steelers win cointoss vs. colts

[tony hipchest]

who do you want to take the field first. offense or defense?
i say give the colts the ball. i definitely dont want to see the colts with the ball on the final drive of the 1st half and get it back again after the half.

the defense is the heart and soul of the steelers, so let them get out there and establish something. if the colts score, i really think it gives ben a little more focus on the task at hand. if the colts dont score the offense can go out a little relaxed with a tiny bit of confidence that the defense has its back. either way i think this is better than going out there on offense and not scoring the 1st drive. that can make the offense and defense start pressing just a little bit.

[Livinginthe past]

Personally I think you always take the ball if you win the toss.

The best way Pittsburgh can quieten that Indy crowd is for a 5/6 min drive ending in 3 or 7 points - the Colts D is the teams weakness not the 'O'.

You have to have faith in your offense in the playoffs - Pittsburgh has enough tools to put points on that Colts D.

Im sure you could easily argue both sides of this argument though.

NM

[83-Steelers-43]

If we win the toss. Take offense. Chew up as much clock as possible against the Colts. End the drive with a TD, quiet the crowd in that.......dome.......that teams play....football in. Just my preference.

[Avoid Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Livinginthe past

Personally I think you always take the ball if you win the toss.

The best way Pittsburgh can quieten that Indy crowd is for a 5/6 min drive ending in 3 or 7 points - the Colts D is the teams weakness not the 'O'.

Well said.

[tony hipchest]

like litp said there are argument for both sides, and im sure stats have been compiled. i think its really interresting how something as simple as a cointoss, which is really ballanced out by giving the other team the ball for the next half can be scrutinized and twisted to an actuall strategy.

this takes me back to the early 90's steelers and their last sb run. for 1, rod woodson was the captain and ALWAYS called tails- "tails never fails". now the steelers primarily always call heads. for home games that defense was the main attraction in pittsburgh, and they loved taking the field first, demoralizing the opponents offense, playing to get the ball in the final 2 minutes and going into the 2 minute drill which they ran real well, then getting the ball again right after the half. in indy there is no question that the offense is the main attraction and i think shutting them down on the 1st drive would do a little more to take the crowd out of it, especially if we then convert on our first drive.

[Grey]

I think you gotta take offense first if given the chance. We absolutely MUST get some points on the board early. Like LivinInThePast said, a nice long clock burning drive to start things off could do a lot for the outcome of this game.

I really, really hope we can get the running game going.

Here we go.
Grey

[workhorse]

I saw a stat the other day, I don't remember the exact numbers though, that said the Colts lead the league on scoring with their opening possession. If the Colts get up early it does two things. First, it makes the Steelers have to alter their gameplan a bit. Second, it allows the Colts' defense to pin their ears back. Freeney, Mathis and the boys are much more dangerous when they play pass first.

[SteelerFanInCA]

I'd say let's go with the offense first. Last time around we didn't really score that many points. You gotta believe our offense is eager to show we can score and put up points on a team like the Colts.

[Ambridge]

Originally Posted by Grey

I think you gotta take offense first if given the chance. We absolutely MUST get some points on the board early. Like LivinInThePast said, a nice long clock burning drive to start things off could do a lot for the outcome of this game.

I really, really hope we can get the running game going.

Here we go.
Grey

The other side of that coin(no pun intended)is that the Steeler defense can't give up any cheap and or fast scores.
The Steelers lose in a quick shootout battle but they stand a good chance if they can make the Colts offense grind out their drives and maybe hold them a few times for nothing better than a FG.

[Justin Otstott]

hard to say I mean I would let our D go first but against the Colts is kind of risky. Not sure.