1)The Good-Was there anything good about the latest Steelers defeat? If you are WR Jerricho Cotchery, there was. QB Ben Roethlisberger connected on 3 touchdown passes to the veteran wideout who finished the day with 7 catches for 96 yards. You could also say that Ben had a good day, going 28 of 48 for 400 yards passing. But it's hard to be a glass half full kind of person when your quarterback losses a fumble, throws 2 picks and the offense again has to play catch-up when they're down 7-0 after 1 quarter and 24-10 at the half.
2)The Bad-Oh, there was a lot of that! The offense could only convert 5 of 13 3rd downs while the defense allowed the Pats to go 7 for 12 on 3rd downs. There were also 8 penalties for 96 yards. And let us not forget that Ben was sacked 5 times and hit 7 more. While we're at it, why was Ben kept in the game late in the 4th quarter when the game was clearly out of reach? The Steelers always talk about protecting their $100 million quarterback but then they leave him on the field to get smacked around some more?
3)The Ugly-There's plenty of ugly to go around. It was another historical game for the Steelers defense and not in a good way. The defense allowed a whopping 55 points, the most in Steelers history. They also surrendered 610 total yards, another franchise record. They did manage to force a fumble and recover it, setting up a Shaun Suisham field goal. They also recorded 3 sacks. It was hardly enough as they allowed RB Steven Ridley to run 26 times for 115 yards and 2 TD's. And don't forget that they gave up over 100 receiving yards each to TE Rob Gronkowski, and WR's Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson. It was a small miracle that the Steelers were even tied at 24 in the 3rd quarter considering how bad the defense performed. But let's not let the D get all of the accolades. The special teams gave up a 43-yard punt return that set it up for the Patriots to run away with the game. There is also the fact that this team continues to look totally unprepared and clueless for the entire 60 minutes of a game. What's even worse? I still don't think the Steelers have hit rock bottom yet. Yes, I think it will continue to get worse before it gets better. People are now not only calling for OC Todd Haley's job but DC Dick LeBeau's as well. And there are those that want to see Coach Tomlin given the pink slip, too. I do think both coordinators will be gone at the end of the season. However, I believe the Rooneys will stick with Tomlin. Who will they blame if/when Tomlin can't win with his own players and coaches? Hopefully, it doesn't come to that.
Meanwhile, the AFC North title continues to be a pipe dream. Although Cincy lost on Thursday, they still lead the division at 6-3. Cleveland, of all people, are in second at 4-5 thanks to their win over Baltimore who are now 3-5. The Steelers bring up the rear at 2-6 as they, hopefully, prepare to take on 3-6 Buffalo at Heinz Field on Sunday. Back to the drawing board, boys. Let's Go Steelers!!!!!!
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