Five Burning Questions
ESPN.com
Coming out of every Sunday there are always a number of questions that need to be answered. We asked some of out experts for their opinion on the five Burning Questions coming out of Week 5. Also, we want to know what SportsNation thinks about Week 5 of the NFL season.
1. Are the Steelers done?
Merril Hoge: No. The defense is still excellent, they still have Bill Cowher and the offense is going to get back on track. It's too early in the season for them to be over and done with the talent they have on this team. They have to make minor adjustments in their running game and get Ben Roethlisberger's rhythm back to where it should be. People forget that Roethlisberger is a young guy and not a pure passer like a Carson Palmer. Despite the phenomenal start to his career he's still in the developmental stage of his career and he isn't prepared to lead a team just yet. That's why this team needs the running game to get going. This isn't a team that abandons the run so that shouldn't be a problem for the Steelers down the stretch when the weather is bad and the running game is needed. They'll be in the mix come playoff time.
Mark Schlereth: No. They are behind the eight-ball, but they are a very talented team and will bounce back from these early season woes. They have a terrific defense, and that's going to keep them in games while the offense works out its kinks. It's easy to forget that Ben Roethlisberger had a horrific offseason personally and professionally. He was in a major motorcycle accident and had to undergo emergency appendectomy surgery right before the season started. In addition to that, he had to deal with the loss of Antwaan Randle El to free agency and Hines Ward being hobbled with hamstring issues throughout training camp. It's going to take time, but this team will right the ship by the end of the season and will be in the wild-card race.
Sean Salisbury: We said they were done last year and they ended up winning the Super Bowl, so this isn't a team that I'd lightly kick to the curb. There is no rhyme or reason for what is going on right now in Pittsburgh except for the fact that Ben Roethlisberger isn't 100 percent yet and hasn't done a very good job so far this season. Also, the big plays aren't there right now, and I think that can be attributed to the loss of Antwaan Randle El and Jerome Bettis. Once they are ready, there is no way they are done.
2. Should the Cowboys replace Drew Bledsoe with Tony Romo?
Hoge: No. This is still a very good football team and I've never seen Bill Parcells as a guy who panics. Up until the last few moments of the Eagles game , Bledsoe's job wasn't in trouble and it shouldn't be in trouble now . He has played well this season but ran into a n Eagles defense that can do what few other defenses in the NFL can do and that's keep rotating pressure in all day. The person who should be benched is safety Roy Williams, who had an horrendous game. He's a liability in pass coverage and the Eagles saw that and exposed him. That's why the Cowboys lost the game.
Schlereth: That's a tough question, but I'd say no because it's too early for this team to push the panic button. They have to shore up their protection issues to give Bledsoe more time because I don't think anybody is going to be successful if they are consistently having to run for their lives. Also, when guys aren't consistently beating one-on-one coverage, as was the case on Sunday for the Cowboys receivers, then that's not the quarterback's fault. Terry Glenn and Terrell Owens must take full advantage of single coverage when they see it. They didn't do that Sunday, and that's a large part of the reason why the Cowboys weren't able to pull out the win.
Salisbury: I still continue to marvel at how people want to put so much into what someone does in the preseason. If preseason results meant anything, the Chicago Bears would be winless because they looked terrible during the preseason. Just because a guy looks great in the preseason doesn't mean he's destined for greatness. Romo has some exceptional skills, but Bledsoe is the quarterback for this team.
3. Will the Dolphins recover from their 1-4 start to make the playoffs?
Hoge: No, they won't because they have too many deficiencies offensively. They have obvious problems at the quarterback position and when that position goes sour , the rest of the offense is soon to follow. The offensive line has also been way too inconsistent for them to run the ball down the throats of opposing teams and they aren't good enough defensively to carry this offense. The front seven is good, but not great, and the secondary hasn't been on the same page. It will be too hard for them to rebound and get to the playoffs.
Schlereth: No, this isn't a very good football team. Joey Harrington isn't much of an upgrade over Daunte Culpepper, and they aren't very good up front offensively. I don't care how talented your team is, if you don't block, you don't win. This team is atrocious at times on the line of scrimmage, and they aren't even close to being a playoff team.
Salisbury: There is no chance this team makes the playoffs. This is a team that does nothing particularly well. What would you name as a strength of this team? I can't think of anything they do better than most teams in the league. The Patriots will have this division wrapped up extremely early, and the Dolphins are going down as the biggest disappointment of the season.
4. Who will challenge the Bears in the NFC?
Hoge: No one. There isn't a team in the NFC that would really give this team a legitimate run for their money. The only team that would make it interesting is the Philadelphia Eagles. But with their inability to consistently run the football and their reliance on the pass , the Eagles would be in trouble. To beat this Bears defense you need a physical running game, a sharp quarterback and a defense that can maintain pressure. The Eagles have two of those, but the running game is what keeps them from being on that elite level.
Schlereth: No one. There is no team that is a challenge for that dominant Bears juggernaut. If the Panthers are able to continue their progression and Steve Smith can continue to get healthy, Carolina may be able to compete with them at the end of the season. That's because the Panthers have a physical defensive line, and they can play a smash-mouth game. But they need to get Smith to 100 percent for there to be a chance of it happening.
Salisbury: There are three teams that have a shot to challenge the Bears for supremacy in the NFC. The Eagles are one of those teams because Donovan McNabb is playing the best football of his career and the defense just swarms on opposing quarterbacks. Another pick is the Carolina Panthers because they've proven they can play smash-mouth football as well as anyone in the league and they have Steve Smith getting healthy. The final team is the Seattle Seahawks with Shaun Alexander. They played the Bears without Alexander, and I believe the reigning MVP would make a huge difference.
5. Which coach is on the hottest seat?
Hoge: Art Shell is my pick even though it's his first year back coaching the Oakland Raiders. It's obvious how unprepared this team is for the game every week and they make no adjustments during the game. In addition they came back from their bye week showing absolutely no improvement when every team is supposed to show improvement coming off the bye week. There is a good chance they won't win a game this season.
Schlereth: It's kinda early in the season, but for the Raiders' standpoint, they need some drastic things to happen. The whole organization has to be under a microscope, and I'm putting them on notice. This team must start playing like a professional football team instead of like a D-II college football team. They don't play with any passion and don't seem prepared, and that has to come down on Art Shell.
Salisbury: Jeff Fisher is probably in the most trouble of all the coaches in the league. But if he's fired, he won't be unemployed for more than three and a half minutes because he's a great coach who has been dealt a bad hand. Fisher will be donning a headset for someone next season, either in Tennessee or somewhere else in the NFL.
