No fire, brimstone from Steelers

Mike Tomlin promised the Steelers would unleash hell in December.

Well, after Sunday's troubling 27-24 loss to the Raiders at Heinz Field, Tomlin would have been better off saying the Steelers would unleash H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. That's about as watered-down as you can get.

The Raiders admitted after the game that Tomlin's comments motivated them. It least it motivated someone because Tomlin certainly didn't seem to inspire his own team.

Maybe the Steelers just weren't that motivated to play the Raiders. Heck, everyone thought it would be a gimmie. You had a team thought  to be one of the worst in the league traveling from the West Coast to face a wounded Steelers' team looking to end a three-game losing streak.

The offense couldn't sustain a drive in the first three quarters and when they found their groove, the defense predictably faltered when it was needed the most.

That's how a three-game losing streak becomes four games.

A team led by a journeyman quarterback (sorry, Bruce Gradkowski) and a bunch of wide receivers that even most fantasy leaguers never heard should never have the kind of success they did in the fourth quarter against someone like the Browns let alone the Steelers.

Of course, it helps when defense backs can't cover receivers and it makes it even worse when they can't catch the ball.

The Steelers got a break Monday night when the Ravens lost to the Packers. They don't control their own destiny, but they still have a chance to make the postseason.

However, talk of running the table to end the season needs to stop.

They simply need to get a win against the Browns on Thursday.

And right now, after a season that includes losses to the Bears, Chiefs and Raiders, that seems less of a certainty than it did a week ago.

Polamalu is most-needed Steeler

To go from 6-2 and end up 6-5 is hard to take.

A chance to win the division title was within the Steelers' grasp a couple weeks ago. Now, they need some help to get back into the division title chase and are simply relegated to contending for a wild-card playoff berth.

That might be a bit of a fall for the Steelers, but you don't need to get a first-round bye in the playoffs to win the Super Bowl.

The Cardinals made it to the big game last year after playing in the first round. And I think the Steelers did pretty well playing all of their games on the road before winning Super Bowl XL.

The biggest need the Steelers have right now is to get Troy Polamalu healthy. The team can't win a game right now, let alone a playoff game, without him.

A healthy Polamalu makes this team dangerous. That's why I'm not ready to hit the panic button on this season just yet.

Polamalu's impact on the defense reminds me of the Colts' need for safety Bob Sanders when they won the Super Bowl a couple seasons ago. The Colts defense was that much better with Sanders. He gave them a spark. Actually, it was more of an explosion. The same goes with Polamalu and the Steelers.

They need Troy roaming the field, wreaking havoc on the opponents' offense.

It doesn't look likely that No. 43 will return this week.

That leaves the Steelers needing a win against the lowly Oakland Raiders.

They can do it. Heck, they need to do it if they want to play meaningful games in January.

And if Polamalu is back by then, watch out, anything's possible.

Why not let Dennis Dixon run?

Dennis Dixon shouldn't be a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Dixon was on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2007. He had thrown for over 2,100 yards and rushed for nearly 600 yards at Oregon. He had thrown 20 TD passes and rushed for another nine touchdowns.

He was on his way. Then, he blew out his knee.

There went his season and his draft stock.

The Steelers were smart enough to take a chance on him on draft day. Today, I wonder if they were smart enough with their play calls with Dixon running the offense against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.

Everyone should be impressed with Dixon's performance against the hated Ravens, and they shouldn't place the blame for the loss on his throw in overtime.

I can't help but feel that they didn't use his ability to run during the game.

He showed off his speed with his fourth-quarter touchdown run that briefly gave the Steelers the lead. Dixon also had a longer run called back.

Even if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was going to start up until the end of the week, there still was time to allow Dixon the ability to use one of his strengths.

In the first half, the Ravens appeared to sit back were prepared to stop Dixon from running. When the Steelers showed they weren't going to have Dixon run the ball, the Ravens brought the heat in the second half.

Maybe with an extra quarterback draw, a roll out or something to give the Ravens to think about in the second half might have opened things up some more in the later stages of the game.

I'm sure the coaches thought they were doing the right thing in not wanting to put too much pressure on him, but Dixon sure looked good running the ball.

And he looked like he wanted to win the game.

It just didn't work out for him.

One thing we know about Steelers

We're 10 games into this football season and there still are many unknowns about this year's Steelers team.

Questions about the defense, the ability to make the playoffs, the play calling, the offensive line, the health of key players, kickoff coverage and more. The list can go on, but I think you get the idea.

However, there's one thing we're keenly aware of: This team is much different without Troy Polamalu.

With Troy playing a full game, this team is undefeated. Without Troy playing a full game or even a half, the Steelers have lost to the likes of the Bears and the Chiefs. Not to mention the Bengals twice.

It hasn't been pretty.

The Steelers are 6-4 and have a now-important game with the 5-5 Ravens on Sunday night. A loss there, and the mighty Steelers will be in third place in the AFC North.

Polamalu should miss that game and could miss the two others that follow -- at home against the Raiders and at the Browns.

Coach Mike Tomlin and the players won't use Polamalu's injury as an excuse. But there's no getting around it. In all four losses, the Steelers easily could have won. They were in all four games without Polamalu.

The Bears, Bengals and Chiefs all won on their last possession. The second time around with the Bengals, the Steelers could have won with a touchdown on their last possession.

So, while we sit here getting ready for some turkey and lament the bad luck of the Steelers, let's remember that they're not getting run off the field in any of these games.

With Polamalu, this team's in first place; I have no doubts about that. When the team needed a play last season, he provided the jolt.

Now, they simply need him to get a healthy knee.

At least the health report at quarterback got better Monday. Steelers dodged a bullet when Ben Roethlisberger was deemed fit to play against the Ravens, especially with backup Charlie "Brittle" Batch ruled out.

Maybe it's time some more luck starts going their way this season.

A good start would be Sunday night against the Ravens.

Loss to Bengals not the end

The Steelers loss to the Bengals on Sunday wasn't all that surprising.

The Bengals clearly are a good team, especially after beating the Ravens twice before taking out the Steelers 18-12 at Heinz Field and planting themselves firmly in first place of the AFC North.

The big surprise for me was the conciliatory and somber tone in the Steelers' locker room after the game.

"They're clearly the best team in the division," Ryan Clark said.

It sounded like the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs after getting trounced on their home field.

Sunday's loss easily could have been a win. The defense was stout, even without Troy Polamalu for most of the day. The offense did move the ball, even without a running game.

One touchdown in the red zone instead of a field goal, and just maybe, the outcome would have been different.

But give the Bengals some props. They won. They outSteeler-ed the Steelers, as a Cincinnati newspaper headline screamed.

It's still not the end of the season, as our friends in Cleveland have been feeling since September.

The last I looked, the Steelers were tied for third place in the conference with a 6-3 record. And the Bengals' win didn't clinch them anything, except a seventh victory this season.

They lost running back Cedric Benson due to an injury and are expected to sign Larry Johnson, fresh off of being released by the Chiefs.

This race isn't over.

A lot can happen between now and the beginning of January. Maybe, the Bengals lose games at Minnesota and at San Diego. Maybe they don't.

The point is, losing to a 6-2 team in the middle of November shouldn't signal the end of a Super Bowl run.

When the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, they won it as a wild card. They lost the division that year to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals won a 38-31 game in December, and the Steelers were facing long odds to make the playoffs.

They didn't lose again.

That's not to say the Steelers will win their next seven games, but with a relatively easy schedule, it's not out of reason, either.

This loss will get the Steelers to focus again. After convincing performances against the Vikings and Broncos, getting knocked back to reality isn't such a bad thing.

And a get-well game against the Chiefs can get those warm and fuzzy feelings going again.

Just don't think all's lost after a loss to the Bengals.

Things can work out just fine, especially if history repeats itself.

Belichick's blunder an epic one

Bill Belichick gambled against the Colts on Sunday night.

Peyton Manning made him pay.

Leading 34-28 with about 2 minutes left in the game, the Patriots faced a fourth-and-2 from their own 28.

Common sense dictates punting from that spot and turning the game over to the defense.

Belichick is anything but common.

The Patriots gained 1 yard, the Colts got the ball and scored.

Then the debate began. Was it a good call?

There shouldn't be a debate. Such a call shouldn't be made.

Only someone so full of himself would even consider going for it. Only someone with a warped sense of the sport would attempt to pull of such a stunt.

"We tried to win the game on that play," Belichick said after the loss.

Yeah, right.

No. He tried to show his superiority. Now we have a better idea what kind of "genius" he really is.

It's not very often when a coach truly is responsible for losing a game. Usually, it's the players' fault.

Not this time. This one falls squarely on the head of the Hooded One.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Eric Mangini tried such a move? I'll bet he would get fired before he left the locker room.

Fortunately for Belichick, he has a nice resume to fall back on.

Many people think of Belichick as the coach who built a dynasty in New England and nearly had a perfect season.

For me, that pristine image of a football wizard smarter than anyone who ever walked the sideline has taken quite a hit since he started raising Lombardi trophies.

First, there was Spygate. Then there was his team's choke job in the Super Bowl against the Giants. Now, there's Bill's Blunder.

It's one for the history books.