Minrott wrote:Stats and trends aside I think the Steelers, this year have that little bit of intangible advantage, that "in the zone" bullshit, that unmeasurable momentum if you will, that will put them on top this year. They've consistently played up to whoever they had a contest with. They won at Carolina, at San Diego, at Cincinnati twice, at Indianapolis. While losing to much lesser opponents like New England and Jacksonville at home. What ever they've got, they take it with on the road.
Denver looks good, but I think the Steelers will pull another upset off.
Tikker wrote:I don't see where they're better on paper though
Oline's are comparable Running backs are comparable
receivers wise, it's close, but I think Denver's a bit stronger
Defensively I think Pittsburgh is better, but not by a lot.
Sorry Tikker, but total yards are a terrible way to judge a running game. Pittsburgh tended to pile up a ton of yards on a ton of attempts as they ran out the clock after grabbing an early lead. Just take a look at the yards per carry for KC and Pitt.
Tikker wrote:I don't see where they're better on paper though
Oline's are comparable Running backs are comparable
receivers wise, it's close, but I think Denver's a bit stronger
Defensively I think Pittsburgh is better, but not by a lot.
Sorry Tikker, but total yards are a terrible way to judge a running game. Pittsburgh tended to pile up a ton of yards on a ton of attempts as they ran out the clock after grabbing an early lead. Just take a look at the yards per carry for KC and Pitt.
yards per carry by itself is meaningless too
I think it's ridiculous to try and say that KC was a vastly superior rushing team to the Steelers when only 10 yards per game seperated them
The steelers also were missing their QB for 4 games that allowed other teams to stack the box and stop the run exclusively
Is LJ a better back than anyone the steelers have on their roster atm?
sure, I think he'd look swell in Black and Gold next year, heh
lyion wrote:Spliffs, did you watch the Indy game? They won it through the air.
They won it through the air because they couldn't run the ball. Indy played like shit, all around. Pittsburghs passing attack was still unimpressive. They aren't going to make it through Denver.
lyion wrote:Spliffs, did you watch the Indy game? They won it through the air.
They won it through the air because they couldn't run the ball. Indy played like shit, all around. Pittsburghs passing attack was still unimpressive. They aren't going to make it through Denver.
Denver wins, 27 to 17.
No, Pitt came out throwing the ball early. They were throwing on first down and many of their early plays were vertical. They didn't even try to run the ball early on, much.
I do think Denver will beat Pitt, but don't sleight Pitt. They knew Indy would gear to stop the run and came out gunslinging. If Pitt had came out pounding, they wouldnt have gotten that quick score early, and gone up 14-0 so fast.
What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. – C. S. Lewis
Tikker wrote:yards per carry by itself is meaningless too
It's not a great stat, but it's much better than total yardage when evaluating the success of a running game.
I think it's ridiculous to try and say that KC was a vastly superior rushing team to the Steelers when only 10 yards per game seperated them
So consider a more advanced stat. Pittsburgh had a rushing DVOA of 1.1%, which is slightly above league average, while KC's was 17.3%, good for fifth in the league.
The steelers also were missing their QB for 4 games that allowed other teams to stack the box and stop the run exclusively
Is LJ a better back than anyone the steelers have on their roster atm? sure, I think he'd look swell in Black and Gold next year, heh
And KC had Johnson stuck on the bench behind a relatively ineffective Holmes, not to mention the Roaf injury.
lyion wrote:Spliffs, did you watch the Indy game? They won it through the air.
They won it through the air because they couldn't run the ball. Indy played like shit, all around. Pittsburghs passing attack was still unimpressive. They aren't going to make it through Denver.
Denver wins, 27 to 17.
No, Pitt came out throwing the ball early. They were throwing on first down and many of their early plays were vertical. They didn't even try to run the ball early on, much.
I do think Denver will beat Pitt, but don't sleight Pitt. They knew Indy would gear to stop the run and came out gunslinging. If Pitt had came out pounding, they wouldnt have gotten that quick score early, and gone up 14-0 so fast.
The passing attack was nothing special. Indianapolis gave up 197 YPG during the year. Pitt passed for... 197 yards. An average performance.
Denver has a much better pass defense when you compare it on legitimate stats, instead of just yards. Denver held opposing teams to 56.1 completion percentage (good for 3rd in the league), and a 72.2 rating. (2nd in the league)
Indianapolis was 67.4 (Worst in the league) and 83.0 (23rd)
Denvers run defense is also better than Indys. Pittsburgh will not be able to throw the ball in Denver. I will be stunned if Pittsburgh can make it to 20 points.
7 out of 10 of Pitts first plays were passes. It's how they rolled up a 14 point lead, while Indy did nothing. Once they got a lead, they made Indy play catch up while eating the clock.
They won that game on the arm of Roethlisberger. 42 rushes for 1.12 ain't gonna do it, man.
What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. – C. S. Lewis
You seem to forget Denver had the 2nd best D in point per game average in the league at 16points per game. They had a much stronger schedual than Pitt, and Denver has a much more balanced offence than Indy did, I don't give a fuck what anyone says.
