Game Thread: Playoff action: Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh 1:05pm ET on CBS

[Duffman]

Yep, and if there's a blueprint for a D that COULD give the Pats problems, it's a fast athletic hard hitting D that can get pressure with their base 4 rushers.

What they need to do is watch the Denver-NE AFC title game from 2 years on how to beat Brady. The Jags are the closest we have to that Denver Defense and even though a broken down Peyton Manning is miles better than Blake Bortles on his best day, they can stay in it if they force Brady into bad situations.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

I do not think the scheme in Jax is that great in all honesty. Zone is chickenshit for me, personally.

I know they have had some great production this season, and hey they are here....But the first Ben game aside, the better QB's they have faced have had a lot of success against them.....A lot of Texans and COlts type shutouts skews their greatness a little bit of you look at their schedule this season

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Yeah, I hear ya, but getting another Pats 45-17 snoozefest isnt really a better option IMO

And that is absolutely what we are getting next week regardless of how much they try to hype this game

Dirt give it a rest. Everyone knows you're the biggest NE hater since Hammer departed.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I know they have had some great production this season, and hey they are here....But the first Ben game aside, the better QB's they have faced have had a lot of success against them.....A lot of Texans and COlts type shutouts skews their greatness a little bit of you look at their schedule this season

I hear ya, as I said, I don't think the scheme is that great. That can work, we've seen Seattle win a SB for instance and have tons of success with it, but it needs a lot of talent to work, imo.

 

[psaboy]

No it isn't. Take away the first 5 weeks of the season and the Pats D is the best scoring defense in the league. Very under rated and far better coaching.

Sure, if you say so. Lets not let the facts get in the way of the truth.

NEW ENGLANDPATRIOTS
TEAM RANKING OVERALL RUSHING PASSING
Offense 2nd 118.1 (10th) 276.1 (2nd)
Defense 28th 114.8 (19th) 251.2 (29th)

PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
TEAM RANKING OVERALL RUSHING PASSING
Offense 4th 104.2 (19th) 273.8 (3rd)
Defense 5th 105.8 (9th) 201.1 (7th

 

[chf]

What they need to do is watch the Denver-NE AFC title game from 2 years on how to beat Brady. The Jags are the closest we have to that Denver Defense and even though a broken down Peyton Manning is miles better than Blake Bortles on his best day, they can stay in it if they force Brady into bad situations.

I've always had a love/hate deal with Calais Campbell, as a Hawks fan. The guy is effing good.

 

[Upinthe North]

Jaguars are so going to the Super Bowl.

Im hoping your wrong

 

[thedddd]

I like what Butler has done with the defense. I think if Tomlin would let Butler do his job and not try to put his fingerprints on it's secondary then this defense could be fixed. The "keep the play in front of you" bullshit needs to be taken out to pasture.

They were top 10 this year as a unit. 1st in the league in sacks, without a premier edge rusher. The secondary floated around top 5 for a while. Hard to say if that was a fluke or not because they always seem to fail so hard in the biggest moments.

If that is all on Tomlin then yeah I am with you Butler should stay. I think they did that due to the secondary being awful prior to this year. They do have some talent, minus Mitchell and Artie "gets" Burn"ed".

But like you said Shazier was the lipstick on the pig most of the season that hid their deficiencies.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

What they need to do is watch the Denver-NE AFC title game from 2 years on how to beat Brady. The Jags are the closest we have to that Denver Defense and even though a broken down Peyton Manning is miles better than Blake Bortles on his best day, they can stay in it if they force Brady into bad situations.

Pitt protected Big Ben pretty well today. If NE can do the same I see the Jags getting gassed. Those short dump offs and screens by Pitt were super effective. The NE RBs and TEs are going to have big games. Looking for a 3rd qtr exhausted Jax D. Just like the Falcons last year.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Id have to take a close look at whether its worse than the 44 points they gave up to the Niners 2 weeks ago, or the 30 they gave up to Blaine Gabbert 4 weeks ago

Those 44 points the 9ers scored were aided by 3 Bortles ints, one of which was returned for a TD, and IIRC, the Jags had already clinched their playoff spot at that point.

And the Cardinals scored 27 points, not 30, and a lot of that can be contributed to Bortles not being able to get anything going through the air.

 

[Anointed One]

If someone would said Jax won today, I would've thought... hmmm... okay, it was probably 13-10 or 17-13... But 45-42? Whod'a thunk it?

 

[Fountain City Blues]

If someone would said Jax won today, I would've thought... hmmm... okay, it was probably 13-10 or 17-13... But 45-42? Whod'a thunk it?

If you told me the Jags scored 45, I would've said they scored 3 defensive TD's.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Sure, if you say so. Lets not let the facts get in the way of the truth.

NEW ENGLANDPATRIOTS
TEAM RANKING OVERALL RUSHING PASSING
Offense 2nd 118.1 (10th) 276.1 (2nd)
Defense 28th 114.8 (19th) 251.2 (29th)

PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
TEAM RANKING OVERALL RUSHING PASSING
Offense 4th 104.2 (19th) 273.8 (3rd)
Defense 5th 105.8 (9th) 201.1 (7th

I said "scoring" since week 5. I don't really care about those other stats. NE is like that every season. Give up a bunch of yards.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

We're gonna disagree on this one... You just gotta make it a 1 score game with so little time, either way you needed the 3 points anyway, time was too much of a factor after the run off and losing yards on that play...

Fair enough

We can agree that the receivers and TEs didn't help their cause by not getting OB.

 

[NEhomer]

If someone would said Jax won today, I would've thought... hmmm... okay, it was probably 13-10 or 17-13... But 45-42? Whod'a thunk it?

Yeah, given that Ben scores 42 points, you gonna take the Jags?!

 

[Duffman]

Those 44 points the 9ers scored were aided by 3 Bortles ints, one of which was returned for a TD, and IIRC, the Jags had already clinched their playoff spot at that point.

And the Cardinals scored 27 points, not 30, and a lot of that can be contributed to Bortles not being able to get anything going through the air.

But that's Blake Bortles for you, it's not a Big Ben vs Jax Week 5 situation where he throws 5 Picks and that's a rarity. Playing mediocre to bad football is what Bortles does and so if you're Jacksonville you just gotta hope the average BB that's shown up the last 2 weeks shows up again and not the "my stats look great minus the interceptions because I'm playing from behind" BB we're all used too.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Fair enough

We can agree that the receivers and TEs didn't help their cause by not getting OB.

Yes sir, we can agree on that for sure...

 

[Chewbaccer]

But that's Blake Bortles for you, it's not a Big Ben vs Jax Week 5 situation where he throws 5 Picks and that's a rarity. Playing mediocre to bad football is what Bortles does and so if you're Jacksonville you just gotta hope the average BB that's shown up the last 2 weeks shows up again and not the "my stats look great minus the interceptions because I'm playing from behind" BB we're all used too.

I definitely agree with that. I'd like Jacksonville's chances next week if they had a QB as good as Alex Smith, but with Bortles there, despite the awesome roster from 2-53 in Jacksonville, it's hard to see them coming out on top.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

If that is all on Tomlin then yeah I am with you Butler should stay. I think they did that due to the secondary being awful prior to this year. They do have some talent, minus Mitchell and Artie "gets" Burn"ed".

But like you said Shazier was the lipstick on the pig most of the season that hid their deficiencies.

I think a good FS would shore up a ton of the secondary. Mitchell is truly awful and the most overrated player in recent Steelers history. I sure hope Sutton comes along this offseason to give the CB's more life. Burns has athleticism, but his above-the-neck skills are severely lacking. His awareness is downright awful sometimes. I'd be willing to give Burns another shot. But Mitchell should have been gone a long time ago. Haden is ok, but clearly not in his prime anymore. They do need more talent injected into the position.

 

[psaboy]

I said "scoring" since week 5. I don't really care about those other stats. NE is like that every season. Give up a bunch of yards.

I'm taking total D package, Pats really suck. The reason they have low points against is they play crappy teams last part of season, last 12 games against 3 playoff teams, 4 games (Buf 2X)