It is not a coincidence that the morning after the Steelers were walloped by the Chargers, that I heard "Mrs. Robinson" coming through my car radio. But, little did I know that it was an updated version. The chorus went a little something like this:
"Here's to you, Mr. Roethlisberger,
Steeltown loves you more than you will know.
Oh, oh, oh.
Come back, please Mr. Roethlisberger,
Please play the way you used to play.
Hey, hey, hey
Where have you gone, Troy Pol-a-mal-u-u?
The Steeler nation turns it's lonely eyes to you.
Oo, oo, oo.
What's that you say, Mr. Roethlisberger:
Trotting Troy has left and gone away,
Hey hey hey."
All joking (and Simon & Garfunkel) aside, where have the Troy and Ben that we have come to love and depend upon gone? Over the past two seasons, Ben and Troy routinely made plays that won games for the Steelers. Troy would come up with a key interception and/or sack, and Ben would covert critical third downs. This year, neither player is making the plays to which Steelers fans have been accustomed.
Troy has played like he is injured...because he is. Ergo, he has missed more tackles this year than he has in the past three years combined. Running backs are juking him. Quarterbacks are passing on him. And, the rare moments when he has a player lined up in his sights, Troy merely bumps into them, instead of wrapping them up and tackling them...resulting in said player gaining an additional 10 yards on the play.
Similarly, Ben...well, not to mince words, Ben looks terrible. He is not the same guy that he was pre-faceplant. In the prior two seasons, Ben had lost only three games. This season, Ben has already lost three out of three.
At times during the Chargers game, Ben looked like the Ben of old. For example, with 1:11 on the clock before half-time, Ben drove the Steelers down for a last second FG. This is the Ben to which we have become accustomed: making plays when he has to. Alas, those moments have been few and far between. In fact, instead of being the catalyst for positive yardage, Ben is killing drives by throwing interceptions and/or holding onto the ball way too long; Sunday night in San Diego was no different. Here is some advice, Mr. Roethlisberger: after four seconds of looking for an open receiver, throw the ball away!!!
I know, I know: Ben can usually extend a play an extra two seconds with his feet...but, for some reason, that is currently not the case. Ben looks confused. Plus, his decision making is not like it once was. Ben used to make the play that kept drives alive; now, he is the reason that the offense is stalling. For example, on Sunday during the flea-flicker play, the targeted receiver was blanketed by four (I repeat: FOUR) defensive backs. Ben should have dumped the ball off to the underneath route or simply thrown the ball away. There was no reason for that ball to have been thrown downfield. Yet, it was, the ball was intercepted, and any momentum Pittsburgh had dissipated.
Similarly, it appears that Ben may have lost some peripheral vision during his bike accident. Pass-rushers whom Ben used to notice and avoid, are now sacking him...often.
