We have a lot of those in these parts. Steelers/Yankees Patsies/Yankees Cowboys/Yankees is the largest odd group I'd say.
I asked because I wondered if there was anything about that game, other than Polamalu being out, which might have been adverse, at least a bit, to Pitt's run D, that would be different in terms of the players available. On the Jet side if anything I think LT and Greene are well rested and in a groove, as is the OL (although I would feel better if Woody were healthy and in there compared to Hunter, but Hunter did pretty well against NE). That being the case, I think the Jets should be able to exceed Pitt's average yards allowed by some margin.
Hunter was in against Pittsburgh too. The Jets let up one sack for 6 inch loss. The O-Line did great.
There's nothing to say that the Jets won't have success running the ball--or at least, moderate success, like last game. The Jets are a good running team. I wouldn't expect them to roll up 200 yards or anything, but they could definitely run enough to stay balanced which is I think the goal. That said, we do get Troy back and our rush D improves considerably with him in the lineup, statistically speaking. He's an extremely effective run blitzer, so obviously making plays in the passing game and pushing him out of the box (assuming he's deployed that way) will be a big deal. The other advantage Troy gives us is the ability to be much more aggressive and dynamic in our defensive play-calling. Lebeau is every bit the schemer that Ryan is, and if there's a defense that can match yours for sheer complexity, it's Pittsburgh's. You should get a larger diet of blitzes for sure (I'm sure Lebeau is a lot more comfortable blitzing with Troy in the lineup than Ryan Mundy LOL), and that includes run blitzes. So schematically you'll probably get a lot of different looks from the first game, and probably much more aggressive play-calling. This could be a fun game to watch because I think there could be a ton of blitzing, with a lot of sacks and potentially a lot of big offensive plays beating the blitz. Football Outsiders did a good preview of the game, and one of the stats they included was Sanchez and Roethlisberger vs. 4, 5, and 6-man blitzes. Sanchez's YPA against "bring the house" blitzes of 6 or more is just 3.9 yards, which is among the worst in the league (28th I think?). Pitt didn't bring any such blitzes in the first game, but with Troy back they may feel more comfortable doing so. On the flip side, obviously the Steelers OL struggles in pass protection and the Jets would do well to blitz and make Pitt prove they can handle blitz pickup. Honestly I don't know how all this will turn out. It may be that the Jets have similar success running the ball (I'm sure they'll make their adjustments as well!), but IMHO if they do it will be against a much more blitz-heavy defense and much more aggressive play-calling. It's not just having Troy in the lineup that's different...it's what it means for Lebeau. lillloyd
Yeah this has me worried. BMac isn't that great of a corner to begin with and he's dinged. If he can't go for the whole game, our nickel corner is...Anthony Madison? Ryan Mundy? (*groan*) I think Taylor's a good corner who's had an excellent year. He's nowhere near Revis' league, but I will say this: the dropoff between Taylor and our 2nd and 3rd corners is probably greater than Revis to Cromartie/Wilson...so why bother throwing at Taylor at all, just go after William Gay and Bmac.
LOL why would that bother you? Cowher saying you have no shot = a virtual guarantee you'll make the Super Bowl! He was a great coach but makes for a lousy prognosticator.
I think Clark and in particular Taylor are better (in Taylor's case, much better) than people give them credit for. Taylor's had an excellent year, unfortunately for him he can't catch a cold so can't create much notoriety for himself. He gets lumped in with the "lousy corners" but I think he's the one keeper in the group. Where teams are really doing their damage is against BMac (and to a lesser extent Gay), and whoever else we throw out in the nickel and dime packages. These are definitely lousy matchups for us week in and week out. Thank God we have a serious pass rush, as it helps cloak our coverage deficiencies, particularly at home with the crowd noise.
Nothing really to add except that our nickel is Coleman not Wilson. The drop off in coverage is huge from Cro to Coleman but that's from #2 to #3 not #1 to #2. Yeah the drop off from 1 to 2 is big also but that's cus Revis is so damn big. Also remember Coleman had 2 sacks against Big Ben. He's an excellent blitzer
I've read in a couple of places that the Jets may still leave Revis on Ward, with Cro on Wallace. If that's the case, I guess it makes sense from a "player type" perspective (Revis and Ward are the more physical players, Ward and Cro are the speed guys)...but it still seems like a bit of a waste of Revis' talents. I love Ward as a move-the-chains guy and zonebuster, but Wallace is obviously the more dynamic player.
*Wallace DC Mike Pettine said they're gonna move Revis around but I think that may just be coach speak. Imo it'd be foolish for them to put Cro on Wallace, esp since Wallace played pretty well the last time. Yeah he didn't make any big plays down the field which is his strength but 7 for 102 is 7 for 102 no matter how you slice it. I like Revis on Wallace with him switching to Ward in the red zone (if the Steelers make it that far :wink
Maybe I'm crazy, but haven't we've been really competitive vs. the Steelers over the last several meetings? I seem to remember Pennington beating the steelers in the snow in the Meadowlands. I also remember Doug Brien missing not one, but TWO chipshot FG's in '06 when Herm decided to turtle the team's chances for the SB. Then we go into Heinz field and beat them with our kid QB who also has a frigid playoff win against Cinn on the road. Point is, we match up very well against the Steelers and this game is perhaps a FG's worth of difference between the two teams. This one will come down to who makes plays in the clutch. No need for trash talk. This is Big Boy time in the NFL. This is where the adults bring their best to beat the best. Sanchez may be a kid, but he has moxie and doesn't shy from the moment. Ben has the pedigree of the Steeler history behind him as well. This game just may well determine the SB winner. Good luck to both teams!!
Kellen Clemens also beat the Steelers in 2007...the 15,000 Steeler fans in the stands were disappointed that day And those FGs weren't exactly chip shots in Heinz field but he should have made 1 of those 2. God that game sucked. That was 04 not 06 when we had the Herminator instead of Mangenius. lol
janesports Jane McManus Oh boy. RT @sportswatch Cro on SNY: "(Ward) will hit u while ur not looking. I don't think he's man enough to hit u while ur looking @ him."
If the Jets can do it again then they are that Bad. The thing is in the first game, of course the Steelers wanted to win, but it was not a MUST WIN. Steelers were in the playoffs already and needed two wins against inferior teams to secure a No. 2 seed. Jets needed the game more than the Steelers. Even with that the Steeler offense outgained the Jets by 100 yards. This is a the AFC Championship and the intensity will be much higher. For most teams, giving up 106 rushing yards is not too bad, but against the Steelers that is a big accomplishment. So if the Jets and their fans think it is that easy and will be duplicated no problem, then we will see. I doubt it and I wouldn't be surprised if the Jets running game is stopped in its tracks. This is the battle within the battle. If indeed the Jets can impose their will and run against the Steelers when it really counts, then they deserve to win.
Thank you sir for the date corrections. As far as those FG's in Heinz field, what was the range on them? I think both were under 50yds but I could be wrong. Dougie missed both but we had the Steelers on the ropes back then with an inferior team. My point was, this team has taken the Steelers to the mat over the last several encounters and there's no reason to think this upcoming game should be any different except for the X-factor: Rex Ryan. I like our chances on Sunday given our history vs. the Black and Yellow...
