recovered. Woodley now has 11.5 sacks this season and at least a half-sack in seven straight games, a team record.

· It looked like Baltimore had one last chance as Big Ben threw an interception to Tom Zbikowski that was returned back into Pittsburgh territory, but it was wiped out by yet another penalty, allowing Pittsburgh to run out the clock for the win.

· Santonio Holmes led all Pittsburgh receivers with five receptions for 86 yards.

· Both Ziggy Hood and CB Ike Taylor posted their first career sacks on the day.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

A Look Around the AFC North

Cincinnati (10-5) finally clinched the division after three weeks of attempts. Pittsburgh’s victory over Baltimore would have assured a clinch anyways, but the Bengals did in fact win this week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately for our rivals, it was yet another mediocre late-season performance. The team continues to run RB Cedric Benson into the ground. Benson already has 301 carries this season (5th in the league) despite missing the greater part of three games. His 24.5 carry per game pace in the 12 games he finished would have put him at 392 for the season, a dangerous workload for a running back. Take a look at what Shaun Alexander did after 2005 (370 carries not including playoffs) or how Larry Johnson played after 2006 (a whopping 416 carries before the postseason) to see what overuse can do to a featured runner.

Compounding the team’s issues is the fact that Carson Palmer, once a Pro Bowl player and league star, hasn’t quite been himself this season. Consider that, since the bye week (eight games thus far), Palmer has thrown for just eight touchdowns. He hasn’t posted a 100+ QB rating since the bye, and he’s only cracked the 250-yard mark once. In three of his games, he didn’t crack the 150-yard mark, highlighted by a 94-yard stinker against the Vikings and last week’s 139-yard disappointment against the punchless Chiefs.

Cleveland (4-11) won its third-straight game this weekend, this time knocking off the Oakland Raiders. Cleveland may still be unsure about who their quarterback or coach will be next year, but they may have found their running back of the future in 2006 fifth-round pick Jerome Harrison. After rushing for a team-record 286 yards in week 15, Harrison showed he can carry a team, rushing for 148 yards on 39 carries.

Baltimore (8-7) is in the playoffs with a win. Ray Rice needs just 48 yards to crack 2000 yards for scrimmage on the season. Rice is one of three backs this season to average over 5.0 yards per carry with 200+ attempts and his 74 receptions are thirteen more than the next closest running back.

THE PATH TO THE PLAYOFFS

AFC Playoff Picture as of 12/29/09

Division Leaders

Indianapolis Colts (14-1) – Clinched home-field advantage

San Diego Chargers (12-3) – Clinched first-round bye

New England Patriots (10-5) – Clinched AFC East

Cincinnati Bengals (10-5) – Clinched AFC North

Wild Cards

New York Jets (8-7)

Baltimore Ravens (8-7)

In the Hunt

Denver Broncos (8-7)

Houston Texans (8-7)

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)

Miami Dolphins (7-8)

Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8)

Pittsburgh’s win over Baltimore was a positive step towards the playoffs, but the race for a wild card has changed dramatically over the past week. Indianapolis’ decision to rest its starters gave the New York Jets new life and a spot in the driver’s seat in a tight and confusing wild card fight. Right now, Baltimore and New York control their own destinies, meaning a win will clinch a playoff spot. Of the teams in the hunt, Houston has emerged as the biggest threat to Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes. Here is what needs to happen for the Steelers to enter the postseason:

Pittsburgh MUST win at Miami

There is no playoff scenario that gives Pittsburgh a playoff berth at 8-8. If Pittsburgh loses on Sunday, the season and title defense is over.

The following scenarios assume a win by Pittsburgh

For Pittsburgh to make the playoffs, ONE of THREE scenarios must occur:

· Losses by Houston and New York

· Losses by Baltimore, Denver, and New York

· Losses by Baltimore and Houston

Let’s take a look at the competition…

New York’s win over the undefeated Colts came against a team with nothing to play for that was resting its starters. What we knew about the Jets last week is still true: they’re a running team with a struggling rookie quarterback backed by an inconsistent defense that boasts one of the best defensive talents in the NFL in Darrelle Revis. This week, they host Cincinnati at home, a team that finally managed to clinch the AFC North with a sloppy win over Kansas City. The Bengals best football is clearly behind them. Football Outsider’s advanced stats say that Cincinnati is the 16th best team in the league, behind every wild card competitor except Miami and Jacksonville (the Jets are 15th). There is a possibility, however, that Cincinnati could rest its starters on Sunday, the second week in a row that the Jets would be facing an undermanned squad.

Houston has the harder week 17 matchup, drawing New England at home. Of all the teams currently in the hunt, Houston’s weight on the race is the greatest. The Texans hold the playoff hopes of both Denver and Pittsburgh in their hands. Right now, Houston holds a tiebreaker over Pittsburgh and is behind Denver due to another tiebreaker. If Houston loses, Pittsburgh jumps them AND Denver (head-to-head tiebreaker). A loss by Houston effectively kills two birds with one stone. New England has clinched the division, but will likely still fight to hold on to the 3rd seed in the AFC. Fresh off a 35-7 massacre of the Jacksonville Jaguars, they present a real threat to Houston’s playoff chances.

Denver, as mentioned before, is currently at the mercy of Houston. Denver is one of the rare teams that could miss the playoffs with a win and make the playoffs with a loss. In the event that Houston does win against New England, Denver will have to fall for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs. Denver draws Kansas City this week, which has shown the ability to cause a few upsets (and threaten a few more) in the midst of utter mediocrity.

Baltimore, like New York, needs just one more win for a guaranteed playoff spot. This week, they draw Oakland at home. Oakland has impersonated Pittsburgh in recent weeks, beating good teams while losing to other bad teams. With Baltimore injured and very mistake-prone of late, there is the possibility of an upset here.

Of the three scenarios, the first is the most likely. While neither Cincinnati nor New England is a dominant team at the moment, both are capable of putting away other average teams. All three scenarios would result in Pittsburgh grabbing the sixth and final seed in the AFC.

If Houston, New York, AND Baltimore all lose, Pittsburgh will earn the FIFTH seed in the AFC.

MIKE LIKED…

The performance of the kickoff return team this game and during the season in general. “It’s been consistently good from a kickoff standpoint all year,” said Tomlin. “We haven’t had the house call, but it’s been consistently good. It’s provided us quality field position, it’s been a shot in the arm, and it’s been a positive. I think the punt return game has improved of late, which is encouraging. But we’re growing by leaps and bounds with Stefan and I think a lot of it has to do with understanding him, what he does well, and establishing some continuity between him and the guys that block for him.”

STEELERS INJURY UPDATE

LB Rocky Boiman has a calf strain; he could be limited at the early part of the week. Assume a PROBABLE listing.

RB Willie Parker “has a shoulder subluxation. He’s definitely going to be out tomorrow, we’ll see how he improves as the week goes on.” He should be QUESTIONABLE for the week.

DE Brett Kiesel is still experiencing discomfort involving his stingers. He’s suffered two in consecutive weeks. Assume that he is PROBABLE.

LG Chris Kemoeatu “still has weakness in his wrist, significant weakness, hopefully we’ll get him some work at the latter part of the week and see if he’s able to play.” It sounds as though he is QUESTIONABLE this week.

SS Troy Polamalu “ran yesterday in a straight line, is doing the same thing right now as we speak. Maybe he’ll practice in a limited capacity but really we’re taking it day-by-day in terms of how he responds to the workouts. Yesterday I think was a positive step, I’ll find about it today I guess when I’m done here and then we’ll move on from there.” He could be anywhere from QUESTIONABLE to DOUBTFUL at Miami.

DOLPHINS INJURY UPDATE

RB Ricky Williams – Williams injured his right shoulder during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Texans, NFL.com reports, but he says he should be “fine” for Sunday.

ILB Channing Crowder – Crowder suffered what could be a season-ending right foot injury Sunday against the Texans, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

MAIN STORYLINE FOR SUNDAY

Will the Steelers get the breaks they need from other games to clear a path to the playoffs?

DOLPHINS TO WATCH

QB Chad Henne; WR Davone Bess; WR/KR Ted Ginn Jr.; RB Ricky Williams; LT Jake Long; C Jake Grove; OLBs Jason Taylor and Joey Porter; ILB Akin Ayodele; CBs Vontae Davis and Sean Smith

LOCAL CONNECTIONS

· OLB Joey Porter was a third-round draft pick by the Steelers in 1999. He played with the Steelers until 2006, and was a major factor in the 2005 Super Bowl season. Porter was even named to the Steelers 75th anniversary all-time team, one of only four active players to make it at the time (Ward, Polamalu, and Hampton being the others).

· DE Jason Taylor and FB Lousaka Polite both attended Woodland Hills High School. Polite would go on to play at Pitt.

· LB Cameron Wake went to Penn State.

· QB Pat White starred at West Virginia.

· Defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni also played at Penn State.

ACCORDING TO TOMLIN

“What we are going to do is focus on the things we can control, that’s our preparation and ultimately our play this upcoming Sunday in Miami. All scenarios include us winning if we’re going to get in the playoffs, so that’s our focus, taking care of the things that are in front of us.” – Discussing his team’s focus as they enter week 17 needing a bit of outside help to make the postseason.

“Of course I thought the sequence of events on third and fourth down, the pressure provided by LaMarr Woodley late in the game was significant. We aspire to be dominant, when we’re not we need those timely kind of plays to get victory. We were able to do that.” – Stressing one of his most popular themes of late, that timely plays can substitute for dominance. There aren’t many plays more timely than Woodley’s two sacks, which came on third and fourth down very late in a close game. The second forced a fumble which Pittsburgh recovered.

“I think we’re all competitors and we play to win, I know I do. Every time we come out of that tunnel that’s the intent. The ramifications in regards to other people really is irrelevant to me. It’s more about the people I come out of the tunnel with and our commitment to this organization, our fans and our community. So when we come out, we come to play to win.” – Answering a question about playoff-bound teams and their effect on the integrity of the playoff chase for other teams by resting starters late in the season. The particular event this refers to is the decision by Indianapolis, who was undefeated and had clinched home-field advantage, to rest its starters against the Jets, who staged a comeback and ultimately won, directly affecting the playoff hopes of numerous AFC teams, including Pittsburgh.

“Hines is miserable, but I’m going to save a seat on the bus for him. He’s got two hamstrings and a myriad of other issues, it gives him a bad disposition. But he’ll show.” – Talking about the numerous injuries facing WR Hines Ward, who added a second hamstring injury to the list on Sunday.

“I appreciated the information. It saved me a timeout, although I didn’t necessarily like it. But I appreciated the information.” – On the ref telling him he was going to rule a certain way on a play whether he challenged it or not. The play in question was a pass to Derrick Mason which he appeared to catch and fumble that was ruled as an incomplete pass on the field.

“Yes, they do. They use less. They employ Pat White some, in there at quarterback. Of course they give some direct snaps to Ricky Williams as well, but it’s not what it was with Ronnie Brown. That’s the case for just about anyone else in the league that has it; unless you have Ronnie Brown or Josh Cribbs, it’s not quite as effective.” – When asked if Miami was using less of the Wildcat formation after the injury to RB Ronnie Brown, who was placed on IR after week 10.

“Football is played in pads. A lot of guys look fast running around in spring in shorts. He did. But he looked fast in pads as well.” – Discussing his offseason impressions of the speed of rookie WR Mike Wallace, who has 37 catches for 692 yards this season. Wallace ranks as the 20th best receiver in the league based on total value by Football Outsiders, making the Steelers the only team with three WRs in the top-20. Wallace ranks 7th in the league in value on a per-play basis. Wallace’s 18.7 yards per catch ranks tied-for-first in the league among WRs with 30 catches.

“It’s week 17. I think the motivation factors are obvious. If they aren’t, we have big problems.” – When asked about the intangibles of fighting on this late in the season.

LOOK FOR…

The Steelers to test an athletically-gifted but inexperienced corner tandem in Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. Davis is the younger brother of San Francisco TE Vernon Davis and, like his brother, he wowed scouts at the combine with his outstanding measurables. Smith has elite athleticism as well, to go with a 6’3” frame, a size that is rare to see in a corner. However, both are still rookies learning the position.

SPLASH TALK

“I was disappointed with that return to mid-field late in the football game on Sunday. Giving their offense a short field, our defense thankfully stood up and preserved the lead, but that was a hairy moment. We could have some more hairy moments kicking this ball to Ted Ginn Jr., we’ve got to be on the screws in regards to that.” – Discussing the long return by Justin Parmele of the Ravens late in the fourth quarter, and how a similar situation could burn the Steelers as they face speed-demon Ted Ginn Jr., who ranks in the top-ten in kickoff return average and has taken two back for touchdowns.

“This is our bed; we are going to lay in it. We created this situation. What we are going to do is control what we can control, and that’s our preparation for the game. We’re not going to cry over spilled milk. If there’s any level of disappointment in terms of how this thing unfolds, it will be on us.” – When asked if he would be disappointed if a team like the Bengals didn’t go all out in week 17 (Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes would increase with a Bengals win over New York).

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMM…

Stefan Logan broke the team’s single-season record for kickoff return yardage with a game to go, with more consistency than boom-or-bust play. Of his 52 returns, only nine have gone for more than his 26.6 yard average, highlighted by an 83-yarder against Oakland. While Logan may not break off big ones like some of the other great returners, he’s also not putting the team in any holes by gambling too much in the return game. His ability has made a major difference to a unit that ranked in the bottom-five for kickoff return average last season.

Courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau: “The Ravens outrushed the Steelers, 175-48, but the Steelers posted a 23-20 victory. The last time that Pittsburgh won a game in which its opponent had at least a 100-yard edge in rushing was a 20-14 win at Philadelphia on October 24, 1965 at Philadelphia.”