Week 3 Preview

Now all the mid-week pontificating and hand-wringing can wind down as it's time to turn to Sunday's showdown in the Steel City. I took a look at the Steelers game from last week (courtesy of DirecTV's Short Cuts - God I love Sunday Ticket) and here are BrownMagic's Keys to Week 3:

Things That Go Without Saying
* Win the turnover battle
* 3rd downs are the game - Get off the field when we're on D and keep the drive going on O
* Don’t settle for field goals on the road - TDs or bust, especially in the Red Zone
*Punch them in the mouth early and take the crowd out of the game

Defensive To-Dos
* Get pressure on (and finish off) Roethlisberger. Our problem has been not finishing off QBs (Derek Smith's swing-and-miss on Bulger comes to mind). Big Ben is the best in the league at keeping a play alive with someone draped on his back. We’ll be able to pressure him, but can we get him a body bag? YAHHHH! (Enjoy this classic Karate Kid clip in its entirety or start at 3:45)

If you don't get goosebumps watching this, you don't have a pulse.

* Force "Fast Willie" To the edge – If we get penetration up front and force Fast Willie to use his 4.23 40-speed horizontally, our LBs should be fast enough to get him on the edges.
* More of the same from the secondary – Clements, Harris, & Co. will have its hands going head-to-head with rival firm Ward, Holmes, & Co. Big Ben likes to spread the ball (8 diff’t receivers in the first half last week) but will throw some deep balls up for grabs like he did against the Bills.
* Bend but don't break - Yards between the 20s don't matter and the Steelers are having a ton of trouble in the red zone. The Bills held them to field goals on their first four trips inside the 20, which allowed Buffalo to stay in the game until the middle of the 4th quarter. Our D will need to do the same.

Offensive To-Dos
* The Steeler front, led by DT Casey Hampton, is stout and will bottle up FG if they are going 8-on-5 all day. Hostler needs to pass early to get Pittsburgh out of its base D. Bills rookie RB Marshawn Lynch had decent success so there’s no reason Gore shouldn’t be able to do the same if the defense is loosened up.
* Alex’s internal clock– Needs to be like Peyton in his new ad. Need to be sure to have safety valves set up for him. They will bring blitzing pressure like they did against Losman to rattle him into mistakes.

This remind anyone else of the Shining?

* Step up in the pocket – The Steeler pass rush came from the edges against Losman. Smith needs to step up and into his throws, and also be ready to take off if he sees daylight.
* Neutralize Polamalu – Moran Norris can blow him up as long as he find him. Polamalu has been a complete non-factor through two games. Let’s hope it goes to three.

Special Teams
* Their kick coverage sucks. Should get at least one good return out of our unit.
* Field position battle is winnable if Lee punts like last week.
* Note to the equipment managers - The Bills kept losing their footing and sliding around. Need to make sure our cleats are right.