Your 2017 Pittsburgh Steelers…

[Joker]

Guess what Pats fans? Just GUESS who the ref is for THIS game...and you all think I'm crazy....didn't I call this WEEKS AGO?

Patriots at Steelers — Tony Corrente

Get ready for a spate of offensive holding calls against Gronk and a late hit festival by the Pitt defense on Brady.

I've told all of you for years now...the goddamned Turdell goes to whatever lengths he needs to to ensure outcomes....Pete Morelli TWICE already...Steratore once...Corrente again...you'll remember Corrente is the one who ruled Seferian -Jenkins fumbled out of bounds in that Jet game earlier negating a Jets TD. That game was one of the worst officiated games we've seen around here in years and it's because Corrente is grossly incompetent .I have repeatedly said I do NOT want to see the Goodelleone Crime Family's hitmen ref any more Pats games this season but...here we are Morelli twice, Corrente twice...I'll bet Goodell is saving Steratore for the playoffs to really stick the dagger in.

 

[Tunescribe]

Guess what Pats fans? Just GUESS who the ref is for THIS game...and you all think I'm crazy....didn't I call this WEEKS AGO?

Patriots at Steelers — Tony Corrente

Get ready for a spate of offensive holding calls against Gronk and a late hit festival by the Pitt defense on Brady.

I've told all of you for years now...the goddamned Turdell goes to whatever lengths he needs to to ensure outcomes....Pete Morelli TWICE already...Steratore once...Corrente again...you'll remember Corrente is the one who ruled Seferian -Jenkins fumbled out of bounds in that Jet game earlier negating a Jets TD. That game was one of the worst officiated games we've seen around here in years and it's because Corrente is grossly incompetent .I have repeatedly said I do NOT want to see the Goodelleone Crime Family's hitmen ref any more Pats games this season but...here we are Morelli twice, Corrente twice...I'll bet Goodell is saving Steratore for the playoffs to really stick the dagger in.

Damn Mafioso refs again.

 

[P@tsFan]

That's it...my fact-checker and editor are totally fired.

Seriously, good for Cobi. Wasn't sure he'd get another chance (this is maybe his 6th team in 3 years?) Looks like he got called up from the PS recently.

Did Demarcus Ayers stick on the Pats PS? Cobi, Ayers and Coates made up the bottom half of Pitt's 2016 WR group; they've since been all released or traded, with Bryant, JuJu and Justin Hunter replacing them.. I always thought Ayers might stick as a slot prospect though.

Cobi got called up from the PS but has been a regular on the gameday inactive list for Houston.

Ayers is on the Bears PS. Not sure how that reflects on his potential considering the Bears are quite WR-needy yet Ayers can’t make the 53.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Always a pleasure to read your post, looking forward to seeing you back here after the game.

Pitt may win Sunday, but AFCCG will be F.E.'s-Jags

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

It's a big game. May the best team win. Hopefully it's us.

D Fence

 

[luuked]

Yeah, not like the steelers cant lose to LA or Jax at home.

Losing to Jacksonville at home could never happen. Especially not to the 2017 Steelers. No chance.

 

[lillloyd]

Losing to Jacksonville at home could never happen. Especially not to the 2017 Steelers. No chance.

Yup that could never...oh wait.

I like Pitt's chances *this weekend*, and if Pitt wins I'll enjoy it. But this doesn't change that fact that Pitt securing HFA doesn't guarantee anything the way it would with the Pats. Pitt might not even get past the divisional round. They're erratic enough to lose to anybody--I could easily envision them losing to a red-hot Chargers team, or laying another egg against that Jaguars' D. All securing HFA does for Pitt is give them a semblance of a chance against the Pats --*if* they make it that far.

The other obvious dilemma for Pitt is that to get to the SB, they'd likely have to beat the Pats *twice* in a 5 or 6 week span - has that EVER happened in the TB/BB era? I almost feel like for someone to get past the Pats in the playoffs it neeeds be the first meeting of the year; for any rematch BB gets a full game of recent tape to work with, which is of course brutal.

Bottom line, I'm going to hope for a win and a *chance* in the playoffs. But I don't have any illusions about it - it would still be an uphill battle. The Pats OTOH are fully capable of going into Pitt and winning an AFCCG...if Pitt even made it that far.

 

[lillloyd]

Most concerning is how Brady has looked the last two games.

So what's the consensus in PatsNation? Is it Brady's achilles that is impacting his play?

I don't pay attention as closely as a Pats fan would obviously. From an outsider's perspective he certainly didn't seem quite right on Monday...but then again, Gronk was out and MIA (weird as it is to say) matches up well historically against the Pats.

 

[luuked]

So what's the consensus in PatsNation? Is it Brady's achilles that is impacting his play?

There are a couple of pretty insightful ex-players on podcasts and one of them (Matt Chatham) does a weekly deep dive on the previous game and outlook. His opinion after watching Brady dropping back and getting set is that he didnt see any obvious issue but that doesnt mean that there wasnt any. Other beat writers also were not particularly concerned about the achilles injury.

Brady has been playing great most of the season and even if the scoreline against the Bills doesnt imply it that was one of those games. The only real bad game so far was last week at Miami.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

So what's the consensus in PatsNation? Is it Brady's achilles that is impacting his play?

I don't pay attention as closely as a Pats fan would obviously. From an outsider's perspective he certainly didn't seem quite right on Monday...but then again, Gronk was out and MIA (weird as it is to say) matches up well historically against the Pats.

Obviously, I don't have access to Brady's medical records (curse you, HIPPA ) but he certainly looked "off" the past few games. His face at the start of the Miami game looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep in three days. His throws looked frighteningly off target.

Brady usually comes up big after a disappointing loss but he's just one man. The injuries are piling up and three straight road games is a tall order for any team.

Steelers have too much of an advantage here. It's their game to lose unless Tomlin does something stupid to screw it up (which is why I haven't completely lost hope).

 

[lillloyd]

Brady usually comes up big after a disappointing loss but he's just one man.

A trip to Pittsburgh may be just the thing to cure whatever ails TB12.

I think Pitt's willingness to at least mix in some man coverage might at least stem the bleeding defensively. But Pitt has maybe 4 corners that can play man - one is hurt and questionable (Haden), one is young, inconsistent, and extremely susceptible to double moves (Burns), one is a rookie with about 2 games of experience (Sutton), and the last one is both dinged and JAG (Sensabaugh).

It just underscores the importance of the OL/DL+OLB matchup IMO. If Tuitt, Heyward et al stay blocked it's gonna be a long day.

It will be really interesting to see how Pitt deploys TJ Watt in this game - with Dupree out, Watt is the best coverage backer. But he's also probably their best pass-rushing LB as well, and he might have an advantage if they put him over Cannon's replacement...but then again, they lose his coverage ability every time they rush him.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

Guess what Pats fans? Just GUESS who the ref is for THIS game...and you all think I'm crazy....didn't I call this WEEKS AGO?

Yes, you were right . . . but we still think you're crazy.

 

[FCB02062]

So what's the consensus in PatsNation? Is it Brady's achilles that is impacting his play?

I don't pay attention as closely as a Pats fan would obviously. From an outsider's perspective he certainly didn't seem quite right on Monday...but then again, Gronk was out and MIA (weird as it is to say) matches up well historically against the Pats.

He was average Vs Buffalo and ****ing terrible Vs Miami...if Pittsburgh can pressure w 4 and take away the line of scrimmage to 10 yard area betw the #s the Pats r ****ed, esp on 3d down...double Gronkowski, who'll surely get at least 2 OPI thx to NFL vendetta Vs Pats, put best cover guy and amendola...if they can do that successfully Pittsburgh wins

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

A trip to Pittsburgh may be just the thing to cure whatever ails TB12.

I think Pitt's willingness to at least mix in some man coverage might at least stem the bleeding defensively. But Pitt has maybe 4 corners that can play man - one is hurt and questionable (Haden), one is young, inconsistent, and extremely susceptible to double moves (Burns), one is a rookie with about 2 games of experience (Sutton), and the last one is both dinged and JAG (Sensabaugh).

It just underscores the importance of the OL/DL+OLB matchup IMO. If Tuitt, Heyward et al stay blocked it's gonna be a long day.

It will be really interesting to see how Pitt deploys TJ Watt in this game - with Dupree out, Watt is the best coverage backer. But he's also probably their best pass-rushing LB as well, and he might have an advantage if they put him over Cannon's replacement...but then again, they lose his coverage ability every time they rush him.

When I play the Patriots against the Steelers on Madden, I usually kill you guys by hitting Gronk in seam routes against your zone coverage. It's pretty remarkable how well the game captures Tomlin's coaching style.

I recall that Halloween weekend game in 2011 when the Steelers were successful against the Patriots using press man coverage. I don't understand why Tomlin doesn't try this more often rather than sticking to that zone defense that never works.

 

[neuronet]

Great writeup thanks for doing that it's great to see a take from a well-informed player from another team.

I'm excited by this game it should be a barn-burner. I'm worried about our defensive 7 stopping the run. Especially I'm wary of the first drive from Pittsburgh, giving up big running plays to Bell and setting a tone.

 

[lillloyd]

When I play the Patriots against the Steelers on Madden, I usually kill you guys by hitting Gronk in seam routes against your zone coverage. It's pretty remarkable how well the game captures Tomlin's coaching style.

I recall that Halloween weekend game in 2011 when the Steelers were successful against the Patriots using press man coverage. I don't understand why Tomlin doesn't try this more often rather than sticking to that zone defense that never works.

It's not just Gronk. Persistent bugaboo for Pitt's D.

Here's an article from Steelers Depot (they do very good breakdowns there, definitely worth checking out) - it was written prior to the AFCGG in January of this year, but it's just as relevant now IMO. I fully expect Gronk to gash the Pitt D a couple of times during this game...

Film Room: Seams An Area For New England To Exploit Steelers - Steelers Depot

Re/ why Pitt doesn't mix in more man, I think they're trying to go that way and they've acquired some players in the past couple of years who can do it. I read recently that they've actually been slightly better statistically in man than zone this year (but they stay in zone more often). The issue for this game is that a couple of the man cover guys are dinged and the other two are pretty inexperienced.

Pitt actually tried some man in the AFCGG and were cut up just as badly as when they were in zone.

 

[RIpats88]

He was average Vs Buffalo and ****ing terrible Vs Miami...if Pittsburgh can pressure w 4 and take away the line of scrimmage to 10 yard area betw the #s the Pats r ****ed, esp on 3d down...double Gronkowski, who'll surely get at least 2 OPI thx to NFL vendetta Vs Pats, put best cover guy and amendola...if they can do that successfully Pittsburgh wins

you double Gronk and you have one on one matchup with cooks/hogan/the running backs...that is why Gronks absense last week stood soo large. Dolphins were able to effectively take out cooks, and it was on a rusty hogan to pick up the slack.

this is the same steelers defense as last year IMO. last week the Ravens put up nearly 40points on them, WR's were open everywhere and their RB who i had not heard of ran all over them. this bodes well for a much better QB/Receivers/RB coming into pittsburgh. im expecting a big game for lewis/burkhead.

If lewis can keep picking up chunks of yardage that opens up play-action, and the whole offense. for whatever reason Josh got away from the run too early last week. Not sure why you drop back and pass without your best receiver every play when you have been running the ball so well recently with lewis/burkhead.

This game will be won on defense, and I have more confidence that our defense (pending van noy, flowers coming back) can do a better job at limiting the steelers than they can at us.

 

[Patjew]

@Patjew to the red, white and blue courtesy phone.

Gonna need your ruling on this.

Regards,
Chris

I used to call Kevin Youkilis "Kevin Jewkilis," so I approve of JuJu.

 

[lillloyd]

This game will be won on defense, and I have more confidence that our defense (pending van noy, flowers coming back) can do a better job at limiting the steelers than they can at us.

I think the challenge for NE's defense is that they're very unlikely to get pressure, and Roethlisberger should have a ton of time to throw (barring some exotic pressure scheme that BB cooks up, which I suppose isn't out of the question). Pitt is one of the best (1st or 2nd?) at protecting the QB, and NE is I believe one of the worst at applying it...statistically speaking anyway.

NE has also struggled against the run, and may be missing some key players.

So I think there's a blueprint here for Pittsburgh to attempt on the offensive side of the ball, if they're patient enough to use it. They could pepper the NE D with body blows - Bell runs, plus short to intermediate passes (Bell, James, JuJu) and simply try to ball control the Pats to death.

This isn't without precedent - this is basically what they did in the 2011 game, when Pitt had almost a 2:1 TOP and Roethlisberger threw for (a very workmanlike) 350+ yards. But it demands a level of patience that Ben and the Steelers don't always exhibit.

It also demands that the long, multi-play drives end in paydirt...which kind of goes back to your original point. NE is always tough in the RZ, and if Pitt tries a ball control approach they *have* to come away with touchdowns. Pit could end up with a ton of yards but still lose by double digits if they don't.

 

[Uptown]

When I play the Patriots against the Steelers on Madden, I usually kill you guys by hitting Gronk in seam routes against your zone coverage. It's pretty remarkable how well the game captures Tomlin's coaching style.

I recall that Halloween weekend game in 2011 when the Steelers were successful against the Patriots using press man coverage. I don't understand why Tomlin doesn't try this more often rather than sticking to that zone defense that never works.

Shhhh! Tomlin may hear you..