A loss is a loss, but I cannot believe Marques Colston slid on the Saints WR pass play in Week 8's loss in New Orleans. PZB has lost all respect for him.
Speaking of a lack of respect, there's a huge problem if the Steelers do not respect the Bengals, their Week 9 opponent on Monday Night in Cincinnati. They may be 2-5, but they've played winning football in several stretches this season. They're 2-5 because they can't put it together for four quarters, but at some point, they will.
The Steelers seem vulnerable to a rhythm passing game, and could very easily be riding a two-game losing streak. The key to winning, it seems, is getting WR Mike Wallace the ball deep. And lo and behold, the Bengals don't even have half the pass rushing ability of the Steelers last two opponents. PZB thinks it's time to go deep.
Opponent Web Sites/Forums
The Bengals report card, done by Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, looks worse than even PZB's in high school.
It's getting so bleak for the 2-5 Bengals, Cincy Jungle writer Jason Garrison is changing his weekly column from seven things he likes to seven things that make him want to burn his tickets for the rest of the season.
If you ask Bengals fans, playcalling and offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski are to blame for their woeful start.
Josh from Cincy Jungle isn't against that theory in his Q and A with Steelers fans, he just blames some more general issues, such as, "our offense is very mistake prone, our red zone offense is terrible and our defense is nothing like it was last year." And he forgets how to spell "greetings."
Last Game
Winning on the road in primetime against a quality opponent is a difficult task. That task is even tougher when you're missing 2/3rds of your defensive line, your star SS isn't making plays and your TE fumbles away the last shred of momentum your floundering offense has.
It's less helpful when a team's defensive game plan is to remove WR Mike Wallace's ability to go deep (more on him in a minute). Part of the reason Pittsburgh was able to finally score a touchdown was because of the attention Wallace received. With safeties lined up halfway to Arkansas, the Steelers failed to capitalize, and allowed far too much pressure.
Expect the same philosophy from the Bengals, offensively and defensively. Brees kept the chains moving and despite taking a few hits from an aggressive defense (including Bryant McFadden's sack/forced fumble), he was poetry in motion, completing agonizing short pass after short pass. Cincinnati will counter with a similar offensive game plan, and defensively, they're going to try to force Roethlisberger to do the same thing. Ben didn't take the bait last game, and the Steelers struggled offensively.
Make no mistake, the Bengals are just as capable of executing that kind of a game plan. The Steelers are due to have their offense carry the team for four quarters. They have plenty of experience watching their opposing quarterback do it in the second half the last two weeks.
Harrison Holds: 0 Called - 1 Uncalled
The weekly tally of holds on All-World OLB James Harrison, both called and uncalled
Not Called:
- 1. :46 remaining in 2nd quarter, Harrison gets outside LT Jermon Bushrod for the second consecutive play. Bushrod has a hold of the inside of his jersey until Harrison cuts back inside, where Bushrod grabs onto the back of his jersey just as Harrison hits Brees. Holding wasn't called because Jon Stinchcomb held Woodley twice as bad as Bushrod held. Harrison was not fined for the hit on Brees.
Called: None
Season Tally
Week 1 - 3 uncalled, 1 called
Week 2 - 1 uncalled, 0 called
Week 3 - 1 uncalled, 1 called
Week 4 - 0 uncalled, 1 called
Week 6 - 2 uncalled, 0 called
Week 7 - 0 uncalled, 1 called
Week 8 - 1 uncalled, 0 called
TOTAL - 8 Uncalled, 4 Called
Opponent Spotlight: WRs Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Jordan Shipley
In Week 4, it was seldom-used T.J. Houshmandzadeh who broke free for a late touchdown to sink the Steelers. In Week 7, Dolphins second option Davonne Bess scored and put up 66 yards receiving. Week 8 saw the Saints third option, Lance Moore, carve the Steelers up inside for the game-clinching score.
Houshmandzadeh and Moore scored in the fourth quarter. Are we sensing a trend?
Cincinnati hasn't missed any of these plays, or the Steelers apparent lack of ability to stop a team's passing game in the fourth quarter. They are also taking note of the previous four quarterbacks' 66+ percent completion percentage in the second half. It begs the question of how rhythmic can Palmer be for four quarters.
The answer can be found in the consistency of his receivers, because that's what Baltimore's Joe Flacco, Miami's Chad Henne and Brees relied upon in their successful outings.
Opponents are using a death by 1,000 papercuts philosophy, and almost completely throwing out big play passing in exchange for short-to-mid field passes with three-step drops. Steelers fans should be familiar with this plan, it's what several teams did in the second half of last season's games.
We all know how well that turned out for Pittsburgh. Is it any different this season?
Owens, the league leader in targets, provides excellent run-after-catch ability, and while Ochocinco has been mostly invisible this season, the Bengals will still utilize him to take a defender out of the middle of the field. Palmer's success has been throwing 5-10 yards in the middle of the field, and the struggles the Bengals have had is trying to force the deep ball. The Bengals three receivers will likely run into the middle of the field, and Palmer will not hold onto the ball long enough to take many sacks. If Owens, Ochocinco and Shipley can exploit zone coverage and read the same defense as Palmer, expect yet another 66 percent completion game, and a balanced amount of catches between them.
Or, perhaps Ochocinco won't have the guts to go across the middle. It's not as if he went out of his way to piss the Steelers off or anything...
Steelers Spotlight: WR Mike Wallace
Who'd a thunk it? Mike Wallace is the team's MVP.
The Steelers are 4-0 when Wallace has a catch of 46 yards or more. They are 1-2 when he doesn't, including Week 8's loss at New Orleans. The league's best deep-ball threat through seven games didn't have a chance to take the top off the secondary due to the physical nature of the Saints' coverage scheme, as well as a poor performance by Pittsburgh's offensive line.
It seemed the Steelers offensive game plan was to exploit New Orleans' depleted secondary at all costs. No doubt, Bruce Arians and Roethlisberger were drooling when they saw safeties covering Wallace at the line. But they out-muscled him, and the pressure the Saints continuously dialed up didn't give them an opportunity deep.
Look for Cincinnati to do much of the same; press him at the line, and play the safeties 20 yards off of him. Wallace will have to continue to develop as a receiver, and play inside the hashes, because this over-and-under coverage will only continue from this point.
With the quiet emergence of Manny Sanders, and the revitalization of Antwaan Randle-El, Wallace hasn't had to work many in-routes, but for all the struggles Cincinnati has had this season, they do have opportune, playmaking cornerbacks. This won't be a game where Pittsburgh can live by the play fake, unless Wallace sells his willingness to catch passes underneath the cushion he'll no doubt get.
I See You
I see you, Ike Taylor. I'll admit, my screaming "IKE CAUGHT THE BALL! IKE CAUGHT THE BALL!" each time you log an interception isn't very nice, and it's done for comedic reaction. Not only did you get another pick in Week 8 at New Orleans, you made a few nice open field tackles, limiting what could have been sizeable gains.
I've watched the tape, that big reception to Meachem was not on you, despite what many are reporting. You stayed disciplined to your zone, like you're supposed to. Part of the reason the Saints only averaged six yards per passing attempt is because you stuck with the multi-faceted receivers they have like glue all game. They didn't want to throw the short stuff in your direction, either.
But the cherry on top is your first pick in your hometown. A slew of Steelers hail from the New Orleans area (Mike Wallace, Mewelde Moore and Keenan Lewis) but you had the biggest game of all of them, and even notched a tackle on special teams.
One of these days, the offense will actually score after one of your interceptions. We'll make sure to mention it when it happens.
Key Stats
- With its loss against Miami, Cincinnati has gone winless in eight of the last 20 Octobers
- In seven games in Cincinnati, Roethlisberger's lowest passer rating is 93.2 (6-1).
- The Bengals are surrendering and average of 138 rushing yards in their last three games (0-3).
- Bengals WR Terrell Owens has four catches for 39 yards in his last two games against Pittsburgh (0-2).
Quick-Hitters
Congratulations, Tennessee: You picked up one of the biggest pieces of garbage in the league. AND, you get to pay him $6 million for the remainder of the year. Were you missing LenDale White that much that you needed to go out and sign the biggest locker room cancer available?
Congratulations, Timmons: Peter King has you over Ravens LB Ray Lewis on his mid-season All Pro team. PZB agrees. Timmons has been the Steelers defensive stalwart all season, and going into the stretch drive for Pro Bowl selections, this kind of recognition can only help Tomlin's first draft pick. He also gives QB Coach Randy Fichtner Assistant of the Year, and C Maurkice Pouncey Offensive Rookie of the Year.