Steelers caved under pressure this year

By Jeff

The 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers season may go down as the most frustrating season I've experienced. More frustrating than their 8-8 stinker (2006) after winning the Super Bowl.

This team had the talent to be a championship-caliber team. The defense, while not boasting the standout individual performances of past teams, was very good. They had their let down games against Oakland and San Diego, but they came to play more often than not.

The failures of this season came down to the offense, and it starts with the quarterback. While Ben Roethlisberger had one of his best statistical seasons overall, he came up short in big moments. This is a complete reversal of the the Roethlisberger Steelers fans have witnessed since 2004. As fans, we always expect Ben to pull out a victory if he has the ball late in the 4th quarter. This year he failed more often than not.

• He took terrible sacks latre in the Dallas game when the team could should have put the game away
• He threw the interception in overtime in the same game that led to the loss
• He didn't show up until halfway through the third quarter against a terrible San Diego team AT HOME!
• He threw an interception returned for a touchdown against Cincinnati
• He threw another interception with less than 2 minutes in the same game that cost the team the playoffs

Of course, Ben wasn't helped much by his teammates. Emmanuel Sanders had some terrible drops and fumbles, Antonio Brown fumbled a punt return that led to a Dallas touchdown and Mike Wallace seemed disinterested in most of the games I saw.

Let's stay on Wallace for a second. Here is a guy that held out of training camp because he wanted more than his $2.7 million tender. Not just more money, he wanted Larry Fitzgerald money (8-year, $120M). Well, Wallace won't be seeing that kind of money after he failed to break 1,000 yards this season and had a case of the dropsies.

Wallace even went so far as to say he was dropping passes because he wasn't getting enough balls thrown his way, which led to a lack of focus.

First, if you are a NFL wide receiver making millions of dollars, playing for a new contract and fighting for a playoff spot, isn't that enough to make you focus? If not, then why do you think you deserve a $120 million deal?

Second, Wallace had 119 targets, which led the Steelers. He converted those targets into 64 catches. A stud receiver with a QB like Roethlisberger should do better.

Third, Wallace didn't appear to care this year. He made poor plays, ran wrong routes and didn't fight for contested balls. He just seemed to be going through the motions and blaming others for his poor play.

That leads to another problem with the 2012 team. There were too many instances of the team complaining about stuff to the media. Roethlisberger was questioning the play calling, Wallace his targets and the running backs about their carries. Rashard Mendenhall didn't show up to a game because he was demoted. These childish actions are not what Steelers fans have come to expect from their team, and we certainly don't like it.

Look back at the season and you will find two games where the opposing offense didn't score a touchdown, and the Steelers still lost (At Baltimore and vs. Cincinnati). On top of that, you will find another game (At Cleveland) where the defense only gave up touchdowns after the offense turned it over deep in their own territory.

Those are three games an NFL team has to win, and the Steelers lost all three because their offense was terrible.

Some of the blame falls on coaches as well. Byron Leftwich is not a viable backup. He gets injured every time he steps onto the field. Seriously. Go look it up over the past several years. If he gets in a game, whether it's preseason or not regular, he gets hurt. The organization needs to find a reliable backup who will not break when touched.

You also can't help but question the coaching staff when you hear the players complaining about play calling or their roles to the media. That is something that belongs in the locker room. These are the Steelers we're talking about, not the New York Jets.

There are no legitimate excuses for why the Steelers are not in the playoffs this year. They had the talent and just didn't live up to it. As a fan, who with hockey probably being canceled this year has nothing to look forward to until March, this month was a very sad month.