9/29/18-Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

By: Mike Pelaia

As the black and gold sit 1-1-1, they find themselves playing for first place on Sunday Night Football against the 2-1 Ravens, their bitter rivals.  The Ravens come in to Heinz Field with confidence and ability, while the Steelers are amped to build on the momentum they gained with a Monday night win in Tampa Bay this past week. All bets are off when these two teams get together and it usually comes down to the final drive. I don’t expect anything different this go round.

Here Are The Keys To Victory:

1. This insanely obvious at this point, but the black and gold need to eliminate the penalties. Averaging over 12 per game through the first three weeks is not acceptable. They need to be smart and not allow the game to get out of control. Free yards cannot be handed out in a battle that is expected to go down to the wire.
2. Special teams will be the difference in this game and it will be time for Chris Boswell to make his kicks. The team cannot afford anymore missed field goals or extra points.
3. The defense is still a frightening sight and one I don’t trust. The Steelers must use their offense as their best form of defense. A ball control, grind it out with James Conner style may be the key to winning in the end.
4. Artie Burns and Coty Sensabaugh need to step up and provide Joe Haden some help. Joe Flacco has a big arm and he’ll make Burns and Sensabaugh pay if they let their man behind them.

Here Are A Few Things To Watch:

1. The pass rush-It hasn’t been stellar since week 1 and I think it needs to be improved this week
2. Bud Dupree – he’s playing well on an every other game basis right now. He’s due for an off game, can he play well two in a row?
3. Ben Roethlisberger – he’s always lights out in prime time and against the Ravens, he’s even better. I expect a masterful game from him.
4. JuJu – He’s been rolling through the first there weeks. How will the Ravens cover him and will he free up some opportunities for Antonio Brown?

The Ravens vs. Steelers rivalry is always a hard hitting, close game that typically comes down to the wire. I expect the Steelers to come out motivated and will win under the lights at Heinz Field.  24-23

9/26/18-Steelers Still Have Several Questions To Answer

By: Mike Pelaia

As the Steelers boarded their flight from Tampa back to Pittsburgh on Monday night, they were happy. Happy they sat at 1-1-1, with their first victory of the 2018 campaign. Happy their offense was able to come through at the end of a game that looked like it may slip away. And happy they didn’t have to go through another week of questions stating ‘what’s wrong with the Steelers?’

Yet as they left Tampa and began to prepare for the rival Baltimore Ravens in their upcoming Sunday Night Football matchup, many questions do still loom.

First, to me, is this defense any good at all?  Sure, they made some plays, specifically in the first half of the Bucs game as they created four turnovers and kept Ryan Fitzpatrick in check. Yet, that same defense nearly blew a 20 point lead in the second half as Fitzpatrick led a spirited comeback. The secondary, specifically Arti Burns and Coty Sensabaugh look confused and lack talent.  I believe Joe Haden is still a solid corner but if he can’t get help on the other side, what good does it do? 

When this team plays the Ravens this coming week, they won’t be allowed to get behind early, as they did in Tampa, or blow leads late, as they also did against the Bucs. The Ravens are good enough to make them pay. Joe Flacco has had success against the Steelers, in Pittsburgh, and he will make the comeback Fitzpatrick couldn’t complete, if this defense plays the way they have been.

It’s not just the secondary, the linebackers aren’t getting the pass rush required to help the secondary out.  TJ Watt hasn’t done much since week one, Bud Dupree is a guy who has talent but is unreliable at times and with all apologies to Vince Williams and Jon Bostic, there is no big time playmaker on the inside. 

One way or the other, come Sunday night, these four, and their backups are going to have to get to Flacco. If he’s allowed time, Flacco will burn you. He’s got a big arm and as we now know, three weeks in, the Steelers are susceptible to the big plays deep.

Yet, it’s not always the defense that allows big plays through the air, or on the ground. We’ve consistently seen penalties racked up in droves, with the team averaging over 12 per game.

 The second area of concern is discipline. Can this team stay disciplined for a game?

The black and gold have 37 penalties through three games, nine more than any other team in the NFL. Undisciplined football is losing football.

Those types of mistakes may not have cost them the game in Tampa, fortunately, but you better bet dollars to doughnuts it will against the Ravens. The Ravens aren’t exactly buttoned up themselves but they do average five less penalties per game and in a game that often comes down to the last drive and is typically a three point affair, providing free yards cannot happen.

I expect that to be a challenge this week, one the team will overcome. There will be a lot of trash talk, a very physical environment and players will be put in a position to lose their cool. Mike Tomlin will need to preach all the way up until kickoff, the value of keeping cool and allowing the other team to mess up.

Yet, if this game does come down to the final drive and a field goal is needed to win it, do we trust the special teams to get it done?  In other words do we trust Chris Boswell?  My short answer is, yes, but my long answer is, not a whole lot right now.  Boswell has been flat out terrible, let’s be honest. If that game in Tampa came down to him making a game winner outside of 40 yards, were you comfortable?  If you said yes, you’re a liar!  He can’t even make his extra points consistently right now. That needs to and will change this week, if not then the Steelers are done. Special teams will ultimately determine the outcome of the Ravens game, they almost always do. If Boswell misses any kicks, it will spell doom for Pittsburgh. 

Lastly, how far can Big Ben carry this team?  It’s more evident this year than possibly ever before, this team relies on Ben Roethlisberger. He is still a top five quarterback in this league and he will need to make the plays against Baltimore to lead this team to victory.  It’s obvious, Ben can still extend plays, he can still shake off defenders and he can still defy  the odds by throwing across his body to make something out of nothing. That type of skill set is unmatched and one that will be needed against Baltimore this week.

Roethlisberger will lead this team to victory on Sunday night. It’s in his DNA to play well on the big stage with this team still needing a victory to keep their season moving forward. I don’t expect it to be easy. It may even be downright ugly. Don’t expect 300 yards for Big Ben, or even 100 yards from James Conner. Look for a more regimented, slow pace offense, ball control style, dump offs and short runs that allow the team to grind the clock and win late.

The Steelers will win the game on the final drive, in a lower scoring affair (for them anyway) 24-23.

 

9/18/18-Steel Nation Radio – Wrap Up of Chiefs Game, Bucs Preview

By: Mike Pelaia

I go off on the Chiefs game, discuss Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Ben Roethlisberger and give Keith Butler a lot of grief in this latest edition of Steel Nation Radio. 

In the coming weeks, get ready for Steel Nation TV as well! 

9/17/18-Steelers In Must Win Mode, Already (updated 9/20/18)

By: Mike Pelaia

I don’t know about you but I don’t feel like I have seen the 2018 Steelers yet. I expected a 2-0 start, not an 0-1-1 start. I certainly didn’t expect a must win game in week three on the road against a 2-0 Tampa Bay team who’s starting quarterback is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

I expected the team to be staring at 3-0 square in the face with a game against the Browns, who hadn’t won in 17 tries, a game against the Chiefs at home, whom the Steelers typically own and any team led by Fitzpatrick.

But the first two games went awry and now they face the hottest quarterback in the NFL in Fitzpatrick, who has thrown for over 800 yards already.

The Steelers won’t win this game next week if the secondary doesn’t show up. We’ll see if Joe Haden will play but even if he had this past week, Pat Mahomes would have torched them. Artie Burns has regressed, and I’ve gone from thinking he’s a top corner in the making to becoming concerned that he just may end up as a bust. 

Burns is not reliable, he’s hot headed and in my opinion he’s turning into William Gay, we know him because we see the back of his jersey all the time. If Burns can’t step up this week, with or without Haden in the lineup, Fitzpatrick may lead the Bucs to a 3-0 start and the Steelers may find themselves on a sinking ship. 

But more than the secondary, the blame for this teams’ defensive woes must fall on Keith Butler and Mike Tomlin. If they can’t find a way to coach these guys up, there needs to be changes made. Those changes should have been made last offseason with Butler, they weren’t, and that falls on Tomlin.

There are still no adjustments made in game and again, if this team wants to pick up their first win of 2018 this coming Monday night, Butler, Tomlin and their positional coaches better find a way to adjust to the game and even more so, not underestimate the opposition.

After the Chiefs game, Bud Dupree said the team underestimated Mahomes, they didn’t think he was as good as he turned out to be.  Where do you think that thought came from? They didn’t come up with it on their own, the coaches made the players think that way.

If they think that way about Fitzpatrick, which may be easy to do, given his history of being a backup who throws tons of interceptions, they will again be on the losing end of things this coming week.

But here’s the real news flash, the Steelers constantly get out schemed and out coached on a weekly basis, specifically by the opposing offense.  The reason they have won so many games over the past few seasons has been due to the extensive amount of talent their own offense has and they’ve been able to score points in droves.  Well, it appears that they’ll need to do it again this week in Tampa and beyond because this defense shows no reason to trust them.

When you have talents like Cam Heyward, Stephone Tuitt and TJ Watt; there is absolutely no reason this team should be allowing the chunks of yards and the amount of points they are.

But here we sit. 0-1-1 with a must win game.

But the Steelers can’t look squarely at the defense and throw blame on them the entire time. The offense isn’t without its problems and, ahem, drama.  Antonio Brown has certainly had a rough month or so with some on field displays and more off field antics.

Le’Veon Bell is just missing entirely and nobody knows when he’ll return. Even when he does come back, will it be too late, will he just bring trouble with him?

Chris Boswell better make his kicks this week in Tampa because at the moment, it seems he’s forgotten that the ball is supposed to go THROUGH the uprights, not around them. Get paid and then forget how to make kicks? Interesting.

Even Ben Roethlisberger has had his share of dud plays through the first two weeks, all in Cleveland but without them, the team sits 1-1 right now.  Roethlisberger can still lead this team to victory but he’s really going to need to show the locker room what kind of a leader he is, starting this week. If he can’t lead by example and get this mess turned around, all hell may break loose next Monday night as the Steelers find themselves 0-2-1. 

It’s hard to imagine that’s a real possibility but at this point, what have we seen to steer us away from at least admitting there is a chance at that.

Are the Steelers turning into a last place team in one off-season? No, but are they making the next step to the Super Bowl either? Absolutely not.

But should I even be talking about Super Bowl right now? Not really. Playoffs, nope. Winning just a single game at this point? Yes.

They must play a smooth, turnover free, mistake free, motivated game in Tampa or this season will be on the verge of over before it ever began.

I think they will do that though, on Monday night.  I think it can be good that Brown is now motivated. I think it could be a turning point, it sure needs to be, in the season.

I think James Conner will have another 100 yard game.  He couldn’t this past week because the game plan was thrown out the window in the first quarter. The team needs to ride Conner more in Tampa and not rely so much on Roethlisbergers arm.  The Steelers are far more successful when Roethlisbrerger throws less than 35 time, not the 60 he threw for last week.

Conner will be running behind a banged up offensive line, which won’t be beneficial. David Decastro will play if he can. Marcus Gilbert and Ramon Foster are hurt too. Who’s in, who’s out, will determine a lot on Monday night. Either way, BJ Finney and Matt Feiler will be pertinent to the success of Conner and the ground game.

A ball control offense will be the best defense this team can implement.

When they are on the field; I believe the defense will get after Fitzpatrick and force him into bad throws and gain sacks. They have to. If they don’t, with the secondary the way it is, he’ll make them pay.

“Fitzmagic” as they are calling him, will be licking his chops to face this depleted and weak secondary that the Steelers feature.  DeSean Jackson is a homerun threat on every play, as if we are back in 2012 again and he is a real threat to a Steelers secondary who lets everyone behind them.  The safeties must provide help to the corners. 

Butler may even need to consider playing nickel defense more often because he’ll need the extra guy in the secondary to provide help.

I’m looking for Terrell Edmunds to step up this week and show the talent that he has. It’s a lot to put on a rookie, but the team desperately needs him to make big plays.

It won’t be easy. Tampa is a hot team right now with a quarterback who is on fire but the Steelers will come out with a victory on Monday night. They have to. If they don’t, this season will go form bad to worse in a flash and the wheels may come flying off the train.

Steelers 35 Bucs 27

 

9/13/18-Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers

By: Mike Pelaia

 

 

After a dud of a game last week in which the Steelers tied the hapless Cleveland Browns, the black and gold come back home to play the 1-0 Kansas City Chiefs, who went into Los Angeles and handled the favored Chargers. 

The Steelers, looking for their first victory of the season, while also trying to avoid their first loss of the season, will need to get more out of their offense if they want to have a chance in this one.

Here are the keys to a Steeler victory:

1. After last week, how can anything other than protecting the football be number one on this list? The six turnovers last week, five by Ben Roethlisberger, were the reason the Steelers blew the game. They cannot do that again if they want to even remain in this contest.
2. The defense played well last week but the one thing they could have done more of is create turnovers.  I think they’ll need to get at least two turnovers this week against a potent Chiefs offense, led by Patrick Mahomes.
3. The defense will have their hands full with Tyreek Hill and they must find a way to contain the burner, who went for 169 yards in last weeks game. He’s a threat on offense and special teams and can change the game on any play. Keeping him to 5 catches and 50 yards should be a goal for the black and gold.
4. Ben Roethlisberger needs to throw less than 30 times this week. If he can throw in the mid 20’s and allow the running game, led by James Conner to lead the way, the Steelers will come out on top.

Here are a few things to watch:

1. James Conner-After an impressive first start, how will he follow it up? I’m not worried about the fumble he had, yes it was costly, but 192 total yards was pretty impressive as well I’d say.
2. TJ Watt – After a 3.5 sack performance, can Watt keep the pressure on and get another sack or two? Mahomes is mobile and the defense is going to need to keep him in the pocket.
3. Bud Dupree – Dupree had one of his better games as a pro last week. Can he follow that up again this week with a stellar performance?
4. The Inuries- Roethlisberger, David DeCastro and Joe Haden are all nursing injuries after last week. How effective will they be, if they play?

The Steelers may not have officially lost week but it sure did feel like one to anyone who watched the game. The Chiefs are a tougher test for them and a team who is very capable of beating them in Pittsburgh.

That said, the black and gold are too motivated this week to allow a loss to happen. The Steelers will win this game 31-20.   

9/11/18-Steel Nation Radio, Browns Wrap Up and Chiefs Preview

By: Mike Pelaia

I take on that dud of a tie between the Steelers and Browns, preview the upcoming match up with the Chiefs and discuss why the offense will explode this week.  

All right here:

9/10/18-That Won’t Happen Again

By: Mike Pelaia

Six turnovers, five of those by Ben Roethlisberger.

A blown 14-point fourth quarter lead, largely due to those turnovers.

Pouring rain.

An offense that wasn’t clicking due to not really playing together since January.

An injury to Joe Haden, the teams’ best corner, pulling him from the game.

While some of these things may happen again at some point this season, they won’t all happen in unison again and the Steelers will still be a Super Bowl contender. It was literally a perfect storm for the Cleveland Browns to snap a 17-game losing streak…without winning.

It was also a wakeup call to the black and gold who expect far more from themselves than a tie to the Cleveland Browns, no matter how many catastrophic events combine all at once.

This team will be in the mix. This team will still go 10-5-1, or better.  The tie will not prevent a Super Bowl run. 

It may, however, prevent a first round a bye.

It may also prevent the team from resting starters in the final week or two of the regular season, which after last years’ playoff loss and this season opener, is that really a bad thing?

The black and gold will be fine.

Roethlisberger is usually lights out after a bad game such as this and he’ll turn it around against Kansas City this week at home.  We all know Antonio Brown will put up numbers and at this point I’m more than confident in saying JuJu Smith-Schuster will too.

James Conner looks like the real deal, which doesn’t surprise me one iota and once Le’Veon Bell returns to the team, which he will, the team will have a two headed monster at running back that will be unrivaled by any other duo in the league. (They will need to hope Bell checks the drama at the door though)

If the team can run the ball more and take some throws away from Big Ben, the statistics say they have a better chance to win.

That’s what they will do this week against Kansas City. 

Chiefs have a susceptible defense and the Steelers are angry, you should fully expect a bounce back game with a victory this Sunday. You’ll see a new game plan. You’ll see more Conner. You’ll see a better Big Ben and the usual A.B. You’ll see over 30 points scored by the offense.

And you’ll see that dud from last week fade into the rear-view mirror.

The team will not have a game like they did last week. They won’t have one like that this week or for the remainder of the year.

That many bad things happening all at once is an anomaly, and oh yeah, they didn’t lose! 

It just won’t happen again. This team is too good and too motivated to allow it more than once in a year. Be thankful it happened when it did, in the opener against a Browns team that is probably the only one in the league that couldn’t turn that Steelers blunder into a true victory.

That may happen again for Cleveland, but it won’t for Pittsburgh.

9/7/18-Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns

By: Mike Pelaia

The Steelers open the season on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, a team who is typically lucky to win a game a year; and didn’t even do that in 2017. But this Cleveland team is a bit different, they are improved and have hopes of winning a handful of games, if not more. 

The Steelers are of the mindset that this year will be the year they win the Super Bowl and get past the New England Patriots. Like many years in the past, it starts off in Cleveland, playing the Browns in a stadium Ben Roethlisberger is 11-2 in, making him the winningest quarterback in the stadiums history.

Here are the keys to a Steeler victory:

1. As per usual when playing an inferior opponent, the Steelers cannot afford to make the costly mistakes, turnovers, dumb penalties or clock mismanagement. It’s those types of things that keep bad teams in games with them.
2. The defense is going to need to contain Tyrod Taylor to the pocket. If he gets outside of the pocket, he can make plays with his legs and this defense isn’t built to stop that.
3. The entire offense needs to pick up James Conner. He’s very capable of gaining 100 yards but they need to be there for him early, to help him shake any nerves he may have in his first pro start.
4. The offensive line needs to protect Big Ben from Myles Garrett. He’s a stud and can cause a lot of disruption.

Here are a few things to watch:

1. James Conner-How could he not top this list in his first pro start with the whole Le’Veon Bell cloud hanging over head.
2. TJ Watt – Last year he had a big game in the opener and I think he’ll do the same this go round. I’m looking for 3 sacks from Watt to start the season.
3. Terrell Edmunds – How will the Steelers first round pick do in his first regular season game? Pre-season is a far cry away from regular season speed, will he be ready?
4. Bruce Arians in the booth, Todd Haley now the OC of the Browns and Randy Fichtner the new OC for the black and gold. These are the three most recent OC’s for the Steelers, all different in personalities, styles and opinions and it will just be interesting to see the game called on the field being analyzed by Arians in the booth at the same time.

The Steelers will win this game 27-17. It may be close at times but the black and gold are too good, too experienced and very ready to prove Le’Veon Bell they can win without him.  

9/5/18-PODCAST – Steel Nation Radio Steelers at Browns Preview

By: Mike Pelaia

I got back to the grind and recorded a new show for the first time in months. Find out what I think about this weeks season opener right here:  

9/1/18-Seven Reason Why Steelers Will, Won’t Win Super Bowl This Season

By: Mike Pelaia

As the Steelers embark on yet another season, the time to think about Lombardi Trophy number seven is here.  Every season, I’ve written about the seven reasons why the Steelers will finally hoist that seventh trophy and the seven reasons why they won’t. 

With that said, let’s dive in and find out why the Steelers will win the Lombardi this season.

 

1. Number 7 – Number 7 is always number one on this list. Ben Roethlisberger is the key to this team’s success. He can easily be voted the team MVP on an annual basis and somehow he continues to get better with age.  With new Offensive Coordinator Randy Fichtner seemingly opening up the play book for Ben a bit more this year; Roethlisberger may have an even bigger impact on the offense than in recent years.  I fully expect more no huddle and, gasp, quarterback sneaks.

 

2. The rest of the Killer B’s – The Steelers have arguably the best offensive trio in the NFL with Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Brown and Bell will have huge years as well.  The Steelers need these guys and their big play ability on a weekly basis.  Wile both guys are easier to replace than Big Ben, they are extremely important to this teams success and the entire flow of the game.  How can opposing defenses consistently stop this group? It won’t be easy.

 

3. Special Teams – I believe special teams will be a strength for the black and gold this year. With ace kicker Chris Boswell using his toe to put up points every week at a consistent rate and the addition of Ryan Switzer to the return game, this unit can be counted on to score points, change field position and therefore change outcomes of ball games.

 

4. Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt – The Steelers sport two extremely talented defensive ends. They are both nightmares for offensive lineman, running backs and quarterbacks alike. In my opinion these two are the defensive anchors and will need to set the tone on the line in order for the rest of the defense to be successful.

 

5. TJ Watt – I expect Watt to take a huge leap this year from being good in 2017 to great in 2018. I think he has the potential to sack the quarterback ten times this season and if the Steelers let him loose, possibly more.  He can be a key cog on the defensive side of the ball and a potential leader of a linebacking group that needs one.

 

6. The offensive line – The Steelers have one of the best offensive lines in the entire league. This unit is capable of protecting Big Ben, allowing time for him to get the ball downfield, breaking open holes for Bell in the running game and most importantly they’ve played together for a long time and are an extremely cohesive unit.

 

7. The Steelers learn form the Jacksonville loss – I think the Steelers will learn from the devastating playoff loss to the Jaguars last January. It was a game they should and could have won but failed to sufficiently prepare for the team that knocked them out. I believe they will learn from that mistake and use it as fuel for the 2018 fire.

 

Just as there are seven reasons the Steelers will win the Super Bowl this year, there are seven reasons they won’t capture the coveted Lombardi as well.

 

1. Big Ben gets hurt – If Roethlisberger goes down, it’s curtains for the Steelers. Sure, they may be able to win a game or two in the regular season but I wouldn’t expect a Nick Foles situation to occur in the postseason.

 

2. The Patriots – Until the Steelers do it, how can anyone think they can get past the Patriots, especially in the playoffs?

 

3. The defense – While I think they are improved and are capable of becoming memorable, I also think they have some major weaknesses. I’m not convinced the linebackers are great (outside of Watt) and the secondary is still a big question mark for me. I need to see them become more consistent in their play.

 

4. A lack of discipline – One thing that has plagued this team over recent years has been a lack of discipline both on and off the field. Personal fouls and dumb penalties are possible on any play with this team and off the field suspensions, Twitter posts and drama seem to follow these guys around as well. If they fail to fix this, they won’t be successful.

 

5. Clock Management – Mike Tomlin has notoriously been a bad game manager, specifically with the clock. If he can’t get the timeouts right or make the right calls to impact the game in the crucial moments, they won’t reach their goal.

 

6. Not getting a bye – I think this team needs to gain a top two seed in order to advance deep into the playoffs. Having that first round bye will be critical, despite what happened last year.

 

7. The Refs – Yep, I said it. The NFL Refs are bad and they could easily mess up a call that may impact the outcome of the season. The Jesse James catch from last year, anyone?

 

Time will tell which list is correct but if you ask me, I think the Steelers are staring at an 11-5 regular season and are going win it all this year.   This is their time.

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