Steelers look to regain their swagger

Ben Roethlisberger’s not deaf. He’s not blind, either. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback hears the criticism — from his coach, from fans, from the media—aftertwostraightlosses in which his team found itself getting bullied at times.

“There’s alot of outside noise and deservedly so,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday. “We haven’t played well. We’ve lost twoinarow.Thefansaregetting anxious. The talking heads are doingwhattheyaresupposedto doandtalking bad about us and all that stuff.”

The tape doesn’t lie. The Steelers (11-2) have topped 50 yards rushing just twice in their past seven games, an imbalance that has placed an increasingly heavyburdenonRoethlisberger. The injury-ravaged defense allowed Buffalo to grind out the final7:11ofthefourthquarteron Sundaynighttosaltawaya26-15 victorythatneverfeltindoubtin the secondhalf.

Being on the wrong side of a beatdown isn’t something that happens terribly often in Pittsburgh. Yet coach Mike Tomlin — unprompted — essentially called out his team for getting awayfromitshistoricalidentity. While Roethlisberger is aware it’seasytofocusontheoffensive and defensive lines when looking to place blame, he believes it extends to all 53 men on the roster.

“Physicality isn’t just about the line,” Roethlisberger said. “People just think that’s where it is, but really it’s about picking up blitzes. It’s about getting the tough yards. It’s about blocking the perimeter, things like that. Sometimesphysicalityismental, too. You have to be mentally tough.

“All those things combined, I thinkwecanhopefullyturnthis thingaround,andwecanhitthe plays that are there to behad.”

Tomlin hinted at having his players put on the pads this week in an effort to bring a sense of urgency that has been lackingoflate.Itcanbeadelicate balance,particularlyinmid-December, particularly for a team that isn’t exactly young upfront on either side of the ball. Three offensivelinestartersareintheir 30s.Soaretwoofthethreestartingdefensivelinemen.Themileage starts to add up this time of year.

Longtime defensive captain Cam Heyward’s solution: practice like you want to play. That meansgoing all out in non-contact drills in hopes of emulating whatawaitsinthestadium.

“I think we have to be more cognizantofthatandwehaveto attackthosereps,ifourindividualsarecutshort,makesureyour individuals are 100 mph,” he said.“Wehavetotakeadvantage ofthosemomentsbecausewe’re not getting those back. It’s upto ustoexecuteat ahighlevel.”