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2018 Steelers Transitions: A Familiar Foe Awaits, and from a Familiar Setup

Thanks to a well-executed hook & ladder play, and a terrible angle by Gronk, the Dolphins were able to once again pull off the upset against the Patriots in Miami. And now the Patriots play the Steelers at Heinz Field for a week 15 showdown. If this sounds like something that has been said before, but in the past, than that’d be correct. Last year the Patriots took a tough loss to the Dolphins week 14 before heading to Pittsburgh for a week 15 blemish on the NFL’s integrity. Hopefully the game doesn’t end the same way as it did last year. Oh, and if it didn’t seem similar enough on the Pittsburgh side of the ball, keep in mind that between James Conner and Roethlisberger, the tradition of at least one important Steeler being out against the Pats with an injury will likely continue.


Obviously the Steelers should’ve beaten the Raiders. And of course there were some questionable decisions as far as the coaching went. But before one calls for Mike Tomlin to be fired, keep a few things in mind. One being that the run blocking was a mess, and that the passing attack was stagnant until the Steelers actually needed the offense to slow down. Plus, not only did the defense show zero ability to cover the inside of the field, but I think that the pass rushers displayed better ball skills. Also, the field was a mess, so that didn’t do any favors any of the previously mentioned things, save the passing attack. And while many are calling for Tomlin’s head because he didn’t put Big Ben back in as soon as he could’ve, keep in mind that if he did and Ben cracked a few ribs, missing that game and this one, just as many of yinz would be in uproar.


The Steelers defense is definitely the more worrisome side of the ball, so I’ll start there. Even though Tom Brady is having a down year for him, he’s definitely going to tear apart the Steelers barring some sort of miracle. Maybe the Steelers will actually be able to use man coverage against the Pats depleted receiving corps. Maybe they’ll be able to overwhelm the Pats shaky O-Line and actually get in Brady’s face; get him out of his game like he couldn’t keep up his diet and consumed too many calories from water for the week. Who knows, maybe the secondary will use "B a l l S k i l l s." Or ya know, Keith Butler will put Artie Burns on Gronk 1 on 1 the entire game and allow 69 TDs.


I think if the Steelers are going to be even semi-successful on defense, they’re going have to beat up on the offenses soft underbelly- the O-Line. If they can’t do that, I don’t want to think about what the coverage aspect is going to be like. And even after that there are many other things that the Steelers are going to have to do at least in part to stay semi-acceptable. Staying out of zone as much as much as possible is a biggie, avoiding getting dinged with inexplicable flags that come with covering Pats receivers too well (although that may not be a problem), stopping YAC, and covering Gronk are all important. And if a ball goes their way, CATCH IT FOR ONCE! I think the film session should start and end with 5 minutes straight of the Vince Williams pick last year and try to burn the idea of going after the ball into their minds. Oh, and Keith Butler has to be smart. It seems that he’ll have all his players, there won’t be any excuse this week.


Offense is a rosier picture. Even if James Conner doesn’t play at all, which he hopefully will, Samuels won’t lose the game for the Steelers. Well, he probably won’t. Anyway he has shown to be useful as a 3rd down back, so ideally the Steelers will try to use him on more downs, it’d be nice to see him show off his passing game prowess against a team that has a poor crop of LBs. Also, Rosie Nix steamrolling the Pats will make me better, almost regardless of the play’s outcome, especially since running lanes will greatly benefit when he launches them into the orbit of Pats Planet, a distant region of the galaxy in which cracked Bostonians ramble about how the NFL is trying to destroy them. And if last year can serve as a stepping stone, then the Steelers air game should be sky high. Remember that the Steelers were forced to use Martavis Bryant in place of AB, and more notably, Jesse James in place of McDonald. While in all fairness, there’s little to no way that McDonald would’ve caught that any better than the Outlaw, losing AB early was a huge blow, and came up quite noticeably several times in the game, especially when Ben threw to DHB in the final drive.


Of course, there is always room for improvement, and the Steelers really need that. Of course, the play calling will be better, so probably not another Fitzgerald Toussaint draw in 2nd & 23. But that doesn’t mean that Fichtner shouldn’t be fearless. His bar should be a lot higher than "not Todd Haley." Bill Belichick is regarded as a master of scheming, so if the Steelers want to do anything, they should be weird. Do plenty of crazy stuff. Don’t just do their traditional red zone shovel play, or their underwhelming bubble screens. Have fun, if there’s anything that can serve as a kryptonite against Bill the Grinch, and TB12 Jr (Terry Bradshaw being the first), it’s human joy. Remember how the hook & ladder play worked out well for the Steelers? Why not try that more often, like in more normal situations, especially on seemingly hopeless 3 & longs. Joshua Dobbs had a rough time with his arm when he came in cold at the half, but he showed off his wheels and he’ll probably get some extra reps due Ben’s rib injury. Why do I mention this? Maybe just a few RPOS and whatnots can be dialed up as a change of pace option to keep the Patriots defense on edge. Be unpredictable, even beyond the normal boundaries of that term. The Steelers have the talent to make crazy things happen.

The Steelers are going to be playing an uphill battle. Even if they can’t get the lead, they cannot slow down like last season, although a lead is very important, as demonstrated by the last AFCCG between the 2 teams. If one wishes to be hopeful but not stupidly optimistic, the Steelers can very much win this. Simple recipe: Don’t screw up too much on defense, and pull no punches every snap that you have the ball. Either hope for a 2 score late game lead, a defensive stand, or getting the ball last. And for the love of all things Pittsburgh, special teams!

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