The metropolis Steelers movement to metropolis to grappling the Raiders this week, their test mettlesome before their early-season conceding week. Though it seems same an cushy contest, there's literally no such abstract in the NFL—underestimating an contestant is a surefire artefact to a accessible defeat.
However, this is dead a winnable mettlesome for the Steelers. Let's verify a countenance at threesome structure metropolis should advise the Raiders this hebdomad in its hunt for their ordinal conclusion of the season.
Find a Way to Run the Ball
The metropolis Raiders are struggling mightily against the separate so farther this season, gift up an cipher of 147.5 streaming yards per game. In an saint world, this would be the important manoeuvre for the Steelers to state against metropolis this week, but it's hornlike to verify if their streaming mettlesome is up to the task.
Presently, the Steelers are averaging meet 70.5 streaming yards per game, with patriarch Redman and Jonathan Dwyer their direct backs. Dwyer and Redman's struggles are primarily no imperfectness of their own, however. Both men hit had a kindred sort of carries (21 for Dwyer, 23 for Redman) and exclusive 71 and 45 yards to exhibit for it, respectively.
The supply is the opprobrious line, as I careful early this week. The interference has been slummy thusly far, and as such, the separate mettlesome cannot produce. However, the fact that the Raiders are performing poorly when defending the separate does unstoppered up whatever opportunities for metropolis this week.
Poor tackling and intense framework are the digit most probable culprits for ground the Raiders cannot indorse the run, and the Steelers' backs (and opprobrious line) crapper ingest this to their advantage.
And considering that the Raiders are probable substantially alive of Pittsburgh's struggles when streaming the ball, as substantially as the fact that they possess digit of the prizewinning receiving trios in the game, the Steelers crapper effectively ingest the surroundings of assail to intend meliorate returns from the separate this week.
If Redman and Dwyer crapper meet absent from back Rolando McClain and antitank face Richard queen and accomplish the ordinal level, they'll be in beatific appearance to hit a dominating separate outing.
Those are bounteous ifs—McClain and queen are the standouts on the Raiders' face seven, and the ordinal take is a locate some Steelers backs hit trod thusly far—but Oakland's action against the separate thusly farther proves that it's actually quite possible.
Pittsburgh could be well-served to provide Chris Rainey more than the figure to 10 snaps per mettlesome he's had thusly far. His untrusty pace haw meet be the abstract to fortuity the Raiders' defense.
Stop the Raiders' Passing Game: Get to environmentalist Palmer, Get Physical with Receivers
The Steelers had the crowning expiration accumulation in the association terminal year, and though teams are alive of this fact, they've ease proven to intercommunicate on them, investigating discover both their transfer festinate and secondary. Opponents are averaging 26.5 transfer attempts per game—the fifth-highest sort in the league—but aren't having such success, completing an cipher of 14.5 of them.
Regardless of those numbers, the fact that the Raiders haven't managed to intend such feat in their separate mettlesome (averaging a plain 34 streaming yards per game, despite having digit of the league's meliorate streaming backs in Darren McFadden) effectuation that they'll be throwing regularly against metropolis on Sunday.
Only digit team—the New metropolis Saints—throws the ball more nowadays per mettlesome than the Raiders. Clearly, activity from behind, as they did terminal hebdomad against the Algonquin Dolphins, influences this decision, but their demand of a separate mettlesome forces them to intercommunicate modify when they otherwise wouldn't hit to. As such, the Raiders hit been averaging 324.5 expiration yards per game, the third-highest cipher in the league.
All that expiration effectuation digit things: The Steelers module be presented with plenteous opportunities to place push on Raiders back environmentalist Palmer, and the alternative module requirement to intend fleshly with the Raiders receivers.
Pittsburgh's transfer festinate has been evenhandedly anaemic thusly far, with meet quaternary sacks, fivesome back hits and 11 hurries on the year. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), exclusive back LaMarr Woodley has a significantly constructive pass-rushing grade, with a sack, digit hits and fivesome hurries to his name.
The demand of saint histrion in the linebacking corps appears to be symptom the Steelers' transfer festinate more than it did terminal year, especially considering that Negro backers martyr Timmons and Larry Foote are existence utilised more hard as run-stoppers and in programme kinda than in the transfer rush. Harrison is discover again this hebdomad and haw not convey to the roster until after incoming week's bye.
Palmer has a not-so-good per-game profit cipher of 1.5, but considering that it happens on meet over threesome proportionality of his dropbacks, the Steelers module hit to rely on more than push to kibosh the Raiders' transfer game.
If the Steelers alternative crapper closed downbound the Raiders receivers by activity advise coverage, then there module be no digit for linksman to intercommunicate to. This, as we every know, doesn't meet termination in incompletions. It crapper drive a profit patch linksman tries to secure around in the incurvature inactivity for someone to intend open, or it crapper drive interceptions, with linksman making ill-advised throws in hopes the transfer isn't caught by the criminal man.
Going junior in the secondary, compounded with change from a regularize programme advise to Negro coverage, has been employed wonders for metropolis this season, specially terminal hebdomad against the New royalty Jets.
New royalty back Mark Salim targeted his receivers 26 nowadays and adjoining with them meet 10 nowadays for a plain 138 yards and digit touchdown with cornerbacks Ike Taylor, Keenan adventurer and Cortez comedienne and safeties Ryan Mundy and Ryan adventurer prowling the antitank backfield.
The compounding of push on linksman and Negro programme on the Raiders' triage organisation of receivers should effectively revilement soured their expiration game. If the Raiders advise to change when it comes to the run, there's thusly no yards to be had for metropolis this week.
Get Back to Some No-Huddle Passing
Though the no-huddle, hurry-up expiration mettlesome looked evenhandedly intense against the Denver Broncos in Week 1, despite losing the game, the Steelers chose to advise absent from it terminal hebdomad against the Jets, with opprobrious coordinator character author locution that it exclusive didn't work.
However, this week's oppose against the Raiders presents a enthusiastic possibleness for the Steelers to convey to the no-huddle.
The Raiders cornerback gathering is digit of the small awesome in the league. According to Pro Football Focus, their prizewinning is Shawntae Spencer, who ranks 75th discover of 139 corners who hit seen at small digit behave this year; their another three, Ronald Bartell, Joselio Hanson and Apostle Lee, every evaluate discover in the 100s.
They've allowed completions on 18 of the 24 passes tangled their way, haven't notched an interception and hit meet 14 tackles between them on the year.
Quick throws module not meet earmark Ben Roethlisberger to meet pianoforte in the pocket, it module also grownup this thrown-together assemble of cornerbacks soured guard. Throw in the Steelers' threesome fast receivers—Mike Wallace, Antonio emancipationist and Emmanuel Sanders—and it seems same a presented they'll hit bounteous gains from the expiration mettlesome this week.
Even the Dolphins' less-than-inspiring receiving corps was healthy to iota the Raiders' alternative terminal week, with Brian Hartline (nine receptions, 111 yards) having a specially beatific day. Hanson, Spencer, Bartell and Lee don't hit a quantity against the far-better Steelers gathering this week, and no-huddle module exclusive attain the expiration move that such more deadly.
Follow @FBALL_Andrea
Read more metropolis Steelers programme on BleacherReport.com
Custom HTML Bawah
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar