Brady vs. Big Ben, Pat Chung, and other thoughts from Pittsburgh

[drew4008]

I was at the game last night and just thought I'd write up some of what I saw first-hand.

-First of all, props to the city of Pittsburgh and those who call the shots at Heinz Field... the stadium was just awesome. Great experience all around, from the fireworks to the final whistle. The stadium definitely gets loud, I really wish we could have that kind of home field advantage. The fans were actually pretty good too... there were only a few Pats fans near me, but the Steelers guys in the section were tame and accomodating, but still into it even when their team looked like crap haha

-Prior to the game, I asked a Steelers fan near me if he'd actually pick Big Ben over Brady, and obviously the homer he was, he said yes. But at the end of the game I asked him again, and not surprisingly he changed his tune haha. And that pretty much sums it up... Brady was awesome all game and when it actually counted (aka the first 2.5 quarters) Ben was sporadic at best.

-Even before the game started you could tell that Pat Chung is one of the driving forces of this defense. As the team came out, most guys were just gingerly jogging out, until Chung came out doing some sort of funny little swagger... with a large chunk of the D following along with him. He was chirping all over and just totally into it, moreso than anyone out there... you could definitely tell he was happy to be back, and the rest of the D was happy to have him too. I have a feeling he is going to be a leader on this D for many years to come... if he can stay healthy that is! The guy went down at least three times, but none of them seemed to be very serious thankfully.

-Wilfork is a big, big man when you see him up close... enough said haha

-The whole defense was awesome in the first half, but I wonder if our second-half meltdown was entirely scheme-related (ie. playing back and giving a cushion), or more than just that. The pass D was abysmal all across the field... and I know nobody likes to hear this, but I was watching McCourty a lot and I can confidently say that that was one of the worst halves of football for a CB that I have seen in awhile. He was absolutely BRUTAL. Let's hope after the deserved celebration BB goes over the tape and works on some of the problems.

-Mayo is a machine. A good example of this a lot of ppl probably didn't see was on the first onside kick, where he was right up front. He ran his ass off and dove under the pile, proceeding to get totally squashed by a bunch of guys... but shows the drive this guy has. It's also great to see the control he has over the D that you don't get to see on TV very often. Pre-snap he was gathering the guys, running all over yelling out calls, and clearly the ring-leader of our D.

-This goes without saying I'm sure, but the OL (across the board) played their asses off... great game by these guys, especially after a couple of the other games this year (SD and Cleveland especially) where the board has been filled with threads about how awful they all are.

-Where did this pass rush come from! Wow, I seriously hope this continues. I know the Steelers were banged up on their OL, but our guys were all over Ben all game. They even probably should've had 3 or 4 more sacks, but to Ben's credit, he is one strong slippery bastard back there... all the more reason to applaud the 5 sacks we did get. The OLB play was great for once, continually getting pressure like they should do in the 3-4... TBC and Ninkovich especially, and even Crable if you can believe it haha

-Gronk had a rough day in Cleveland but boy did he ever bounce back. Great in the run game and obviously the pass game with 3 TDs. That last TD where he reached out and hauled it in with his fingertips was a thing of beauty. Great hands... can't wait to see him evolve with this offense.

-I love BenJarvus Green-Ellis. I have no idea how we found this guy haha but even in a game where A) most of our damage was through the air and B) he had to carry it 10 or so times when the Steelers pretty much knew we were running, he STILL had almost 100 yards on a team that has allowed just ONE player to rush for 100+ yards in the last 42 games. Awesome stuff by him and the OL paving the way.

-Yet another bounce-back win after a loss, and the streak continues... no back-to-back losses since 2003. You've gotta love BB.

 

[Anj]

I like BJGE too. i think he fits well into the role of a patriots running back. I was pretty young back when we had Antwan Smith, but he strikes me as similar.

my friend thinks that the patriots should draft a RB early in this draft and i've been arguing that we have this guy doing his job and that we should focus on more DL depth and possibly OL because they are aging

 

[TBradyOwnsYou]

Yet another bounce-back win after a loss, and the streak continues... no back-to-back losses since 2003. You've gotta love BB.

Ya, I called Mythbusters, turns out that's busted.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

I was at the game last night and just thought I'd write up some of what I saw first-hand.

-First of all, props to the city of Pittsburgh and those who call the shots at Heinz Field... the stadium was just awesome. Great experience all around, from the fireworks to the final whistle. The stadium definitely gets loud, I really wish we could have that kind of home field advantage. The fans were actually pretty good too... there were only a few Pats fans near me, but the Steelers guys in the section were tame and accomodating, but still into it even when their team looked like crap haha

-Prior to the game, I asked a Steelers fan near me if he'd actually pick Big Ben over Brady, and obviously the homer he was, he said yes. But at the end of the game I asked him again, and not surprisingly he changed his tune haha. And that pretty much sums it up... Brady was awesome all game and when it actually counted (aka the first 2.5 quarters) Ben was sporadic at best.

-Even before the game started you could tell that Pat Chung is one of the driving forces of this defense. As the team came out, most guys were just gingerly jogging out, until Chung came out doing some sort of funny little swagger... with a large chunk of the D following along with him. He was chirping all over and just totally into it, moreso than anyone out there... you could definitely tell he was happy to be back, and the rest of the D was happy to have him too. I have a feeling he is going to be a leader on this D for many years to come... if he can stay healthy that is! The guy went down at least three times, but none of them seemed to be very serious thankfully.

-Wilfork is a big, big man when you see him up close... enough said haha

-The whole defense was awesome in the first half, but I wonder if our second-half meltdown was entirely scheme-related (ie. playing back and giving a cushion), or more than just that. The pass D was abysmal all across the field... and I know nobody likes to hear this, but I was watching McCourty a lot and I can confidently say that that was one of the worst halves of football for a CB that I have seen in awhile. He was absolutely BRUTAL. Let's hope after the deserved celebration BB goes over the tape and works on some of the problems.

-Mayo is a machine. A good example of this a lot of ppl probably didn't see was on the first onside kick, where he was right up front. He ran his ass off and dove under the pile, proceeding to get totally squashed by a bunch of guys... but shows the drive this guy has. It's also great to see the control he has over the D that you don't get to see on TV very often. Pre-snap he was gathering the guys, running all over yelling out calls, and clearly the ring-leader of our D.

-This goes without saying I'm sure, but the OL (across the board) played their asses off... great game by these guys, especially after a couple of the other games this year (SD and Cleveland especially) where the board has been filled with threads about how awful they all are.

-Where did this pass rush come from! Wow, I seriously hope this continues. I know the Steelers were banged up on their OL, but our guys were all over Ben all game. They even probably should've had 3 or 4 more sacks, but to Ben's credit, he is one strong slippery bastard back there... all the more reason to applaud the 5 sacks we did get. The OLB play was great for once, continually getting pressure like they should do in the 3-4... TBC and Ninkovich especially, and even Crable if you can believe it haha

-Gronk had a rough day in Cleveland but boy did he ever bounce back. Great in the run game and obviously the pass game with 3 TDs. That last TD where he reached out and hauled it in with his fingertips was a thing of beauty. Great hands... can't wait to see him evolve with this offense.

-I love BenJarvus Green-Ellis. I have no idea how we found this guy haha but even in a game where A) most of our damage was through the air and B) he had to carry it 10 or so times when the Steelers pretty much knew we were running, he STILL had almost 100 yards on a team that has allowed just ONE player to rush for 100+ yards in the last 42 games. Awesome stuff by him and the OL paving the way.

-Yet another bounce-back win after a loss, and the streak continues... no back-to-back losses since 2003. You've gotta love BB.

Lurking on their boards last night, it seemed like most had finally reached the stage where they could accept the fact that Brady/BB/The Pats own them. A few were calling for MeatHead to be benched and others openly admitted Brady was/is/and will always be better than MeatHead.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

Nice post on your experience, thanks. Pleasant surprise that the fans there were not as nasty as some rumours.

Did you really think that our D had a 'meltdown' during the second hafl?

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Glad you got to enjoy that game in person, and glad nobody gave you trouble. When I wore a Pats jersey to Heinz, I had eggs launched at me in the parking lot (really launched, couldn't even see where they were coming from lol) and 3 people had gotten in my face over the course of the day. I wasn't even being obnoxious. But we won the game (2005 week 3) so I came out victorious

 

[captain stone]

Great post, Drew. Looks like you got lucky regarding the PitsDirt Squealer yahoos sitting near you; overall, they're one of the most Neanderthal fanbases in football, just behind the Armpit of America sewage in NJ, the inbred hayseeds in Indy, and the LaRaza thugs in SD. I would include those in Oaksterdam, but they're more comical than dangerous.

While observing McCourty, did you happen to notice Meriweather, too?
I thought he had a typically ineffectual game: all bark, no bite.

 

[Bella*chick]

I love firsthand observations like this. Thanks!

Defense was really that bad? I just chalked it up to the Steelers being THAT kind of team....the kind that pulls some great drives and plays out no matter what although I will say the 3rd TD annoyed the hell out of me.

The final score was SO close to the AFC title game in 2005 and I remember the media around here talking about our defensive meltdown then too.

 

[AtivanPatsFan]

Great post.

Could you elaborate a little bit in regards to the officiating. What were your personal thoughts on how the game was called?

For purposes of furthering the discussion, I feel the game was poorly officiated with many non-calls and even more "iffy" calls.

Thanks in advance,
APF

 

[Ochmed Jones]

A couple of things I notcies in the secondary:

1.) The whole secondary plays different when Chung is on the field. Whether it is physicality or trust or something else, the other guys respond well to him.

2.) Merriweather is absolutely horrible in the BB soft zone defense. Look for Manning to have a field day against him next week. He needs to be in press mode all the time where he can be physical and redirect receivers.

 

[drew4008]

Defense was really that bad? I just chalked it up to the Steelers being THAT kind of team....the kind that pulls some great drives and plays out no matter what although I will say the 3rd TD annoyed the hell out of me.

Yeah it was a complete shift. The defense at the beginning was everywhere, with even Arrington making that awesome pass break-up early on. Later on though we were possibly the worst we've been all year against the pass, with the exception of the Sanders pick-6. And I know a good portion of that is scheme, as I said, but I don't think that entire shift from great to awful can be attributed to us just sitting back and saying oh hey, we're up 2-3 scores, let's take it easy. The tackling was worse (should've definitely had a few more sacks) and the coverage was abysmal. We knew they were going to pass over and over, yet we couldn't stop it... which also scares me.

I think the best representation of this is in Big Ben's stats. I remember it showing on the scoreboard early on that he was 5 for 16 with 2 or 3 sacks and not very many yards either... or in other words, his stats were pretty terrible haha. Yet if you look at the final line, Roethlisberger was 30 for 49 with 387 and 3 TDs and 1 INT, a 97.9 passer rating. So for him to go from having awful stats (probably a sub-15 passer rating) to nearly 100 is pretty indicative of how bad we got defending the pass as the game wore on.

Could you elaborate a little bit in regards to the officiating. What were your personal thoughts on how the game was called?

To be honest, watching from home you have a much better idea of how the game was officiated. On the one play that was overturned, they barely even showed it on the big screen (I'm guessing because they didn't want it overturned?) and with a lot of the penalty calls they didn't really show you a lot of replays with good angles. Overall though I don't think the officiating was that big of a deal. I did disagree with the Meriweather PI call though.

 

[jah]

-Yet another bounce-back win after a loss, and the streak continues... no back-to-back losses since 2003. You've gotta love BB.

Last year didn't count?

 

[lillloyd]

Yeah it was a complete shift. The defense at the beginning was everywhere, with even Arrington making that awesome pass break-up early on. Later on though we were possibly the worst we've been all year against the pass, with the exception of the Sanders pick-6. And I know a good portion of that is scheme, as I said, but I don't think that entire shift from great to awful can be attributed to us just sitting back and saying oh hey, we're up 2-3 scores, let's take it easy. The tackling was worse (should've definitely had a few more sacks) and the coverage was abysmal. We knew they were going to pass over and over, yet we couldn't stop it... which also scares me.

I think the best representation of this is in Big Ben's stats. I remember it showing on the scoreboard early on that he was 5 for 16 with 2 or 3 sacks and not very many yards either... or in other words, his stats were pretty terrible haha. Yet if you look at the final line, Roethlisberger was 30 for 49 with 387 and 3 TDs and 1 INT, a 97.9 passer rating. So for him to go from having awful stats (probably a sub-15 passer rating) to nearly 100 is pretty indicative of how bad we got defending the pass as the game wore on.

It's pretty tough to evaluate a D when you're up 3 scores. The "edge" comes off, the focus changes from not giving an inch to simply making sure no one gets a 50-yarder off on you... We've had games this year like this--on the opposite side--where QBs have rung up some yards in the 4th.

These are garbage yards and I don't think you should read too much into them. Plus, that's not a JV team you were playing (although you wouldn't know it from our performance Sunday!), Pitt can actually throw the ball and Ben is capable of making big plays. Of course, if the late defensive "swoon" fits a larger pattern--and maybe that's the case with the Pats, I dunno--maybe it is cause for some concern...

I wish that general stats provided would evolve somewhat and incorporate some sort of weighting for stats achieved when the game is within reach, vs out of reach. In today's NFL there's nothing easier than racking up a bunch of meaningless passing yards when you're down three or four TDs.

 

[tuckeverlasting]

the prevent defense is not one of our strengths.

 

[Kontradiction]

the prevent defense is not one of our strengths.

The prevent defense is not one of ANYBODY'S strengths.