Steelers @ Bengals Pregame Chatter

[volcom69]

I'm not sure I have a lot of hard evidence to support what I'm feeling... but this is the most confident I've ever felt on Steeler week.

I am actually inviting a few Steeler fans over to my house to watch the game. In the past I have been too nervous about enduring verbal abuse from Steeler fans in my own home. But I feel good about my chances to be the one pointing and laughing.

That is brave. Let's hope you're right.

It's been years since I could talk smack about the Bengals and I miss it.

I agree i hope you are right as well, i do know that the bengals usually play the steelers very tough! This year this squad is all about no quit and all heart, so they will fight till the end of the game.

Just dont turn the ball over, dont force anything.

The o-line which is not that great, at least have experience in playing the steelers and know what they will bring. Just wish they could find a running game, and i hope it starts this week

[Scottishbengal]

some figures rounded up purely for ease of dissemination and reading. Stats gleaned from NFL.com :-

Steelers averaging 389yds per game offensively

Bengals allowing 301yds per game

if you split the difference the Steelers would gain 345yds in this game

Bengals averaging 316yds per game offencively

Steelers allowing 280yds per game

if you split the difference the Bengals would gain 298yds in this game

The overall offensive yardage can be broken down as:-

Steelers gain 278yds per game passing and 110yds per game rushing

Bengals allow 216yds per game passing and 84yds per game rushing

Split the differences and the Steelers would gain 247yds passing and 97yds rushing

Bengals gain 212yds per game passing and 104yds per game rushing

Steelers allow 184yds per game passing and 95yds per game rushing

split the differences and the Bengals gain 198yds passing and 100yds rushing

Pittsburgh score an average of 21points per game whilst allowing 18 points against

Cincinnati score an average of 24points per game whilst allowing 18 points against

Pittsburgh convert 51% of their 3rd down attempts and allow opponents to convert 42%

Cincinnati convert 37% of their 3rd downs attempts and allow opponents to convert 35%

differences split again would mean Pitts convert 43% and Cincy 40%

Pitts have scored 21 TD's, are 2-2 on the road, 0-2 in the division and coming off a 4-1 streak in their last 5 games

Cincy have scored 21TD's are 2-1 at home, 1-0 in the division and coming off a 5-0 streak in their last 5 games

Roethlisberger has 203 completions from 321 attempts for 2632yds with 15 TDs against 8 INTs and a rating of 94.1

He's been sacked 26 times losing 171yds has fumbled 6 times losing 4 of those fumbles

Dalton has 158 completions from 257 attempts for 1696yds with 12 TDs against 7INTs and a rating of 85.0

He's been sacked 12 times losing 84yds, has fumbled just ONE time and has not lost possession

Pittsburgh have sacked opposing QBs 23 times and kept possession of the ball for an average 32:34 per game

Cincinnati have sacked opposing QBs 20 times and kept possession of the ball for an average 30:50 per game

Turnover ratio: Pittsburgh -11 whilst Cincy are +4

This could be the most important statistic come this game

This game is pretty close to call. Seems a fairly even contest with Pitts taking a slight edge overall. I wish the crowd at PBS would be a bit more partisan in terms of the Bengals as that could have played a very important role in this one.

Head says Cincy 20 - 27 Pitts

Heart says Cincy 27 - 24 Pitts

[jonf45uk]

some figures rounded up purely for ease of dissemination and reading. Stats gleaned from NFL.com :-

Steelers averaging 389yds per game offensively

Bengals allowing 301yds per game

if you split the difference the Steelers would gain 345yds in this game

Bengals averaging 316yds per game offencively

Steelers allowing 280yds per game

if you split the difference the Bengals would gain 298yds in this game

The overall offensive yardage can be broken down as:-

Steelers gain 278yds per game passing and 110yds per game rushing

Bengals allow 216yds per game passing and 84yds per game rushing

Split the differences and the Steelers would gain 247yds passing and 97yds rushing

Bengals gain 212yds per game passing and 104yds per game rushing

Steelers allow 184yds per game passing and 95yds per game rushing

split the differences and the Bengals gain 198yds passing and 100yds rushing

Pittsburgh score an average of 21points per game whilst allowing 18 points against

Cincinnati score an average of 24points per game whilst allowing 18 points against

Pittsburgh convert 51% of their 3rd down attempts and allow opponents to convert 42%

Cincinnati convert 37% of their 3rd downs attempts and allow opponents to convert 35%

differences split again would mean Pitts convert 43% and Cincy 40%

Pitts have scored 21 TD's, are 2-2 on the road, 0-2 in the division and coming off a 4-1 streak in their last 5 games

Cincy have scored 21TD's are 2-1 at home, 1-0 in the division and coming off a 5-0 streak in their last 5 games

Roethlisberger has 203 completions from 321 attempts for 2632yds with 15 TDs against 8 INTs and a rating of 94.1

He's been sacked 26 times losing 171yds has fumbled 6 times losing 4 of those fumbles

Dalton has 158 completions from 257 attempts for 1696yds with 12 TDs against 7INTs and a rating of 85.0

He's been sacked 12 times losing 84yds, has fumbled just ONE time and has not lost possession

Pittsburgh have sacked opposing QBs 23 times and kept possession of the ball for an average 32:34 per game

Cincinnati have sacked opposing QBs 20 times and kept possession of the ball for an average 30:50 per game

Turnover ratio: Pittsburgh -11 whilst Cincy are +4

This could be the most important statistic come this game

This game is pretty close to call. Seems a fairly even contest with Pitts taking a slight edge overall. I wish the crowd at PBS would be a bit more partisan in terms of the Bengals as that could have played a very important role in this one.

Head says Cincy 20 - 27 Pitts

Heart says Cincy 27 - 24 Pitts

"statto,statto,statto"

[volcom69]

Sounds like alot of the injured guys didnt practice today.

I really hope we have Gresham, Jones, Rey, Dunlap, Lee for this game they will really need them bad!!

I really think specail teams can help them this week, and Jones would be great if he return a punt this weekend. So lets keep hoping they can play, if they do it will help them that much more.

If Gresham and Lee are out that will leave us with just Cochart, and i dont like that. They need these guys to be healthy they really need all hands on deck here...not good. Guess we will know more tomorrow

[jonahdsage]

Sounds like alot of the injured guys didnt practice today.

I really hope we have Gresham, Jones, Rey, Dunlap, Lee for this game they will really need them bad!!

I really think specail teams can help them this week, and Jones would be great if he return a punt this weekend. So lets keep hoping they can play, if they do it will help them that much more.

If Gresham and Lee are out that will leave us with just Cochart, and i dont like that. They need these guys to be healthy they really need all hands on deck here...not good. Guess we will know more tomorrow

I'd like guys back in this order

1 - Dunlap

2 - Gresham

3 - Rey

4 - Jones

Dunlap is the player who has the most impact on defense by far. He's a game changer and we really need him to pressure/contain Ben. Gresham could tear up the steelers secondary. If Troy is prowling, how will they handle AJ, Simpson, and Jermaine? It becomes a matchup nightmare. rey is probably my favorite player, but we've handled his absence well. Getting Jones back would just be icing on the cake to me.

[Spor_tees]

It would really hurt the running game if 2 of the 3 TEs are out Sunday. That would mean a lot of Jumbo sets and unbalanced lines. So in a sense you wouldn't see a WC offense for this game but instead a power running game that hasn't worked well this season. That is unless Rolland or Collins all of a sudden become Tony Gonzalez.

[cincyhokie]

Here's one Steeler fan's breakdown and prediction. Laughable.

The Bengals come into this game on a winning streak and have aspirations of winning the division. The one glaring area that sticks out is the Bengals have some young talent at key positions and it will be key if that young talent can show the poise to play with a veteran squad in a hardnosed football game. The Steelers are coming off a last minute play that snatched victory from them and cost them the division lead, now being held by the Bengals. This appears to be bad timing for the Bengals as the Steelers should come out with a chip on their shoulder and play in a bad mood.

Bengals Offense VS Steelers Defense

The Bengals drafted Andy Dalton and handed him the key to the car this season. But, the Bengals were wise in giving him plenty of help on offense. At runningback,Cedric Benson is having a solid year. Chris Pressley is the starting fullback. At wide receiver, A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson start at wide receiver with Andre Caldwell being the 3rd guy. Jermaine Gresham is a weapon at tight end. The offensive line, from left to right, consists of Andrew Whitworth, Nate Livings, Kyle Cook, Clint Boling, and Andre Smith. It bears mentioning that Bobbie Williams started at right guard last week, but Boling has the most starts. The strength of this unit is the offensive line, which has created some creases in the run game and has protected Andy Dalton.

When the Bengals run the football, they show a strong tendency to run left handed. The Bengal run 37% of the time between the guards. Of the remaining 63%, a massive 42% of that is to the left side of the offense. The Bengals also do not use a great deal of misdirection. They do not use many counters or reverses and run in a hat on hat style allowing the back to hit creases and get what he can get. It is a very downhill style that is not afraid to run into the brick wall until it falls. This is also a team that believes in running the football and Cedric Benson is the weapon of choice. In addition, the Bengals seldom use the runningbacks out of the backfield as receivers. The key to stopping the Bengals rushing attack is simple. It will be important for the Steelers outside linebackers, specifically James Harrison, to set a strong edge. The interior defensive line and the linebackers then need to flow to the football and clog the running lanes. It is that simple. The Bengals rushing attack survives on creating creases and exploiting them and can be stumped by gap sound defenses that can set a hard edge and bottle Benson up in the backfield. The biggest advantage the Bengals will hold is when they use 3 wide receiver sets and run out of it with Benson as a single back as this could pull the outside linebacker off the edge and stretch the defense. The Steelers would be wise to slide to the side of the extra receiver, especially if he is on the left.

This is a game that should be placed in the hands of Andy Dalton early as it does not appear the Bengals defense is dynamic enough to handle the weapons the Steelers bring and the Steelers defense should grind the rushing attack to a halt. The problem with placing the game in Andy Dalton's hands, if the Bengals want to keep pace, he will have to leave his comfort zone. The Bengals have kept the offense pretty simple for Dalton. They refrain from using motion. They usually run when the fullback is on the field and the majority of their passes come in 3 wide receiver sets with Dalton in the shotgun. In addition, he is feasting on passes thrown under 20 yards with a whopping 91% of his throws being in that area. In fact, 71% of his total passes are under 10 yards. He has attempted passes longer than 20 yards a mere 23 times this season, completing only 8 or one per game. A.J. Green has been the target on the majority of those attempts.

The Steelers will counter A.J. Green with Ike Taylor. He will certainly draw man coverage from Taylor all game. The Steelers would be wise to recognize formations where the Bengals like to attack deep. They show a propensity to double the wide receivers in an attempt to get A.J. Green in favorable matchups and then chase the ball deep. In addition, they prefer to make those calls between the forties and are very conservative in other situations. If the Steelers defense recognizes this, they can creep the safeties in on most situations, give help against the run, and clog the shorter passing lanes. Dalton shows a tendency to hold the ball or throw it away if the window is tight. Furthermore, Dalton does not stay with receivers for long periods to see if they will come open, he moves from read to read and gets the ball out. The Steelers should be able to squeeze the windows, create some doubt, and this will allow the pass rush to get to Dalton. If they can hit him early, it is quite possible they can shake him into turnovers as Dalton has been relatively unscathed at this point. The Steelers will, most likely, stay in the traditional 3-4 defense on early downs against the Bengals and bring in the newer man defenses when the Bengals go with three wide receivers. It should be expected that Polamalu will creep into the box when the Bengals are in 3 wide receiver sets so he can help stop the run game and give coverage to the tight end in that situation. This youth on this offense should be a big advantage for the veteran Steelers defense. The Steelers should dominate this offense.

Steelers Offense VS Bengals Defense

The Bengals run a deep rotation on the defensive line. The starting four should be Robert Geathers, Domato Peko, Geno Atkins, and Frostee Rucker, but Rucker starting may depend on the health of Carlos Dunlap, who has been hampered with a hamstring injury. The other players in that rotation are Michael Johnson, Jonathan Fanane, and Pat Sims. The key figures on this defensive front four are Carlos Dunlap and Domato Peko. At linebacker, Manny Lawson plays the strong side with Thomas Howard as the weak side linebacker. Rey Maualuga may return from an ankle injury but if he does not, Dan Skuta will start. Nate Clements lines up at left corner with Leon Hall on the right side. The two safeties are Reggie Nelson and Chris Crocker. Adam "Pacman" Jones is healthy and could be the first corner off the bench.

Against the run, the Bengals defense does a solid job of keeping their feet and flowing to the football. Peko gets more penetration in the middle than any other defensive tackle and he is the guy that should get the most attention in the middle. At end, Geathers is more of a run stopper with the right defensive ends, including Rucker, Johnson, and Dunlap, being guys that play up the field. The linebackers also do a very good job of flowing to the football. But, because the defensive line keeps their feet and moves towards the play and the linebackers flow so well, it creates massive gaps in the backside. What the Steelers cannot do is run straight ahead because the Bengals do not get pushed back often and hold their ground, clogging the initial lanes and it allows the linebackers to choke down the rushing attack. When teams are effective, they run the edges of the line. There are two ways to crack this defense with the rush. The first is to run off tackle with the tight end controlling the defensive end, getting a hat on the linebackers, and getting quick yards. The second is to allow the defensive line to flow to the play side edge with a cutback for the runningback. The Steelers counter would set this up nicely as they block to one side, bringing the tight end across the line after the snap to lead the counter. The Bengals tend to shift the defensive front to the strong side and bring a linebacker up to the line, almost in a 5-2 defensive set. There are calls where the linebacker can get isolated on a tight end and if that tight end motions, he will follow and this leaves the cornerback with outside containment. The Steelers counter could blow open for a big play or two in this game. It should also be noted that the fullback counter where everyone flows one way and the fullback takes the quick handoff heading back into the middle could be used to crack some big plays. The Bengals appear to be a feast or famine type defense.

When the Steelers throw the football, it is not unlikely that they will get Leon Hall in coverage on Mike Wallace. Hall lacks the raw speed required to handle Wallace and Hall has been struggling in deep man coverage this season, giving up some big plays. The Bengals will be forced to keep a safety over the top of Wallace and that alone pulls Reggie Nelson out of the middle of the field. Nate Clements, if he is healthy to play, will end up in coverage on Hines Ward or Antonio Brown. The 3rd corner, whether it is Pacman Jones or Kelly Jennings, will draw a tough assignment covering the interior receivers. The Bengals linebackers also struggle in coverage. At 6'5", Manny Lawson is not your prototypical strong side linebacker and he does not exhibit the change of direction skills needed to be stellar in coverage. Thomas Howard may be the best coverage linebacker for the Bengals, but he also struggles to get his head around and make plays on the football. What this means is the Bengals have a soft interior in the passing game. While the Bengals present a solid 10th place ranking in yards against the pass, it has to be noted that they have faced Colt McCoy, Kyle Orton, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Hasselbeck, Alex Smith, Blaine Gabbert, Curtis Painter, and Tavaris Jackson. It is not a stellar list of elite passers and the Bengals have benefitted by the opposition missing open receivers.

The Steelers will make this a pick your poison game for the Bengals defense. If the Bengals pull the safeties back to give help over the top against Wallace, the Steelers should have some rushing success between the guards and tight ends. The Steelers will also have some cutback lanes and could catch the linebackers flowing inside and bounce the play outside. It will be a game of showing patience and catching the defense with the right rushing play. In the passing game, the Steelers will chase the ball down the field to Wallace and should attack the other side with Brown, stretching the deep secondary. In addition, watch for heavy crossing routes to exploit the linebackers inability to change direction. Heath Miller should have another big day especially working curls and outs. It should also be noted that the Bengals show a propensity to vacate the flats leaving them wide open for dumps to the runningbacks, although the Steelers do not do this often, it could turn into some big plays.

Special Teams

Nugent is a very good field goal kicker and Huber is having a solid year as a punter. Brandon Tate is a weapon as a returner and adds some punch to the Bengals return units. The Bengals are a very good special teams group and have an edge on the Steelers here. The Steelers must play smart and take this game out of the hands of the special teams units, although the Bengals do have the ability to flip the field in this area. Antonio Brown is still a threat, but the edge is with the Bengals.

Steelers 32-Bengals 9

[kingwilly]

Clearly written in a "Da Bears" style.

Ditka - 435

God - 3

I especially like how confident the author is about the Steelers D. They are old, hurt and should have lost to the Raven by 3 scores. Also, very confident that they will get to Dalton and "rattle" him. This guy would be smrt to note how serious the Steelers players are taking Dalton (see Ryan Clark's comments).

No chance the Bengals lose this game.

Bengals - 31

Steelers - 23

[derekshank]

The Steelers defense in habit of coughing up late leads.

The Bengals offense is in the habit of taking late leads.

How convenient.

[ArmyBengal]

All I can really say is, THIS IS WHAT THIS TEAM HAS BEEN BUILING TOWARDS.

I will readily admit they haven't had a hard schedule to this point and a Manningless Colts didn't hurt the cause. However, all that time has allowed this young team to gel early on and develop a feel for the speed of the game. They have played to this point as a team that feels they really have nothing to lose. Everyone picked them to finish dead last and they have used that for motivation and have gone out and had fun playing as a team.

Now they are headed into the part of the schedule that has concerned me the most since I first saw it at the beginning of the season. Pittsburgh and Baltimore aren't typically the kind of teams that a young team and more specifically a young QB do well against. I think if they don't find a way to contain Ben, it's over early. If Dalton has to play from behind, it's over as well. Pittsburgh isn't Jacksonville or Cleveland or Seattle.

If they can keep the game within 10 points come the 4th quarter or (God forbid) have the lead, I think they will have a shot, but nothing is a gimme when facing the Steelers who enjoy an almost homefield advantage in Cincinnati. The Steelers WR against our secondary is my biggest concern. That and the ability to contain Ben with a sufficient pass rush.

Honestly, I think the Steelers win this game by at least 10. I'll say 27-17 Steelers, but will say this.

I've never been so excited to see a Bengals team play against the Steelers even though I anticipate a losing effort.

Meaning, win or lose I just want to see what this young team is going to do against a team many thought would be back in the Super Bowl this season. If they do come out on the short end of the stick, i'm going to be watching VERY closely how they respond. I think how they react win or lose will be interesting to see.

I really am excited to watch the game and think they could win, I just don't think they will.

I hope everyone is doing well...

[HoosierCat]

Gresham, Lee & Dunlap all practicing today per Reedy. Still no Pacman, though.

[cHaD711Johnson]

I wish Pac was back. I'm really looking forward to getting him back out there.

[derekshank]

Here's one Steeler fan's breakdown and prediction. Laughable...

{incredibly long post omitted)

Steelers 32-Bengals 9

I went and looked at his previous predictions. He thought the Steelers would beat the Ravens 38-10 in week 1... so it's probably safe to say he has an unrealistic bias.

[derekshank]

Reedy reports:

Lee is Out.

Adam Jones is Doubtful.

Gresham, Dunlap, and Leonard are Questionable.

Maualuga, Clements, Caldwell, Smith, Crocker, and Howard are Probable.

Also,

Woodley is Out.

Harrison and Polamalu are Probable.

[skyline]

Reedy reports:

Lee is Out.

Adam Jones is Doubtful.

Gresham, Dunlap, and Leonard are Questionable.

Maualuga, Clements, Caldwell, Smith, Crocker, and Howard are Probable.

Also,

Woodley is Out.

Harrison and Polamalu are Probable.

Too bad about Lee. On the plus side, it looks like Cochart has stepped up well, so we should be fine as long as Gresham gets in.

[Spor_tees]

Reedy reports:

Lee is Out.

Adam Jones is Doubtful.

Gresham, Dunlap, and Leonard are Questionable.

Maualuga, Clements, Caldwell, Smith, Crocker, and Howard are Probable.

Also,

Woodley is Out.

Harrison and Polamalu are Probable.

Too bad about Lee. On the plus side, it looks like Cochart has stepped up well, so we should be fine as long as Gresham gets in.

Even if Gresham is active I still think we will see a lot of jumbo sets and unbalanced lines. It does help a lot that Woodley is out seeing how poorly Gresham and Smith are at blocking the edge.

[PussnCleats]

If Greesham Dunlop & Malabulaga play eet's over for z Steelers.

[volcom69]

Jones out sucks, i hate to think of what Ben can do against Jennings, he just dosnt look like he has it. I hope he plays better this week. Would have liked Jones for special teams, still not sold on Tate.

If Gresham is out i worry big time about that, he needs to play Andy loves his TEs, and will need them in this game.

Nice to see Rey back this week, its about time, hope he has a big game!!

Would have felt much better about this game if everyone was playing, it would have been that much better. They can win it, they just have to be who they are!!

[semiotter]

Bengal Power. I'm looking in Louisville for a new Bengals Jersey!!!!

[jonahdsage]

Bengal Power. I'm looking in Louisville for a new Bengals Jersey!!!!

I live in Louisville — where do you watch the games? I'm always looking for other bengal fans in the area!

[HairOnFire]

Here's one Steeler fan's breakdown and prediction. Laughable.

Actually, despite it's length and uneven quality I thought there was some good stuff in there. Granted, the predicted final score of 32-9 has a certain homer feel to it, but there was enough good stuff in there for me to use that post as a jumping off point for me to talk about the game itself rather than continue wasting my time swapping insults with the dumbest guy in the room. But due to the posts length I'll limit myself to the offense.

This appears to be bad timing for the Bengals as the Steelers should come out with a chip on their shoulder and play in a bad mood.

I'll start wth a point I DON'T agree with...the idea that Pittsburgh will have the emotional edge in this game. The Steelers are upset with themselves due to frustration over their own poor play, the growing talk that the Steelers are too old, and their recent inability to close out games in the 4th quarter. Those are all things that won't change overnight just because your team is in a bad mood after a loss to a rival.

Furthermore, the Steelers and Ravens have just spent two weeks focusing intently on each other. So much so that even after the game between the two teams players from each squad could be heard yammering about how the other guy was the only one who could match their own physical play blow for blow. I'm betting Bengal players made note of those remarks and will come out looking to match the Steelers punch for punch. The Bengals will do their best to force their way into the mutual admiration society now made up of players from Baltimore and Pittsburgh. I'm also betting Marvin Lewis will continue his strategy of trying to keep the game close until the 4th quarter, a tactic that has paid huge dividends already precisely because the Bengals, despite their past reputation, are far more disciplined and poised than the teams they've played.

The Bengals drafted Andy Dalton and handed him the key to the car this season. But, the Bengals were wise in giving him plenty of help on offense. At runningback,Cedric Benson is having a solid year. Chris Pressley is the starting fullback. At wide receiver, A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson start at wide receiver with Andre Caldwell being the 3rd guy. Jermaine Gresham is a weapon at tight end.

The Steeler fan lists the names of the Bengals weapons, but manages to say almost nothing about them. So I'll go a step further by naming Jerome Simpson as the weapon who has to produce in this game or the Bengals won't win. Since being linked to the drug thing Simpson seems to have lost the much of the positive momentum he started the season with and his production has been mostly hit or miss. That needs to change this weekend or the Bengals will likely come up short.

When the Bengals run the football, they show a strong tendency to run left handed. The Bengal run 37% of the time between the guards. Of the remaining 63%, a massive 42% of that is to the left side of the offense. The Bengals also do not use a great deal of misdirection. They do not use many counters or reverses and run in a hat on hat style allowing the back to hit creases and get what he can get. It is a very downhill style that is not afraid to run into the brick wall until it falls.

Here's where the Steeler fan starts making sense to me, probably because he writes about things I've written about earlier....including the bit about the Bengals overwelmingly running to the left and the lack of motion used by Gruden as opposed to Bratkowski. In regards to the former, I'm reminded of the way Andrew Whitworth has made Jerome Harrison his personal bitch in recent games. And in regards to the latter, the Bengals newfound ability to line up using recieving weapons who can play multiple roles all but negates the Bengals need to use great gobs of motion. That simplifies the offensive scheme and has almost eliminated the Bengals old habit of lining up late, collecting delay of game and motion related penalties, and their old habit of burning timeouts needlessly. For the Bengals and a roster filled with young skill position players simple is better. they don't have to shift players presnap to find matchups they can exploit. Players like AJ Green can and have produced from all three receiver slots, including the slot.

They refrain from using motion. They usually run when the fullback is on the field and the majority of their passes come in 3 wide receiver sets with Dalton in the shotgun. In addition, he is feasting on passes thrown under 20 yards with a whopping 91% of his throws being in that area. In fact, 71% of his total passes are under 10 yards. He has attempted passes longer than 20 yards a mere 23 times this season, completing only 8 or one per game. A.J. Green has been the target on the majority of those attempts.

Yup. To date Andy Dalton has been wonderful, but the above serves as a reminder of why I once called him the Farkel Flinger. In short, I still think Andy Dalton throws a very crappy deep ball, and most of the longer passes he's completed to date would qualify as "go get it" jump balls. And all of this serves to partially explain why I think Jerome Simpson will have to have a big game or the Bengals will lose. Dalton simply has to get a 2nd wideout more heavily involved in the offense and he needs more intermediate quick strike plays. And to me, that screams Jerome Simpson. Others spend their time waiting on Jermain Gresham. Regardless, it has to happen now or the Bengals will struggle to beat better teams. AJ Green needs help.

This youth on this offense should be a big advantage for the veteran Steelers defense. The Steelers should dominate this offense.

I'm betting that doesn't happen. In fact, I'm guessing the Steelers pass rush doesn't get to Dalton very often precisely because he's very good at getting rid of the ball quickly. But that said, I remind myself of Jon Gruden's remarks when he broke down Dalton prior to the draft. While heaping tons of praise on Dalton Gruden repeatedly chided the soon-to-be "Banty Rooster" over his failure to recognize safety blitzes while at TCU, and he specifically mentioned the need to be better at this when facing the Steelers. I'm betting on Dalton getting the job done.

Bengals - 24

Steelers - 21

[Earendil]

The funny thing about that analysis is that the overall tone was somewhat balanced, but then he predicts a score of 32-9. One of these things is not like the other.

[HairOnFire]

The funny thing about that analysis is that the overall tone was somewhat balanced, but then he predicts a score of 32-9. One of these things is not like the other.

To his credit I agreed with an uncomfortable number of points when reading the breakdown of the Steelers offense versus the Bengals defense. Specifically, Lean Hall's ability to cover Mike Wallace and my own concerns about Big Ben's ability to extend plays longer than 6 seconds, as he repeatedly did against the Ravens.

Frankly, if I were a Steeler fan I would expect a blowout against any team featuring any rookie QB. History says all teams lose under those conditions when playing the Steelers, right? That said, as Bengal fans were all hoping Dalton can CONTINUE to play more like a two or three year veteran than a rookie. And if he can I'm expecting a close game well into the 4th quarter. Best, under those circumstances the Bengals look to be the better disciplined and more poised squad.

Last, it did strike me a bit odd how easily the Steeler fan conceded Cincy's advantage on special teams, including their ability to break long returns, but still discount that advantage when projecting a final score. The Bengals are a threat to take it to the house on most returns and failing that usually produce several shortened field opportunities in most games. Plus, for the first time in decades the Bengals have a defense that can score points of it's own. Add it all up and this team can produce points even when Dalton is standing on the sidelines.

[Spor_tees]

One advantage the Bengals won't have this week is AJ Green's height advantage. Ike Taylor is listed at 6'2".

Mike Nugent who has only missed one FG this year is an advantage over Shaun Suisham who has missed 5 this year going 15/20.

[Spor_tees]

I was looking on ESPN.com at the pick'm section for the ESPN analyst and newscasters. There are only 2 guys picking the Bengals to beat the Steelers, Mortenson and Jaworski. After further review of Jaws picks for the Bengals for the entire season, he only missed ONE game so far, he took the Browns over the Bengals. He correctly picked all the other games including the loss to the 49ers, the win over Buffalo, and the victory at the Titans.

Out of all the pundits I probably respect his opinion the most, because he puts a lot of hours in the film room. Being an ex-QB he dissects everything to the nth degree. Let's hope he is right for another week!