The
Stillers stepped up and got a "had to have it" game, that was in the
mold of one of those classics from years gone by.� Offensively this team is in complete disarray, and the victory
yesterday does nothing to validate Mularkey, his scheme, or the personnel.� The Bus ran hard for 95 yards, but teams are
continuing to drop off into coverage and daring the Steelers to pound the
ball.� Shockingly enough, teams figure
that Bettis provides no threat and they are content to let him plod along for a
few yards here and there while dropping back into coverage.� Maddox' performance brought back wonderful
phrases such as scattershot and erratic, but in Kordell fashion atleast he
pioneered a victory - even if he had very little to do with the final outcome.
- What's the easiest way to save $5M per year?�
Not cave in to McElroy and Maddox demands this offseason when they
approach Rooney about ripping up his current contract valued at approximately
$1M per year.� Word has it McElroy
expected $5M per year last summer, and when you deal with ignorant fools like
that, it's very likely he hasn't budged.�
My hope is the depth chart at QB next year reads either:� 1. Veteran FA (Kitna type)� 2. Maddox�
3. St. Pierre; or 1. Maddox� 2.
Batch� 3. Eli Manning (or another
'premium' prospect).� The only way
Maddox is your starter next year is if you're grooming a QB for 2005.� Luckily Maddox is signed for 3 more years at
"backup" money, if he doesn't want the "backup" money he
has every right to go back to State Farm.
- Has anyone else noticed the offensive line has been
playing better.� Sure there are a few
botched plays, but take a look around the league and you'll find that
everywhere.� Did anyone catch a peek at
the Ravens-Seahawks game this past Sunday?�
Terrell Suggs, Boulware, Lewis and company were in Matt Hasselbeck's
face all day long.� There was constant
pressure as the Baltimore front seven continually harassed Hasselbeck.� Interestingly enough, Hasselbeck didn't
implode, but rather he either faced the pressure and hung tough in the pocket
or used his athletic ability to evade the pressure and delivered the football
downfield enough to tally 5 TD passes.
- Another Maddox excuse has been the WRs dropping his passes.� Well did you know that Hasselbeck's core of
Seattle WRs lead the league (by far) in dropped passes.� Maybe the 6 straight passes Darrell Jackson
dropped against Pittsburgh was your first clue.� Or how about the 2 TD passes they dropped that day.
- But hey if you give Maddox 6 unfettered seconds in the pocket he's going to
make you pay.� Defensive coordinators
all over the league are scared to death.
- The rookies in the secondary are acquitting themselves quite nicely.� Polamalu, in spite of the penalties, has a
solid game as did Ike Taylor.� Hope, for
all intents and purposes a rookie, also played well.� In fact, he had a nice stop on a toss left where he read the play
and knifed in from his safety position.�
That's what speed and athleticism will do for you at safety.
- Can you really blame Cowher for sticking with Alexander at free safety over
the much more athletic Hope?� Alexander
is like a coach out on the field, and that is extremely vital when you're short
one defensive coordinator.
-
The changes in the secondary have been a bonafide success.� Townsend is making more plays on the ball
than any Steeler CB the past 2 years.�
It's been common knowledge that Townsend was the club's best cover CB
the past 2 years.� It just took Cowher 2
years to figure out that cover CBs are valuable in a pass happy league.� Again, give the guy a break, he's managing
the whole team without the benefit of a defensive coordinator to figure out
things like "pressure affects a QB", "there is a place for cover
CBs in this league", "athletes like KBell and Porter need to be given
some free reign to play with reckless abandon", etc.
Things
I think:
- Faneca can be a quality left tackle if he plays out this season there, and
has an offseason and training camp to fine tune his skills.
-
Haynes should be your starting RB as he offers the best blend of speed and
power.� There shouldn't be too much
concern about him fumbling since Bettis fumbled in 3 straight games and was
never benched for it.� The guess here is
that Haynes won't fumble as much and get this he actually offers more upside.
-
The Steelers are playing themselves out of contention for Manning or Gallery.
- Alonzo Jackson looked awfully good rushing the QB against the Cowboys in the
preseason.� I really have nothing else
to judge him on, which really is unfortunate.
-
The Seahawks need to come up with a new "prevent" defense.
- A starting secondary of Scott/Townsend/Taylor at CB with Hope/Polamalu at S
is actually somewhat promising.� Scott
is a flex player that you could move to S and draft a stud CB in the 1st round
to replace him.� That's a more than
adequate secondary in my book.