A win is a win is a win. And, for the Steelers this season, any win is a good win. That said, the perfectionist in me has to point out some of the factors that irked me about Pittsburgh's victory over New Orleans.
First of all, the Steelers missed a golden opportunity to put the game away. Up by two touchdowns, a Drew Brees pass bounced off the hands of Larry Foote. Had Larry been able to hold onto the interception, there was nothing between him and the end-zone...aside from 50 yards of green field. Going up by 21 points would have allowed Dick Lebeau to unleash his full barrage of blitzes.
Alas, the defense dropped the ball...literally...and a few plays later, New Orleans scored a touchdown and cut Pittsburgh's lead in half.
Speaking of the defense and their blunders, giving up 450 yards of offense is never a good thing. I know, I know: the secondary was depleted without Troy Polamalu and Deshea Townsend (who both left with concussions). But, it was not as if Pittsburgh's pass-defense was all that great before the injuries.
To be clear, I do not blame solely the secondary, because the Pittsburgh pass-rush was nonexistent. Drew Brees is not that mobile of a quarterback, yet the Steelers made him look like a cross between Michael Vick and Fran Tarkenton. Long gone are the days of Greg Lloyd, and apparently, along with them went any semblance of a pass-rush. Remember when it was third-and-long, and a Steelers defender would not only sack the quarterback, but more times than not, he would strip the ball while doing so? Alas...
Since the defense decided to play with as much luster as coal, the onus for winning fell squarely upon the Pittsburgh offense: they had to outscore New Orleans. Ben Roethlisberger did not throw any interceptions...meaning that all of the passing yardage that Ben has been amassing over the past few weeks was finally rewarded with touchdowns.
Speaking of touchdowns, Willie Parker had two scampers of over 70 yards...both of which fell short of the end-zone. It appears that being the full-time starter has taken its toll on Fast Willie's legs. I am not doubting him, just saying that last year, Willie would have scored on both of those runs. While Willie eventually scored, it is evident that he needs someone to share the workload. The Steelers have always had thunder and lighting: Eric Peagram & Bam Morris, Jerome Bettis & Amos Zereoue, and most recently, Jerome & Willie. In other words, Najeh Davenport needs to perform a little more consistently, so that Willie's legs can take a breather during games.
In summation, it appears that when the defense plays out of its mind (e.g. against Oakland), the offense stumbles (i.e. turns the ball over). Similarly, when the offense is prolific, the defense does its imitation of a sieve (e.g. against New Orleans). In other words, Pittsburgh has yet to play a complete game on both sides of the ball at the same time. The silver lining is that when they finally do, watch out!!! At that point, the only thing I would have left to complain about would be the lack of flaws about which I could derise...but, rest assured, I would gladly welcome that problem.
