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Steelers @ Bengals II Pregame Thread/Game Thread


HoosierCat

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The Saturday night game works out perfectly for me.

I am in a Small Couples Bible Study Group that meets the second Saturday of every month at 6:30pm.

I will only have to be exposed to the after affects of the game .... most likely seeing what I expected, with an outside chance of being happily flabbergasted!

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You'd have to think the Bengals will run the ball.  Even if they aren't wildly successful, it will keep some pressure off McCarron.  It's quite possible Hill's found his stride.

The defense has to step up.  Having Jones and Illoka back for this Pitt game is huge.  On the offensive side, having Eifert back is enormous.

If the Bengals can run the ball, they can wi n.  

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Can they win ??  Sure they can, but I think it's more than simply having guys back and getting top end performances.
This team has proven time and time again they can't get out of their own way when it comes to getting into the talk.

Prior to the last game, Kirkpatrick tweeted they were going to let the Steelers be the village idiots, but that's not what happened.
The Bengals played right into all that crap, looked unfocused and then when they got outmuscled, it looked like they quit.

It's the reason they continue to deal with teams labeling them as "soft".

They haven't given me a reason to think that's changed and while I appreciate what we've gotten from McCarron to this point (I really do) I think the odds of him winning this game are next to nil.  Again, nothing would please me more than to see a win, but I'm trying to find a reason to even watch what I think will be another stupid-fest of penalties and poor decisions.  It being a playoff game is the only thing keeping my interest at this point.

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9 minutes ago, cincyhokie said:

You'd have to think the Bengals will run the ball.  Even if they aren't wildly successful, it will keep some pressure off McCarron.  It's quite possible Hill's found his stride.

The defense has to step up.  Having Jones and Illoka back for this Pitt game is huge.  On the offensive side, having Eifert back is enormous.

If the Bengals can run the ball, they can wi n.  

I'm sure they will try to pound it, but the one thing the Steeler D has been able to do this year is stop the run. Over all they're 5th in the league, compared to 30th versus the pass.

Looking at FO's defensive breakdown by receiver, the Steelers have been most vulnerable to deep passes to the Nos. 1 and 2 wideouts. Hue could do worse than dusting off the Mad Bomber's old playbook.

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I agree with everything Army said above. Last game was horrific, I think guys were more worried about what to do to the next Steeler player, then playing a football game. 

Thsts what worries me about this game, they get themselves so wrapped up into the stuff that's said, just go out there shut your mouth and play football. Getting these 15 yard penalties because you want to be the bigger bully is child like! 

Be smart and just play football, let them play stupid if they choose to.

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Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting very hard for them to get their first playoff win since forever.

I will be more than happy to come back here and say they proved me wrong and did what needed to be done.  MORE.  THAN.  HAPPY.

Just shut the f*ck up and focus on the game plan.

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I think the key is ensuring Burfict maintains poise. Thy have it out for him and will try to bait him into as many scuffles and extra action to draw penalties.

I am certain that KirkP will struggle with Antonio Brown. And if Lamur and Iloka are limited, Miller will also be a hassle to deal with. Got yo get to Benji.

Best hope is for the run game to click, protect AJ or Andy (if back) and attack the back end o the Steelers D. Hue can't get too cute, simply execute.

I call it 24-17 Bengals, home field combined with Atkins and Dunlap playing elite ball right now.

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13 minutes ago, HoosierCat said:

Some fun facts from Derek.

 

 

those are some critical stats, also considering how much he throws to AB, an the success they have. 1-4 TD/INT ratio sounds very "Bad Andy" to me, not Benji-esque.

Do we have the TD/INT lines for ANdy v Pitt this year, I could look but it is a workday.....

 

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9 minutes ago, kingwilly said:

those are some critical stats, also considering how much he throws to AB, an the success they have. 1-4 TD/INT ratio sounds very "Bad Andy" to me, not Benji-esque.

Do we have the TD/INT lines for ANdy v Pitt this year, I could look but it is a workday.....

Andy was 1-3, McCarron 2-2. QBs sucked on both sides this year.

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32 minutes ago, HoosierCat said:

Andy was 1-3, McCarron 2-2. QBs sucked on both sides this year.

maybe better said was the defenses (mostly Bengals and Steelers) in the AFCN were very very good. I think that is more like it. Only 3 of Dalton's 7 picks were not v AFCN teams

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27 minutes ago, HoosierCat said:

McCarron being prepped to start Saturday,per Marvin at his presser today. Gave no update on Dalton and said he wouldn't give any updates later, either.

It is too soon for his fractured bone to be ready, another 2 weeks, minimum. Someone check for packages addressed to Andy's wife from some sketchy clinic... if he can go Saturday.

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1 hour ago, kingwilly said:

It is too soon for his fractured bone to be ready, another 2 weeks, minimum. Someone check for packages addressed to Andy's wife from some sketchy clinic... if he can go Saturday.

Ha, then you don't believe Payton either?  If you listen to his answer, he is parsing words very carefully.  He took HGH like 98% of the guys in the league, and that's the end of it.  

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2 minutes ago, COB said:

Ha, then you don't believe Payton either?  If you listen to his answer, he is parsing words very carefully.  He took HGH like 98% of the guys in the league, and that's the end of it.  

COB, I have some very real life exposure to this side of sports, and 98% is probably low for the NFL. For sports that don't even use the current hgh test (which btw does not even work), like the NBA,MLB and NHL, its about the same 90-99% in use. That Peyton, with his hundred plus million dollars, even entertained using a sham clinic is the actual mystery. Look, he went to Europe for Stem cell therapy because it isn't approved in the US, so that he would rely on hgh or some peptides that are undetectable and work even better should be no surprise. I'm not bashing Peyton in the least, its the nature of the business. For those who want to feign the moral judgments, it must get awfully cold up on that moral high ground....

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The defense needs to be great, something they fail to do in every post season play.

How about a running game for once? It has been pretty poor most of the year, but they need to find one this game.

The O-line needs to play great giving AJ time to find his receivers. He tends to hold onto the ball much longer then Andy, so he needs time.

Hue needs to call his best game of the year, none of this conservative game plan in the second half if they have a lead bullshit! Attack, attack, and Attack some more!

Can they win sure they can, hopefully everything lines up, and the Steelers offense has an off night. 

If Marvin dosnt win, will he ever get this team over the hump? Could another coach (Hue) or anyone else get this team over the hump? Is it time if he can't win, or does he get a pass without his QB not playing? So many questions, so many ifs anymore, I don't know what to think.

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A few nuggets from walterfootball's betting trends on the game. First three favor Pitt, last three Cincy:

Steelers have won 14 of the last 19 meetings. 

Ben Roethlisberger is 42-22 ATS vs. the AFC North. 

Ben Roethlisberger is 9-4 ATS in the playoffs (6-3 as a favorite). 

Steelers are 17-27 ATS as road favorites since 2007. 

Steelers are 8-20 ATS as road favorites coming off a win under Mike Tomlin. 

Mike Tomlin is 5-16 ATS as a favorite after a win of 14+ in the regular season unless a bye is coming up.

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For what it's worth, the Bengals appear to be saying the things I wanted to hear from them heading into this game.
http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/20926/bengals-steelers-chippyness-extracurriculars-in-the-past-concerned

Quote

"I'm not going to get all into s--- that we got into last time about that game, but I know we'll be ready, mentally and physically," Bengals cornerback Adam Jones said. "We've talked as a group about that game. So we'll see how that goes."

Quote

Added linebacker Vincent Rey: "All that matters is if we win. All that other stuff, that side stuff, it's finished."

Quote

"Everyone is going to be riled up for this game. It's a playoff game, it's a primetime game. If I have to get the players ready for this one then we got a problem downstairs," Guenther said from his upstairs office. "The guys will be ready, the plan will be crisp and sharp and we got to go play our style of football."

Now all they have to do is go execute.  Keep that mentality and they have a chance. 
If it turns to that ridiculousness that was the last game, they are done before starting.

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From what Marvin said yesterday, apparently he and Tomlin had a conversation recently and both then got in front of their teams and told them to chill the **** out. Neither wants to see a rerun of last year where we and Pitt each knocked out the others' best player just before the playoffs.

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