Steelers

The highly anticipated showdown between the 2010 UFC Championship game Pittsburgh Steelers and Indy Colts happened late last night. Both teams have a great respect for each other off the field but still had their calendars circled for this match up. Despite both teams ability to score in bunches, this game final scored was anything but the high scoring output expected. However the same thing was thought last year and score was even lower so who knows. What we do know is this game was one for the ages. It was a hard fought battle as the Colts ended up losing their starting corner due to a broken collerbone on a attempt to tackle newly acquired powerback Marshawn Lynch.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got upset in week 2 at home vs. the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks came flying back in recovery from their lost last week to the 49ers. The Steelers came out sloppy with new QB Matt Ryan throwing an interception on the first play of the game and the mood darkened when superstar Desean Jackson went out for the game on a kick off return. When asked about that opening interception Steelers QB Matt Ryan said “It was a bad read and I have nobody to blame but myself”. The second drive Pittsburgh looked sharp marching down the field and capped it off by newly signed TE M Rucker’s 32 yard receiving touchdown. The Seahawks didn’t flinch and executed their game plan of ball control offense and ran the play clock down to 1 on each snap and returned fire with a long time killing drive and went up 14-7. Things went downhill from there as Matt Ryan threw his 2nd pick as the half ended. Seattle owned the second half as they won the time of possession battle with an advantage of 17 minutes to Pittsburgh’s 7. They did a great job of simply not allowing the Steelers normally high powered offense to get in sync. With solid defense and a balanced offense that converted key third downs at a coach’s dream of 7 for 9 conversion rate on third down. Here is some tidbits from the rookie coach’s post game press conference.

Coach, I know you have to be disappointed and we can’t help but wonder if the Steelers simply overlooked the Seahawks and were counting the days to the rivalry matchup between you and the Colts.

Coach Pete: We are embarrassed at the product we put out today and it didn’t surprise me. We really struggled during the week at practice. I don’t know if we were seeing horses during the week or what but obviously our team has a ways to go.

Ed Bouchette: What do you mean by a ways to go and with expectations so high. How are you going to respond?

Coach Pete: We played horrible defense to start. We missed several interceptions and tackles. Our defense has to get better. We have to create turnovers and we can’t give away the ball like that and expect to win. You can count on this team going to work early and staying late. I’m ripping my game-plan from the offseason of how I want to play the Colts and I’m not going to worry about them. Their roster changes more often with trades and Free Agent maneuvering then I change my underwear (and yes, that’s daily) anyway so you can’t plan for one thing. They are too good of a football team with several weapons that can really hurt you but at the end of the day, we are the Pittsburgh Steelers and we will play our kind of football..

Ed Bouchette (Laughing) I wish you the best of luck and one last question. Who do you see stepping up for Desean Jackson? Do you know who your new #1 WR will be? That has to hurt to lose your star player who you paid dearly for, let alone right before such a big game.

Coach Pete: We are not sure yet. We have 5 very talented WR’s on our team and any of them are capable of taking over a game. I do trust that they will step it up and make plays when we call their number. Good teams find a way through adversity and I believe we are a good team.

Ed Bouchette: Thank you for time and good luck next week.

The first quarter started slow as both teams were probably overly zealous and ended up trading punt before the Steelers settled down and drove down the field for a 15 yard TD run by Marshawn Lynch. The Colts returned fire with a 1 yard plunge from EX Steeler Brandon Jacobs. The Steelers got the ball back after a booming kick for a touchback and Marshawn Lynch opened the drive with a 80 yard touchdown run. Lynch was seen giving out car keys and cash to his beloved offensive lineman during Monday's meetings. Thanking them for the outstanding blocking on that play and the whole night. Lynch finished the day rushing for 153 yards on 14 carries and 3 touchdowns. You can expect fantasy football players to be running to the waiver wire to pick up this guy. A. Bradshaw ran for a tough 75 yards and a 4.1 yard per carry rating. Both these backs played great as they set a Franchise best team rushing yards New star QB Matt Ryan was not flashy but effective as he completed 9/11 passes for 140 yards and 1 touchdown.

The second half of the game was all about defense and rushing as the Steelers mustered another 14 points in a hard fought battle. Coach Pete said it was like a chess match as both teams were conservative and were waiting to pounce on a mistake, like a game changing fumble or Interception. However neither team coffed up the ball despite numerous hard hits from both teams. Marshawn Lynch was running so hard he actually broke Colts cornerback Chris Johnson's collerbone after trucking him near the goaline. Lynch said after the game that he does not expect any Christmas cards from Chris but hopes no bad feelings occurred from the nasty hit. The Colts had a chance to drive down the field for a game tying score but gave the ball up on downs and rookie sensation let the team down after dropping a 4th and 10 pass. However he shouldn't be so hard on himself. He was hit by LaMarr Woodley who came in to clean up the tackle from Pacman Jones. It was just the kind of big play the Steelers needed to ice the game. Coach Pete said he was excited for the win and mentioned how much he respects the Colts organization. It's a top notch facility and team who we fully expect to see later in the year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, fresh off their victory last week over arch rival Indianapolis Colts, did not overlook a solid Texans team. The defense made up for a lackluster offensive showing and stonewalled the Texans, keeping them under 150 yards of offense. The defensive unit played hard and violent as they were a turnover causing machine with 3 Forced Fumbles and 2 Interceptions. The offense sputtered all night with their lone bright spot Kenny Britt who made 3 big time catches including a 28 yard receiving touchdown in the 3rd quarter to put the Steelers up 14-0. The Texans fought hard and made things interesting by sacking Matt Ryan and forcing a fumble with 2 minutes to go and only down 7. However, the Steelers defense responded once again and came up big by getting their 5th sack of the night, then vetern Nick Collins came away with the

game sealing interception. Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau pointed out OLB Sergio Kindle as one of the games biggest performers, he came away with a carrer high 6 tackles, four of those for a loss, and two sacks. FS Danny Manning had a great all around game as he had 1 sack, 1 Forced Fumbled, 1 interception and a couple of tackles. Danny Manning in his 2nd year in the league and first year starting for the Steelers is really starting to progress. The Steelers face an improved Tennessee Titans team next week and with one upset on the year, I don't foresee them taking them lightly. Coach Pete said offensive execution will be the focus this week in practice, and we look forward to a fight next week.