By Alan Robinson

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 7:24 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, October 31, 2012

There's no need to think up any catchy sack-related nickname for these Steelers. Blitzburgh, it's not.

They suit up an average of 23 players on defense every week, but they have only 12 sacks in seven games. J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans has 9 1⁄2 sacks by himself.

Jason Worilds (who played nine snaps Sunday against Washington) and Larry Foote lead with three sacks each.

At their present pace, the Steelers will finish with 27 sacks, the fewest since they had 19 in 1988. The team low for a 16-game season is 18 in 1980.

“We had only one sack (against the Redskins), but I think we did a great job of putting the pressure on,” outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley said.

The Giants have 21 sacks, led by Jason Pierre-Paul's 51⁄2.

Short passes come up large

All that dinking and dunking is adding up. Ben Roethlisberger's passing numbers are up across the board from a season ago, when he was throwing deeper but less consistently. He is 179 of 268 for 1,987 yards, 14 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, compared to 147 of 234 for 1,937 yards, 12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions through seven games in 2011. The only major passing stat that has declined is yards per attempt, from 8.28 to 7.41.

1. Ex-Steelers QB Batch learns new form of 2-minute drill
2. Steelers ink fourth-round pick Thomas to 4-year deal
3. Receiver Wheaton could make biggest splash among Steelers’ rookies
4. Robinson: The good, bad of speaking out in NFL
5. Starks prepared to part ways with Steelers
6. Steelers Hall of Famer Jack Butler dies at 85
7. Robinson: Steelers’ draft grades well ... for now
8. Steelers’ Clark: Polamalu third-best safety in NFL
9. NFL Draft littered with potential cornerback starters, even in middle rounds

There are currently no comments for this story.
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.