Well, Cowher just finished the most impressive 3 game stretch of his career. A dominating performance the past 2 games, with a dash of turtling to remind us that he still is Billy. But he did stay out of Whiz and Dicky�s way enough to transform the Steelers into the most balanced Pittsburgh team in 25 years. It�s good to know that we still have a decent running game to �fall back on� =). Opposing defenses are going to have a much harder time defending the Steelers, as there is no longer any glaring weakness, and no longer the run-oriented predictability with our offense. One more game Billy, keep sitting on your hands.
***
Troy P. has become labeled as the �best player on the Steelers� in many circles,
and who can deny it? That tackle he made falling sideways was a thing of
beauty. Credit the Stillers, Cowher, Colbert, etc. for trading up to draft
this guy. Can you imagine if we still had Lee Flowers back there? =)
***
For all his ramblings and all the games this year where he didn�t show up, Joey
Porter played well yesterday. Haggans is a stud, and has been much more
consistent week to week, but props to Big Mouth Porter for playing solid at the
minimum. Yes, he had some soft matchups against their TE, etc, but he
still delivered and applied pressure on many plays. Larry Foote had his
usual game, with some decent plays and some major whiffs, but that was a helluva
grab he made� nice fingertip INT in a very big spot.
***
Despite the solid play of Randel El, Cedrick Wilson is making a strong case to
be on the field more often. 8 catches with 2 Touchdowns in the playoffs.
He is our best deep threat and that TD in the corner was not the easiest catch.
Too bad he couldn't stay under the radar for one more game.
***
For all his ramblings and all the games this year where he didn�t show up, Joey Porter played well yesterday. Haggans is a stud, and has been much more consistent week to week, but props to Big Mouth Porter for playing solid at the minimum. Yes, he had some soft matchups against their TE, etc, but he still delivered and applied pressure on many plays. Larry Foote had his usual game, with some decent plays and some major whiffs, but that was a helluva grab he made� nice fingertip INT in a very big spot.
***
A punt from the 35 that worked perfectly and another punt from the 33 that almost worked, but ended up being a measly 13 yard net gain. Let�s hear all the �turtling� debate about Billy ball, etc. I can see both sides, but personally, I would have given Reed the chance to kick the FG until he missed one. His 47 yarder had so much distance and was so perfect (and the subsequent 42 yarder was also solid) that he deserved a chance to kick both a 52 and a 50 yarder, especially in the thin air of Denver. Much like Cowher has given his money QB a chance to go out and win the game, he should have given his money kicker a chance to do the same. If his misses the first one, maybe you punt the next time. All that being said, I don�t think it was a terrible move to punt� it was a judgment call and as long as he keeps winning games (albeit closer than you�d like) it is hard to argue that much with the decisions.
***
Ben was so lucky on this early throw to Ward that Champ missed, it could have
changed everything and could have reverted Ben back to last year. But I
actually doubt that, it probably would have made the game much closer, but Ben
is just not a rookie anymore and would have snapped out of it. Although that
Ward TD looked like it could have been picked off, the side end-zone angle
showed that the ball went just slightly over the defenders hands, and not
through them. This was either a very good or very lucky throw, but either way
it was gutsy. Here is what Safety Nick Ferguson said about the play after
the game: �I thought I
timed it well, and the ball just stayed up there. It floated around and I was
not able to get to it in time. He [QB Ben Roethlisberger] made a great throw
and got it in there.�
***
With respect to being the 6th seed, the Stillers certainly
overachieved. Maybe the best playoff-only run, ever. With respect to
their talent, there is no reason why they cannot win the Super Bowl. If
they play a very good game, they can still lose, but Seattle will have to play a
perfect game to do it. How can the Steelers lose? Ben could
collapse, but more probable would be if the Stillers pass rush does not work. Its been working
great all playoffs and its been one of the main reasons why we could win tough
games on the road. But if Seattle figures out a way to stop it, it will be
tough to win.
I think the +4 line for the Stillers is about right considering how hot they�ve been and considering that Seattle has had 2 cupcake matchups compared to the Stiller matchups, etc. Seattle might be the better team, but because they didn�t play a really good team that played really well, it�s tough to know either way. Washington had little offense, and Carolina handed them the game early.
It should be noted that Seattle will almost definitely give us a better game than Cinci, Indy, or Denver did. I expect fewer mistakes, better execution and more focus, etc; and this is as it should be as it is the Super Bowl. Contrary to some other analysts, I do not think the Steelers are a vastly superior team to the Seahawks, but I think they are slightly better and are playing up to their potential.
***
Well start the long 2 week wait until the big
game, and here�s to hoping that this is a new era in Stiller football.
Go Steelers!
