Questions from a Steelers Fan

[LearningToFly]

Hey guys, just checking in here in preparation for next week's game. I always look forward to when our two teams matchup, IMO unquestionably the two best franchises in the SB era. Not to mention both teams having the two top fanbases in the NFL, I'm sure this will be the highest rated game of the year. Just wanting some friendly discussion, so just a couple of quick questions and thoughts:

-- What do you all think of Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick so far? Those are both guys I thought would turn out to be pretty good pros (I was pissed the Steelers missed out on Scandrick), and from what I have seen it looks like they've shown potential. Are you all satisfied with how they've progressed so far? Overall, how do you think your secondary is rounding up? I would assume you still think it's a weakness in your defense, but has it improved as the year has gone along?

-- What are you expecting from Barber? Do you think the wear and tear is starting to take its toll as the season progresses? I know from a YPC standpoint he has fallen off a bit the last few weeks, but it still seems like he's running hard. Do you all think there's been a dropoff in quality of play from the amount of carries he has had to take this season? What do you think about Tashard Choice? Also, it's a damn shame Felix Jones is out for the year, I thought before the draft that he was the best running back at Arkansas and would be a great player in the league. He looked like a stud in the making before getting hurt.

-- How's that big offensive line holding up? I know with Romo back there it's going to be hard to wrap him and get him to the ground, but have they been struggling at all lately? I know against the Seahawks it seems like they hit Romo a lot, but never really got him down for any sacks. And is Romo rounding back into his 2007 form at this point? Sure looked like it on Thursday, but is the hand still giving him any problems? How has he held up to defensive pressure thsi year?

-- Is there any way TO can get sick or something and miss the game?

As for my Steelers, expect for it to be a close, hard fought game. To be honest, I'm not really worried about Barber doing much on the ground, if Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith are healthy it's damn near impossible to run on the Steelers consistently. I think Garrett should watch how Belichick will likely go after the Steelers 3-4 this Sunday, he generally abandons the run completely, outside of the occassional delayed handoff or draw, spreads it out with 4 and 5 wide sets, and dinks and dunks it down the field. Granted, that demands that your QB be very smart and accurate with the football for 4 quarters, but it takes the Steelers out of their game. I think that's the best way to go after the Steelers D, but it's not like that's the only way to do it either obviously.

In terms of the Steelers offense, I think they're going to struggle to be consistent. The achilles heel of this team is the offensive line, it's one of the worst lines in the league. They lost Faneca over the offseason, starting left tackle Marvel Smith is likely done for the year with continuing back problems, and the starting RG is on IR. And those last two guys weren't very good to begin with, so you can imagine how bad the backups are. I expect Ware to likely have a monster game, and I think the Steelers will struggle running the ball on the Cowboys big front (boy that Ratliff is an impressive player). That also depends on the health of Willie Parker as well. When healthy he's a game breaker, but he hasn't been right most of the year. Roethlisberger has had his struggles as well (I don't think his shoulder has been right either, I'm just not seeing the same zip on his passes this year), but has played a lot better the last few weeks. I think the Steelers will try to spread the Cowboys out and attack your secondary. Looking for Washington and Holmes working deep with flys and outs, and trying to hit Heath Miller down the middle for big gains. On defense, I think it'll be standard Lebeau. Harrison and Woodley will take turns pinning their ears back and try to get to Romo. James Harrison is a special player, I think he's on Ware's level and hopefully both of them have a good game. I'm sure they'll try and throw a lot of different looks to Romo and try and force him into bad decisions as well.

Considering Heinz Field will likely be a mudpit, it might help slow down each teams pass rush, which would help the Steelers pathetic offensive line. Heinz Field will be rocking as well. But the Cowboys are really turning it on right now and are starting to play like a lot of us have expected them to play all year. It's a tossup to me, but either way I think it'll be a damn good game. Thanks and good luck.

 

[CowboyChris]

Hey guys, just checking in here in preparation for next week's game. I always look forward to when our two teams matchup, IMO unquestionably the two best franchises in the SB era. Not to mention both teams having the two top fanbases in the NFL, I'm sure this will be the highest rated game of the year. Just wanting some friendly discussion, so just a couple of quick questions and thoughts:

-- What do you all think of Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick so far? Those are both guys I thought would turn out to be pretty good pros (I was pissed the Steelers missed out on Scandrick), and from what I have seen it looks like they've shown potential. Are you all satisfied with how they've progressed so far? Overall, how do you think your secondary is rounding up? I would assume you still think it's a weakness in your defense, but has it improved as the year has gone along?

-- What are you expecting from Barber? Do you think the wear and tear is starting to take its toll as the season progresses? I know from a YPC standpoint he has fallen off a bit the last few weeks, but it still seems like he's running hard. Do you all think there's been a dropoff in quality of play from the amount of carries he has had to take this season? What do you think about Tashard Choice? Also, it's a damn shame Felix Jones is out for the year, I thought before the draft that he was the best running back at Arkansas and would be a great player in the league. He looked like a stud in the making before getting hurt.

-- How's that big offensive line holding up? I know with Romo back there it's going to be hard to wrap him and get him to the ground, but have they been struggling at all lately? I know against the Seahawks it seems like they hit Romo a lot, but never really got him down for any sacks. And is Romo rounding back into his 2007 form at this point? Sure looked like it on Thursday, but is the hand still giving him any problems? How has he held up to defensive pressure thsi year?

-- Is there any way TO can get sick or something and miss the game?

As for my Steelers, expect for it to be a close, hard fought game. To be honest, I'm not really worried about Barber doing much on the ground, if Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith are healthy it's damn near impossible to run on the Steelers consistently. I think Garrett should watch how Belichick will likely go after the Steelers 3-4 this Sunday, he generally abandons the run completely, outside of the occassional delayed handoff or draw, spreads it out with 4 and 5 wide sets, and dinks and dunks it down the field. Granted, that demands that your QB be very smart and accurate with the football for 4 quarters, but it takes the Steelers out of their game. I think that's the best way to go after the Steelers D, but it's not like that's the only way to do it either obviously.

In terms of the Steelers offense, I think they're going to struggle to be consistent. The achilles heel of this team is the offensive line, it's one of the worst lines in the league. They lost Faneca over the offseason, starting left tackle Marvel Smith is likely done for the year with continuing back problems, and the starting RG is on IR. And those last two guys weren't very good to begin with, so you can imagine how bad the backups are. I expect Ware to likely have a monster game, and I think the Steelers will struggle running the ball on the Cowboys big front (boy that Ratliff is an impressive player). That also depends on the health of Willie Parker as well. When healthy he's a game breaker, but he hasn't been right most of the year. Roethlisberger has had his struggles as well (I don't think his shoulder has been right either, I'm just not seeing the same zip on his passes this year), but has played a lot better the last few weeks. I think the Steelers will try to spread the Cowboys out and attack your secondary. Looking for Washington and Holmes working deep with flys and outs, and trying to hit Heath Miller down the middle for big gains. On defense, I think it'll be standard Lebeau. Harrison and Woodley will take turns pinning their ears back and try to get to Romo. James Harrison is a special player, I think he's on Ware's level and hopefully both of them have a good game. I'm sure they'll try and throw a lot of different looks to Romo and try and force him into bad decisions as well.

Considering Heinz Field will likely be a mudpit, it might help slow down each teams pass rush, which would help the Steelers pathetic offensive line. Heinz Field will be rocking as well. But the Cowboys are really turning it on right now and are starting to play like a lot of us have expected them to play all year. It's a tossup to me, but either way I think it'll be a damn good game. Thanks and good luck.

Great Post: Ill try and answer some of your questions:

Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick have both shown great progress for being rookies, Scandrick has been playing the slot on most 3rd downs, and has held his own, Jenkins was able to hold down the fort while Newman was recovering, all in all i can say the team has to be very pleased with both.

Barber got nicked up in the Seattle game, but i expect him to be in the starting lineup, Barber could be the big piece of the puzzle next sunday, if the game turns into a weather game, it will be very important to get him on track, as far as Choice, good prospect, his touches are getting more and more each game, so far so good with him.

OL: with the exception of LG (Kozier) who has had the injury bug all season, has been pretty good with Romo in the lineup, last week Holland got the start in place of Kozier and held his own quite nicely, all in all the OL is healthy and in good shape for the stretch. note Flozel will have to limit his false starts this week for sure.

As you said, i wouldnt be suprised if Garrett follows a game plan similiar to Belichecks, in terms of spreadin out the defense and throwing alot of short dinks and dunks, we certainly have the weapons to do that. i still think it boils down to the weather.

As far as the game, i expect it to be hard fought, close game, i definetley think the home field will have alot bearing. 2 big keys will be getting Barber going, so that we can take advantage of play action, the other key will be the ability to get pressure on Roethlisberger. if we cant do either of those i dont see us winning. good luck:starspin

 

[kojak]

I just want revenge. I remember the last time we played the steelers in Texas.We had the game in the bag until Anderson knocked the ball out of Vinnys hands and Pittsburgh recovered and drove down the field to win the game.

Still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I hope we go into pittsburgh and woop the **** out of them.

 

[AmishCowboy]

I just want revenge. I remember the last time we played the steelers in Texas.We had the game in the bag until Anderson knocked the ball out of Vinnys hands and Pittsburgh recovered and drove down the field to win the game.

Still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I hope we go into pittsburgh and woop the **** out of them.

That was a hard loss to take!.

 

[CowboyChris]

I just want revenge. I remember the last time we played the steelers in Texas.We had the game in the bag until Anderson knocked the ball out of Vinnys hands and Pittsburgh recovered and drove down the field to win the game.

Still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I hope we go into pittsburgh and woop the **** out of them.

speaking of revenge, it will take alot of revenge to completely forget the 70's, in which we lost 2 SB's to them, although we avenged one of them in the 90's, we owe this team a lifetime of defeats as far as im concerned.

 

[ladiewolve]

One thing I can say for sure is that I don't think the Cowboys are taking any team lightly. Every team has their week points that the other team will try to expose. This late in the season we all know every game is important and all teams have the potential to have a break out game!
I have been impressed with how our rookies are comming along. I think they will become huge assests. It is disapointing with felix being out the rest of the year , but I think Choice is stepping up!

I'm not worried about Barber yet..he is strong as an OX! I don't look for T.O. to be sick The addition of Williams and the health of Witten and the possibility of Austin and Jenkins returning for the game are a plus!

I think Ware will put big ben on his behind at least 4 times!
If I were to have any worries at all , it would be for the run game..which I know Pit thrives on stopping and the field conditions will be a concern to me as well. I think the cowboys struggle more in muddy wet fields! So i'm hoping for a dry field and not alot of wind!
I think the Cowboys will win what I know will be a hard fought game.
So good luck to you as well.

 

[theogt]

1. Jenkins and Scandrick have shown plenty of potential. Scandrick has shown so much that he's taken Terence Newman's spot in the dime defense covering slot corners, which is the hardest position to play in that defense. Jenkins will need more time to develop, but with Newman signed longterm, the corner position should be fine in Dallas for a long time.

2. Barber should be fine, but he's already at 225 carries, and I'd rather him not get close to 300 for sheer health reasons. Choice was my favorite back coming out of the draft -- he has great wiggle and vision, plus he's decisive and has a nice burst. To tell the truth, he'll probably be more productive than Barber from here on out, but I doubt he gets nearly as many carries as he should.

3. The line has been fantastic since Romo's been back. A lot of that is Tony's ability to make adjustments in the pocket, and I think a great deal of that is that the entire team essentially gave up with Brad Johnson playing QB. Multiple early interceptions can do that to a team. Another problem has been the loss of Kyle Kosier. His replacement for the most part has been Cory Procter, who's been absolutely terrible. But we've finally begun to start Montrae Holland, who we acquired from Denver (started all 16 games with Denver in '07) and he looked even better than Kosier did. But that was against Seattle, so we'll see how he performs from here on out before we can declare our line fixed.

4. Jason Garrett apparently has finally discovered how to use TO against a certain defensive gameplan that had been pretty effective before. All I can say is good luck.

 

[LearningToFly]

Great Post: Ill try and answer some of your questions:

Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick have both shown great progress for being rookies, Scandrick has been playing the slot on most 3rd downs, and has held his own, Jenkins was able to hold down the fort while Newman was recovering, all in all i can say the team has to be very pleased with both.

Barber got nicked up in the Seattle game, but i expect him to be in the starting lineup, Barber could be the big piece of the puzzle next sunday, if the game turns into a weather game, it will be very important to get him on track, as far as Choice, good prospect, his touches are getting more and more each game, so far so good with him.

OL: with the exception of LG (Kozier) who has had the injury bug all season, has been pretty good with Romo in the lineup, last week Holland got the start in place of Kozier and held his own quite nicely, all in all the OL is healthy and in good shape for the stretch. note Flozel will have to limit his false starts this week for sure.

As you said, i wouldnt be suprised if Garrett follows a game plan similiar to Belichecks, in terms of spreadin out the defense and throwing alot of short dinks and dunks, we certainly have the weapons to do that. i still think it boils down to the weather.

As far as the game, i expect it to be hard fought, close game, i definetley think the home field will have alot bearing. 2 big keys will be getting Barber going, so that we can take advantage of play action, the other key will be the ability to get pressure on Roethlisberger. if we cant do either of those i dont see us winning. good luck:starspin

Thanks for the great feedback. The Cowboys look like they're really starting to click on both sides of the ball, and it's good to hear Jenkins and Scandrick have been progressing well for you. I do think at the end of the day it comes down to how much pressure you can get on Roethlisberger, and I think the Cowboys need to spread the Steelers D out and let Romo go to work and hope he doesn't make too many mistakes with the football. But that depends on the weather conditions. I think if the weather is bad the Cowboys might have an advantage with having a guy like Barber who is more suited for those type of conditions whereas the Steelers really don't have that right now. Should be a great game, and even though we play the dreaded Pats this week I'm already looking forward to the Cowboys game.

 

[LearningToFly]

One thing I can say for sure is that I don't think the Cowboys are taking any team lightly. Every team has their week points that the other team will try to expose. This late in the season we all know every game is important and all teams have the potential to have a break out game!
I have been impressed with how our rookies are comming along. I think they will become huge assests. It is disapointing with felix being out the rest of the year , but I think Choice is stepping up!

I'm not worried about Barber yet..he is strong as an OX! I don't look for T.O. to be sick The addition of Williams and the health of Witten and the possibility of Austin and Jenkins returning for the game are a plus!

I think Ware will put big ben on his behind at least 4 times!
If I were to have any worries at all , it would be for the run game..which I know Pit thrives on stopping and the field conditions will be a concern to me as well. I think the cowboys struggle more in muddy wet fields! So i'm hoping for a dry field and not alot of wind!
I think the Cowboys will win what I know will be a hard fought game.
So good luck to you as well.

Yeah, I think Ware could have a big day against Max Starks, but some of that also depends on the field conditions. If it's sloopy out there he may have a harder time, but guys like him generally don't struggle much heh.

 

[ajk23az]

-- What do you all think of Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick so far? Those are both guys I thought would turn out to be pretty good pros (I was pissed the Steelers missed out on Scandrick), and from what I have seen it looks like they've shown potential. Are you all satisfied with how they've progressed so far? Overall, how do you think your secondary is rounding up? I would assume you still think it's a weakness in your defense, but has it improved as the year has gone along?

IMO Scandrick has progressed more than Jenkins has. Scandrick excels is more zone coverage and Jenkins excels more in man to man (i dont think i have that mixed up, but maybe). They have both progressed that is for sure but Scandrick is looking like he could become a DAMN good CB for our team in the future.
We do get Pacman back for the game vs. you guys but who knows how much he will play. I'm sure he will play on ST and maybe some dime packages. Hopefully he will help when you guys try to spread us out with 4-5 WR sets.

-- What are you expecting from Barber? Do you think the wear and tear is starting to take its toll as the season progresses? I know from a YPC standpoint he has fallen off a bit the last few weeks, but it still seems like he's running hard. Do you all think there's been a dropoff in quality of play from the amount of carries he has had to take this season? What do you think about Tashard Choice? Also, it's a damn shame Felix Jones is out for the year, I thought before the draft that he was the best running back at Arkansas and would be a great player in the league. He looked like a stud in the making before getting hurt.

I don't think the season is taking its toll on him quite yet, he got stepped on is all last game and that is how he got injured. For his play, it doesnt seem like he is hitting the first hole he sees very hard, he is doing a lot more dancing around this year than last for some reason. He still has lots left in the tank as evidenced by the last drive in the Commanders game 2 weeks ago.
Tashard Choice showed us a lot this last game. He is a little weak in blitz pickups but he is a rookie. He is pretty close to the same back as Barber but it seems like he has a little bit more burst.

-- How's that big offensive line holding up? I know with Romo back there it's going to be hard to wrap him and get him to the ground, but have they been struggling at all lately? I know against the Seahawks it seems like they hit Romo a lot, but never really got him down for any sacks. And is Romo rounding back into his 2007 form at this point? Sure looked like it on Thursday, but is the hand still giving him any problems? How has he held up to defensive pressure thsi year?

Like others have said Kyle Kosier has been banged up all year, when he is in there, we run the ball extremely well. Montrae Holland (a guy we got from Denver) started in place of Kosier last week and faired pretty well (115 rush yards or so). He was getting to the 2nd line of defense pretty well.
IMO Romo wasn't getting hit at all during the Seahawks game, ESPECIALLY in the first half, he had ALL day. They started giving Romo pressure in the 2nd but never really hit him IIRC, he evaded most of them.
Early in the year, Romo was saying how standing tall in the pocket like Brady has helped him a lot in looking down field and helping his offensive lineman but he was struggling with that and these past 2 games it has looked like he is the gunslinger that he is supposed to be. Its nice to see.

-- Is there any way TO can get sick or something and miss the game?

We had people here saying T.O. was over the hill, and we should throw the ball to Roy11 instead of T.O. 10 times a game. We have the offense to really hurt you guys and our defense is starting to play up to their capabilities also, it will be a fun, nervous game.

I kind of hope Fast Willie is the one that starts for you guys because Moore has become a stud. I would rather have a not 100% Willie than a 100% Moore. Big Ben likes to take shots down field and that worries me with the speed of Washington and Holmes.

Good luck!

 

[LearningToFly]

2. Barber should be fine, but he's already at 225 carries, and I'd rather him not get close to 300 for sheer health reasons. Choice was my favorite back coming out of the draft -- he has great wiggle and vision, plus he's decisive and has a nice burst. To tell the truth, he'll probably be more productive than Barber from here on out, but I doubt he gets nearly as many carries as he should.

You've got to worry about guys that run for over 300 carries in a season, which I assume Barber is on pace to do. I think that's what's happened to Parker in Pittsburgh, he ran for 300+ carries in both '06 and '07 and he's been having injury issues ever since. Granted, he's a completely different build than Barber, but historically speaking once a RB starts hitting that 300+ carry plateau, injuries start to become an issue. Hope that doesn't become the case for Barber, but you've got to worry about the load he's had to handle this year.

 

[THUMPER]

Hey guys, just checking in here in preparation for next week's game. I always look forward to when our two teams matchup, IMO unquestionably the two best franchises in the SB era. Not to mention both teams having the two top fanbases in the NFL, I'm sure this will be the highest rated game of the year. Just wanting some friendly discussion, so just a couple of quick questions and thoughts:

By my calculations (I created a spreadsheet that calculates the success of each franchise) the Cowboys are #1 and the Stealers are #2 in the SB era in terms of success, so you are correct!

-- What do you all think of Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick so far? Those are both guys I thought would turn out to be pretty good pros (I was pissed the Steelers missed out on Scandrick), and from what I have seen it looks like they've shown potential. Are you all satisfied with how they've progressed so far? Overall, how do you think your secondary is rounding up? I would assume you still think it's a weakness in your defense, but has it improved as the year has gone along?

I like what I see in Jenkins and think he could turn out to be a solid CB for us but I think we got a real steal in Scandrick who is already our 2nd best CB IMO behind Newman. He has very good instincts (Jenkins has skills but seems to lack that instinctual style of play that makes for a great CB) as well as speed and fluidity. With Newman healthy and our rookies shaping up our secondary is stronger now than it was a few weeks ago.

The SS spot is our biggest weakness at he moment as we've been using either Pat Watkins or Keith Davis there and neither one is a good cover guy. Watkins has been a disappointment to me as I really thought he could turn into a good player for us with his height and what he showed as a rookie but he has regressed a lot. Could be a phase and lack of playing time, I hope so.

Davis is an outstanding STs player but not much of a DB. I don't understand why we don't move Hamlin to SS, Henry to FS and start Jenkins or Scandrick opposite Newman at CB. That would make the most sense.

-- What are you expecting from Barber? Do you think the wear and tear is starting to take its toll as the season progresses? I know from a YPC standpoint he has fallen off a bit the last few weeks, but it still seems like he's running hard. Do you all think there's been a dropoff in quality of play from the amount of carries he has had to take this season? What do you think about Tashard Choice? Also, it's a damn shame Felix Jones is out for the year, I thought before the draft that he was the best running back at Arkansas and would be a great player in the league. He looked like a stud in the making before getting hurt.

Barber has shown that he is pretty tough but he has also shown that his style of play wears him down rather quickly in the game. I loved it when we were giving Felix Jones 10 carries a game, we were most effective running the ball when we did that. Once he went down so did our running game. I really like what I saw from Tashard Choice on Thursday and hope we will see him splitting carries with Barber more. Next season should be very interesting with all 3 guys available for us.

-- How's that big offensive line holding up? I know with Romo back there it's going to be hard to wrap him and get him to the ground, but have they been struggling at all lately? I know against the Seahawks it seems like they hit Romo a lot, but never really got him down for any sacks. And is Romo rounding back into his 2007 form at this point? Sure looked like it on Thursday, but is the hand still giving him any problems? How has he held up to defensive pressure thsi year?

Flozell Adams has been fighting a bunch of nagging injuries all season. Most Cowboys fans can't figure out why we haven't at least tried McQuistan at the LT spot to see what he can do (should have done it when Brad Johnson was back there at QB). Adams is holding his own but is giving up too many free runs at the QB. Fortunately, Romo is very good at avoiding the rush but it still puts him in the position of having to get rid of the ball before the receivers are completely into their routes and results in INTs or incompletes.

Losing Kyle Kosier again really hurts. His return made a big difference in both the running game and pass protection. We went with the scrub Procter for a number of games and that cost us. We traded for Montrae Holland prior to the season but didn't use him until Thursday and he did fine against the Seahawks. He should get the start the rest of the way and we should be OK with him at LG. The rest of the OL is playing pretty well. Too many false starts though for my taste.

-- Is there any way TO can get sick or something and miss the game?

He does create some matchup problems for the Stealers secondary. Adding Roy Williams and the emergence of Martellus Bennett to go along with Jason Witten makes our passing game among the most potent in the league. I expect it to be nearly impossible to mount a consistent running attack against your guys but we should be able to make plays in the passing game.

As for my Steelers, expect for it to be a close, hard fought game. To be honest, I'm not really worried about Barber doing much on the ground, if Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith are healthy it's damn near impossible to run on the Steelers consistently. I think Garrett should watch how Belichick will likely go after the Steelers 3-4 this Sunday, he generally abandons the run completely, outside of the occassional delayed handoff or draw, spreads it out with 4 and 5 wide sets, and dinks and dunks it down the field. Granted, that demands that your QB be very smart and accurate with the football for 4 quarters, but it takes the Steelers out of their game. I think that's the best way to go after the Steelers D, but it's not like that's the only way to do it either obviously.

I think Pittsburgh is vulnerable to the screen pass when they blitz and I hope it is a bigger part of our game plan against them. Running is always tough against the Stealers but I think our WRs and TEs can make some big plays if Romo can avoid the passrush. Our TEs in particular can create major problems for defense as they are both excellent receivers. Too fast fo most LBs and too big for the DBs. Polamalu is a problem but he can't cover both of them.

In terms of the Steelers offense, I think they're going to struggle to be consistent. The achilles heel of this team is the offensive line, it's one of the worst lines in the league. They lost Faneca over the offseason, starting left tackle Marvel Smith is likely done for the year with continuing back problems, and the starting RG is on IR. And those last two guys weren't very good to begin with, so you can imagine how bad the backups are. I expect Ware to likely have a monster game, and I think the Steelers will struggle running the ball on the Cowboys big front (boy that Ratliff is an impressive player). That also depends on the health of Willie Parker as well. When healthy he's a game breaker, but he hasn't been right most of the year. Roethlisberger has had his struggles as well (I don't think his shoulder has been right either, I'm just not seeing the same zip on his passes this year), but has played a lot better the last few weeks. I think the Steelers will try to spread the Cowboys out and attack your secondary. Looking for Washington and Holmes working deep with flys and outs, and trying to hit Heath Miller down the middle for big gains. On defense, I think it'll be standard Lebeau. Harrison and Woodley will take turns pinning their ears back and try to get to Romo. James Harrison is a special player, I think he's on Ware's level and hopefully both of them have a good game. I'm sure they'll try and throw a lot of different looks to Romo and try and force him into bad decisions as well.

Your O-Line is a wreck right now and the running game has not been as reliable as in previous years. Roethlisberger has been sacked a lot and that bodes well for our passrush if Ware is healthy (and he should be). Hines Ward is my biggest worry as he can get open against anyone and makes plays every game. IMO he is one of the top-3 WRs in the game today and is the best all-around WR out there with his blocking and overall play. Our best hope is to pressure Big Ben relentlessly and not allow him time to get the ball deep to Ward.

Considering Heinz Field will likely be a mudpit, it might help slow down each teams pass rush, which would help the Steelers pathetic offensive line. Heinz Field will be rocking as well. But the Cowboys are really turning it on right now and are starting to play like a lot of us have expected them to play all year. It's a tossup to me, but either way I think it'll be a damn good game. Thanks and good luck.

The weather and field conditions definitely give Pittsburgh an advantage. As good as they are at stopping the run, it makes our passing game less of an advantage for us by slowing down our receivers, likely resulting in a low scoring game. I'm praying for a dry field!

This is the game that concerns me the most, mainly due to the possible field conditions, but I still think we will win it. We certainly need to if we want to be sure of making the playoffs this season.

I predict Cowboys 24 - Stealers 20


BTW: I normally don't use cutesy/derogatory names for other teams (Deadskins, Whiners, etc.) but I have referred to Pittsburgh as the Stealers since 1978 when you guys stole that SB from us. GRRRR

Good luck this week against the Patriots. Next week I hope you guys suck horribly! :starspin

 

[reddyuta]

you wouldnt catch tony romo dink and dunking even if his life dependent on it-thats out of the woindow.

 

[lgarcia792002]

Hey guys, just checking in here in preparation for next week's game. I always look forward to when our two teams matchup, IMO unquestionably the two best franchises in the SB era. Not to mention both teams having the two top fanbases in the NFL, I'm sure this will be the highest rated game of the year. Just wanting some friendly discussion, so just a couple of quick questions and thoughts:

-- What do you all think of Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick so far? Those are both guys I thought would turn out to be pretty good pros (I was pissed the Steelers missed out on Scandrick), and from what I have seen it looks like they've shown potential. Are you all satisfied with how they've progressed so far? Overall, how do you think your secondary is rounding up? I would assume you still think it's a weakness in your defense, but has it improved as the year has gone along?

-- What are you expecting from Barber? Do you think the wear and tear is starting to take its toll as the season progresses? I know from a YPC standpoint he has fallen off a bit the last few weeks, but it still seems like he's running hard. Do you all think there's been a dropoff in quality of play from the amount of carries he has had to take this season? What do you think about Tashard Choice? Also, it's a damn shame Felix Jones is out for the year, I thought before the draft that he was the best running back at Arkansas and would be a great player in the league. He looked like a stud in the making before getting hurt.

-- How's that big offensive line holding up? I know with Romo back there it's going to be hard to wrap him and get him to the ground, but have they been struggling at all lately? I know against the Seahawks it seems like they hit Romo a lot, but never really got him down for any sacks. And is Romo rounding back into his 2007 form at this point? Sure looked like it on Thursday, but is the hand still giving him any problems? How has he held up to defensive pressure thsi year?

-- Is there any way TO can get sick or something and miss the game?

As for my Steelers, expect for it to be a close, hard fought game. To be honest, I'm not really worried about Barber doing much on the ground, if Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith are healthy it's damn near impossible to run on the Steelers consistently. I think Garrett should watch how Belichick will likely go after the Steelers 3-4 this Sunday, he generally abandons the run completely, outside of the occassional delayed handoff or draw, spreads it out with 4 and 5 wide sets, and dinks and dunks it down the field. Granted, that demands that your QB be very smart and accurate with the football for 4 quarters, but it takes the Steelers out of their game. I think that's the best way to go after the Steelers D, but it's not like that's the only way to do it either obviously.

In terms of the Steelers offense, I think they're going to struggle to be consistent. The achilles heel of this team is the offensive line, it's one of the worst lines in the league. They lost Faneca over the offseason, starting left tackle Marvel Smith is likely done for the year with continuing back problems, and the starting RG is on IR. And those last two guys weren't very good to begin with, so you can imagine how bad the backups are. I expect Ware to likely have a monster game, and I think the Steelers will struggle running the ball on the Cowboys big front (boy that Ratliff is an impressive player). That also depends on the health of Willie Parker as well. When healthy he's a game breaker, but he hasn't been right most of the year. Roethlisberger has had his struggles as well (I don't think his shoulder has been right either, I'm just not seeing the same zip on his passes this year), but has played a lot better the last few weeks. I think the Steelers will try to spread the Cowboys out and attack your secondary. Looking for Washington and Holmes working deep with flys and outs, and trying to hit Heath Miller down the middle for big gains. On defense, I think it'll be standard Lebeau. Harrison and Woodley will take turns pinning their ears back and try to get to Romo. James Harrison is a special player, I think he's on Ware's level and hopefully both of them have a good game. I'm sure they'll try and throw a lot of different looks to Romo and try and force him into bad decisions as well.

Considering Heinz Field will likely be a mudpit, it might help slow down each teams pass rush, which would help the Steelers pathetic offensive line. Heinz Field will be rocking as well. But the Cowboys are really turning it on right now and are starting to play like a lot of us have expected them to play all year. It's a tossup to me, but either way I think it'll be a damn good game. Thanks and good luck.

Classssssssyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...Nice post .. To much for me to answer..
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[Future]

You've got to worry about guys that run for over 300 carries in a season, which I assume Barber is on pace to do. I think that's what's happened to Parker in Pittsburgh, he ran for 300+ carries in both '06 and '07 and he's been having injury issues ever since. Granted, he's a completely different build than Barber, but historically speaking once a RB starts hitting that 300+ carry plateau, injuries start to become an issue. Hope that doesn't become the case for Barber, but you've got to worry about the load he's had to handle this year.

Barber only has so many carries because Felix Jones got hurt, that shouldn't be a problem in the future when he returns. It probably shouldn't even be a problem for the next couple of weeks because I think Choice has done more than enough to prove himself capable of taking 6-8 touches from Marion every week, if not more.