Thursday, September 10, 2009

Steelers - Titans

So it begins tonight.

In part, I still haven't really wrapped my head around the fact that the NFL season is finally underway.

Tonight the Steelers will kick things off at home against the Tennessee Titans. My heart is actually racing right now, giving you a hint of the crazed Steelers maniac I am. I'm already salivating about the idea of Sundays filled with pro-football action, hard hitting, interceptions, must-see plays, touchdowns, bad referee calls, coach challenges.

All of it.

I love all of it.

And I really have to be careful. I don't want my passion for the NFL to compete with my passion for God. Sunday, like I said in a previous post, is the Lord's Day. We'll see how much I can control myself, and how much it will affect my devotion and worship of God.
But here's some thoughts on tonight's Thursday kickoff game...

The Steelers were the better team last year when they lost to the Titans in Nashville. They had just played three brutal and emotional games heading into the Dec. 21 match-up, the last of which was against hated rivals Ravens in Baltimore. Pittsburgh had just claimed the division and had a chance to relax. The Titans, on the other hand, lost by a point against their rival (and mediocre) Texans, and everyone was questioning them.

These are not excuses. These are the facts.

Both teams start off on a blank slate, and as much as coaches pretend it doesn't matter, the games leading up to any match-up always play a part in the outcome.

Many people say Tennessee destroyed the Steelers last year in their game. This was mostly true along the line of scrimmage, but the scoreboard (31-14 final) was more misleading than the numbers indicated. Tennessee scored 7 of those points on an interception returned to the house, so now we're looking at 24-14 offensive points. What killed the Steelers were four costly turnovers, all at the end of Big Ben (2 ints and 2 fumbles). At the same time, Big Ben was able to find enough yards in the Tennessee's blanket defense and threw for 329 yards.

If Ben doesn't spill the bean in that game, the win is ours.

The key to win any game for the Steelers is never a surprise: Protect Big Ben. Even if we have a crappy running game (which we might because Tennessee is staunch against the rush), my prediction is we win the game by 10 points.

Also, we have to contain Chris Johnson (LenDale White doesn't scare me so much -- he's pudgy and slow). He had a 21-yard touchdown on a 4th and 1. Everybody remembers that Ike Taylor whiffed on the tackle that would have stopped him for a loss. Our defense cannot allow the Titan offense to control the game. We'll protect Ben tonight and contain the rush.

Steelers 1 and 0

Mark it down. Here we go.

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