The Steelers rebounded nicely, with a 24-0 drubbing of the Seattle Seahawks. This week everyone can breathe a little easier. While not every question was answered, the Steelers played a very crisp and complete game. It certainly wasn’t a “redemption” game; it was the Steelers showing what they are capable of doing.
The first thing that sticks out was the play of Ben Roethlisberger. After the worst start in probably his entire career, Ben struggled early, misfiring on several passes then got it going. It was his 100th career start and his 70th win. He is, simply put, the toughest QB in the NFL. After getting his knee drilled into during the game, not once, but twice, he still managed to throw for a shade under 300 yards! You hear all this talk about other QB’s being better, but NO ONE would have done what Ben did. He is a great Steeler!
The Wide Receivers are just plain awesome. Everybody plays a part and they all do their respective parts well. You could trust Hines Ward to catch artillery. He made the best catch of the day, by managing to keep both feet in bounds while making a 15-yard catch on third down and proved despite the moron media, he is still one of the best. He also crushed Earl Thomas to spring Rashard Mendenhall. Manny Sanders played a great game with two very big catches and he threw a nifty pass, which looked terrific. Antonio Brown is continuing to emerge as bona fide superstar, as he gave the Seattle defense fits all day. And lastly, Mike Wallace, is just an absolute force, his play continues to get better and better as he contributed with 100 yards.
The running game did okay, Mendenhall, despite not having great stats, had a very good game. He is starting to show better footwork and made some great plays. Ike Redman really is showing signs of life and they make this one of the strengths of the team.
The defense played a very well coached game, despite what the announcers thought. It was obvious that the Steelers coaching had a great strategy. They kept the Seahawks in check for the whole game, never blitzing. Then they unleashed the dogs and the Steelers just dominated Tavaris Jackson and the Seahawks line, ensuring the shutout. The front seven played great and crushed the Seattle running game. The Defense backfield did a solid job shutting down the pass. It was a thoroughly dominant day. By the way, Troy Polamalu isn’t slow or old, he played terrific and made some nice stops.
The Offensive line did a respectable job. Marcus Gilbert was seriously burned for one sack off the corner but rebounded nicely for a very good game. Ramon Foster played well in the left guard spot including an outstanding pull that leveled THREE guys for the Seahawks. Jonathon Scott is not the long term answer at Left Tackle but held his own for most of the game. Maurkice played his usual stellar game and busted up the Seattle front. Legursky had a respectable game but missed a huge block when he went in as fullback. All and all, Ben wasn’t picking himself up all game so it was a good job. They still lack that knockout punch up front and couldn’t get a key push to start the game, but it is a start.
It is on to Indy! I will be reporting from Saratoga next week and watching the game at the Stadium bar!
BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Big Ben Roethlisberger, is my Game Beer player! Both the Captain and I are in agreement. We are proud to have him as our QB and our team Captain. Mike Wallace easily could be the choice as well. It was a great day all around
Where I watched the game: At my girlfriend’s KGB for a quiet afternoon. I was a less than cordial host last week, so took it easy this week. Had great snacks and drank Spaten beer! The Captain was in attendance at the ‘Burgh and tailgated at our usual spot!
My thoughts on Next Week: This was a five star matchup until Peyton got hurt. The Steelers will win if they play like they did yesterday. The Colts are very dangerous though and beware of a home team that is on the ropes. I am watching their film today.
September 19th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Steelers – hard to find too much to complain about with a 24-0 shut out, but we had a tough time running the ball at times. I know we had some new pieces in at the line, and at times we ran pretty well, but some of our best runs were designed inside runs that Redman and Mendenhall cut outside. Seattle did a solid job of clogging the middle for the most part. Maybe they were stacking the box because we were leading, so they knew the runs were coming, and against a line with a couple back-ups in… blah blah blah. They need to get better.