Steelers - still championship material

[FadeToBlack]

I hate to say it, but last night is a crappy sign for us, given we also have the Bengals in this ridiculously competitive division.

To start your backup QB on a week's notice and have him contribute 3 TDs and 0 INTs is incredible. To overcome a costly fumble at the 1 yard line and still manage to own the 4th quarter and the game was a little scary, too.

If we had to depend on Boller to lead our team back after trailing in our home opener, I can't say I'd be very confident in that, and I sure as hell wouldn't be dumb enough to bet money on it. I also wouldn't expect him to toss 3 TDs and 0 INTs.

Champions find a way to respond under adversity. The Steelers had given up that huge pass to Booker and the Ronnie Brown TD and they needed to respond with a touchdown drive in the 4th. In one play, they cover 83 yards and score.

That's the kind of shit we need to do this year. I hope McNair is the antidote.

[RavensFanIAm]

They are, but this is a new year. People have had all offseason to dissect them in film and learn how to beat them. It happens to every champion (except NE, I guess).

I think they may go back to the playoffs, but I'm not sure that they will be as good as last year. Miami's D looked lost and stupid penalties really hurt them.

[Purpleguy]

Boller would be a God in Pittsburgh. They have an amazing offensive line. That goes a long way to making the rest of your team look great. We are actualy starting one of their cast off back ups.

[FadeToBlack]

They have an amazing offensive line. That goes a long way to making the rest of your team look great.

True.

The OL sets up the running game and allows you to convert those important 3rd downs. We're missing a lot by not having a decent line. With a good line, McNair would take us pretty deep.

[Purpleguy]

With a good line Mcnair would take us all the way, so would many other QBs in the league, possibly even Boller (sorry).

Let's face it, our line has a couple projects, a mediocre gaurd in Mule, an aging and uninterested Ogden, a cast off back-up in Vincent, and a center that must have tapes of Ozzie in bed with a chipmunk.

We never have all the pieces on offense. We're either weak at reciever, weak at QB, or weak at RB. One constant is that we are always weak at the line.

[TakingBackSunday]

The Steelers looked pretty good, and I'm glad to give credit where credit is due, but the Dolphins lost that game just as much as the Steelers won it.

If it weren't for those stupid hands to the face and illegal contact penalties, who knows how the rest of the game would've turned out. Couple that with Dante's piss-poor decision making on the last couple of drives, and Miami really blew it.

[Purpleguy]

The steelers put up 28 points with a back-up Qb that hasn't played in a real game for quite some time. He was given time to throw and make plays to win.

Penalties are part of the game. How many times did we put up 28 points with our line last season?

[TakingBackSunday]

The steelers put up 28 points with a back-up Qb that hasn't played in a real game for quite some time. He was given time to throw and make plays to win.

Penalties are part of the game. How many times did we put up 28 points with our line last season?

Oh I agree. Without a doubt, the Steelers O-line is MUCH better than ours. They gave Batch plenty of time and he was able to make the big plays when he had to. They deserved to win, I'm not disputing that. I'm just saying that Miami did their fair share to help them.

And I know that penalties are a part of the game, but that 'hands to the face' penalty in particular was a back-breaker for the Dolphins. Take that away, and the outcome could've been much different.

[Greg]

If it weren't for those stupid hands to the face and illegal contact penalties, who knows how the rest of the game would've turned out. Couple that with Dante's piss-poor decision making on the last couple of drives, and Miami really blew it.
That first hands to the face was the killer and so unnecessary. 3rd and 18 inside your own 10? The idiot should have not even been jamming the WR at the line, they needed 18 yards, not 5. That changed the momentum, until then the Dolphins had the game in their hands.


Penalties are part of the game.
Yes, and so are long touchdowns and fumbles and interceptions. When they happen and how they change the game is the important part here. If the Stealers have to punt from back there, given the piss-poor kick coverage prior to that, the Dolphins have a good chance to drive for at least another FG and change the complexion completely.

Once the Stealers got the long drive and TD Culpepper started pressing and throwing poorly.

Fact is, the Stealers simply made less mistakes when it counted and that is indeed the mark of very good teams.

[Sports Steve]

The offense scored 21 points. Joey Porter took one touchdown back on a INT. Yes the OL makes the difference. Let's hope our OL does the job this year. If they can we're going to the playoffs. If not well we all know that answer.

:jester: :jester:

[Losac]

I hate that team so much. Stupid Yinzers.

[Mobtown]

Were the Steelers really all that good....or were the Dolphins just really that bad?

[TakingBackSunday]

Were the Steelers really all that good....or were the Dolphins just really that bad?

A combination of the two. The Steelers looked pretty good, considering Batch was at the helm. With Big Ben, they will be very tough.

The Dolphins looked good at the start, then completely fell apart. Culpepper especially looked rough towards the end.

[BaltimoreRon]

Yes, they appear to be the team to beat, for now. One good thing is that we always play them tough.

[Ravensarge]

Yeah, the Stealers won last night and the Dolphins should really be ashamed to give up like they did (with a lead, by the way). My question is this, Was that the same officiating crew from last years Super Bowl? The hands to the face was a bs call, and the second pass interference "penalty" they couldn't even re-play. What about the challenge on the re-play, don't most folks see moving objects out of the corner of their eyes? Not those boys in black and gol....um...er....white!!
Another injustice was the amount of blocks behind the back penalties that were never called against the Pissburgh O-Line. I was wondering if one of the teams forgot in what direction they were playing!!!

[52RAYVENS]

1 game does not a season make! A lot can happen during a season, so lets hold off putting another trophy in their hands.

[WxKevin]

Were the Steelers really all that good....or were the Dolphins just really that bad?

The Dolphins secondary is not that good. Their front 7 is very good but the other 4 are not.

Dante threw a lob that Polamalio picked off. That was a horrible decision by Dante. The next interception was a good defensve play by (GOD I HATE SAYING THIS!!!) Joey Bullet-ass. He put his hand down at the line then dropped back into coverage. Dante never saw him and Joey had an easy INT and TD.

Pittsburgh is going to be tough, but not to the point where the Ravens can't beat them. If our Line holds up then the Ravens are just as good as the Steelers, if not slightly better.

[Mobtown]

Dante threw a lob that Polamalio picked off. That was a horrible decision by Dante.

I actually thought that was a pretty good decision...just a bad throw. The WR was streaking and was open but the pass was well behind him and short.

[towsonraven]

Only the first game, so we shall see. Big time environment for them last night coming off the Super Bowl. And the Dolphins were abysmal.

[GreenWave52]

Its a long season. Even if we lose to the Bucs it doesn't mean we won't win the division. Most teams tend to sort themselves out by week 10, it is hard to draw conclusions before then.

[Drkraven]

I did not think the Steelers were overly good, they did not make mistakes

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[highwater]

The Steelers are a solid team obviously, but the Dolphins are overrated and Culpepper seemed rusty. I'm not going to read too much into this game. I figured they would win their first home game, the opening game for the whole league, on prime time while celebrating their Super Bowl championship. But that doesn't mean they are the favorites to repeat. Let's wait a while.

[Irishraven]

Do you guys think the Steelers winning puts more pressure on use to win this weekend?

I know they are now 1-0 and thats obvious but at this early stage does it matter as much pressure wise?

[Purplenemesis]

Is it just me or do the Steelers excel in the 4th quarter. It seems that in the 4th quarter the defense tightens up and causes turnovers. Meanwhile the other teams offense look lethargic. Would you attribute that to the Steelers OL getting a nice push and wearing out their opponents Defensive line

[Raveninwoodlawn]

I never understood why so much was made about them losing Bettis...a guy who averaged about 7-10 carries a game at around 3.4 ypc...and Randle-El...a guy who had all of 35 catches last year.

It's not hard to find a fat guy for your goal line offense and while Randle-el was a heck of a returner, when was the last time a PR was a huge key for your team?

the Steelers kept thier core and the vast majority of thier talent and will again be chasing the playoffs and title.

[The Fanatic]

Championships are not won in week one of the season.

The Steelers certainly deserve credit for over coming adversity and winning the game.
That is what quality teams do, particurally at home on opening night in front of a jacked up crowd.

With that being said, they could have and probably should have lost.

Miami choked when it mattered most.

When Batch fumbled the ball on the 1 yard line, all of the momentum completely shifted to Miami who didn't capitalize on the mistake.

Games like that are won by capitalizing on the opponents mistakes, Pittsburgh did just that.

After that Batch fumble Miami could have put the nail in the coffin with proper execution.

They were moving the ball running off clock which is what you need to do in that situation.

Then came the 3rd and two around the 45 yard line or so.

This was the beginning of the colapse right here.

What the hell are you trying to run some type of fancy reverse for?

3rd and 2, you better either pound that ball or throw some type of screen or quick out and keep the chains and clock moving.

The little quick hitch out to Chambers was killing the Steelers the entire econd half.
They couldn't defend it!!

Chambers was getting 3-5 yards damn near every time they did it.

Palamanu(sp?) came on a safety blitz probably anticipating run the entire time, and somebody didn't pick him up.

That was bad enough right there that you're giving the Steelers a little boost of confidence and another attempt to score.

Then you have the freakin tight end way down field 20 freakin' yards past the entire secondary uncovered.

The line gave Batch time to see it and throw it, the Dolphins blew another coverage letting it happen.

Somebody blew a coverage allowing Miller to be that far down field uncovered.

Reminded me of us against Cincitucky in 2004 when we blew that lead late with the blown down field coverage.

(We're still trying to recover from that)

Then you got Saban half ass trying to figure out if he should throw the flag when every freakin' person in america that watched it knew it wasn't a touchdown.

His ass should have thrown that flag long before he did, and done it with authority over hand like he actually meant it!!

A 2 year old could have tossed that flag out there under handed to land 10 yards behind the closest official.

Probably didn't matter anyway because Pittsburgh took the momentum back with the bomb, and capitalized on Miamis blown coverage mistake.

Throw in Culpepper looking clueless and indecisive most of the game, erratic passing at best, and Pittsburgh pulled it out when they very easily could have and probably should have lost.

Mistakes kill you in close games!!!

If the Bengals play anything like they did at the end of last year and that last preseason game this year, they will light up the Steelers like a freakin' airport runway!!

Championships are not won in week one!!!

[RavenTD]

Funny how the Stealers should get a TD when Millers foot was out of bounds.
It seems the Stealers are still the officials darlings.

The Stealers kept to there gameplan,and kept chipping away at Miami's defense.With Parker starting to breakout.He really shouldn't wait for his blocks.And just go with his speed.A cardinal sin for a RB I know.

The Ugly side of Culpeppers game reared its ugly head.

Pittsburgh did what it does best.Everybody knows it,it's just having to stand tall and stop it.

The first shots have been fired.Let battle commence.

Sunday the start of the AFCN battle map is drawn.

[Brandon]

Is it just me or do the Steelers excel in the 4th quarter. It seems that in the 4th quarter the defense tightens up and causes turnovers. Meanwhile the other teams offense look lethargic. Would you attribute that to the Steelers OL getting a nice push and wearing out their opponents Defensive line

Yes, and the fact that their offense can score points to help out their defense.

That's the reason why we went after McNair, with hopes that he can keep the offense moving, score points, and to give our defense a break, so that they aren't back on the field 30 seconds after they get off it.

[PurpleRulz]

It is very possible that we start off 0-1 while the rest of the AFC North division starts off 1-0. Cleveland plays the Saints, and Pitt just beat the Dolphins. Cinncy is just a very dangerous team that can outscore any team. Imagine the outcry that will happen across the city if we are the only 0-1 team in the division after Sunday?

[Ravens0587]

I hate the steelers

[cajmax]

The better team won.

Far better coaching staff, they stuck to their game plan. When any team can make the other team one dimensional, they usually win!

[lance1086]

A combination of the two. The Steelers looked pretty good, considering Batch was at the helm. With Big Ben, they will be very tough.
You make it sound like Pittsburgh won in spite of Batch, which couldn't be any further from the truth. They won because of him, and regardless of when Big Bonehead comes back, he won't be playing any better than Batch did on Thursday.

And despite 100+ yards from Parker, 3TDs/200+yds/120+passer-rating from Batch, great games by Miller & Ward, and a defense that completely shut down Brown & made Miami COMPLETELY ONE-Dimensional, Pitt was still 6-minutes & a 3rd down conversion away from losing to what I thought was an average Dolphins team.

I guess the point is, Pittsburgh can't expect to play much (if at all) better than they did on Thursday. And that was barely enough to beat an average football team.

All this talk about Pitt DOMINATING a VERY GOOD Dolphins team, 28-17, in spite of a backup QB is kind of funny. Seems like half the people saying this stuff, didn't even see the game.

I'm not convinced at all about how Pittsburgh will do this season, after Thurs night. If that's the best they can do, and it's barely enough to beat an average team, then before you go crowning then "Championship Material", you should have your doubts as well.

[RavenTD]

I was very impressed with Batch vs the Dolphins.Just what you need from a backup QB.Coming in mentally ready and getting the job done.