NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS 
Vegas Line: Steelers + 3
Rob’s Line: Steelers + 2.5
Mouth watering. How can you not want to watch this one? Along with the Indianapolis Colts, these two franchises have dominated the AFC landscape for the past decade and not much has changed this season either, the Colts’ meltdown notwithstanding. Naturally, this game dominates the Week 8 landscape too and it deserves some very serious attention.
Before delving in to the various wrinkles this preview may throw up, there’s one quite surprising statistic above them all, one I believe to be significant and that’s that Tom Brady is 6-1 against Pittsburgh in his career. Ever since Brady first started his Hall of Fame career in 2001, the Steelers have been good on defense and extremely well coached, first by the indomitable Bill Cowher and now by Mike Tomlin. For any quarterback to be so strong against them says you have something special and Brady, of course, is exactly that and it means that this matchup will hold no fears for him at all. He learnt how to remain cool and calm on the gridiron a long while ago so it won’t matter how much noise the Steelers’ fans bring to Heinz Field on Sunday.
That one stat alone almost makes me lean towards New England without further consideration, but if you’re looking for the better, all round team, then Pittsburgh are your boys. They rank in the top half of the league both offensively and defensively, including second against the pass, but this week they come up against the Patriots’ league leading pass offense so something has to give there.
The reason I cite for Pittsburgh being the all round better team is based on the fact that the Patriots rank dead last in the NFL in defending the pass and if Tomlin and offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, aren’t creating ways to utilise receiver Mike Wallace’s blazing speed against such a weak unit…no, I wouldn’t insult their intelligence by daring to suggest they aren’t scheming even as I type. But, Wallace could, and should, find himself targeted often by Ben Roethlisberger and as was highlighted last week in Arizona, nobody in the league can catch Wallace when he’s running away from you towards the end zone.
New England is never more dangerous than when Brady’s looking to throw and he has his own gem in Wes Welker, who’s second in the league in receiving yards with 785, and when you watch the Patriots you have to sit in wonder at just how often, and easily, Welker appears to find open space. And without possessing Wallace’s olympic-type speed, he’s no slouch with the ball in his hands and when he gets hit he just seems to bounce straight back up again. As an undrafted player, he gives every (perceived) undersized receiver in college hope of an NFL career. That said, how many of those aspiring to follow his path will wind up with a QB in Brady’s class? A couple at best.
So, how do I see this one going? Both teams have solid, if not exactly spectacular, run games, but it’s through the air where these two excel and this could develop into something of a shootout and we could even be witnessing a precursor to the AFC Championship Game.
Pittsburgh seem to have shaken off their early season malaise and I’ve written before that I believe they keep their best football for the better teams and they don’t come much bigger than the Patriots. However, I’m loath to go against Brady and coach Bill Belichick, despite the fact that Wallace could really enjoy himself against their shaky secondary and I’m also not happy defying Brady and that 6-1 record. I take New England to cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment