Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter eviscerates the Steelers and explains how they blew their season: It was a "philosophical problem"
… but the "philosophical" problem started almost a decade ago
Former Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter was blunt in assessing why the Steelers are on the cusp of missing the NFL playoffs this year. And, he says, it has to do with “philosophy” that went against what the Steelers — and successful teams — do.
Now an ESPN commentator, Carter said this, “So, the philosophy that the Pittsburgh Steelers adopted is that we’re going to be a team dominant by our quarterback and our wide receivers. [But] it’s not a winning philosophy. And it’s definitely not the Pittsburgh Steelers style. Where you play, the stadium you play in, that field — it’s not a style that I think you can win championship football with.”
Carter pointed out that the problem is that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is about to throw for 5,000 yards for the first time. While that sounds impressive, he explains that allow Roethlisberger to join the ranks of those who have thrown the ball in the mid-to-high 600’s — and have lost.
Numbers tell the tale
Here is the chart that ESPN showed earlier this week:
Name, year, passes thrown, team record
Roethlisberger, 2018 630 8-6-1
Brees, 2016 673 7-9
Flacco, 2016 672 8-8
Rivers, 2015 661 4-12
Brees, 2014 659 7-9
In short, those teams that rely strictly on the pass do not succeed.
To show how far the Steelers have fallen, consider this: Bruce Arians was fired by Art Rooney because he refused to run the ball. Rooney may be clueless, but he knew that much.
Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner do not. The decision to fire Todd Haley last year has proved to be devastating, in my opinion. He would have kept that balance.
Here is what Carter said about that, “As we have seen by the numbers, in November and December in the NFL, you have to be able to play defense and you have to be able to run the football. That philosophy … prevents them from being a physical team, an outdoors team.”
In fact, he goes one step further. He explains that one of the best teams in the league may not reach the Super Bowl because of lack of a stout defense.
“If Kansas City does not get to the super Bowl, it is because they can’t run the ball, they can’t eat up the clock,” he told an ESPN panel.
Consider the roster of the last Super Bowl in 2009
Carter is right to a point. However, he is wrong about a few things. He exonerates Tomlin and blames the front office for the debacle this year. In that he is wrong.
It goes back to a change in philosophy over the past decade, which incidentally, is where the Steelers have not even come close to a Super Bowl. Nor will they in the future.
That is because Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert forgot the lessons learned by Chuck Noll and followed by Bill Cowher. Defense wins championships, and defense — and the running game — are the basis of Steeler success.
Take a look at the roster of the 2009 team, the last to reach the Super Bowl — a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Two players were on it who earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison, and one who was second, LaMarr Woodley. Add in linemen Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton, LBs Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior, and Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark as DBs.
Do the Steelers have anyone on defense who will ever become an NFL Defensive Player of the Year? They do not have any players who will ever get a vote for POY.
Change in philosophy
The panel noted that while the Steelers have had premier offensive players in Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell, they have not come close to a Super Bowl.
The change in philosophy came from Tomlin and was carried out by Colbert. They built a premier offensive line, which has been positive. However, they have ignored the defensive side of the ball.
Tomlin won a Super Bowl in his second year with players drafted primarily under Cowher’s regime. And Cowher followed through with Chuck Noll’s mantra of a strong defense, which won four Super Bowls in six years in the 70s. Since then, defense has been the hallmark of the Steelers — until now.
Today, the defense is really problematic. Carter is one of few who believed that both penalties against DB Joe Haden were legitimate. He felt that any official is going to call an interference penalty if the defensive man places his hands on the back of a receiver and prevents him from jumping. I am not certain about that, but that was his opinion.
He says that the Steelers have also run the ball less than at any time in history, and his belief is substantiated with numbers. This is not a Le’Veon Bell issue, though he insists it was. Even when James Conner was healthy, they were running the back just 13 times. That is not a balanced attack, and with the defensive woes, that spells disaster.
Carter points to the defense being unable to hold a double-digit lead against the Chargers and losing leads to Denver and Oakland.
Wrong on Tomlin
Brees, 2016 673 7-9
Flacco, 2016 672 8-8
Rivers, 2015 661 4-12
Brees, 2014 659 7-9
In short, those teams that rely strictly on the pass do not succeed.
To show how far the Steelers have fallen, consider this: Bruce Arians was fired by Art Rooney because he refused to run the ball. Rooney may be clueless, but he knew that much.
Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner do not. The decision to fire Todd Haley last year has proved to be devastating, in my opinion. He would have kept that balance.
Here is what Carter said about that, “As we have seen by the numbers, in November and December in the NFL, you have to be able to play defense and you have to be able to run the football. That philosophy … prevents them from being a physical team, an outdoors team.”
In fact, he goes one step further. He explains that one of the best teams in the league may not reach the Super Bowl because of lack of a stout defense.
“If Kansas City does not get to the super Bowl, it is because they can’t run the ball, they can’t eat up the clock,” he told an ESPN panel.
Consider the roster of the last Super Bowl in 2009
Carter is right to a point. However, he is wrong about a few things. He exonerates Tomlin and blames the front office for the debacle this year. In that he is wrong.
It goes back to a change in philosophy over the past decade, which incidentally, is where the Steelers have not even come close to a Super Bowl. Nor will they in the future.
That is because Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert forgot the lessons learned by Chuck Noll and followed by Bill Cowher. Defense wins championships, and defense — and the running game — are the basis of Steeler success.
Take a look at the roster of the 2009 team, the last to reach the Super Bowl — a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Two players were on it who earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison, and one who was second, LaMarr Woodley. Add in linemen Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton, LBs Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior, and Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark as DBs.
Do the Steelers have anyone on defense who will ever become an NFL Defensive Player of the Year? They do not have any players who will ever get a vote for POY.
Change in philosophy
The panel noted that while the Steelers have had premier offensive players in Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell, they have not come close to a Super Bowl.
The change in philosophy came from Tomlin and was carried out by Colbert. They built a premier offensive line, which has been positive. However, they have ignored the defensive side of the ball.
Tomlin won a Super Bowl in his second year with players drafted primarily under Cowher’s regime. And Cowher followed through with Chuck Noll’s mantra of a strong defense, which won four Super Bowls in six years in the 70s. Since then, defense has been the hallmark of the Steelers — until now.
Today, the defense is really problematic. Carter is one of few who believed that both penalties against DB Joe Haden were legitimate. He felt that any official is going to call an interference penalty if the defensive man places his hands on the back of a receiver and prevents him from jumping. I am not certain about that, but that was his opinion.
He says that the Steelers have also run the ball less than at any time in history, and his belief is substantiated with numbers. This is not a Le’Veon Bell issue, though he insists it was. Even when James Conner was healthy, they were running the back just 13 times. That is not a balanced attack, and with the defensive woes, that spells disaster.
Carter points to the defense being unable to hold a double-digit lead against the Chargers and losing leads to Denver and Oakland.
Wrong on Tomlin
However, the philosophy goes back to Tomlin, whom Carter strongly supports. He is wrong there. This current problem is on Tomlin and Colbert, and the change started almost ten years ago.
That is why I have said that the Steelers would not win another Super Bowl as long as Tomlin is the coach. I stand by that position.
And now, the knives are out in Steeler Nation if the team does not make the playoffs, which is likely based on the way that the Ravens are playing. However, it is not a given because of the improvement of the Browns.
All of that means that the AFC North is going to be much more competitive with Lamar Jackson and the Raven defense improving, along with the Browns becoming a veritable factor in the competition.
And now, the knives are out in Steeler Nation if the team does not make the playoffs, which is likely based on the way that the Ravens are playing. However, it is not a given because of the improvement of the Browns.
All of that means that the AFC North is going to be much more competitive with Lamar Jackson and the Raven defense improving, along with the Browns becoming a veritable factor in the competition.
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