Time for the Patriot act
Pittsburgh faces Cassel & Moss in week #13
Heading out of the third turn of the NFL season it's time to start raising the level of urgency. And let's be clear there is a difference between urgency and panic. Nevertheless the time to fix things should be coming to an end and the time to gear up for the playoffs is upon us.
This is where we separate the pretenders and the contenders. It doesn't matter who you are playing anymore if you are a Super Bowl team than you should be prepared to beat anyone, anywhere. This is the time of year that every team has injuries and exposed weaknesses. Now is the time to be resilient and prove you are mentally stronger than every one else.
The Steelers have a great opportunity this week to flex their AFC muscles against the New England Patriots. Hey the Brady-less Pats may not be the same dynasty of earlier in the decade but Matt Cassell is coming into his own at this point and they are still a playoff caliber team. The Patriots are also very good in their house of razors.
And we can throw all the stats and rankings around for the sake of discussion but here is what we need to see on Sunday afternoon
1- The defense needs to get after Cassell. He has had back to back 400 yard passing games and he is too comfortable in the Patriot pocket. The D-backs need to jam Randy Moss and his partners right off the line of scrimmage. They are a rhythm offense. And the Steelers, while they are not the best Defense ever they are good enough to impose their will. Previous coaches of opposing clubs have said that the Steelers come at you and say "this is what we are going to do regardless of what you have planned" every play. That is Dick LeBeaus style. But Bill Belechick is one of the best in the system of altering your approach because he will have his teeam ready for what you do.
2- Willie Parker better be the back up plan until he is truly ready. I am not suggesting he shouldn't play if he can but until he is productive you better have your present best back be your feature back. That is Mewelde Moore right now. Any thing we get from Parker is icing on the cake. There is still concern with Ben and his injuries. You better keep the game manageable so Ben isn't free wheeling with reckless abandon. Look I love Ben but this is not a time for heroics. This is time to fine tune the machinery for the real season. Do what you have to do of course, but don't be stupid.
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3- The O-Line has to look themselves in the mirror and say this is the time for us to define our regular season. They have been okay to average in my opinion. It's time to step up the execution. End of story.
4- Final score Pittsburgh 30 New England 17! Ben needs to be 18 for 27 and 227 yards, 2 TD's. Moore needs to have 22 carries and 95 yards. Parker or back B needs 11 carries for 44 yards. 2 rushing TD's from whomever. One Reed field goal for good measure. I do not wat to see New England start any drives North of their 20 either.
It's GO TIME!
by Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent