Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Tonight at 8:20 p.m. ET, our Steelers take on the Cincinnati Bengals in what has become a “must win” game for both teams.

For the Bengals, it’s a must win because they have to end the tailspin that they suddenly find themselves in.  The Bengals have lost their last two games.  More importantly, they’ve lost them to really bad teams.  Two weeks ago, they lost to the Miami Dolphins, a team that doesn’t instill fear into the hearts of many of their opponents.  Then last week they lost to the lowly Cleveland Browns, who we all know are the NFL’s equivalent of the cowardly lion.

The Bengals had already lost to the Baltimore Ravens in week 1 of the season.  So these two back to back losses suddenly left the Bengals with a 3-3 record, with two of their 3 losses coming from within the division.  A loss to the Steelers would be the Bengals’ third loss within the AFC North, and they still have to face the Ravens and Steelers again.  That’s not a good scenario for a team that had serious hopes of winning the division.

For the Steelers, the game is just as crucial.  With a record of 2-3, the Steelers are below .500, and really need a win today.  A loss would leave them with a 2-4 record, and no wins against division opponents.  Unlike the other teams in the AFC North, the Steelers haven’t faced any division opponents yet.  So they still have plenty of opportunities to dig themselves out from the three unexpected losses to non-division opponents.

But if the Steelers should lose today, they would have 1 loss within their division, and they’d still have to face the Bengals again later in the season.  More dauntingly, they still have two games to play against the Baltimore Ravens, a team that swept them last year.  The Ravens have been devastated by injuries, having lost Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb last week, but they’re still a dangerous team.

In order to beat the Bengals, the Steelers are going to have to find a way to shut down their most dangerous player; wide receiver A.J. Green.  Ordinarily, I would have said that the Steelers could simply assign Ike Taylor to cover him, and the threat of A.J Green would be neutralized.  Unfortunately, somebody replaced the Ike Taylor that we all knew with his doppelganger twin.  And Ike’s twin can’t play at all.  In fact, his only visible skill is an uncanny ability to draw pass interference penalties.  A.J. Green will completely destroy “Doppelganger Ike”.

To make matters even worse for the Steelers, Marcus Gilbert is out with an injury, and he’s being replaced by rookie Mike Adams in the starting lineup.  We all remember how poorly things went for Adams the last time he was called upon to play significant minutes.  Adams proved to us that it actually IS possible to be called for holding penalties more often than Willie Colon.  That’s a feat that I thought was a physical impossibility.

With Gilbert out of the lineup, the Steelers running game would likely have taken a step backwards from its already woeful state.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Both Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman have been ruled out for Sunday’s game.  So Jonathan Dwyer, Baron Batch, and Chris Rainey will have to carry the rushing load.

Fortunately, the Bengals’ run defense isn’t particularly good.   They’re ranked 21st in the NFL against the run, and they allow 116.8 yards per game on the ground.  They may be just the opponent that the Steelers need to get their running game back on track.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers are also going to have challenges.  Troy Polamalu is still not ready to play.  His calf injury is still bothering him, and he’s been ruled out for Sunday’s game.  While Troy is only one person, he is a critical piece of the Steelers’ defense.  We’ve seen repeatedly over the past few years that the Steelers’ defense simply doesn’t work as well when Troy doesn’t play.

But on the positive side, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley will actually be on the field at the same time.  That’s been a rare sight over the past 16 games or so.  The Steelers can definitely pressure the quarterback better when both Woodley and Harrison are on the field.

Despite all of the injuries and adversity that the Steelers have faced, one thing has been consistent; Ben Roethlisberger.  Big Ben has been slinging the ball to his crew of highly talented receivers, and has been putting up very respectable stats.  That fact sometimes gets lost in the midst of the Steelers’ other struggles.  But it’s exactly that fact that I believe is going to be the Steelers’ salvation today.  I believe that even if the Steelers’ rushing attack flounders, Big Ben and his “Young Money” receivers are going to prove to be too much for the Bengals to handle.

I predict a Steelers win against their first AFC North opponent of the season.  Final score:  Steelers 24, Bengals 17.

This week’s Steelers-Bengals game is right up there with some of the other great battles in sports history; Ali vs. Frazier, Lakers vs. Celtics, Tyson vs. Holyfield’s ear, Yankees vs. Red Sox, Ike vs. Tina.  Okay, maybe not.  But it should still be a very good game.

The Steelers and Bengals find themselves tied at the top of the AFC North with identical 6-2 records.  However, the Bengals have the advantage in the tie-breakers so far.  The Bengals defeated the Steelers in their first meeting this season.  The Bengals also have a better record within the division (4-0), having swept the Baltimore Ravens already, while the Steelers (1-1) have not faced the Ravens yet.

With that in mind, Sunday’s game becomes a must-win for the Steelers.

Personally, I have no doubt that the Steelers are going to beat the Bengals.  Call me a doubter, but I just don’t think the Bengals are in the Steelers’ class, despite their earlier win.

If you’ll recall the Steelers game against the Bengals earlier this season, you’ll remember that it took a 4th quarter miracle by the Bengals (actually, it was a 4th quarter meltdown by the Steelers) to win the game.

The Steelers dominated the Bengals in every way in that game.  They held Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer to a mere 183 yards passing.  Meanwhile, Big Ben threw for almost 300 yards and completed passes to 8 different receivers, including 102 yards to rookie receiver Mike Wallace.

Willie Parker rushed for 93 yards on 25 carries, as Rashard Mendenhall sat out due to being unprepared in practice.

The Steelers held the bengals to a mere 9 points through 3 quarters before surrendering 2 late touchdowns during a 4th quarter meltdown.

The Steelers domination was so complete that they held the ball a full 10 minutes more than the Bengals did during the course of the game.

Yet, a missed field goal by Jeff Reed combined with a dropped TD pass by Limas Sweed resulted in a 3 point loss in a game that the Steelers should have won.

Both teams remember what happened in the first game.  The Bengals know that they got beat like a drum, despite what the final scoreboard said.  The Steelers know that they lost a game that was within their grasp.

But that was then, and this is now.  In this game, the Bengals are going to find that they are facing a much improved Steelers team.

The Steelers are on a roll, having won 5 games in a row.  Troy Polamalu is back, having missed the first game against the Bengals due to injury.  Polamalu’s return seems to have ended the Steelers string of 4th quarter meltdowns.  The Steelers defense is now playing like the unit that we all know and love.

But perhaps the biggest difference in this game will be the Steelers’ running back.  The Bengals faced Willie Parker in the first game, and he almost gained 100 yards on them.  This time, the Bengals will be facing Rashard Mendenhall.  They’ve never faced Mendenhall, but I think they are going to find that he’s a much greater challenge than Parker is.

Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall

Surely the Bengals watched Mendenhall run for 155 yards on Monday Night Football.  They know that they are in for a tough game.

They also know that the rookie wide receiver who torched them for over 100 yards the first time they faced him has gotten even better.  Their defensive backs can’t be looking forward to facing Mike Wallace again.

Those are some of the reasons why I am sure that the Steelers are going to win this game.  If the Bengals were honest, they’d admit that those are exactly the same reasons why they know that they are going to lose.

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Today, the Steelers released punter Paul Ernster (again) and brought back punter Mitch Berger (again). Is it just me, or is this getting to be a bit redundant?

Mitch Berger beat out Ernster during training camp, but then developed gimpy hamstrings. When Mike Tomlin finally got tired of seeing Berger limp around the field, he released him and brought in Ernster. Ernster made the most of his opportunity by averaging a whopping 31.6 yards per punt. For those of you who have been living on another planet, that ain’t good.

During the Steelers’ game against the Bengals, Ernster punted 5 times for an average of 28.4 yards. His shortest punt during that game traveled only 23 yards. I’ve never even punted a ball before, and I could punt it farther than that. To put it into perspective just how bad Ernster was, the average punting distance for the top 3 finishers in the 12-13 year old girls division of the 2008 Pass, Punt, & Kick competition was 31.2 yards. That’s right, 31.2 yards. That’s almost 3 yards longer than Ernster averaged in an actual NFL game. Heck, Ernster’s average for the season was only 31.6 yards per punt. Where are the 12 year old girls when you need them?

Steelers' next punter

But let’s look at the bright side (if you can call it that). Ernster only had two punts returned for a total of 4 yards during his time with the Steelers. That’s pretty good, right? Well, not really. Most of Ernster’s punts went off the side of his foot and traveled such a short distance that there were rarely opposing punt returners anywhere near the vicinity of the ball.

So the Steelers cut the punter who can’t punt it farther than adolescent girls, in favor of the punter who has 2 gimpy hamstrings. Wow, I feel more comfortable already.

What I don’t understand is how Berger ended up with 2 pulled hamstrings in the first place. After all, the average punter probably spends a total of about 48 seconds on the field during the average NFL game. So what does he do during the rest of the game? My guess would have been “stretch his hamstrings”, but Berger disproves that theory.

But at least Berger averaged a more respectable 41.9 yards per punt this season. That’s more than 10 yards better than Ernster. He’s got my vote already.

For those of you who are wondering, Berger’s punting average would have earned him 2nd place in the 14-15 year old girls Pass, Punt & Kick division. Believe it or not Steelers fans, that is a step in the right direction.

Please get well soon Dan Sepulveda. Otherwise, the Steelers may have to start scouting 12 year old girls.

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I hate to spotlight a vicious hit on a steelers player. I’d much rather show you a video of Hines Ward knocking out a defensive back or linebacker with a thunderous block. But let’s face it, Santonio Holmes got JACKED UP! Bengals’ safety Chris Crocker put a hit on him that left him with legs like rubber bands. The hit was so hard that I actually felt it through the TV.

Here is one more look at the hit.

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According to Bengals.com, wide receiver Chad Johnson has been deactivated for tonight’s game against the Steelers.  Johnson apparently violated a team rule.  No specifics have been released as to why Ocho Cinco was deactivated.

according to Bengals’ radio play-by-play man Brad Johansen, Ocho Cinco said that he “begged and begged” Bengals’ coach Marvin Lewis not to sit him after he overslept an 8:30 p.m. meeting.

The Bengals are looking at starting Chris Henry or Glen Holt in place of Johnson.

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