Friendly Fire from Steel Tank
With all the talk about why the Titans will win if not dominate this game - Here are 5 reasons why the Steelers will prevail:
- First and foremost is the overrated idea that the Steelers were physically beaten by the Titans earlier this year. A closer look at this game shows the Steelers laying down after coming off the strange tie against Atlanta the prior week. It was mentioned by this reporter and others that the Steelers simply took the week off after going up 7-0 in the first minute of play. Indeed, the Steelers were in bit of a funk that day and were looking for any reason to relax. Very simply, Pittsburgh took a deep breath and figured this would be another easy game against McNair and company after scoring so easily. Afterall, the Steelers thoroughly punished Tenn. twice last year with basically the same team. Why would it be any different? The only differnce this time around was the lack of focus and motivation the Steelers had in week 10. The best barometer for this game is the two games last year - not the week 10 game this year. The Steelers will not be out-muscled in this one.
- Coach Cowher - yes, that's right - Bill Cowher. Cowher will be in his favorite roll Saturday as playoff underdog. Cowher led teams in the playoffs, playing as the dog, have more often than not played well. Not always good enough to win, but it seems that a true challenge is what Cowher thrives on to get his team motiviated and prepared. He has never been more of an underdog than this game against the Titans. Coach will have this team in the right frame of mind and will not play conservative football. He will play to win. This means throwing early and often and not settling for a marginal lead. Expect to see the spread from the Steelers early in the game - there's not a team in the NFL that can put the recievers on the gridiron that Pittsburgh can. The Titans will find it tough to match up against the Steeler WRs. Never forget, the Titans surrendered 52 points to the Raiders which included 4 Td passes by Gannon.
- Kevin Dyson. On the other hand, The Titans cannot spread the ball against Pittsburgh even though they will try from time to time. Dyson, perhaps their best WR, is on IR meaning Derick Mason is the only legit WR left on the roster. Dyson was a very good compliment to Mason in the first game, but his absence makes life much easier for the Steeler D. Wycheck hasn't looked to good this year either - his best days are behind. Justin McCareins, the Titans lone deep threat does get open from time to time, but he is very inconsistent and does not have very good hands. Bennett has nice size but he is hardly a threat to do anything more than get a few first downs.
- Remember last year? The Steelers were a truely dominate team during the regular season. Every game was the same - get up by 2 or 3 TDs, crush the opposing offense for 3 quarters and then play prevent D for the 4th quarter and leave with a 4 point win. This was the Steelers MO last year and they were quite adept at it. This has not been the Titans MO this year at all. In fact, the Titans could have lost many games this year - as could have the Steelers - but the point is, the Titans have proven themselves to be very beatable. They are not a mystical juggernaut that went 10-1 and destroyed every team in their wake. They struggled to beat many teams and found themselves a play away from losing to Cinci, Jags, Balt(did lose), Houston and the Giants. Not one of these teams has the offense the Steelers possess. If the Titans fail to mount a big lead on Pittsburgh, they will be hard-pressed to prevent the Steelers from scoring late.
- Finally, the Steelers turned a corner last Sunday. This writer found it hard to believe that a number of people were wishing Stewart would come in and give the team a "spark". Even thinking that Cowher might make the switch...??? There was not a more definitive moment this season than when coach Bill Cowher pulled Stewart with the season on the line and put in Maddox. Perhaps the best coaching move by any coach this year. It makes one wonder though how much longer Cowher had been considering the move in the first place. Anyone remotely involved with the Steelers saw how well Maddox played in the pre-season and how very average Stewart played. Perhaps Cowher new then that Maddox was the right QB for this team, but he owed Stewart one last shot to emerge as a true leader. Well, the man who has emerged is Tommy Maddox - He did not quit, complain, cry or whimper last week; instead he thrived under the pressure of 4th quarter NFL playoff football. Tommy Maddox is the Pittsburgh Steelers' QB - that is a very good thing.
Will the Steelers win? It's very hard to say, but the prediction here is 34-27 Steelers with the Black and Gold getting a home game next week versus the Jets.
GO STEELERS!