Gerry Dulac’s Week 3 Report Card
It’s hard to entirely fault Ben Roethlisberger when he was sacked eight times and would have been sacked four more if he didn’t manage to scramble across the line for a 1- or 2-yard gain. Still, he threw his first interception of the season, lost two fumbles and got caught for a safety on an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone. What’s more, his longest pass play was 16 yards.
Among the curious decisions was not giving rookie Rashard Mendenhall some playing time until late in the fourth quarter in a game in which Willie Parker tied his career low with 20 yards on 13 carries. Parker’s longest run was 8 yards and there just wasn’t a lot of room for him to maneuver. Of course, the first thing Mendenhall did when he got in the game was drop a pass in the flat.
The protection was so bad that the offense had to keep extra players in to block and couldn’t afford to send more than three receivers on pass routes. After not catching a pass in the first two games, Nate Washington had a team-high five, though two came on the final drive when Byron Leftwich was the quarterback. Hines Ward had four catches, but, like Santonio Holmes, had a big drop.
Other than managing 33 yards rushing on 19 attempts and watching their quarterbacks get sacked nine times, the offensive line was terrific. The linemen never did pick up the Eagles blitzes and, even when they did, they got beat in individual matchups. Willie Colon had a nightmare game, allowing DE Juqua Parker to get 2 1/2 sacks and hurry Roethlisberger four other times.
The Eagles finished with modest rushing numbers — 65 yards on 23 attempts — and their longest run was 11 yards. But they also lost RB Brian Westbrook for the game on the second offensive series. His replacement, Correll Buckhalter, finished with 43 yards. DE Travis Kirschke did a solid job filling in for injured Brett Keisel, tying for the team high with seven tackles.
The Steelers never really adjusted their scheme after Westbrook left the game, using a lot of nickel defense to defend against short passes to Buckhalter. But Buckhalter beat LB James Harrison around the corner on the only TD in the game. Larry Foote had 1 1/2 sacks, even though he didn’t play a lot in the second half because of the nickel defense, and OLB LaMarr Woodley also had a sack.
It wasn’t a shutdown performance by the secondary, not when Donovan McNabb completed his first 15 passes and converted third-and-17 and third-and-14 situations. But they didn’t allow any big plays and came up with three turnovers. Bryant McFadden was outstanding, intercepting a pass, recovering a fumble and breaking up another pass that was intercepted by Troy Polamalu.
The coverage units weren’t as spectacular as they were in the first two games, not after allowing a 37-yard return on the opening kickoff. But they were solid after that. Mitch Berger came back after a poor performance in Cleveland with two 53-yard punts and three inside the 20. And Jeff Reed had a career-best 53-yarder among his two field goals.
Good decisions and preparation rarely are factors in a game in which the offense doesn’t score a touchdown against a defense that gave up 41 points six days earlier. And their inability to adjust to the Eagles pressure and pick up their blitzes was the biggest reason for those deficiencies. Give Mike Tomlin credit for challenging a play that was overturned and ruled an Eagles fumble.
