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"A" Game

Watching XL on NFLN as we speak. Steelers are down 3-0 in the second quarter. Seahawks have had the best of the Steelers through the air early but several penalties hurt them (End zone push and hold on a big PR) and Stevens dropped a 20 yard gain on 3rd and 2. Steelers come out nervous and get 2 false start penalties on the first drive.

 

This 08 defense has been better than that 05 one. At XLIII in Tampa, AZ will come through the air if they are smart. I have watched virtually every snap of Steelers football since 73. The teams that beat this particular derivative of Steelers football (02 thru present) were those Gannon, Brady teams that spread them out and passed on them 50 times. Warner, Fitz, AB & the kid from Woodland Hills High in Pittsburgh (Breaston) are better than the Cry Hawks WR at XL. Our current D is better than 05. It has been called Championship Caliber by a very intelligent Steelers blogger. This D needs to prove that true on Sunday. Prove It All Night. This D needs to bring it’s A game or we will be in trouble.

 

The DB are some of the best I have seen since the 70’s. With Troy, Clarke, Ike, 26, 20 and even Gay they are deep. When the catch is made they have to punish AZ WR. Speaking of punishing, the LB corps will need to punish. We have said the LB are the strength of the team since Latrobe. They need to be a strength on Sunday. They will need contributions from Deebo, Wood, Potsy, Foote and Timmons. These 5 need to get in Warner’s face and knock him down…repeatedly. LBs Bailey, Fox and Frazier must also dominate on ST. Up front they will need solid play and hopefully a couple splash plays. I’m counting on Snack and Mr. Aaron Smith but they could come from anywhere. They all need to watch for the flea. Prove It All Night.

 

The offense needs to bring it’s A game on Sunday. The 05 Steelers I am watching down to the Cry Hawks 3-0 with 7 minutes to play in the half at XL have shown to be a better O unit than the one we’ve seen this year. Hines was healthy in 05 and the MVP of this game. We had an RB that was a Bus. FWP would break a big 75 yard run. These 05 Steelers were Born To Run. Whiz ran wild.

 

I can’t see how Ben can’t be better this year in XLIII. He made big plays at XL but was inconsistent. He will need to be HUGE and lead us to victory at XLIII. No turnovers on O increases the probability that we get to 6. Ben will be harassed and going against coaches that know/knew him. He needs to be smart. His O line needs to protect him. His O line needs to open some holes for FWP & MM and Russell will need to pick up a big first down. Heath will need to be a key in the run game and a key in the pass game. 10 & 85 will need to pick it up in case The 86 Marine Division  is only a decoy. Sweed needs to catch the freaking ball. Pick up third downs and control the clock and you increase the chances to get 6. Arians will need to use every bit of wisdom he has gathered in his 50 plus years to outwit Whiz, Grimm and Haley and get the Steelers to The Promised Land.

 

Well, Big Ben has just hit a HUGE third and twenty seven to The Marine and then rumbled in a yard for the TD. Steelers up 7-3 at halftime of their “One For The Thumb” at XL. Can’t wait for FWP going 75 in half 2. Can’t wait for the Steelers to bring their A game and get “One For The Other Thumb” the Big Number 6 for Sixburgh this Sunday at XLIII. It’s time to be able to add another DVD to the collection. Starring the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers. Forever in the lore of NFL History as the kings of 08 and the Champions of XLIII. Glory Days! As Chick Hearn would say “It’s Nervous Time At The Forum.”

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The ‘05 ChickenHawks were supposed to be an “explosive offense” too. I’m watching the SBXL replay too, and SEA did actually dominate the first quarter of that SB. The Seachickens also had the NFL MVP in Shawn Alexander that year, and a very pass-happy and effective Matt Hasselbeck. Although SEA lacked the excellent and hi-stat guys AZ has, they were actually a powerful offense all that season.

 The Steelers defense also struggled a little in XL. As i remember, Troy was slightly hurt with a bad ankle and wasn’t quite as effective as i think he would have been otherwise. Although he hustled and was on the spot a lot, he didn’t display the dominance he had in earlier games. This year could be different for Troy.

 Overall, i think the current Steelers DBs are a lot better than the crew from ‘05. Ryan Clark not only hits harder than Chris Hope, he seems to know the game somewhat better and does an excellent job in coverage, while Hope occasionally got beat. And i think McFadden is definitely a big step up from Deshea, if only on a talent basis. It’s very nice to have an experienced, high-effort, capable guy like Townsend as a nickel back, though. I think he excels in that more occasional role as opposed to an every-down CB.

 For as much recognition our defense has gotten this season, there DOES seem to be a lot of subtle, unspoken, implied doubt in this group’s ability. The media has sung the praises of SD, Balt, and now AZs defenses each week of the post-season. Maybe i’m more sensitive as a Steelers fan, but it seems like a lot of people genuinely expect Steelers defenders to suddenly play flat, make mistakes, get out-physicalled and generally be beaten by the AZ offense. I can’t see this happening, personally. hile the past is never any garauntee of future performance in pro football, this defensive unit has been both fantastically effective and incredibly consistent all year, even going back to last season.

 The talk about AZ having beat the Steelers head-up last year forgets that THAT game occured in the 4th week of last season(‘07), and therefore occured nearly two years ago. A lot has changed since then, and PIT’s defense has drastically improved and gelled since then. Besides, the Cards won that game early in a season, before the pain of 16+ games set in, and as a result of a huge return by Breaston. So- it was necessarily a good indicator of how Sunday might go.

 I wonder how Warner will handle the physicality of the Steelers defense. He has a history of fumbles, and might get edgy after a few big hits/sacks. Also, Warner has had a lot of success early in games, or when he comes in fresh off the bench. It seems to me that his effectiveness drops off as the game goes on. And- how might the extra-long halftime effect a timing-based pass game for AZ?

 Just some random thoughts from watching the XL replay…

by tobiathan on Jan 29, 2009 12:13 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

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