Plenty of new starters this week, as I laid out in my previous post. And you can add one more to the mix, as Casey Hampton has been declared out for this game as well.
That means Chris Hoke and Steve McClendon will hold down the middle of the Steelers D.
But I like the Steelers this week at home. Tennessee is not good enough to be a 4-1 team. The Titans just aren't.
And playing at home, the Steelers should get a much-needed boost to force Matt Hasselbeck, who has been playing well, into some mistakes.
I think the addition of Max Starks at left tackle this week as well, will solidify things a little more, though the Steelers will be starting their fifth offensive line in five games.
But I like Pittsburgh to pull out a close one, 21-17
15 comments:
Dale,
Who do you think will get the bump up this week from the practice squad - DL Corbin Bryant or RB John Clay? Pretty hard to believe so many people are down, but injuries are a part of the game.
while titans may be a bit overrated, their o-line and d-line will control the line of scrimmage.
once again, i don't see the steeler's offense scoring more than 17 points. the titan's offense should be able to run the ball, unless the steelers overload the box, which will leave them vulnerable to the play action.
either way, the defense needs to geneate 2+ turnovers and a score cause the offense just isn't good enough to pull it out.
20-10 titans win.
I think this could be the week that Redman becomes the starting RB. He may not have the top end speed of Mendenhall but he seems to get 2 or 3 where Mendy would get 0 or -1. That adds up. It's important mentally too.
The Steelers will win this game, even if Ole Chuck has to come in and play for Ben. Chris Johnson has never had a good game against the Steeler D, and Sunday's game will be no different.
Key on offense will be to control the clock and the turnovers.
I think anyone who has watched the Steelers this season has to have noticed the difference between Mendy running the ball and Redman/Moore running. Mendenhall looks tentative every run, though he will break some for good gains. Redman and Moore always seem to get a couple, and sometimes break through a tackle or two and pick up 10. That was always the Steelers look during the Bus years (yeah, I know, the O-Line was way better then). It just seems that Redman has been better at making due with what they give him, which is often not that much.
Players don't have to clear waivers before resigning yet, so I'd guess somebody like Moore and some other 1-yr vested player will be cut if they need to bring up PS players for the game (Batch used to be that guy but now he's the backup QB!).
My official prediction is that I have no idea what will happen.
My unofficial prediction is that the Titans win 27-24 in a weird turnover fest with a controversial call or two late.
To win this game we need turnovers and Ben to go out and play like an elite QB, which in this case may mean using his brain as much as his physical skills & heart.
On defense, if McClendon & Heyward & Hood can avoid having their backsides used to block their own linebackers, it will be an improvement. And keep in mind our secondary has yet to be exposed as in our first four games, two teams ran all over us and threw to tight ends or RBs all day, and in the other two we played Tarvaris Painter.
Basically, it's all up to Ben.
They have six defensive linemen, so if they were to make a running back move, it would be Clay. But Mendenhall might be available on a limited/emergency basis.
Teams have a way of rallying around injuries. Plus, I don't know that getting some fresher legs in there - such as McLendon – isn't a bad thing
Dale,
With Aaron Smith and Big Snack down, that gives the team only 5 DL (Keisel, Hokie, Ziggy, McClendon, Heyward) unless they make the move to add Corbin Bryant to the team from the practice squad. I think they will do that and have Mendy available on an emergency basis. It should still be warm in Pittsburgh on Sunday, so I think Bryant is the move.
I think the young kid can play and hopes he gets a chance to show it.
You're right, DaTruth. My bad
I expect this game to be much like last year's game
but with a little better QB play from both teams.That will be the deciding factor
someone needs to tell rog to look at the league wide injury report. then tell his holiness that it's still a ridiculous idea to go to eighteen games.
It hurts for me to say this, but I just don't trust the team right now. We stink in the trenches & until we prove otherwise I can't give us the edge against teams w/ quality o line & d line play. Could Starks & Redman solidify the run & bring the playaction set back to the playbook? Yes. Could the defense rally around the injuries? Yes. Right now I just don't trust it to happen. I've got Tennesse in this game w/ Johnson making 1 or 2 big plays due to our lack of effective tackling.
The NFL seriously needs to look at the NHL system for injuries.
I think this game is sloppy for both teams. Theres no point in debating what the Steelers offense is going to look like and Hasselback might be playing well but he isn't going to pick apart the Steelers secondary, which is playing better than expected. So the key is going to be what Chris Johnson and the Steelers front 7 do.
I don't think Johnson shreds them and the Steelers win an ugly one 17-13.
napoppyrI think we'll see the offense step up in this game. The injuries are significant but I expect things to finally settle down this week as the Steelers role to a 34-14 win.
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