tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29893900.post5554487636272975427..comments2024-03-18T17:36:55.778-04:00Comments on Mondesi's House: AT LEAST WE DIDN'T LOSE BY 25 TO THE DOLPHINSmondesishousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16196483886553780303noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29893900.post-31856705021677647672008-09-22T17:30:00.000-04:002008-09-22T17:30:00.000-04:00The Steelers aren't who we thought they were.To pa...The Steelers aren't who we thought they were.<BR/><BR/>To paraphrase Denny Green.Real McCoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15032230699056933516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29893900.post-86666016284471007192008-09-22T11:51:00.000-04:002008-09-22T11:51:00.000-04:00Just remember that the Ravens two victories have a...Just remember that the Ravens two victories have also come against winless teams. The Monday nighter will be an important indicator of things to come. <BR/><BR/>I totally agree about the idea of a screen pass to Willie sprinkled in there somewhere. I was thinking that all game.<BR/><BR/>An Troy's interception wasn't just an interception. It was an INCREDIBLE interception. What an athletic play!LeeTunnelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16809553323893435128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29893900.post-83530773747284472562008-09-22T11:39:00.000-04:002008-09-22T11:39:00.000-04:00In lieu of my previously long-winded comments, I t...In lieu of my previously long-winded comments, I think this game can be summed up in a single sentence fragment: Philadelphia: desperate and prepared, Pittsburgh: lackadaisical, sloppy, unprepared.<BR/><BR/>The defense, to their credit, played their asses off, negating Ben Roethlisbergers three turnovers with three of their own. They gave Pittsburgh EVERY opportunity in the world to win this game, but the offense just could not put together any semblance of organization. I'm sorry, but there is no way I will believe that the Steelers are -that- putrid offensively.<BR/><BR/>It's easy to point fingers after a loss, which I will proceed to do right now. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians (and maybe coach Mike Tomlin as well) once again showed that he is very quick to push the panic button. Soon after Philadelphia scored their only touchdown, Arians went right back to what wasn't working for the Steelers in the latter part of the '07 season. The offense gambled WAAAY too much trying to get the big play in the second quarter. Pittsburgh never once tested the will of the small (yet fast) Philadelphia defense. Instead of trying to establish any semblance of a balanced offensive attack, they decided to look for the high risk/high reward plays. Granted, Willie Parker was not blowing through the Philly defense with ease, but he also only had 13 carries in what was a 10-6 game well into the 4th quarter, which, in my opinion, is ridiculous and unacceptable. I ask, with two very good running backs, is it really that difficult to mix in a screen pass or a draw play to keep a team that is blitzing relentlessly, honest? After seeing your franchise quarterback getting sacked and/or mauled on EVERY single pass play, maybe you might want to try something else? Maybe, just maybe, you can gain some sort of rhythm with your offensive line if you allow them to go out and bang on the smaller Philly defense for a few series? Last I checked, it is ok to try and run to give your offense manageable 3rd down situations (rather than 3rd & 8+). It's not like Pittsburgh needed 3 touchdowns to tie the game. 2 more Jeff Reed field goals could have been the difference.<BR/><BR/>With that out of the way, I don't want to take anything away from Philly's defense, as they played a fantastic game. The coverage was awesome, the blitzing confused the hell out of Pittsburgh all afternoon, and played a significant role in forcing them out of any sort of rhythm.<BR/><BR/>Troy Polamalu's interception was incredible. The guy seemingly wanted to make DeSean Jackson pay every single time he touched the ball, getting into his head and taking him out of the game after the first half. Welcome to the NFL DeSean. He also appeared to bloody the nose of tight end L.J. Smith late in the 1st half.<BR/><BR/>Credit has to go to Philadelphia's punter as well as he was clutch throughout the second half, repeatedly pinning the Steelers inside their own 10...which doesn't help anything when you can't move the ball.<BR/><BR/>The offensive line was awful. There isn't much more to say about them. The Steelers were forced to abandon the game plan and kept both Heath Miller and Mewelde Moore in to block on passing downs just to try and provide more protection for #7, yet that tactic still did not work with any degree of success. I still cannot believe how awful the pass protection was.<BR/><BR/>If Philadelphia was able to destroy the Steeler offensive line with such ease, it makes me shudder to think what Baltimore will be able to do. As stated earlier, I really do not think the Steelers are -that- bad. Baltimore will struggle to score on the Pittsburgh defense, but I have a feeling that Pittsburgh will have a difficult time trying to score on Baltimore as well. Again, this is a home game on Monday night following a game where Pittsburgh was basically humiliated, so chances are they will probably focus on doing what they do best and not reading about how great they are and how they are now the team to beat in the AFC, etc etc etc. Reason being, if they lose on Monday night they won't even be the team to beat in the AFC North.Someone Somewherehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12925623709780529874noreply@blogger.com