Free Willie Unleashed on Texans
Steelers dominate Texans 38-17 to kick off 2008 season
They say you are never as good as you look and you are never as bad as you look. Which is absolutely true. However you enjoy the good times as much as you can and then put it behind and prepare for the next week.
WEEK ONE: Pittsburgh 38, Houston 17. The Steelers basically steamrolled the Texans for 45 of the 60 minutes of the game. They had mercy on the Texans the final quarter which helped Houston spare themselves a tiny shred of dignity by scoring 14 points in the final frame. If the Steelers weren't springing Willie Parker for an average of 5.5 yards a carry they were swarming the Houston offense with suffocating defense.
Fast Willie was like a ball shot out of a cannon. Hitting holes and gaps with a burst of a rocketship and cutting back in lanes with ankle breaking agility. And he dispelled and lingering worry over his injuries of last season by showing his amazing speed to the outside. He also demonstrated that he is deceptively strong. So his 25 carries for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns will be re-lived by the Houston defense in their dreams for the rest of the week. And the beauty of it all is 25 carries is a nice number for a workhorse. It is not an overload.
As a compliment Rashard Mendenhall had a pedestrian 10 carries for 28 yards. Not nearly as efficient but he did hold onto to the football which had been a small problem during pre-season. Also his 10 carries were a nice change from Parker and gave Parker a nice breather.
Ben Roethlisberger was a stellar 13 of 14 for 137 yards. Althought the total yardage doesn't sound significant, the 9.8 yards per attempt is huge. Then you throw in the 2 touchdown throws and his 17 yard scramble and the Big Boy had a very nice afternoon.
In retrospect you can say that for the first test the offensive line held their own and squelched the concern off of last years set backs. Cautiously though this was at home, against a inferior opponent, and only one game.
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And no opening at Heinz Field would be complete without the Hines himself. Hines Ward, an often underrated wide out, had a workman like 6 catches for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns. The man uses the entire field and moves the chains. He can score from anywhere also.
It was also nice to see Heath Miller used a little as was Santonio Holmes. Of course with only 13 completions and Ward having 6, limits how many receivers can be involved. But on a day when you are road grading that is not really an issue.
Defensively you got the usual Pittsburgh attack. Troy Polamalu was the nucleus as expected and James Harrison quietly shows he is a force at linebacker. To put icing on the cake though, you saw Lamar Woodley bust out and make his presence known. He demonstrated, at least for one week that like most Pittsburgh linebackers, he can stop anything in front of him, behind, next to, or across the field.
The defense clearly let up some in the 4th quarter but there is no reason to be concerned with whether they can press for 60 minutes. They are extremely athletic, fast, strong, and fairly deep on that side of the ball.
As for the Texans well they had key injuries last season that put a wet blanket on their optimism so this year they were expecting to take a step further. But when 31 year old Ahman Green leads your team in rushing that is not always a good sign. They didn't fold at point however. Of course it was game one.
So now the Men of Steel Town must pack and go into their division rival Cleveland. Which should be a win but we all know what happens when division teams square off. Records be damned it usually is tough battle. That being said the Browns spread quite a stench all over their stadium with an abysmal performance against the Cowboys.
Pittsburgh is 1-0. But frankly they needed to be and should be so we will see what they have learned from this first week next week in Cleveland.
By Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent