Roethlisberger v. THE Patriots (1 Viewer)

[MNTom]

I think the secret is out at this point that if you want to beat the Patriots you need to run the ball down their throat. Couple that with the fact that the Steelers are a smash mouth style of team, and I think you have the Steelers game plan for Sunday.

I am benching Ben and starting Parker this week barring any major news flashes.

Agreed. The problem for the Steelers is they've been having difficulty running the ball lately.

Right. You've been pointing out the Steelers' O-Line problems for a while now so I'm wondering what you think about this: Last week the Ravens ran the ball on NE behind Ogden. Can FWP be as effective as McGahee was against NE with Pitts' O-line?

I doubt it. Parker is not as talented as McGahee or Westbrook, and the O-lines are not too far apart (Philly's maybe a little better, Baltimores = or &lt. Pitt's running game is not nearly as dominant as it has been in the past but still put up decent total #s due to the # of plays they get on offense thanks to their defense and the type of game their D allows them to play. If it's a close game, and the Pats play = run vs. pass D, Parker gets swallowed. If the Pats get the lead, Parker will have a higher ypc w/ fewer carries and don't get excited about the screen pass last week. RBs are very underutilized in the Pitt passing game.

I think some consideration needs to be given for the conditions that FWP and his line have been operating in the past two weeks. Week 12 was basically played on a 100 yard sponge. Week 13 was a bit better, but hardly condusive to a shifty-type RB. I'm not saying FWP has been a stud this year, obviously he hasn't been. But, in a year that most #1 draft picks have been busts, FWP has been pretty consistent in terms of yardage. The TD totals are a bit of an anomoly. This week they come into Foxboro where the field conditions shoud be a breath of fresh air and having recently watched two teams come close to beating the Pats by running all over them. The ONLY two teams to come close to beating them. Regardless of recent o-line performance, I would think that they would like to exploit their opponent's weakness.

I don't know why everyone is thinking that the Eagles ran all over the Patriots. In fact, they ran 19 times for only 55 yards. Westbrook had 17 carries for 52 yards. Almost all of the damage was done through the air. Feely was 27 of 42 for 342 yards.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

They are rated #1 right now but IMO three games in terrible weather contribute greatly to that ranking.

I keep seeing comments like this everywhere.I'm not going to argue about the MNF slopfest against Miami...of course those conditions helped both defenses. The other two games you're talking about with the terrible weather...The Steelers put up a combined 62 points. If the field if bad enough to help the defenses, it has to work both ways, no?

 

[Ditka is God]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

 

[twitch]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

ACP-what's the deal with is ankle injury anyway? I see he's only missed 2 games. Is that thing really a high ankle sprain? If so, Id be pretty impressed if he makes it through that game.

 

[Godsbrother]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

ACP-what's the deal with is ankle injury anyway? I see he's only missed 2 games. Is that thing really a high ankle sprain? If so, Id be pretty impressed if he makes it through that game.

They were calling it a high ankle sprain so you would think it would take a little longer. I suppose there are degrees of high ankle sprains though and perhaps this was not as severe.

 

[icon]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

This just pushed me to put $50 on PIT +10.5. My only fear is PIT is terrible on the road and NE will be beating on Ben all night....

 

[Alias]

I just ensured a Pitt cover, I put 100 on Pats -10, I am 0-2 in Patriots' bets this season. I wanted to put more but I think Polamalu plays. Weather should be good for an air attack.

 

[Sheriff66]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

This just pushed me to put $50 on PIT +10.5. My only fear is PIT is terrible on the road and NE will be beating on Ben all night....

They have lost 3 road games by a total of 13 points, one punt return and two last second FGs, I wouldn't quite say they are terrible...

 

[Bill Lust]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

This just pushed me to put $50 on PIT +10.5. My only fear is PIT is terrible on the road and NE will be beating on Ben all night....

They have lost 3 road games by a total of 13 points, one punt return and two last second FGs, I wouldn't quite say they are terrible...

Yeah, but come on - in the Broncos games they were down big and rallied back. It could have been worse. Another of the games was against the Jets.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

ACP-what's the deal with is ankle injury anyway? I see he's only missed 2 games. Is that thing really a high ankle sprain? If so, Id be pretty impressed if he makes it through that game.

There's hasn't been a whole lot of info on it. I've heard both "ankle sprain / high ankle sprain". But if he's running full speed on Wednesday it's a good sign.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I think Polamalu plays.

He also went though pratcice at full speed on wednesday. If anyone else cares, so did Marvel Smith. Steelers will be 100% from what I'm reading.

 

[twitch]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

ACP-what's the deal with is ankle injury anyway? I see he's only missed 2 games. Is that thing really a high ankle sprain? If so, Id be pretty impressed if he makes it through that game.

There's hasn't been a whole lot of info on it. I've heard both "ankle sprain / high ankle sprain". But if he's running full speed on Wednesday it's a good sign.

Yes it is for Steelers fans. For Pats fans, not so much. He's always a tough cover and a great deep threat. I see that kid as a future Pro Bowler as Im sure you do, and he creates serious matchup problems. And he may very well be one of the keys to the game. I dont want to say he's THE key, but it could be the case. Ive got that much respect for what he brings to the table. But even if he plays banged up, so will our guy Hobbs who's likely to cover him the most. That's a big matchup.

 

[Sheriff66]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

This just pushed me to put $50 on PIT +10.5. My only fear is PIT is terrible on the road and NE will be beating on Ben all night....

They have lost 3 road games by a total of 13 points, one punt return and two last second FGs, I wouldn't quite say they are terrible...

Yeah, but come on - in the Broncos games they were down big and rallied back. It could have been worse. Another of the games was against the Jets.

Terrible teams can't rally back from big deficets on the road is my point...

 

[Franknbeans]

Is it certain that Holmes will be back? I know he doesn't show up on the injury report but high ankle sprains are usually 4-5 week type injuries. Right now, I'm starting Ben over Kitna and Garrard. I think this turns out to be a 30-27 type game.

Holmes ran through a full practice yesterday. All indications are that he's ready.

ACP-what's the deal with is ankle injury anyway? I see he's only missed 2 games. Is that thing really a high ankle sprain? If so, Id be pretty impressed if he makes it through that game.

They were calling it a high ankle sprain so you would think it would take a little longer. I suppose there are degrees of high ankle sprains though and perhaps this was not as severe.

They initially termed it a minor high ankle sprain