Steelers vs. Patriots Review

Remember when I said that this game against the Patriots had the potential to be a "signature game" for this season?

Remember when I failed to post a preview for this game?

Well, those were both mistakes.

I didn't post a preview for the following reasons:

1. I got too busy with the holidays.
2. My uncle's house is not set up to accommodate people who are addicted to the Internet (no WiFi and the best Ethernet connection would have required me to write from his floor in the family room).
3. This game scared the shit out of me.

Consider:

1. Matt Cassel had just thrown for 400 yards two games in a row.
2. The Patriots finally remembered that they had Randy Moss and Wes Welker and it didn't matter who was throwing the ball to them.
3. The Patriots realized that the best way to save the season was to spread the formation out and throw every play.
4. The best way to beat the 3-4 defense (especially the Steelers), historically, was to go to the shotgun formation and deploy at least three wide receivers in the formation.
5. We were down our #1 and #3 cornerbacks.

So, I was wrong to not write a review for this game, because I had at least five reasons that the Patriots made me poop my pants.

I was also wrong in calling this a game that had the potential to be a "signature game".  Yes, we won 33-10.  Yes, we did this to the Patriots, who are talented enough to be 7-4 (now 7-5) without their starting quarterback, starting end, starting outside linebacker, starting tailback, and starting free safety.  Yes, we did this in Foxboro, not in Pittsburgh.  But, this was a signature game for the defense, not the entire team.

We forced five turnovers.

We only let up rushing yards in garbage time or against gimmick plays (sorry, but running a draw with less than two minutes left is a gimmick play)

We held Matt Cassel, who had two consecutive 400 yard games, to 169 yards on 39 attempts, with two interceptions and zero touchdowns.  That's 4.3 yards per attempt before you count the yards lost on sacks.  After you count those, that's 3.7 yards per pass attempt.  That's utterly ridiculous it's so good.  Completely insane.

Throughout the course of the season, we have lived and died (mostly lived and won) by this defense.  And it bailed us out again.

I have no way to quantify how good this defense is.  I have no means of comparison.  I have no way of explaining how they haven't suffered a letdown of epic proportions yet.

They've faced teams that like to line up and beat you with the running game in the Jaguars, Giants, Redskins, and the hated Ravens.

They've faced teams that like to throw the ball out of the spread formation and test the depth of your secondary like the Eagles, Patriots, and Colts.

They've faced teams that can do both, like the Chargers and Texans.

They've faced desperate teams, like the Bengals (twice) and the Browns.

They've held up against them all.

I'm done.  I've tried to doubt this defense.  I've tried to say bad things about Ike Taylor and James Harrison.  I've tried (last season) to destroy Lawrence Timmons.  I've tried my best to say that they aren't as good as the statistics say they are and I've been made to look like a fool every time.  I've been happy to look like a fool, but I've looked like a fool.

In all fairness to me, I had the Giants defense and the Steelers defense on my one fantasy team and dropped the Giants in Week 7, thinking that the Steelers would be excellent from here on out.  But, really, I've doubted them on a number of occasions, particularly against the Colts and the Patriots, but I don't doubt them now.  

I will not doubt them again.  Unless they screw up.

But, this was not a signature game.  The offense needs to get their shit together for that.