Steelers Defeat Chiefs on MNF, But Ben Roethlisberger Injured...

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs tonight on Monday Night Football to earn their 4th consecutive win.

• To say that this was an ugly win does not do this game justice.

But worse than ugly, it was costly, as Ben Roethlsiberger left the game early in the second half. It was reported that he immediately left the gridiron at Heinz Field for X-Rays, and ESPN America Latina later reported that he left the complex with his wife and a shoulder in a sling.

In his absence Byron Leftwich saw his first extensive "live fire" action in some time, and he showed the rust. While he did make key completion, the offense was not the same without Roethlisberger.

Not that all of the blame should fall on Leftwich's shoulders. The Steelers offensive line, which had been growing more dominant by the week, did not control the line of scrimmage. While both Issac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer showed good power, Steelers Nation went back to the all too familiar site of running backs being hit at or behind the line of scrimmage.

The Steelers defense, however did its part, holding Kansas City to a field goal in the second half, with players like Keenan Lewis, Ryan Clark, Will Allen, Ziggy Hood, Brett Keisel and Ike Taylor stepping up to make numerous stops.

But the biggest play of the defense came in overtime, when Lawrence Timmons, who was already putting in a monster night, intercepted a Matt Cassel pass and returned it to the 3.

One play later and Shaun Suisham was kicking through the uprights to give the Steelers their win.

Full Extent of Roethlisberger Injury Unknown But...

The full extent of Ben Roethlisberger's injury is unknown, but shoulder is worrisome especially because early in training camp Roethlisberger admitted to having a slight rotator cuff injury, Steeler Curtain Rising has NO information on Ben's injury, but if he's torn his rotator cuff more, than will likely spell the end of his season.

Folks, its 2:00 am here in Buenos Aires, and work beckons in a few short hours. Will attempt to write more tomorrow.

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Steelers Cut Alameda Ta'amu Sign David Gilreath

The Pittsburgh Steelers made a slightly surprising roster move ahead of their Monday Night Football game at Heinz Field vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Steelers cut one-time Casey Hampton heir apparent, 4th round draft pick Alameda Ta'amu and used his roster spot to activate wide receiver David Gilreath from the practice squad.

The injury that Antonio Brown suffered in the Steelers victory over the New York Giants will keep him out of the Chief's game, and leaves the Steelers without their number 2 receiver. While Jerricho Cotchery and Emmanuel Sanders filled in admirably for Brown, the simple math reveals that the only 4 wide receivers healthy remain on their active roster.

David Gilreath is in his second year in the NFL, having spent time with the Chargers, Colts and Bills during the 2011 season. He caught on during the Steelers 2012 off season and impressed in training camp. Gilreath's preseason game vs. the Colts was a particularly strong outing for the young receiver  but he could not reproduce his success in subsequent outings and Gilreath found himself on the Steelers practice squad.

Farewell to Alameda Ta'amu?

The move to cut Ta'amu amounts to a minor surprise. Alameda Ta'amu is facing DWI, disorderly coduct and a battery of other felony charges for leading the police an an extended chase through the South Side. The Steelers did suspend him for 2 games, and took a lot of public criticism for not cutting him outright.

Clearly, the Steelers do not fear losing him via the waiver wire.

In all likelihood, Ta'amu will be resigned either to the active roster or practice squad once Brown returns to full health. But clearly this young rookie is regarded as expendable at this point.

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Steelers Report Card vs. Giants @ Metlife Stadium

Taken from the grade book of a teachers who is re-learning the lesson that its far better to issue grades when performance is fresh in mind, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers report card for the victory over the Giants. As a caveat, even at this late date, no other Steelers report cards have been consulted.

Quarterback

For the first time in several games, Ben Roethlisbergerfaced real pressure and gave up four sacks. The fumble he got charged with looked to be bogus, but he also probably had another fumble incorrectly ruled down by contact. Roethlisberger did throw another dumb interception, but his execution on the Steelers scoring drives was excellent. Grade: B+

Running Backs

When Isaac Redman started the season averaging 2.something yards a carry much of Steelers Nation knew, he could do better. Against the Giants he proved it, barreling through the line for 147 yards including the go ahead touchdown and an impressive 28 yard burst to kill the clock. What those numbers do not reveal is that Redman consistently refused to be taken down on the first hit, and added yards and inflicted punishment with each extra effort. Neither Baron Batch, nor Chris Rainey, nor Will Johnson did much with their carries, but the team didn’t need them to. Grade:  A

Wide Receivers

Mike Wallace decisively demonstrated the value of a receiver who can take it to the house on any given play. Emmanuel Sanders only had two catches – but guess what? His first put the Steelers ahead by 7, and his second iced the game by converting on 3^rd and 9 with the Steelers needing to kill the clock. Not bad. Jerricho Cotchery and Heath Miller claimed 4 balls, and Antonio Brown caught two before leaving injured. Grade:  A-

Offensive Line

There was good in bad for this group. Mike Adams appeared to struggle in pass protection and in general the line’s pass blocking was a notch below what it has been thus far this year. On the flip side, this unit’s run blocking is improving to the point where it is getting scary. Now that Willie Colon has settled into his spot a guard, the only question is why did Bruce Arians balk at moving him there? Grade:  B

Defensive Line

Brett Keisel led the unit with 4 tackles. Casey Hamptonhelped set the tone by making the Steelers first tackle of the 4^thquarter for a loss. Ziggy Hood had one tackle. This unit did not wrack up a lot on the stat sheet but neither did anyone on the offense. And that’s the point, and it all starts up front. Grade:  B

Linebackers

Larry Foote led the unit with 7 tackles. James Harrison isn’t making a lot of “splash” plays, but he is winning his 1-1 match ups, which is making everyone else look a lot better. The Giant’s 4^thquarter drives were bookended by Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley sacks. Grade:  B+

Secondary

Ryan Clark led the team in tackles including one for a loss that helped force a Giants field goal. Ike Taylor, Keenan Lewis, and CortezAllen all registered passes defensed while Ryan Mundy kept his name from being mentioned for the wrong reasons. New York went an abysmal was 2-11 on third downs, and that only happens if the Steelers secondary is doing a lot of things right. Grade:  A-

Special Teams

By the time the game was over, the Steelers were down to their third string return man, but Emmanuel Sanders delivered, with a 63 yard kickoff return and an 11 yard punt return. Chris Rainey also turned in returns of 51 and 30 yards. Although the coaches rather than the players deserve criticism for the botched fake field goal attempt, the kicking team nonetheless came up short, dropping the grade just a smidge.  Grade:  A-

Coaching

The Steelers were traveling on the same day of the game, playing against the Super Bowl Champions on the road, lost their number two receiver, and were playing again with only one of their starting caliber running backs. But The Standard Remained the Standard. Mike Tomlin had his team focused, and both of his coordinators deployed excellent game plans. Amos Jonesmanaged limit (most) of the penalties that have plagued his unit and in turn the return game delivered results. The fake field goal call was a mistake, however. Grade:  B+

Unsung Hero

His play hasn’t always been consistent this year, but against the Giants he was all over the field, dropping people in the backfield, getting in Eli Manning’s face, and getting to the quarterback when it counted and for that Lawrence Timmons is Steel Curtain Rising’s Unsung Hero for the victory over the Giants.

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Steelers Upset New York Giants 24-17 @ the Metlife Stadium

The Pittsburgh Steelers started 2012, in a word, slowly to the tune of letting three fourth  quarter leads slip away as Steelers Nation watched in anguish.

Rumblings began:

• Have NFL offenses found the antidote to Dick LeBeau’sdefense?
• Did father time finally catch up with that self-same defense?
• Has Haley robbed the Steelers of their ability to play physical football in the trenches?

Yes, Pittsburghresponded with strong victories vs. the Bengals and Redskins. But neither team has a winning record.

• A victory over a contender still eluded the Steelers.

The Giants appeared to offer the perfect measuring stick, and the game in New Yorkgave the team a chance to measure themselves against the defending Super Bowl Champions, as well as providing a different sort of test for the Steelers - one where they proved to be more than worthy to the task.

“We focus on the things that we can control” – Mike Tomlin, on many occasions

NFL coaches prepare for any and every contingency. 

• Mike Tomlin studies film for hours, probing for weakness
• Dick LeBeau and Todd Haley painstakingly lay ground work to defend or exploit a formation which they might see just once in a game
• Position coaches like Scotty Montgomery or Carnell Lakedrill players ad nauseam to capitalize on minuscule tendencies that will win them a crucial 1-1 match ups

 All of this is necessary for victory, but it is not sufficient because factors outside the control of players and coaches influence outcomes in football. The question is never “if” those factors will come into play in a big game but “when” and more importantly, how will you react?

Starting Out Old School

The Steelers and the Giants are two of the NFL’s oldest and most tradition-steeped  franchises, so its fitting that the game started out as a slug fest, with both teams probing for weakness, but failing to land blows.

That changed late in the first quarter when Steve McLendonpressured Eli Manning into a quick throw, which Ike Taylor was only too happy to intercept.

After that Isaac Redman powered the Steelers down into the Red Zone where Ben Roethlisberger connected with Emmanuel Sanders in the End Zone to put the Steelers ahead.

The Steelers defense had forced a turnover, and the offense converted it into money. Everything seemed to be going the Steelers way….

Beware Zebras Waving Yellow Flags...

But then the uncontrollables appeared:

• Keenan Lewis got flagged for a tickky-tacky pass interference call
• Ryan Clark leveled Victor Cruz and got flagged for helmet-to-helmet contact despite the fact that no part of Clark’s body touched Cruz’ head
• Andre Brown scored a touchdown although even on replay it looked like he was down before crossing the goal line

That was just the warm up act. Three plays after New York’s touchdown, the officials struck again.

Had Ben Roethlisberger’s name been “Peyton Manning” or “Tom Brady,” then the stat sheet simply now simply read “incomplete pass.”  

Credit Michael Boley for hustling. Several players on both sides also appeared to think the ball was incomplete rather than a fumble. But Boley played to the whistle, charging 70 yards for what was ultimately, and incorrectly ruled, a touchdown.

The Steelers had started the game against the World Champs by taking control, and they were suddenly down by 7, due to little fault of their own.

It happens. Welcome to the NFL. Now, what do you do about it?

“Games like this don’t build character, they display it.” – Bill Cowher 11/5/95

Anyone who understands Steelers knows they were not about to wallow in self-pity.  Mike Tomlin teams do not do that. 

• But feeling sorry for oneself is one thing, staying focused is something else.

 Focus at times has not been a team strength (see Oakland, see Tennessee).

• The Steelers made it immediately clear that history would not repeat itself in New York.

The Giants threatened to close out the half with another score, this time on their own merits, but the Steelers defense held, aided by a missed field goal.

With 30 seconds and one time out, Ben Roethlisberger put the Steelers in field goal position to narrow the Giants half time lead to four.

It would be poetic to say that the Steelers from this point on represented a model of composure and controlled the game from there on.

But they didn’t.

Chris Rainey and Emmanuel Sanders made potentially game-changing returns, but the Steelers squandered them with a Roethlisberger interception and a failed faked field goal attempt.

While this was happening, however, the defense quietly delivered. Case in point, New Yorkreturned Roethlisberger’s interception to the 5, but the defense forced the Giants to settle for a measly three.

• And so it was, the Steelers opened the fourth quarter, not defending a lead, but down by ten.

The offense awoke. The fact that they came back to defeat the defending Super Bowl Champions is good, but the way they did it offers even more hope.

Since Ken Wisenhurst’s departure the debate over the proper Run-Pass balance that should define the Steelers offense has consumed Steelers Nation.

• Such debate misses the point.

Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtain observed last season, the Steelers need a dynamic offence, that can either run or pass when the situation warrants.

The Steelers fourth quarter performance reveals a dynamic offense par excellence.

• Ben Roethlisberger first connected with Mike Wallace for a catch-and-run quick strike.
• Pittsburghthen mixed passes and runs to four different ball carriers, with IsaacRedman  punching it in from the one
• Finally, the Steelers iced the game on a clock killing drive that featured a 16 yard completion on third down and 28 yard scamper by Redman

 And what of the defense?

• The unit  was simply spectacular, forcing New Yorkto go 3 and out on all three of their final possessions.

Versus the Giants the Steelers had multiple opportunities to flinch. But they chose to focus instead, and in the process the played their best regular season game in over a year.

Not a bad place to be at the season’s half way mark.

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Steelers Ganan Giants, Manning de Nueva York

Los Steelers hicieron padecer al menor de los Manning

La victoria de hoy se construyó en espacio y en tiempo: desde el fondo del campo de juego hacia el centro y desde el pozo del 3° cuarto hasta el final.

• Este triunfo tiene nombres.
• Hubo personajes que hasta ahora habían estado tras el telón y que hoy salieron a escena.
• Este triunfo tiene un significado que trasciende el dia de hoy. Proyecta a un equipo hacia un final de temporada que parecía tener destino de olvido.
• Hubo fallos arbitrales muy polémicos que tuvieron incidencia en el juego.
• Hubo un 3° cuarto.
• Hubo un 4° cuarto.
• En este triunfo hubo momentos para ambos equipos, hubo zozobra, hubo nervio, hubo coraje.
• Hubo coraje...

Comencemos por los nombres

Sobre todos. Isaac Redman. El partido de su vida.  26 acarreos, 147 yardas y 1 TD.
Los Steelers se quedaron sin relevos en la posición de RB. Hizo todo el trabajo en soledad, Cargó con todo el ataque terrestre sobre sus espaldas. Como lo hizo Jonathan Dwyer dos semanas atrás. Siguió acarreando luego del contacto, girando, empujando y siguió acarreando. Una vez tras otra. Hasta conseguir el acarreo final de 28 yardas que selló el partido.
Se puede decir que los Pittsburgh Steelers cuentan con el plantel de corredores más impresionante de la liga? Yo creo que sí.

Chris Rainey - Emmanuel Sanders. Esta dupla de devolvedores de patadas consiguieron 173 yds devolviendo kick offs y 63 devolviendo despejes. Lamentablemente el primero salió lesionado por un golpe en el tórax (para mi, tardío y hasta malintencionado que no fue penalizado). Pusieron al equipo siempre en gran posición para iniciar las marchas pero no fueron siempre aprovechadas por la ofensiva. Sanders además atrapó un pase para TD.

Mike Wallace. 2 recepciones para 15 yds a lo que se debe sumar otra cosa a la que no sé cómo denominar... Pero pongámosle tambien recepción: el pase habrá sido de 8 yardas. Las otras 43 yardas las fabrica a pura velocidad doblando la esquina, superando en carrera a defensivos que lo cerraban por el frente!! Esa fue la jugada del partido. Insufló el pecho del equipo y transformó en una muralla a la defensiva que a partir de allí borró del campo al equipo local.
“Ridículamente veloz” como le diría alguna vez Coach Mike Tomlin.

Dick LeBeau.El veteranisimo Coordinador Defensivo, integrante del Salón de la Fama, tenía la obligación de detener el ataque aéreo con receptores de la talla de Víctor Cruz y lo consiguió con creces, limitando a solo 114 yardas totales cuando el promedio de yardas por partido de los Giants es de 287. Cruz fue buscado por su QB en 11 ocasiones logrando atrapar solo 5 envíos

Ben Roethlisberger. Aunque no brilló como en otros partidos consiguió completar más del 66% de sus pases, 2 TD y convirtió casi la mitad de los terceros intentos. Tuvo el carácter y supo reponerse de incidentes desfavorables del juego como el fumble (muy polémico) devuelto para TD y de una intercepción en medio del tercer cuarto que parecía hundir al equipo en otra derrota.


Al finalizar el 3er cuarto los Steelers estaban abajo por 10 puntos
Lo realmente importante de este partido fue el carácter que demostró el equipo para sobreponerse a ese 3er cuarto.
Cuando Mike Wallace anotó el TD para poner al equipo a 3 puntos escribí en mi libreta de apuntes: Es el momento!
Sentí, como creo que muchos de lo que mirábamos el partido, que ese era un punto de inflexión en el ánimo del equipo. Ánimo que no se resintió ni aún luego del fallido intento de engaño en 4ta y 1 (jugada que se discutirá por mucho tiempo: yo creo que debieron entrar con Issac Redman o usarlo como señuelo. Pero el RB era el jugador clave para esa jugada).
La marcha siguiente de los Giants fue 3 & out.
A partir de allí la defensa fue ENORME. En la línea y en el fondo.
Redman anotó un TD por tierra faltando 4:10 en el reloj.
La marcha siguiente de los Gigantes otra vez 3 & out con fumble provocado por LaMarr Woodley, incluido.
El partido se cerró con Issac Redman corriendo en el espacio y en el tiempo: 28 yardas hasta el aviso de lo 2 minutos.
Este es un equipo que ha evolucionado notablemente.
Nació en Cincinnati, se crió en Washington y cumplió la mayoría de edad en NYC...
A partir de hoy creo firmemente que estaremos en la postemporada.

                                                                    El Dr. de Acero

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Steelers Report Card vs. Redskins @ Heinz Field

Taken from the grade book of a teacher whose now seen his star pupil live up to expectations two weeks in a row, here goes the Steelers report card for their victory over the Redskins. As a caveat, no other report cards were consulted.

Quarterback
It may be 'dink and dunk' but its winning football for Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger was 3-3 in the Red Zone, hitting three different receivers and led the Steelers to 5 scores. The Steelers, however were only 4-11 on third downs. That didn’t really hurt the Steelers, but does pull his grade down a smidge. Grade:  A-

Running Back
Jonathan Dwyer gave the Steelers their first back-to-back 100 yard games since Willie Parker in weeks 1 and 2 of 2008, and in doing so made a play on the mantel as the team's starter. Chris Rainey broke another long one at the goal line to set up a touchdown. Baron Batch struggled on the ground and caught 1 pass. Will Johnson blocked well and got his first NFL TD.  Grade:  A

Receivers
We've said this before:  All Heath Miller does is catch touchdowns (and in the process, is making his case for team MVP.) Mike Wallace atoned for his butter fingers by making several clutch catches. Emmanuel Sanders did have a drop, but his third down conversion set up the first touchdown. Antonio Brown didn't show a lot of fire works, but made the bread and butter catches that resulted in a 6 minute advantage in TOP. Leonard Pope executed his role to perfection on the touchdown play. A strong outing for the receivers. Grade:  A-

Offensive Line
After posting its best outing vs. Cincinnati, could the offensive line made it two in a row? The answer is yet, it could. If you want to see why Willie Colon's move to guard excited people so much, take a look at the block he threw on Sanders early 3rd down conversion. Mike Adams did well in his second start. The offensive line is gelling nicely, and that process is having spill over effects elsewhere. Grade:  A-

Defensive Line
Defending a player like RG3 is tricky, but the Steelers defensive line was more than up to the task. Moreover, they shut down the NFC’s most prolific passing attack. Brett Keisel defensed a pass, hurried RG3 and his tackle of Logan Paulsen on 4th down for a 7 yard loss sealed the game for Pittsburgh. Ziggy Hood got a hand on a pass, and Cameron Heyward led the team in tackles, by ESPN’s count. All in all an excellent afternoon for the defensive line.  Grade:  A

Linebackers
Larry Foote had the game’s only sack, which forced a field goal late in the game. Lawrence Timmons got into RG3’s face and got guys down behind the line of scrimmage. James Harrison might not have gotten a lot of pressure, but he did make 8 tackles. LaMarr Woodley also registered a tackle for a loss. Commentators enjoyed talking about how RG3 “frozen” the Steelers linebackers with his play fakes – which is true, but the bigger truth is that the linebackers never lost containment on RG3, and that made a huge difference.  Grade:  A

Secondary
So you go up against RG3 without your top All Pro strong safety and lose Pro Bowl free safety, and what happens? You hold him to 12 points. The Steelers secondary was excellent in coverage, containment and run support on Sunday. Yes, the unit benefited from drops, but their hard hitting helped plant the seeds for some of those drops. This group was down right aggressive, and that aggressiveness paid dividends.  Grade:  A

Special Teams
The good news.  Shaun Suisham was 2-2 including a 48 yarder. Drew Bulter punted well. Rainey was solid returning kicks.  The bad news. The Redskins has a 17 yard punt return that set up their final score. Their kick return average was a little better than you’d like. But the most egregious error by the special teams was yet another touchdown was nullified by a penalty at a time when Redskins could have been put away. Sure the Steelers over came it, but That’s just inexcusable and pulls the unit “Below the Line.” Grade:  D+

Coaching
Mike Tomlin mentioned that he saw an intensity from his defense that he had not seen all year. That was evident, and if the D is in fact finding its Mojo, then they’re doing it at just the right time. Todd Haley’s game planning was phenomenal. Roethlisberger’s goal line touchdown to Pope (and also to Johnson) show just how deadly this offense can be when the opposition must respect the run. Dick LeBeau is now 15-1 vs. rookie quarterbacks and he clearly had his team prepped to contain RG3. An outstanding game by one of the finest defensive minds in the game. Special teams coach Amos Jones needs to find a way to stop the penalties.  Grade: B+

Unsung Hero
18 months ago much of the Steelers coaching staff, let alone Steelers Nation had written this man off another failed third round draft pick. However, Carnell Lake took a personal interest in this young man, and he got on to the field in 2011, and more importantly, he kept himself there with his play. For the second consecutive game this man’s determination to play to the whistle saved the Steelers a touchdown in the end zone, in addition to two other passes defensed and plenty of hard hitting, and for that Keenan Lewis is Steel Curtain Rising’s Unsung Hero of the Redskins game.

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Análisis de Los Steelers Contra Washington

Análisis del partido WAS 12 @ PIT 27

Roethlisberger Ganó con 3 anotaciones

Por la 8va jornada de la temporada 2012 de la NFL, en el estadio Heinz Field, los locales, Pittsburgh Steelers superaron por 27 a 12 a los Washington Redskins alcanzando así la cuarta victoria de la temporada y la segunda consecutiva.


La ofensiva local arrancó el juego demostrando una autoridad y solvencia que sorprendió a propios y extraños.
Una línea ofensiva que había recuperado a su centro, Maurkice Pouncey, dió la protección necesaria a Ben Roethlisberger para que completara 7 de los 8 pases que lanzó en esa marcha, que incluyó una pase de anotación al TE Leonard Pope en 4to intento y 1.
Se destacó desde el principio del juego la concentración de los receptores tanto para no dejar caer balones como para bloquear a los adversarios y permitir más yardas luego de la atrapada.

Al otro lado del balón, la defensiva acerera demostraba que no hay que darla por acabada
y desplazaba del campo a la ofensiva que alardea de ser líder de la NFL con 117 yds por juego y de contar con el QB estrella, el novato Robert Griffin III.

Primera marcha de Washington: 3 y fuera.

Durante la primera mitad todas las marchas de los Steelers acabaron en anotación (2 TD y 2 goles de campo) y la que no, fue un despeje del K Drew Butler detenido sin retorno en la yarda 1 dentro del campo de los Redskins.

Notable.

Por el lado de los Pieles Roja, RG 3 era obligado a salir del bolsillo de protección por el acoso del equipo de linebackers, lanzando pases en jugadas rotas llegando así, solo en una oportunidad, a conectar un pase de 2 yardas para TD con el WR Santana Moss, cuyo punto extra fue bloqueado por los Equipos Especiales acereros.
La primera mitad terminó con un relativamente holgado 20 a 6 para los locales.
Pero la experiencia de partidos anteriores en donde se terminó entregando el partido en el último cuarto, transformaba en exigua esa ventaja.

El inicio de la segunda mitad no modificó las condiciones en que se desarrollaba el partido. La defensa de Pittsburgh estaba dominando ampliamente el trámite del encuentro. El ataque terrestre de Washington era limitado y detenido hasta retroceder permitiendo solo 3 puntos por intermedio de un gol de campo.

La última anotación de Pittsburgh se produjo como resultado de una ofensiva impecable: Jonathan Dwyer dominaba la línea de golpeo y la atravesaba gracias a los bloqueos de la LO, se conseguían gran número de yardas en 1era oportunidad, la defensiva de Mike Shanahan estaba siendo vapuleada.
Pase de TD para 2 yds a FB Will Johnson.
Once jugadas para 80 yds; 6: 39 minutos restados al reloj; un perfecto Big Ben con 5/5 y 32 yds.

Pleito liquidado

Not so fast, young man. I’m pretty good too...

Big Ben antes del juego, tenía un récord de 14 - 1 en su carrera vs equipos de la NFC en Heinz Field. La única derrota que registra fue contra los Giants de Eli Manning, justamente su rival de la próxima semana.
El QB Ben Roethlisberger registró otra muy buena tarde:

• Lanzó 3 pases de TD, completando casi el 73% de sus pases, para 222 yds totales.
• No sufrió ninguna intercepción y fue atrapado solo 1 vez detrás de la línea.
• Hay que hacer notar que recibió muy buena protección de la LO.
• Utilizó con cierta frecuencia el pase de pantalla en un intento de estirar la defensiva, alejando el juego del centro de la cancha, allí donde la defensiva de Washington es más fuerte.
• El regreso del C titular Maurkice Pouncey, ha tenido su efecto en el desempeño global de la línea, consiguiendo además abrir huecos por donde Dwyer acarreaba. Tal cual lo ocurrido en la semana anterior contra Cincinnati, fue muy destacada la labor de Heath Miller abriendo caminos con bloqueos efectivos que facilitaron mayor número de yardas acarreadas.
• Big Ben utilizó a 9 receptores distintos para sus envíos, volviendo a ser Mike Wallace el objetivo más buscado. A diferencia de otros partidos, el Receptor de 4to año mostró manos muy seguras, recibiendo 7 envíos para 62 yardas.
• En lo que respecta al juego por tierra, Jonathan Dwyer (17 carr/107 yds) completó su segundo partido consecutivo con más de 100 yds recorridas con la pelota, hecho inédito en los Steelers desde el año 2004.  
• Es notable el número de primeros intentos conseguidos por la ofensiva y su relación con terceros intentos: de 61 jugadas totales el 41% fueron primeros intentos y sólo el 18% 3er downs. Significa que en 1er y 2do down han recorrido una importante cantidad de yardas, hecho que (el de encontrarse frecuentemente en 3er y largo) fuera remarcado por este aficionado, en el análisis previo al partido, como un déficit de la ofensiva en encuentros anteriores.

Por el lado de la defensiva hay tres hechos que parece importante remarcar.

• Se anuló el juego por tierra del la primera ofensiva terrestre de la Liga, limitando a los Redskins a solo 86 yds totales por tierra, cercano a la mitad del promedio por partido durante esta temporada.
• La elusividad de RG 3 y su capacidad para improvisar acarreos con yardaje positivo, también fue neutralizada: en esta oportunidad acarreó consiguiendo solo 8 yds en todo el partido sin anotar por tierra. Solo se le permitieron corridas laterales tratando de evitar la captura.
• Es cierto que los receptores Pieles roja dejaron caer 10 pases atrapables y que, tal vez otra hubiese sido la historia si esos pases se hubieran completado. Pero no menos cierto es que muchos de esos pases y de algunos otros fueron soltados, rechazados y defendidos debido al modo extremadamente físico con que los profundos trataron a los receptores visitantes.  

Se podría decir que los Equipos Especiales tuvieron “una buena y una mala”: la buena no tan buena (bloqueo de un punto extra) y la mala, muy mala (se le anuló un TD en devolución de despeje a Antonio Brown por un bloqueo ilegal por la espalda). Sigue siendo el departamento que más infracciones provoca y ocupa el 2do puesto en la Liga en penalidades, precedido sólo por los equipos especiales de St Louis Rams.

Fue un muy buen partido de los Steelers.
Mantienen el 2do puesto en la división y el 7mo en la Conferencia Americana.
Hay que esperar para esta semana la evolución de los lesionados.
Coach Tomlin podrá contar con un staff de corredores completo?
Cuando Troy Polamalu está en cancha rara vez el equipo pierde. Podrá retornar al equipo titular?
La calidad de un equipo como los New York Giants, el rival de la próxima semana, y la condición de visitantes hacen posible que del compromiso del domingo se vuelva a casa con una derrota.
Sin embargo, si mantienen el funcionamiento y la actitud avasallante a ambos lados del balón, que se exibió el último domingo, las chances de voltear las apuestas serán mayores.
Habrá que esperar. 

Se puede confiar.

                                                                    El Dr. de Acero

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