Tasser: Pennsylvania teams off to a poor start

It’s been a rough year thus far for Pennsylvania’s professional football teams. The… It’s been a rough year thus far for Pennsylvania’s professional football teams. The defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the “Dream Team” Philadelphia Eagles are a combined 3-5 after four weeks — and far from their predicted places atop divisional standings.

What’s wrong:

After weeks of ignoring the “experts” and their claims of how old the vaunted Pittsburgh defense is, I finally have to relent. The Steelers have allowed two rushes of more than 100 yards so far this season, something once thought unfathomable. Their linebackers look slow, out of shape and unmotivated . Even the incomparable Troy Polamalu seems like he lost a step; he took several bad angles to the ball that cost him, when in the past they wouldn’t have. He was all over the field in the victory over Indianapolis, but you have to wonder if the Troy from a couple of years ago would have gotten to that handoff Joseph Addai took in the backfield a split-second earlier. The defensive line was continually blown off the ball by the Texans’ offensive line, bringing to light that Aaron Smith and Casey Hampton are no spring chickens. Now Smith is hurt — again — and so is James Harrison. On top of that, we still haven’t seen Brett “The Beard” Keisel.

And please, don’t get me started on the Steelers’ offensive line. I despise every one of them.

The Eagles’ problems are not quite as apparent (or predictable). The “Dream Team” logo was placed upon them by their perpetually injured backup quarterback Vince Young, but they have been anything but thus far. Mike Vick proclaimed the phrase “dead” this week, and not a moment too soon. The team’s super secondary has been carved up week after week and have given up a league-high 10 touchdown passes through four games. Its offense should be potent with an equally-as-large collection of stars and athletes, but they just haven’t clicked for a full game.

What they need to do:

The Steelers need to get their swagger back. The defense only has one turnover, and that needs to change. It seems like Polamalu has spent a majority of the time blitzing. This isn’t a bad thing at all, but the team needs his ball-hawking skills to force turnovers; Ike Taylor and company aren’t just going to pull down the picks. But with injuries mounting up, the Steelers need to patch together both their offensive and defensive lines and get back to “Steeler Football.”

The Eagles, on the other hand, need to turn their swag down. Shedding the “Dream Team” tag should help, but at 1-3, they don’t really have time to turn it around — it needs to happen now. They’re two games out of first early and sitting in last place. Their big names — on both sides of the ball — need to step up and play better together if they hope to salvage their season.