Kovacevic: Arrogance, zero accountability created this crippling O-line taken in Minneapolis (DK's 10 Takes)

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Ben Roethlisberger's sacked by the Vikings' defense Thursday night in Minneapolis.

DK's 10 Takes

Kovacevic: Arrogance, zero accountability created this crippling O-line

By Dejan Kovacevic

Dec 10, 2021 • 11:00 am

46.1K

MINNEAPOLIS -- "That's four!"

The words were unmistakable off the lips of Ben Roethlisberger, as was the topic, as was the target.

He'd just been sacked a fourth time, shortly before halftime of what wound up being for the Steelers an excruciating 36-28 loss to the Vikings on this Thursday night inside US Bank Stadium, and he'd had enough. Picked himself up off the ground -- that's now standard with this offensive line, by the way -- strode over to the sideline and, in passing the head coach, gave hard eye contact and an equally hard earful to the individual most responsible.

Visual evidence:

" "

"That's four!"

Plain as day.

Just as it should've been to Mike Tomlin, to Kevin Colbert, to all of the team's evaluators, this past spring and summer. But especially to Tomlin, whose figurative fingers are the only ones in every process.

I wrote it at the time, repeated it all through the camps and the preseason and right into the regular season, but nothing about the rest of this roster was going to matter if management would miss on their plan for the offensive line. And, oh, my goodness, did they ever miss. I'm talking about a Devin-Bush-on-Dalvin-Cook level of missing.

It would end up at five sacks, by the way. And it'd lead to Tomlin finally, finally sounding as if he, too, had enough.

Before opening his postgame press conference to questions, he'd state in a forceful tone, "Disappointing game, to say the least. Just to be blunt, we're getting handled up front on both sides of the ball, and that makes it difficult. It makes it difficult to do what we desire to do. It makes it difficult to maintain balance. It makes it difficult to dictate to our opponents what happens."

Also, since this has been the case for months now, it makes it difficult to believe it took this long for that realization to hit home. But I digress.

"It's going to be tough sledding for us until we get better in that area," he continued. "We're not good in that area. We were JV again tonight, and I'm talking about up front on both sides. We lost the battle on the line of scrimmage."

Remember when I asked in Cincinnati after that debacle if he might make changes, even though I knew none would follow and, in fact, none did follow?

He didn't wait for the question this time, concluding, "We've got to be better than we were. We'll turn over every stone to do that. We've got a long week coming up between this and our next one. We'll make good use of that time and assess not only what we're doing but who we're doing it with."

I did follow up by asking what changes he could make, considering how severely limited the current roster has become.

"We're limited tonight," he came back. "We've got 10 days between now and our next one, so we'll do whatever we can to strengthen ourselves."

Cool. So, again, everything that should've been done this past spring and summer.

Look, I get that a lot went into this loss that couldn't afford to be a loss.

The offense, in what's now a recurring theme, took way too long to wake up.

The defense, in what's now a recurring if more sporadic theme, was steamrollered by an opponent that pretty much advertised it'd be running, running, running.

The special teams saw surprisingly poor kicking and unsurprisingly poor punting.

And Chase Claypool alone ... man, this kid's collective absurdity was worthy of its own full column.

But make no mistake: This is on the offensive line. One line, not both. One problem. From start to finish.

It's accurate, of course, for Tomlin to cite "both sides," as he did. Cook rushed for 205 yards on 27 carries, and I'd swear I saw him still sprinting around the stadium upon leaving the press box hours later. It was an embarrassment of epic proportions.

It's also, however, an issue that's resulted from injury, illness and Stephon Tuitt's lingering absence. It just is. That's not an excuse. It's a fact that Tuitt and Tyson Alualu couldn't be replaced. It's a fact that Cam Heyward's being double-teamed even when he goes to the bathroom. It's a fact that T.J. Watt's now missed the equivalent of four full games, counting the half he missed in this one to a re-injury of his groin. It's a fact that Joe Haden's missed five games, including the past four.

And if I were Tomlin, I'd want to lump both lines together, too, since it'd avoid the same subject all concerned have been avoiding throughout the calendar year: This offensive line's the worst in the NFL, and everyone should've been aware that it'd be precisely that.

Instead, as I've been pounding on these poor keys for months, the line was constructed on an unhealthy combination of hope, arrogance and lack of accountability.

How else to explain Art Rooney II publicly declaring back in January that the top priority would be reviving the running game, only to oversee -- and clearly overlook -- this approach to building a line?

How else to explain Colbert and Omar Khan going through free agency and, even though David DeCastro's retirement came late in the summer, through a trade deadline without adding anyone other than Trai Turner?

How else to explain $10.25 million in unused cap space?

How else to explain the insular, internal non-searches to fill critical vacancies at both offensive coordinator and offensive line coach?

How else to explain Tomlin treating these rookies like experienced vets through camp and the preseason, resting them after a single quarter in exhibitions as if they wouldn't benefit from a few extra snaps?

How else to explain dressing up Kendrick Green in a No. 53 jersey on the first day of rookie camp?

How else to explain witnessing all five of those sacks on this night ...

" "

... and allowing that to occur in the season's 13th game with mostly the same players from left to right?

Don't bypass that video. Tap the play button. That's the story. That's been the story.

And watch, in particular, Green's hat trick of blocking air. He'll rise up from the snap, stand there, hold both arms out and block no one. And he'll do it on three of those.

That video would get people fired somewhere else.

The following freeze-frame alone, sent to me during the game by a longtime reader, would get someone fired:

pic.twitter.com/3HjdxhK3Ne
— Dr. TONY MONTG (@TONYMONTG) December 10, 2021

My God. Look at Green, Turner and John Leglue floating out in orbit while Sheldon Richardson wraps up Ben. It's an almost-impossible construct.

That won't get Matt Canada or Adrian Klemm fired, even though both have shown to be grossly overmatched. And it sure as hell won't get Tomlin fired.

And this, at least from my perspective, is the root of everything. Tomlin's personality is anything but complacent, but complacency can come in countless forms. And most often, when someone's in charge for too long, whether it's of a sports team or something more serious, this is that form. That someone thinks that something's correct because they've said it's correct. They think that something can come into being because they've said it can come into being.

I'm beyond convinced that's what occurred here.

They, led by Tomlin's force of will, hoped this would work.

They, led by Tomlin, had the arrogance to believe -- genuinely, I'm sure -- that this would work.

And they, led by Tomlin's cemented status with the Steelers, operated without accountability.

As they'll continue to do.

When Tomlin was asked after this game if, in addition to the players' culpability in the line play, the coaches might also face accountability, he initially reacted as if he'd seen a ghost, then replied, "What do you mean? A coach hasn't made a play, sustained a block, made a tackle. I know I hadn't in a long time."

That. That's what I'm talking about.

Well, sorry, but they won't fix this offensive line. What's worse, they'll never acknowledge what all went into allowing it to bottom out like this, and Rooney, at the very top, will never require it.

Which is too bad. On so many levels, but I feel it's imperative to stress that from this specific scene.

Ben was nothing less than brilliant for the final quarter and change. Never mind the overall statistics -- though they were fine at 28 of 40 for 308 yards, three touchdowns and a deflected pick -- and lock instead on all six of the Steelers' possessions after falling behind, 29-0:

• Touchdown, 75-yard drive
• Touchdown, 42-yard drive
• Touchdown, 69-yard drive
• Punt, three-and-out
• Touchdown, 21-yard drive
• Time expired, 84-yard drive

And remarkably, amid all the bombs he was dropping as if he were 25 years old again, he might've saved his sweetest pass for last:

" "

That's pristine. As was Pat Freiermuth's route. As was his hand positioning. As was his closing on the ball.

As was Harrison Smith's swat that ruined it.

Sure, a two-point conversion would still be needed to tie, and overtime would ensue. But that would've been the moment. Another moment, the kind Ben's plainly been pursuing with the passion he's displayed week after week, all doubtless with the broader motivation of pushing this deeply flawed team into the playoffs.

He deserved for that to be a touchdown. Not because he's owed anything, but because he'd earned this one. He's got the 51 fourth-quarter comebacks in the books, and his name should've been next to one that'd top them all. Thirty-six freaking points in a quarter and change.

He'd get asked, naturally, about showing the frustration he did after that fourth sack?

"I try not to, but sometimes it's hard," he'd answer. "And I hate that because I don't want to seem like I'm frustrated about anything in particular."

Ha!

If only it'd come with choral accompaniment!