Well I've been home almost a week from Navy OCS, but haven't found time (much to my chagrin) to get on here and post away some thoughts, but here goes:

1) Don't fret that the Steelers have allowed more rushing yards the past few games.  If you look at the numbers, it's simply a volume issue; teams are running more (due to cold weather, and the potential for our pass-rushers to kill their QBs/throw INTs) but still having a low average yardage on running plays.  Ever since we had that stretch of games with a ton of picks and sacks (Cowboys was the exclamation), teams have run more, even if it's not very successful, it won't flat out lose the opponent a game the way turnovers will.

2) As I predicted before this season, this was one of the best, and in my opinion, THE best defense ever.  LaMarr Woodley (having watched him in person this past weekend), is an absolute beast.  He hasn't had sacks the past few games, but he is a killer against the run.  He was regularly taking on double-teams in the run, which is unheard of for a 3-4 OLB.  I don't think he's wearing down, I think teams are paying even more attention to him.  The rest will certainly help though, and I expect this defense to come out flying in the playoffs.  Look for them to be even better in the playoffs; as defenses always get stingier.

3) Lastly, and let me first apologize for the shortness of this post, as you most remember I usually like to go more in depth, but I'm pretty busy at home even (mostly working out non-stop), anyways, thanks to everyone who posted some nice thoughts a couple weeks ago about me, Blitz forwarded it to me at OCS, much, much appreciated!

UPDATE (1:15 EST): Added "long" and "TD" column to spreadsheet. - TMVT

As many experts, fans, and bloggers like myself have mentioned, the Giants not only feature the monstrous power running of Brandon Jacobs, but have two other excellent complementary backs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw.  Both are the quicker, shiftier type of back, and both have the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and make a play.  It seems the Giants favor Ward in this particular area, so we will focus on him.  (Bradshaw has only 3 receptions this year, versus 13 for Ward).  Ward is averaging 8.9 yards per catch out of the backfield, a pretty healthy number, so our defense will need to wrap up upon first chance with Ward.

As we all remember from the early 2000s with Kevin Faulk of NE shredding us, running backs who can catch the ball in the flat and make people miss can be a true game-changer.  In fact if you asked me before the '04 AFC champ game who I feared most, I would have said Kevin Faulk.  So let's take a look at the Steelers defense this year (and a few examples from previous years) on how we've done against receptions out of the backfield, and what that might tell us about the chances we face against Derrick Ward.

As you can see, RBs have caught the ball against us with varying degrees of success.  It seems for the most part that we do a pretty good job of either keeping these catches bottled up, or even limiting them from happening (alot of the box scores I checked had only one or two catches for opposing RBs).  However, it also seems that every couple games we give up a 20+ yard gain to an RB catch out of the backfield.  Buckhalter had one for a TD against us, and Harrison had a 20 yarder for the Browns against us.  Those are two of the longer pass plays against us all year. 

I think a big factor in why an RB will get a big gain off of us is that we play to keep deep passes in front of us with our secondary.  This leaves them downfield, and if the RB catches the ball in the flat with space and makes one LB miss, he'll most likely have plenty of room for a big gain before a CB or Safety can get to the ball to help.  Again, more often than not our LBs make the tackle, but when they do miss, we get gashed.  Furthermore, my memory tells me alot of RB dump-offs are in 3rd and (usually) impossible long situations, with the RB picking up a big chunk of yardage, but not the first down.  Further research would be necessary to examine this.

A healthy Troy Polamalu and the increased playing time of Lawrence Timmons would go a long way towards helping in this respect.  Both are players who are typically in or around the box, and feature outrageous closing speed.  That is exactly what is needed to stop an RB out in the flat, particularly if our OLBs blow the assignment or don't get there in time.  Look for the Giants to test us on this early in the game, as it is also an effective weapon against our outside pass rush, and various blitzes.  If they hit a couple of those passes for big gains early, look for LeBeau to adjust by using Timmons alot more in base downs (especially with Derrick Ward in the game).  Then of course the issue becomes, does Timmons have the run stopping ability to take on Brandon Jacobs....ah the chess match of football.  One thing is for sure, we are going to find out alot about our team come Sunday.  Limiting Derrick Ward, without compromising our effectiveness against the power running game, would go a long way towards a Pittsburgh victory.

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Bumped from the fanposts. Thanks to TMVT for the submission. This certainly changes the complexion of the game. Troy and the doctors know best, but man, I sure hope he's not rushing back because he views this particular game against the defending champs as especially important. It's just one game, and I think we all would prefer Troy sit for his own well being, as well as for the well being of the team later in the year if it's a borderline decision this weekend. For now though, let's chalk it up to great news! - Blitz-

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From the Post-Gazette:

Coach Mike Tomlin said today he expects safety Troy Polamalu to play against the New York Giants, even though the coach confirmed he sustained a concussion in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati.

"As of right now, we anticipate him playing," Tomlin said.

More good news for the Steelers: Nose tackle Casey Hampton and fullback Carey Davis also are expected to play Sunday against the Super Bowl champions, Tomlin said, and halfback Willie Parker will practice Wednesday and has improved since he reinjured his sprained left knee last Monday.

Analysis:  Well we can stop planning how we would use An. Smith and Timmons to replace Polamalu's versatility.  The fact we have already been cautious with injuries so far this year leads me to believe Polamalu has been more than fine with the medical staff this week, as they have no need to rush him back.  Sounds like we'll have everybody back.  Losing B-Mac, but keeping Polamalu really, really lessens the blow of losing McFadden.  Polamalu is going to give Eli nightmares with his pre-snap movement and ability to cover up huge chunks of ground.  Here's to hoping though he doesn't try to tackle big Brandon Jacobs with his head, and instead goes for the legs of the big guy.  With Hampton and Parker likely to return, this is the closest we'll have been to full strength since Week 1.

Next in our series on the state of the Steelers various units: the Linebackers.  I think it's safe to say everyone knows our linebackers have performed exceptionally well this season, but let's take a closer look at the individuals in the unit (I just did the big five, if anyone wants to do the STers and backups go for it):

James Harrison

Having a even more monstrous season than last.  The 6.5 sacks stand out, of course, but as we've mentioned before, Harrison is a feast or famine sack-getter.  He destroys mediocre and below tackles, and does OK on elite tackles.  By OK I mean he doesn't get any sacks, but he will still push the pocket and hold up in the running game.  His short height is an asset for him with his massive strength as he easily gets under the pads of opposing blockers and holds them up.  More impressive to me is the fact he is leading the team in tackles thru 5 games with 31.  In coverage Harrison has also improved from last year, and really I've only counted one mistake on him, which was the Correll Buckhalter TD against Philadelphia.  Harrison didn't get to the flat quick enough, and when he did he took a bad angle to the ball-carrier.  Still, for how often our OLBs are against TEs and RBs, he has done exceptionally well.

James Farrior

I hate to make Farrior sound average, because he is anything but that.  However, he is up to his usual tricks, being "Steady Freddie" on the defense.  That isn't a slight at all, Farrior is attacking the gaps and stuffing the run just as well as he ever has, and he doesn't seem to have lost a step in coverage either.  That may be a factor of the lighter training camp and practice schedule by Tomlin, or just Farrior taking great care of his body.  Either way, he is still one of the best 3-4 ILBs in the league, and certainly the most unheralded/underrated.

Larry Foote

The people who say Foote is bad in coverage are just simply wrong.  He has been beaten once into a deep zone (against Jax--although it may have been Clark's responsibility), but regardless, he has done very well in this area also.  All of our coverage players in fact have done very well, which very much is likely a result of our more explosive pass-rush this year.  Foote, like Farrior, is very steady, rarely overpursues to the ball, and is a sound tackler.  He isn't great as a pass-rusher, as he lacks the pass-rush explosiveness that someone like Timmons has, but if the design is right he will usually beat an RB who steps in his way.  It's when he takes on an OL that he only generates minimal push.  Still, Foote is an above-average 3-4 ILB.  He certainly isn't giving away his spot to Timmons, and I won't be surprised to see Foote still getting decent reps this year, and the next few years, albeit with Timmons in the starting role and Foote playing the reliever to Farrior & Timmons.

A quick note on both Foote & Farrior, as I talked about in the "How the Defense Works" series, the job of the ILBs is to first read the guards in front of them, and diagnose what play is coming and react accordingly.  Both do this exceptionally well (helped by the fact Hampton/Hoke/A. Smith gobble up guards in double-teams) and it is a huge mental part of the game that often goes unnoticed.  You will very rarely see Foote & Farrior out of position, away from where the play is ran to.  That is a testament to their preparation.

Lawrence Timmons

Many people are disappointed he hasn't seen more playing time, and are using that as an indictment of his ability.  That is flat-out wrong.  This kid is a baller.  In the limited time he has been on the field, I haven't seen him make a mistake.  His coverage ability is excellent.  His speed and burst in the pass-rush is phenomenal.  The thing we have seen most of him so far, is his ability to close the gap on a ball-carrier, and Timmons does this similar to another defensive player we are fortunate to have, Troy Polamalu.  When you see the RB in the flat by himself with 10 yards of free room, and next thing you know he is stopped for 1-2 yards, that is uncoachable ability.  Timmons has this.  Of course, these are all things we knew he could do well.  So how has he done in the run game?  Hard to say definitively as he hasn't been in a ton, but he has attacked the gaps and read the guards well from what I've seen so far.  His speed is an asset in the run game, as he does a good job of getting thru "trash" (random bodies of blockers and defensive players in between player and the ball) and tracking down the ball-carrier.  Mark my words, later in the year, or perhaps in the playoffs (a la Woodley last year) we'll unleash Timmons.  We haven't had much need for his pass rush as Woodley & Harrison have been so dominant.  Speaking of which...

LaMarr Woodley

My favorite Steelers linebacker this year.  Let's start with the obvious: this kid can rush the passer, something fierce.  He has great speed for his size.  Did you know Woodley is the heaviest OLB we've had since we went to the 3-4 in the 90s? You wouldn't by the way he explodes off the snap (I could easily see him being effective as a 4-3 DE).  He also has very long arms, which he uses to engage blockers early in his rush.  When the blocker commits/engages back, Woodley will either bull-rush and at LEAST push the tackle back into the pocket, or, speed rush and if the tackle has set up for it, he uses an inside spin move to counter, which he's used to get a couple of his sacks already.  Opposing offensive coordinators have obviously taken note of this kid, because in the past few games the double-team help is coming to his side more often than to James Harrison.  There was a sequence against Jacksonville that illustrates how special he is:  Woodley beat the RT to the edge, the RB came to help and succeeded in chipping Woodley enough for the RT to recover.  At this point both the RT and RB were engaged with Woodley and he drove them BOTH backwards a yard or two.  He didn't get a sack (Harrison did on the play), but he still closed the pocket down-despite the double team-so that Garrard couldn't escape to his side.  Incredible.  As amazing as his pass-rush has been, Woodley has also been lights out in pass-coverage.  The INT first week was great execution and awareness of the route (thanks DeShea Townsend), and he's continued to be in the right places as the season has gone on.  A pass or two have gone past him, but he has shown to be a wrap up tackler in space, so the occasions when he does allow a pass, he makes the stop right away.  Lastly, in the run game Woodley has also been a beast, partly evidenced by his 3 tackles for loss.  Of course playing next to Aaron Smith makes it alot easier, as Woodley is usually blocked by a TE on running plays, and this is a big mismatch in favor of the Steelers.  Regardless, I haven't seen him miss any memorable tackles, and haven't seen him mauled over by any opposing blockers, so he is doing well in this area as well.  He is only going to get better as he gets more experienced in the system, which is a very pleasant thought for us Steelers faithful.

From the Post-Gazette notebook:

Steelers chairman Dan Rooney sent a letter to the NFL to protest the $5,000 fine leveled against wide receiver Hines Ward for "unnecessary roughness" against the Baltimore Ravens Sept. 29.

The NFL did not stipulate in the letter to Ward a specific play for which he was fined. Ward was not penalized in the game.

Rooney said he wrote to the league to say that Ward "plays the game the way it's supposed to be played."

Ward thought he was fined for stepping over cornerback Cory Ivy after one play.

"At least he stepped over him," Rooney said, "and not on him."                             

Story on ESPN; Ravens accusing the Browns of particularly dirty play, Willis McGahee apparently got his eyes gouged on more than one occasion and has considerable swelling in his eye this week as a result of it.  Anyone ever remember a situation like this, where a team was so mad about dirty play they publicly called them out?  Sure to light a fire under the next Browns-Ravens game.  I'm still surprised the league had nothing to say about Rogers late hit on Roethlisberger last week, and this kind of stuff is definitely far dirtier than that, so there may be suspension/fines coming for Andra Davis and the other unnamed player.  That being said, this is nothing compared to what Hines Ward does regularly. (Sarcasm).  Right Kwoog?  :-)

In order to keep the Browns offense out of sync (as they appeared against Dallas), the Steelers will hope to again get pressure on the QB with their outside linebacker duo of James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.  While most the press this week will most likely focus on Harrison vs. Joe Thomas over on the left side, just as important will be Woodley against Kevin Shaffer. 

First, some background on Shaffer (kwoog feel free to post in the comments further thoughts on his play), he was originally signed to be Cleveland's left tackle, and it was quickly apparent he lacked the speed/athleticism to handle elite rushers from the left side.  With the arrival and immediate impact of Joe Thomas, Shaffer moved to the right side, and according to the Scouts, Inc. player analysis:

On the left side, his athletic ability was exposed, but he has performed admirably on the right side because he doesn't have to consistently face elite speed-rushers. Shaffer also greatly benefited from the emergence of Thomas at left tackle because the Browns are able to give him help, if he is overmanned. He isn't very nimble or fluid, but does work hard. His pad level is a problem and he lacks the ability to consistently play the game low.

Basically, Shaffer is adequate on the right side.  While it's too early to call Woodley an "elite speed-rusher", he certainly has the speed to test Shaffer early on.  Woodley also has considerable power, and, if it holds true that Shaffer can't keep his pads low, LaMarr should have no problem getting underneath his pads and controlling Shaffer when they are matched up one-on-one. In obvious passing situations, if Woodley gets the one-on-one matchup, expect him to create at least a few pressures, and potentially a sack or two.

In the run game, Shaffer would seem to have an advantage of Woodley with his size and strength, however, the presence of Aaron Smith in front of Woodley will strongly discourage the Browns from running towards his side of the field.  From what I saw in the Texans game, Woodley held up pretty well (against a very good RT) in run defense anyways, but the Texans aren't exactly a pounding running offense.

All in all, the matchup advantage goes to Woodley.  I expect Thomas and Harrison to be a great battle, but I think Thomas and Harrison are much more evenly matched than the Woodley - Shaffer battle on the opposite side.  It's early to make any conclusions, and Woodley has to prove he can play consistently (no guarantees with young players), but if he plays at the level he did in the Texans game, he should dominate the matchup with Shaffer.

During Sunday's route of the Texans, there was one play in particular that stood out to me because it was a combination of a great play-call by Arians, and flawless execution by the players on the field; Willie Parker's 2nd touchdown run, from 13 yards out.  First, the play took advantage of Mario Williams aggressiveness in pass rushing.  The Steelers were in a 1-back set with 4 total receivers (including TEs).  There were 3 receivers bunched on the weak side of the field, with Santonio Holmes alone on the strong side.  The play was designed to run to the strong side.  The defense of the Texans was most likely expecting pass, as this formation and its variants typically signals we are going to pass.  Best yet, it forces the defense to roll to the weak side of the field, leaving more space on the strong side for a run play. 

Upon the snap, Kemoeatu and Marvel Smith block their men in opposite directions.  Kemoeatu locks on and drives his man to his right, and slightly into our backfield.  Marvel Smith lets Mario Williams get a step on him, then gives him a nice shove into our backfield, before turning his (Smith's) head and heading upfield.  At the same time, Roethlisberger has handed to Willie Parker, who is staring at a massive hole on the left side of the line.  The only possible deterrent is Justin Hartwig's man, who Hartwig engaged right off the snap.  As this defensive tackle tried to slide to his right (Hartwig's left) to fill the hole, Hartwig does an excellent job of remaining engaged, without holding him.  At the same time, Marvel Smith is heading upfield and hits the unsuspecting defensive tackle (busy with Hartwig) into the turf.  Parker now has clear room and is at full speed, the only possible person who can stop him is the DB covering Holmes, who Holmes does an excellent job of keeping engaged, right up until Willie is running past, when Holmes lets him go (to avoid a holding call), and the DB can only hopelessly lunge at Parker as he blows by, and gets 10 yards easily.  That first 10 yards was all due to a great play call, and the offensive line's perfect execution.  I could have got 10 yards on that play. 

This is where Willie Parker is responsible for turning the 10 yard first down, into a 13-yard touchdown.  One thing I noticed all game is that Parker seems to have a bit more agility this year than in previous years, where his "cutting" ability was average at best.  Throughout this game he showed some new moves, such as feigning a step towards one hole, then bursting to the outside (LT and Adrian Peterson are the absolute best at this), and also, a pretty tight spin move, which he used to perfection on this play.  As the last-chance defender (believe it was the free safety) flowed towards Parker, Parker plants his left foot hard and spins inside, away from the safety, and walks into the end zone.

I turned to some friends right after that play and said, "That was a perfect play call."  They took advantage of two things, 1) the Texans (and Mario Williams in particular) aggressive pass rush, and 2) the bunch formation, which last year we almost ALWAYS passed out of in the red zone.  Of course, perfect execution helps, and the play achieved it's goal of a first down, and thanks to a little Willie Parker magic, it netted a touchdown.  Great play call by Arians, great execution by the blockers, great finish by the running back.  It doesn't get sweeter than that for an X's and O's guy like me.  I'll mix it up week to week between offense and defense, and bad plays and good ones alike.

In the first installment of something I'll try to do every week, we'll highlight the play of what I feel is the best performing unit of players in any given game.   Owing to me being completely drunk by the 2nd half this may be a shorter synopsis then coming weeks, but I digress, it's impossible to stay sober when we are piling on the touchdowns in a bar filled with 150ish wild Steelers fans like myself.  In week 1, the distinction could easily go to any unit, but I'll take the linebackers:

James Harrison:  Our mean SOB starting ROLB made poor Duane Brown cry in frustration at one point in the game.  Not much else is needed to prove the point Harrison didn't let last seasons success get to his head.  That said, he showed the same power and explosiveness as last year, and has developed his pass-rushing arsenal even more.  His intensity is simply unbelievable. 

James Farrior:  "Steady Freddie" was at it again, stuffing runs up the middle, covering TEs and WRs, putting pressure on the QB.  Farrior STILL hasn't even lost a half-step despite his advanced age (same with Townsend), and that extension will be proved to be a great investment.

Larry Foote:  See Farrior's notes.  Foote can do it all pretty well, and he did just that.

LaMarr Woodley:  We all knew he would be a great pass-rusher, and he did just that.  What we weren't sure of is if he could stick with TEs in coverage, he did that well enough to get an INT early in the game, so as of right now, he has the ability.  We'll see how he does against elite TEs (like Winslow next week), but that might be a task where Timmons will be used more often than not.  Great starting debut for Woodley, he should only improve as the season goes on too.  Scary thought for opposition.

Lawrence Timmons:  Man, our two young LBs are absolute studs.  While he didn't see the field as much as Woodley, he was out there quite a bit in rotation and made some nice plays.  Pressure up the middle, coverage, and he's got that zip that Polamalu does, as evidenced by him blowing up a short screen pass (I forget when).  Timmons was in the middle of the field and the RB caught the ball seemingly wide open in the flat, and then BAM! Timmons is knocking him on his arse for little gain.  He'll be out there more and more if he keeps that up.