Week 3 @ Panthers Pregame

[ATL96Steeler]

It was ugly...Sunday can't come faster enough to get that butt whipping out of sight...out of mind...the Steelers are better on both sides of the ball than that.

That said...regardless of how they got there, but I thought 1-1 would be the record after 2.

Whose hurting? The early reports are Archer & McLendon have been limited in practice...maybe Face will have an update later, but Lance Moore has been a full participant in practice and seems to be on track to play...Justin Brown played well in game one...a costly fumble really hurt last week...hope he keeps his confidence up as Martavious Bryant.

This game...truthfully...on paper this is not a good matchup for the Steelers OL...in light of the AP ordeal, it's looking as if Hardy will not play, still this will be the best front 7 they've faced this year...they're not a big sack team, but hard to run against...like to blitz the LBs for sacks.

With Ben a little banged up from the big hit last week, Gilbert has to have a better game...I like trying to spread these guys out and work the quick passing game via no huddle...then backwards to the run...don't see pounding inside the tackles working too well early.

DEF...rookie WR Benjamin is a player to fear...big play potential...we know Cocthery's game...Mr Reliable...bottom line...contain Cam, and tackle better vs the run and they should be in this game late.

Reluctant, but I feel the OFC will play much better...24-21 Steelers.

What say you?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Injury Updates… Things are looking very good for McLendon, Foster & Archer. All 3 are back at practice, with some on a fairly limited basis. Archer has been more limited than most, but with 3 more days of healing time they should be good to go unless they suffer any setbacks. Everything I've heard has been positive though, and I would have to assume that they all play this week. As ATL said, Moore is back at full strength and is going to make his Steelers debut Sunday night. I'm very interested to see what sort of impact he has. Keeping my fingers crossed for a Cotchery-esque impact. Also interested to see who they deactivate in the WR group. DHB? J-Brown? Bryant? Should shed some light on the coaches confidence levels on this group.

O… Needless to say they need a much higher level of output from Ben & the O-line. Tall order for the O-line! Haley is likely going to spread the defense out to get them off balance early. I highly doubt he will want to run straight at them until they establish a passing game. Like ATL said, look for the quick passes and bubble screens (Haley's forte) early on. This defense is going to be a big test. If they can keep the turnovers to an absolute minimum, hopefully zero, then they should stay in the game, albeit trailing most likely.

D… Not an overwhelmingly tough offense. It has the potential to be really dynamic. Newton is a tough assignment but one I look forward to. I know Lebeau is a legend, but for over 3 years his defense is falling off the map. Not much to be excited about with this group yet, but I am hopeful that they will show some signs of life during this game. Something about the Steelers' tendencies to play to their opponents' level, no matter how good or bad the team is, makes me think they will give Carolina a run for their money. If this group can create some turnovers it could create a huge difference in the outcome of this game.

This is an ugly matchup to look at on paper. The optimist inside of me is screaming to say this is when the Steelers turn things around and gain that confidence back, but………………… I'm just not liking where the team is at right now in terms of preparation, execution, etc. Things just aren't clicking, and they will need to be in midseason clicking form if they want to have any chance of winning this game. I hope I am wrong, but…

CAR 28 - PIT 17

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Optimism is a hard sell right now

Preparation...basically the DEF in the RZ...can't have missed assignments.

If Haley tries to play old school Steeler football, they will face a lot of 3rd n longs and lose the game...just don't have the horses up front to pry open holes vs that front 4 and the LBs are all good at filling the gaps and blitzing...Keughly is also pretty good in coverage.

In the games I've watched CAR...the back 4 is the weak point of the DEF.

From an execution standpoint I think we're going to see a much better effort from the OFC...CAR can run it, and if the DEF is giving up 4 - 5 yds a pop again...it might not matter how well the OFC plays...I still contend...keep Cam from breaking long runs (especially on 3rd down), tackle better and they have a good chance to be in this game late...I don't see CAR getting up by a big margin barring turnovers.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Very solid win...Cam was not 100% but good enough to play.

Aside from the barrage of penalties, this was the most complete game I've seen vs a playoff caliber team in quite a while.

OFC...obviously the running game took the show which means a big hats off to Beech, Wallace, Pouncey, DeCastro and Gilbert...Ben was pretty efficient with the ball all night...had a decent pocket, but showed he's pretty healthy after the big hit last week...moved around in the pocket and outside, threw with good velocity. I thought the FG instead of Wheaton's TD might come back to haunt them, but the DEF had no real lapses.

A bit interesting that J Brown was the choice over Moore...all in all the OFC did what I was expecting, just no the way I was expecting them to do it. Fitting that the running game was able to ice it.

DEF...this was the surprise of the night for me...Cam took some big hits early and I think it effect him...they tackled better...not sure why CAR didn't try to run it more in the 1st half. I have been critical of his play, but I have give kudos to McLendon...very active all night...dominated Valesco.

Hate to lose 3 starters in one game...Ike will miss some significant time I'm sure...hopefully Shazier and JJ don't miss a lot of time.

2-1 with a desperate 0-3 Bucs team coming in...need to keep this going!!

 

[Burghfan]

They did look good last night. I was surprised because Carolina had played two solid games and I thought for sure they would shut Pittsburgh down. The running game did great and Ben was Ben. Carolina did hand Pittsburgh two touchdowns, but the Steeler D came up big, so it didn't make that much of a difference.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

RECAP...

Ahhhhhh that felt good didn't it!? That should shut up the knee-jerkers out there with their "Fire Tomlin & Lebeau" talks. Silly kids.

In all seriousness.. This was the win that this team desperately needed. I know the season is still very young, but this team had a lot of the same traits that the 0-4 2013 team had. It was a slow start to the season that was quickly extinguishing the offseason promise/hype that we all had bought into. This win proved that they were for real, and it should serve as a major confidence booster moving forward.

O... Absolutely dominant play by the O-line. The run game struggled on a few drives, but all together they wore Carolina's front 4 down throughout the game. Which made it easy for Bell & Blount to start disecting the defense. This was something I talked about during the offseason, that with these 2 they have the ability to wear down any defense. Just imagine the dominance that they can display in winter months. But it all starts with the front line. Kudos to Pouncey, DeCastro, Wallace, Gilbert & Beachum (also Miller threw some great blocks in there). Gilbert had a complete turnaround from his first couple games. Pouncey had probably the toughest assignment he will face this season in chasing down Kuechley for the majority of the game, and he did about as good as anyone in the NFL could do with it. Wallace & Beachum both turned in stellar performances as well. Ben was his typical self... Extending plays and delivering great shots. I thought the Wheaton catch was a for sure TD. Not sure how the ref (who was standing less than 3 feet away from the catch and was clearly in better position to make the call) signalling a TD was overruled by the ref in the back of the endzone? BS I tell you... BS! Speaking of WRs... Interesting that they kept all 6 WRs active and Moore didn't even see the field much at all. Spaeth & Miller performed well in the blocking game, and Miller looked like his 2011-2012 self last night in the passing game. The dropped catch by Palmer was eerily similar to watching Paulsen last season. Let's hope Tomlin doesn't attempt that again lol.

D... Sloppy play by the CBs was largely overshadowed by dominant play by the D-line, LBers & Safeties. Cortez Allen had yet another night to forget, but he still played better than he had in the first 2 weeks. Let's hope and pray that he can get it together. Blake played about as well as anyone could have hoped for with a backup coming in to play. I do fear for what the 6'4 & 6'5" receivers in TB could do to these guys next week, but that's another story that we'll get to. Heyward, McLendon & Keisel all had great games. They were more than just dominant and it clearly showed. Newton was abused game in and game out until he departed to the sidelines in the 4th. It wasn't until the 3rd quarter after PIT lost 2 of their starting LBers that Newton was finally able to stay upright for extended periods of time. Amazing the difference that was displayed when Cam Thomas wasn't on the field lol. Hats off to Lebeau for dialing up the pressure and setting up a better gameplan.

Injuries... We all know that Taylor will be out for an extended period of time. I hope it was a clean break with little tissue damage, but we'll find out. As for JJ & Shazier... Initial checkup for JJ revealed that he may be out for an extended period of time as well if his wrist will require surgery. During his interview after the game he made it sound like it wasn't that bad, so I will hope that good news surfaces soon. As for Shazier, he had a MCL sprain that could sideline him for 1-2 weeks. That's a pretty good sigh of relief! For now this team will need Moats, Spence & Gay/Blake to step up for the time being. Hopefully we will now see Gay take over CB2 duties instead of Blake. Blake looks more fitted for nickel role. But I would much rather see Shamarko in there instead of Blake. We will see!

SUMMARY... As stated before... This game should do wonders for the team's confidence moving forward. If the O-line & D-line can continue the dominant show they put on last night throughout the season then this is easily a playoff caliber team. Penalties are still a huge concern, but after a win like that we can at least give them the benefit of the doubt. Let's hope they can keep this going!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Good points Face.

I watched the 2nd half again last night...DVR is a great invention.

DEF...the DL was a lot more lively and the fumbled punt for a TD kind of took the run game out of play for CAR, but when they did run it, they had success...I still question why they didn't do more of that in the 1st half. I look for TB to test them on the ground.

Allen...Yeah, not a great night for him, but that Benjamin kid is a beast...with his height and size, he's going to be trouble for most any CB...the play that really made Allen look bad was the TD by Olsen...triple WR formation to the left (none) on Allen's side I think had him looking in the backfield and he got caught napping.

Coaching...the good...the team responded well to whatever was said during preparation for the week...the bad...still think far too many penalties even though DeCastro's 15 yd didn't bother me much...PI is still a work in progress by the refs...the holding bothered me.

This year vs Last...imo the OL is a much more cohesive unit even though Foster was out this game...if that continues I see no reason they can't win 9 games at a minimum...my count is still 10.

Injuries...I agree, I wouldn't mind seeing S. Thomas in there, but I'm guessing Blake will be the 3rd CB playing outside with Gay in slot...the LBs...I think the depth will prove very valuable as Moat and Spence will fill in well I think.