So, what are we fussing over here, a few feet?
If not in reality, then at least in perception?
Bear with me here, but one final time, let's revisit these two fateful scenes from a weekend ago in Wisconsin:
Depending on one's perspective and/or preferred favorite player, this is either the fault of Ben Roethlisberger or JuJu Smith-Schuster. It's either an overthrow or a not-enough-touch throw by Ben, or it's JuJu working those weird sideways steps before alligator-arming the ball.
The truth, as ever, likely lies somewhere in the middle.
Same with the second:
Both Ben and JuJu attempted to explain to me, separately, what went awry on these. And honestly, I'm still not sure.
One area where I'll presume we all can agree, though, is this: Those plays were close to connecting.
Also this: If they had connected, even if the Steelers still would've lost to the Packers, we'd be having a very, very different dialogue throughout the Nation these past few days.
Really, try to picture how we'd all be talking about how Ben would've hit on three deep touchdown passes last week rather than just the one, how Najee Harris and the running game would've gotten further untracked with an actual lead, how this vaunted wide receiver corps would've broken big plays and, heck, maybe even how the offensive line would've been something other than a gross liability.
You know, rather than burying Ben's career.
Two plays. Total turnabout. Funny how that works.
Look, I'm not here to suggest Ben's been anything but bad through four games. Nor to apologize for him or offer excuses. That's never been my thing, and it never will be. He deserves the criticism he's gotten, and he deserves the doubts that come with it.
But burying him -- which I'd define as advocating for his benching a quarter of the way through a season in which everything else has gone wrong for the offense, as well -- sorry, but that's plain nuts. And to bury him in favor of Mason Rudolph and/or Dwayne Haskins, neither of whom has achieved a damned thing at the NFL level, and neither of whom would survive this line for a blessed series ... wow.
Maybe this script will, indeed, get further cemented today, when the Steelers will face the Broncos, 1:02 p.m. at Heinz Field. Maybe Ben will, indeed, be bad again. And maybe, this time, if the rest of the offense improves even incrementally, it'll be clear that it's his fault. And maybe, in that context, that dialogue will feel more fair.
Until then, I'd sure hope there'd be far more focus on figuring out how to make up for this missing few feet.
MARK ALBERTI / GETTY
Ben Roethlisberger gestures to quiet the crowd Sept. 26 at Heinz Field.
• It's OK for others to generate splash, too. That means offense and defense and special teams, as was wonderfully the case in the opener in Orchard Park.
It's OK for JuJu to become the $20 million receiver he thinks he is rather than having a season-long catch of 24 yards. It's OK for Chase Claypool to become Calvin Johnson any day now. The only receiver who's delivered consistently in yards after the catch is Diontae Johnson with 113, and that's not how it's supposed to go.
It's OK for Najee to break one. He's been very good, so this isn't a criticism, but he's expected by everyone to be more than very good eventually. Push the pedal. Break a run longer than 20. Hasn't happened yet.
I'd say that it's OK for the tight ends to contribute, too, but that'd involve having an offensive coordinator who doesn't sweat at the thought of throwing across the middle.
It's OK for Minkah Fitzpatrick to hold onto any of the four passes that've caromed off his gloves so far. He's not Troy Polamalu. If he isn't creating takeaways -- and in fairness, one of his tips wound up in Terrell Edmunds' hands -- he isn't making any superstar-level impact. Here again, not a criticism. He's been fine. But that's not the expectation for this particular player.
It's OK for T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and let's not forget Alex Highsmith, the best defensive player through camp, to contribute to the cause, as well. Not a criticism. Reiterating expectations.
As T.J. worded it after practice Friday, "We've got to make plays."
They all do. And they all aren't.
• And no, for crying out loud, I'm not omitting the coaches. Especially not Canada, whose body of work as an NFL coordinator has ranged from enigmatic to embarrassing. But this shortcoming seems a lot more obvious to the broader fan base than those of all the players not named Ben, so I'm stressing the latter.
• To be more blunt, I'm close to giving up on this coordinator. Yeah, already.
Any good coach in any sport will attest that the top priority is adjusting to the talent at hand, not wishing it was something else. So far, I'm watching a bunch of NFL guys being dragged down by the Maryland Terrapins' playbook.
If Canada continues to look like he's in over his head, it's incumbent on Mike Tomlin to manufacture some form of in-season change. If a firing's deemed too disruptive, then a hostile takeover of the playcalling would be fine. Wouldn't be a first in the Tomlin era, and this isn't the time to worry about wounded feelings.
As one former member of the Steelers texted me the other day, "Who'd this guy trick to get this job?"
• The same goes for Adrian Klemm, the rookie offensive line coach who still hasn't found a way to keep his rookie center, Kendrick Green, from going all headless chicken every other snap. He's new here. He's learning. Simplify the assignment. Show him which hat to hit, and leave him alone.
• Joe Haeg won't be at right tackle today. It'll go back to Chuks Okorafor. That stinks.
Haeg showed very well in Green Bay, not least of which was an exceptional individual blocking effort to buy Ben time for the 45-yard touchdown to Diontae. His feet were quick, his technique was sound, and he did the job all afternoon.
I've been beating this horse since mid-summer, and here it is again: These linemen the Steelers seem to have anointed aren't anywhere near good enough at this stage of their careers to have been anointed. Tomlin had no business limiting them to a single quarter of preseason games, for example, as if he were honoring veterans. They needed to play together. They needed to learn together. And they definitely didn't need to get the feeling they were better than they were.
Fans get mad about Tomlin for all kinds of silliness, but this is legit fodder. This is a head coach using hope as a plan. He hoped he had another Maurkice Pouncey, No. 53 and all, and he didn't. Maurkice was knocking people on their rear ends his first morning in Latrobe.
• Trying to be right should never supersede trying to win.
• As long as I'm on the Tomlin topic, he doesn't get to decide where the line of demarcation's drawn when it comes to the Steelers' trends.
Where I sit, this team's lost seven of its past nine games since opening last season 11-0. The coach forever has declined to answer reporters' questions that extend back into previous seasons, invariably singling out the current season as a 'unique journey' or something to that effect. Well, that's his right, just as it's mine to observe that John Harbaugh's all-bodies-in-the-box defensive scheme on that one dreaded day has sent this franchise into a tailspin from which it's yet to recover.
Where's the fix for that?
Because it sure isn't treating the middle of the field like it's littered with landmines.
• Keith Butler isn't exactly rising above the fray. The four-man pass rush was smart against the Bills, in part because it seemed to catch them off guard. But sticking by it, even as the defensive front's been decimated by injury ... that's been the opposite of smart.
This is Teddy Bridgewater today. Not Josh Allen. Not Derek Carr. Not Joe Burrow. Not Aaron Rodgers.
Go get him.
• I don't care about Denver, I don't care about the matchups ... all of that began feeling fruitless after Week 2 or 3. All that matters today, in my eyes, is that the Steelers straighten themselves out.
More than just one of them.
