‘The Answer Man’ returns
Last January I introduced readers here to the greatest football savant in Pittsburgh. Those of us who鈥檝e been reading him faithfully at SteelCityInsider.net simply refer to him as The Answer Man. I caught up with him over the bye week, and here鈥檚 how the conversation went:
JW: OK, how deep of a morass is this? Are we on the verge of the 1980s?
AM: Oh, I don鈥檛 know about the eighties, in terms of it being a decade-long situation, but this is not good where they are now. But, hey, as Tomlin likes to say, 鈥榊ou can talk yourself into anything.鈥� So if you want to be depressed now, we can get depressed. If you want to glass-half-full it, there are some things there, too.
I look at 鈥� and it鈥檚 not necessarily the same position 鈥� but, I look at Greg Little. Awful. Didn鈥檛 he lead the league in dropped passes a couple years in a row? Now he鈥檚 a player. Maybe that happens with Mike Adams, only at a different position. The 49ers, before that offensive line was dominant, didn鈥檛 it stink? In the NFL, it鈥檚 a handful of plays in every game that decide the outcome, and your identity can become that of a team that doesn鈥檛 make those plays. That鈥檚 the way it鈥檚 going. I mean, look at the Giants.
Seriously. The Giants? Their offensive line was a major reason that they won those two Super Bowls, wasn鈥檛 it? Eli Manning? He looks like Mike Tomczak. Victor Cruz? He could play. Justin Tuck? He can play. (Chuckles) I got no answers for this.
JW: We know that a coach just keeps his head down and works his way through this. But will that work in this instance? Isn鈥檛 it a lack of talent?
AM: No. This team is not without talent. The talent may need to be developed more. The talent may need to grow up some. But (chuckles) Kansas City has talent? I mean 鈥� do you know what I鈥檓 saying? Yeah, yesterday, the Cowboys? That offense? Are they that talented? I don鈥檛 know. They鈥檝e got a couple of good players, but 500-some yards and 5 touchdowns and all the fireworks? I don鈥檛 know. But let me say this: I never saw this coming. You鈥檙e at camp every day watching. Didn鈥檛 you think this was a representative group? Whether it was going to become a championship contender, we鈥檒l have to see. At that time that鈥檚 what we were all thinking. I never saw 0-4 coming. I never saw the kinds of breakdowns that this team is having. I mean, that comical defensive performance in England. Cortez Allen missed Greg Jennings twice on the same play. Just think about what is required as a corner to get yourself in position to miss the two tackles he missed. He caught the guy and missed him again. I was fairly amazed at what was required athletically and from a resolve standpoint for him to get himself back into that play, and run that guy down, and he missed him again inside the five. Why does that happen? I have no idea. Troy. Troy鈥檚 not guessing right anymore. There were times when he would guess wrong before, but then he would make up for that by guessing right. I haven鈥檛 seen it. I don鈥檛 believe for one second that Troy is kissing off his responsibilities and not studying and not preparing himself and not doing whatever he was doing before. It鈥檚 just not working now. The longer I鈥檓 around this, I鈥檓 disagreeing with those who say 鈥業t鈥檚 not mystical.鈥� Yeah it is. Yeah it is. I mean, Troy鈥檚 flying around. You watch him, you watch the game, he鈥檚 flying around. So you can鈥檛 say it鈥檚 his leg, his Achilles鈥�, his knee, whatever. It鈥檚 none of that stuff.
JW: Well, some are saying he plays too close to the line.
AM: Is that an excuse or an explanation?
JW: He鈥檚 not playing deep and reading the quarterback.
AM: But when he was doing that a couple of years ago, it was 鈥榃ell, he can鈥檛 make any plays because they have to keep him in center field.鈥� So now he鈥檚 not in center field and that鈥檚 why he鈥檚 not making any plays. That鈥檚 what I mean by saying that whatever needs to be explained you can explain it, but I don鈥檛 know if that really is the root cause of the situation we鈥檙e seeing. And I was just looking at the stats and there are too many guys that aren鈥檛 producing. Lawrence Timmons. How is it that Brett Keisel has 13 pressures and Cameron Heyward has 9, and combined they only have 1 sack?
JW: I don鈥檛 know. Maybe the coaches are generous with the counting of 鈥榩ressures鈥�?
AM: Maybe, but Heyward has 9 pressures and 2 passes defensed, which he blocked at the line of scrimmage. To me that鈥檚 a lot of close. There鈥檚 seems to be a lot of that: close.
JW: Do you wonder if there鈥檚 some kind of loser鈥檚 snowball that鈥檚 rolling through?
AM: Could be. But there鈥檚 a lot of this stuff. I mean, the Indianapolis Colts were 2-14 two years ago. They drafted Andrew Luck, but they lost a lot of others 鈥� Dwight Freeney, all those people. Is the Colts鈥� offensive line that much better than ours? It baffles me.
JW: If you were to put your finger on one thing, would it be the offensive line?
AM: Yes. If you don鈥檛 have that stabilized to some degree, really, anything you鈥檙e trying to do is hit and miss. Look at the London game. Mike Adams was knocking some people off the ball on running plays, and then he looks like me trying to pass block. I mean, it鈥檚 not even where you can look at him and say what you could say about other stiffs who鈥檝e come through: 鈥楬e stinks. Get him out.鈥� It鈥檚 not that. It鈥檚 not that he stinks in everything all the time. It鈥檚 just that he stinks too often in some critical areas.
You always bring this up at draft time: The Steelers like young people, young people, young people. Birthdays. That鈥檚 what you get from young people. What鈥檚 Adams? Twenty-three? Back in the day he鈥檇 still be in college. What I think that you have to really guard against is that you throw out the window everything that you have done and believed in all along and say 鈥榃e鈥檝e got to change.鈥� I think that that鈥檚 crazy. And the coach stuff, too. This amuses the hell out of me. Tomlin. The same people who want to run Tomlin will vote for Andy Reid for coach of the 鈥斺��- year. (Laughs) Really? OK.
So, again, I think that now the true test is staying the course and sticking with what you believe in, sticking with what has worked. I鈥檓 talking to a lot of fans when I say the Kansas City Chiefs haven鈥檛 won a playoff game since 1993. So, when we鈥檙e getting all excited about the Chiefs this year, think about that: 1993, haven鈥檛 won a playoff game since then. This team鈥檚 been to four Super Bowls and won two, to say nothing of the playoff games and division championships and 15-1 and whatever. And I鈥檓 not saying that this is therefore excusable 鈥� 0-4 鈥� because it鈥檚 not. But, there are cycles. It鈥檚 unfortunate but I just don鈥檛 think anyone saw this coming. I just don鈥檛. One of the other things 鈥� and this is a perception, but Cowher always said 鈥楶erception is reality鈥� 鈥� that I like the unwillingness of the coach and the general manager and the team president to say 鈥榃e are in transition.鈥� In other words, 鈥榃e鈥檙e not competing this year. We鈥檙e building for the future.鈥�
That鈥檚 crap. That to me is an excuse, because if you say 鈥榃e want to be 8-8 this year,鈥� and you鈥檙e 8-5 with 3 games to go, everybody relaxes. You鈥檙e 8-8. You did it (mock cheers). But people take that, and they say that stuff, and don鈥檛 understand why or the context in which it is said. When Colbert refuses to say we鈥檙e a team in transition, that doesn鈥檛 mean necessarily that he doesn鈥檛 understand that this roster is shallow. He does. But if you start saying that 鈥� and I truly do not mean to demean the military by comparing football to combat 鈥� but if Patton steps up in front of the troops and says 鈥榃e鈥檙e going into this battle and I don鈥檛 know if we can win or not.鈥� You can鈥檛 do that. You have to, as a leader, try and instill confidence in your people, so you have to be saying things that are definitive and positive and rah-rah.
JW: One concern I have is Ben. Are you worried that he鈥檚 lost that winning charisma he once had?
AM: Don鈥檛 know, but you鈥檙e right. Ben鈥檚 magic鈥檚 gone. Troy鈥檚 magic鈥檚 gone. The big-play magic is gone. The splash-play magic is gone. How can the Pittsburgh Steelers鈥� defense, with Dick LeBeau, not have a takeaway in four games? I mean, this takeaway problem has been around for a few years now.
JW: Someone on the radio said it鈥檚 because LeBeau鈥檚 too old and everyone gets the zone blitz now and that it鈥檚 time for a new defensive coordinator.
AM: I don鈥檛 know, but I鈥檒l tell you what: I could make a few changes in personnel and I鈥檒l bet you it鈥檚 pretty damned magical. Here鈥檚 one: Let鈥檚 take Ike out and put Rod Woodson there. Let鈥檚 take Ryan Clark out and put Darren Perry there. Not that Ryan Clark鈥檚 a bad player, but he鈥檚 not a takeaway guy. Or, let鈥檚 go back and institute the pre-2010 player safety initiative rules again and let鈥檚 let those receivers think about running down those seams with the old rules. Super Bowl 45, all of that stuff about Aaron Rodgers and what a great game he had. Remember the 鈥�08 playoffs when the Ravens tried some of that stuff? They carted Willis McGahee off. But you don鈥檛 do that stuff anymore. The rules changes, to me, were pointed directly at this football team, this organization. Don鈥檛 get me on the soapbox, but this (Dashon) Goldson, his suspension gets reduced to a fine, and another guy who was suspended got reduced to a fine. James Harrison, as of that 2010 game against the Browns, had never been flagged for a personal-foul penalty in his entire NFL career, and they called him an habitual offender. How can you be an habitual offender if you鈥檝e never had a personal foul? I鈥檓 not an habitual burglar if I never got caught robbing anybody!
But there are a lot of things that I think are kind of coming together at this particular time that are hitting the Steelers. I mean, the Giants are 0-5. Look at the way the organizations are run. The philosophies might not be identical but fairly similar. They believe in stability. They believe in drafting and developing your own players. They don鈥檛 believe in making big splashes in free agency. Are we to believe that all of that stuff is now the wrong approach? In February of 2011, we were in Arlington and Dick LeBeau was the smartest man ever. The Steelers鈥� way was the best way ever. So now what you鈥檙e telling me is that 24 months later all of that鈥檚 crap and we need to throw it all out and do something else? I鈥檓 not saying you don鈥檛 adjust and maybe tweak some things and try and do some things better, but your general framework of your procedures and beliefs should not change now, because then you become a rabble.
JW: OK, so the focus is still on the offensive line. Can Adams get better?
AM: I think it would be a little bit premature to say he can鈥檛 play left tackle ever. What do you think?
JW: I would have to be an offensive line coach to make the intelligent decision that needs to be made there. Does this team have that? Can Jack Bicknell coach this guy up?
AM: I don鈥檛 know. That鈥檚 his job. You know, I鈥檓 not a big fan of that, of changing the staff constantly, constantly, constantly.
JW: Could you see moving Adams to left guard and drafting the left tackle next year?
AM: I鈥檓 not opposed to anything. I think the one thing we definitely agree on is you need more than five. There鈥檚 barely five. Without Pouncey there isn鈥檛 five. This is what the rest of this season needs to be about, for the personnel evaluators. For me, the rest of this season needs to be about trying to win every game you play. I understand how trite that sounds, but let me explain myself. This isn鈥檛 the preseason. I鈥檓 not putting anybody in to 鈥楲et鈥檚 see what he can do.鈥� 鈥�- that. I鈥檓 trying to win the game. If there鈥檚 something, a move that can be made within the realm of the reality that can help us win, I鈥檓 in. But I鈥檓 not into 鈥楲et鈥檚 see what he can do.鈥� Or 鈥楲et鈥檚 try this there.鈥� No, that (stuff) is for the off-season. That鈥檚 for then. And I also believe you set yourself up for future success by how you handle these kinds of situations. By that I mean this: The coach, the coaches, need to do what I just said because nobody wants to waste a year of their career. You want to lose credibility with your players, start doing that (stuff). OK? They want to win every week; you try and win every week. And how it ends up, it ends up and you deal with it after that. That, to me, is important to maintain your credibility. You need to impress upon them what is important, and that is we鈥檙e in the business of winning games. This is the game we have to play now; we want to win this.
We鈥檙e not tanking for draft picks or we鈥檙e not trading away our best running back to draft a quarterback next April. None of that (stuff). You cannot have that. You can鈥檛 talk about that. You can鈥檛 think like that. And then I think you have some ability to establish some credibility with your players in that respect, so that if you have to go to them and say 鈥楯im, I鈥檝e got to move you from this position to this position to get this guy in because you two guys playing next to each other instead of competing for the same spot gives us a better chance to win. I understand you鈥檙e not going to be able to touch the ball as much, but this is what I need to happen.鈥� Well, Jim, then you鈥檙e more likely to say to me 鈥極K,鈥� because I鈥檝e taught you through my actions that I鈥檓 just trying to win. There鈥檚 no bull(stuff) here. I believe that helped Cowher in a bunch of different instances, where he was a hard-nosed (jerk) but what he did 鈥� whether it was right or wrong, too; sometimes it was wrong 鈥� but, the purpose was what鈥檚 best for the team, so that when he would then go to people and try and get them to buy into something for the good of the team, at least they knew he was pure of heart.
Again, whether he was right or not, who knows? But that鈥檚 what鈥檚 important. Otherwise you become Tampa Bay.