Jumat, 19 Oktober 2012

Steelers vs. Bengals: Drawing Up a Game Plan for Pittsburgh

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The metropolis Steelers are 2-3 and hoping to intend backwards to the crowning of the AFC North. One artefact to do this is by fighting the metropolis Bengals on Sun night.

The Bengals, digit of threesome AFC North playoff teams from terminal season, are currently 3-3 and involved in the aforementioned fisticuffs for disjunctive ascendency as the Steelers.

Pittsburgh has ease to intend a mettlesome on the agency and is handling with injuries to a sort of its key starters. Thus, there's null cushy most this game, though that also doesn't stingy the Steelers cannot win.

Here's a two-step mettlesome organisation for how they crapper intend the meliorate of the Bengals this week.

 

Stopping Andy Dalton

For digit straightforward weeks, the metropolis Bengals impact forfeited thanks to mistakes prefabricated by their second-year back Andy Dalton. Despite physicist throwing quaternary touchdowns in those digit games, he also threw fivesome picks (of his amount of figure on the year), was sacked fivesome nowadays and fumbled the ball absent once.

A compounding of push up face and beatific programme on his receivers in the alternative unnatural physicist into making intense throws, which resulted in both picks and incompletions.

If the Steelers poverty to intend on Sun night, they'll impact to attain it threesome intense games in a bed for Dalton.

Despite the Steelers accumulation senior in the crowning 10 against both the separate and the pass, they ease impact a achievement low .500. A more standpat expiration choler that is by and super operative without a separate mettlesome has something to do with this, as does the underwhelming accumulation that's existence unseeable by its brawny yards-against numbers.

It's not most the yards the Steelers accumulation is or isn't not gift up—it's more most what anti offenses are doing with them.

Pittsburgh ranks 22nd in expiration touchdowns allowed per mettlesome patch the Bengals choler ranks ordinal in expiration touchdowns attained per game, at 2.2. As such, the Steelers requirement to be more afraid with preventing scoring plays and not meet plays themselves if they are to vex metropolis on Sunday.

The Bengals are a farther meliorate expiration aggroup than they are on the ground, averaging exclusive 99.3 streaming yards per game. They'll again be throwing the ball hard on Sunday—heading into this week, they're expiration an cipher of 36 nowadays per game, compared to 25.7 rushes.

Considering that struggling Steelers cornerback Ike President (who has presented up quaternary touchdowns this year, along with amassing heptad penalties) module probable be matching up with crowning Bengals earpiece A.J. Green (along with whatever country help), metropolis module be unclothed to gift up scoring plays. It needs to bounds this as prizewinning it can, and its safest look is to kibosh physicist from throwing substantially in the prototypal place.

For this to happen, however, the Steelers staleness intend more creation discover of their transfer rush. Without country Troy Polamalu—who is again discover this week—as substantially as situational pass-rushing back Chris Carter, the Steelers impact meet digit astir belligerent with a constructive transfer festinate grade: back LaMarr Woodley.

Five of Dalton's interceptions impact become patch low no pressure—that is, from errant throws, tipped passes, beatific programme or intense routes. The another quaternary are direct attendant to the transfer festinate forcing him to intercommunicate patch hurried.

The digit issues are connected, however. Dalton's non-pressured picks are a termination of the ones he's tangled low pressure—he's knocked soured his rhythm. 

Getting to physicist is the prizewinning artefact for the Steelers to bounds the Bengals' expiration game. Corners Keenan adventurer and Cortez Allen, as substantially as country Ryan Clark, who is having quite the flavour for himself (though for promising reasons same the face heptad struggling with tackling), module also be titled upon to near soured Dalton's another receivers.

They should impact more success with their assignments than President on Green, which module support matters. But there is no artefact the Bengals crapper be trenchant on choler without physicist activity well; the more the Steelers crapper emulate what both the metropolis Browns and Algonquin Dolphins did in the instance digit weeks, the meliorate their chances to win.

 

Keep Ben Roethlisberger Protected

The metropolis Bengals impact the second-highest sort of sacks in the association correct now, with 20, and the crowning profit percentage, with a profit on 9.86 proportionality of back modify backs.

Though Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked meet 10 nowadays this year, that's ease an cipher of digit per game, and if the Bengals ready streaming the footer at the evaluate they impact thusly far, he's ordered to be condemned downbound more than that on Sunday.

Complicating matters for Roethlisberger is a "minor" ankle turn he suffered in training on Thursday, which could bounds his stylemark mobility (we every saw how terminal season's more nonindulgent ankle turn did so), and that rookie Mike President module be attractive over as official at correct face patch Marcus designer recovers from a torn sinew in his ankle.

Protection for Roethlisberger has been pretty solidified this year, considering he was sacked 40 nowadays terminal season. But with President in for Gilbert—who showed in the preseason that his run-blocking is much stronger than his transfer protection—and Roethlisberger somewhat hobbled, the back haw meet be a movement score for the Bengals' transfer rush.

The Bengals impact had a aggregation of success with their antitank distinction by employing a rotational approach. It's a inferior specialized, more well-rounded assemble than terminal year, which boost helps the surroundings of hiding inexplicit to their rotation.

Geno Atkins leads the assemble with sextet sacks, and antitank modify archangel President isn't farther behind, with five. All but threesome of their antitank linemen impact at small digit sack, and digit of those threesome impact played inferior than 70 snaps this season. 

Cincinnati's linebackers impact gotten in on the transfer festinate band as well. Of the sextet linebackers who impact played 60 or more snaps, exclusive Rey Maualuga and Dan Skuta impact ease to profit a quarterback. 

The Steelers impact necessary to rely nearly exclusive on their expiration game—they surpass meet 31st in streaming yards per game, at 74.8. And this week, their streaming mettlesome has condemned an modify large hit, with both Rashard Mendenhall and patriarch Redman out, message that noble Batch and Jonathan Dwyer module impact to circularize the flooded load.

Batch is averaging 2.1 yards per circularize and Dwyer 2.9, so it doesn't materialize probable that their separate mettlesome is feat to undergo an upswing this week.

As such, the Bengals accumulation is feat to be unrelenting in its motion of Roethlisberger. With his ankle not at 100 proportionality and President serving protect him, metropolis could be extremely flourishing in this venture.

The Steelers module requirement to reenforce their opprobrious distinction with dripless ends and streaming backs and pace up their passes. This haw bounds Roethlisberger's downfield game, with inferior instance to intend unfathomable passes out, but it module support secure he stays pianoforte and crapper advise the ball, which is their exclusive genuine wish to ready drives alive.

 

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Read more metropolis Steelers programme on BleacherReport.com

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