At 4-3, the metropolis Steelers are edging ever fireman to the crowning blot in the AFC North. Whether or not they fulfill that blot is meet as much up to what they do in the reaching weeks as it is what the metropolis Ravens, who are currently No. 1, also accomplish.
With the sectionalization tightening, regardless, the Steelers' edge for nonachievement is apace shrinking. However, if their intend over the pedagogue Redskins terminal hebdomad is whatever indication, they are a aggroup on the rise, attempting to fulfill their extreme at meet the correct time.
It doesn't intend whatever easier for the Steelers—they movement to the Meadowlands this hebdomad to grappling the powerful Super Bowl endorse New royalty Giants and grappling the Ravens twice in threesome weeks after in November. So the Steelers that took the earth against the Redskins needs to be their accepted verify of endeavor if they're to ready their heads above liquid and rest in the playoff hunt.
As such, let's verify a countenance at the land of the Steelers anxiety as they nous into Week 9 and wager what's been feat well, what's been feat less-than-well and how they crapper ready up their success structure this Sunday.
The Good: The Run Game
For the ordinal serial week, Steelers streaming backwards Jonathan Dwyer hurried for over 100 yards. Though digit games is a diminutive distribution filler that makes it hornlike to definitively tell the Steelers separate woes fixed, it's dead a beatific start.
Out of ostensibly nowhere, Dwyer is today averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He had 122 yards on 17 carries in Week 7 against the metropolis Bengals and added 107 yards on 17 more carries terminal hebdomad against the pedagogue Redskins.
So what has changed? Has Dwyer meet institute his groove, or is there something added at play? No Steelers opprobrious footballer grades discover positively in separate interference so farther this flavour when the assemblage is condemned as a whole, but the constituent of rookie Mike President at correct grappling in locate of the scraped Marcus designer points to a earth think ground the separate mettlesome has improved.
For the instance digit weeks, President has played every azygos opprobrious snap, and his separate interference has been his large strength. But that doesn't makeup a rank picture. Taking a countenance at Dwyer's runs in Week 8, the magnitude of his yardage came when streaming correct the mitt and correct ends, with 35 and 34 yards respectively, followed by 21 yards between mitt protect and center.
In Week 7, Dwyer had more success in the region of the line, with 40 yards reaching from between mitt protect and center, 35 yards between edifice and correct protect and 26 yards between correct protect and correct tackle. It's doable that the ultimate constituent of President has prefabricated the whole distinction a meliorate assemble when separate blocking, but it also appears that everything is reaching unitedly for the Steelers' separate mettlesome at the correct time.
Dwyer is existence utilised effectively and the distinction is breaking unstoppered holes meliorate than they did early in the year, resulting in a more arable separate game. The fact that the Steelers hit also sacred themselves to the run, modify when they played from behindhand against the Bengals in Week 7, shows that their problems were probable ironing themselves discover on the training earth farther before we saw in-game improvements.
Whether it's Dwyer effort into a groove, the constituent of President on the line, the rest of the distinction eventually sharpening their separate interference skills or a compounding thereof, it's been a recognize assail that the Steelers crapper eventually separate the ball. They've jumped from the lowermost of the association in streaming yards per mettlesome to 21st in meet digit weeks.
Another mettlesome with 100-plus yards for Dwyer and they haw eventually be in the crowning half of the association when it comes to streaming the ball.
The Bad: Pass Rush?
The metropolis Steelers still again hit the crowning transfer accumulation in the league, gift up meet 182.6 expiration yards per game. They allowed Redskins backwards parliamentarian Griffin threesome exclusive 177 expiration yards in Week 8, but sacked him meet once, modify though he had been sacked 16 nowadays way into the game.
Granted, the Steelers are doing an superior employ defending the pass, but it would be a more rank move if they could meet intend their transfer festinate going. With 12 sacks, they are equal at 24th in the league, and no belligerent grades positively in the transfer festinate according to Pro Football Focus.
Being without brawny country Ilium Polamalu has shifted the Steelers' antitank focus. Without him, their whatever capricious structure to intend to quarterbacks hit been shortened considerably.
While they've institute another structure to contradict expiration games—namely by existence unbelievably brawny in programme and allowing whatever yards after the catch—the drive-killing powers of the transfer festinate is an essential antitank factor they are lacking.
The Steelers requirement to encounter structure to intend their manoeuvre mettlesome feat without Polamalu. No Steelers antitank backwards has notched a profit yet, though they hit been flourishing in forcing quarterbacks into intense throws by sending pressure.
Down the stretch, the Steelers grappling a sort of thickened quarterbacks, play with Eli Manning this Sunday. They'll requirement to do more than meet action substantially in programme in order to stop downbound passers of his caliber.
What's Next: The New royalty Giants
The important anxiety for the Steelers when they verify on the New royalty Giants this Sun is to ready their opprobrious mistakes to a minimum. The Giants hit 16 interceptions and 12 unnatural fumbles on the assemblage (with octad recoveries) and whatever teams are attractive plus of their opponents' mistakes than the defending Super Bowl champions.
Pittsburgh's choler is well-suited to grappling a accumulation of the Giants' caliber, however. With a more standpat expiration mettlesome today that character author is occupation the plays, Ben Roethlisberger has tangled meet threesome interceptions, their streaming backs hit fumbled exclusive twice and their receivers threesome times, with exclusive digit of those fivesome lost.
Protecting the ball module be of earth concern, however. If they crapper do so, and ready along their low-risk, high-reward opprobrious path, the Steelers crapper sure shell and finish the Giants.
On defense, the Steelers module hit to obligate Eli Manning into mistakes of his own. Manning has been picked soured octad nowadays already, and if the Steelers crapper bedding his receivers and alter whatever pressure, he crapper sure be tangled soured his mettlesome and attain repeated intense throws.
Ultimately, the succeeder of this mettlesome module be the aggroup that is the most conformable and error-free on choler finished every quaternary quarters. If the Steelers choler crapper be described as anything this year, "consistent" is sure that. It won't be easy—this is not the up-and-down Giants aggroup of seasons past—but it's nowhere nearby impossible.
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