GDT Week 12 - PIT at BUF

[Frozentoze]

vs.



PITTSBURGH STEELERS at BUFFALO BILLS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010
KICKOFF – 1:00 P.M.

Game Information:
Teams: Steelers (7-3) at Bills ( 2-8 )
Date: Sunday, Nov.28, 2010
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET
Site: Ralph Wilson Stadium
TV: CBS (KDKA-TV Channel 2 in Pittsburgh)
Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970)
Bill Hillgrove, Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley
Spanish Radio: Grupo Imagen - Destrito Federal (Mexico City) XEDA-FM 90.5

Weather forecast – high of 39 and clear, sunny skies.

The Buffalo Bills:
Buffalo is coming off a big win in Cinci, only their 2nd of the year but 2nd in a row. This young squad is playing for their developing careers and could care less that they are 2-8. Since their bye week, they have won two games and lost 3, with all losses by 3 points. Coach Chan Gailey has this team moving in the right direction, and ironically, lighting up the scoreboard via the passing game.

The Bills were down by 21 points at half last week but outscored Cinci 35-0 to finish the game. This team had been getting close to winning for a while, and now the dam has broken and they really blew up on an opponent for the first time last week.

Among a host of no-names coming together on this team is a familiar face:
“ . . . Kraig Urbik, a free agent guard from Wisconsin, filled in commendably when Eric Wood went out with an injury.” (BuffaloNews.com)

Buffalo has been having success on offense led by Ryan Fitzpatrick, the unheralded Harvard grad who has started putting together some impressive performances lately, including lighting up Baltimore for 34 points a few weeks ago. Steeler fans may recall hearing his name before - we knew him in a former football life:


Big plays have been propelling Buffalo's offense, and the emergence of Stevie Johnson has finally given Buffalo a 2nd receiving threat to go with Lee Evans. Johnson piled up 8 catches for 137 yards and 3 second-half TDs, making 9 for the season, two shy of Buffalo’s all time TD record. The Buffalo defense shut out TOcho and the Bungles in the second half of last week's win, primarily with press-man coverage.


The Steelers are coming off maybe the most impressive and timely win of the season, doing a dance on the graves of the then 5-4 Oakland Raiders at Heinz Field.

When the Steelers are on Offense:
Last week the protection was better and Ben was finding receivers, actually many of them in on-time routes rather than improvisation. Buffalo's D had success last week jamming TOcho at the line and disrupting timing, forcing Palmer to try to extend the play. Expect an increase in improvisation and extending the play from Ben this week against Buffalo’s press-man coverage that will disrupt timing routes. Don’t expect a drop in production though; Ben is the best improvisational QB in the game, and Ward one of the best scramble drill receivers. Look for Ward to have one of his better games this week, cleaning up on broken plays and in the red zone. Wallace has the skills to beat man coverage, especially deep, so look for a bomb or two going his way if he gets 1-1 man coverage.

Last week G Ramon Foster replaced Trai Essex, which might have been overlooked among the numerous other substitutions on the OL. This wasn’t an injury fill-in or temporary thing – it seems that the sun is setting on Essex’s career as a starter and Foster has 6+ games to establish whether he, a rookie or a FA will be the 2011 starter at RG. Also, Sanders stepped in front of Randle El at WR#3, though that change, while permanent, has been coming along more gradually. Antonio Brown got a "hat" last week and immediately hit the highlight reel as a returner and even had a nice catch, but with water on his knee this week and Will Allen back from a concussion, #84's hat is going to Allen.

In a high-scoring game, it was notable that Mendenhall played only a supporting role with 59 yards on 29 carries, only a 2.6 average. With a patchwork offensive line and The Bruce calling the plays, Mendenhall has an uphill climb again this week. Don't take that to detract from his individual effort – he has the look of a man playing the best ball of his career right now, making clean decisive cuts upfield and making a extra yards on his own. He could step into the spotlight if the weather gets nasty by the lake in this late November contest.

When the Steelers are on Defense:
The D was welcomed back to Heinz Field last week after being eaten alive by NE’s short passing attack the week before. The defense matched up much better against Oakland’s offense that centered on a strong running game, and essentially pitched a shutout against the Raiders.

This week's opponent Buffalo has an offense that has moved primarily though the air, but with big plays rather than short passes. Last week the ground game got going too, with Fred Jackson posting a 100+ yard game. The Steelers match up much better against Buffalo’s offense than NE’s – The Steelers are excellent at taking away the big pass plays that have been the key to Buffalo’s success in the past few weeks. Fitzpatrick will be reduced to trying to win the game with 10+ play drives, so while they might string one or two of these together on Sunday, its not likely Buffalo can execute that approach consistently enough to win the game. Don’t look for Fred Jackson to move the ball against a Steelers from 7 that is playing better along the DL with Hood finally stepping it up, LBs that will be looking into the backfield rather than desperately trying to cover 5 yard passes, and Keisel coming back this week. I expect Buffalo’s offense to put up around 16 points with a bunch of mid-distance drives and FGs.

The Coaches
Lots of connections exist between the Steelers and Bills staffs. Doug Whaley, former Steelers scout (and Upper St. Clair alum & my FB coach there for a short time) is in the front office in Buffalo now. Sean Kugler, in his first year as OL coach of the Steelers (a stellar one I might add) had previously coached 2007-2009 in Buffalo. Jonathan Scott, a FA OT we picked up in the offseason played for Kugler there last year. D. Lebeau spent some time coaching in upstate NY as well, and former Steelers Offensive coach Chan Gailey is the Buffalo HC right now after a stint at Georgia Tech.

Tomlin and staff had a great day out there last week. I was waiting for Tomlin to finally lose it on the refs, but that never happened. I wonder if he fights back in the “proper channels” or doesn’t fight back, but 163 yards in penaties is a tough one for the HC to swallow. Everything worked for the O and D coordinators, so for at least one week, nobody is calling for Arians head.

This week, we will be saying Arians passed too much after the game, but a W will of course keep the natives from being too restless.

The Refs
The Steelers finished last week with 14 penalties for 163 yards, many on famously bad personal foul calls. These penalties resulted in a 10 point swing in the game. Expect the NFL to try to calm the commotion with much less of the same this week at Buffalo.

Other Steelers / Bills Comparisons and Matchups:
Fan Atractiveness:
- advantage Steelers (note author's hometown bias).



(actually, this guy would be an asset to any fan base, he'd be a good Steeler fan IMO).

Mascots:
Edge goes to Buffalo. Steely McBeam is the lamest.

vs.



Overall
The Steelers are the better team on Offense (basis, ppg). They are the better team on Defense (basis, ppg), and actually, we have competitive Special Teams this year. The Steelers, on paper, should win. Its all a matter of preparation and doing it on the field. The Steelers have a big one the following week in Baltimore and the Bills are really hot right now and playing at home, so Buffalo has the advantage when it comes to the intangibles.

Still, I expect the Steelers to win this one 23 – 16.
_________________
Adopt a Steeler:
Thaddeus Gibson http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=403100
Doug Legursky http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=403102

[steelcurtain29]

This should be a fun game

Honestly don't expect it to be close....
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Come Follow My Oakland Multi-Sport Franchise!

[SteelerPR]

Good job on the GDT.
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"If you think you are too small to make a difference, you have never been in bed with a mosquito." Anita Roddick

[turtle28]

We gotta win this game, we should blow them out but Buff is a young team that is playing with a lot of heart. I hope we dont' have a let down after a blow out last week vs an overhyped Raiders team that is just mediocre at best.

38 Steelers
6 Bills
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mike23md
Days until:Training camp 38; Preseason opener @ Titans 52; Monday night vs. Eagles 85 RIP SSF

[StewMan]

Ill be at this game... if the Bills win my friends will never let it go... Lets go Steelers
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[stefan52268]

[1BackInBlackFan]

They need to RUN the ball on this team. The Bills have a terrible run defense. Don't give up on it if it doesn't work out early.

Also the Bills have shown lately that they can be competitive and don't give up when they are losing. They came back from double digits against the Ravens to send it in OT and to the Bengals whom they beat. Also they took the Chiefs to OT and could have won that game. The Steelers can't let them back in the game if they get the lead and give them any hope that they can come back. This is what they did against the Raiders and were guilty of not doing against the Bengals. Finish this team off early. Steve Johnson has been a find for the Bills and Lee Evans is always a deep threat. The Steelers secodary will have their hands full with those two.

I went to my very first Steeler game in Buffalo and have family near there who are Bills fans. It will be nice to beat them and rub it in.
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The cool high-flying Troy sig courtesy of Lysar529. Great work!

[xjayex]

What makes Buffalo dangerous is the fact that they can roll with the punches. They wont shut you down but they make most teams play 60 minuets.

Pittsburgh 24-17 Buffalo (10 pts in 4th qtr)

[stefan52268]

This is one team you definitely dont wanna go prevent d on too early. And on offense u want to keep pouring it on.
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Props to Lyasr529 on the sweet sig!

[bbelan2343]

Much more nervous about the Bills than I was for the Raiders. Not that they're a better overall team than the Raiders, IMO they're not, but with the fact that the Raiders are a one dimensional offense that plays to our strengths made it a much more comfortable matchup.

Adding in that Buffalo is playing well and putting up a reasonable amount of numbers each of the past few weeks, this game will not be easy. I think the Steelers can and should win this game by a comfortable margin, but we need to execute on both sides of the ball.

Having Keisel back is nice. Play him early if he's 100%, but don't over work him. He'll be too important for Baltimore two weeks from now. Continue with the steady rotation Rich. It has been more than efficient so far.

I hate that Brown might not play. Horrible timing for a bum knee to kick up. The kid is electric and has shown the playmaking ability our skill positions have lacked at times throughout the year. Looking to the future, both of our rook WRs have me excited. Honestly, I feel that we should avoid looking at WR in this upcoming draft unless unexpected and valued talent falls our way.

Our Defense needs to be aggressively efficent again this week. New Orleans and New England destroyed us with timely playcalling. Rich and company seemed to tweak a few thngs last week and hopefully are settled in to start playing our best ball when it matters.

I'm predicting a Steelers pummeling.

Steelers 33
Buffalo 12
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[whit09]

[stillersenat]

TV coverage:

http://the506.com/sports/?tag=2010-week-12


Mad sim:http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/videogames/easims?id=5596510

Bills 14

Steelers 26
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[Maxmw22]

The Bills have shown they can score at will this year, especially with the 34 points they put up against the Ravens D in Ed Reed's 1st game back. But they have been known (even though the last few games we have done well) to give up a ton on the ground game. I picture us scoring points unless you have ball control and keep it out of our offenses hand. No prediction from me (really can't lean either way) good luck this weekend, coming from PA, I know if we lose, I will be hearing it for 6 days.
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[JDLefebvre]

Kiesel is inactive
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Stay low boys.... keep those feet moving!


Sig by Joe_is_the_best
KCCO!!!

[GridironWarrior]