Beat NE Sunday and the road to the super Bowl goes thru Pittsburgh. Please tell me the defensive game plan will not be the same one used last year in the AFC title game....until Tomlin actually beats these guys I have my doubts.
It's in your hands Steelers
- Thread starter bkmtnittany1
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NE and Brady will enter this game with their backs to the wall. Expect a shoot out and Brady to be on top of his game.
Gronk down the seam all day and a few new wrinkles from Belicheat and NE to exploit the loss of Shazier. .
The Steelers may have Haden back but they need to be able to play man from time to time in the secondary or Tommy will tear them up. Should be a fun high scoring game.
Gronk down the seam all day and a few new wrinkles from Belicheat and NE to exploit the loss of Shazier. .
The Steelers may have Haden back but they need to be able to play man from time to time in the secondary or Tommy will tear them up. Should be a fun high scoring game.
The game plan will absolutely be the same as last year. They will play soft zone and Brady will destroy them. There will be one NE player that they won't cover all night, too. He will just run free down the middle of the field the whole game like Hogan in the AFCC and Gronk the year before that.
Pittsburgh has NEVER covered a TE. And one as good as Gronk...ugh. This is a must game because if Pitt loses, even if they win a couple of playoff games there is no way they beat Belicheat in Foxboro..
I mean, this is true. TEs have always destroyed us. Shazier was a huge loss and I know his injury is obviously bigger than football but it really does hurt us.
I'm really interested to see if they try to use Willie Gay as an ILB as often as possible so he can call the defenses. He'll obviously fill that role in dime situations as he did the last few weeks. He'd probably be the best bet to run with the RBs as well. Gronk's a huge problem. I just have no clue who matches up with him. Mitchell and Davis can't
Brady said it himself and I hope tomlin was listening. He doesn’t like playing from behind and is more comfortable when they are winning. I say this because tomlin loves playing to the competition except when they play the patriots. The defensive plan against the chiefs and then the defensive game plan against the patriots in the playoffs were two totally different schemes. I still can’t beleive steelers didn’t win that game with that team they had. I will be curious to see if the steelers really want to beat the patriots now or in the playoffs by playing different schemes. If they are smart perhaps they beat them now and the patriots get upset by another team. Give the patriots credit even though they are in a pathetic division once they get into the playoffs they take care of business!
I still remember Tomlins rant against the patriots in the locker room and then they came out in that pathetic soft zone.
I still remember Tomlins rant against the patriots in the locker room and then they came out in that pathetic soft zone.
Since he’s not going bowling, narduzzi should be brought in as a defensive specialist. He could bring such groundbreaking ideas as “free beverages for fans who stay” and “4th quarter dance party”.
I wonder what happens to all those yellow seats? When Nardummy coaches you can see thousands of them. When the Stillers are at home they suddenly disappear!
Look for them to bring Harrison out of the closet. He still has it for short bursts. The Steelers have been saving him for the playoffs and now is the time to get him started and ready.
I hope you are right. They guy is just a physical specimen but I saw him playing on Sunday night and was underwhelmed, especially after he was bitching about not playing enough.
Agreed--he was unimpressive on Sunday but that makes sense given how long it has been since he lost saw the field. Baltimore ran right at him the first time he came into the game.
Sensabaugh hasn't covered a player since Haden went down so this makes sense. Also, Sean Davis seems lost with no ball awareness at all when it's in the air. He tackles poorly and over runs the ball carrier consistently. Mike Mitchell looks slow.
This defense better hope for some turnovers like Miami got last night, because I think it's going to be another 80 point shootout even though the over/under is at 53.
Oh. I easily get carried away. Regardless, the Stillers should set their sights higher.
There Defense was suspect against a mediocre offensive unit from Baltimore this past week...Hope they are ready to play against New England.
Not worried about our Steelers offense...have too many advantages right now...
Home field throughout the Playoffs...would be HUGE...
Davis tackling poorly is an understatement. Both he and Burns are vomit inducing bad. Neither of them even use their arms to tackle. They literally just try to him them with a shoulder, often times missing completely. If I were a coach on the Steelers neither one of those two would see the field again. I'd make them turn in their uniforms. It's embarrassing.
Mark it down: Pittsburgh is going to beat New England...
Nobody is giving Pittsburgh any chance, which I think favors them. You folks are saying Brady will come out firing, you do know the QB on the other side is pretty good too. I think he will be on his game also. One thing about NE, You can score on them. They have some big wins, but also should have lost to San Diego, Tampa Bay, and the Jets. The Jets game the refs gave NE two huge gifts. So let's not think New England is unbeatable. Pittsburgh also will be up for this game.
Nobody is giving Pittsburgh any chance, which I think favors them. You folks are saying Brady will come out firing, you do know the QB on the other side is pretty good too. I think he will be on his game also. One thing about NE, You can score on them. They have some big wins, but also should have lost to San Diego, Tampa Bay, and the Jets. The Jets game the refs gave NE two huge gifts. So let's not think New England is unbeatable. Pittsburgh also will be up for this game.
Oh. I easily get carried away. Regardless, the Stillers should set their sights higher.
Right Bob. The big game between these teams will be the AFCCG. NE can win in Pittsburgh. And, NE's margin for having a decent
defense is rail thin and an injury here or there would make them even more vulnerable in a few weeks.
The plan will be to pressure Brady and force short, immediate throws. Brady breaks down under pressure, especially recently. The hits are exacting a toll and he just unloads the ball now. Steeler can't cover long enough if Brady has time.
The recipe to beat the Patriots is man or man/zone coverage and pressure Brady early and often. Hit him if you can and don’t let him step up in the pocket. Jam the receivers to disrupt timing. He will shred zone coverage and beat man to man if he has time to wait for guys. Gronk is his binky and probably favorite target. Jam gronk and don’t give up those stupid seam routes.
Steelers offense should be able to score on the Pats just because of the talent disparity. Still, I won’t believe Tomlin can slow the Pats down until I see it. Losing Shazier hurts a lot
Steelers offense should be able to score on the Pats just because of the talent disparity. Still, I won’t believe Tomlin can slow the Pats down until I see it. Losing Shazier hurts a lot
The success they’ve had this year on defense starts with Shazier. They have nobody else who can replace his speed/instinct, and having a LB who runs like a WR certainly helps cover a guy like Superfly gronk.
O is gonna have to outscore them to win. Not feeling a ton of confidence in their chances. As I’ve mentioned to a lot of my Steelers allies, this is the worst 11-2 team I’ve seen in a long time. That said, the pats are not necessarily playing like world-beaters this year either. Who knows except we’ve seen this play before.
O is gonna have to outscore them to win. Not feeling a ton of confidence in their chances. As I’ve mentioned to a lot of my Steelers allies, this is the worst 11-2 team I’ve seen in a long time. That said, the pats are not necessarily playing like world-beaters this year either. Who knows except we’ve seen this play before.
Problem with this is even if 92 plays lights out, it feeds right into what brady does best - edge pressure doesn’t bother him...he just slides up into the pocket. The teams that beat brady do so with relentless pressure up the gut. Guys like Heyward and Tuitt are going to have to step up this week.
I was so impressed with the defensive game plan last year in the title game: Play a soft zone and let Brady find open guys and make sure you put no pressure on him...genius!
True. After watching the Steelers vs Ravens game I don’t have much hope for Pittsburgh next week.
A healthy Joe Haden would certainly help. He's been practicing this week after breaking his fibula on Nov. 12. Seems a little soon to be back, but we'll see.
But ignore the Pats/Dolphins game.. NE was 0/11 on 3rd down and has the second worst D in the NFL.
Haden is also practicing this week and chances are improving he can play.
If you think yards are important, yes. Pats have given up one less point
Than Pittsburgh this year. So, there's that. Tied for 5th in points allowed.
How often does Brady not make a short, immediate throw? The greatest yards after catch quarterback of all-time. Amendola and Wes Walker run short routes and Brady hits them off quick three and five step drops and you can't get to him in that time. He's made a career of it. No one ever called Brady "The Mad Bomber" that's for sure.
This is exactly why you can’t compare QBs from different eras. Montana was the first to perfect the west coast (dink/dunk) offense, but hard to imagine either he or brady succeeding in the more vertical passing attacks from 40+ years ago. Very few QBs have had the skill set to have succeeded over the many generations of the position (Elway, Favre, Unitas come to mind). Brady is a product of the modern game.
Not to mention that Brady wouldn't have been able to cry everytime someone came within 2 yards of him.
He would have been broken in half.
