Game Thread: Week 7 vs Patriots

[ATL96Steeler]

Well gang...doesn't do any good to sugarcoat it...the Steelers are in trouble right now...the season is not yet dangling, but the reality is this team is simply not as good as many of us thought, including myself.

We can talk about injuries, but every team has injuries...in fact the team they're facing this week went 3-1 w/o their starting QB. We can't give them a crutch.

This game. Unless you've been living under a rock since Sunday, you know that Ben had surgery on his left knee....the latest I've heard is they expect him to be back for the BAL game in week 9. So...Landry will be running the show this week. The vaunted New England Patriots come to town riding a 5-1 record. I don't think anyone not in that locker room feels like PIT can win this game. For me personally, I'd give them have a chance on OFC, but the DEF has me really dumbfounded after that effort in MIA.

Health....Ben, Wallace, and Heyward are definitely out. Shazier, Wheaton, Gilbert, S. Thomas, VW, status will be determined by their availability in practice.

Outcome...Vegas likes NE as a 7 pt road favorite. NE DEF is nothing to be overly frighten by, but with Landry starting, it's hard for me to think they will score anymore than 20 pts. Of course their OFC is something to be frighten by...and against the Steelers DEF, I can seem them putting up 30+.

Hate to do it, and hope I'm wrong, but 34-20 Patriots.

What say you?

 

[MISKO]

Well gang...doesn't do any good to sugarcoat it...the Steelers are in trouble right now...the season is not yet dangling, but the reality is this team is simply not as good as many of us thought, including myself.

We can talk about injuries, but every team has injuries...in fact the team they're facing this week went 3-1 w/o their starting QB. We can't give them a crutch.

This game. Unless you've been living under a rock since Sunday, you know that Ben had surgery on his left knee....the latest I've heard is they expect him to be back for the BAL game in week 9. So...Landry will be running the show this week. The vaunted New England Patriots come to town riding a 5-1 record. I don't think anyone not in that locker room feels like PIT can win this game. For me personally, I'd give them have a chance on OFC, but the DEF has me really dumbfounded after that effort in MIA.

Health....Ben, Wallace, and Heyward are definitely out. Shazier, Wheaton, Gilbert, S. Thomas, VW, status will be determined by their availability in practice.

Outcome...Vegas likes NE as a 7 pt road favorite. NE DEF is nothing to be overly frighten by, but with Landry starting, it's hard for me to think they will score anymore than 20 pts. Of course their OFC is something to be frighten by...and against the Steelers DEF, I can seem them putting up 30+.

Hate to do it, and hope I'm wrong, but 34-20 Patriots.

What say you?

I have to agree with you on this one .. if ben was healthy i would say we stood a good chance ... but that aint gonna happen .. so the best I figure we can hope for is that it isnt too much of a blow out .. oh and the gayvens and bungles lose on sunday too I wont feel too bad then ...

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I have to agree with you on this one .. if ben was healthy i would say we stood a good chance ... but that aint gonna happen .. so the best I figure we can hope for is that it isnt too much of a blow out .. oh and the gayvens and bungles lose on sunday too I wont feel too bad then ...

Yep...would have loved to have seen that game with Ben running the OFC.

I didn't realize how much Heyward meant to the DEF...those guys looked like a rag tag bunch in MIA...even worse than the PHI game imo. At this point, I'm conceding a 4-3 record going into the bye...hope fully they get Ben, Shazier, Gilbert and Heyward healthy for the Ravens in week 9. On top of that, maybe Ladarius Green will be ready to go...it's starting to look like the guy might finally see the field.

 

[MISKO]

Yep...would have loved to have seem that game with Ben running the OFC.

I didn't realize how much Heyward meant to the DEF...those guys looked like a rag tag bunch in MIA...even worse than the PHI game imo. At this point, I'm conceding a 4-3 record going into the bye...hope fully they get Ben, Shazier, Gilbert and Heyward healthy for the Ravens in week 9. On top of that, maybe Ladarius Green will be ready to go...it's starting to look like the guy might finally see the field.

oh I hope all of that happens ..

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Hope I'm wrong but 28 - 10 Pats.

I threw up typing that.....

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Also... Ladarius Green has NOT practiced, even though he is eligible to return to practice according to the PUP designation rules. Not a good sign.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Offense... No idea what to expect. I think its safe to assume Bell get's 25+ touches, with D-Will intermittently inserted. Lord help us if Landry has to throw the ball 30+ times. O-line will need to pull their heads out of their asses if they want to have any shot at looking respectable in this game. If they look anything like they did against Miami, then prepare yourselves for a lot of Jordan Berry.

Defense... Like ATL, I'm dumbfounded. I am more of the belief that the woes have to do with scheme & coaching than it does personnel. The bend but don't break defense is rarely going to work. Rushing 2-3 DOWN lineman with 1-2 OLBs while playing very soft zones isn't going to get the job done. It generates zero pressure, and the DB's are better in man-coverage than zone. Tom Brady is going to have a career day this week. Butler & Tomlin's defense is a joke. Playing the CB's 12-15yds off the LOS and going straight into Tampa 2 opens the entire field up underneath and exposes the ILBs. Tom Brady is going to dissect them all game long.

Patriots 43 - Steelers 17

 

[Psych-Ward]

Also... Ladarius Green has NOT practiced, even though he is eligible to return to practice according to the PUP designation rules. Not a good sign.

Fuck that guy!!!!
The Outlaw has been doing a pretty good job IMO. and he shouldn't lose his job to some hack from another team that hasn't suited up one time since joining the team!!!!!

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Also... Ladarius Green has NOT practiced, even though he is eligible to return to practice according to the PUP designation rules. Not a good sign.

Are the Steelers still claiming it's just his knee?

 

[MISKO]

Are the Steelers still claiming it's just his knee?

so what are you sayin?

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Offense... No idea what to expect. I think its safe to assume Bell get's 25+ touches, with D-Will intermittently inserted. Lord help us if Landry has to throw the ball 30+ times. O-line will need to pull their heads out of their asses if they want to have any shot at looking respectable in this game. If they look anything like they did against Miami, then prepare yourselves for a lot of Jordan Berry.

Defense... Like ATL, I'm dumbfounded. I am more of the belief that the woes have to do with scheme & coaching than it does personnel. The bend but don't break defense is rarely going to work. Rushing 2-3 DOWN lineman with 1-2 OLBs while playing very soft zones isn't going to get the job done. It generates zero pressure, and the DB's are better in man-coverage than zone. Tom Brady is going to have a career day this week. Butler & Tomlin's defense is a joke. Playing the CB's 12-15yds off the LOS and going straight into Tampa 2 opens the entire field up underneath and exposes the ILBs. Tom Brady is going to dissect them all game long.

Patriots 43 - Steelers 17

Ya know...this game doesn't have to be a blowout...NE does not have a great DEF. It really depends on how Haley calls this game...if he's running Bell into 8 man boxes and they get pressure on Landry on 3rd down...it will be a 3 score margin. If he allows Landry to be the hero or the goat...by that I mean giving him some 1st down passes, give him a few deep shots on early downs, spread the ball around like they are doing with Ben, I can see it being a 5-10 point margin or less.

The DEF has to bring something though.

 

[Bridgeburner]

Patriots 56
Steelers 16

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Ya know...this game doesn't have to be a blowout...NE does not have a great DEF. It really depends on how Haley calls this game...if he's running Bell into 8 man boxes and they get pressure on Landry on 3rd down...it will be a 3 score margin. If he allows Landry to be the hero or the goat...by that I mean giving him some 1st down passes, give him a few deep shots on early downs, spread the ball around like they are doing with Ben, I can see it being a 5-10 point margin or less.

The DEF has to bring something though.

I will gladly eat crow if Landry plays well. But from what we have seen before that is highly unlikely. All the Patriots will have to do is stack the box early to shut down Bell, then Landry will be forced to throw. He'll probably throw multiple interceptions at that point. You already know how I feel about the defense. It's going to get ugly quickly.

I love your optimism, but I just don't see it this week. Bellichik will surely exploit all of PIT's weaknesses. And there are too many to count right now.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I will gladly eat crow if Landry plays well. But from what we have seen before that is highly unlikely. All the Patriots will have to do is stack the box early to shut down Bell, then Landry will be forced to throw. He'll probably throw multiple interceptions at that point. You already know how I feel about the defense. It's going to get ugly quickly.

I love your optimism, but I just don't see it this week. Bellichik will surely exploit all of PIT's weaknesses. And there are too many to count right now.

I'm more hopeful than optimistic I think...but I do think this game can be closer than what I believe it will be...you just hit on it...Haley, if he gets too conservative, Landry will be in known passing situations and he will fuck it up...probably will anyway, but if they let him attack...maybe.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

I will gladly eat crow if Landry plays well. But from what we have seen before that is highly unlikely. All the Patriots will have to do is stack the box early to shut down Bell, then Landry will be forced to throw. He'll probably throw multiple interceptions at that point. You already know how I feel about the defense. It's going to get ugly quickly.

I love your optimism, but I just don't see it this week. Bellichik will surely exploit all of PIT's weaknesses. And there are too many to count right now.

I think you're right. Too bad I was actually looking forward to playing the Steelersat full-strength. Or as close as both teams could be. Glad to see the Steeler fans not using the injury excuse Don't sell that Pats D short. They bend but don't break too often. They were/still are bad when a team gets into the RZ but they've been getting better. It's hard to watch for us NE fans. If I were Pit I would attack Logan all day. IMO he's terrible. Good luck, here's to no injuries?

 

[3riverbabe]

I keep telling myself that Buffalo shut out the Pats when no one expected them to, but I'm not holding out much hope. Who knows, maybe Landry Jones will have a career day.

This could be a bad sports weekend for me. Penn State vs. Ohio State Saturday & Steelers vs. NE sans Ben & a whole lot of other people...good thing I'm going to see Bonnie Raitt tonight at the Fox Theater.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

I keep telling myself that Buffalo shut out the Pats when no one expected them to, but I'm not holding out much hope. Who knows, maybe Landry Jones will have a career day.

This could be a bad sports weekend for me. Penn State vs. Ohio State Saturday & Steelers vs. NE sans Ben & a whole lot of other people...good thing I'm going to see Bonnie Raitt tonight at the Fox Theater.

Buffalo is tough. But that win was against an injued 3rd string QB. No excuse for getting shut out t I guess that's why we play the games?

 

[Southieinnc]

I have to agree with you on this one .. if ben was healthy i would say we stood a good chance ... but that aint gonna happen .. so the best I figure we can hope for is that it isnt too much of a blow out .. oh and the gayvens and bungles lose on sunday too I wont feel too bad then ...

I hate that Ben's out but the Steelers are never out of it.
I'm hoping this has not become a trap game.....

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Haven't been payin much attention this week, for good reason lol. But whats the deal with D-Will?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]