Pittsburgh vs. New England

[PittsburghPA]

If I'm a Patriots fan, this is what I'd be concerned about against the Steelers:

1. The running game. Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris remind me an awful lot of Erric Pegram and Bam Morris (especially Sam and Bam Morris, because their names kinda ryhme): A serviceable running game, but nothing dominant. The Patriots could be put into lots of third-and-long situations. Granted, they have the passing game to overcome it, but without an intimidating running game, and our stout run defense, dare I say the Patriots offense becomes easier to defend?

2. The run defense. Did anybody else notice Joseph Addai ripping off some decent-sized runs against the Patriots defense? So did I. Willie Parker is at least as good as Addai, so if Addai can gash them, I don't see why Parker can't. Furthermore, their starting LBs are all 30 or older now, and Tedy Bruschi is past his prime. They were worn down in the AFC Championship Game last year, so if we can take care of the ball on offense, we can do the same thing to them, especially in the second half of the game.

3. The red-zone defense. Last weekend was the first time all season that a team drove inside the New England 20-yard line and only came away with a FG. Every other time a team has driven inside their 20, they've allowed a TD. Their red-zone defense is ranked dead-last in the NFL. Going back to the arguments I made against New England's run defense, if we take care of the ball on offense, then we can drive inside the 20 on them, which is where their defense has a tendency to break.

Granted, all of this could go right out the window with a few key injuries, turnovers during the game, etc. Let's hope for the best, though. GO STEELERS! :towel:  

[Finnegans Wake]

I don't think Sammy Morris will be getting any yards against us at all.

[PittsburghPA]

I don't think Sammy Morris will be getting any yards against us at all.

Touche.

Enter Kevin Faulk.

[DCSteelers]

I personally think they'll come out vanilla in this game.  If we got to Foxboro in January, then we'll show some serius game planning.

[give'emthaboot]

they said today on Mike & Mike that the Pats are 13.5 point favorites for this game.  that's just fucking ridiculous.

[whitmer_87]

The key to beating the Pats is getting pressure on Brady. Brady will kill you if he has 8 seconds to find a receiver every play. Let's hope this past Monday was the coming out party of James Harrison, because we could definitely use that kind of performance against the Pats.

Running the ball and converting third downs will be huge. If we dominate TOP and keep Brady off the field then we stand a chance. No one is going to be able to outscore them this year, that offense is too good. You have to play them on your terms rather then on theirs. That's what the Colts tried to do.

The Colts couldn't close the game though, they had them by 10 with 8 minutes left and they just couldn't close it out. One thing the Steelers are known for is closing out games, so if we can get in that same situation we'll be set. The only problem is getting there.
 

[otismalibu]

I personally think they'll come out vanilla in this game. If we got to Foxboro in January, then we'll show some serius game planning.

I agree.

First off, there are too many games between now and then to even be thinking about this game. And with the Colts losing to the Pats, it makes beating the Pats to overtake them in the conference standings, a pretty slim possibility.

The Steelers always seem to be better off flying under the radar. Maybe that will change with Tomlin, but with Cowher, high expectations would always seem to lead to bed shitting.

I'm not saying they will tank, but I certainly wouldn't tip my hand until the post season. If the Steelers won the regular season game it could only fire up the Pats for any subsequent meetings. The Steelers have to be the clear underdog if they should happen to meet in the playoffs, IMO.

I'd play Batch and Dookie. Pinch the tip and hold that money shot for the end. :D  

[altimusprime]

they said today on Mike & Mike that the Pats are 13.5 point favorites for this game.