Two weeks ago, Aaron Smith was given a pass by Mike Tomlin, to skip any practices and/or games (obviously, so that Aaron could take of his child). Yet, before the game against New York, Aaron showed up to play... which brought tears to his teammates' eyes. Inspired by Aaron, his brethren responded with a dynamic performance against New York... and continued that type of performance this past Monday against Washington. All of a sudden, Pittsburgh's nagging injuries seemed to heal. Back-ups started playing like starters (e.g. Tyrone Carter & Anthony Smith). And, players who had been underperforming, responded by playing in a lather (e.g. James Farrior had thirteen tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed against Washington). Simply, Aaron Smith was the catalyst for change.
Smith has long been the heart of Pittsburgh's defense: as he goes, so do the Steelers. This can best be exemplified by the fact that at the end of last season, when Aaron was injured, the Steelers could no longer stop the run. That said, Aaron's importance goes beyond merely his play on the field; he is a leader... a team-mate... and a friend. At first, I thought that Pittsburgh's newfound defensive invigoration could have been a "one-hit wonder"... and that after the game against New York, they would come back to "reality." But, the game against Washington proved to me that Pittsburgh's defensive dominance is here to stay. More importantly, this defense has transformed from being great into being something special... "Steel Curtain" type of special. In fact, I knew for sure just how special this defense could be, when for the second week in a row, the Steelers stopped a team on fourth-and-goal... from the one-foot line. In other words, when they had to, Brandon Jacobs and Clinton Portis (two of the best running-backs in the league) could not gain one foot on Pittsburgh's defense.
I am not alone in my thinking; Mike Tomlin also senses that this defense is playing on a new level. Case in point: Tomlin called for an on-side kick to start the game. Tomlin figured that the worst case scenario was that Washington would get the ball in field goal range (which, alas, they did). In other words, Tomlin KNEW that his defense would stop Washington's offense; ergo, he gambled with the onside kick.
Furthermore, proving Tomlin and me right, against Washington, Pittsburgh's defense put on a performance unlike any I have seen in quite a few years. In fact, if Pittsburgh had not given Washington two easy field goals (via the aforementioned on-side kick and from an interception), it would have been a shut-out. As it was, Washington did not score for the final fifty-six minutes of the game. Similarly, before "garbage time" (in the fourth quarter), Washington had converted zero third downs. Likewise, Clinton Portis, who is the league's leading rusher (over 900 yards in eight games) and the owner of an amazing streak (120 yards per game for five straight games) was limited to just fifty-one yards on thirteen carries. And, of course, there are Pittsburgh's seven sacks (the most given up by Washington in six seasons) and the two interceptions by Jason Campbell (his first two interceptions of this season). In other words, Joe Greene would have been proud.
Of course, there were other story-lines in this game: Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward dropped three potential first-down passes in the first half, but responded with excellent second halves; Willie Parker ran very well in his first game back after a month off; Ben Roethlisberger injured his throwing shoulder; and, Byron Leftwich had a superb second half (replacing the injured Roethlisberger). That said, the central theme for this game was Pittsburgh's defense.
As I mentioned earlier, everything in life needs to be taken into perspective. Little things are often blown way out of proportion. Then again, sometimes, moments of crisis bring out the best in people. Whether his teammates are playing for Aaron & his son... or whether his colleagues are simply inspired by Aaron & his son... or whether they simply realize that life should not be taken for granted... whatever the reason, Pittsburgh's defense has transformed itself into one of the most formidable groups in recent history... something which I do not foresee ebbing in the near future.
