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ATL96Steeler
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9-5 after a solid win in ATL has kept the Steelers in the playoff mix...currently they are the 5th seed and would face IND if the playoffs started today. In terms of the DIV...nothing was gained as CIN and BAL both won last week as well...Bengals continue to hold the DIV lead and with SD & KC losing...BAL has slid into the 6th seed position...3 DIV teams are in as of today.
But, there is still work to be done.
KC Chiefs come to town this week. They've had an up and down year as well...on the high end, they spanked NE, on the low end, they lost to OAK. I read somewhere that a win over KC locks up the playoffs for PIT, but a loss won't kill it...but it will put their fate in the hands of another team...kind of a dangerous situation for the Steelers who obviously play much better under pressure.
Who hurting? Pretty clean slate from the looks of it. Ike, Harrison are supposed to go...Gilbert supposed was ready last week, but apparently Tomlin didn't like his practice effort and went with Adams...expect that to change this week going against Justin Houston.
OFC...it's clear to me...they have to block the edge pass rushers...Hali & Houston....but Pouncey is facing probably the best NT in the game today...he's not just a 1st down guy to stuff the run...the big fella also has 5 sacks this season...Them...38 sacks...Us 24 sacks...maybe that explains why they're so good vs the pass.
Interesting with such a dominant presence on the DL, they rank poorly vs the run. But...I don't feel the back end defenders are good enough to shutdown A. Brown and company...Ben is probably going to go down a few times in this game, but he must have time on 3rd down and keep Houston & Hali concerned about tackling Bell vs teeing off on Ben.
DEF...Back 4...need to play better than last week. Even the king of the checkdown, Alex Smith has to test the Steelers deep. Charles imo is one of the most dangerous players in the the NFL...simple task in theory...control Charles, make some somebody else beat you...Troy can't handle Charles anymore, but expect him to crowd the LOS a lot...Lebeau might allow Mitchell some single high looks and see if Smith takes some shots.
Tough game coming up I think. The Steeler OL must not be dominated, but I see them having protection trouble in this one to keep this game tight. Alex Smith is not playing at a high level right now...3 losses in a row and no games over 20 pts prior to last week...I like PIT...24-20.
What say you?
But, there is still work to be done.
KC Chiefs come to town this week. They've had an up and down year as well...on the high end, they spanked NE, on the low end, they lost to OAK. I read somewhere that a win over KC locks up the playoffs for PIT, but a loss won't kill it...but it will put their fate in the hands of another team...kind of a dangerous situation for the Steelers who obviously play much better under pressure.
Who hurting? Pretty clean slate from the looks of it. Ike, Harrison are supposed to go...Gilbert supposed was ready last week, but apparently Tomlin didn't like his practice effort and went with Adams...expect that to change this week going against Justin Houston.
OFC...it's clear to me...they have to block the edge pass rushers...Hali & Houston....but Pouncey is facing probably the best NT in the game today...he's not just a 1st down guy to stuff the run...the big fella also has 5 sacks this season...Them...38 sacks...Us 24 sacks...maybe that explains why they're so good vs the pass.
Interesting with such a dominant presence on the DL, they rank poorly vs the run. But...I don't feel the back end defenders are good enough to shutdown A. Brown and company...Ben is probably going to go down a few times in this game, but he must have time on 3rd down and keep Houston & Hali concerned about tackling Bell vs teeing off on Ben.
DEF...Back 4...need to play better than last week. Even the king of the checkdown, Alex Smith has to test the Steelers deep. Charles imo is one of the most dangerous players in the the NFL...simple task in theory...control Charles, make some somebody else beat you...Troy can't handle Charles anymore, but expect him to crowd the LOS a lot...Lebeau might allow Mitchell some single high looks and see if Smith takes some shots.
Tough game coming up I think. The Steeler OL must not be dominated, but I see them having protection trouble in this one to keep this game tight. Alex Smith is not playing at a high level right now...3 losses in a row and no games over 20 pts prior to last week...I like PIT...24-20.
What say you?
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