OT: Steelers at Patriots

[Wes-J]

Opening line Patriots -4.5

I'm a diehard Celtics/Sox fan so don't hate on me too much for being a Steeler all my life.

I think it's going to be a barn burner. I believe the Patriots will score at least 24. The three B's must come up huge for a chance upset.

Thoughts?

[Captain_Caveman]

Opening line Patriots -4.5

I'm a diehard Celtics/Sox fan so don't hate on me too much for being a Steeler all my life.

I think it's going to be a barn burner. I believe the Patriots will score at least 24. The three B's must come up huge for a chance upset.

Thoughts?

I thought the Steelers were pretty underrated all year. They have Big Ben, Brown and Bell, which is more than 90% of the other teams out there. Been telling people for a couple of months that they were clearly superior to fraud teams like the Cowboys. Doesn't surprise me to see them in the AFC title game at all. I think they would have handled a healthy Raiders team as well, and thought they outplayed KC by a lot tonight.

Bottom line for me is that it is a QB league, and the four best QBs made the final four. All of these teams have the ability to beat any of the others, but I think we absolutely have the best coach and the best defense of the teams remaining. Nothing would surprise me from here on out, but I would not trade places with the other three contenders, I know that much.

With that said, Pittsburgh is the 2nd best team this year now that they have all their guys, and they pose a healthy challenge for us. No weak sisters from here on out.

[Wes-J]

Opening line Patriots -4.5

I'm a diehard Celtics/Sox fan so don't hate on me too much for being a Steeler all my life.

I think it's going to be a barn burner. I believe the Patriots will score at least 24. The three B's must come up huge for a chance upset.

Thoughts?

I thought the Steelers were pretty underrated all year. They have Big Ben, Brown and Bell, which is more than 90% of the other teams out there. Been telling people for a couple of months that they were clearly superior to fraud teams like the Cowboys. Doesn't surprise me to see them in the AFC title game at all. I think they would have handled a healthy Raiders team as well, and thought they outplayed KC by a lot tonight.

Bottom line for me is that it is a QB league, and the four best QBs made the final four. All of these teams have the ability to beat any of the others, but I think we absolutely have the best coach and the best defense of the teams remaining. Nothing would surprise me from here on out, but I would not trade places with the other three contenders, I know that much.

With that said, Pittsburgh is the 2nd best team this year now that they have all their guys, and they pose a healthy challenge for us. No weak sisters from here on out.

I think BB is the best coach in the league by a mile. That for me is where the Patriots have a huge advantage over everyone. Defensively the Patriots are solid BUT again I just can't put them in the upper echelon this year because of the terrible QBs they faced.

The Steelers meanwhile in the midst of their 9 game win streak has improved defensively by leaps and bounds thanks to the progression of their rookies and getting Dupree back. Still having said that I feel Brady will exploit some holes in their soft zones. Needless to say they must get a rush in Brady's face or suffer a long night.

I trust Ben in clutch time but he needs help whether it's Rogers , Ayers, or Coates stepping up to take some attention off Brown. Bell is the wildcard, and on some kind of run as of late.

I don't do predictions, I just hope it's a great game between two HOF qbs.

[Captain_Caveman]

I think BB is the best coach in the league by a mile. That for me is where the Patriots have a huge advantage over everyone. Defensively the Patriots are solid BUT again I just can't put them in the upper echelon this year because of the terrible QBs they faced.

The Steelers meanwhile in the midst of their 9 game win streak has improved defensively by leaps and bounds thanks to the progression of their rookies and getting Dupree back. Still having said that I feel Brady will exploit some holes in their soft zones. Needless to say they must get a rush in Brady's face or suffer a long night.

I trust Ben in clutch time but he needs help whether it's Rogers , Ayers, or Coates stepping up to take some attention off Brown. Bell is the wildcard, and on some kind of run as of late.

I don't do predictions, I just hope it's a great game between two HOF qbs.

All true, but I think you might be sleeping on the Pats D a bit. I'd take them over the other three remaining defenses, and by a hell of a lot over the NFC ones. They have a lot of very talented guys playing well. Very good secondary, and Hightower and the DTs are also excellent. While the pass rush isn't as great as we'd like, part of that is by design, and I'd go so far as to say that all of the defensive starters are pretty good, actually.

I mean, who is our worst defensive starter? It's probably between Long, McClellin and Ninkovich, and all of those dudes are alright. Nearly all of the defense were top draft picks, and they are probably more talented than their offensive counterparts, when you get down to it.

With a healthy Gronk, this might be the best Pats team ever, and IMO are still top 3 even without him.

But Pittsburgh definitely has my attention. Tough and talented. No question that they are the kind of team that could come into Foxboro in January and come out with a win.

[Parliament10]

I think BB is the best coach in the league by a mile. That for me is where the Patriots have a huge advantage over everyone. Defensively the Patriots are solid BUT again I just can't put them in the upper echelon this year because of the terrible QBs they faced.

The Steelers meanwhile in the midst of their 9 game win streak has improved defensively by leaps and bounds thanks to the progression of their rookies and getting Dupree back. Still having said that I feel Brady will exploit some holes in their soft zones. Needless to say they must get a rush in Brady's face or suffer a long night.

I trust Ben in clutch time but he needs help whether it's Rogers , Ayers, or Coates stepping up to take some attention off Brown. Bell is the wildcard, and on some kind of run as of late.

I don't do predictions, I just hope it's a great game between two HOF qbs.

All true, but I think you might be sleeping on the Pats D a bit. I'd take them over the other three remaining defenses, and by a hell of a lot over the NFC ones. They have a lot of very talented guys playing well. Very good secondary, and Hightower and the DTs are also excellent. While the pass rush isn't as great as we'd like, part of that is by design, and I'd go so far as to say that all of the defensive starters are pretty good, actually.

I mean, who is our worst defensive starter? It's probably between Long, McClellin and Ninkovich, and all of those dudes are alright. Nearly all of the defense were top draft picks, and they are probably more talented than their offensive counterparts, when you get down to it.

With a healthy Gronk, this might be the best Pats team ever, and IMO are still top 3 even without him.

But Pittsburgh definitely has my attention. Tough and talented. No question that they are the kind of team that could come into Foxboro in January and come out with a win.

You have some good points there.

I Agree that this Pats Squad, is one the best.
We definitely have a real good chance of winning it again.

Pittsburgh first, and then the Super Bowl.

[Wes-J]

On paper I would agree the Patriots have the best defense left, but I simply was trying to make the point about them not having to prove it against one of the softest schedules in the league.

I'm very interested to see what they do with Brown this time around.

[DijonRondo]

Opening line Patriots -4.5

I'm a diehard Celtics/Sox fan so don't hate on me too much for being a Steeler all my life.

I think it's going to be a barn burner. I believe the Patriots will score at least 24. The three B's must come up huge for a chance upset.

Thoughts?

I thought the Steelers were pretty underrated all year. They have Big Ben, Brown and Bell, which is more than 90% of the other teams out there. Been telling people for a couple of months that they were clearly superior to fraud teams like the Cowboys. Doesn't surprise me to see them in the AFC title game at all. I think they would have handled a healthy Raiders team as well, and thought they outplayed KC by a lot tonight.

Bottom line for me is that it is a QB league, and the four best QBs made the final four. All of these teams have the ability to beat any of the others, but I think we absolutely have the best coach and the best defense of the teams remaining. Nothing would surprise me from here on out, but I would not trade places with the other three contenders, I know that much.

With that said, Pittsburgh is the 2nd best team this year now that they have all their guys, and they pose a healthy challenge for us. No weak sisters from here on out.

I think BB is the best coach in the league by a mile. That for me is where the Patriots have a huge advantage over everyone. Defensively the Patriots are solid BUT again I just can't put them in the upper echelon this year because of the terrible QBs they faced.

The Steelers meanwhile in the midst of their 9 game win streak has improved defensively by leaps and bounds thanks to the progression of their rookies and getting Dupree back. Still having said that I feel Brady will exploit some holes in their soft zones. Needless to say they must get a rush in Brady's face or suffer a long night.

I trust Ben in clutch time but he needs help whether it's Rogers , Ayers, or Coates stepping up to take some attention off Brown. Bell is the wildcard, and on some kind of run as of late.

I don't do predictions, I just hope it's a great game between two HOF qbs.

So the Patriots aren't going to get credit because of their schedule, but the Steelers do?

Am I supposed to give you guys credit for playing the Browns twice, AJ Green-less Bengals, Luck-less Colts, or the Giants offense that can't throw 10 yards downfield?

[KGboss]

Yah im just focused on Pittsburgh

...Pittsburgh


.......Pittsburgh

Sent from my SM-G930V using RealGM mobile app

[Murta]

I thought last year's Pats were also historically good until OL and Lewis were ravaged by injuries (around week 8).

[Green89]

Prediction: if the Steelers can't score a TD on us like last night, they won't beat us. We're going to score more than 18 points.

[SmartWentCrazy]

Big Ben is god awful on the road, and has been for the past few years. I don't think that bodes well for Pittsburgh.

Kudos to Tomlin for calling the Pats ass holes. Something tells me that won't go over to well, especially with Tomlins history of calling them cheaters and bad mouthing the team.

[Wes-J]

Big Ben is god awful on the road, and has been for the past few years. I don't think that bodes well for Pittsburgh.

Kudos to Tomlin for calling the Pats ass holes. Something tells me that won't go over to well, especially with Tomlins history of calling them cheaters and bad mouthing the team.

Lol how about kudos to Brown for airing live from KC, that's private business dude.

I think Ben will be just fine, they just need to convert in the red zone with the league's best back or it's definitely going to go bad. I'm more concerned about Brady traditionally having his way with the Steelers game plan.

[CeltsfaninDC]

Prediction: if the Steelers can't score a TD on us like last night, they won't beat us. We're going to score more than 18 points.

Exactly. 6 FGs aren't going to get it done against this Pats team. They had a horrible game and still scored over 30.

[the sea duck]

Opening line Patriots -4.5

I'm a diehard Celtics/Sox fan so don't hate on me too much for being a Steeler all my life.

I think it's going to be a barn burner. I believe the Patriots will score at least 24. The three B's must come up huge for a chance upset.

Thoughts?

Same.

[celticfan42487]

I've always felt the Steelers offense could reach a level no other NFL team could. The problem is consistency.

Well there's only two games left, so if they can hit supernova they will beat anyone. Both Brown and Bell have arguments for being the best player in the league and they're both the best at their position. Big Ben is a HoFer still killing it.

I don't personally know enough about the NE or PIT D to make an accurate assessment of which one is better.

I'm scared of PIT. I think the Pats probably have the 55-60% odds but that's no more than you would typically give the #1 seed at home in an AFC championship game assuming the team they were facing was about their equal.

I mean I still don't know how Bill turned around the HOU game at halftime so I can't get into coaching. But PIT is more than capable of blowing the NE D up, and they happened to hit a lot of FGs last night, but on an average night they would of been over 30 ppg with their performance last night.

[PierceFan4ever]

Le'veon Bell concerns me. We had some problems in the past when it comes to running backs running all over us. Can't let him go off and control the clock. Feel good about our chances but man I miss Gronk. The Pats didn't feel the same without him in that Houston game with Brady forcing tough throws to our small receivers. Can't wait for the game, I pray Brady comes away without getting any dirty hits from the Steelers.

[celticfan42487]

Le'veon Bell concerns me. We had some problems in the past when it comes to running backs running all over us. Can't let him go off and control the clock. Feel good about our chances but man I miss Gronk. The Pats didn't feel the same without him in that Houston game with Brady forcing tough throws to our small receivers. Can't wait for the game, I pray Brady comes away without getting any dirty hits from the Steelers.

Honestly the only thing I fear is our OL not being able to bully a DL. Gronk helps so much with that being able to bring him in and win the physical fight up front so we can do what we want. If our OL handles the opposing teams DL then there isn't a game we won't be favored to win (maybe we won't or what have you but we'll have the better than 50% chance to).

[Curmudgeon]

The Steelers were lucky. That holding call on the 2 pt conversion was the kind that could be called on literally every play from scrimmage.

Against the Pats, Bell may have a good game or Brown, but not both. Belichick will take one of them out of the game.

Sure, the Pats could lose to Pittsburgh, but they could have lost to KC too. And they got a break when Green Bay won. Dallas was the better team. I hate Dallas, but those two rookies are the real deal. So if they can win this week, the Pats have a better chance to win it all.

[Wes-J]

I've always felt the Steelers offense could reach a level no other NFL team could. The problem is consistency.

Well there's only two games left, so if they can hit supernova they will beat anyone. Both Brown and Bell have arguments for being the best player in the league and they're both the best at their position. Big Ben is a HoFer still killing it.

I don't personally know enough about the NE or PIT D to make an accurate assessment of which one is better.

I'm scared of PIT. I think the Pats probably have the 55-60% odds but that's no more than you would typically give the #1 seed at home in an AFC championship game assuming the team they were facing was about their equal.

I mean I still don't know how Bill turned around the HOU game at halftime so I can't get into coaching. But PIT is more than capable of blowing the NE D up, and they happened to hit a lot of FGs last night, but on an average night they would of been over 30 ppg with their performance last night.

Injuries and suspensions are the primary culprit for offensive inconsistencies for the Steelers. This is the first time they entered the playoffs with the services of Ben, Bell, and Brown. They lost marcus wheaton due to injury and the uber talented Bryant due to the season suspension. He's a guy that's the closest thing to Randy Moss I've seen, he's that good. Lost Ladarius Green to the concussion, his status still up in the air for Sunday. They've had to bring some young receivers along. Having said that there should be no excuses for not executing better in the red zone.

No question Ben needs to bring the A game or the steelers don't stand a chance. I think he's up to the task. We will see.

[Wes-J]

The Steelers were lucky. That holding call on the 2 pt conversion was the kind that could be called on literally every play.

And it was the right call. Smith was about to be blown up. You can't rewatch that and honestly say that wasn't the case.