Ten days ago, the former Pittsburgh receiver Hines Ward, who is now an analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America,” wondered about the Steelers’ leadership on the offense and who might guide the team through a tough stretch. And that was before the Steelers dropped their home game Sunday, in the return of Ben Roethlisberger from rib and shoulder injuries, to the San Diego Chargers, a team with no chance to make the playoffs and one that, The San Diego Union Tribune reported last week, is preparing to fire its coach and its general manager.
The Steelers were flat and never led, undercutting the progress they seemed to have made last week when they beat the Ravens in Baltimore with Charlie Batch at quarterback.
Ward had predicted this would be a tough game for the Steelers to win, but what he said about the makeup of the team may be more telling as the season nears its end. At 7-6, the Steelers remain in the playoff mix because of Sunday losses by the Cincinnati Bengals and the Ravens, but four of Pittsburgh’s losses have been to A.F.C. bottom feeders, raising questions about its focus and consistency.
More bad news for the Steelers: they play at Dallas on Sunday. Dallas came back to beat the Bengals on the last play last Sunday, a day after a traffic accident that left one Cowboys player dead and another charged with intoxication manslaughter. The Cowboys are just one game behind the Giants in the N.F.C. East race.
“The year we won a Super Bowl, we had to win the last four games to make the playoffs, and then we went in as one of the hottest teams,” Ward said in an interview. “They have a lot of guys on the defensive side that experienced that. I don’t think many on the offense — other than Heath Miller and Ben — have. You would think Ben would be the natural leader, but he’s been injured. Who else is in the huddle that if something goes bad, who is the calm before the storm? That plays a major factor.
“I look at the defensive side, they have a nice mix of young and veteran guys. You look at the offensive side of the ball, I don’t see the cohesiveness of the group. When I was there, Kordell Stewart, Jerome Bettis, those were the guys in the huddle. Then it was myself, Alan Faneca — we had a nice nucleus of guys in there who guys could lean on, don’t hit the panic button. I don’t see that balance like I see on the defensive side.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/sports/football/defining-games-coming-for-floundering-teams.html?ref=sports&_r=0
To be honest, I don't think we have it on the defensive side either
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