Gospel 09...Revenge is a dish best served cold

 

-Pittsburgh has won six of its last seven games against AFC North Division opponents and is 13-3 in its last 16 divisional games.

-The Bengals attempt to tie their best road start in history Sunday at 4-0 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, where the Bengals last won in 2006. In the seven seasons before head coach Marvin Lewis arrived, the Bengals were 11-45 on the road. They are 22-29 in Lewis' seven seasons.

-The Steelers defense has posted 18 sacks and 10 takeaways in the past 5 games.

-The Steelers broke the all-time attendance mark at Heinz Field in their Week 7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The attendance of 65,597 surpassed the old mark of 65,350 set January 18, 2009, during last season’s AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens.

-The Steelers have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in the past 26 regular season games and have allowed only three 100-yard rushers in the past 80 games.

 

The Bengals offense is pretty basic…Run Cedric Benson behind that mammoth offensive line to set up the play action passing game. I believe the Steelers did a nice job through 3 quarters to eliminate the Bengals offense. Troy Polamula will play this week…He is a difference maker that was missing from the first contest. I have to be honest…I expect the Steelers defense to pound the Bengals offense…First no one runs on the Pittsburgh Steelers…Second what is Chad Johnson thinking?…The Steelers are not the Browns or Ravens…They send complimentary gifts back to the sender with a big heaping pile of poo…Chad Johnson could lose his ability to walk in Pittsburgh Sunday...Johnson basically called the Steelers defense soft…The Steelers are coming off a tough Monday night football game…Therer was a slight chance the Steelers could have played a crappy game…That chance went up in smoke like kind bud out of my bong when Johnson ran his mouth. The Bengals offense lost their best vertical threat when Chris Henry broke his arm last Sunday…Chad Johnson is a quality receiver…Laveraneus Coles can make plays to move the chains…Andre Caldwell has developed into a decent play maker…I don’t see a player who can run away from Steelers coverage…If the Bengals can’t run the ball…They will not be able to throw the ball…Palmer is a helluva quarterback…He can spin the ball all over the field with velocity and precision when he has time …Cornholers don’t win in Pittsburgh…Palmer is an immobile cornholer.

 

Chad Johnson will draw Ike Taylor in coverage…Chad Johnson’s quote went something like this…Ike Taylor couldn’t cover me in a paper bag. In the past Taylor has eliminated Johnson in the passing game…Taylor has placed a plastic bag over Johnson’s head and suffocated the life out of him …I expect much of the same this week…Plus the added incentive for Ryan Clark to cripple Johnson. Laveraneus Coles is a poor man’s Hines Ward at this point of his career…His 4.28 Florida State days are in the past…Coles can’t out run coverage…He is at best an average starting wide receiver…I hope LeBeau moves up the corners early this week…Takes away the ball control passing game after the Bengals run game fails…I don’t see it happening….Willie Gay will be 10-12 yards off the ball allowing Coles to make some plays in the mid range passing game…He who tries to defend everything; defends nothing. Andre Caldwell is a nice slot receiver…His best attribute in my opinion is route running…Caldwell runs clean concise routes…Caldwell could have some success against Townsend…He is one matchup I question from the Steelers perspective. The Bengals are debating to activate Maurice Purifoy or to play Jerome Simpson to replace the injured Chris Henry…Won’t matter…Both players are bums. The Bengals tight ends are glorified tackles…If anyone believes the Steelers used the tight ends as tackles in the past wait until you see the Bengals offense…JP Foschi and Daniel Coats may run slower 40 times then Chris Kemoeatu…Both can run block…I expect Woodley and Harrison to dominate both matchups…Troy Polamula will be free to roam most of the game…I understand why Troy was mentioned as one of the dirtiest players in the league…He takes zero plays off…If he has the chance to hit you your getting drilled. Cedric Benson is a decent back who runs behind an above average offensive line…Benson runs with a great body lean which allows him to finish every run…Bensons ability to cut into and out of a hole is under rated…Benson has above average vision for a big back. Bengals fullback Jermi Johnson is fighting a litany of injuries…He will go this week…He gets dominated in the run game by the Steelers linebackers every contest… I don’t expect much to change this week. Chad Johnson’s comments will have a major impact on Carson Palmer’s health…You don’t wake a sleeping bear…You especially don’t poke a sleeping bear in the nut sac with a stick…Johnson made a huge error in judgment…The Steelers defense has yet to play a violent blood game…That will change this week.

 

Andrew Whitworth is a far better left tackle than I expected. Whitworth is a hoss in the run game…He really struggled with Brett Kiesel in the first matchup…Kiesel controlled the leverage game and didn’t get moved in Cincy where Whitworth had the advantage of the snap count and no crowd noise…I expect Kiesel to once again control the matchup…Kiesel won’t blow Whitworth 3 yards into the backfield and make a ton of plays for loss…He will fill his gap and do his job in the run game. James Harrison and Whitworth should be a fun matchup…Posters like to bitch about Harrison being held…Whitworth held Harrison every passing down…If the Ref’s allow it again this week…I don’t expect Harrison to finish the game…He will get ejected….He almost lost it a few times in the last matchup…James Harrison is the best rusher in the NFL…James Harrison is the best linebacker in the NFL…James Harrison maybe the best defender in the NFL…Refs have to respect the man’s game…He deserves the calls. Bengals left guard Evan Mathis is nursing an injury he is expected to start at left guard for the Bengals…If he can’t go Nate Livings did a nice job in the first meeting. The Bengals guards will be forced to help Kyle Cook with Casey Hampton in the run game…The Bengals guards will not be able to get to the second level of the Steelers defense…Timmons and Farrior are too quick and smooth…If you don’t block the Steelers backers you don’t run the ball. Evan Mathis will draw Brett Kiesel rushing the passer…Kiesel is streaky rushing the passer…I hope Monday was a sign of things to come…Kiesel has the ability to finish the season with 10 sacks…Playing beside James Harrison never hurts. Bengals right guard Bobbie Fat Sloth Williams will draw Eason and Hood rushing the passer…Eason is a bull rush guy…He won’t have much success unless Palmer is forced up into the pocket and into his arms…Hood on the other hand shows signs of dominance rushing the passer inside…At this point Hood looks like a poor man’s Howie Long…Great motor…Decent swim move…Great rip to the inside or back to the outside shoulder…Hood has a long way to go…He looks for real to me. I don’t expect Travis Kierschke to play again this week…Nick Eason should dominate Dennis Roland in the run game…Roland is huge 6-9 325…He plays the game high…Eason plays the game 9 inches off the ground…Eason will control the leverage game which will allow him to control the line of scrimmage. Lamar Woodley will own Roland in pass pro…Roland plays high…It’s the worst attribute for an offensive linemen.

 

The Steelers will dominate this matchup for a few simple reasons. Game is in Pittsburgh for the division lead…The Bengals have no answers for the Steeler backers…The Bengals can’t take the top off of coverage…Troy will be able to seek and destroy.

 

 

The biggest compliment I can give Bruce Arians… I can’t guess the exact play…Most fans watch enough football they can guess tendencies. I understand the Steelers run the counter to the left non stop…Arians will run a play until the defense proves they can stop it…When the Steelers execute the plays properly this team can’t be stopped…Some will say that’s true for every team in the NFL…I don’t agree. The Steelers skill position weapons matchup with every team in the NFL…This team has talent…Arians does a nice job of spreading the ball around…I understand this team is all about winning…Skill position players have huge egos…Arians manages to keep all the divas happy. For all the Arians detractors (Which I was one of) I have a simple question…After the Steelers win this years Super Bowl…What will be the gripe? Coaches like players have bad games…I’m sure I will call Arians nasty names in the 1^st quarter of this week’s game…I’m sure I will give credit to Ben and the receivers for making dynamic plays in the game…What I have to remember is this…Arians designed this offense…He took a little from Tom Moore, mixed it with some things from Joe Gibbs and combined it with what his players feel comfortable doing…Arians will never get the respect he is due. No offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh will ever get his due.

 

I read an article today that claimed the Bengals had the best corners in the NFL…I don’t think so. Jonathan Joseph jumped a bad route by Santonio Holmes and scored a touchdown against the Steelers in the first meeting…Holmes for the most part is a quality route runner who makes plays for his quarterback…Holmes wrist/thumb injury looks completely healed…I expect Holmes to abuse Joseph in the same manner he abused Champ Bailey on Monday Night Football. Holmes is quicker than fast until your chasing him. Hines Ward will continue his bi yearly beat down of Leon Hall…I actually feel bad for Hall…Ward just physically beats him up…He takes the young man’s heart early in the game and builds off it…If the Bengals give Hines Ward his 7 yard cushion he will run over Hall at least 2 times on quick hitches/ smoke routes…Ward with all of the warts in his game continues to make plays after 12 years in this league…Not bad for a player with no position coming out of college. The Bengals don’t have a single player on their roster who can run with Mike Wallace…The Bengals attempted to slip Leon Hall over Wallace out of the bunch and Wallace beat him by 5 yards off the line of scrimmage…Wallace could have a huge game this week…I expect a heavy dose of the run game out of 3 wides this week…If the Bengals are forced to slide Crocker into the box…Wallace will torch coverage vertically…Wallace beat Brian Dawkins down the seam in 2 deep coverage by 5 yards…Wallace maybe the fastest player I have seen in the Black and Gold. Limas Sweed is meaningless until he makes plays…His effort in the run game is outstanding…He needs to make plays in the passing game or move to tight end. I expect Roy Williams to be exposed in coverage this week by Heath Miller…Miller is not real fast…He is very reliable…Williams is awful in coverage…I don’t believe Zimmer can cover him up. Matt Spaeth and DJ Johnson will be used mostly as check downs…The Bengals linebackers really run to the ball they struggle to beat blocks and they don’t tackle well. Ben has to hit the check downs at some point…Trust the big men to make plays in the passing game…Make the defense defend the entire field. 190 pound corners don’t like to tackle 265 pound tight ends/ H backs. I believe the Steelers have a major advantage in the skill position matchups. Ben is a winner…The stats reaffirm his greatness to the media…Don’t be that guy…Ben has been an elite quarterback for 3 years. Mendy is a stud…If the offensive line gives him a crack he finds it and hits the hole hard…Ball security is an issue…See Tiki Barber’s last 2 seasons in the league…Hide the ball behind those 20 inch guns. I love the makeup of this offense. Bruce Arians lobbied hard for Mike Wallace this past draft… “He’s a burner”, said Steelers’ offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. “He hasn’t gone over the middle a lot, but he’s an outside speed guy who’s an excellent return guy. We really, really like him”.

Arians has constructed a devastating offense.

 

All that skill is meaningless if you can’t block players…The Steelers offensive line has become a strong unit. Max Starks draws massive 4-3 defensive end Jonathan Fanene on base run downs…I expect Starks to control this matchup…Starks is not a devastating run blocker…He is a technician who walls his defender completely away from the play…That’s what I expect from Starks in the run game...He won’t drive Fanene 3 yards downfield…Starks’ explosive punch and quality foot work will allow him to walk then wall Fanene away from the play without the chance of a holding penalty…Fanene is one of the keys in the Bengals recent success stopping the run. Rookie freak of nature Michael Johnson will lineup against Starks rushing the passer on passing downs…Johnson is a one trick pony…Speed off the edge…He can not threaten Starks back to the inside with power…I expect Starks to eliminate Johnson rushing the passer….I expect a lot of edge blitzing from the Bengals…Starks has to be ready to slide further outside to pick up blitzing backers or corners off the edge…Starks has done a far better job this year diagnosing blitzes off the edge than he did last year. Chris Kemoeatu makes 2 awful plays a game…Other than that he plays a solid…sometimes even a dominant game…Tank Johnson has been fighting injuries…He and Pat Sims split downs at right defensive tackle…Kemo can and will dominate both players. Center Justin Hartwig should have the fun task of running backers down on the backside of run plays…Keith Rivers is very questionable this week…Rivers is a quality play maker with side line to side line pursuit…If he misses the game that forces Brandon Johnson into the game in a chase position…Not a good sign for the Bengals. Bengals middle linebacker Dhani Jones is average at best…I’m amazed strong side linebacker Rey Maualuga has not taken over the Mike backer…I believe that’s a testament to Maualuga’s inability to process information quickly. I believe the Steelers tight ends should dominate the point of attack matchups against the Bengals linebackers. Steelers right guard Trai Essex will draw the Bengals best defensive player Demato Peko…Peko is a very sudden explosive player with a non stop motor…Essex will have his hands full this week in the run game…I believe Essex should be fine in pass pro…Peko does put together very solid games against the Steelers…He was a factor in the first meeting of the season…Steelers most improved player Willie Colon has done a fine job at right tackle…Colon draws under rated stud Robert Geathers this week…Geathers is a finesse player in a power body…Geathers is 280 and he plays the run far better than anyone gives him credit for….He beat down the Ravens right tackle last week in the run game…Geathers is also a fantastic pass rusher…He has speed to the edge and power to embarrass slow footed tackles back to the inside…If Colon wins this matchup in the run and passing game the Steelers offense should dominate this game.

 

Great kick returners have zero fear of not making plays…Logan is not yet great…He is fearless in the return game…I have a feeling he makes a few big plays in the return game this year…He is going to break a couple sooner or later. I call the return game even…The Bengals struggle and so do the Steelers. Kicking and punting game I give to the Steelers.

 

 

 

Steelers 31

Bengals 13