Seattle... Perfect opponent at perfect time

[StillCurtains]

Hello guys!

Now the Steelers head into their much needed bye week to get some rest and heal from their bumps and bruises. We are now 6-4 and have a pretty fair shot at the postseason despite a plethora of guys going down during the season.

Off of 2 weeks of preparation we will head to Seattle in a very hostile environment. I expect it to be 2 times as loud with their fans' displeasure of Superbowl XL. This will be an extremely difficult game to win. That is actually the good news. So far, the Steelers have not been very impressive on the road. Despite Seattle's record, this is a team that the Steelers and their coaches know they can't take lightly.

This will have a playoff atmosphere with 2 teams fighting for their playoff lives. The Steelers know what type of football Seattle likes to play and they will need to play above Seattle's intensity. We are now past the halfway point of the season when the Steelers take the field against them.

This game is absolutely huge! The time is now! This is the game that will show how badly the Steelers want it. This is the game where the Steelers can show that the old bully is back on the block!

The Steelers will need absolute physical, hard, wrap up tackling on Lynch, who doesn't go down on one shot as well as sure tackling on Wilson.

Their pass rush is fast, physical and brutal, so I feel that Haley should implement the short passing game for a large portion of the game to get the ball out of Ben's hands quickly to back them off some. I don't feel they should take as many deep shots that they have in recent weeks.

This is an absolute statement game for the Steelers. It's the perfect opponent and the perfect time for it. Let's hope that a statement is exactly what is made by the Steelers when they face them on the field, to let Seattle and the rest of the league that the old bully is back on the block.

[ALLD]

The winner will be the team that makes the fewest turnovers and plays harder. If the Steelers sleepwalk through the first quarter they might reduce their chances of winning trying to play catch up in the 4th.

[st33lersguy]

I'd really like to win this game just to get a 4th straight win over those moron fans

[fansince'76]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10346620_10207735710768748_373941231381996324_n.jp g?oh=cbdae94075c40d27391f9ef54d93d815&oe=56B3F2DB

[salamander]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10346620_10207735710768748_373941231381996324_n.jp g?oh=cbdae94075c40d27391f9ef54d93d815&oe=56B3F2DB

It will be interesting to see what AB does against them.

[polamalubeast]

It will be interesting to see what AB does against them.

Same for Martavis Bryant.

[StillCurtains]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10346620_10207735710768748_373941231381996324_n.jp g?oh=cbdae94075c40d27391f9ef54d93d815&oe=56B3F2DB


Wow! LOL!!! That is absolutely clever! I think that Heath will be a major factor in this game. I feel that Seattle will be so focused on route recognition and not being burned by our receivers that Heath will find the soft spots in their zone coverages. You know Ben will have no problem getting it to him.

[Devilsdancefloor]

AB is faster, so i am guessing he will have a AB type of day especially if bryant isnt a butter finger

[StillCurtains]

AB is faster, so i am guessing he will have a AB type of day especially if bryant isnt a butter finger


True, and for that reason I don't feel that we will see too much bump man coverage from Sherman when he's matched up against him. AB is stronger than he looks and he can beat that type of coverage. If they were to plan that all game, AB's quickness, speed and ability to make people miss will turn into 6 very quickly.

I think you will see Sherman play more off coverage on him with safety help to keep AB in front of him and make the tackle after the catch. I don't think they want to risk AB beating tight man off the break to beat them deep. I've seen Sherman play this type of off coverage several times against quick and shifty receivers like AB.

If they play tight and AB gets the ball and they miss, it most likely will be 6!

[Psycho Ward 86]

You know, when I saw seattle on the schedule during the summer, I thought Sherman would be the 1st guy in 3 years to shut AB down. Now im not sure so. John Brown and Michael Floyd abused him last sunday REPEATEDLY: http://www.nfl.com/videos/arizona-cardinals/0ap3000000581035/Sherman-struggles-with-Cardinals-receivers

Could be a fluke since Sherman was playing like himself earlier in the year, but who knows.

And its Antonio Brown for crying out loud. Anyone who still underestimates him is in over their head.

[Count Steeler]

Tomlin is my main concern. The team is sluggish after a bye week and it is an afternoon game on the West Coast. I'm pretty sure Tomlin's record in that scenario is putrid.


The Steelers are 18-37 in California or Washington state, including 1-3 in the playoffs. Over the past 30 years, they are 7-17 in the Pacific time zone, including a current five-game losing streak and only one victory since 2000.“Is (cross-country travel) a factor? It can be if you let it,” Foster said.
The Steelers apparently have done that. Their only win out west since 2000 was in 2005 at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Tomlin is 0-3 on the West Coast as a head coach.
On the current roster, only James Harrison, Ben Roethlisberger, Miller and Greg Warren have won as Steelers in California or at Seattle.


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/9234171-74/steelers-west-coast#ixzz3rqKpQpU5


This article was before the San Diego win, so there is always hope.

[86WARD]

I don't think AB will be affected at all in this gane. I don't know if anyone has watched Sherman this year but he's been very, very ordinary at best.

What worries me most is that the game is on the west coast and in Seattle. That's all. Wilson, Lynch, their Defense....they don't scare me. This does however have "Jimmy Graham Breakout Game" written all over it...

[teegre]

A few factors about Richard Sherman.

1. He only plays one side. So, have him chase AB deep, and then chase Bryant deep, and then chase AB deep again. Soon enough, the BIG cornerback will get tired, and in turn, Sherman will be easy prey for a long bomb.

2. Similar to #1... Sherman is big and can stuff a receiver at the line. He's amazing against Megatron and the bigger WRs, but he is susceptible to "quick" WRs. AB should have no problem against him. Plus, there is the Bryant factor: Bryant is not only big, Bryant has speed.

3. Cary Williams is actually the one who "scares" (for lack of a better word) me. He used to kill us as a Raven. He has that knack for knowing when to jump routes. Stay. Away. From. Him.

SUMMATION:
I would attack Sherman. AB will beat him a good percentage of the time. At the same time, I would make Sherman cover AB or Bryant on a deep route play after play after play. In other words, force Sherman to go deep on every single play. Sherman will get tired... which will pay dividends at the latter portion of each half. As in...

First and third quarters:
AB will have two or three catches for 50 yards.
Bryant will have one catch for 35 yards.

Second and and fourth quarters:
AB will have six or seven catches for 110 yards and a couple of TDs.
Bryant will have three catches for 85 yards and a TD.

[tube517]

A few factors about Richard Sherman.

1. He only plays one side. So, have him chase AB deep, and then chase Bryant deep, and then chase AB deep again. Soon enough, the BIG cornerback will get tired, and in turn, Sherman will be easy prey for a long bomb.

2. Similar to #1... Sherman is big and can stuff a receiver at the line. He's amazing against Megatron and the bigger WRs, but he is susceptible to "quick" WRs. AB should have no problem against him. Plus, there is the Bryant factor: Bryant is not only big, Bryant has speed.

3. Cary Williams is actually the one who "scares" (for lack of a better word) me. He used to kill us as a Raven. He has that knack for knowing when to jump routes. Stay. Away. From. Him.

SUMMATION:
I would attack Sherman. AB will beat him a good percentage of the time. At the same time, I would make Sherman cover AB or Bryant on a deep route play after play after play. In other words, force Sherman to go deep on every single play. Sherman will get tired... which will pay dividends at the latter portion of each half. As in...

First and third quarters:
AB will have two or three catches for 50 yards.
Bryant will have one catch for 35 yards.

Second and and fourth quarters:
AB will have six or seven catches for 110 yards and a couple of TDs.
Bryant will have three catches for 85 yards and a TD.

Stop revealing your poker hands! :chuckle:

[Steelman]

I don't think AB will be affected at all in this gane. I don't know if anyone has watched Sherman this year but he's been very, very ordinary at best.

What worries me most is that the game is on the west coast and in Seattle. That's all. Wilson, Lynch, their Defense....they don't scare me. This does however have "Jimmy Graham Breakout Game" written all over it...

Lynch will gain yards, no question. But Seattle doesn't spread it out as much as other teams so that will allow us to keep a third defensive lineman in the game (McL or McC) to stuff the run. But you're dead right about Jimmy Graham. I could see a multi-TD game from him.

[teegre]

Stop revealing your poker hands! :chuckle:

Sherman used to have four aces on every hand.... but, then AB noticed that it was just two aces on the flop and Sherman was holding two jokers with Sharpie written on them. :wink02:

[Steelman]

3. Cary Williams is actually the one who "scares" (for lack of a better word) me. He used to kill us as a Raven. He has that knack for knowing when to jump routes. Stay. Away. From. Him.

Sherman = overrated. Good player, but severely overrated.

You hit the button there on Cary Williams who is very underrated.

Haley's propensity to call for so many deep lob passes would be a bad idea against Seattle. They might be overrated and struggling this year, but they do still have a pretty good secondary and two good safeties who patrol the middle.

[teegre]

Haley's propensity to call for so many deep lob passes would be a bad idea against Seattle. They might be overrated and struggling this year, but they do still have a pretty good secondary and two good safeties who patrol the middle.

Let me clarify.

I'm not proposing that the Steelers should actually throw the ball deep a lot, but I would indeed make Sherman cover AB or Bryant deep on every single play. If you make Sherman sprint 30 times in each half, by sprint number 25, he'll be tiring... and, by sprint 50, he'll be totally gassed.

(The beauty is that AB and Bryant will only have to run deep half as many times as Sherman does.)

[Rotorhead]

I think the deep ball was because who we were playing, I am hoping they don't try as many against the Hawks, they actually have a good secondary. I think our run game will be the game changer here actually. Neutralize the rush with the run and short passing game.

[salamander]

What worries me most is that the game is on the west coast and in Seattle. That's all. Wilson, Lynch, their Defense....they don't scare me. This does however have "Jimmy Graham Breakout Game" written all over it...

This is exactly what has me worried too.

[TeeTee]

I don't think Seattle is the "perfect opponent" at all. First of all, it's a west coast city; Pgh generally struggles when at the west coast.

Secondly, while Seattle isn't anywhere near as good as the last two seasons, they still have a lot of talent, and will be up for this game. They are gonna hit Ben, and our receivers will be mostly covered.

This will not be an easy game. It's probably the toughest game we have left on our schedule.

Seattle 24
Pgh 20

[polamalubeast]

The Steelers must keep Russell Wilson in the pocket.The seahawks o-line is very bad too.

The seahawks also had the lead in the 4th quarter in their 5 losses this year.It will not be a blowout if the Steelers win, but the seahawks are not invincible at home this year.Seattle was lucky to beat the Lions at home this year.....

[TeeTee]

The Steelers must keep Russell Wilson in the pocket.The seahawks o-line is very bad too.

The seahawks also had the lead in the 4th quarter in their 5 losses this year.It will not be a blowout if the Steelers win, but the seahawks are not invincible at home this year.Seattle was lucky to beat the Lions at home this year.....

There is something amiss with the Hawks this year; maybe hungover from that heartbreaking int in the Super Bowl, as some theorize. But there is no question they simply are not as good as they were the last two seasons. Otherwise, I'd give us little hope to win this. But I still think they have enough drive and heart to give us their best effort for this one. But Tomlin isn't the worst coming off a bye. He is 5-3, not great, but at least it's a winning record.

http://walterfootball.com/betting_bye.php

[polamalubeast]

There is something amiss with the Hawks this year; maybe hungover from that heartbreaking int in the Super Bowl, as some theorize. But there is no question they simply are not as good as they were the last two seasons. Otherwise, I'd give us little hope to win this. But I still think they have enough drive and heart to give us their best effort for this one. But Tomlin isn't the worst coming off a bye. He is 5-3, not great, but at least it's a winning record.

http://walterfootball.com/betting_bye.php


Of course, the Seahawks are not the same team they were in the past 2-3 years but without the injury to Carson Palmer last year, the cards would probably have won the NFC West.

The Cards were 9-1 and had three games lead over the Seahawks before the injury to Palmer.

[Rotorhead]

Will Lynch be playing in 2 weeks, I thought he was injured? Regardless, their strength is their defense, and ours is our offense. Our offense is better than their defense. They don't run much spread so we should be able to bottle up the run game more than usual. If we can continue to be opportunistic we should be fine, especially if we can spy Wilson with Shazier!

[TeeTee]

Of course, the Seahawks are not the same team they were in the past 2-3 years but without the injury to Carson Palmer last year, the cards would probably have won the NFC West.

The Cards were 9-1 and had three games lead over the Seahawks before the injury to Palmer.

True, but they still had to beat two other top teams in the playoffs to make the Super Bowl, and they did so (although they barely beat a Pack team with a one-legged QB).

- - - Updated - - -


Will Lynch be playing in 2 weeks, I thought he was injured? Regardless, their strength is their defense, and ours is our offense. Our offense is better than their defense. They don't run much spread so we should be able to bottle up the run game more than usual. If we can continue to be opportunistic we should be fine, especially if we can spy Wilson with Shazier!

IDK, I realize they have been losing, even at home. But it's still a hard place to win, really hard. We have won 4-6, some of them without Ben. But this is one of the most likely losses on the remainder of our schedule.

[polamalubeast]

True, but they still had to beat two other top teams in the playoffs to make the Super Bowl, and they did so (although they barely beat a Pack team with a one-legged QB).



Last year, the Panthers had a losing record and they needed a miracle to beat GB...They were great in 2013, no doubt and last year they were a good team, but they were not great.

The best QB than Seattle played in the last six wins in the regular season were Mark Sanchez!....Before the last 6 games,Seattle was 6-4....

[86WARD]

Seattle isn't Seattle because the defense isn't as good. Wilson and the offense are the same as they've always been...only now they have to win games and can't depend on the defense.

[StillCurtains]

I don't think Seattle is the "perfect opponent" at all. First of all, it's a west coast city; Pgh generally struggles when at the west coast.

Secondly, while Seattle isn't anywhere near as good as the last two seasons, they still have a lot of talent, and will be up for this game. They are gonna hit Ben, and our receivers will be mostly covered.

This will not be an easy game. It's probably the toughest game we have left on our schedule.

Seattle 24
Pgh 20

Nah, man! Read my post again. I stated that it would not be easy. Why I said this is the perfect time and opponent is that Seattle is going to bring it. They're going to be playing for their playoff lives. The Steelers need to as well in a hostile environment.

There comes a point in the season where it's time to zone in and start playing for what you're supposed to be after. The time is now for them to turn it up. That crowd is going to be electric with a playoff atmosphere. If the Steelers make the playoffs the intensity will be even higher, and they will need to know how to handle it.

So that is the reason I said this is the perfect time and opponent. It's time for them to show they're a title contender not pretender. Like I said, the playoffs present an even greater challenge with more pressure. If you can't handle the adversity, then the playoffs will eat you alive.

It's time for the Steelers to show what they got. Seattle has Beast Mode, but it's time for the Steelers to hit Playoff Mode.

[Psycho Ward 86]

A few factors about Richard Sherman.

1. He only plays one side. So, have him chase AB deep, and then chase Bryant deep, and then chase AB deep again. Soon enough, the BIG cornerback will get tired, and in turn, Sherman will be easy prey for a long bomb.

2. Similar to #1... Sherman is big and can stuff a receiver at the line. He's amazing against Megatron and the bigger WRs, but he is susceptible to "quick" WRs. AB should have no problem against him. Plus, there is the Bryant factor: Bryant is not only big, Bryant has speed.

3. Cary Williams is actually the one who "scares" (for lack of a better word) me. He used to kill us as a Raven. He has that knack for knowing when to jump routes. Stay. Away. From. Him.

SUMMATION:
I would attack Sherman. AB will beat him a good percentage of the time. At the same time, I would make Sherman cover AB or Bryant on a deep route play after play after play. In other words, force Sherman to go deep on every single play. Sherman will get tired... which will pay dividends at the latter portion of each half. As in...

First and third quarters:
AB will have two or three catches for 50 yards.
Bryant will have one catch for 35 yards.

Second and and fourth quarters:
AB will have six or seven catches for 110 yards and a couple of TDs.
Bryant will have three catches for 85 yards and a TD.

A lot of this sounds backwards to me. As far as #1 and #2 go, Richard Sherman showed against the Cardinals that he can be susceptible to BOTH. John Brown and Michael Floyd both tee'd off on him in succession. Fluke game perhaps? Seahawks are still the #2 pass defense in the league. Who knows. We know we have the best receiver in football though, and he's certainly lightyears better than Smokey and Floyd.

As for #3, Cary Williams has been victimized all season. I cant believe were seriously talking about shifting concern from Sherman to Williams. If we pull out a win, Williams will be one of the seahawks biggest culprits. My goodness.

[Mojouw]

Beat the Seahawks in their place? Legitimate Super Bowl contender. Lose? Looking at one and done in the Wild Card.

No real analysis, just a gut feeling.


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[86WARD]

Beat the Seahawks in their place? Legitimate Super Bowl contender. Lose? Looking at one and done in the Wild Card.

No real analysis, just a gut feeling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don think it's that far off base.