It was in his eyes on Sunday, confidence. You just saw it on his face each time the camera panned to him. Mike Tomlin, going into the game against San Diego was a coach with the look of confidence. Confidence in his team.
Tomlin had been criticized by about playing his starters in a meaningless game at the end of regular season against the Cleveland Browns. After all, by doing so, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ended up with a concussion after hitting the turf. Yeah, the Cleveland game might have been meaningless for the books, but this past Sunday proved that it provided something much more valuable, confidence.
Sunday, against the Chargers, the Steelers played with confidence. They reflected their coaches belief, their own belief and they came out with something to prove.
- Mike Tomlin wanted to prove that his Steelers deserved to be there.
- Bruce Arians wanted to prove that his offense wasn’t as bad as every one wanted to think they were, and that they did have a running game.
- Special Teams wanted to prove that they could be good on all aspects of the return and coverage.
- Ben Roethlisberger wanted to prove that he was healthy and could play well in a playoff game.
- The oline wanted to prove they could protect their quarterback.
And Sunday, they proved everything and more. What part of the team didn’t come out big. Roethlisberger had good throws that kept drives alive, read the field well and didn’t give up the ball. The concerns about the concussions were all wiped away Sunday.
The running game came together, perfectly. Willie Parker, finally healthy ran wild on the Chargers offense, and when he was out, Mewelde Moore came in with positive yardage. Chargers defense may have denied Gary Russell one touchdown, but they weren’t going to deny him a second one.
Big plays on special teams, both in returns and coverage. Holmes would run one back for 6, something that hadn’t happened all season for the Steelers.
Defense would come up with one interception and would sack Phillip Rivers four times.
However, it would be the oline that proved themselves in a big way. In their initial meeting with the Chargers defense, the Steelers offensive line gave up four sacks on Roethlisberger. This game, they gave up only one sack and opened up some nice holes for the running game.
Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians proved that he could actually stick with play calling that worked and that it was okay to put more faith in his quarterback.
Head coach Mike Tomlin once again proved that he wasn’t afraid to take chances and play the game to win, versus playing not to lose. Although the fake punt failed, it showed some creativity in finding ways to try to get something started on offense.
With the win on Sunday, Steelers stayed alive to face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship. They’ll be going into that game with a dangerous combination. Confidence and a completely healthy team. Unlike the Ravens/Titans games were a number of Ravens players sustained injuries, the Steelers left the Chargers game relatively unscathed and no injuries.
Forget that the Steelers record at home in the AFCC isn’t the best. They proved this season that none of that matters. They’ve shaken monkeys before. They weren’t suppose to win against the Jacksonville Jaguars or the New England Patriots, because…well…their record against them wasn’t the best. They were 0-2 against San Diego in the playoffs before Sundays games. They’re beating those monkeys back. Curses, jinxes are not factors in this upcoming game.
They say that third times a charm. Perhaps. Then again, there’s a truism that bad news comes in threes. Perhaps it’s not a good thing for the Ravens to meet the Steelers in Heinz Field this time. Either way, these sayings offset each other, so they're not factors either.
This past Saturday, the Ravens won the battle of the turnovers against the first seed Titans, to advance on to the AFCC. However, the Titans aren’t divisional rivals. In their two previous matchups, the Steelers and Ravens were equal in turnovers. In the first game, Roethlisberger threw for one interception. It was Joe Flacco that would throw for two interceptions in their last matchup.
The question for the Steelers will be in the play calling. Will Bruce Arians become overconfident in his play calling against a defense, though exhausted and beat up, pulls from their very soul to find a way to make the stops when necessary? Will the Steelers offense become one dimensional, or will he use the running game to help wear the Ravens defense down? This game will be a defensive battle, as Ravens/Steelers games always are. Can the Ravens defense sustain the energy to last 60 minutes and will Joe Flacco maintain his cool against a defense he had already met up with twice before?
This will be a game where a “never” will be answered. A rookie quarterback never started in the AFC Championship and went on to the Superbowl. Ben Roethlisberger never won the AFCC at home. Despite the Ravens being the media darling for this game, I’ll take the Steelers at home. After all, look at what happened to the other media darlings this season.
Category: NFL
Comments
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Jellydonut Level: Superstar Since: Oct 19, 2007 |
Posted on: January 13, 2009 7:02 am
Score: 95
They BelieveIt would be nice for the Steeler fans to see the AFC Championship won at home. It's somewhat ironic that you have the Raven's victory over Tennessee to thank for the chance. Flacco has already set a record in being the first rookie to win two playoff games. Similar to Ben at the beginning of his NFL career, Flacco is handing the ball off and making mostly short passes. The Baltimore formula is clear: don't make mistakes on offense, hit and tackle hard to force turnovers, and score just enough to win. The Pittsburgh formula? It's about the same, isn't it? The fans of Pittsburgh must be thrilled to see the offensive line playing so well at just the right time. Given time, Ben is one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the league. This game will be about running though. I doubt the weather will be as conducive to throwing as the SD game. To Pittsburgh's advantage, Baltimore only had 50 yards rushing against Tennessee, and 211 total yards on offense. Those are not winning numbers despite the victory. I don't think it will be easy for Pittsburgh to beat Baltimore a third consecutive time this season, but I think Pittsburgh will prevail in a low scoring affair. Baltimore yielded nearly 400 yards and was outplayed by Tennessee. Pittsburgh will do a better job protecting the ball and at least get field goals where Tennessee came up empty. It should be enough to win. |
JSB
Reputation: 91Level: All-Star Since: Sep 13, 2006 |
Posted on: January 13, 2009 4:27 pm
Score: 87
They Believe Love talking to you after a Steelers win, mum. Puts you in a good mood. |
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momluvsfootball Level: Superstar Since: Sep 9, 2006 |
Posted on: January 13, 2009 6:30 pm
Score: 96
They BelieveJelly, |
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momluvsfootball Level: Superstar Since: Sep 9, 2006 |
Posted on: January 13, 2009 6:41 pm
Score: 95
They BelieveJSB, |
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JSB
Reputation: 91 Level: All-Star Since: Sep 13, 2006 |
Posted on: January 14, 2009 3:33 pm
Score: 89
They BelieveOther than my annual New Year's 'descent into hell' I've been ok, thanks. |
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ronskidog Level: Superstar Since: Sep 14, 2006 |
Posted on: January 14, 2009 11:23 pm
Score: 96
They BelieveAll in all a fine win by your Steelers. The key to that game was the interception in the 3rd quarter and the Pittsburgh offense playing ball control. That kept the Charger's offense off the field almost the whole quarter and wore down their defense. |
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NFL-Solomon Level: Superstar Since: Mar 8, 2008 |
Posted on: January 15, 2009 11:07 am
Score: 92
They BelieveI think alot of it will come down to the offensive play calling since it will be defensive. Well then we can only hope for a failure in Ben's helmet receiver, so he can call the plays instead of Arians. |
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momluvsfootball Level: Superstar Since: Sep 9, 2006 |
Posted on: January 15, 2009 12:12 pm
Score: 95
They BelieveJSB, I hope that your annual descent begins to ease up as time progresses. Glad to hear that you're okay. I agree about losing their career and future to a debilitating injury. The one thing about the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is it's one of the top rated hospitals in the country. They were the one that developed the tests regarding concussions that's been used to verify a players ability. They're also pretty well up there in ortho and sports medicine, so much so that after my husband hurt his back and we were wrestling with finding doctors to treat him, we were looking at sending him up there to stay with my family to get him treated. Thanks for the well wishes. |
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momluvsfootball Level: Superstar Since: Sep 9, 2006 |
Posted on: January 15, 2009 12:21 pm
Score: 94
They Believeron, No doubt the 3d quarter control definitely had a major advantage in the Chargers game. As far as what can and can't be done against the Ravens defense, hard to say. Last matchup, the Steelers TOP was pretty well even. Will the Steelers be able to sustain long drives? Hard to say. Ravens allowed a 92 yard drive by Roethlisberger in the 4th quarter. Ravens have also shut it down too. Question is can the Ravens defense endure the physical game for a complete 60 minutes, especially given the injuries. Only Sunday will tell. |
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momluvsfootball Level: Superstar Since: Sep 9, 2006 |
Posted on: January 15, 2009 12:23 pm
Score: 95
They BelieveWell then we can only hope for a failure in Ben's helmet receiver, so he can call the plays instead of Arians. Hopefully Arians doesn't resort to the type of play calling he had in last year Jags game. Of course, the bright note is Cam Cameron is the Baltimore OC. In the Ravens/Titans game I could have sworn that Cameron and Arians were twins separated at birth. Cameron is just as responsible for the Chargers "Marty Ball" as was Marty himself. |
