Beer We Go Steelers

Sunday afternoon the Steelers played the tail of two halves, after thoroughly dominating the Jacksonville Jaguars for 30 minutes, the Steelers had to step it up and hold off a resurgent Jaguar team for the next 30. The boys in Black and Gold narrowly escaped a stunning turn of events Sunday, after clamping down on defense and surviving a Hail Mary toss at the end of the game.

Nothing illustrated the highs and lows as much as Ben Roethlisberger’s day. After an outstanding first half which saw him open up with three excellent drives which accounted for all of the days points, he missed badly on the third drive on two “should-be” touchdown passes. That would be an ominous sign. After the first three drives the Steelers managed just five first downs the rest of the day, with Ben missing wide open receivers. With an effective Ben, this game would have been a huge blowout. 

The offensive line had to go under renovation yet again. Doug Legursky, after having a good start, was injured. He dislocated his toe and was replaced by Trai Essex. The Offensive line had a good day though as they helped Rashard Mendenhall rip off a 146 yards. Mendenhall, had to be getting nervous at the performance of Jon Dwyer and Ike Redman. He had his best day of the year. He blasted the Jags with a 68 yard run and did a great job protecting the football. He reaffirmed his place in the Steelers starting lineup.

The Defense, despite what you will read other places, also had a solid, albeit unspectacular, day. LaMarr Woodley’s resurgence continued as he was just massive up front. He had two crunching sacks and was a force all day. James Farrior also had a great day and looked terrific; he led the team in tackles and had a very important sack, forcing the Jags to punt. Rounding out the D’s performance was Brett Keisel who played like a beast and Troy Polamalu who knocked himself out killing Maurice Jones Drew. What is most important about the defense is while they sometimes bent, they didn’t break. If it wasn’t for an ill timed running into the punter penalty, the defense would have had a near flawless day.

As for the offense, it was a pretty awful second half. The Steelers had several opportunities to put the game away and just didn’t execute. Between Ben missing wide open receivers and the Jags finally cracking down on the run, it made for a rough go. The receiving core did have a good day in spite of a terrible second half. They racked up 12 catches for 200 yards, including a 48 yard bomb to Mike Wallace and a 38 yard strike to Manny Sanders.

At the end of the day, despite everyone’s criticism, style points don’t matter. A win is a win and the Steelers are now 4-2 and have a very clear path to the playoffs if they stay on track.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: I am giving it to, Rashard Mendenhall, who had a terrific day running the football. For several plays the Steelers went back to ground and pound and were effective. After speculation about his future with the club Mendenhall prevailed. Also considered were James Farrior and Troy Polamalu.  

Where I watched the game: Nursing flag football injuries at my girlfriend KGB’s. Had an avalanche of Advil and drank Miller Lite (Old Reliable) along with McSorley’s dark ale. The Captain and I texted during the game and he spent the last half of his day defending Ben, which pissed us both off. Seriously, last week he throws five td’s this week people are trying to run him out of town.

My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers travel west and play old friend’s Ken Wisenhunt and Russ Grimm. Look for this to be a tough game with the Steelers surviving to pull it out. I expect Ben to have a huge day!