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Stillers - Jags Preview

September 29, 2000 by In the Trenches

Stillers - Jags Preview

The upcoming game against the Jags will be a real test. After getting absolutely spanked by the Colts on MNF, Jagsonville will definitely be looking to bounce back in a big way at home. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh showed signs of life in a gritty loss against the Titans and will be scrapping for win number one.

Key Matchups:

The first matchup to watch Sunday will be the Pittsburgh coverage teams versus the Jags return teams. The Jags have not been spectacular this year, but that might change this Sunday if the Stillers again refuse to maintain coverage lanes.

The biggest matchup of the day will be the Stillers bottom dwelling pass defense versus the Jags high-flying passing attack. Jagsonville is 3rd in the AFC with 270.3 passing yards/game. Brunnell is the AFC passing yards leader with 1092 yards and has completed 61.2% of his tosses. Conversely, Graham has completed only 646 yards and has completed only 50.2% of his attempts. One thing to note is that Brunnell is prone to trade picks for big plays as witnessed again this year by his 5 picks. Meanwhile, Graham is still squeaky clean and will have to remain so for our Black 'n Gold to have a shot. If the secondary fails to meet the test, then watch the floodgates open.
NOTE: Brunnell is nursing a strained left calf...he didn't practice Wednesday, but he did practice Thursday.

Pittsburgh's Keys to Victory:

  • Maintain lanes, maintain lanes, maintain lanes and quit looking to kill the opposition on kick coverage.
  • Build off last week's offensive performance...especially on the offensive line. Look for more big play opportunities to try and spread the Jags defense.
  • Blitz, blitz, blitz and blitz. No more sissy, three and four man pass rushes!

Prediction:

Despite coming off a short week, the Jags are too solid to lose to a struggling team. Nonetheless, I think the Stillers will continue to show signs of improvement this week and will refuse to be blown out. Jags win 30-24.

Trenches

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