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2007 Steelers - Week #14 New England Patriots

Filed under: NFL, Steelers by dsmith @ 9:53 pm on December 4, 2007.

Last Weeks Result

  • Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 10
  • Record: 9-3
  • Standings: Sole possession of 1st in AFC North

Last Weeks Game Recap

For the second week in a row, Heinz Field has had a chance to be spotlighted in a prime time game. Much like last week, the conditions were wet and rainy. However, unlike last week, the field provided solid if not fast footing. I felt that the grounds crew did an outstanding job of getting this field prepared. Most of the Steelers players have said that they prefer the natural surface and I agree. It gives the Steelers a true home field advantage as it slows down “run and gun” teams. This was evident on Sunday night as the high powered offense of the Bengals was mostly held in check — mostly…

For over two games, it has seemed that the Steelers have been just going through the motions. The start of this game was a perfect example, showing the Steelers defense to be playing a notch below what they have shown. Cincinnati took the opening kick off and drove it 75-yards and scored. In the process, they converted three 3rd downs, overcame a penalty and scored only the third rushing touchdown against the Steelers this season.

On the other side, Pittsburgh came out, converted one third down before Ben threw an interception. The Steeler defense then gave up 26 more yards in two more plays and finally it seemed like the light came on for the defense. After giving up over 100 yards in 1 drive and two plays, they tightened up and allowed only 150 yards and 3 points for the rest of the game, even with the Steelers offense giving up the ball all night.

The offense waited until the second quarter to do anything, but it was worth the wait as they scored on every drive and put up 17 points in the second quarter alone. The story of the second half was about the Steelers offense continually giving the ball to the Bengals and the Steelers defense stopping them every time. The Bengals were able to put up 3 more points, which was immediately answered by a rare mistake-free Steeler drive in the second half for a touchdown.

In short, the Steelers dominated the Bengals and, despite being -3 in turnovers, they were still able to win by 14 points. Against a better team (ie The Patriots) this would have been a disaster. There needs to be added focus this week on taking care of the ball. It is an anomaly to turn over the ball that many times and win the game.

Game MVP

The entire Offensive Line - Ben was not sacked a single time in this game. Not only that, but for the first game that I can recall in a while, he was not continually dodging defenders. Admittedly, the Bengals don’t have the leagues best defensive line but Ben actually had time inside the pocket. There is still considerable room for improvement, but hopefully they can build off of this performance.

And for yet another week, an honorable mention goes to Hines Ward. He passed John Stallworth in this game and has now caught more touchdown passes than any other Steeler in history. It was fantastic that it happened in this game, because it was classic Ward. These were tough catches and he was taking a hit after most of them. This guy has epitomized the Steelers for years now - not flashy but tough as nails.

Game Grades

  • Offense: C - The offensive line was better than terrible and that is a huge upgrade for this unit. Ben was very good, but he still had the two interceptions which were inexcusable. And Willie Parker really had trouble holding onto the ball. If it wasn’t for the #1 defense in the NFL, they could have cost the Steelers this game.
  • Defense: A- - The opening drive made me sick to my stomach. But the rest of the game was rock solid. The secondary played very well and Palmer had a tough time finding open receivers. The Bengals offense is among the best in the league and were healthier than they have been for most of the year. Holding them to 10-points while the offense turned the ball over 4 times is outstanding.
  • Special Teams: B - The ball was handled well on a wet night. Rossum is solid if not spectacular as both a punt returner and kick returner. He has continually secured the ball even under the worst of conditions. Sepulveda had a terrible 27-yard punt, but besides that was solid under less than ideal weather.
  • Coaching Staff: B - Overall, the players executed better than they have in previous weeks. I am not sure how much coaching had to do with this, but Tomlin seems to keep his calm under fire quite well. I am a little worried about the playing not to lose instead of playing to win at the end of games. I would like to see some more aggressive play calling at times.
  • Overall: B-

Season (Composite) Grades

  • Offense: - C+
  • Defense: - B-
  • Special Teams: - C+
  • Coaching Staff: - C+
  • Overall: - C+

Next Up: New England Patriots

The Patriots are good — scary good. There is a good reason that they are undefeated this year and it has absolutely nothing to do with the infamous spy gate. Tom Brady has developed into one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game. He has been good for years. So what do the Patriots do? They bring in three outstanding receivers for him to throw to this year. All three of these guys is outstanding in their own way. Randy Moss is the best deep threat I have ever seen. Welker is a gutsy and tough underneath guy and Stallworth is a dynamic number two guy that doesn’t allow teams to concentrate on Moss. Beyond this, they have one of the most dominating offensive lines in the game today. Like most offensive lines, these are generally the last guys mentioned about this offense, but I am truly jealous of the Patriots when I watch this unit. They are the ultimate in pass protection.

The only way that the Steelers can compete with the Patriots is to take them out of their game. The Patriots defense is good, but not outstanding. The statistics show that the Patriots run the ball well, but this is mostly out of spread sets. They pass the ball so well that it really opens the running lanes. The Patriots are not a power running team and have never had to worry about ball control.

This game presents the ultimate rock and hard place. The Patriots offense are the number one offense in the NFL based on statistics and it is not even close. They average over 39 points per game with 425 yards. On the other hand the Steelers have the number one defense allowing less than 13 points per game and 230 yards. That may be the largest disparity of all time. Obviously something has got to give. My prediction is that whichever unit can be closer to their average numbers will win this game.

So the question is, can I really pick against the Steelers? In all of my predictions, I have given qualifiers and none is bigger than the qualifier for this game. The Steelers must take care of the ball and win the turn-over battle. The Steelers have to get a ball control type offense — either by the running game or by Ben being more willing to take the check down as necessary. The defense must be able to get stops and play big on third down. They must be aggressive on both sides of the ball. Finally the offensive line ha got to step up for this game. The one area in which the Steelers are vastly less talented is the offensive line. Hopefully the take some pride this week and play well above what they have shown to date.

Final Score Prediction

Pittsburgh 27

New England 24

 
« 2007 Steelers - Week #13 Cincinnati Bengals 2007 Steelers - Week #15 Jacksonville Jaguars »
2 Comments »

I am from Pgh and attended all 6 Super Bowls.

To whoever wrote this article: This is a very good analysis. Well thought through and obviously you are quite the football expert. I have little to add. I enjoyed reading the article.

Except this: Did you ever think of whether the Steeler offensive line would look better if the Steelers allowed Big Ben to be “let go” to pass on nearly every down — like Brady? Would more passing by Big Ben (35 times per game, let’s say), open up the Steelers’ running game? This is the same offensive line that won the Super Bowl. I am just posing these questions, because I do not believe this line is as “suspect” as people say. Case in point: In the Super Bowl year, Cowher — for once in his career — “let Big Ben go” against Indianapolis because the Steelers had nothing to lose. Thirty yarders to the tight end on first down. Twenty yarders over the middle on second down. What happened: The Steelers were leading by 21 points before you could bat an eyelash.

My point: The offensive line is better with run-blocking and can’t stop the blitz. But they CAN pass protect with no blitz. So, how do you stop the blitz? Better play-calling.

Let Big Ben go. Just like Chuck Noll did with Bradshaw in 1974. And the Steelers will deliver to us a surprising blow out win on December 9, 2007.

IMHO.

Comment by Larry Dockery — December 7, 2007 @ 9:28 am

Larry,

Thanks for comments. Mike Tomlin said that protecting the quarterback is an 11-man job and he is absolutely correct. I think Ben holds onto the ball sometimes too long. Without Holmes in the lineup, I feel that teams focus on Ward and it makes it hard for the receivers to get open and finally at times our backs don’t pick up the right read. So I do agree that it is hard to place it all on the line.

However, this line is definitely not equal to the superbowl offensive line. Sean Mahan isn’t even worthy of holding Jeff Hartings jockstrap if you ask me. I think the Center play this year has been dreadful and really that is the heart of the line. People are so quick to blame Faneca (and Simmons to a lesser extent), but I really feel that they are just trying to take up the slack from the gaping hole next to them. I think Mahan brings the level of this entire line down. They did play better against the Bengals though and I hope that they can continue to play better as a unit.

I would love to see the tight ends involved early and often in this game. Miller quite possibly has the best hands on this team. And Spaeth generally makes the throws he gets count. But I don’t think it is wise in this game to go with a quick strike offense. We need to be balanced, but if it takes the passing game to open up the running game, I would like to see them come out firing early on, but then balance it out.

I really feel that the Steelers offense is better than the Patriots defense. My problem is that the Patriots offense is probably better than the Steelers defense. They have the only offense in the league that I would say that about. The Steelers must slow this game down by keeping their offense off the field and then not allowing big plays when they are on the field.

Lastly, let me express my jealousy. I try to come to Pittsburgh once a year and have absolutely fallen in love with the place. I automatically am jealous of anyone from there. Also, that is awesome on the 6 superbowls. Too bad the 95 one didn’t turn out the way it could have. The only one I have ever been to is the 2005, but I will never forget it.

GO STEELERS!

Comment by dsmith — December 7, 2007 @ 10:02 am

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