Another nice quiet day for the Steelers. Everybody practiced today, with the exception of Hines Ward, who got his usual Wednesday veteran's day off.
San Diego could not say the same. LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates and Jamal Williams were among the Chargers not practicing - though Williams was non-injury related.
Tomlinson is unlikely to play against the Steelers, while Gates continues to struggle with a high ankle sprain that has bothered him for a number of weeks.
Placekicker Nate Kaeding has a groin injury that could be troublesome as well.
© The Steelers are a very loose bunch right now. I think this team has a lot of confidence heading into this game with San Diego.
They know they dominated the Chargers on both sides of the ball in the first meeting, rolling up twice as many yards and holding the ball for over 36 minutes.
They also know that the Chargers are 3-5 on the road this season, with those lone road wins being at Oakland, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.
Only Tampa Bay would be considered a strong opponent and that win came in late December, when the Bucs had mailed in their season.
14 comments:
I don't like the sound of the team being loose. The last time Ben was "loose" was when they played the Titans.
The only way I see the Steelers losing is if Ben is "loose" with the ball again, which unfortunately is exactly what I expect to happen. 5 turnovers in the past 1.5 games, including 2 in the red zone. And that was *before* he got a concussion!
You guys worry too much. How in the hell is San Diego going to score?
The pass defense was 31st in the league. The run defense was 11th, but only because they were so damn easy to throw against.
I said before that I was a little worried about SD because they seemed to be the hot hand. I've kind of changed my mind on that. I based my opinion on fearing them after watching Tomlinson play incredibly against denver. Fortunately he is not playing, and in the slim chance he plays, he won't be effective. They have a lot of other injuries too.
If SD were healthier, I'd be concerned, but they do know how to step it up in big games. The NE championship game was close last year.
I think it will be closer than people think, but the Steelers prevail.
Dale, cheering for anyone in particular for the Ravens/Titans game? I'd rather travel to Tenessee than host Baltimore. It is difficult to beat any team 3 times, much less a team like the Ravens. Just my opinion...
LT tearing up Denver's piss-poor defense was never scary to me.
We've always kept him in check. Has he ever had more than 75 yards in Pittsburgh? I'd be really surprised if he went over 50 more than once or twice.
I'm kind of surprised the offensive linemen and RBs, led by Parker, keep subtley ripping Arians' and his pass happy 2 TE offense. I figured after Tomlin pubically chastized Parker that that would be the end of it, but evidently not.
I'll echo ch3 and say that I worry when a team is loose because I don't necessarily want them busy making Super Bowl videos or plane reservations for relatives or get so destracted that they forget to cover Alfred Pupunu...know what I mean?
That said, yes, I worry too much, and I'd be more worried if Dale said they seemed "tight."
~Mark
Like I said, the only way the Steelers lose is if they turn the ball over a bunch. If you turn it over enough times, you can lose to anyone. Oakland 2006 comes to mind, which also happens to be the last time Ben played after suffering a concussion. I just hope Tomlin isn't afraid to have a quick hook for Ben.
I still think this team could score only 3 points, and our D will make it stand up on Sunday. Maybe we win 3-2 for the first time in history. Anyway, I don't see their O as being that big of a threat as their 2 largest weapons are hurting.
Lastly, I want to play Tenn. Why? I think as much as people say it was a non-issue, I think the terrible towel incident will fire up this D. I would hate to be them come the Conf. Finals. In addition, if they get past Baltimore they are sure to be sore...
do you think Tomlin could bench Ben even if he wanted to?
Coaches don't sit franchise QBs who are cleared to play.
also, thank you Dale for this blog.
I used to be an Insider over at Steel City. But after I had a kid and was looking for ways to save $ had to give it up.
I check out the freebie forum occasionally, but the threads are just pointless name calling.
Glad to have another FREE outlet for intelligent football talk.
Tomlin could bench Roethlisberger if he wanted to, but that's not going to happen.
He's going to continue dancing with the one who brought him.
They'll keep the throws as simple as possible and use their running game to pound away.
And for those of you who haven't checked out SteelCityInsider.com, you really should.
It's not just the insight that Jim Wexell, Craig Wolfley and I provide, there are some very intelligent posters there as well.
Not that there aren't here. I appreciate everything you guys bring to the table.
I expect Tennessee to find a way to win this weekend. I like all of the home teams this week, though I picked Philly in an upset on the radio Tuesday. That was just because I don't expect all four home teams to win.
So how has Ben looked this week?
better, same, worse than he did during regular season practices?
He looks fine.
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