Grades and thoughts on the Steelers loss against the Saints

Offense ...C-

The Steelers offense was below average most of the night. QB Ben Roethlisberger was pressured most of the time and seemed off most of the game. His final stats 17 of 28 no Tds and a interception and a QB rating of 66.8 .

That's not going to win you many games especially not on the road against a quality opponent such as the Saints. The offensive line did not win the battle in the trenches . When you have 1^st and goal at the 1 inch line and have to settle for a field goal that's a big problem and it starts with the offensive line. They also gave up three sacks and seemed confused by the Saints blitz schemes most of the night. The Steelers running game had a rough night most of the time but did have the occasional big play. Rashard Mendenhall had a 38 yard Td run and his final stats ended up being 15 carries for 71 yards and a TD. The Steelers receivers seemed to have trouble getting deep ,but this may have been a product of the saints pass rush not allowing the time to get deep. Bottom line the Steelers offense did not play well enough to win.

Defense …C-

The Steelers defense was once again tough against the run allowing only 30 yards rushing on 21 attempts for a meager average of just 1.4 yards per rush. LB Lawrence Timmons had another good game leading the team again with 12 tackles 2 for a loss. The big problem was the Steelers defense allowed Drew Brees to pick them apart ,especially in the second half of the game. Brees finished the game passing 34 for 44 for 305 yards passing and 2 Tds and a QB rating of 101.0 that's just not winning defense against a QB the caliber of Brees . Ike Taylor had a nice interception of a Brees pass but Brees was nearly flawless when it counted. The Steelers defense could not get off the field giving up a lot of 3^rd down plays. The Steelers pass defense must step it up. They are letting opposing Qbs to complete 68% of their passes for the season that's just an unacceptable amount and must go down significantly to be a dominating defense.

Special Teams … B -

Emmanuel Sanders continued to impress on kick off returns averaging 32.7 yards a return with a long of 41. He also had a punt return of 38 yards .He must work on holding onto the ball to build the coaching staffs confidence in him. Dan Supulveda had another solid day punting for an average of 48 yards a punt and 43 yard net. Kicker Jeff Reed missed a key 51 yard field goal that gave the Saints great field position just before the half that resulted in a Saints field goal to tie the game at the half. Reed has got to make that kick in a dome with ideal kicking conditions.

The Good...

Emmanuel Sanders looks like a great find and gives the Steelers a real threat as a returner.

The Bad...

The Steelers failure to punch in the Td on first and goal and less then a yard. That is just not acceptable football .

The Ugly...

The Steelers pass defense ...Letting Brees carve them up like he did and on third downs was just plain ugly.

Well that's it for the grades and thoughts on the Steelers loss to the Saints ...Don't forget to spread the word about this blog and don`t be afraid to leave some feedback ...Later Steeler Nation!