Batch, Defense lead Steelers to 38-13 Win at Tampa

The headline pretty much sums it up actually. Charlie Batch, yes, Charlie Batch, threw for 186 and more importantly 3 TD passes on a stellar 12 of 17.  100 of those yards and two touchdowns went to Mike Wallace, exactly what the Doctor ordered. Wallace made a brilliant catch on his 2nd TD as it was deflected by the defender and he stayed with the play and pulled it in. He was the deep threat that we’ve all been calling for the first few weeks. This was the Wallace that made all of us think Holmes could be replaced. Finally a ball downfield huh?  Batch played much better than we anticipated that’s for sure.  He did have two poor interceptions, the first, very early and we did get worried, admittedly. The Bucs capitalized on that and went up 3-0. After that, the Steelers never looked back. Mendenhall carried the ball 19 times for 143 and looked like a truly dominant back. The D, what can we say, they did it again. They were constantly in the offensive backfield and forced Josh Freeman into sacks, bad throws and knockdowns. The Bucs eventually pulled Freeman from the game when it was evident they had no chance. James Harrison is so disruptive it’s ridiculous. He is in the QB’s face constantly and pair him up with Woodley and Timmons, sprinkle in some Farrior and you have a monster LB corp.  Troy is Troy and he’s a player that all offenses must worry about. The Steelers know this and can use him anywhere on the field. On a side note, how about that play Troy made when he was not in the game? He makes one hell of a catch when he’s not playing, just on the sideline, he’s amazing! 

We felt that coaching had a nice game plan and stuck with it. They let Batch throw down field and the O line even looked good.  There really are no complaints here. The Bucs had some success moving the ball but it’s hard to see in the stats. Their leading rusher had 27 yards and leading receiver had 57.  This D is solid right now and they are playing with a chip on their shoulder from last year, no question. 

Next week vs. Baltimore will be a true battle but you have to take the first 3 wins that’s for sure. Nobody thought they’d pull this without Ben. No question this is a good start.

3-0, up next Baltimore

 

Steelers Win 19-11

In what can only be described in a defensive domination, the Steelers beat the Titans 19-11 in Nashville.  Really it wasn’t even that close.  The Steelers led 19-3 until the last minute of the game when they allowed a TD and two point conversion.  Other than that they DESTROYED the Titans offense.

It was almost like the Steelers read our Game Day section keys to the game. They scored first on the opening kick off when Antonio Brown ran the kick back on a reverse for a 7-0 lead.  The defense held Chris Johnson to 34 yards on 16 carries. Bye Bye 12 straight 100 yard games!  They made Vince Young throw, and oh, that turned into 4 turnovers from Young, 7 total by the Titans!  Jeff Fisher was so pissed at Young that he benched  him and brought in Kerry Collins who was marginally better but not nearly enough. 

Troy Polamalu, who was upset with his play last week, was dominant. He made another pick and how about that play in the 4th when he leap frogged the entire Titan O Line and sacked Collins mid air as Collins was just receiving the ball from the center!  Unreal!

While the defense was awesome, the offense was putrid. Dixon did run a few more times this week but was hurt and really not effective. They brought in Charlie Batch who was also not effective. The run game was stuffed and the O Line looked porous again. There are some problems there, at least until Ben gets back.  We think you’ll see Leftwich re signed and start the next two weeks.  It’s hard to argue against that at this point. 

A couple of notes, let’s see Brown return more punts, look, we love Randle El for his 2005 contributions, but that was five years ago, he should not be returning kicks/punts or anything else anymore.

Will Allen, please learn what to do on an onside kick. You REALLY could have made that game a bad loss with a dumb play like that. 

Other than, we got the W and that’s all that counts.

2-0, up next Tampa Bay.

Steelers Win 15-9 in OT

Hey, it’s a win, that’s first and foremost.    If the team can play defense like that, they’ll be in a lot of games. Did the D look stellar today or what?!  They held the Falcons to a pedestrian 58 yards on the ground on 25 carries. They made Matt Ryan throw, and while he ended up with 252 yards, it was on 44 attempts and he threw a pick that our boy Troy Polamalu completely jumped.  The defensive game plan fell right into what our pre game keys to the game dictated. Not that we are in the coaching circle, but hey, we like to say we called it! 

Offensively, the boys in black and gold got it done in the end but it was less than fruitful most of the game. While Dixon threw for 236 yards on 18/26 passing with 1 horrible pick, the numbers seem a bit inflated. We still think he’s the guy for the remaining time Ben’s suspended, but we do fear if he can lead this team to meaningful touchdowns, especially when the team is behind, if they get behind.  He appears like he has a candy arm and not the gun that Leftwich or Big Ben have.  It does seem that he should probably use his legs more as he only had 2 carries and his legs are a very useful weapon.  We did call for a lot of Mendenhall and he ended up with 120 yards on 22 carries, but the last 50 of those yards were on the final play of the game. Now for sure that was the best time to do it and all the credit in the world goes to Mendenhall. However, what it shows is teams are going to stack the box and make Dixon throw, which is smart, and possibly dangerous for the team if they are in a pinch. We feel that Hines was typical Hines and he was the leader of the offense out there today.  It’s our thought that if Dixon is going to throw they need to utilize Heath Miller a lot more as he can be a Dallas Clark type if given the chance. We also feel that Mike Wallace needs to get more balls his way. He’s a big threat guy and only had one of those plays today. The throw was beautiful but that needs to be attempted a few more times a game.  Redman on third downs seems iffy right now and they may want to look into Dwyer.  All of this was fine today though as the defense was king.  As we mentioned,  the Falcons couldn’t run at all as the linebackers looked really good.  The secondary, the teams defensive weakness even looked solid as they didn’t really let anything get behind them and didn’t allow any big plays today.  That’s what Troy brings to the team, now QB’s have to worry about where he is at all times. 

A few observations, Antwaan Randle El-we think the punt return days are over. Just awful. Did Tomlin ever see him return punts for the Skins? It’s not 2005 anymore. 

A note on the series, this is the 3rd straight time these teams have played that it took overtime to decided the game.

1-0, up next Tennessee.

Thoughts From Pre Season Game 4

The pre season is gone, thank goodness! The Steelers went 3-1, which means nothing. The main thing is to get out healthy. If you missed it, they lost Byron Leftwitch last night to a knee injury which could be serious enough to sideline him through Ben’s 4 game suspension. That means that Batch or Dixon will start. The team didn’t let Dixon throw much last night and Batch either, to keep them healthy. Word is Batch is the guy with Dixon spelling him on special packages. Not sure that’s a great idea, this isn’t college, you really need one guy and one guy only and stick with him. Our choice is Dixon, as we’ve stated here before. It seems Tomlin and Co. only see him as more of a 1 game type of spot starter, like last year in Baltimore. They appear to want a vet to lead the offense, which means Batch, now that Leftwich seems to be out.
One really positve note from the game last night is Jonathan Dwyer looked solid. He ran for 86 yards on 20 carries with two runs over 20 yards. It’s nice to see out of the rookie.
Other than that, not much else can be said since Carolina didn’t play any starters the entire game, a practice of John Fox’s for years.
We do know that come tomorrow, the final roster will be set, so let’s wait and see!