when things aren't going well for the Pittsburgh Steelers is likening his team's issues to popcorn.
Translation: The problems are scattered and unpredictable.And they're
spreading.The two-time defending AFC North champions woke up on the first day of
October tied with Cleveland for last place in the division at 1-2-1. It's no
longer just the defense that's under fire. Pittsburgh managed all of 47 yards in
the second half of a 26-14 loss to Baltimore on Sunday night that left the rival
Ravens practically strutting off Heinz Field
Atlanta Falcons Hoodie , and the Steelers wondering when the turnaround is going to happen.Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tried to shoulder most of the blame and he
was hardly crisp while going 8 of 18 for 50 yards with an interception in the
second half. Yet the passing game was downright dynamic compared to how
Pittsburgh ran — or technically, didn't run — the ball.Roethlisberger handed off
four times over the final 30 minutes. The Steelers gained 5 yards. And it wasn't
like Pittsburgh was throwing the ball because it was in catch-up mode. The game
was tied at the break.The Ravens, by comparison, ran 20 times in the second half
while putting together four long drives that ended with Justin Tucker field
goals, allowing them to slowly pull away."We've got some things to fix," center
Maurkice Pouncey said Monday. "Starting off a little bit faster on offense,
running the ball a little bit better."Or, perhaps, a lot better. After piling up
159 yards rushing in Week 1 against Cleveland, the Steelers have managed 130
over their last three games combined, the absence of running back Le'Veon Bell —
who has yet to sign his franchise tag — becoming more acute by the day.Tomlin
admitted "that's a good question" when asked late Sunday night why Pittsburgh
got away from the run so quickly against the Ravens."We were not able to find
enough traction tonight," Tomlin said. "We didn't run it a lot and I'd imagine
the more we run it, the more traction we will find."Provided Pittsburgh can stay
within striking distance on the scoreboard. That's been a rarity of late, at
least at home. Long a place where they have been dominant, Heinz Field has
become a haven for quality opponents. The Steelers haven't won a game that
counted within the city limits since topping Cleveland in the 2017
regular-season finale.All three losses — by three to Jacksonville in the
divisional round of the playoffs, by five to Kansas City in Week 2 and by a
dozen on Sunday — followed a familiar pattern. Pittsburgh would fall behind
early, scramble to get back in it, only to have the defense succumb late.While
the Chiefs bombarded the secondary behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the
Ravens took a more pragmatic approach. Save for a couple of deep throws in the
first half to John Brown, Joe Flacco kept hitting teammates underneath for small
gains that allowed Baltimore to eat up the clock.The Steelers had the ball less
than three minutes in the fourth quarter as the Ravens played keepaway.
Pittsburgh produced two sacks on Flacco, who dropped back 44 times. He faced
little pressure, saying afterward having a clean pocket — a rarity during his
career when facing the Steelers — helped him methodically pick Pittsburgh
apart."When we keep getting shots (to get off the field) and we don't get off
the field, that's just not a good recipe for success," defensive end Cam Heyward
said.Things don't get any easier next week when snake-bitten Atlanta comes to
town. The Falcons, depleted by injuries on defense, are 1-3 despite the sublime
play of quarterback Matt Ryan
Cheap Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , who has 10 touchdowns against two interceptions and guided an attack that piled up 495 yards in a brutal 37-36
loss to Cincinnati on Sunday.The Bengals' last-second win and Baltimore's first
triumph in Pittsburgh in three years left the Steelers staring up in the
division for the first time in a while. Pittsburgh tends to improve as the
season goes on — Tomlin is 30-13 in October during his decade-plus tenure — and
there remains no real sense of panic, at least optically."We're not worried
about what everybody's record is," cornerback Joe Haden said. "Our record isn't
good enough. We have to be able to come out and win games." Consider now two
on-court reactions to the Jimmy Butler trade from two players heavily affected
by the proceedings.First, we turn to Minnesota where Karl-Anthony Towns,
tormented in the media and during at least one random practice session by
Butler, played his first game since the trade on Monday. Towns finished with 25
points on 9-of-11 shooting with 21 rebounds and, uh, 10 turnovers. He also had
one bizarre little quote about leadership. In all, pretty good.Second, we look
to Philadelphia, where Markelle Fultz likely played his last game of the near
term as a starter — we expect Butler to supplant him in the front five this
week. Fultz is also the top candidate to be tormented by Butler based on
history. (Jimmy Butler, what a guy!) Fultz shot 2-8 from the floor and had yet
another absolutely bizarre moment with a terrible hitch on a free throw, later
saying the ball slipped out. His (former) trainer took the opportunity to leak
to reporters he’s no longer working with Fultz and they aren’t on speaking
terms. In all, pretty bad.Did we account for all of this extraneous impacts when
grading the Butler trade? Should we have?ScoresMagic 109, Wizards 117Sixers 124,
Heat 114Pelicans 126, Raptors 110Mavericks 103, Bulls 98Jazz 96, Grizzlies
88Nets 113, Timberwolves 120Suns 101, Thunder 118Spurs 99, Kings 104Warriors
116, Clippers 121 (OT)ScheduleHornets at Cavaliers, 7 p.m. ET, NBA TVRockets at
Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET
Womens Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , League PassHawks at Warriors, 10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TVLinksWhat’s next for the Timberwolves and Tom Thibodeau?
Seerat Sohi on why Jimmy Butler and the Sixers need each other.Poor, poor Caris
LeVert. He was having a legitimate breakout season for the Nets and he suffered
a very, very bad leg injury on Monday night. Hoping for a clean, quick
recovery.Really cool project by Nylon Calculus where you adjust your priorities
(individual peak, longevity, rings, scoring, etc.) and it spits out an
algorithmic Top 50 of All-Time. My top five goes Kareem, LeBron, MJ, Wilt and
Duncan, which is pretty close to how I would have otherwise listed my top five
(MJ, LeBron, Kareem, Duncan, Oscar). What a win by the Clippers over the
Warriors. Montrezl Harrell is real.LOL — LeBron almost lost it with his loony
Lakers teammates already.Carmelo Anthony has, by the numbers, been
extraordinarily bad this season. I ask three questions whose answers will
determine his basketball future, or whether he has one. Woj reports that Melo’s
camp is looking at other team.Alex Wong has a new podcast, and in the first
episode he talks to the very funny Alex Chieng about all things NBA.In a very
good piece on DeMar DeRozan looking forward from San Antonio, Jonathan Abrams
reports that the All-Star found out he was traded by the Raptors in a Jack in
the Box, where he then stayed two hours processing the news.Kyrie Irving being
mysterious and conspiratorial in discussing his team’s struggles? He learned at
the feet of the best.Be excellent to each other.
