The phenomenon emerged over the final six games last season.
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| | Dewayne Washington hangs on to bring down Cleveland receiver Darren Chiaverini Sunday in Cleveland. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
That's when rockets began falling from the skies on the Steelers' defense. Their cornerbacks and safeties looked like poodles loping after greyhounds.
It began against the Cincinnati Bengals, when Darnay Scott raced 76 yards with a touchdown pass. Long runs and passes then piled up like autumn leaves. Qadry Ismail of the Baltimore Ravens had three of 54, 50 and 76. Patrick Jeffers of the Carolina Panthers had two of 58 and 43. There were runs of 64 and 41 yards and more passes of 26 and 24.
And those were just the touchdown plays. It was as if the footballs were suddenly juiced against the Steelers.
"We gave up a lot of big plays last year," safety Lee Flowers said yesterday. "That was our main goal this offseason in training camp, to stop giving up big plays. Unfortunately, we haven't done that to this point."
No, they haven't.
Through two games, they've allowed passes of 53, 36, 36, 38 and 79 yards. Imagine what might have happened had their main goal not been to stop the big play.
At least they know there's a problem, and Flowers might help solve it. He will return to start Sunday after missing the game in Cleveland last week when the Steelers gave up those latter four big pass plays.
"We've been giving up a lot of big plays and we're going to stop doing that," Flowers insisted. "You cannot win an NFL game giving up a 59-yard pass here, a 60-yard run there. Our main goal right now is to stop the big plays, and everything else will work out."
And now come the Titans. Tennessee Williams once produced big plays, and the Tennessee Titans have that kind of potential.
They have three big-play wide receivers in Kevin Dyson, Carl Pickens -- the Steelers remember him not so fondly from Cincinnati -- and Yancey Thigpen.
"They're right there in the top three of trios in the league," cornerback Dewayne Washington said.
They have Eddie George, who ran for 1,304 yards last season. And they have tight end Frank Wycheck, who led them in receiving last season.
And they might have Neil O'Donnell at quarterback, and the last time he started against the Steelers, he was hooking up with Pickens in Cincinnati for a 50-yard fourth-down pass against the Steelers on a final drive that ended with him throwing the winning touchdown.
"They have big-play people," Flowers said. "You got Carl Pickens, Yancey, Dyson, Eddie George. I mean, they played St. Louis in the Super Bowl. We have a big task at hand this week. We're looking forward to the challenge."
Thigpen is questionable again with his traditional injury of the week, a hamstring pull that kept him on the sideline every other season when he played for the Steelers. He also has become the No. 3 receiver when healthy.
But even without Thigpen, the Titans' weapons are more potent than those the Cleveland Browns ran onto the field against the Steelers last Sunday and fleeced them for four big plays.
Coach Bill Cowher noted his defense held the Browns to 160 yards on 50 plays and gave up 189 on the other four.
"My focus is the fact that 50 out of 54 were pretty good plays the other day," Cowher said. "But, four plays were not."
Therein lies the problem.
"That's what you have to eliminate," cornerback Chad Scott said. "That's what separates the average defenses from the good defenses. Good defenses don't give up big plays, and, when they do, they make up big plays to compensate."
And therein lies another problem. The Steelers' defense gives up big plays and makes none. It's become a trend over the past two seasons.
Through two games this season, they have one sack, one fumble recovery and no interceptions, although they've dropped two potential interceptions. Linebacker Earl Holmes dropped one in the opener, and Washington dropped one in Cleveland.
"I've been in that situation too many times," Washington said. "That was a play that could have turned the game around.
"We had lofty goals, and we still have lofty goals. It just means we really have to pick it up and we have to get multiple pics in games here to get back in the race. We want to be among the league leaders in interceptions also."
Pic, of course, is short for pick-off or interception.
So, how do they prevent the big plays? And how do they come up with some of their own? Or, is the talent and/or speed not good enough to prevent them and it's just something they'll have to live with?
"Coming into this year, we knew a lot of teams would come after us that way," Washington said. "It's still something we have to continuously work on to try to turn it around. We know teams are going to attack us the same way until we prove ourselves."
Washington's solution: "See a lot of deep balls in practice."
Scott's solution: "Everyone has to be on the same page when the ball is snapped."
Flowers' solution: "We're going to go out and practice really hard and, if you have to play the deep half, then you stay in the deep half. We don't need any guys trying to make big plays. Just do your job, and everything will work out."
Just pic one.
Big plays continue to haunt Steelers 
