Steel Boys Head South

I wish I could say we were this close to coming back to Miami, oh excuse me South Florida, on 2/07/10 but I can't. And neither can anyone else.

Of course at this very moment it is not impossible.......................

Who am I kidding? Even if we were to make the playoffs would there be any reason to hope that we would rectify all of our sins and make a run at the Bowl?

To begin with, we have to beat the Dolphins. How we gonna do dat?

• Without Chad Pennington the Dolphins have been relying on young Chad Henne. Who by the way comes from where I presently live. YEE HA! Chad has been okay for a 2nd year kid and his first shot at a regular starting gig. But he makes his share of bonehead throws also. If James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley can do their thang, this should create some turnover opportunities.

• Don't play around with the moronic Wildcat if Miami throws that out there. Here is a hint Defense, they are not going to throw from the Wildcat! Not too mention the Wildcat expert Ronnie Brown is down and out.

• See above and attack, attack , attack on defense.

• Dolphins defense is 19th overall in giving up total yards. 12th against the rush and 23rd against the pass. The Steelers have already told us through the first 15 games that they don't rush the ball anymore so expect a heavy dose of passing when you combine the Dolphins rankings and the Steelers new love fest with heaving the ball.

• If you can keep Ben off his buttocks he may have a 26 for 45 day and 300 yards. Ben has already been placed on his backside 47 times this year! Yes some of that is his own fault.

• Expect Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, and Hines Ward to put up some solid numbers.

• SCORE Touchdowns! The Dolphins allow 24 points a game. The Steelers should be able to put up more than that. The Steelers only average a pedestrian 22.5 however.

• They should run Mendenhall 25 times but they won't. So expect Mendy to go for 13 carries and 50 to 60 yards. Maybe Willie gets 5 carries for 18 yards. Sad but true.

• The Steelers D has been giving up 20 points per game this season. Which has been on the rise. And they have played some of the worst offenses in the league.

• Defense needs to show up for the 4th quarter!

Seriously with a 2nd year QB and their starting workhorse back the Steelers should beat this Miami team. However the Dolphins are not an awful team and they are capable of beating the Steelers. They shouldn't be but this season everyone has exposed the Steelers as a paper champion. Again, sad but true.

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On the positive side though, we can expect the Steelers to put forth the effort. Effort is never the problem, execution on the other hand is the one thing we can not be sure of. This is my biggest beef with the 2009 Mike Tomlin led Steelers. Is it a hangover from the Super Bowl season? Is it the lack of personnel moves that needed to be made to correct last seasons troubled areas?

Look I love Tomlin overall but he has to learn that giving it your best effort is only part of the battle. You have to be crisp and execute plays. This season the offense and the defens have had numerous breakdowns and looked lost at times. Someone has to be accountable for that.

Especially when a few weeks back you promised hell would be unleashed! And you know what Mike, I believed you. But guess what? Your team didn't amp it up one iota for you. You don't have the impact on this squad that you and I thought you did. It's time you get a message out to the boys. Huffing and puffing ain't gonna do it. They need to run the plays and the formations the way they are designed. They need to be where they are supposed to be the majority of the time or people have to sit and watch younger players take a shot.

And where is the leadership on this team? Polamalu goes down and no one takes over on the field on defense? And as great as Ben is, he has to get his O-line with the program. He has to insist they run a little more also. It will only enhance his ability to throw more efficiently. Which is part of the problem. He has thrown for over 4,000 yards so you can't get it in his cranium that less is more. Scoring touchdowns is what is all about Ben! 4,108 yards and only 23 TD's. While that is not bad by any stretch, if you want to be a Dan Marino or Drew Brees offense than get withthe reality of what it means. Brees has thrown for 4,388 yards, only a couple hundred more yards but for 34 TD's!

Oh and get this Ben and Bruce Arians, the Saints run for 27 yards per game than you do! Hmmmmmmmmm?

• Steelers have run the ball 392 times and passed 508 times - 947 total offensive plays (Note: if not for a couple games where they actually ran the ball, the ratio would be even more obscene)

• Saints have run the ball 436 times and passed 515 times - 971 total offensive plays

• Colts have run the ball 350 times and passed 566 times - 928 total offensive plays *they have 34 passing TD's however

And which team does the media portray as a passing team? The Saints. And guess what? They are a passing team. But Sean Payton gets it. You cannot be too one dimensional. And running more helps you with the clock, scoring TD's, and setting up better passing plays. Not too mention a more rounded offense will likely get more cracks at it as far as total plays are concerned. This is why I included the Colts stats in on my comparison. They will get tossed again early in the post season. they are too one dimensional. The Peyton Manning factor helps them overcome their running deficiency also. Note that in the Colts Super Bowl season they ran the ball 439 times to their 557 times passing. Hmmm? Notice the better balance and the results? The year the Steelersbeat the Colts in the AFC Championship game? (2005) They ran 465 to 515 passing. 2007 446 to 551 - AFC 2 Seed, however they got upset by San Diego in round2. 2008 370 to 585, notice the ratio got wider? Result? They got bounced in the first round .

• Here is one for you. The 1999 St Louis Rams the Greatest Show on Turf, pass happy offense right. Yes but guess what. Ran the ball 431 to 530 passes. Not exactly lopsided!

• How about the record breaking New England Patriots offense of 2007? Ran 451 to 586 passes.

Are we getting the point here? Yes you can be a pass first offense but it cannot lean too far to the pass. Fact is if you a run first team you still have to throw also .You can't lean too far one way or the other. So no it doesn't have to be 50/50 but if you go too crazy with one or the other you will more than likely get bit in the behind for making yourself one dimensional. End of story. End of our season.

Oh yeah

2008 Steelers offense - ran the ball 460 times and passed 506 times! Won the Super Bowl. Hmmmmmmmm? And the ration was a little more balanced. Gee what do you know?

At the end of the day on Sunday I expect the Steelers to prevail 28 to 24. And then the "what went wrong will begin"!

By: Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent