dbair1967
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Just a few random thoughts:
1) I know there's a whole thread about the weather, but it appears the snow probably wont be a factor during the game as its supposed to end earlier in the day. The wind is the thing that could be the bigger issue for us. Romo throws alot of "touch" passes, even down the field in the intermediate areas, those passes will get taken by the wind. The other issue the wind could impact us on is the kicking game, Folk to my knowledge has never kicked in anything like this. The extreme cold will make the ball heavy, and the wind will be hard to deal with. Their kicker is used to these weather games up there. In a close game that might be decided by a FG, they probably have an advantage.
2) Not having Barber 100% definitely hurts us, though I'm not as concerned about having Choice replace Barber RUNNING the ball, not having Barber in the passing game is a whole other issue. He is great at blitz pickup, and he is great at chipping, then being the outlet in the passing game underneath. I cant even remember how many times plays looked like they were going to be nothing for us, then he uncovers as an outlet late and turns it into a nice gain or even a first down.
3) All we've heard all week is how the Steeler defense is gonna tear us a new one, what about our defense vs their offense? R-Berger gets sacked about 1 in every 10 pass attempts, Romo gets sacked around 1 in 29-30 attempts. They lead the league in sacks, but we are a very close second and have been all over the QB's for the last 5 games. Even the Giants game, we got after Manning pretty well. If Ware is anywhere near his normal self, they dont have anyone that can block him.
4) Big advantage for us if Romo gets any kind of time, our WR's and TE's vs their secondary. We can make plays downfield against them. I'm not sure their WR's can make plays downfield against our CB's, espcially since the Pitt OL has had huge issues all year in pass protection. R-Berger doesnt extend plays as well as Romo does. His accuracy has also suffered this yr, probably due to the shoulder problem he has played with most of the year. That bodes well for us even if they try to dink and dunk down the field, as he is bound to miss some easy ones.
5) I like the way we've stuffed the run since the Giants game, even that game we started out playing the run well. I dont see them having alot of success on the ground vs our D. We probably wont run the ball well on them either, but I bet we end up outrushing them.
Should be a great game, I do agree with some of those that say this will be a true judgement on whether we're a real playoff contender or if nothing has changed much in regards to our annual December collapse. A loss doesnt necessarily end the season, but it would have to be considered a huge negative if they come out and flop miserably. If we get blown out I do think the season is probably over, as we probably arnt sweeping NYG, Balt and Philly. A close hard fought loss wouldnt be so bad, at least then we they show they can compete hard.
1) I know there's a whole thread about the weather, but it appears the snow probably wont be a factor during the game as its supposed to end earlier in the day. The wind is the thing that could be the bigger issue for us. Romo throws alot of "touch" passes, even down the field in the intermediate areas, those passes will get taken by the wind. The other issue the wind could impact us on is the kicking game, Folk to my knowledge has never kicked in anything like this. The extreme cold will make the ball heavy, and the wind will be hard to deal with. Their kicker is used to these weather games up there. In a close game that might be decided by a FG, they probably have an advantage.
2) Not having Barber 100% definitely hurts us, though I'm not as concerned about having Choice replace Barber RUNNING the ball, not having Barber in the passing game is a whole other issue. He is great at blitz pickup, and he is great at chipping, then being the outlet in the passing game underneath. I cant even remember how many times plays looked like they were going to be nothing for us, then he uncovers as an outlet late and turns it into a nice gain or even a first down.
3) All we've heard all week is how the Steeler defense is gonna tear us a new one, what about our defense vs their offense? R-Berger gets sacked about 1 in every 10 pass attempts, Romo gets sacked around 1 in 29-30 attempts. They lead the league in sacks, but we are a very close second and have been all over the QB's for the last 5 games. Even the Giants game, we got after Manning pretty well. If Ware is anywhere near his normal self, they dont have anyone that can block him.
4) Big advantage for us if Romo gets any kind of time, our WR's and TE's vs their secondary. We can make plays downfield against them. I'm not sure their WR's can make plays downfield against our CB's, espcially since the Pitt OL has had huge issues all year in pass protection. R-Berger doesnt extend plays as well as Romo does. His accuracy has also suffered this yr, probably due to the shoulder problem he has played with most of the year. That bodes well for us even if they try to dink and dunk down the field, as he is bound to miss some easy ones.
5) I like the way we've stuffed the run since the Giants game, even that game we started out playing the run well. I dont see them having alot of success on the ground vs our D. We probably wont run the ball well on them either, but I bet we end up outrushing them.
Should be a great game, I do agree with some of those that say this will be a true judgement on whether we're a real playoff contender or if nothing has changed much in regards to our annual December collapse. A loss doesnt necessarily end the season, but it would have to be considered a huge negative if they come out and flop miserably. If we get blown out I do think the season is probably over, as we probably arnt sweeping NYG, Balt and Philly. A close hard fought loss wouldnt be so bad, at least then we they show they can compete hard.
