The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Buffalo Bills
The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Buffalo Bills
After their thoroughly convincing win against the Raiduhs last week the Steelers head north to visit the Toronto.. I mean Buffalo Bills. The Bills are led by their current former steeler assistant coach, Chan Gailey. After a brief attempt at using a non Steeler assistant they went with Bill Cowher's advice and hired Chan Gailey. Chan was the offensive coordinator for the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, but we won't talk about that. He succeeded Mike Mularkey, and some other guy. Eventually if the Bills keep going with former Steeler assistants they're bound to get better.
The Bills are plagued by a lack of talent on defense. They do not have enough playmakers. On offense they seemed to have risen above the fact that their starting quarterback is an ex BenGal. Johnny Fitzpatrick, as I like to call him, seems to be in a groove and he has a tandem of receivers in Lee Evans and Steve Johnson that are very talented and have been clicking lately with Fitzpatrick. That's about it for them. Noone is really convinced Fitz is going to be a top quarterback in the NFL. He's been putting up some good numbers, but that may be a factor of the system rather than the player.
On the Steelers side, there was a little disappointment yesterday after the injury report came up again with Brett Keisel's name on it after earlier this week it was reported that he was 100% and raring to go. Looks like Keisel is less than 100% and is questionable for the game. Eason and Hood have done a good job in replacing the 2 veteran ends in the lineup, except for the New England game where nobody was able to put any pressure on Brady leading to him picking apart the defense.
I don't think the Steelers will allow Johnny to have the time that Tommy had.
So, the keys for this game are:
1. Keep the passing game in check
Buffalo is a pass happy team, mainly because of the 3 players mentioned above and little talent elsewhere. The Steelers secondary must contain Johnny, Lee and Steve. Did you hear that Mr. Gay. You need to keep them from completing passes. Let me reiterate Mr. Gay, The job of a cornerback is not to let them complete passes, it's to keep them from completing passes. I noticed Keanan Lewis was playing last week. Does that mean that he's again putting pressure on Gay to get some playing time. We'll see.
2. Rashard needs to get more carries
I don't think this game will depend on how many carries Mendenhall gets, but they need to get him back to early season 100 yard per game form. He's slacked off recently in yardage and his numbers would really be down if you took away a few big runs each game. Not to say he has not been productive, because he's producing tds this year, one last week, but he just needs more carries to prepare him for the stretch run. They will need his running down the stretch and after.
3. Continued strong play of Eason and Hood
Nick and Ziggy have done a good job in run support which has led to little dropoff in the defense since Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel have been unable to play. Now, I want to see Ziggy put some pressure on the quarterback while continuing to defense the run. If he can start doing that he will show he is a complete player and we will have some faith that there is a long term replacement for Smith. Smith is a great player, but he can't play forever, as recent injuries have proven.
4. Polamalu needs to show more of last week's play
Troy is easily the best safety in the league right now. This year it has not been as easy to see because the highlight reel plays haven't been there every week. He has had them, just not every week. Teams are doing their best to keep him out of play. They are throwing away from him and looking him off to throw the other way. The Steelers will need some big plays from Troy to continue their march to postseason. I'm sure he's up to the task.
5. Slow the Tidal wave of penalties
I'm a slight bit slanted when it comes to my opinion of officiating, but come on. The Steelers have consistently been infrequently penalized team over the years, mainly because they are very disciplined. The league and the refs, no doubt, have conspired to make sure the Steelers don't play their hard hitting game. They got Ryan Clark for a helmet to helmet hit when he hit the guy in the thigh. Then they got James Harrison for driving Campbell into the ground when he obviously tried to pull up. If this continues there must be a summit between Mr. Rooney and the league. It is just plain ridiculous. I'm convinced that Steelers softened up a little for the Patriots game which took them right out of it from the beginning. They must continue their style of play. Let the Rooneys send a plain white envelope to them to reimburse them for the fines after the season.
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