LukesDad88
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Speaking as a 30 year Steeler Fan, I'll admit, the Cards worry me. Warner is on fire, Fitzgerald and Boldin is the best WR tandem in the league (each of them would be star receivers on their own with other teams. Put them together and toss in Warner and wow!), and Hightower is one strong RB (he worries me more than James). Most impressive of all, however, is how your defense (which was filled with talent, but was a group of individuals on their own little island during the season) has learned to play as a complete unit. It's going to be one really tough matchup for the Steelers. I still believe we can pull it off, though. Here's how I see it going down:
Pass Coverage for Steelers:
Fitzgerald is going to make his catches. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter how good the coverage is, if the ball's anywhere near catchable he's coming down with it. Ike Taylor is the Steelers best cover corner. He has shut out some of the best WR's in the game, but he's not going to stop Fitzgerald. Instead, I see LeBeau putting Taylor on Boldin. Taylor can minimize Boldin's impact. McFadden is our other CB in base. I'd put him on Fitzgerald, with Ryan Clark (S) over top. Let Fitzgerald make his incredible catches, but do not let him get YAC. Between Troy, our LB's and Line (yes, we will drop our linemen in coverage, and pretty successfully, too), we should be able to keep your tight ends and RB's from having too much success as well.
Pass Rush for Steelers:
There's alot of confusion about the Steelers' pass rush. Don't be fooled by all of this talk about "Blitzburgh" and how Pittsburgh blitzes more than any other team. This is coming from some in the press that have no idea what the heck they are talking about. Pittsburgh very rarely brings more than four rushers at any one time, however, any time some analysts see a LB or DB coming, they automatically call it a blitz; when on average, they only bring 5 rushers 5-6 times a game, and an allout blitz only once ot twice a season (Greg Easterbrook's TMQ on ESPN has done some pretty good coverage of this, in the past and has a nice breakdown of one example from last Sunday in this week's column). However, there's no telling who those four are going to be on any particular play. I've seen them drop two linemen into coverage and rush one lineman, one LB, and two DB's. LeBeau's had Troy Polamalu line up at NT. Anything goes with these guys. That's the beauty of these formations and athletes, It will be next to impossible for Warner to tell which four are rushing, and which seven are dropping into coverage until after the ball is snapped.
Run Stopping:
As I mentioned before, James doesn't worry me. He and similar backs have rarely posed an issue for our D. Hightower, otoh, is the type of strong back we've had issues with in the past. I could see him having a good day, in the range of 18 carries, 65 yards. What makes our D work so well, in stopping the run and the pass both, is our line. They don't get the numbers like other lines, because in a 3/4, their job is to create the opportunities for the LB's. Casey Hampton (NT) is a monster of a man, he'll take up two on a pass rush, and may as well be a brick wall on rush attempts. Nobody runs it up the middle against him, period. You have to break it to the outside. That means taking on Aaron Smith or Brett Keisel. Smith may be one of the best pure DEs in the game today. He sheds blocks easily, great athleticism, good closing speed, and is smart. If you try running to his side, you're going to have to take it all the way to the sideline to turn the corner, and typically you'll have Troy and one of our LB's waiting for you by the time you get there. Keisel is called "Diesel" because of his strength. He is fantastic at penetration. He will be in your backfield. He is more likely to be responsible for taking the RB's down for a loss than either of the other two linemen. But he's also more susceptable to the draw or misdirection. That's going to be the best way to run it against the Steelers. Don't be expecting big carries, but some nice 4-5 yards here and there on draws and delayed handoffs.
Overall, it's going to come down to patience. How patient can your highpower offense be? You will be able to run the ball some, Fitzgerald will make some catches, but your not going to get those big plays you're used to. It will be a game of yards and field position. If you guys can maintain your patience, you might just walk out of there with your first Lombardi. If you don't...There's going to be a bunch of people in Pottsville, PA smiling and toasting the Steelers with their Yuenglings.
Pass Coverage for Steelers:
Fitzgerald is going to make his catches. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter how good the coverage is, if the ball's anywhere near catchable he's coming down with it. Ike Taylor is the Steelers best cover corner. He has shut out some of the best WR's in the game, but he's not going to stop Fitzgerald. Instead, I see LeBeau putting Taylor on Boldin. Taylor can minimize Boldin's impact. McFadden is our other CB in base. I'd put him on Fitzgerald, with Ryan Clark (S) over top. Let Fitzgerald make his incredible catches, but do not let him get YAC. Between Troy, our LB's and Line (yes, we will drop our linemen in coverage, and pretty successfully, too), we should be able to keep your tight ends and RB's from having too much success as well.
Pass Rush for Steelers:
There's alot of confusion about the Steelers' pass rush. Don't be fooled by all of this talk about "Blitzburgh" and how Pittsburgh blitzes more than any other team. This is coming from some in the press that have no idea what the heck they are talking about. Pittsburgh very rarely brings more than four rushers at any one time, however, any time some analysts see a LB or DB coming, they automatically call it a blitz; when on average, they only bring 5 rushers 5-6 times a game, and an allout blitz only once ot twice a season (Greg Easterbrook's TMQ on ESPN has done some pretty good coverage of this, in the past and has a nice breakdown of one example from last Sunday in this week's column). However, there's no telling who those four are going to be on any particular play. I've seen them drop two linemen into coverage and rush one lineman, one LB, and two DB's. LeBeau's had Troy Polamalu line up at NT. Anything goes with these guys. That's the beauty of these formations and athletes, It will be next to impossible for Warner to tell which four are rushing, and which seven are dropping into coverage until after the ball is snapped.
Run Stopping:
As I mentioned before, James doesn't worry me. He and similar backs have rarely posed an issue for our D. Hightower, otoh, is the type of strong back we've had issues with in the past. I could see him having a good day, in the range of 18 carries, 65 yards. What makes our D work so well, in stopping the run and the pass both, is our line. They don't get the numbers like other lines, because in a 3/4, their job is to create the opportunities for the LB's. Casey Hampton (NT) is a monster of a man, he'll take up two on a pass rush, and may as well be a brick wall on rush attempts. Nobody runs it up the middle against him, period. You have to break it to the outside. That means taking on Aaron Smith or Brett Keisel. Smith may be one of the best pure DEs in the game today. He sheds blocks easily, great athleticism, good closing speed, and is smart. If you try running to his side, you're going to have to take it all the way to the sideline to turn the corner, and typically you'll have Troy and one of our LB's waiting for you by the time you get there. Keisel is called "Diesel" because of his strength. He is fantastic at penetration. He will be in your backfield. He is more likely to be responsible for taking the RB's down for a loss than either of the other two linemen. But he's also more susceptable to the draw or misdirection. That's going to be the best way to run it against the Steelers. Don't be expecting big carries, but some nice 4-5 yards here and there on draws and delayed handoffs.
Overall, it's going to come down to patience. How patient can your highpower offense be? You will be able to run the ball some, Fitzgerald will make some catches, but your not going to get those big plays you're used to. It will be a game of yards and field position. If you guys can maintain your patience, you might just walk out of there with your first Lombardi. If you don't...There's going to be a bunch of people in Pottsville, PA smiling and toasting the Steelers with their Yuenglings.
