My wife suggested I do a blog segment where I highlight the good and the bad of Steelers performances following the game. I'm going to call this segment "Props and Drops" to give credit where it's due and point out which player(s) dropped the ball (sometimes, quite literally).
PROPS:
Definitely a lot of props to the line backing corps. Through the first three games of the season it seemed that the linebackers were nowhere to be found. Against the Vikings, the line backers accounted for 3 of the 4 sacks and scored more points in one quarter than our entire offense did the rest of the game. They terrorized Favre early and often in the game.
The ageless QB still had a tremendous game passing wise (334 yards through the air) because he was able to victimize William Gay and Ike Taylor, who both had very poor outings. But when it counted the most, the linebackers stepped it up to make the biggest plays. LaMarr Woodley scooped up a fumble and looked like a fatter, slower James Harrison returning it back for a touchdown. I didn't think he was ever going to reach the end zone. Keyaron Fox found himself with a gift in his lap when a Favre ass tipped off the hands of Chester Taylor and landed right in Fox's palms. He returned it for the game-winning score.
Another thing to note, even though the Vikings offense (which had been averaging 31 points a game) torched us in the yardage department, the Steelers D was still able to contain them to just 10 points. Seven points came off of a kickoff return. Up until now, the defense had been showing signs of crumbling in the fourth quarter, but I think they're finally getting back into the groove of things. It's not style points that matter. It's the scoreboard points that count.
Also noteworthy: Welcome back Polamalu! He saved two potential touchdowns in this game that could have shifted the momentum completely the other way.
DROPS:
Going into this game, I was convinced that Big Ben was going to have a field day against this 24th ranked passing defense. Instead, he completed just 14 of 26 passes (53.8 percent) for 175 yards when he had been completing roughly 73 percent of his passes all season and averaging 314 yards per game. My criticism doesn't go against Ben so much, but against his receivers. Hines Ward dropped a beautiful, deep pass down the middle that he typically holds on to, and Santonio Holmes let a couple balls scrape the turf that would have gone for first downs.
Ben also had 3 passes that I can remember were batted at the line of scrimmage (one of them, he threw right into an outstretched arm that had been hanging in the air for an hour before he decided to throw, so that's on him).
Hines Ward finished with one catch for 3 lonely yards. Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette gives the wide receivers a C+ for their efforts. I wouldn't be so generous, considering that the Wallace touchdown was due to a completely blown coverage. Satonio Holme's 45-yard catch and run was pretty sweet, though.
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4 comments:
What about Jeff Reed?? I am trying not to be too tough on the guy, but even the announcers were making fun of him. I don't care how good of a kicker you are, you're a Steeler first and Steelers don't wimp out on tackles.
Anyway, I like the idea of you having themes to your posts. All of the posting you do is great and impressive, but it can make it hard to sift through. If you keep up categories like "Props and Drops" I think it keeps the reader from getting intimidated and integrates a routine into their visiting of your blog.
Just realized:
"He did miss a terrible tackle during a return that was taken in for a touchdown [-7 for Reed, because that's how many points that cost us]"
I doubted you, but I was wrong. I used to think the worst thing a kicker could do was miss field goals, but Reed proved me wrong as well. Even still, he better shape up.
Yeah, I know that some blogs can get a little confusing with their own internal themes and unless you're a long-time follower, they tend to push away new readers rather than bring them in because it's almost like sifting through a new language. But my aim is to make these "themed" entries more evident and I'm using them as a way of keeping me on track of what I want to say.
My favorite blog, Behind The Steel Curtain, does this entry called "Daily Six Pack." Sometimes I'll tune in just for that. It gives quick hitters that helps the blog organizer throw out some discussion topics (six pack, obviously is for the six super bowl victories we have).
Hopefully some of those techniques can work in my favor.
I gotta add to the "drops" list a call the officials made against Heath Miller. They called him for offensive pass interference. From the instant replay I saw, the call was a stretch, and it cost us 7 points from the Holmes catch in the end zone the same play. But hey I'm biased when it comes to Heath Miller---he's my fav! So boo on the officials!
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