GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The ball's snapped and, within that bull-rush split-second, so much of the stage to follow has already been set. There's no need to wait for the dropback, the handoff, the pitch, the catch ... even the blocks that represent the first point of contact.

And that's because the trust's either there, or it isn't.

Watch this:

OK, now watch it again. And again. And again.

Yeah, it hurts. It should hurt. It should be humiliating to the Steelers unlike anything else that happened in that 24-10 loss to the Bengals a week ago at Heinz Field, and I'm even including the fourth-and-10 fiasco.

Watch the formation. All three tight ends are lined up on the right side. That's the very definition of living inside one's fears. It's a public show of a lack of faith in the offensive line. It's tacit surrender.

Watch Kendrick Green. He's the center. Now crank up 'Yakety Sax' for accompaniment. He opens with a polite shove on Cincinnati's D.J. Reader, then inexplicably releases him to ... block the only opponent who's actually being blocked?

Watch Dan Moore. He's the other rookie, at left tackle. He's beaten so badly that he's got Trey Hendrickson in a chokehold. Should've been flagged for a 30-yard hold.

Watch who goes out for the pass. One tight end. The only wide receiver. And Najee Harris pinballing his way through the chaos.

Watch Ben Roethlisberger. Watch his feet. Watch the quick tuck when, for once, he didn't pad his NFL lead in having the fastest release.

My friends, there aren't 10 Takes to be had on these Steelers at this time. There's just this one: Nothing, nothing, nothing matters until this offensive line stops sucking ... the life out of this team.

There's nothing else to analyze about this matchup against the Packers today, 4:25 p.m. Eastern at Lambeau Field. There's nothing else to analyze about the games that follow. There's nothing else to analyze about the short-term future of the franchise.

Not Matt Canada. His first three games as an NFL coordinator have been uninspiring and, at times, maddening. But the same awfulness afflicting everyone in the above sequence takes a toll in the booth, too. The more ambitious plans get simplified or scrapped. The priority switches from creativity and rhythm to simple survival.

Not Najee. My goodness, the kid's been electric when he's found a few blades of grass, a rabid pit bull when he hasn't.

Not the tight ends. Pat Freiermuth, in particular, has done all that's been asked.

Not the wide receivers. No one's been awesome, but most of the offense that's been mustered has been on splash. This despite the quarterback having, again, the NFL's fastest release. And JuJu Smith-Schuster, in particular, has shown well in all facets.

No, not even the quarterback.

Go ahead and close the column out. Fine by me. I know that's neither the popular nor the populist stance. The hot-take factories on the media front don't produce a penny by discussing or debating whether or not Chuks Okorafor's sealing the right edge. Similarly, not many will broach the offensive line at the water cooler, the bar or the family TV, at least not in any specific context. It's not sexy. It doesn't come with anywhere near the drama. And, if we're being honest with ourselves, most of us don't know all that much about it.

Ben's been bad. I've written it. I've spoken it. I've underscored and repeated it. He's made bad calls, bad reads, bad throws.

But citing Ben first and foremost isn't just lazy ... it's absurd. Citing his arm strength as a shortcoming, as I've increasingly read and heard, is inaccurate. He's dropped dimes from half a field away, right in plain view of the football world. Citing his mobility as a shortcoming is wholly accurate, but it's also been accurate for the better part of a decade. And anyone who thinks a mobile quarterback can overcome an offensive line like this ... wow, no, not even a peak version of Fran Tarkenton, Michael Vick or Lamar Jackson lasts behind this line.

Maybe Ben's legit washed up, as his most vociferous critics maintain. But maybe he's not. My primary point here is that we can't have a clue in this context. We just can't.

This is on the offensive line.

And if anyone's yearning for blame that goes beyond Green, Moore, Okorafor, Kevin Dotson and Trai Turner -- the latter being the only one performing at NFL-level competence, incidentally -- I'd much rather submit the names of Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, Omar Khan and even Art Rooney II for having made this mess. For a gross failure to assess this group's readiness to contribute right away. For an indefensible in-house promotion of Adrian Klemm to offensive line coach without any known outside outreach. For investing lip service in aiming to run the ball again, the investing a first-round pick in Najee, then investing next to nothing from there.

Those are the culprits. Not the rest of the offense. Not the quarterback.

What to do about it now?

Well, being blunt, I'm not sure it isn't too late already. There are exactly 32 NFL teams who'd happily upgrade their offensive lines, so a trade's terribly unlikely. There isn't a free agent plopped on a couch somewhere, either, certainly not one who'd be able to start in short order. And any potential internal solution isn't leaping out.

For one, Okorafor's out today with a concussion. And Zach Banner, who resumed practicing this week, would have to be activated from Injured Reserve, and there's scant sign that'll take place. So both right tackles are down, and Joe Haeg will start.

For another, Dotson, who continues to bedevil his coaches -- as I'd begun reporting in midsummer -- appears to be the most likely to be replaced if there's a switch, given B.J. Finney's experience at left guard, as well as what I've been hearing through the week. But Finney hasn't contributed to anything in the NFL, including failed stops in Seattle and Cincinnati, for a couple years now. And the Steelers themselves thought so little of his camp that he was cut before being brought back.

For yet another, I've seen nothing from Klemm to suggest he's got the capability to educate in the raging hurry that's required here. Mike Munchak, sure. This guy, no. Which is yet another reason it was ridiculous to not shoot higher.

Sorry, this is all I've got.

Aaron Rodgers will be on the other side, which normally would make this fun. Heck, the grand setting alone, arguably football's greatest forum, would do that. But when one of the future Hall of Fame quarterbacks is either running for his life or flicking the ball away as soon as it's in his right hand ... yeah, no.

Could the visitors prevail?

I mean, I guess so. One can hope. Anything's possible. Buffalo happened, and it happened because of exceptional defense and a scoop-and-score by the special teams that bought time for the offense to finally string something together. The Packers' offensive line isn't great, either, and opportunity could present itself there.

But hope isn't a plan, contrary to way the brass on South Water Street built this offensive line.

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