Seahawks At Steelers

[Troy McClure]

Seahawks

AT



Steelers

Now, both teams are 3-1 in this Superbowl XL re-match (when I personally dubbed them the Stealers [LoL, see what I did there?]).

Steelers just came off of a rough loss to the Cardinals and might be looking for revenge as the Hawks just absolutly destroyed the 49ers.

Acording to NFL.com the Steelers are in the top 10 in all of the major defensive categories, so the offense will have to step up.


Pearman is out for the season:

Pearman, a third-year player signed just before the season, will have surgery once the swelling goes down, coach Mike Holmgren said. Pearman was hurt in a pileup at the end of a special teams play during Sunday's 23-3 victory at San Francisco, which gave Seattle (3-1) early control of the NFC West.

And it looks like Josh Wilson will be out for a week or two:

Josh Wilson, the team's top draft choice in April who had three kickoff returns and was trying to break into the defensive secondary as a nickel back, will probably miss one-to-two weeks with an ankle injury

Thoughts? Ideas?

[Sweezo]

Love the Simpsons pick...

I was surprised to read about Wilson being out, as I don't recall seeing him get hurt. I'm not too worried about our nickel packages because Babineaux is versatile enough, but this could affect the return game...and one more injury in the defensive backfield puts us in the same position we were in late last year.

Pearman never played anyway, so that shouldn't affect us much. Just means more opportunities for Morris and Weaver...

This will be a tough matchup, and quite frankly, I don't believe this will be a game where we can afford to let Shaun do his "Dancing with the Stars" impression. If he's avoiding contact and falling down, that means possessions wasted in a game where we'll have little margin for error.

How often do you expect to see Seneca take the field?

[Bulltalk]

I didn't know Wilson was out either. Damn, why do our DB's always get injured?

Against Pitt, we just can't beat ourselves, ie turnovers, stupid penalties, miscommunications, blown coverages, and the like. We need to shoot for as a mistake free game as possible. Of course, it would be great to get an early lead again where we could play a little more aggressively on D.

Offensively, we need to really mix it up, keep their defense guessing. We need the whole playbook against them. God I hope we can get something out of our running game.

Beating Pitt this weekend (a tall order, no doubt) would really put us in the driver's seat if you look ahead on our schedule. If we lose, it certainly won't be the end of the world. This was one of my designated losses for the season.

I see a W in this game as just a big bonus for us, more than any kind of a setback if we lose.

[Nowak008]

Alexander is listed as probable. What is wrong with him? Hand still?

[Bulltalk]

John Clayton on the radio this morning said that he thought Ward, Polamalu, and their nose tackle Hampton would all be out.

I likey if so.

[Bulltalk]

I'm STOKED for this game. No waiting around for it. 10:00am start.

Go Hawks!

[Bulltalk]

Why am I not surprised it's a "field position" game so far?

God, we've got them pinned at the goal line. Hold 'em. Get the ball in a good spot, and score first.

Go Hawks!

[Bulltalk]

Ouch! Hasselbeck has missed two open receivers for first downs on third down plays. Ouch!

[Bulltalk]

Dreadful that we didn't get a field goal before the end of the half.

Hasselbeck, who's had a real good season so far, played quite poorly in the first half. Missed two chances to open recievers for first downs, didn't call timeout near the end of the first half, and then threw that interception the last play of the first half nullifying an almost certain field goal, and a 7-3 halftime score, rather than this 7-0 halftime score.

It's too bad Hasselbeck is off on his game. Yes, Pitt has done a good job of pass coverage, but the offensive line is doing a damn good job of pass protection, IMO.

We're still in this game, but Hasselbeck has got to step up. Hopefully Branch (sprained ankle) is back for the 2nd half.

[Troy McClure]

So...after Obamanu's catch The Hawks have some pretty bad clock management.

Also IMO if you are down with 7 seconds left in the half, you need to get points. How likely is it that with 7 seconds left the Steelers would score again? Let Brown kick it.

[Bulltalk]

So...after Obamanu's catch The Hawks have some pretty bad clock management.

Also IMO if you are down with 7 seconds left in the half, you need to get points. How likely is it that with 7 seconds left the Steelers would score again? Let Brown kick it.

All things considered, a play usually takes 6 seconds at a minimum, so we were really pushing it.

When you're on the road in Pitt, you take the sure points in a tight game, IMO. I was a little surprised with Holmgren's decision there. A sack, probably clock runs out. An incomplete, possibly clock runs out. A completion short of the goal line, clock probably runs out. A touchdown, would have been nice, but not worth the risk given the time.

[Bulltalk]

Pitt's mistakes are keeping us in this game.

[Bulltalk]

Pitt at the 1 yard line, first and goal. If they score, our offense is really going to have to come to life quick, or this one is over. Our D has been on the field far too long. With the heat and high humidity, our offense needs a long drive....like now.

[Bulltalk]

Ugh! Another 3rd and short, and four and out again.

I'm starting to prepare myself for a loss here.

[Bulltalk]

Rothlessburger (:lol:) is having a great game.

It's over.

[Bulltalk]

I'm a little surprised we didn't even try to go to the tight end, or that we didn't put Morris in as a screen pass option.

[Bulltalk]

This is one of those losses you just put behind you as fast as possible. In the great scheme of things, it really doesn't matter that we lost 21-0, rather than, say, 20-14. The bottom line for me was that we just couldn't make the big plays on offense when we needed to, the defense was left on the field far too long, and the game simply got away from us.

When we look ahead, the schedule really favors us.

6 Sun, Oct 14 New Orleans
7 Sun, Oct 21 St. Louis
8 BYE WEEK
9 Sun, Nov 4 at Cleveland
10 Mon, Nov 12 San Francisco
11 Sun, Nov 18 Chicago
12 Sun, Nov 25 at St. Louis
13 Sun, Dec 2 at Philadelphia
14 Sun, Dec 9 Arizona
15 Sun, Dec 16 at Carolina
16 Sun, Dec 23 Baltimore
17 Sun, Dec 30 at Atlanta

If we can get home wins against New Orleans and St. Louis in the coming two weeks (very possible, though I'm far from saying "likely" ), then we'd be 5-2 when we reach the bye week, and in first place. From then on out, I could easily envision a scenario where we go 6-3 the rest of the way out, and finish the season at 11-5. Of course, anything can happen, but on paper that's how I see it about now.

The big thing is getting the next two wins at home. I wouldn't say they are "must wins", but winning them would put us in the driver's seat for making the playoffs, winning the division, and a shot at a first round bye in the playoffs.

We'll see.

[vegas_runnin_rebel]

Alexander has lost a step (or two). Time for him and Morris to move closer to splitting carries. I haven't seen a truly explosive run out of him all season long.

[Bulltalk]

Alexander has lost a step (or two). Time for him and Morris to move closer to splitting carries. I haven't seen a truly explosive run out of him all season long.

I've pretty much given up on Alexander being more of a power runner, especially now that he might have lost a step. There was a brief period at the end of last year, after returning from injury, when I thought he ran more powerfully than I'd ever seen him.

We may have to give Weaver some more carries, too. See if he can come up with some more yardage between the tackles. Also, I agree with more looks from Morris, if nothing else than another pass receiving option out of the backfield.