mesaSteeler
11-14-2011, 05:59 AM
NFL from the sidelines
http://nflfromthesidelines.blogspot.com/
After hobnobbing around the NFL in the press boxes and sidelines, sports reporter Dale Lolley will let you know the insider scoop. Dale can also be heard as a sometime host on ESPN 970-AM. Follow him on Twitter at dlolleyor.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Post-Cincinnati thoughts
I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's a reason why they play the games.
And that's all I'm going to say about what happened in Seattle on Sunday.
© Tough day all around for Heath Miller. First he gets hammered a half-second after making a catch by Reggie Nelson; then he bobbles a ball that gets intercepted; and finally he draws an iffy pass interference penalty that negates a touchdown.
To me, the hit by Nelson, by the way, was on a defenseless receiver. The only thing was that Miller held onto the ball.
© The bye comes at a good time for the Steelers.
They'll get LaMarr Woodley and Emmanuel Sanders back in two weeks. And Ben Roethlisberger got pretty beaten up in this game. Cincinnati was credited with 13 QB hits and added five sacks.
© The Bengals are going to be a team to be reckoned with moving forward. They're building a nice nucleus, though the loss of top corner Leon Hall Sunday will hurt them moving forward this season.
© Mike Tomlin said the decision to keep Hines Ward on the bench was his and that Ward was OK to play. But if Tomlin admitted he was protecting Ward, who was coming back from 'concussion-like symptoms,' he might have gotten himself in trouble with the league for playing him in the first place.
With Arnaz Battle and Sanders out, the Steelers needed Ward active. But they didn't need to play him all that much and risk further injury.
And Jerricho Cotchery is getting more comfortable in the Pittsburgh offense.
This is going to be a scary wide receiver group moving forward.
© All the people who wanted to bench/cut William Gay coming out of last week's game can see why the Steelers didn't do so. Gay is having an outstanding season.
© The Steelers were 3-4 scoring touchdowns in red zone trips Sunday. But some people will still complain about the one trip inside the 20 in which they didn't score.
Of course, they actually did score a touchdown on that trip as well - only Miller was called for the penalty.
© With their two turnovers Sunday, the Steelers now have six for the season. That still puts them on pace for just under 10 for the season.
Makes you wonder how they're 7-3.
But they have forced three turnovers in the past two weeks, so maybe they're turning the corner there.
© The lack of turnovers, in my opinion, is because the only player in their secondary who can consistently play the ball in the air, Troy Polamalu, is spending so much time at the line of scrimmage because of the team's issues against the run.
And the corners, who don't play the ball well to begin with, are playing more man, which doesn't allow for a lot of picks either.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
© Can't wait to watch the Ravens and Bengals play next week.
http://nflfromthesidelines.blogspot.com/
After hobnobbing around the NFL in the press boxes and sidelines, sports reporter Dale Lolley will let you know the insider scoop. Dale can also be heard as a sometime host on ESPN 970-AM. Follow him on Twitter at dlolleyor.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Post-Cincinnati thoughts
I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's a reason why they play the games.
And that's all I'm going to say about what happened in Seattle on Sunday.
© Tough day all around for Heath Miller. First he gets hammered a half-second after making a catch by Reggie Nelson; then he bobbles a ball that gets intercepted; and finally he draws an iffy pass interference penalty that negates a touchdown.
To me, the hit by Nelson, by the way, was on a defenseless receiver. The only thing was that Miller held onto the ball.
© The bye comes at a good time for the Steelers.
They'll get LaMarr Woodley and Emmanuel Sanders back in two weeks. And Ben Roethlisberger got pretty beaten up in this game. Cincinnati was credited with 13 QB hits and added five sacks.
© The Bengals are going to be a team to be reckoned with moving forward. They're building a nice nucleus, though the loss of top corner Leon Hall Sunday will hurt them moving forward this season.
© Mike Tomlin said the decision to keep Hines Ward on the bench was his and that Ward was OK to play. But if Tomlin admitted he was protecting Ward, who was coming back from 'concussion-like symptoms,' he might have gotten himself in trouble with the league for playing him in the first place.
With Arnaz Battle and Sanders out, the Steelers needed Ward active. But they didn't need to play him all that much and risk further injury.
And Jerricho Cotchery is getting more comfortable in the Pittsburgh offense.
This is going to be a scary wide receiver group moving forward.
© All the people who wanted to bench/cut William Gay coming out of last week's game can see why the Steelers didn't do so. Gay is having an outstanding season.
© The Steelers were 3-4 scoring touchdowns in red zone trips Sunday. But some people will still complain about the one trip inside the 20 in which they didn't score.
Of course, they actually did score a touchdown on that trip as well - only Miller was called for the penalty.
© With their two turnovers Sunday, the Steelers now have six for the season. That still puts them on pace for just under 10 for the season.
Makes you wonder how they're 7-3.
But they have forced three turnovers in the past two weeks, so maybe they're turning the corner there.
© The lack of turnovers, in my opinion, is because the only player in their secondary who can consistently play the ball in the air, Troy Polamalu, is spending so much time at the line of scrimmage because of the team's issues against the run.
And the corners, who don't play the ball well to begin with, are playing more man, which doesn't allow for a lot of picks either.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
© Can't wait to watch the Ravens and Bengals play next week.