Far closer than the score belies, the Steelers finally made the plays in the 4th quarter to seal the win. And really, that's what has to happen to win the big games - whether it's offense or defense getting it done...
Ben looked OK this week. Certainly not great, but it could have been a lot worse, too. He was stung early in the game by some drops - including a big one by Hines on a 3rd-and-long. However, Ben got to work, and began manipulating Minny's safeties left and right for some big plays, including a 40-yard strike to Mike Wallace (who, by the way, has cinched at least the #3 job for a while to come). But Ben was hurt by Bruce Arians' unwillingness to commit to the running game. Mendenhall had 69 yards on 10 carries, which begs the question of why he didn't get the ball more. If he had, maybe, just maybe, Ben really could have exploited the Vikings' secondary.
It was also frustrating to see Mewelde Moore out on the Steelers' final drive, and to watch him plod his way to 3 yard gains, where Mendenhall would have made 5 or 6. Lest we forget, it was Mendenhall who put the Chargers away on Sunday night in Week 5. Moore isn't capable of putting anyone away. Sure, Mendenhall fumbled at the 3. That was a bummer, but he's a kid. He's going to make mistakes. He was a little too aggressive, and got stripped. But with that said, isn't the whole team better off with him going in with the direction to protect the ball at all costs? You have to play to win, and you can't play to win with your 3rd string back in, and your soon-to-be-superstar #1 on the sidelines (healthy).
The defense made plays. They let Favre have some, true. I'm still VERY concerned about Ike Taylor's play. I'm not sure what the issue is, but he's been really out of position a lot of the time. In fact, the Vikings only real big passing play came against Taylor, when he was play zone 9 yards deep on a 3rd and 18, and let Sidney Rice (the Vikings biggest receiving threat) get wide open behind him. I'm just gonna say that I highly doubt it was Troy's fault that he was that wide open. DeShea and Will Gay made great plays on deep balls, we got decent pressure, and the linebackers made stuff happen. Two TD returns in a game is really something else.
On the bad side, where's our kick coverage. That's all a matter of "want to", and it doesn't look like our backups have much of that, Key Fox excluded, of course.
All-in-all, it looked a lot more like the Steelers of last year, in that they made the plays they needed to make when it counted most. Let's just hope we can carry it on. A win in Denver in 2 weeks puts at 6-2, and in very good position to make the playoffs.
Ben looked OK this week. Certainly not great, but it could have been a lot worse, too. He was stung early in the game by some drops - including a big one by Hines on a 3rd-and-long. However, Ben got to work, and began manipulating Minny's safeties left and right for some big plays, including a 40-yard strike to Mike Wallace (who, by the way, has cinched at least the #3 job for a while to come). But Ben was hurt by Bruce Arians' unwillingness to commit to the running game. Mendenhall had 69 yards on 10 carries, which begs the question of why he didn't get the ball more. If he had, maybe, just maybe, Ben really could have exploited the Vikings' secondary.
It was also frustrating to see Mewelde Moore out on the Steelers' final drive, and to watch him plod his way to 3 yard gains, where Mendenhall would have made 5 or 6. Lest we forget, it was Mendenhall who put the Chargers away on Sunday night in Week 5. Moore isn't capable of putting anyone away. Sure, Mendenhall fumbled at the 3. That was a bummer, but he's a kid. He's going to make mistakes. He was a little too aggressive, and got stripped. But with that said, isn't the whole team better off with him going in with the direction to protect the ball at all costs? You have to play to win, and you can't play to win with your 3rd string back in, and your soon-to-be-superstar #1 on the sidelines (healthy).
The defense made plays. They let Favre have some, true. I'm still VERY concerned about Ike Taylor's play. I'm not sure what the issue is, but he's been really out of position a lot of the time. In fact, the Vikings only real big passing play came against Taylor, when he was play zone 9 yards deep on a 3rd and 18, and let Sidney Rice (the Vikings biggest receiving threat) get wide open behind him. I'm just gonna say that I highly doubt it was Troy's fault that he was that wide open. DeShea and Will Gay made great plays on deep balls, we got decent pressure, and the linebackers made stuff happen. Two TD returns in a game is really something else.
On the bad side, where's our kick coverage. That's all a matter of "want to", and it doesn't look like our backups have much of that, Key Fox excluded, of course.
All-in-all, it looked a lot more like the Steelers of last year, in that they made the plays they needed to make when it counted most. Let's just hope we can carry it on. A win in Denver in 2 weeks puts at 6-2, and in very good position to make the playoffs.
Also, in an update on our ginger doppleganger site, he is running a series on the strength of the "organization" (the Buccos) at every position. Fuck that shit, man. That's like running a series about future world leaders coming up through the ranks in Burma. We suck. Our system is absolute shit, and on the off chance that we actually find a diamond in the rough, he'll be gone within 5 years.
Seriously, he might as well start including updates on the Islanders, Clippers and Raiders while he's at it. Man, there's a real QB battle brewing in Oakland! Quick, name the greatest Clippers shooting guard of the last 30 years! The Isles really have a great future with DiPietro in net!
Lucky win for the steelers. Where was the mention of the phantom tripping penalty and the "defensive delay of game" that has basically never been called before in the history of the world...
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