New storylines emerge every week. Some are reasonable, most are not. "The Week in Overreactions" focuses on the latter. Those items that offer a cursory "How do you do?" as they blow past reality straight for THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER! We're here to keep everything in perspective. Questions, comments, casserole ideas? Hit us up on Twitter at @ryanwilson_07.

Maybe Todd Haley wasn't the problem with Pittsburgh's offense

Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley is an easy target. He arrived in Pittsburgh before the 2012 season with a reputation for being something less than a player's coach. In general, there is nothing wrong with that, but Haley was coming into a situation where the franchise quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, and the man Haley was replacing, Bruce Arians, were considered too close.

Conventional wisdom went something like this: The arranged marriage of Roethlisberger and Haley would never work. In fact, it would blow up in the Steelers' faces, likely sooner than later. Two and a half seasons later, the two not only continue to co-exist but Haley, you could argue, has helped prolong Roethlisberger's career by going away from the downfield attack favored by Arians (that routinely led to his quarterback taking big hits) for a short-to-intermediate game plan that gets the ball out of Roethlisberger's hands quickly.

Todd Haley and Ben Roethlisberger could be close to jump-starting the Steelers' offense. (Getty Images)
Todd Haley and Ben Roethlisberger could be close to jump-starting the the Steelers' offense. (Getty Images)

But as the old saying goes, the NFL is a bottom-line business and the bottom line is that the Steelers have been average since Haley's arrival. Back-to-back 8-8 seasons and a 3-3 start in 2014 before Pittsburgh reeled off two straight -- including an offensive explosion against the Colts Sunday --  left most people (again) unimpressed with Haley. Especially after Arians' success in Indianapolis with Andrew Luck during his 2012 rookie season, and the subsequent successes with the Cardinals in 2013 and 2014.

But even before Big Ben completed 40 of 49 passes for 522 yards and six touchdowns against a very good Colts defense, the signs were there that the offense under Haley was working. Consistency and execution have been the problem -- on both sides of the ball, it turns out -- which goes a long way in explaining the two-year run on mediocre football.

Remember: The Steelers started the 2012 season with a 6-3 record and Roethlisberger was putting up MVP  numbers over the first half of that season. In those nine games he sported a 100 passer rating, completed 66 percent of his throws, and had 17 touchdowns versus four interceptions. He also took fewer hits than at any time in the Arians' era. Even if Big Ben not-so-secretly hated the new offense, it was hard to argue with the results.

And then Roethlisberger suffered an chest injury in the Week 10 game against the Chiefs, the Steelers had to turn to Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch, and by the time Roethlisberger returned to the lineup -- still less than 100 percent -- the Steelers' offense wasn't the same. They limped to a 2-5 finish because the centerpiece of their offense -- the franchise quarterback -- got hurt.

Last season, Pittsburgh stumbled to an 0-4 start and two of the biggest reasons were a worst-in-the-universe offensive line and a nonexistent running game. After enough duct tape was applied to the O-line, and then-rookie Le'Veon Bell was healthy, Haley's offense came together, scoring 27 or more points five times as the Steelers finished 6-2.

This season, the defense has been Pittsburgh's biggest liability; youth movements come at a cost -- on-the-job training and the mistakes that go with them -- and that's been the case through much of the first two months of the season. And while the offense had struggled in the red zone before the Week 7 win over the Texans, it was a top-10 unit in total yards. And that was with no legitimate No. 2 receiver after Antonio Brown.

Second-year wideout Markus Wheaton was supposed to be that guy, but after six catches for 97 yards in the opener against Cleveland, he disappeared for the next month. Rock bottom came in the rematch with the Browns when Wheaton was targeted 11 times but caught just four passes as he and Roethlisberger appeared to be reading from different playbooks in a 31-10 blowout loss.

And offseason acquisition Lance Moore was supposed to fill the void left by Jerricho Cotchery, the Steelers' No. 3 receiver and touchdown machine, who signed with the Panthers in March. Early in the season, Moore didn't even dress for games. He does now, as does rookie fourth-rounder Martavis Bryant who (hallelujah) gives Roethlisberger the elusive "tall red-zone target and downfield threat" that he hasn't had since Plaxico Burress was in Pittsburgh.

Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant both had 2 TD catches Sunday. (Getty Images)
Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant both had 2 TD catches Sunday. (Getty Images)

Inactive for six games, Bryant has been featured in the last two, hauling in seven passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns -- including two in the red zone. Bryant is still raw, he still continues to learn the playbook, and he still continues to make mistakes (against the Colts, he dropped a slant pass that would've gone for a long gain, and ran the wrong route in an earlier series). But his physical skills are undeniable. And his emergence not only gives Big Ben someone to lean on, it means defenses can't double-team Antonio Brown all day. And the Steelers' passing offense could become even more dynamic as Wheaton grows into his role.

Then there's Bell, who gives Haley one more dimension to the passing game. We've yet to see a linebacker cover him, which creates one more mismatch.

And that brings us to the offensive line. We said several times this offseason that the Steelers' biggest acquisition was offensive line coach Mike Munchak. On Sunday, the five big guys tasked with protecting Big Ben played a near-flawless game. Roethlisberger wasn't touched all afternoon, and it came against a Colts' defense that registered 20 sacks during its five-game winning streak and, according to Football Outsiders, came into Week 8 with the league's No. 2 pass defense.

Back-to-back wins have the Steelers tied for second place in the division but two months of football remain. A record-setting afternoon against a good Colts team is nice but questions remain about whether this team can be consistent from one week to the next. Many of those questions are on defense, where we've seen incremental improvements. The offense, as has been the case for parts of the previous two seasons under Haley, appears to be hitting its stride.

Whatever happens over the next eight games, this much is certain: Haley will never be loved in Pittsburgh and it has nothing to do with his demeanor, his relationship with the face of the franchise or this play-calling. It's solely a function of his job title. Just ask Arians, who went from the weekly target of fans' ire to revered offensive mastermind the moment he left and had success elsewhere.

But like most things in football, winning fixes everything.

The Colts will be fine

We didn't panic when the Colts started 0-2 -- even with division rival Houston coming out of the blocks 3-1 -- and we're not worried after Indy's latest setback: a 51-34 loss to a white-hot Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. In between those losses, the Colts reeled of five straight wins, including blowouts over the Jags, Titans and the Bengals.

More importantly, the Colts have the best quarterback in the NFL. We don't mean "best young quarterback," or "best quarterback two years from now" or any other variation on that theme, but the NFL's best quarterback. Andrew Luck is also the toughest quarterback in the league and we say that after watching every play of Roethlisberger's career.

If you're unconvinced (and MMQB.com's Greg Bedard is), just watch any play from Sunday's Colts-Steelers game. Luck was pressured hit or knocked down on virtually every drop back, and on virtually every drop back he stood tall in a crowded pocket, throwing with uncanny accuracy just as he was walloped.

Here's Luck's first (of three) touchdown pass, to tight end Dwayne Allen. Under pressure, he dropped a dime in the back of the end zone where only Allen could make the play.

Yes, there was a pick-six, the safety from the seat of his pants and the late-game interception in the end zone, but that's because Indy's defense couldn't get off the field and its offensive line couldn't block anybody. After recent dominating performances, the D, in the words of cornerback Darius Butler got their asses kicked, but that's football. As Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has been known to say, sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you.

For the Colts, there's reason for optimism. It starts with Luck, but also because the defense has shown the ability to rush the quarterback and shut down the passing game (though you wouldn't have known that Sunday). It also helps that they play in the AFC South where there's little (OK, no) chance that Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the Texans to a division title. And that means that Indy will host a playoff game and I'll take Luck against all comers in that situation.

First things first: We'll get a good idea how fast the Colts bounce back from Sunday's loss. They travel to New Jersey to face the Giants next Monday night and then host the Patriots the following Sunday night.

The Packers will be fine too

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will be fine. (Getty Images)
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will be fine. (Getty Images)

The Packers were blown out Sunday night, and a confluence of events led to this. First: After nearly two months, the Saints' offense finally looked like the Saints offense. Second, and just as important: The Saints' defense played well for Rob Ryan, something we haven't been able to say for much of the season. Third: There would have been no blowout (and maybe not even a win) if Aaron Rodgers hadn't tweaked his hamstring in the first half. The game turned at that moment, and the Packers' offense went from capable to sputtering in the split second it took him to grimace and grab the back of his leg.

Rodgers says he won't miss any time but also acknowledged that he was limited by the injury, even if some of his teammates weren't aware of it. Either way, the good news is that, in addition to having one of the league's top quarterbacks, the Packers are also in the NFC North.

Yes, the Lions are 6-2 but they were 6-3 a year ago before a 1-6 finish doomed their division hopes, playoff chances and Jim Schwartz's future in Detroit (though it worked out fine for him; he finally got carried off the Ford Field turf ... as a member of the Bills' coaching staff). And in Chicago, the only thing worse than Jay Cutler is the Bears' defense. Their 2014 season is effectively over.

It's another reason to like the Packers, even with Rodgers at less than 100 percent. Yes, they were overmatched by a long-overdue Saints team, but this is what happens when your best player is hobbled during a game in which somebody thought throwing to Julius Peppers in the end zone was a good idea.