The Sports Monitor

It's time to face the facts, Steelers fans. The team just isn't that good. Really. They stink. Bad. There's no other conclusion to draw after Thursday's 13-6 loss to the Browns. It looked that way after the Steelers' loss to the Chiefs. It was easy to chalk it up one game up as an aberration. It wasn't the time to panic. Sure enough, the Steelers dropped a heartbreaker on Sunday to the Raiders. They made Oakland's season with a defensive effort in the fourth quarter that was as bad as the Pitt Panthers' collapse against Cincinnati. In the Panthers' defense, they were at least up against an undefeated team. If the Steelers managed to hit a low with the Oakland loss, they topped themselves Thursday. Against a team that ranks 32nd in rushing defense, the running back Rashard Mendenhall managed 16 carries for 53 yards. Against a team that widely is regarded as one of the worst in football (the Chiefs and Raiders are included in that e...

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 b...

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 th...

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 Roethlisbe...

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 w...

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'...

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 ti...