I agree, but I won't be surprised if we somehow lose due to a mistake in a tight game. That can happen to anybody. Either way, I am trying to be cautiously confident and optimistic. There is no reason not to after pasting the Pats and having already beaten the Steelers.
I think even Rex is shocked at how much bringing in Byrd amplified everything about our team. What will be even better is Byrd will be given a ring too if we win. (I get teary eyed thinking about that) Don't worry, I said IF
You never know which Ben will be in the game at any point. Sometimes Will Farrell puts on his uni and starts doing crazy stupid shit on the field. It's impossible to tell them apart.
Let's be realistic, it doesn't matter who Steelers fans wanted to play. They would have gotten beat by both teams. Just be thankful Ray Rice fumbled that ball and allowed you to run your mouths for another week. If Ray Rice doesn't fumble, Steeler fans are crying right now and looking forward to what exactly...Pirate baseball? And if the Jets are the perfect match-up for the Steelers, why exactly didn't you win 45-3 a few weeks ago with the Jets having no momentum and playing terrible football? Oh yeah, because the Steelers are not as good as the Jets. Heck, the Steelers are barely better than Bills.
A lot of posters seem to be put off by the notions that the Steelers preferred the Jets, and that the Steelers match up better against the Jets than the Patriots. But neither is a knock on the Jets. The Steelers preferred the Jets because it meant they'd be playing at home. And we *do* match up better against the Jets than the Patriots; however this is a comment on the Steelers, not the Jets, as our zone blitz D simply matches up horribly with the Pats' quick, underneath passing attack. The Jets, on the other hand, have a strong running game and a young (if impressive) QB. Our D is very strong against the run, but sometimes suspect against the pass. So of course we would prefer playing a run-oriented team vs a pass-oriented team, because the former plays into our defensive strength. Regarding the AFCCG: a lot's changed since the December game so I'm not sure how much you can extrapolate from it. The Jets are coming off a huge win and must be feeling extremely confident (if they can beat NE at home, why not Pitt?!) Smith and Hunter are also more entrenched. On the flip side, the Steelers have Miller and Polamalu back. Miller is extremely valuable as a run blocker and an underneath receiver/release valve for Ben. I'm interested to see what Ryan comes up with schematically on defense. The Patriots clearly have a superior offense to Pittsburgh's, but they're also night-and-day in terms of scheme. The Pats throw short and underneath; the Steelers like to push the ball downfield since they have receivers with more speed. Ben doesn't see the field as well as Brady, but obviously has much more escapability. I'm most curious to see if the Jets elect to blitz a lot more (which I'd expect), in light of the fact that their D against the Pats was so effective playing coverage schemes almost exclusively. I'm guessing that Pitt will blitz the living bejeesus out of Sanchez until he proves he can beat it. You'd do well to target whatever receiver draws our second corner (McFadden) as that is our weak link. But I think the game's outcome may hinge on how well you run the ball--we're excellent against the run, but not impenetrable, and if you can run it as well as you did during the Dec. game you'll be in good shape. On the flip side, if the Steelers OL plays poorly we are in trouble. Ironically, the line had maybe its best game of the season against you in December...but that was a while ago, and we're more nicked up with precious little depth. Overall I think the teams are pretty evenly matched. Both teams have excellent defenses--and excellent defensive coaching--so I expect that the strengths of each teams' offenses (Jets running, Ben to Wallace/Ward/Miller) could be largely held in check. How well the teams do on their second and third options may determine the outcome (how well will Sanchez throw if the running game is taken away? How well will Ben throw to receivers like Sanders and Brown if Wallace, Ward and Miller are taken away? Will the Steelers OL hold up long enough to make those throws?) And of course, as always Special Teams is the wild card, and I think you have the advantage there (even if Smith remains out). In the end, I think the fact that we're at home and have the edge in experience at QB helps us win a close one. (I'll conveniently ignore the fact that the same was true for Indy and NE LOL). Ben is not a classic dropback passer, but I think that actually serves him well in the playoffs when things start breaking down, and I think he'll make just enough plays to win. Great game against the Pats btw. And good luck Sunday... lillloyd
good post and can't argue with any of it...except the outcome part of course.........i think Ben's more apt to turn the ball over and that might be difference here. I do see the steelers throwing anything they can at Sanchez blitzwise if they aren't getting there straight up
The steelers have some issues on their oline...both of their starting tackles are banged up. I'm sure they'll play....but the Jets found their pass rush finally. I wouldn't trust Ben's pass protection against our front 7....and i'm sure Rex will have something dialed up that the Pitt offense didn't see in our first meeting. This game won't be a walk-over for either team.....it's literally going to be a fight and a war of attrition.
My biggest concern for this game is that the Steelers defense makes it extremely difficult to pull away. We need Folk to hit on all of his field goals.
Brady never did play well under pressure, the thing is, he always had a good offensive line, so he never got much pressure. I've always said, the secret to beating New England was to get to Brady. Ben's another story.
This is not a correct statement. I have been rooting against Brady since the guy popped on the scene in 2001, during Jets games and other teams' games against New England. I don't know how many times I asked somebody if he was a robot in the mid-to-earlier parts of last decade, but there were many times. I've seen Brady throw darts in the middle of being speared by linebackers - Brady ALWAYS played well under pressure. Before he got his knee blown out. That's when he realized he was human.
Fumbling is part of the game and it can happen to the Jets, so you should choose you words with caution.
CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WITH CAUTION! Or what? Have some dope talk trash to him after the game on the internet?
This is a Shonn Greene game. We need someone who can fight for yards against the Steelers vaunted defense. I also think that Edwards is going to be big in this game with all of the focus in Pittsburgh on Holmes. No one's been able to cover Edwards lately and McFadden shouldn't either. The focus for this game has to be our offense. Folk has to make his kicks and Weatherford has to set up our defense and, in effect, our offense.
I agree 100% that running the ball this game as Shonn Greene written all over it. A power runner is perfect against their defense. Peyton Hillis stated this fact too on NFL radio, and brought up Greene's name. It's especially effective when we can mix it up with LT on some screen passes. This is also a game that Mark Sanchez could win because our receivers matchup very well against their secondary. We all know they're going to put it on Mark early and make him beat them, once he does we should be able to impose our will.
It's not like Peyton Hillis was successful against us Hillis Stats 1st Cleveland game - 12 carries for 41 yards, 3.4 ypc 2nd Cleveland game - 6 carries for 13 yards, 2.2 ypc If that is all Greene can do then the Jets are in trouble.
