Steelers/Bengals review Patriots preview
If you stayed up Monday night, then you saw the end of a game that should not have been that close. Perhaps shades of last year when the Steelers lost five in a row after starting out 6 – 2 on their way to a 9 – 7 record. Injuries were the order of the evening, as if the Steelers could afford to add more injuries to their already depleted roster. But this team just keeps on plugging away and that is a testament to the players stepping up and answering the call and coach Mike Tomlin’s mantra that the standard does not change. Fill ins are expected to perform.
This game should not have been that close and should have been a blow out. Settling for field goals (and one miss that would have put the game away) is not what the doctor ordered. When you score touchdowns, you put the onus on the other team to try and play catch up. When you kick field goals, you give the other team life and the defense a moral victory. The difference between three and seven points is that important.
Right off the bat, the Steelers were rewarded with two turnovers and a 10 point lead that should have been 14. When you gain the ball in the opponent’s territory and have a chance to put points on the board, that is the goal of the offense. However, the other side of that coin is scoring that early, and often, leads to a tendency to rest on your laurels and step back on your heels. While the Bengals never had the lead, they came awful close to getting it late, when it counted the most, at the end of the game. Fortunately, the defense held, but I still have issues with the secondary.
Rashard Mendenhall, Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace all had touchdowns, to go with the two Jeff Reed field goals. Wallace’s touchdown came from Antwaan Randle El and shades of Super Bowl XL with his pass to Ward. That was a fine time to break out the trick play and show that Randle El still has it in him to come up with a play or two like that. Just like in the Super Bowl, that play iced it for the Steelers (the clinching touchdown).
However, one trend that is getting disturbing is the play of the corners (which I have mentioned in the past) and more specifically Bryant McFadden. His assignment was Terrell Owens and he made Owens look way better than what he is (from this writer’s point of view). Yes, Owens has the numbers. That point cannot be disputed. However, he is a malcontent who has gotten himself gone from San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo, and is now with Cincinnati because nearly no one else wants him.
But McFadden made him look like an All Pro. If the prognosticators want to make Owens out to be some kind of demi-god, all I ask is where is the jewelry? He has only played in one Super Bowl, as has Randy Moss, and neither one has the ring. Numbers are important, but you are also measured by championships won. Neither has, and it only adds to the phenomenon that wide receivers (most of them) are prima donnas.
McFadden was reacquired from Arizona because he wasn’t a fit there. Has he lost a step? Are his better days behind him? Ike Taylor did not play a bad game, and his interference call against Owens, when he was on that side of the field, was questionable. But Taylor was the bigger man and said that it was on him. I like that in a player. Lord knows receivers don’t make mistakes (just ask them). So that is impressive.
I like B-Mac; however, this may be an alarming trend. Receivers are going to catch passes. But they have to earn those receptions and not make it look so easy. There always appears to be tight coverage on the Steeler receivers, why don’t our corners play tight coverage as well? If it’s because of scheme, I respect that, but at the point where receivers are making big plays?
Onto another issue. The penalty against Casey Hampton for tackling Carson Palmer down below the knees was cheap, petty, and uncalled for. When are defensive players going to be allowed to do their jobs without fear of repercussion? This is the Palmer/Brady rule for the injuries they have incurred over the years. If this is the way we are going to treat pretty boy quarterbacks, then let’s put them in dresses and put flags around their waists. This is football. Let’s play the game the way it’s meant to be played.
The bright side to all of this is the Bengals lost, as did the Patriots to Cleveland (my upset special), so the Steelers are in a first place tie with Baltimore, even though the Ravens own the tiebreaker. This week could tip the scales in Pittsburgh favor if all works out. My two picks of the week involved both teams. Baltimore travels to Atlanta to take on the Falcons (this past Thursday) and the Steelers host New England Sunday night in another nationally televised game. The Browns spanked the Patriots last week and I believe they are going to get another whipping on Sunday.
If this all works out, the Steelers will have sole possession of first place in the AFC North, and will have the tiebreaker over the Patriots for the playoffs should it come down to home field advantage. I would also like the Steelers chances the rest of the way of the regular season.
The Patriots are vulnerable and the Steelers should be wound up, playing back at home after three weeks on the road. The Pats should be licking their wounds after the surprise in Cleveland, but they’ll have plenty more to lick after the Steelers are done with them Sunday night. The Steelers are learning how to win the close ones, which proved beneficial to them two years ago. Do not go planning on placing orders for Dallas and the Super Bowl just yet. There is a lot of football left to be played. But the Steelers are showing their mettle and getting it done by any means necessary. That is a lesson to be learned here.
Sunday night – Steelers 28, Patriots 13
The NFL Network threw me a curveball and I thought their Thursday night schedule was beginning last week. Turns out, it began Thursday night. So, I did not have a pick of the week last week. This week, there will be two, to make up for that
Week 9
Pick of the Week, Atlanta over Baltimore (Season, 3 - 5)
Pick of the Week II, Pittsburgh over New England
Upset Special, San Francisco over St. Louis (Season, 3 - 6)
This game should not have been that close and should have been a blow out. Settling for field goals (and one miss that would have put the game away) is not what the doctor ordered. When you score touchdowns, you put the onus on the other team to try and play catch up. When you kick field goals, you give the other team life and the defense a moral victory. The difference between three and seven points is that important.
Right off the bat, the Steelers were rewarded with two turnovers and a 10 point lead that should have been 14. When you gain the ball in the opponent’s territory and have a chance to put points on the board, that is the goal of the offense. However, the other side of that coin is scoring that early, and often, leads to a tendency to rest on your laurels and step back on your heels. While the Bengals never had the lead, they came awful close to getting it late, when it counted the most, at the end of the game. Fortunately, the defense held, but I still have issues with the secondary.
Rashard Mendenhall, Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace all had touchdowns, to go with the two Jeff Reed field goals. Wallace’s touchdown came from Antwaan Randle El and shades of Super Bowl XL with his pass to Ward. That was a fine time to break out the trick play and show that Randle El still has it in him to come up with a play or two like that. Just like in the Super Bowl, that play iced it for the Steelers (the clinching touchdown).
However, one trend that is getting disturbing is the play of the corners (which I have mentioned in the past) and more specifically Bryant McFadden. His assignment was Terrell Owens and he made Owens look way better than what he is (from this writer’s point of view). Yes, Owens has the numbers. That point cannot be disputed. However, he is a malcontent who has gotten himself gone from San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo, and is now with Cincinnati because nearly no one else wants him.
But McFadden made him look like an All Pro. If the prognosticators want to make Owens out to be some kind of demi-god, all I ask is where is the jewelry? He has only played in one Super Bowl, as has Randy Moss, and neither one has the ring. Numbers are important, but you are also measured by championships won. Neither has, and it only adds to the phenomenon that wide receivers (most of them) are prima donnas.
McFadden was reacquired from Arizona because he wasn’t a fit there. Has he lost a step? Are his better days behind him? Ike Taylor did not play a bad game, and his interference call against Owens, when he was on that side of the field, was questionable. But Taylor was the bigger man and said that it was on him. I like that in a player. Lord knows receivers don’t make mistakes (just ask them). So that is impressive.
I like B-Mac; however, this may be an alarming trend. Receivers are going to catch passes. But they have to earn those receptions and not make it look so easy. There always appears to be tight coverage on the Steeler receivers, why don’t our corners play tight coverage as well? If it’s because of scheme, I respect that, but at the point where receivers are making big plays?
Onto another issue. The penalty against Casey Hampton for tackling Carson Palmer down below the knees was cheap, petty, and uncalled for. When are defensive players going to be allowed to do their jobs without fear of repercussion? This is the Palmer/Brady rule for the injuries they have incurred over the years. If this is the way we are going to treat pretty boy quarterbacks, then let’s put them in dresses and put flags around their waists. This is football. Let’s play the game the way it’s meant to be played.
The bright side to all of this is the Bengals lost, as did the Patriots to Cleveland (my upset special), so the Steelers are in a first place tie with Baltimore, even though the Ravens own the tiebreaker. This week could tip the scales in Pittsburgh favor if all works out. My two picks of the week involved both teams. Baltimore travels to Atlanta to take on the Falcons (this past Thursday) and the Steelers host New England Sunday night in another nationally televised game. The Browns spanked the Patriots last week and I believe they are going to get another whipping on Sunday.
If this all works out, the Steelers will have sole possession of first place in the AFC North, and will have the tiebreaker over the Patriots for the playoffs should it come down to home field advantage. I would also like the Steelers chances the rest of the way of the regular season.
The Patriots are vulnerable and the Steelers should be wound up, playing back at home after three weeks on the road. The Pats should be licking their wounds after the surprise in Cleveland, but they’ll have plenty more to lick after the Steelers are done with them Sunday night. The Steelers are learning how to win the close ones, which proved beneficial to them two years ago. Do not go planning on placing orders for Dallas and the Super Bowl just yet. There is a lot of football left to be played. But the Steelers are showing their mettle and getting it done by any means necessary. That is a lesson to be learned here.
Sunday night – Steelers 28, Patriots 13
The NFL Network threw me a curveball and I thought their Thursday night schedule was beginning last week. Turns out, it began Thursday night. So, I did not have a pick of the week last week. This week, there will be two, to make up for that
Week 9
Pick of the Week, Atlanta over Baltimore (Season, 3 - 5)
Pick of the Week II, Pittsburgh over New England
Upset Special, San Francisco over St. Louis (Season, 3 - 6)
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