Rupert
The Long Wind
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2005
- Messages
- 10,109
- Reaction score
- 3,428
Week 8 Preview – Raiders v Pittsburgh
October 23, 2003
By Rupert Pollard
The Raiders are coming off their first victory of the season. And while it couldn’t be called a thing of beauty, it was a success where previously winnable games were defeats. Pittsburgh is coming off a frustrating overtime loss. In the process they lost their starting QB to a concussion. How long he remains out has not yet been determined. How will Sunday’s game shake out?
Offense
Pittsburgh’s defense is below average against the pass, and they proved it by allowing the league’s worst (yes, it’s true) passing attack to pass to win. Since Pittsburgh has a slightly above average number of sacks, I was surprised that they generated essentially no pass rush against Atlanta. The odd thing was that even though the steel curtain is good against the run, they gave up 173 yards to the best rushing attack in the league, below Atlanta’s gaudy 222 per game, but still, 173 yards on the ground. The Steelers played Polamalu up near the line for most of the game to counter Atlanta’s rushing attack, and that left the rest of their secondary vulnerable. The Falcons used pulling linemen with relative impunity against Pittsburgh’s front three and were able to gain favorable position on the front seven with their zone attack, which is probably the second most synchronized next to Denver’s. I think Atlanta’s advantage over Denver is their frequent trap blocking and pulling.
Okay, so how should the Raiders attack Pittsburgh? I think the Raiders will get a little break in pass protection this week, but with their tendency to get confused against stunts and blitzes, I expect the Steelers to bring them in obvious pass situations. To that end, the Raiders should try to stay out of them, which will be a good trick, since they haven’t until late against Arizona. Pittsburgh has speed around the corners and gave up yards on the ground when Atlanta came at them between the tackles. If the Raiders stick with Crockett up the middle, they should do pretty well. They will need to get the run established if they are going to use play action to keep Pittsburgh honest.
The Raiders will need to be a little more cautious in the air. Even though Pittsburgh gives up the yards, they are tied for the league lead in interceptions. Except for three by Polamalu, they have one from eight other players, which means they’re good at dropping people into the path of the ball. And even though they don’t have shut-down corners, I would expect them to be able to concentrate on our receivers and let the backers take away Anderson. Polamalu will definitely be spying routes and tendencies we’ve exhibited in the passing game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing a role similar to the one Harrison played against Moss last year at New England.
What should the Raiders do? Simple, run out the same game plan they used against Arizona and Cleveland. Pittsburgh has difficulty with the pass, and can be taken away from the run to stop the pass. Three wide receiver sets have proven to give us the most effective route combinations and Walter the best options for completions. Finally, we’ve had the most success with it. I don’t know that I’d come out with play action, but I’d mix it in more before the half to try to establish a lead.
Defense
Pittsburgh’s average rushing attack was absolutely bottled up by Atlanta’s front four. It was remarkably similar to how Arizona was disrupted the past two weeks. The Steelers’ offensive line runs a very similar scheme to Arizona and Atlanta with a mix of zone blocking and traps and pulls. Atlanta was able to knife through and disrupt the play before it got started. Pittsburgh’s above average passing game torched the Falcons’ porous secondary. Atlanta only has an average number of sacks, but was able to find success in Pittsburgh’s backfield in spite of poor coverage.
This will be a battle of the Raiders’ league-leading pass defense against Pittsburgh’s above average pass offense. Hines Ward will be a tough matchup for the Raiders secondary, but I think Fabian Washington is up to the task. In fact, I think the Raiders top four corners match up well against the Steelers’ top four receivers. If the Steelers find enough success in the running game to force the Raiders to use zone coverage frequently, they will torch us like they torched Atlanta’s zone coverage.
The Steelers were absolutely embarrassed trying to run the ball against Atlanta. It was very similar to how Oakland shut down Edgerrin James. The difference is that Atlanta was known for that prior to the game. Can the Raiders do to Pittsburgh what Atlanta did? It’s possible, but there’s a difference between shutting down a struggling rushing game and shutting down a fairly confident one. Did their performance against Atlanta shake Pittsburgh’s confidence? Maybe. But if it did, expect them to try to re-establish it against Oakland. If the Raiders want to gain confidence, they simply need to see that Atlanta did to Pittsburgh what they did to Arizona. The talent might be better in Pittsburgh, but they can be attacked the same way.
Surprisingly, I think the Raiders should come at Pittsburgh the same way they came at Arizona. Whether they face Batch or Roethlisberger, they won’t be facing a rookie. Roethlisberger has shown a tendency to get rattled this season after being fearless prior to his accident and abdominal surgery, but he was coming out of it before going down against Atlanta. The bells might still be ringing if he gets under center this week.
Special Teams
Neither Jeff Reed nor Chris Gardocki impress me much as kicking specialists. Santonio Homes is a dangerous kick returner, but he’s shown a tendency to cough the ball up as a punt returner. Both Janikowski and Lechler are solid in the kicking game and Oakland’s kick coverage was very good against Arizona after having lapses the past few weeks. If there’s an advantage here, Oakland has it.
Bottom Line
Atlanta’s defense is a run stopper but is below average overall in the league. Still, Pittsburgh put up huge passing numbers against them. The Raiders’ defense took advantage of a weak offense to bolster their very good overall numbers on defense. However, Oakland’s low-ranked rush defense will need to come up big to keep Pittsburgh’s rushing attack in neutral.
The last time the Raiders faced a relatively balanced offense, they gave up 27 points (7 of San Fran's points came on defense). Assuming a similar output from the Steelers, the question becomes whether the Raiders can put up 28 points. The main reason the Raiders haven’t put up more than 22 points this season has been turnovers. The Raiders have given the ball away 20 times this season. If they’re going to win this game, they need to change that tune.
I want to call this game for the Raiders. I really do. But for me to go there, I’d have to believe they can cut down the turnovers. I’d also have to believe they can put the clamps on the Steelers’ offense. Okay, I’ll go against logic and guess the Raiders score more than they have so far this season. Raiders win 24 – 20.
October 23, 2003
By Rupert Pollard
The Raiders are coming off their first victory of the season. And while it couldn’t be called a thing of beauty, it was a success where previously winnable games were defeats. Pittsburgh is coming off a frustrating overtime loss. In the process they lost their starting QB to a concussion. How long he remains out has not yet been determined. How will Sunday’s game shake out?
Offense
Pittsburgh’s defense is below average against the pass, and they proved it by allowing the league’s worst (yes, it’s true) passing attack to pass to win. Since Pittsburgh has a slightly above average number of sacks, I was surprised that they generated essentially no pass rush against Atlanta. The odd thing was that even though the steel curtain is good against the run, they gave up 173 yards to the best rushing attack in the league, below Atlanta’s gaudy 222 per game, but still, 173 yards on the ground. The Steelers played Polamalu up near the line for most of the game to counter Atlanta’s rushing attack, and that left the rest of their secondary vulnerable. The Falcons used pulling linemen with relative impunity against Pittsburgh’s front three and were able to gain favorable position on the front seven with their zone attack, which is probably the second most synchronized next to Denver’s. I think Atlanta’s advantage over Denver is their frequent trap blocking and pulling.
Okay, so how should the Raiders attack Pittsburgh? I think the Raiders will get a little break in pass protection this week, but with their tendency to get confused against stunts and blitzes, I expect the Steelers to bring them in obvious pass situations. To that end, the Raiders should try to stay out of them, which will be a good trick, since they haven’t until late against Arizona. Pittsburgh has speed around the corners and gave up yards on the ground when Atlanta came at them between the tackles. If the Raiders stick with Crockett up the middle, they should do pretty well. They will need to get the run established if they are going to use play action to keep Pittsburgh honest.
The Raiders will need to be a little more cautious in the air. Even though Pittsburgh gives up the yards, they are tied for the league lead in interceptions. Except for three by Polamalu, they have one from eight other players, which means they’re good at dropping people into the path of the ball. And even though they don’t have shut-down corners, I would expect them to be able to concentrate on our receivers and let the backers take away Anderson. Polamalu will definitely be spying routes and tendencies we’ve exhibited in the passing game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing a role similar to the one Harrison played against Moss last year at New England.
What should the Raiders do? Simple, run out the same game plan they used against Arizona and Cleveland. Pittsburgh has difficulty with the pass, and can be taken away from the run to stop the pass. Three wide receiver sets have proven to give us the most effective route combinations and Walter the best options for completions. Finally, we’ve had the most success with it. I don’t know that I’d come out with play action, but I’d mix it in more before the half to try to establish a lead.
Defense
Pittsburgh’s average rushing attack was absolutely bottled up by Atlanta’s front four. It was remarkably similar to how Arizona was disrupted the past two weeks. The Steelers’ offensive line runs a very similar scheme to Arizona and Atlanta with a mix of zone blocking and traps and pulls. Atlanta was able to knife through and disrupt the play before it got started. Pittsburgh’s above average passing game torched the Falcons’ porous secondary. Atlanta only has an average number of sacks, but was able to find success in Pittsburgh’s backfield in spite of poor coverage.
This will be a battle of the Raiders’ league-leading pass defense against Pittsburgh’s above average pass offense. Hines Ward will be a tough matchup for the Raiders secondary, but I think Fabian Washington is up to the task. In fact, I think the Raiders top four corners match up well against the Steelers’ top four receivers. If the Steelers find enough success in the running game to force the Raiders to use zone coverage frequently, they will torch us like they torched Atlanta’s zone coverage.
The Steelers were absolutely embarrassed trying to run the ball against Atlanta. It was very similar to how Oakland shut down Edgerrin James. The difference is that Atlanta was known for that prior to the game. Can the Raiders do to Pittsburgh what Atlanta did? It’s possible, but there’s a difference between shutting down a struggling rushing game and shutting down a fairly confident one. Did their performance against Atlanta shake Pittsburgh’s confidence? Maybe. But if it did, expect them to try to re-establish it against Oakland. If the Raiders want to gain confidence, they simply need to see that Atlanta did to Pittsburgh what they did to Arizona. The talent might be better in Pittsburgh, but they can be attacked the same way.
Surprisingly, I think the Raiders should come at Pittsburgh the same way they came at Arizona. Whether they face Batch or Roethlisberger, they won’t be facing a rookie. Roethlisberger has shown a tendency to get rattled this season after being fearless prior to his accident and abdominal surgery, but he was coming out of it before going down against Atlanta. The bells might still be ringing if he gets under center this week.
Special Teams
Neither Jeff Reed nor Chris Gardocki impress me much as kicking specialists. Santonio Homes is a dangerous kick returner, but he’s shown a tendency to cough the ball up as a punt returner. Both Janikowski and Lechler are solid in the kicking game and Oakland’s kick coverage was very good against Arizona after having lapses the past few weeks. If there’s an advantage here, Oakland has it.
Bottom Line
Atlanta’s defense is a run stopper but is below average overall in the league. Still, Pittsburgh put up huge passing numbers against them. The Raiders’ defense took advantage of a weak offense to bolster their very good overall numbers on defense. However, Oakland’s low-ranked rush defense will need to come up big to keep Pittsburgh’s rushing attack in neutral.
The last time the Raiders faced a relatively balanced offense, they gave up 27 points (7 of San Fran's points came on defense). Assuming a similar output from the Steelers, the question becomes whether the Raiders can put up 28 points. The main reason the Raiders haven’t put up more than 22 points this season has been turnovers. The Raiders have given the ball away 20 times this season. If they’re going to win this game, they need to change that tune.
I want to call this game for the Raiders. I really do. But for me to go there, I’d have to believe they can cut down the turnovers. I’d also have to believe they can put the clamps on the Steelers’ offense. Okay, I’ll go against logic and guess the Raiders score more than they have so far this season. Raiders win 24 – 20.
