D.C. Steeler Nation and Kissing Suzy Kolber blogger/author/teller of dick jokes, Christmas Ape, kindly agreed to exchange scouting reports and insights with AJM.
The theme of the exchange was to provide optimism for the opposition---Steelers are 1-2---Chargers never win regular season games in the 'Burgh---optimism is in high demand for each side. For my bit of Bolt pessimism/Steeler optimism, click here. As for the Steeler perspective; let the good feelings commence......
As long as the Chargers are in it going into the 4th quarter, you'll have many a worried Stiller fan being shown during crowd shots at Heinz Field Sunday night.
Pittsburgh has somehow essentially reversed its M.O. from last year. Whereas then they didn't do anything offensively until they absolutely had to - and fortunately did - this year, they're storming hard out of the gate in every game and fizzling down the stretch. Which would be okay if they built up a commanding enough lead, but they've allowed teams to hang around enough that it's come back to bite them in the ass the past two weeks.
Willie Parker would probably be thrilled to see San Diego if he weren't nursing the latest in what has been a series of iffy injuries this season. The guy suddenly revealed that he'd been dealing with a tweaked hammy after doing nothing against the Titans in Week 1, which smacked of an excuse more than anything. The Bolts, after all, were the last team he went over 100 yards against, even if that was last January. So Rashard Mendenhall should probably get a majority of the touches, which isn't the worst thing for the Steelers, because he's actually looked pretty good when he hasn't run into Roethlisberger on hand-offs. He and Mewelde Moore can also actually catch passes out of the backfield and occasional block, so having them out there doesn't telegraph to the defense what they're hoping to do.
For as much criticism as the Steelers O-line gets, it's actually been halfway good in terms of pass blocking. It's when they try running the ball when everything falls apart. Then again, that was the case last year as well, and the team managed against San Diego in the two meetings. So I guess the Steelers have reason to be optimistic in that regard.
Where the Chargers can feel good: hey, remember Santonio Holmes? The guy who broke that punt return TD in the playoffs against you guys and generally had an amazing postseason? Well, he had a great game against the Titans and then suddenly reverted to the mental-lapse prone guy who irritated all the team's fans for a good share of last season. Last week, he didn't recognize a hot read, which resulted in a pick-six for the Bengals. The week before, he dropped four passes, including what would have been a game-winning touchdown. Thankfully, we won't even have to get into Limas Sweed, because he got buried beneath Shaun McDonald on the depth chart.
More good news! The Steelers pass rush has been mostly nonexistent. They haven't registered more than two sacks in any of their games in 2009. This is partly due to the fact that this season, teams are closely following a blueprint that calls for quick timing patterns to offset the pass rush. This won't get you many big plays, but will allow you to peel off some long sustained drives and wear down the Steelers defense late in the game, as the Bears and Bengals have the previous two weeks. Also, the this strategy doesn't lead to many turnovers, evidenced by the fact that the Steelers defense hasn't forced any since the two in the Titans game.
Also, the absence of Polamalu, as you might expect, has made a lot of Dick LeBeau's blitzing schemes very vanilla and easy to recognize. And a quarterback of Rivers caliber should be able to easily take advantage unless the Steelers try some more daring things this week. The Chargers have a definite size advantage with their tall receivers vis-a-vis a corner like William Gay, so I'd imagine Rivers will try to float a few jump balls, which wouldn't be the worst strategy in the world.
The Steelers special teams, other than Jeff Reed's recent transformation into Shaun Suisham, have been a bright spot. They actually have a returner capable of bringing the ball out past the 30. And their punting is much improved by dint of no longer having to call Mitch Berger onto the field on 4th down.
So honestly, I'm not sure what to expect. The past two games have been deflating losses, but they've been on the road to what you could describe as at least respectable teams (okay, Cincy might still be unproven this year, but they beat a solid Green Bay team). The fact that this is a definite must-win game at home gives me faith that the Steelers will lay it all out there, but the Chargers certainly have enough ability to steal another away.
For the contribution and insights, cheers, Ape.
Pick up a copy of Ape's book (aka Mike Tunison) : The Football Fan's Manifesto
I tried to pick it up at Borders back in August but it wasn't in stock so I settled on The Blind Side by Michael Lewis, about Ravens tackle Michael Oher. So what I'm saying is that I don't have it BUT IF YOU ALL buy enough copies maybe he'll send me one, gratis (although it's now highly unlikely with the revelation that I bought a book about a guy who plays for the Baltimore Ravens).
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