Week 13 Analysis: Cincinatti @ Pittsburgh

December 3rd, 2007 1:20 am
by Big Dog

It was another wet night at Heinz Field as the Pittsburgh Steelers played host to the Cincinnati Bengals. Even with the rain, the field was in much better condition than last Monday night, and this made for a much more eventful game.

In the early stages Cincinnati QB Carson Palmer and the Bengals looked to be in excellent form, despite the conditions, as they moved down the field smoothly and opened the scoring for both teams with a touchdown. While Palmer looked like he was handling the wet comfortably, Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger looked anything but comfortable. The ball was coming out of his hand in an awkward fashion with most of his early passes being high and wobbly.

The momentum shifted early in the second quarter as Roethlisberger found his rhythm and got into the flow of the game, leading the Steelers on a 67 yard drive that ended in a six yard dive from Roethlisberger to score Pittsburgh’s first TD. From there on Pittsburgh dominated the scoring, piling on a further 17 points that included two TD passes to FL Hines Ward that saw Ward passing the Steelers’ All Time team record for TD receptions.

In the end, the Steelers held on for the win, although it looked more comfortable than it was. Turnovers were a big part of the story and the only statistic where the Bengals performed better than the Steelers. Officially the Bengals had one turnover to the Steelers’ four. This figure doesn’t include the fumble by Steelers’ HB Willie Parker that was overturned after a challenge by Head Coach Mike Tomlin. It also doesn’t include the fumble by Parker that was ruled down by contact on the field and upheld after the challenge by Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis. It also doesn’t count the safety scored by the Bengals that was reversed by an illegal holding penalty and it doesn’t include the turnover on downs that the Bengals would have won late in the game which was also reversed by a penalty call.

For the Bengals the biggest issue is clearly team discipline, but we’ve all known that for years. Either Cincinnati will find a way to deal with this problem, or all their players will retire. It’s just a question of which happens first.

For the Steelers, Parker’s fumbling troubles have got to be a major concern coming into the business end of the season and given the current injury concerns surrounding Parker’s replacement HB Najeh Davenport. The question is, did Parker just have a bad night in bad conditions? Or is there a bigger problem? This is bound to be something that the New England Patriots will test next week.

Posted in Analysis, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals, Game, Hines Ward, Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, NFL, NFL Coaches, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Players, NFL on NBC, NFL on television, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Willie Parker | No Comments »

NFL Week 3 Featured Preview: San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers

September 20th, 2007 10:12 pm
by Pro Set

San Francisco (2-0) at Pittsburgh (2-0) 1pm ET on FOX

This is a rare interconference meeting between undefeated clubs. San Francisco has never visited Heinz Field. So this match might double as a chance for the blue collar Steel City to see a man in a designer suit: the well dressed SF coach Mike Nolan. Nolan, however, is meant to suit up only for home games. And if Flashdance taught us anything, it might be that Pittsburgh ladies are attracted to stylish bosses.

Pittsburgh has obviously been very impressive so far. RB Willie Parker has rushed for over 100 yards in both matches. With G Alan Faneca and T Marvel Smith, the left side of PIT O-line is the key to the running game. I expect PIT to be patient with the rushing attack. Arizona was able to run with some success between the tackles against the 3-4 SF defense. What I have not seen so far from the SF D-line is dominant penetration and play disruption. If this cannot be manufactured, the SF linebackers will have to take on the lead blocks of PIT FB Dan Kreider before they can even get to Parker. My prediction is that PIT will run the ball well enough to force S Michael Lewis to spend early downs close to the line of scrimmage.

The return to confidence of QB Ben Roethlisberger has been pivotal. The receiving duo of WR Hines Ward and WR Santonio Holmes provides a genuine threat. If the weather holds, the success of the Pittsburgh passing game will be a function of the pass protection and SF coverage ability. If PIT can rush the ball as described above, then SF will be forced to play a lot of Cover 3 or even play straight up man-to-man on the outside. I expect that SF will have the confidence to attempt this strategy. CB Nate Clements and CB Walt Harris have played very well so far. I would like to see PIT stretch the SF secondary early, and then use the solid running game to set up deep curls against the Cover 3 defense. For the 49ers, DE Bryant Young and his mates must get a solid pass rush happening.

If PIT does not run the ball well, SF has a real chance to win this game. Facing two good corners, any 3rd & long situation will leave Roethlisberger with difficult throws into a hungry and confidant secondary.

When SF has the ball, RB Frank Gore will need to have a stellar performance to keep the offense on the field. It seems certain that PIT will be set to stop the run early. I think that SF will have to take a chance and throw some deep play-action routes early in the game. SF has a clear offensive philosophy of run-first, and I expect PIT initially to respect the play-action. This means that WR Darrell Jackson must have safe hands, and that TE Vernon Davis must get a clean release to provide SF QB Alex Smith with a viable central passing option. With PIT S Troy Polamalu always looking to torpedo the run on early downs, I would like SF (early in the match) to try a max-protect, double tight end, play action pass on a TE post route to Vernon Davis in behind the PIT linebackers.

As nice as that sounds, the pressure will be on the SF O-line. G Larry Allen and T Jonas Jennings are past their prime, but can clearly still play. With the PIT tendency to look for tackles behind the line of scrimmage, I have always felt that the Steelers are liable to be hit by the big play, and if Frank Gore can hit a hole on a PIT blitz, he can rip off some large chunks. Gore must be protected against the PIT inside linebackers hitting the A and B gaps. This will mean that if the 49ers FB Moran Norris can stun the linebackers, Gore can get some momentum behind the rushing game.

Overall, PIT looks too strong at home. PIT has a solid rushing game complemented by a Superbowl winning QB under center. I just cannot see SF winning this match without deep early strikes and a positive turnover margin. Both of these things will be difficult to achieve. I think that the PIT O-line will provide enough protection for Roethlisberger to find open receivers, regardless of the quality of the SF secondary.

Prediction: PIT
Line: PIT

Posted in Alan Faneca, Alex Smith, Analysis, Ben Roethlisberger, Bryant Young, Darrell Jackson, Frank Gore, Game, Hines Ward, Marvel Smith, Michael Lewis, Mike Nolan, NFL, NFL Coaches, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Game Previews, Nate Clements, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Santonio Holmes, Troy Polamalu, Vernon Davis, Walt Harris, Willie Parker | No Comments »