Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

According to most of the TV sports announcers, the Steelers had no chance of beating the Tennessee Titans.  “Chris Johnson is too fast”.  “The Titans are too tough”.  “The Steelers never win in Tennessee”.  “The Steelers can’t win without Ben Roethlisberger”.  Blah, blah, blah.

Fortunately, the Steelers didn’t listen to the sports announcers.  Rather than laying down and submitting to the “unbeatable Titans”, the Steelers decided to punch them in the face instead.

If you only looked at the statistics from the game, you might think that the Steelers actually lost this game.  After all, the Titans held the Steelers to only 127 net yards of offense.  No, I didn’t say 127 rushing yards.  I said 127 net yards of TOTAL OFFENSE.

The Steelers ended up with only 21 net passing yards, and 106 net yards rushing.  Starting quarterback Dennis Dixon ended the game with a passer rating of only 70.1, and replacement Charlie Batch finished with an even more dismal 52.5 passer rating.

But despite the woeful offensive statistics, the Steelers actually kicked the Titans’ @#$.  Seriously.

The Steelers defense held the Titans’ star running back Chris Johnson to just 34 rushing yards.  Prior to facing the Steelers, Johnson had run for over 100 yards in 12 consecutive games.  But the Steelers weren’t having any of that.

Not only did the Steelers stop Chris Johnson, but they also slammed Titans quarterback Vince Young.  Both literally and figuratively.

The Steelers caused 7 Titans turnovers, including a diving interception by Bryant McFadden, an interception by Troy Polamalu in the endzone, and two forced fumbles by James Harrison.

The Titans were visibly frustrated.  But the frustration became evident when Titans coach Jeff Fisher pulled Vince Young out of the game and replaced him with Kerry Collins.

Troy Polamalu was obviously anxious to welcome Collins into the game, because he did this:

That had to be one of the most outstanding plays that I’ve seen.  No other player would even attempt that play except Troy Polamalu.

The Steelers did suffer a few more injuries in the game.  Dennis Dixon left the game at the beginning of the second quarter and was replaced by Charlie Batch.  Dixon had a knee injury, but no announcement has been made about how serious the injury is.

Chris Hoke was also shaken up during the game, but it didn’t look serious.  And quite a few players suffered from dehydration, battling the Tennessee heat.  Temperatures during the game were in the 90′s, and the heat index was over 100 degrees.  To make matters worse, the Titans forced the Steelers to wear their black home jerseys to make the heat even more unbearable.

Despite heat, injuries, and a poor offensive showing, the Steelers still leave Nashville with a 2-0 record.  And with the Cincinnati Bengals’ win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers stand alone atop the AFC North.

They face Tampa Bay next week, and a 3-0 record is very possible.  If the defense continues to play the way they’ve been playing, a win over Baltimore in week 4 may even be a distinct possibility.

Not a bad start for a team that nobody thought had a chance of winning without Ben Roethlisberger.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Tennessee as underdogs this weekend.  Hardly anyone believes the Steelers have a chance of beating the Tennessee Titans.  Particularly not without franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

To make matters even worse, history is not on the Steelers’ side.  They are 0-3 in the last 3 road games against the Titans.  Moreover, they are 1-6 all-time against the Titans in Nashville.  Suffice it to say that LP Field is a tough place for the Steelers to play.

Fortunately, I’ve never been one to follow the crowd.  I feel confident that the Steelers are going to beat the Titans.  Moreover, they’re going to do it in the Titans home stadium.

In order to beat the Titans, the Steelers are going to have to do a few important things:

1. Stop Chris Johnson – Not many NFL teams have been able to figure out how to do this.  That’s why Johnson was able to rush for over 2,000 yards last year.  However, the Steelers are one of the few teams that have been able to contain Johnson.  In his only two games against the Steelers, Johnson was held to 69 yards (2008) and 57 yards (2009).  The Steelers are built to stop the run.  So this should be a great battle of strength against strength.
2. Force Vince Young to try to win the game with his arm – I know that Vince Young turned around the Titans last year after they got off to an 0-6 start under quarterback Kerry Collins.  However, I’m still not sold on Vince Young.  He seems to find a way to win, but he wins ugly.  He is not a classic drop-back passer who is going to beat you with his arm.  Instead, he beats teams with his legs, and by handing the ball to Chris Johnson.  So the Steelers need to apply pressure to Young, and force him to throw the ball.
3. Dennis Dixon must complete passes – Just like the Steelers are going to try to force Vince Young to beat them with his arm, the Titans are going to do the exact same thing to Dennis Dixon.  They’ve watched film of last week’s game.  They’ve seen Dixon throwing the ball at his receivers’ feet.  So they will likely stack the line to stop the run, and force Dixon to throw the ball.  When they do, Dixon has got to complete passes.  If he can’t make Tennessee respect his arm, it’s going to be a long day for the Steelers.

I watched Dennis Dixon throughout training camp, and I know he is capable of completing passes.  He’s just got to be confident in his own abilities and unleash the ball.

Last week, I could see that he was thinking too much.  He was too concerned with delivering the ball on the numbers.  It looked like he was throwing darts rather than passing a football.  That’s not how I’ve seen him throw it in the past.  Hopefully he will be more comfortable this week, and he’ll deliver the ball the way he is capable of delivering it.

If Dixon passes the ball successfully, the Steelers will win this game.  I’m going to give the young man a vote of confidence and predict that he will do just that.  I anticipate a low-scoring defensive struggle that ends with a Steelers win.  Final score:  Steelers 17, Titans 13.

Injury report

One concern going into the Titans game is injuries.  The Steelers will be without starters at a few key positions.

Casey Hampton – One concern going into the Titans game is injuries.  Casey Hampton is a key component to stopping the run, and he will not be playing due to a hamstring pull.  Fortunately, the Steelers lose very little when backup Chris Hoke replaces Hampton.

Max Starks – The Steelers starting left tackle injured his ankle last week.  In his place, the Steelers will be starting Jonathan Scott.  This will be Scott’s first start for the Steelers, so everyone will be watching to see what he’s capable of.  Expect the Titans to send a lot of pressure from Scott’s side of the line.

Bryant McFadden – McFadden missed practice Thursday due to a groin injury.  Friday’s practice will probably determine if McFadden can go this weekend.  If not, William Gay may get the start.  This would not be good new for the Steelers.   If there is one thing that can make Vince Young look like Peyton Manning, it’s William Gay.  Yikes!

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If there is one thing that I hate more than a Steelers’ loss, it’s a Baltimore win.  Unfortunately, I got both this weekend.  The Steelers lost to the Titans 31-14, and the Ravens beat the Cowboys 33-24.  I think I’d better hide all of the cutlery in my house, or I might slice my wrists.

The thing that hurts even worse than the fact that the Steelers lost, is the fact that they allowed a team to gain 300+ yards for the first time this season.  I don’t think I’m the only Steelers fan who would have loved to have seen the team go the entire season without yielding 300 yards to a team.

Despite the loss, I still believe that the Steelers are a better team than the Titans, and that they can beat that team.  So what happened?  In short, Big Ben happened.  I’m not saying that Ben lost the game for the Steelers.  The Steelers win as a team, and they lose as a team.  However, Ben didn’t have the best game of his career.

Bill Cowher used to keep Ben under a tight leash.  He never really gave Ben the freedom or responsibility of having to win the game.  Instead, he simply asked Ben to manage the offense and to try not to lose the game for the team.  I didn’t think that was the right way to use Ben back then, and I definitely don’t think the organization can shackle him now that they’ve made him their $100 million franchise quarterback.  Nevertheless, there are times when I wish Ben would remember some of the lessons that Bill Cowher tried to teach him.

On Sunday, Ben appeared to try to do too much, and it came back to haunt the team.  His two interceptions and four fumbles (although 2 were recovered by the Steelers) were more than even the Steelers’ defense could compensate for.  It’s tough to beat any team when you give up 4 turnovers.  It’s nearly impossible when the team you’re playing has the best record in the AFC.

Anyone who watched the game knows that it was much closer than the score indicated.  I’m hopeful that the Steelers will get another crack at the Titans in the AFC championship.  I believe that things will be different if the two teams meet again.

The Titans will probably be an even stronger defensive team if we meet them again.  Both Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch are expected to be back for the playoffs.  However, the Steelers’ defense should be better too.  Linebacker James Harrison got hurt early in the first quarter, and was originally thought to be out for the game.  He ended up returning on the next possession, but he didn’t seem to be his normal dominant self.

If given another shot at the Titans, I have the utmost confidence in Dick LeBeau to prepare a game plan to stop them.  Now that he’s seen them firsthand, LeBeau will go back to his laboratory and create a new concoction especially for them.

But the most important difference that I would hope to see if the two teams face one another again is a more careful Ben Roethlisberger.  When Big Ben turns the ball over, bad things happen for the Steelers.  But when he protects the ball, good things tend to happen.  Big Ben merely needs to play like he used to for Bill Cowher.  He needs to stop trying to do too much, and simply manage the offense and avoid turnovers.  Sure, he can go down the field every now and then.  But don’t force the ball unnecessarily.  An when he feels pressure, he needs to get rid of the ball rather than giving up a sack, fumble, or interception.

There was a time when Steeler Nation wanted LenDale White.  When he was coming out of college, many thought that he was the “big back” that we needed to replace Jerome Bettis.  But after his antics after the game, I want him for a completely different reason.  I want the Steelers to put a hurting on him.  A national audience saw him stomp on a Terrible Towel after the game.  Not a smart move.  If the two teams meet again, I think LenDale will be reminded of his little act of disrespect.

Next week, the Steelers close out the season against the Cleveland Browns (yawn!).  After that, the playoffs start.  Despite the lopsided loss today, I want to face the Titans again more than ever.

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The time is finally here. Let’s get it on!

Is it just me, or has the rest of Steeler Nation been looking forward to this game since about week 9 of the season? Back then, the Titans were undefeated, and I just knew in my heart that the Steelers could beat them. I hoped that nobody would beat them before the Steelers got the opportunity to exert their dominance over them.

Of course, the New York Jets ruined that dream when they beat the Titans 34-13 in Tennessee. Then the Houston Texans further messed up my fantasy by beating the Titans last week by a score of 13-12.

Nevertheless, there is still a lot on the line when the Steelers play the Titans this Sunday. Both teams have already clinched a first round playoff bye. But the winner of this game will gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Some will say that home field advantage may not be a good thing for either of these teams. Afterall, the Titans were 13-3 in 2000 and had earned home field throughout the playoffs, but lost their very first game. Similarly, the Steelers had the #1 seed in 1994, 2001, and 2004, but lost in the conference championship at home each time. To that, I say “phooey”! Only a complete idiot would say that earning home field advantage is not a good thing. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. The Steelers should want home field advantage.

By gaining home field advantage, they will have the benefit of having the crowd on their side. They will also avoid unnecessary travel that can take so much out of a player. They will get to sleep in their own beds, and eat their own food. That’s worth a lot. And most importantly, the Steelers should want to earn home field advantage as a gift to their fans. Sure, Steeler Nation will follow the black and gold wherever they go. But what could possibly be better than playing all of their playoff games in the ‘Burgh in front of the world’s greatest fans?

As investment companies say, “past performance is not an indication of future results”. That’s how I feel about the Steelers’ past playoff history with home field advantage. It is meaningless. Those games have nothing to do with the ones that the Steelers will play this year. Home field advantage is a prize that is to be sought. Period.

A win over the Cleveland Browns in the final game of the season is essentially guaranteed. Afterall, the Browns haven’t beaten the Steelers since…… ummmm, I can’t even remember when it was. But I’m pretty sure that Jim Brown was still playing for Cleveland at the time.

Since the win over Cleveland is all but assured, the Titans are the only real obstacle in the Steelers’ quest for home field advantage. That is why this may be the most important game of the season.

The Tennessee Titans are the AFC’s #1 ranked running offense. Unfortunately, they are about to run into the AFC’s #1 ranked rushing defense. The Titans average 142.8 yards per game on the ground. However, the Steelers’ defense is only giving up 75.8 rushing yards per game. Something has got to give.

The Titans’ rushing attack is led by the running back tandem of LenDale White and Chris Johnson. They go by the nickname of “Smash ‘n Dash”. However, like Clinton Portis, Brandon Jacobs, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jamal Lewis, Willis McGahee, Fred Taylor, and Brian Westbrook before them, “Smash ‘n Dash” is about to find out that nobody can run against the Steelers’ defense. Nobody. White and Johnson don’t know it yet, but the Steelers are going to crash and bash “Smash ‘n Dash”.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Titans won’t present the challenge that they might have earlier in the season. Two of their best defensive players, DT Albert Haynesworth and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, are out with injuries. The Titans don’t blitz much as a team. Instead they rely on their 4 man rush. Without two of their four front line players, their rush will be greatly diminished. That’s bad news for the Titans, but great news for Big Ben.

With their pass rush rendered impotent, Ben Roethlisberger should pick the Titans’ secondary apart. Last week, Texans’ wide receiver Andre Johnson burned the Titans for over 200 receiving yards. Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes may not get that many yards, but they should have a good game.

Barring divine intervention, there is little doubt in my mind that the Steelers are going to beat the Titans. The Steelers are a better team, and they’ve faced better opposition. The Steelers’ opponents this season are a combined 98-95-2, while the Titans’ opponents are 82-113-1.

The Titans are merely the next rung on the ladder that the Steelers have to climb. I predict a final score of Steelers 24, Titans 10.

If you like the picture above, you can download it here. It is a Steelers cheer card. They are available for free at Post-Gazette.com. Check them out before each game.

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