Collier: Raiders, not missing parts, a concern for Steelers
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Watching Brett Keisel jogging on his recalcitrant hamstring toward the Steelers locker room after practice the other day, you'd never have suspected there was anything wrong, which is not something you could say about Pittsburgh's defense as a whole.
Or is it hole?
When you watch those guys, you know something's wrong. Something's pretty terribly wrong.
Right?
"I'm not concerned, no," said Keisel, trying desperately as we speak to give Mike Tomlin's team at least one of its starting defensive ends back. "But it'll be interesting to see how the defense reacts when you get punched in the mouth like we did last week."
The defense already had begun spitting out teeth anyway. Aaron Smith had long since gone to the sideline more-or-less permanently with a muscle tear, Keisel soon joined him, and now Troy Polamalu and Lawrence Timmons have endured a week of limited practice.
The monitors in the recovery room are spitting too, spraying pejorative data in all directions.
This is a defense coming off a 29-point second half at the imperturbable direction of Tom Brady, coming off New England's 5-for-5 in the redzone (with three touchdowns), coming off a couple of 300-yard passing performances in the past three weeks.
In those three weeks, the Steelers have permitted seven touchdowns through the air. In the previous six weeks, they'd permitted only four.
"I think you always have to factor in who we were playing against," said cornerback Bryant McFadden. "You're talking about Drew Brees (sparking a 20-10 victory at New Orleans) and Tom Brady, and those guys were executing at a very high level.
"What we've got to do is go back to focusing on details."
But New England didn't just torch the place with Brady's fire. The Patriots became the first Steelers opponent this season to actually come close to running the ball at its customary output. They clawed out 103 ground yards, just four below their average, and as Bill Belichick said afterward, "We made them worry about it."
Worry might be a viable emotion for the matter at hand.
The most dangerous aspect of this afternoon's appointment has become the unspoken notion that the Oakland Raiders represent some kind of break in the headwind of talent that's ripped Pittsburgh's defensive reputation.
I wouldn't take much comfort in the giggly trivia that the Raiders are trying to win a fourth straight game today for the first time in eight years. That might be the big picture, but it's crazily out of focus. The Raiders of November 2010 are a much-improved version of the Raiders of December 2009, who scored three touchdowns in the final 8:21 to beat the Steelers, 24-21.
First Published November 21, 2010 12:00 am
