Schein: Steelers Could Be The One

[alittlejazzbird]

Excerpt from his Monday column:

And now there is one — Pittsburgh. It's the Steelers winning this weekend or the Patriots go undefeated.

Eric Mangini created the word "Spygate." New England is going to rightly treat the Jets like the freshman team. I don't think a 35- or 40-point win is out of the question.

Don Shula, in ultra-bitter fashion, wondered aloud if the Pats should have an asterisk attached to their record. New England is going to win by the same type of score against the hapless, winless Dolphins.

Eli Manning gets confused against the Vikings. Wait until he sees the Patriots.

So it is all up to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This is likely the only obstacle for New England.

And Pittsburgh can absolutely do it.

Dick LeBeau's defense plays with that physical style Baltimore displayed last night, only better.

Ben Roethlisberger has a knack for being clutch. And if A.J. Feeley and Kyle Boller can play well against New England, so can Roethlisberger.

Assuming he can hold onto the ball, Willie Parker can run against the Pats.

And a player like Hines Ward was built for a game like this.

In talking to Ward on Monday, we asked him the keys to beating New England.

Ward chuckled heartily and said, "Wait, you can beat New England? You think we have a chance?"

The star receiver then got very serious.

"They definitely have a great team," he said. "But we have a lot of prideful guys in our locker room. A few years ago we won the Super Bowl. We have a lot of guys who were part of that and they want it again. It's going to take every guy. We have to have Troy Polamalu out there, Santonio Holmes out there. We are going to need every weapon.

"They have a solid front line. Everyone talks about the age of their linebackers, but next to our linebackers, they are playing as well as anybody in the league. They are playing great. They are gelling. Asante Samuel is great. You make a mistake on him it is a pick six and he's taking it back to the house."

Ward has been exchanging text messages with Rodney Harrison, as the two hard hitters have been looking forward to this game since the schedule came out.

Who knew then the implications of this game?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7525304

[The Duke]

Hines and Rodney- I just love that little rivalry, can't wait to see either jack up the other one. but hopefully it is Hines that makes this hits

[Hines0wnz]

The talking heads on TV always talk about purist games in the NFL. Well friends, this week is a purist game and it may very well come down to the last team standing in the 4th quarter. Mike Tomlin preaches violence as the Steelers gameplan and this is the game when he finds out if they have been listening to him.

[19ward86]

i am so excited for the game, i truly believe the steelers could crush the ravens.

[stillers4me]

This game excites more than any on our schedule. We are either going to bomb......or be da bomb!! And we certainly have everything it takes to be da bomb!

Let the hype begin.....................

[geo123]

I'm getting a little nervous; too many people are picking Pittsburgh. The last ime that happened was against the Jets. We all know what happened there.

[WisconsinSteelerMan]

Well, I feel that if the Steelers play at the top of their game, they have a GREAT chance to win this game. However, I must say that to me it is only one of 16 games in our schedule. I would hope that the Steelers don't rush anyone back to play this game if they aren't ready. If we want to make a push into the playoffs, we need to make sure that we are healthy at that time...

I will be watching with all of the Steeler Faithful on Sunday!

HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[revefsreleets]

Has anyone actually came out and picked the Steelers? I've seen a ton of these "The Steelers can do it" articles and stuff, but I haven't seen any of "The Steelers WILL do it".

[alittlejazzbird]

Originally Posted by revefsreleets

Has anyone actually came out and picked the Steelers? I've seen a ton of these "The Steelers can do it" articles and stuff, but I haven't seen any of "The Steelers WILL do it".

I guess I wouldn't call this an actual "pick," but Jim Rome last night on his show was giving reasons why he thinks the Steelers are going to beat NE.

Most picks come out Thursday or Friday. If people are picking against the spread (currently 14 points, I think), look for some of them to take the Steelers. If it's just a straight win-or-lose pick, probably most will take the Pats.

[alittlejazzbird]

It's long -- sorry -- but a good analysis. Here's Part 1, Part 2 to follow below:

Why The Steelers Will Beat The Patriots
Matthew Gordon. 4th December, 2007 - 5:55 pm

This Sunday?s game features what might be the two best teams in the AFC, or even in the entire NFL. The 12-0 Patriots have shown so far that they are among the most formidable teams in recent memory, accumulating what feels like a guaranteed victory every week. The Steelers, at 9-3, have lost three winnable games this season that they really should have won yet they remain number three in the conference and a feared opponent to anyone they face.

To be fair, there are a lot of things in the Patriots? favor. The Steelers are only 2-3 on the road, an abysmal record compared to their overall performance; the Patriots don?t have any crippling injuries, their worst being to Roosevelt Colvin; and they?re obviously riding one of the biggest momentums the league has ever seen. Despite these factors, there are a few things that could produce a shift in fortunes.

A quick survey of the Patriots? twelve wins so far reveals the following: four have been against divisional opponents (who are a combined 9-27 this year, for a putrid winning percentage of .250) and another four have been against non-division opponents with losing records. That leaves only four games during which the Patriots can be said to have really put together a performance that would make a contending team interested, including a narrow escape against the Colts. The Colts, Eagles and Ravens games were won by a combined ten points and could have easily been losses. An important note to make here is that all three of those teams have good coaching and came into those games with a game plan that they executed very well.

The Steelers? haven?t been at all more impressive, but the games they?ve played take a different path. When the Steelers have lost, it seems completely random, a result of the team just not bothering to put together a good enough performance. Games like the Niners blowout and the two games against Cincinnati demonstrate that the Steelers are clearly capable of putting away non-playoff teams almost as well as if not just as well as the Patriots can. The Dolphins game, a tough-fought 3-0 win, was a product of lousy weather and an underrate Dolphins defence. What?s more important is that the Steelers have not lost to a +.500 team this season. (They?re only 3-0, but this can be attributed to their schedule ? besides, the Patriots are only 4-0, as mentioned. Neither team has been pitching playoff battles every week.)

Since neither team has had the chance to bowl over legions of playoff teams, the previous twelve games have shown us little in terms of quality of opponents except that the Patriots win games and the Steelers win games when they come out to play. The teams? records, the Patriots winning 12-9 in the wins department so far, can only explain so much, with both records being very good and the Steelers? losses not coming in any sort of systematic fashion. The Patriots won against the Colts but needed a 14-point fourth-quarter surge to do it, something that probably won?t be so available against the Steelers? defence; the Eagles win can be blame more on A.J. Feeley?s horrendous decision-making in the closing minutes than anything else. The Cardinals, Broncos and Jets are all significantly different teams that exposed little more than the Steelers? tendency to play to the level of their competition. There are three things about this Steelers team that could make them very difficult for the Patriots to stop.

(continued in next post)