Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

In recent history, the Steelers vs. Bengals game has been rather uneventful.  The Bengals played like the Bungles, while the Steelers were perpetually in contention.

Sure, there was that one year that the Bengals actually won the AFC North, but the very next year they went right back to being the Bungles.

But that’s not the case this year.  The Bengals are tied for 1st place in the AFC North, and are on their first 5-game winning streak in over 20 years.  Believe it or not, the Bengals are actually good.  Very good.

For many Steelers fans, this Bengals team is going to look completely unfamiliar.  The names that most fans think of when you say “Bengals” are no longer a part of the team.  Carson Palmer?  Gone!  Chad Ochocinco?  Gone!  Terrell Owens?  Gone!

Replacing those familiar names are talented young players like QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green, WR Jerome Simpson, and TE Jermaine Gresham.

While the young offensive players have gotten the most publicity for the resurgent Bengals, it’s really the defense that has carried the team.  The Bengals have the #4 defense in the NFL.  The Steelers defense is #3, and the Ravens defense is #2.  That’s right, 3 of the top 4 defenses in the NFL are in the AFC North.  Do you think the Bengal may have learned a thing or two from watching the Steelers and Ravens dominate the division with defense?  In fact, the Bengals’ defense is ranked #2 in the NFL against the run.  That’s better than either the Steelers (#6) or Ravens (#3) are ranked against the run.

Fortunately, Andy Dalton has never seen the Steelers’ defense before.  Steelers’ Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau is a master at confusing young quarterbacks.  I’m sure he’ll have some blitz packages lined up that will have Dalton scratching his head.

James Harrison looked great last week in his return to action.  I’m sure he’s going to be anxious to meet Mr. Dalton, and to say “Hello” as only James Harrison can.

Having already lost both of their games to the Baltimore Ravens, making the playoffs is now going to be a bit more difficult.  It’s important that the Steelers defeat the Bengals.  They need to maintain the advantage in the tie-breakers for playoff positioning.

The AFC North looks like it’s going to be a tougher battle than it’s been in a long time.  In fact, many experts are saying that the AFC North is now the toughest division in the NFL.  I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that the Steelers need to beat the Bengals on Sunday.

The road to the playoffs starts on Sunday, and the Bengals are an obstacle that needs to be overcome.

Go Steelers!

The point differential wasn’t as great as it was in week 1, but the result was the same.  The Steelers lost again to their bitter rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.  The win gives the Ravens a regular season sweep of the Steelers.  It also gives them a decided advantage in any playoff tie-breakers (should they be necessary).

Like all Steelers/Ravens games, this one was a slugfest.  The Ravens were only able to run for 67 yards against the Steelers’ defense, and the Steelers only managed to gain 70 yards on the ground.

Troy makes a tackle.

With both teams’ running games shut down, the outcome of the game was going to come down to a battle between two quarterbacks.  Ben Roethlisberger has almost always beaten Baltimore, so Steelers fans probably felt confident in this match-up.

Unfortunately, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, “Football games are like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.”  And in this instance, what we got wasn’t very tasty.

Big Ben threw an interception to Terrell Suggs that resulted in a Ravens’ touchdown.  That costly turnover likely changes the outcome of the game.

Joe Flacco also had an opportunity to put his team on his shoulders.  With 2:24 left in the 4th quarter, the Ravens got the ball back at their own 8 yard line.  They had to just over 2 minutes to go 92 yards.  Based on what had already happened in the game, it seemed highly unlikely that the Ravens could muster such a drive against the Steelers’ defense.

But muster they did.  Flacco led the Ravens all the way down the field, culminating in a touchdown pass to Torrey Smith.

Like most observers, I couldn’t believe how open Smith was.  He beat William Gay badly, and Ryan Clark seemed to be out of position to provide help on the play.

How'd he get so open?

I seldom question Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.  But I really don’t understand what he was doing on that final Ravens’ possession.  Instead of trying to stop the long pass, the Steelers seemed to be in press coverage like they did against the Patriots last week.  They brought almost no pressure, and seemed to be trying to stop the short pass.  The only problem was that with 92 yards to go, the Ravens needed long passes.

With 42 seconds left in the game, Flacco tossed a long pass to the end zone to a wide open Torrey Smith.  Smith had William Gay beat by several strides, and there was no help in sight.  But Smith dropped the ball.  That play should have been a signal that the Steelers couldn’t afford to let the Ravens get behind their defense.  So how was Flacco able to complete a similar pass to Smith for a 26 yard touchdown just 4 plays later?

Despite questionable officiating, the Steelers had opportunities to win this game.  So they can’t blame the loss on anyone but themselves.

I’m disappointed that the Steelers lost both regular season games to the Ravens.  But if they end up going 1-2 against the Ravens this year, I think I’ll be able to live with that.

Go Steelers!

Pittsburgh Steelers punter Dan Sepulveda is probably one of the nicest guys on the team.  That’s why I hate writing this story.

Anyone who has ever been to Steelers training camp knows that Sepulveda is probably the easiest autograph to get on the entire team.  He is extremely accessible.  He talks to anyone who speaks to him.  And he usually stays on the field longer than anyone else signing autographs.

Aside from being a very nice guy, he’s a very good punter.  Sepulveda can punt for both distance and accuracy.  And he’s more than willing to tackle when an opposing return man gets through the special teams’ coverage.

So it saddens me to say that for the 3rd time in his 5 year career, Sepulveda has been placed on injured reserve.

Sepulveda was injured during practice.  The team has shared no other information on how the injury occurred.

To replace Sepulveda, the Steelers have signed Jeremy Kapinos.  This probably sounds familiar, since the Steelers signed Kapinos last year when Sepulveda was placed on IR.

As much as I like Sepulveda, it may be time for the team to cut ties with him.  This is his third time being placed on injured reserve, and I wouldn’t be willing to bet that he won’t get injured again.

The team has to be able to depend on its’ players to stay healthy, and in Sepulveda’s case, it doesn’t look like that’s possible.

The Baltimore Ravens kicked the Steelers’ butts in week 1.

As much as I hate saying that, there’s no other way to put it.  Ray Rice ran all over our defense, and Terrell Suggs got closer to Big Ben than Mrs. Roethlisberger probably does.

But that was then, and this is now.

Since that 35-7 spanking that the Ravens put on the Steelers, the Steelers have gotten better, and the Ravens have gotten worse.

Who would have thought following that opening week trouncing that the Steelers would be in first place in the AFC in week 9?  But that’s exactly what happened.

Similarly, who would have thought that the Ravens would lose to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, and almost lose to the even lowlier Arizona Cardinals?

Perhaps the biggest difference in this game versus the first meeting will be the presence of Max Starks in the Steelers’ lineup.  Jonathan Scott started at left tackle for the Steelers in the first meeting, and Terrell Suggs ate him alive.  But in their many meetings, I don’t believe that Suggs has ever had a multi-sack game when facing Starks.

Another big difference in this game will be the fact that the Steelers have taken their passing attack to another level.  Despite being known for historically having a pounding running attack, the current Steelers are a passing team.  Big Ben trails only Tom Brady in passing yards in the AFC.  Nobody saw that coming.

And finally, the Ravens probably won’t be able to beat the Steelers with the constant cut blocks that they used in week 1.  The Ravens’ offensive linemen were constantly attacking the legs of Steelers’ nose tackle Casey Hampton.  They had never used that tactic against the Steelers before, but the Steelers will be ready for it this time.

So despite the lopsided loss in week 1, I definitely expect to see a Steelers victory this week.

Back-to-back victories over the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens will clearly establish the Steelers as the team to beat in the AFC.  But more importantly, it will help us all to forget that nightmare that happened in week 1.