Browns at Steelers Wrap-Up, Steelers at Panthers Preview

Last week they easily rolled up the hapless Cleveland Browns. They did it with a dominating run game that simply could not be stopped. It would be nice if this were a trend, or how the Steelers are truly capable of playing. It isn�t. The Browns have the 30^th ranked run defense, and they were without their best defensive linemen.

The difference between this game and the last one against Cleveland, or any other game, was Kendall Simmons and Max Starks. Instead of facing Orpheus Roye, they faced back-up Simon Fraser. They were easily able to get a push, and this allowed Faneca to get to Cleveland�s LB�s. Faneca is the best pulling guard in the league. It just shows the obvious - Simmons needs replacing, and maybe even Starks. The few games Simmons has had success, such as against Miami and Cincinnati, the Steelers run game has clicked. Starks remains weak, especially his pass protection, but there is no bigger weakness on this team than Simmons.

Carolina�s DL is hyped, but simply has not produced this season. Peppers is fourth in the league in sacks with 11, but he is there lone pass rusher. Rucker is washed up, and unable to get to the QB, which is crippling their defense. They have a strong secondary, but like any other in the league, they will get shredded if QB�s are given all day. This isn�t a blitzing team. They will only call a few over the course of an average game, and it�s almost always an interior blitz. The guy to watch for is MLB Chris Draft. They run a lot of stunts on their DL as opposed to bringing pressure.

Julius Peppers on Max Starks in the passing game is a mismatch if I�ve ever seen one (especially on the road). Peppers is an elite speed rusher. Starks is slow and clumsy. His technique is awful. Peppers can still take over a game, and he�s done it several times this season. I expect him to have a 2-3 sack day. The good news is that Roethlisberger is looking like his old self when it comes to getting out of the pocket and making throws on the run.

I can�t see Smith struggling with Rucker. Smith may struggle against a faster DE like Freeney, but he�ll have no problem against a 31 year old who has lost his quickness. I don�t expect big problems, but Jenkins is still a good pass rushing DT, and could give Faneca some problems. Simmons has to worry about the same thing from wave d-lineman Damione Lewis. Kemoeatu shouldn�t get anywhere near Roethlisberger.

I like the Panthers secondary when healthy. Both starting CB�s (Gamble and Lucas) were out last week against the Giants. They were starting scrub Christian Morton, but even he went down. I�ve said this for the past few weeks, but it�s even more true this time around. The Steelers have to be prepared for Carolina to start to blitzing more. It isn�t their normal strategy, but if their secondary is this depleted come Sunday, it has to be an option they look at. Defenses often times come more active when they lose starters to compensate.

The Panthers are the 28^th ranked team in the league when it comes to defending TE�s. Panther�s have a mediocre LB�ing core, but it goes beyond that. There corners struggle with bigger targets like TE�s. They remind me a bit of the Steelers corners. Heath Miller should have a fairly big day working them underneath, and has to be the go-to guy in the redzone this week.

This is an undermanned Panther�s defense. The Steelers will be getting Ward, and possibly even Wilson back to the line-up this weekend. Outside of Peppers, this is not a defense that gets after the QB. The Steelers will have success throwing the ball.

I sum it up like this - the Steelers biggest weakness will be going up against Carolina�s biggest weakness. The Panther�s run defense has a big chink in its armor, and it�s the pricey free agent pick-up from Baltimore, Maake Kemoeatu. The man is 350 pounds, but plays like he�s on ice. The rest of their DL holds its ground, but he consistently gets moved backwards or washed completely out of the play. I actually think this is a match-up Simmons can win one-on-one. It�s the key match-up in the run game. Hartings and Faneca will destroy any of these LB�s at the second level. They are one of the smallest LB�ing cores in the league. They need to be able to get the second level first, though.

The Steelers offense SHOULD be able to roll over this defense in both the running and passing games.

The Panthers have struggled all year long. They average just 17.4 points a game (28^th in the league). They convert just 29% of their third downs, and average just 29 minutes of time of possession. This is a team that wants to base its offense around a power running game and the play-action, but they can�t. They lack the run game to do it, and their receivers outside of Smith are unable to get separation on their own.

That leads to an offense that lacks explosiveness. They have just 29 plays over 20 yards, and Steve Smith accounts for 15 of those. They have just 7 plays over 40 yards, and Smith accounts for 4 of them. While he may be the best receiver in the game, he gets little help from his QB, run game, or fellow receivers.

Keyshawn Johnson was brought in to compliment Smith, and he�s still a capable possession guy. He lacks speed to get deep, though, and while big, he does not know how to use his size. They try to throw him jump balls and involve him in the vertical passing game, but he just can�t get it done. Everyone saw the fades they tried to throw him in the end zone. He played them poorly (resulting in the pick at the end). The one he caught, he didn�t even jump or extend his arms for. The third one he ran too far inside, resulting in the INT. This is a guy I expect a physical corner like McFadden to excel against. They may try some double-fakes at him, but he�s shown a lot of discipline to this point, and I trust him to get the job done this week.

The real problem is always Steve Smith. He can take over a game, as everyone knows. I think everyone knows that him on Townsend is a complete mismatch, and I would be stunned if a desperate Carolina team does not try to take shots down field to him, even if that means just throwing some passes up for grabs. Both safeties will most likely miss the game again. Anthony Smith will be tested to his fullest in this game. This is as good a measuring stick as there is, besides maybe Cinci.

Drew Carter is still somewhat of a risk getting down field. He�s got great size, and some speed. He�s still not very good, though. Taylor has struggled big time for much of this season, especially these last few weeks. There�s no way he should be giving up a big play against him.

The Panther�s offensive line is shaky, specifically the interior. Their RG and C are both poor blockers, and I expect them to struggle to pick up LeBeau�s blitzes. Farrior and Foote could have some success on the interior. Delhomme doesn�t seem to trust this banged up line, which is another factor in their lack of ability to get down field. Even when they do pick up the blitz, he seems to rush his throws. I do expect him to play this week.

It�s almost unpredictable what he could do. While struggling most of the season, the Steelers have a habit of making shitty QB�s look good. Delhomme makes poor decisions and throws a lot of high-risk passes. The bad news is that it may actually benefit him against this secondary. Denver, Atlanta and Cincinnati threw the ball up and asked their receivers to make plays. They trust Steve Smith to do that. This is still the passing game that lit the Ravens up. It all comes down to the confidence of Delhomme, and hitting the big play. There�s no way they can drive the ball consistently on the Steelers.

The Panthers are a bit like the Steelers here. They always have a run game that�s reputation does not match its production. Foster is one of the most overrated RB�s in the league, and the Steelers have nothing to fear of him. DeAngelo Williams, on the other hand, was the guy I liked the most coming out of the draft (Bush excluded). Others have gotten the credit, but Williams has done a good deal with his limited opportunities. He is averaging 4.6 YPC, and has racked up 655 total yards. He is a big time threat in the passing game (averages 10.2 YPC). If a team isn�t disciplined, he has the ability to bounce plays for bigger gains, and is dangerous in space. The Steelers, though, are the best run defense in the league. They are rarely caught out of position, and they bottle up nearly every RB they face.

It doesn�t help that this OL is mediocre at best. RG Evan Mathis and C Hangartner are both lousy. None of their interior linemen will be able to handle Hampton, and that spells disaster for their run game. Back-up LT Jordan Gross seems to have some ability as a run blocker, and the Panthers are far more effective running to the left than they are the right. I still trust Keisel won�t get moved around.

TE Michael Gaines offers nothing as a pass-catcher, but he is a very good run blocker. I actually trust Haggans to hold the point better than Porter. Porter can�t be moved backwards or side-to-side and give Williams a running lane. It won�t happen much, if at all. These are all minor concerns for me.

The Panthers have the worst kick and punt return games in the league, which is certainly good news for the Steelers. Poor starting field position is just another one of those little things that has attributed to their ineptitude on offense. If there�s something to be concerned about it�s that they do occasionally stick Steve Smith back to return punts. He has yet to do anything with the ball this year, but he was a dangerous return man earlier in his career, and showed what he can do with the ball last year against Seattle in the playoffs.

Prediction: The Steelers are 1-5 on the road so far this season, which is the only thing that makes me nervous. That and the fact that the Panthers are still a desperate team, much like the Falcons were earlier in the year. There isn�t an area in the game they have a significant advantage in, though. They should roll-up this banged-up Panthers team.