Gameplan to beat the Patriots

I would like to see Fort get more playing time, Spence looked slow in the Ravens game.

 

wtf Pats jumped up to 5th in ppg on defense and we are 7th. They were like 20th 3 weeks ago LOL

 

Pats D always seems to peak when about to play Steelers.

 

sad but true.

raisins D was top 5 in everything and had 3 shut outs but you know what happened there.

Ben takes over the game we win. Haley interferes we lose.

brown will be doubled

 

Hope JuJu can play... he's questionable. Not having McDonald sucks. JJ and X-man will have to pick up the slack. Bell and TEs can exploit Pats D. Ben needs to take what the Pats D gives him... and not try to get the bomb to AB every time.

 

this is our SB. ben is fantastic at home vs the road.

 

i think fort has to play a lot in this one. he can stay with gronk if need be. will they call the push offs is the question.

 

This is not our Super Bowl. AFC title game is our Super Bowl before the Super Bowl.

 

the super bowl is the super bowl. anything less is unacceptable. we fear no team.

 

Taking lessons off Tomlin, mac?

 

Step 1. Play less zone.
Step 2. Dline must win the battle in the trenches to apply pressure on Brandy.
Step 3. No stupid penalties. You cannot afford to give these cheats free first downs.
4. Watch Brandy get knocked down, pressured, and cry.

 

I would do the same thing they did to the Ravens. Put the ball in Bens hand....let him pick apart the Pats D. Score early and often.

Pats best O player is obviously Brady....the story on him has always been the same.....pressure him, hit him, rattle him. Those things are hard to do because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. Thats why you need to play press man coverage and throw off the timing of those quick strikes

Pats best D player.....Also Brady.....The Pats keep pushing that score...making your offense one sided and letting their Defense pin the ears back and take chances knowing that Brady will keep pouring on the points.

So IMO you take a page out of their playbook.

Let Ben pass all over them....Hit his 4th 500 yard game....Keep scoring....then let the Pats be the ones who are playing from behind....Let the Steelers pin their ears back and meet up at Brady

HACK

 

Send all the receivers that catch the ball in front of the lb's between the hash marks on crossing routes to the blue tent.

 

What’s the knock on Fort...run defense?

 

This.

 

Making plays. Creating turnovers and capitalizing on opportunites. excellent execution, or you have to make up for that with spectacular plays to counter errors.

+DSecondary- when it is doing its job (and not getting out of position or getting penalities) this is one of the best performing steelers secondary's ive seen (but thats not saying a whole lot). Whether you want to blame the past losses on scheme or whatever, this unit is going to need to stop the Patriots passing offense from being scoring, and be creating turnovers is the most effective way to do that.
+Defensive Line- get their hands up and into passing lanes and generally making plays ; chasing down running backs from behind; getting to the quarterback if possible.
+OBen will have to be accurate and not afraid to take risks down the field. Get into a rhythm of production, at whatever level. This passing offense needs to be very productive, to keep up with the patriots offense which is usually very productive.
+O line getting push and keeping guys occupied enough.
+O dynamic 2nd receiver- is going to have to have some big plays. Martavius or JJ are my best bets.

 

I agree, and maybe I missed it but something that wasn't touched on to much was the game plan we used. Ben spread the ball around, we had 4 guys with 10 or more target with JJ coming up with 10 catches totally throwing off the Ravens. No huddle, quick passes and spread the ball around all while making sure our play makers (Bell and AB) do their thing.

On defense tight at the LOS and pressure up the middle in Marsha's face. I would like to see Hilton on Gronk with some help of course cause he isn't shutting Gronk down alone.

Score TD's and put the pressure on the Cheats and watch them fold!!!!!!!!

 

Pressure the Qb and hit receivers at LOS play tight to the receiver all over field.

 

Let's get this straight. This is a HUGE game for us, but is it a must win?

I say absolutely not! We are already in the playoffs. Those are the only must win games.

That said, it would sure be nice to only have to play 2 to get to the big one. Even nicer to play both at home.

 

True but it would do a lot for their confidence, with the AFCCG at home I like their chances and knowing they beat the Pats earlier.

 

Big games have to come from Vince, Tuitt, Heyward and Fort/Spence. Interior pressure is without a doubt key.


I suspect though that T.J. Watt and Mike Hilton are going to be targeted early and often by Brady and Gronk for certain.


Worried big time about Burns and Davis though.

 

From Pats Forum:

Greetings all and Happy Holidays! Hope you’re all staying out of the cold – it’s toasty here in LA (but maybe that’s because most of the state is on fire??)

Here is my annual Steelers ‘State of the Union’. Instead of a standard offense/defense breakdown, I thought I’d switch it up a bit and look at some common ‘takes’ on the game and the Steelers, and why I agree or disagree with them.

As always, I’m hoping for an X’s and O’s discussion…I won’t take offense if there’s trash talk (it *is* a Pats Fanatics board!) but I’m very unlikely to partake myself, as that’s not really my thing.


Overview

Counting the playoffs last year, the Steelers are 20-3 over their past 23 games. Their sparkling 11-2 record leads the AFC; they have an explosive offense that includes an All-World wideout, a potential HoF QB, and an All-Pro RB; and they have a defense that sports a bevy of high-round picks and is enjoying its best statistical season in many years. To top it off, they play *at home* in a game that could secure HFA throughout the playoffs by the end of week 14.

So…life is good in Steeltown, right?

Well, kinda.

The Steelers are also maddeningly inconsistent, often exhibiting dominance and ineptitude within the confines of a single game. They are loaded with young, talented players who will occasionally flash, but often do not play to the level of their draft pedigree. Like a classic streak shooter in basketball, if you allow them to get going, they will look unstoppable…but they lack the underlying fundamentals and maturity to be reliably excellent. For all of its success, Pittsburgh is one of the most enigmatic and highly-scrutinized teams in football. And deservedly so.


Take 1: “Pittsburgh’s defense will struggle to stop New England’s backs and TEs, and will have trouble getting off the field.”

Verdict – overwhelmingly true.

From a pure football standpoint, the Shazier injury is devastating on several fronts. Without Shazier’s sideline-to-sideline speed, Pittsburgh becomes extremely vulnerable to perimeter runs. Shazier is also a premier coverage linebacker – there is no ILB left on the roster with his range, ability to get depth, or playmaking ability. And to boot, he’s the primary playcaller for the defense.

Due to an injury to Shazier’s primary backup, Pittsburgh is left with a rotation of a converted OLB (Arthur Moats), a player just signed off the street (Sean Spence), and a special teams player (LJ Fort); the dropoff between Shazier and these players is massive. Where Shazier has elite traits, these players possess only borderline NFL qualities.

In short, it’s hard to imagine Pitt not getting absolutely *worked* in the middle of the field with Burkhead, Lewis, and White. Lewis in particular should be able to turn stretch plays into long runs. Pitt may counter with more dime, and they may move Sean Davis, an athletic safety with some cover ability, closer to the LoS. But this is all just lipstick on a pig stuff.

The Pats have a titanic advantage here, and without significant pressure up front Pittsburgh may have consistent problems getting off on 3rd down.


Take 2: “New England will carve up Pittsburgh zone coverage scheme like they always do.”

Verdict – true, but with some caveats.

Pitt overhauled their CB depth chart in the offseason, and one reason was a stated desire to be able to mix man-to-man into their coverages more often. Pitt is roundly criticized for not playing more press coverage against the Pats, but the reality is, they have lacked the personnel to play man – lost in last year’s playoff loss was the fact that Brady shredded Pitt’s brief attempts at man coverage as readily as he did their zone coverages.

So zone cover guys like Ross Cockrell and William Gay were traded or demoted, and more man-ready corners like Joe Haden and 3rd round draft pick Cam Sutton were added to a group that already included 2016 first rounder Artie Burns (also man-capable).

That all said, Haden may not play, and Sutton is probably too green to hold up over 60 minutes (having been injured himself most of the year). Burns is talented but wildly inconsistent (think: Pitt’s version of an early-season Stephon Gilmore).

But Haden has been practicing, and Sutton’s gotten a lot of reps over the past two games… so there is a scenario where Pittsburgh actually mixes in some effective press coverage. They did this with success in Pitt’s 2011 home victory, so it’s not entirely unprecedented. If Pitt can get interior pressure from Heyward and Tuitt (more on that later), and Artie Burns plays like the ‘good’ version of himself, Pitt may be able to at least slow down the NE passing attack.

Of course, that’s an awful lot of ifs.


Take 3: “Ben Roethlisberger is done, or at least on a steep decline.”

Verdict: largely false.

There is no question that Roethlisberger looked shaky in the opening weeks of the season. Jags game aside, he appeared generally tentative and out of sync, and showed uncharacteristic inaccuracy down the field. Bottom line, he simply didn’t pass the eye test, and I admit that I had some doubts myself about whether we might be at the end of the road.

However, over the last couple of months – and in particular, the past four weeks or so – we have been an abrupt about-face from Roethlisberger’s early season performance. Putting the gaudy statistics aside for a moment, Ben now looks poised and confident, and has been delivering the ball on time with exceptional accuracy. (Lost in AB’s statistical bonanza has been the consistently excellent downfield ‘bucket’ throws that Ben has teed up for him).

At a time where Pitt’s defense has stumbled, and the team as a whole has struggled to deal with the aftermath of the Shazier injury, the return to form by Big Ben has been a massive (and somewhat under-the-radar) development. His continued excellent play is Pitt’s best hope for a deep run into the playoffs.


Take 4: “If Jay Cutler and Kenyon Drake can do THAT, Pittsburgh’s offense will destroy the NE defense.”

Verdict: Not so fast…

I’ve struggled to accurately quantify what BB and the rest of New England’s (peerless!) coaching staff mean on any given Sunday. I used to say it was like a HFA advantage (i.e. 3 point swing in betting circles) every game. I later felt it was more like 7 points. I now wonder if it isn’t more like 10 points – or maybe, the equivalent of having an exfra All-Pro on the field at all times.

Regardless, I’ve long since learned that it’s absurd to compare players on a head-to-head basis when BB is involved – he’s like a multiplier that makes every player the best possible version of themselves, playing in the best possible scenarios to succeed.

Certainly, most pro personnel people would prefer to have Pitt’s “triplets” over the likes of Cutler and Drake and Devante Parker, and would Pitt’s offensive line over Miami’s. On paper, it would appear that New England’s depleted front 7 will be overmatched. But I expect NE to have some success taking away Antonio Brown, and I’m not sure Pitt can match Brady score-for-score if they are relying largely on Bell to carry the day.

This is where some of the ‘bit actors’ in Pittsburgh’s offense can play a major role. If players like JuJu and Jesse James can have success moving the chains in the middle of the field, it could have a significant impact, and keep Pitt from having to rely solely on whichever big weapon BB elects to *not* take away.

New England’s offense also is a factor here – if Pitt’s D cannot get off the field, can Roethlisberger continue to be patient and take what’s given, even as he feels the pressure to continue to match NE’s scoring? Big Ben has a gunslinger mentality, and patience is not his best virtue. This game could come apart if Ben starts forcing things down the field.


Take 5: “New England owns Pittsburgh and Brady owns Pitt’s defense. This game will be over before it starts.”

Verdict: Again, not so fast…

If I were betting, I’d bet the Patriots, because they have the biggest matchup advantage in the game. And it’s always foolish to bet against a team with a GOAT coach and QB. So let’s get that out of the way.

Still, this is the best Pittsburgh team in a long while, playing at home. Pittsburgh is both an improved team, and a substantially healthier team, over what it was last January. It will be a super-charged atmosphere, with the Steelers crowd riding an emotional wave, with both the Pats coming to town and the continued aftermath of the Shazier injury. At home, in national bigtime games, Big Ben and Pittsburgh have historically have put on their best performances. The offense has been hot of late, with 133 points over the past 4 games. Warts and inconsistencies aside, Pittsburgh’s *ceiling* may be as high as any team’s in the league, and when they’re on they can be a load for any team to handle.

So while I’ve seen many posters here approaching the game with a yawn and expectations of 3TD+ margins of victory, I don’t expect it to play out that way.

I think there’s an overlooked mismatch in Pittsburgh’s favor that is Pittsburgh’s best hope for turning the game. Pittsburgh’s defensive front – specifically, their defensive linemen (Stephon Tuitt, Cameron Heyward, Javon Hargrave) is the best and deepest group they’ve had in years. Heyward gets lost behind some of the stars that play his position, but he has been truly dominant for large stretches this year. Tuitt is arguably a superior physical talent that has struggled with injuries; but when on the field he has been nearly as dominant as Heyward. It’s a unit that’s exceptionally quick, strong, and deep, and most importantly can provide interior pressure directly into the face of the QB.

Heyward was injured last year, and Tuitt and Hargrave have only recently started to come into their own, so this is not really a group that the Pats’ offensive line has seen at full strength.

I think this is where the game will be won or lost. If Pittsburgh can successfully exploit the absence of Cannon, and if Thuney continues to struggle, I think the game will be a dogfight. If however, Scars makes the adjustments and the Pats’ OL holds up, then Pats nation might get the 40-burger and 3TD margin they’ve been predicting.


Prediction:

As we all well know, games are not won and lost on the gridiron…they are debated endlessly on fan forums like this, and the outcomes are determined based solely on the strength of arguments. (Why they actually still play the games is beyond me lol)

So here’s my argument:

I could go with a purely analytical prediction (and I think you know what that would be, based on the above). But what’s the fun in that??

So, for the 2nd straight year, I’ll go with a prediction that’s more ‘aspirational’ than ‘analytical’. I’ll say that the game plays out in the best possible fashion for the Steelers: the Pats OL struggles to contain the Steelers’ defensive front, which slows down the NE attack justenough; Pittsburgh gets enough production from its complementary players on offense in the middle of the field, which helps open things up for its offensive stars; and Pittsburgh ‘gets going’ early on, and like a streak shooter, rides an emotional wave in front of a frenzied home crowd on its way to victory.

Pitt 31, NE 27


Best of luck Sunday to a great (and INJURY-FREE) game,


lillloyd

 

Somebody on defense needs to come out and set a tone, like when Ryan Clark laid out Wes Welker .

 

Heck I would have no problem if they hit him in pregame.......

 

How about winning the game instead of worrying about laying someone out.

Should I do the facepalm or should I let you do the honors?