Since misery loves company, the Steelers absolutely adore their new AFC North Division. In brief, it's the NFL's NoDivision, where nobody outside of Cincinnati is out of the running.
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Cornerback Chad Scott grabs the facemask of Saints wide receiver Joe Horn in the Steelers' 32-29 loss Sunday in New Orleans. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette photos) |
Collectively, the four teams have a 5-13 record, the worst in the newly aligned eight-division NFL. No North Division team has a winning record. Only in this division can a team like the 1-3 Steelers remain just one game behind overachieving Baltimore for first place.
That was Coach Bill Cowher's message to his players and coaches as they slogged back to work a day after losing in New Orleans, 32-29.
"He tells us we're fine," cornerback Dewayne Washington said after emerging from meetings "Just keep plugging at it. We're not that far off. We obviously took some steps forward with the offense and it's just a matter of the defense trying to get more gap sound and doing the things we know how to do."
Receiver Hines Ward, relating Cowher's message, "We're close; we're not bad. One day we have to get the defense and the offense playing together. If we can just get both the offense and defense and special teams all on the same page on Sunday, that will be good for us."
Right now, they're all on the same page of what seems like a Stephen King novel. The defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL last season ranks 20th overall today. The Steelers have allowed 105 points in four games. That's a pace of 420 points for a full season, which would be one point off the team record. That occurred in 1988, when the Steelers went 5-11 and quarterback Bubby Brister pleaded for anyone who could rush the passer to please report to Three Rivers Stadium.
Three Rivers Stadium has since disappeared and so has the once-feared Steelers defense. These are mostly the same players who snuffed out foes last season, when the Steelers allowed 212 points and no team scored more than 26 against them.
After four games this season, they've already allowed almost half that many points and three of their four opponents have scored at least 30.
But not all is the same on defense. The Steelers have made two big changes at inside linebacker, one by choice and one because of injury. They let free agent Earl Holmes sign with Cleveland and replaced him with James Farrior, who has played reasonably well. They also have played most of the season without Kendrell Bell, the NFL's defensive rookie of the 2001 season.
Rookie Larry Foote has been overmatched inside and was pulled out of the game Sunday in the fourth quarter. He was run over at least once and made the game's biggest mistake by vacating his spot to allow Deuce McAllister to blow through a hole and run 52 yards for a New Orleans touchdown. Veteran John Fiala finished the game and likely will start in Cincinnati Sunday if Bell is not ready to return.
"I personally think it makes a difference," Washington said. "The cohesiveness of those guys; they're still learning how to play the position. But obviously we take no excuses for them missing tackles or us missing tackles or what have you."
Nevertheless, Bell's absence hurts them.
"Oh, a huge part," Washington said. "Him and Earl were huge parts of the defense. Obviously, we want to get KB back as soon as we can."
Flowers did not want to blame his unit's woes on the loss of one player, however. But the truth is part of the Steelers' success while ringing up a 13-3 record last season was because of their lack of injuries.
"You know what? I'm not even going to go there," Flowers said of the effect Bell's loss has had on the defense, "because I think we win and lose as a team. ... We gave up too many big plays."
The previous time the Steelers allowed 30 or more points three times in a season came in 1999, when they finished 6-10. No Cowher-coached team has ever allowed 30 or more points four times in a season.
The Steelers' record of making the playoffs after starting 1-3 is not good. This is only the second time they've started that way under Cowher and the eighth time they've done it since 1969, Chuck Noll's first year as coach. Only once did they make the playoffs, in 1976, when they were 1-4 and finished 10-4 in what Art Rooney Sr. considered his greatest team.
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The Steelers couldn't contain Saints running back Deuce McAllister, who rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. | |
Cowher's 1-3 team in 2000 finished 9-7 as did Noll's 1990 squad that opened 1-3. Neither team made the playoffs. A 9-7 finish this year might do it.
"We've been here before," Flowers said. "We just need to get all three units clicking. Special teams didn't do crap. Defensively, we stunk up the joint. And offensively, they did a good job. We just need all three units rolling on one cylinder. We're not flowing right now."
They're flowing toward a losing season. But they're in the NoDivision, where an 8-8 record might win it.
"One and three's not good," Ward said. "I would have bet whatever -- I'm not going to say my house -- but I would have bet that we wouldn't have been 1-3 to start the season.
"It's good that everybody else in our division is struggling, too. All you have to do is win your division and make it to the playoffs. It's a long season."
Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.
Even with 1-3 record, all is not lost for Steelers in meager AFC North 
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