Sunday, November 3, 2013

Week 9 vs Pittsburgh Steelers

I don’t care how you look at it. We beat a tough team today. The Steelers came out swinging in the second half, but that just wasn’t enough.  We’re 7-2 going into the bye week. There are some good things, and there are some bad things. I have a lot of respect for the Steelers, and especially Ben Roethlisberger. I understand how people feel about him and what he did, but I don't judge a player based on their off field actions (unless it's something involving murders, or something worse). Ben's a competitor, 2x Super Bowl Champ, and probably the toughest quarterback in the league as we speak. He plays the game well. When he Brady met after the game you heard him say, "You're the best." You don't see that often. That's great sportsmanship from one Hall of Fame QB to another. 

OFFENSE
I think the offense looked great today. Amendola really showed up, as well as Gronk. The other guy did well… what was his name again? OH AARON DOBSON!! He was great, and I couldn’t be any happier to see this guy catching on with Brady. The run game was solid. I think Ridley looked fabulous. That fumble just happened. It happens. Polamalu is a great safety and that’s what he does best. Blount looked good too. He’s a tough back and I laugh because I was against him for a few weeks. I didn’t see his true value, and right now I think the Buccaneers lost on that deal because Blount (aside from kick returning) has been nothing short of awesome. I laughed because after his TD he ran over to the soldiers with the muskets and hugged them. I think the best part about the offense was Brady. He just looked like Tom Brady today. I hope that continues. I’m in denial about Brady’s window. We can blame his inconsistency on a lot of things, but the matter of the fact is that he’s not playing like the Brady we’ve been watching the past few years. I think us fans have been spoiled rotten when it came to Brady being amazing, and this year he’s struggled and it’s just something we’re not used to seeing. Today was a good day for him though. It’s fun watching him play always.  His O Line still looks shaky, but I think that’s something we’re gonna deal with all season.

My big concerns for this offense is the injuries, and consistencies. Gronk limped off after that hit and wasn’t really targeted much after. I’m sure it’s nothing big but I don’t want fear that happening every time he gets tackled. Another question is Austin Collie. Sure he hasn’t been a big part of the offense yet, but he’s already out with a knee injury. Lastly my concern is Thompkins. Where was he today? Healthy scratch? We haven’t heard his name since the Saints game. It seems like after that he was quiet. Overall though I’m proud of this offense today, and they deserve a good break.


DEFENSE
This was the first time our defense let up 30 points this season. Teams have been close, and the Jets scored 30 in the OT game, but this is probably the most I’ve seen them struggle. We let Cotchery walk all over us, and we let Bell have a decent run game. No one went over 100 yards rushing, but that doesn’t matter. Gregory went down, Nink went down, and those were two solid guys we can’t afford to lose. I think McCourty played great today, and Dennard, and Harmon had decent games too. I’m hoping the bye week gives the injured defensive players a break to heal up. Nink didn’t come back in, but I think that was more precautionary. I’m not 100% sure. Gregory had a thumb injury I believe, and he too did not come back in. I’m not liking the way Arrington’s playing. That guy’s field vision is horrid lately. Two touchdowns the Steelers had could’ve easily been swatted, but our defenders had no idea where the ball or receiver was. We gotta start stopping the run game better. It's imperative if we want to make it far in the playoffs. Great teams have good running games, and if we can't block that it's going open up a world of ass kicking on us. 


Like I said, the bye week should hopefully heal up some bumps and bruises on our defense. It’s a good time to get a break because we have a tough schedule coming up. The Panthers are playing well, and after the Panthers we have the Broncos who of course are a great team offensively. Houston after the Broncos and even though they aren’t playing well, they’re still a tough team at home. After the Texans we have a tough home game against Cleveland. After that it’s two away games in Miami who’s playing tough, and the Ravens who aren’t playing great but can play great.  Lastly the game I’ll be at in Buffalo. It’s a tough schedule, and a sure test for us going down the stretch.

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