More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

13 days ago: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked for a loss by Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Corey Williams in the first quarter of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Browse more photos »

Well, now we know what it feels like to be the have-nots of the league. Here's a thread for rants, raves and perhaps group therapy.

Thirty minutes to go.

More photos » by David Richard - AP

Browse more photos »

Our fearless leader Blitzburgh is travelling tonight, so I'm covering in his absence. A few months ago, a prime time game in Cleveland could mean only one thing - guaranteed victory. Now, we're not so sure. Look for this game to depend on whether Rashard Mendenhall can get it going - it's cold and windy on the blighted shores of Lake Erie.

In the meantime, enjoy watching what could be the last meaningful game of the season - Let's Go Steelers!!!

Unleashing hell, for real this time.

During a week where most Steelers fans are looking for something positive, I really enjoyed several of Tomlin's statements from this week's press conference.

Q: You used Mewelde Moore and Rashard Mendenhall in the same backfield and gained 12 yards. Will you look to expand on that?

A: Potentially, yes.

Q: Is that the Pony backfield?

A: You know I don’t get into specifics of what we call things. I call it Two Tailbacks in the Game.

"Two Tailbacks in the Game", I love it.

Q: Should Jeff Reed have done more as a tackler on the last two returns for touchdowns?

A: Man, I am not going to go down to evaluating Jeff Reed as a tackler. When it comes down to that, we have failed as a coverage unit. I don’t lose any sleep on the quality of Jeff Reed’s tackles … or tackle attempts.

Looks like Tomlin's standing by Reed, though he does seem to get a little jab in talking about "tackle attempts".

Q: Has Brett Keisel played better since Aaron Smith went down?

A: No, he’s been playing well all year. He really has, even when Aaron was available. Brett is a solid, solid professional. He does a lot of dirty work. He’s really underappreciated. I think it’s the nature of the position he plays in our scheme, similar to Aaron Smith. There are a lot of people that ride the wave of destruction that he provides. I think on both of those sacks he was disruptive, but that’s nothing new for Brett Keisel.

"The wave of destruction that he provides" - cool wording, in my opinion.

Q: Were you surprised by what Bill Belichick did the other day?

A: No, I wasn’t surprised. I heard his comments after the game. He made a decision he felt was appropriate for his team and gave his team the best chance of winning, and for that I applaud him. There are only 32 of these jobs. We have decisions to make that are not always going to be popular. I always appreciate men that are bold enough to do it even when it’s potentially unpopular. Obviously Bill has the stomach to make those decisions.

Interesting commentary about Belichick's decision. (which I happen to agree with, by the way)

Olé!

  This will be a numbers-heavy post, so please bear with me, folks. So far this season, the Steelers have kicked off to the opposition 44 times. We all know that 3 of those have gone for touchdowns, one of which was arguably the deciding factor in yesterday's contest. What I didn't know until I compiled the numbers this evening is that over those 44 kickoffs, the average starting position for the other team is their 33.36 yard line - almost 15 more yards than a touchback. (counting a TD as a return to the PIT 0 yard line) Obviously, something has to be done to fix the problem - not just the touchdowns, but all the free yards opponents are getting. 

  So, what can be done? A touchback is the safest way to handle a conventional kick-off, but the Steelers are extremely unlikely to switch kickers mid-season. There was an important keyword in the last sentence - conventional. I believe that the perfect storm exists for a radical shift in tactics. According to this post from the excellent Advanced NFL Stats blog, the recovery rate for unexpected onside kicks is around 60%. Given that the other team is already taking it back to around the 33-34 yard line, why not spot them 25 or so yards for a good chance at getting the ball right back? The Steelers' excellent defense is already built around keeping things in front of them, giving up the dink and dunk, and stiffening in the red zone - following this tactic would keep the defense off the field longer, and therefore keep them fresh to unleash whatever mayhem LeBeau has schemed up.

  Of course, the major problem with this theory is that the recovery rate falls dramatically when an on-side kick is expected - to 20% or so. As soon as the Steelers became known for kicking onsides, the opposition would stick their "hands" team out for every kick-off, and so much for that strategy, right? However, this isn't a bad thing either - if the hands team is in, presumably the good blockers that are helping spring long returns are out, and it's safer to kick deep. The choice of how to kick can even be situational, depending on what personnel the other team is fielding. In addition, time spent by the other team practicing recovering onside kicks is time they haven't spent on the rest of their game-plan.

  I'm not saying that this would be great for every team and situation - a team with a great kickoff coverage unit, a monster kicker (or kickoff specialist) and a weak defense would be ill-advised to follow this plan. However, I do think that kicking onsides anywhere from once to several times a game could have a salutary effect on our chances of winning. What do you think?