Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings were undefeated when they entered the game with the Steelers.  By the time they left the game, they were undefeated no more.

The Steelers beat the Minnesota Vikings 27 – 17, in a game that probably didn’t go the way that either team had scripted it.

After last week’s offensive outburst, many fans expected to see another high scoring performance by Big Ben and the Steelers offense.  Instead, it was the Steelers defense that led the team to victory.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger followed up last week’s 417 yard passing performance with only 175 passing yards this week.

Hines Ward, who entered the game as the NFL’s leading receiver had only 1 catch for 3 yards.

On the ground, the Steelers weren’t much more successful, as they were only able to gain 106 yards.  Rashard Mendenhall led all Steelers rushers with 69 yards.  Unfortunately, Mendenhall hurt the team when he decided to go airborne on a run from the Vikings 9 yard line. The Vikings defense hit Mendenhall while he was in the air and forced a fumble that the Vikings recovered on their own 4 yard line.  What a painful way to end what had otherwise been a very nice drive by the Steelers.

I understand that Mendenhall was trying to make a play, but not even Superman can dive 9 yards.  What did he think he was doing?  There was no way his dive could get him to the endzone, so why make such a risky play?

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin obviously didn’t think it was a smart play either.  He benched Mendenhall for the rest of the game.

Fortunately, just as I predicted in my Steelers vs. Vikings Preview, the Steelers defense was the difference in the game.  The defense only yielded one touchdown (the other was scored against the Steelers special teams).  More importantly, the Steelers defense scored 2 touchdowns of their own.  Yes, that’s one more touchdown than the Steelers offense was able to muster.

What was most significant about the defense’s scoring was that it occurred in the 4th quarter.  For much of the season, the Steelers defense has seemed to disappear in the 4th quarter.  It was good to see the defense finally step up and change the game during the 4th quarter.

With 6:47 remaining in the 4th quarter, Brett Keisel sacked Brett Favre, and causes a fumble.  LaMarr Woodley scooped up the fumble and rumbled 77 yards for a touchdown.

Was it just me, or did it seem like Woodley was never going to reach the endzone?  That must have been the slowest 77 yard run in history.  I’m not complaining, but I’m just saying…..

Not to be outdone, the Vikings Percy Harvin returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown.  Harvin probably should have been stopped early in his return run, but Jeff Reed forgot that he was playing tackle football and not “two hand touch”.  Reed got in front of Harvin on his return run and clearly tagged him with two hands.  Reed seemed perplexed as to why the referees didn’t whistle the play dead.

We seldom hear the words “wimpy” and “Steelers” used in the same sentence.  But I have to say that that may have been the wimpiest play that I have ever seen from a Steelers player.  Ever!  Shame on you, Jeff Reed!

Fortunately, the Steelers defense wasn’t finished yet.  With 1:15 left in the game, and the Steelers leading 20-17, the Vikings were marching up the field.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I started getting nervous that the Steelers might blow another game in the 4th quarter.  But backup linebacker Keyaron Fox had other ideas.  Fox intercepted a Brett Favre pass and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown.  Suddenly, the score was 27-17 with only a minute left in the game, and Steeler Nation breathed a collective sigh of relief.

I don’t think anyone who watched the game could have felt disappointed.  It was an extremely entertaining game that either team could have won.  Both teams played so hard that it seemed unfair that either team had to lose.

But somebody did have to lose, and that team was the Vikings.  So Minnesota is undefeated no more, and the Steelers have their first statement victory of the season.  Now they go into their bye week and prepare to play the undefeated Denver Broncos.

Here we go Steelers, here we go!!!!

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The Steelers’ schedule is about to get interesting.  On Sunday, they face the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.  Then after a bye week, they must face the currently undefeated Denver Broncos.

Steelers fans have been longing for a true measure of how good their team is.  They’re about to get it.

The last time the Steelers faced two undefeated teams in back-to-back games was in 2004.  The Steelers defeated the undefeated Patriots, ending their 21 game winning streak, and then defeated the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles the following week.  They were the only NFL team in history to ever achieve that feat so late in the season.

Getting a win this week won’t be easy.  The Vikings are a team that is very similar to the Steelers.  In recent years, the Vikings have been a team that primarily depended on a strong running game and strong defense to win games.  However, this year they find themselves with a suddenly potent passing attack led by a brash, gunslinger quarterback.  Sound familiar?

The Vikings’ potent running attack is led by Adrian Peterson, one of the best running backs in the NFL.  Peterson leads the NFL in rushing, and he torched the Baltimore Ravens’ defense for 143 yards last week. Peterson’s combination of size and speed will pose a daunting task for the Steelers’ defense.

After struggling in the passing game with QB Tavaris Jackson for the last several years, the Vikings’ passing attack is suddenly revived after the addition of legendary quarterback Brett Favre.

Steelers fans know how great a season Ben Roethlisberger has been having so far.  Yet Favre has a higher passer rating and has thrown for more touchdowns than Roethlisberger.  Think about that for a moment.

The Vikings defense was the only defense in the NFL that allowed fewer rushing yards than the Steelers last year.  The Vikings’ run defense ended the 2008 season ranked #1 in the NFL, while the Steelers were ranked #2.

Are you starting to see the similarities between these two teams?

Fortunately, the Steelers are starting to come into their own.  The offense is on fire behind the arm of QB Ben Roethlisberger.  More importantly, the Steelers’ running game is finally starting to show signs of life.

Since inserting Rashard Mendenhall into the starting lineup, the Steelers’ running attack has been noticeably better.  Mendenhall seems to be more capable of getting the tough, short yardage that Willie Parker often struggled to get.

Based on Mendenhall’s performance the past 2 weeks, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has decided to name Mendenhall as the starter for the foreseeable future.  “Rashard has earned the right to take the majority of the snaps as we move forward”, said Tomlin.  This is welcome news to many Steelers fans who had been calling for Mendenhall to replace Parker in the starting lineup.

While both teams have potent offenses, the real difference in the game should be the Steelers’ defense.  The Steelers defense is among the best in the league.  They are strong against the run and the pass.  Contrarily, while the Vikings defense is stout against the run, they have proven to be vulnerable to the pass.  The Vikings are ranked #24 against the pass.  That’s not a good thing when you are about to face the NFL’s leading passer (I still can’t get used to saying that about a Steelers’ quarterback).

I predict that the Steelers will bring the Vikings winning streak to an end by a score of 24-17.

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Steelers Today has hooked up with 31 other NFL bloggers from around the country to do a bloggers’ mock draft. All 32 NFL teams are represented in the mock draft.

The mock draft is sponsored by Cleveland Browns blog No Logo Needed. For more details on the bloggers’ mock draft, click here.

With the 22nd pick of the 2009 NFL Draft the Minnesota Vikings blog The Ragnarok selects…

Going into this mock draft, I expected to have to justify why I chose not to draft Josh Freeman, who is generally considered the third best quarterback available.  By my count, there were about 9 teams that could reasonably take Mark Sanchez due to the age of their “franchise” QB or due to their lack of a franchise QB (Detroit, St. Louis, Seattle, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Denver, New York Jets, Chicago, Tampa Bay) before the Vikings picked.  Instead, it looks like I’m going to have to decide whether Mark Sanchez is the answer to the Vikings’ long standing quarterback issue (or is he juicy enough to tempt the Broncos to trade Jay Cutler for him) or whether the Vikings should address their needs at cornerback or offensive line.  And after thinking back to the last two years, the answer is clear—if Mark Sanchez is available, the Vikings should draft him.

First off, it’s quite clear that the Vikings need a real franchise quarterback.  Tarvaris Jackson is never going to be that good and Sage Rosenfels is already 31 years old.  Secondly, I believe that Mark Sanchez is the best quarterback available in the draft because he’s got enough arm strength for the pros, he’s more accurate than Matt Stafford and he’s shown the ability to read coverages that Freeman never had to in Kansas State’s spread offense.

Sanchez has the arm strength and the accuracy to succeed in the NFL and he has the background in a Pro-Style offense that will allow him to quickly adapt to the pros.  He completed 64.27% of his passes in his 16 games at USC, more than any other first round quarterback.  He can throw the ball deep accurately (forcing defenses to only put eight in the box to stop Adrian Peterson) and he has the touch needed for the short throws as well, a necessity in Brad Childress’ West Coast Offense.  Also, Sanchez has all the intangibles you’d want in your quarterback, which he showed by getting elected captain last year and when he stuck it out at USC despite getting beat out by John David Booty for the starting position in 2006.

I know there are some doubts about Sanchez due to his lack of starting experience, the talent surrounding him, his height and the fact he was somewhat turnover prone, throwing ten interceptions and fumbling seven times.  The doubts are enough for me to hope that he’s taken before the Vikings’ pick, but they aren’t enough to let me pass on him for another player (especially with 5 offensive tackles already off the board).  So the Vikings’ finally have their franchise quarterback.  Hopefully.

The draft results so far are shown below. Click on the individual pick to read each blogger’s rationale for his selection.

1. Detroit Lions: Mathew Stafford, QB (Georgia)
2. St. Louis Rams: Eugene Monroe, OT (Virginia)
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry, LB (Wake Forest)
4. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Crabtree, WR (Texas Tech)
5. Cleveland Browns: Rey Maualuga, LB (Southern California)
6. Cincinnati Bengals: Jason Smith, OT (Baylor)
7. Oakland Raiders: Jeremy Maclin, WR (Missouri)
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: B.J. Raji, DT (Boston College)
9. Green Bay Packers, Brian Orakpo, DE (Texas)
10. San Francisco 49ers, Everette Brown, OLB (Florida State)
11. Buffalo Bills, Clay Matthews, OLB (Southern California)
12. Denver Broncos, Malcolm Jenkins, CB (Ohio State)
13. Washington Redskins, Andre Smith, OT (Alabama)
14. New Orleans Saints, Brian Cushing, OLB (Southern California)
15. Houston Texans, Michael Oher, OT (Ole Miss)
16. San Diego Chargers, Eben Britton, OT (Arizona)
17. New York Jets, Tyson Jackson, DE (LSU)
18. Chicago Bears, Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR (Maryland)
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Percy Harvin, WR  (Florida)
20. Detroit Lions, Aaron Maybin, DE (Penn State)
21. Philadelphia Eagles, Vontae Davis, CB (Illinois)
22. Minnesota Vikings, Mark Sanchez, QB (Southern California)

The New England Patriots are on the clock.

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