Making the Case (Pros and Cons)

[CISGS]

Reasons to Have Confidence

• It is in New England, and the crowd will be electric
• Pittsburgh is on a short week and just played a very physical game
• Our offense just played its worst game all season and they won by 18
• The Steelers Redzone offense looked abysmal last night
• Our defense is the epitome of Bend, Don't Break (which plays well to the above point)
• The defense has confidence, which despite its lack of a challenge in the opposing QB, is important
• Pittsburgh's defense gave up 80% to Matt Moore... at home
• We match up surprisingly well with Pittsburgh (Butler on AB, Gameplan for Le'Veon)
• We have the GOAT QB
• We have the GOAT Coach

Reasons to Not

• Pittsburgh's offense is Jekyl and Hyde, but when its on, they are just dangerous
• Bell is running better than any back has in a while (outside of AP)
• Our defense hasn't faced an NFL QB this entire season outside of Russell Wilson
• Pittsburgh's defense played much better last night

 

[Ring 6]

Reasons to Have Confidence

• It is in New England, and the crowd will be electric
• Pittsburgh is on a short week and just played a very physical game
• Our offense just played its worst game all season and they won by 18
• The Steelers Redzone offense looked abysmal last night
• Our defense is the epitome of Bend, Don't Break (which plays well to the above point)
• The defense has confidence, which despite its lack of a challenge in the opposing QB, is important
• Pittsburgh's defense gave up 80% to Matt Moore... at home
• We match up surprisingly well with Pittsburgh (Butler on AB, Gameplan for Le'Veon)
• We have the GOAT QB
• We have the GOAT Coach

Reasons to Not

• Pittsburgh's offense is Jekyl and Hyde, but when its on, they are just dangerous
• Bell is running better than any back has in a while (outside of AP)
• Our defense hasn't faced an NFL QB this entire season outside of Russell Wilson
• Pittsburgh's defense played much better last night

You mean we faced 16 QBs who don't play in the NFL? How did we do that?

 

[CISGS]

You mean we faced 16 QBs who don't play in the NFL? How did we do that?

Its sarcasm man.. have a sense of humor.

 

[Ring 6]

Reasons to Have Confidence

• It is in New England, and the crowd will be electric
• Pittsburgh is on a short week and just played a very physical game
• Our offense just played its worst game all season and they won by 18
• The Steelers Redzone offense looked abysmal last night
• Our defense is the epitome of Bend, Don't Break (which plays well to the above point)
• The defense has confidence, which despite its lack of a challenge in the opposing QB, is important
• Pittsburgh's defense gave up 80% to Matt Moore... at home
• We match up surprisingly well with Pittsburgh (Butler on AB, Gameplan for Le'Veon)
• We have the GOAT QB
• We have the GOAT Coach

Reasons to Not

• Pittsburgh's offense is Jekyl and Hyde, but when its on, they are just dangerous
• Bell is running better than any back has in a while (outside of AP)
• Our defense hasn't faced an NFL QB this entire season outside of Russell Wilson
• Pittsburgh's defense played much better last night

We are not the epitome of bend but don't break.

The Patriot defense was #8 in yards, and #3 in first downs allowed. They were 7th best in 3rd down conversions.
This is not a bend but don't break defense.
In the first playoff game, each one of those stats were better, with 285 yards, 14 first downs, and 3/16 3rd down conversions, all of which are at a #1 in the NFL level.

 

[BobDigital]

Call me a homer. I am supremely confident. I just look at what Pitt has done recently and can't be scared. The Pitt we saw last night is not abnormal. They are that on the road. Ben has been average on the road and no so good lately in general. I expect that to continue. He is dangerous but maybe he is hurt or just lacking confidence.

The Pats will not stop Brown but they will not let him beat them deep or take a 5 yard pass to the house. They simply won't. Butler will be on him and McCourty will shade him. After that their WRs are "meh" and Ben has not been able to elevate them. Bell is a guy the Pats never seem unable to contain. It be different perhaps if Pitt had more depth but they don't. Bell will get his 80-100 yards and 5 catches for 30-40 but that will be it and he will have to earn them and get small amounts no huge chunks. The Pats will not let him take over the game.

Once those 2 things are stopped if Ben continues his struggles that is game over. Everything else will take care of itself. They will score no more than 20 in our house.

On offense it is about Scar finding ways to be sure the IOL doesn't have issues again. The OTs will not be beat by these guys. If the interior holds and not too many bad penalties or turnovers we roll up 30 on them. We got 27 last time vs the same D but fumbles and penalties killed drives. Also Pats got conservative with 10 minutes left up 27-16 and ran mostly.

This will be the same D pretty much. If the Pats are on they can drop 30+ on this D. It isn't like it is total trash though. It is the 2nd best D left and a hair above average so lets not get crazy.

Also go to youtube types in "Pats vs Steelers 2016 condensed game" You can rewatch it in 40 minutes. I scanned through it and will rewatch it again. It reminded me how many wasted chances the Pats had.

Blount ran 24 times for 127 yards. Add in Lewis and it will be more effective. That front has not improved much. Brady only passed 26 times BTW but he did 5 run (I think 1 was a QB sneak). Pats didn't have the ball much cause of unforced errors.

If Ben plays how he has on the road... Pats win 31-16 If Ben plays really well but the Pats do too... Pats win 35-23. My odds the Pats win? 80%

 

[chasa]

i find it hard to be scared of a team that cant score a touchdown.

 

[Ring 6]

Call me a homer. I am supremely confident. I just look at what Pitt has done recently and can't be scared. The Pitt we saw last night is not abnormal. They are that on the road. Ben has been average on the road and no so good lately in general. I expect that to continue. He is dangerous but maybe he is hurt or just lacking confidence.

The Pats will not stop Brown but they will not let him beat them deep or take a 5 yard pass to the house. They simply won't. Butler will be on him and McCourty will shade him. After that their WRs are "meh" and Ben has not been able to elevate them. Bell is a guy the Pats never seem unable to contain. IT be different perhaps if Pitt had more depth but they don't. Bell will get his 80-100 yards and 5 catches for 30-40 but that will be it and he will have to earn them and get small amounts no huge chunks. The Pats will not let him take over the game.

Once those 2 things are stopped if Ben continues his struggles that is game over. Everything else will take care of itself. They will score no more than 20 in our house.

On offense it is about Scar finding ways to be sure the IOL doesn't have issues again. The OTs will not be beat by these guys. If the interior holds and not too many bad penalties or turnovers we roll up 30 on them. We got 27 last time vs the same D but fumbles and penalties killed drives. Also Pats got conservative with 10 minutes left up 27-16 and ran mostly.

This will be the same D pretty much. If the Pats are on they can drop 30+ on this D. It isn't like it is total trash though. It is the 2nd best D left and a hair above average so lets not get crazy.

Also go to youtube types in "Pats vs Steelers 2016 condensed game" You can rewatch it in 40 minutes. I scanned through it and will rewatch it again. It reminded me how many wasted chances the Pats had.

Blount ran 24 times for 127 yards. Add in Lewis and it will be more effective. That front has not improved much. Brady only passed 26 times BTW but he did 5 run (I think 1 was a QB sneak). Pats didn't have the ball much cause of unforced errors.

If Ben plays how he has on the road... Pats win 31-16 If Ben plays really well but the Pats do too... Pats win 35-23. My odds the Pats win? 80%

In that game, the Patriots had TD drives of 80,84,75,75 as of 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
There other drives were Hogans fumble on the first play, a 3 and out (Brandon Bolden drop iirc) a drive with one first down, and a 3 and out including a holding penalty.

If they play like that, this will not be a game.

There were 2 late 3 and out drives but they were after the game was out of reach, and the clock was the most important factor.

I think TD on 50% of drives seems like a decent estimate for Pats O vs Steeler D.

 

[archstanton543]

Reasons to Have Confidence

• Our offense just played its worst game all season and they won by 18

Their worst performance by a very large margin was the 16-0 loss to the Bills. The Pats hasn't been shut out at home since 1994. That's a historically bad performance. The next crappiest game was the 16-3 win in Denver followed by the 22-17 Jets game in NJ.

The offense scored 28 points this past Saturday which makes it about average for 2016.

 

[Minitron]

Reasons to Have Confidence

• It is in New England, and the crowd will be electric Agree.
• Pittsburgh is on a short week and just played a very physical game Agree.
• Our offense just played its worst game all season and they won by 18 But,...But look at who we played...
• The Steelers Redzone offense looked abysmal last night Agree, i hope we can copy something of the Chiefs defensive gameplan.
• Our defense is the epitome of Bend, Don't Break (which plays well to the above point). Our defense is better than Bend, don't Break
• The defense has confidence, which despite its lack of a challenge in the opposing QB, is important Agree.
• Pittsburgh's defense gave up 80% to Matt Moore... at home I don't think that is relevant here. They played preven from the get go.
• We match up surprisingly well with Pittsburgh (Butler on AB, Gameplan for Le'Veon) Limit Bell to under 100 rushing and we should be good. Ben is not the same on the road.
• We have the GOAT QB Agree.
• We have the GOAT Coach Agree

Reasons to Not

• Pittsburgh's offense is Jekyl and Hyde, but when its on, they are just dangerous On the road they have to rely heavily on Bell.
• Bell is running better than any back has in a while (outside of AP) Agree.
• Our defense hasn't faced an NFL QB this entire season outside of Russell Wilson Big Ben on the road looks like an average NFL-QB
• Pittsburgh's defense played much better last night KC was pretty much one-dimensional because they were behind so long

 

[CISGS]

Their worst performance by a very large margin was the 16-0 loss to the Bills. The Pats hasn't been shut out at home since 1994. That's a historically bad performance. The next crappiest game was the 16-3 win in Denver followed by the 22-17 Jets game in NJ.

The offense scored 28 points this past Saturday which makes it about average for 2016.

Sorry, I wasn't counting Brissett's game since you know, he is our third string QB.

I don't view a 16-3 win on the road, against Denver (a place Brady plays historically bad) as being that terrible.

 

[archstanton543]

Sorry, I wasn't counting Brissett's game since you know, he is our third string QB.

I don't view a 16-3 win on the road, against Denver (a place Brady plays historically bad) as being that terrible.

Last time I checked the Pats finished 14-2. The League didn't give us a break on one of the losses because Brady didn't play in that game and neither should you. It still counts and will be the answer to the trivia question "When was the last time the Pats were shutout at home?"

 

[dannydyn]

I find it hard to be scared of a team whose coach is already making excuses even before they had left KC's locker room....

 

[CISGS]

Last time I checked the Pats finished 14-2. The League didn't give us a break on one of the losses because Brady didn't play in that game and neither should you. It still counts and will be the answer to the trivia question "When was the last time the Pats were shutout at home?"

I am not saying the game doesn't count towards our record.

I am saying that I live in reality and will not count a game featuring a 3rd string rookie QB against Buffalo, when gauging how our offense played this week.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Call me a homer. I am supremely confident. I just look at what Pitt has done recently and can't be scared. The Pitt we saw last night is not abnormal. They are that on the road. Ben has been average on the road and no so good lately in general. I expect that to continue. He is dangerous but maybe he is hurt or just lacking confidence.

The Pats will not stop Brown but they will not let him beat them deep or take a 5 yard pass to the house. They simply won't. Butler will be on him and McCourty will shade him. After that their WRs are "meh" and Ben has not been able to elevate them. Bell is a guy the Pats never seem unable to contain. IT be different perhaps if Pitt had more depth but they don't. Bell will get his 80-100 yards and 5 catches for 30-40 but that will be it and he will have to earn them and get small amounts no huge chunks. The Pats will not let him take over the game.

Once those 2 things are stopped if Ben continues his struggles that is game over. Everything else will take care of itself. They will score no more than 20 in our house.

The game that I watched was all about LeVeon Bell. 170 yards on 30 carries is a monster game. Enough to compensate for a lacklustre performance by Roethlisberger and the Steelers' failure to get into the endzone.

Last week, when he did that to the Dolphins, I couldn't believe how poor the run defense was. This week he did it again.

That's the number one task for the Patriots. If they can stop Bell, I'm very confident. If not, it could be a long night.

 

[FourierSeries]

The game that I watched was all about LeVeon Bell. 170 yards on 30 carries is a monster game. Enough to compensate for a lacklustre performance by Roethlisberger and the Steelers' failure to get into the endzone.

Last week, when he did that to the Dolphins, I couldn't believe how poor the run defense was. This week he did it again.

That's the number one task for the Patriots. If they can stop Bell, I'm very confident. If not, it could be a long night.

That's because KC's run defense is atrocious as well, whereas NE has the 3rd ranked run defense. They also played Bell pretty well in the first meeting.

 

[jah]

I'd feel a lot better about the Steelers playing like **** if we didn't do the same thing. I still think we win.

 

[Mike the Brit]

That's because KC's run defense is atrocious as well, whereas NE has the 3rd ranked run defense. They also played Bell pretty well in the first meeting.

What's disturbing is that it doesn't look it would take much to hold him in check -- have a linebacker shadowing him and waiting for the crease to open just like he does, then hit the hole at the same time. You might give up 8o on 30 carries that way, but not 170. Anyway, I repeat my view: if the Patriots can stop Bell, they must be favourites. If they can't, they've got problems.

 

[Ring 6]

Sorry, I wasn't counting Brissett's game since you know, he is our third string QB.

I don't view a 16-3 win on the road, against Denver (a place Brady plays historically bad) as being that terrible.

So other than the games you want to ignore this was the worst?

 

[Ring 6]

What's disturbing is that it doesn't look it would take much to hold him in check -- have a linebacker shadowing him and waiting for the crease to open just like he does, then hit the hole at the same time. You might give up 8o on 30 carries that way, but not 170. Anyway, I repeat my view: if the Patriots can stop Bell, they must be favourites. If they can't, they've got problems.

Bell ran for 170 last night and they didn't score a TD. Would be nice to stop him, but its not a loss if we don't. Especially since we should be putting up 30+ easily

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

I'd like to point out that the Steelers don't have a short week, they have a normal week. We just got the extra day as we Played on Saturday.

Shouldn't each #21seed get the chance to play on Saturday too? O should they play on Sunday's as they'd be "at home" if they win.