WEEK 8: BELATED REVIEW OF THE STEELERS-PATRIOTS GAME

Hallelujah! I though it would never happen, particularly since what it ultimate took was the Steelers' coaching staff to take a different approach to beat the patriots. It was some sweet revenge over last season's fiasco when I traveled to Pittsburgh to see Brady pick them apart. The good stuff first...

1. I can't believe Ariens finally did what I (and probably thousands of others) felt was necessary to beat the Pats on offense. Pass, pass, pass...  And a little run. And they didn't go deep AT ALL. I think they were trying it out on the Cardinals to some extent the week before. In fact, that may be the way that can beat ANYBODY. Wait until next year when they have Baron Batch (yeah, remember him) to catch passes out of the backfield!

2. The same for the defense. I hate to criticize Dick LeBeau but until Sunday he never came up with the defensive game plan that could stop Brady. Again, he took the path I suggested DURING last season's game... And it worked! This is how you stop the Brady-Welker connection and it also points out the fact that, if Wes Welker is your top receiver, you really don't have a "top" receiver. All you have is a group of guys who can catch the ball when Brady has room to throw his timing passes.

3. The team was obviously well prepared and intent on getting the Brady monkey off their backs. Obvious standouts were Woodley and Brown as well as the O-Line (despite giving up five sacks) and Ben (despite the sacks and the interception).

4. You've gotta feel for Maurkice Pouncey. He had to take on Vince Wilfork and now has to face Haloti Ngata in successive weeks.


THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF


1. I wasn't as impressed with the score based on the stats differential (2-1 time-of-possession, 2-1 total yards, 6 drives of 10+ plays, etc.). It just goes to show you how hard it is to beat Brady.


2. Red Zone failures continue to plague the Steelers. I mostly blame this on play calling (Ariens) and not execution. The TD-to-Field goal ratio must be improved, starting Sunday against the Ravens.


3. Steelers top three tacklers against Pats were DB's. That is NOT a good sign for the defense particularly since the Patriots only threw 35 times.


4. Taking a sack to throw an interception: New strategy to keep the Patriots in the game? Ben, Ben, Ben. Learn to throw the ball away. Some QBs are quite successful employing this technique (Brady, Brees, Rodgers, et al), particularly to avoid sacks and stay healthy. We KNOW you can extend plays and make something out of nothing. But against some teams it's better not to give up momentum by doing so and inevitably taking sacks. Plus, we'd like to see you play a couple more season.