Steelers-Raiders Review

Well, I was towards the end of a post about this game and it all got deleted somehow. I think I selected all text, then somehow hit delete, then it auto-saved before I could hit Undo. I really don't know what happened.

Cliff notes from that post:

1. It felt good to get a blow-out win after getting blown out against New England.
2. It felt good to blow out the Raiders, even though it's not much of a rivalry at this point.
3. The Steelers should keep throwing and keep blitzing, because that's what seems to work for them. They didn't blitz Tom Brady because the first thing they teach you at defensive coordinator school is that Tom Brady will destroy your life essence and steal the souls of your children if you blitz him. Not blitzing him did not work, so maybe they should blitz him a lot if they meet in the playoffs. When the defense has performed well, gotten sacks, and forced turnovers, they've been blitzing. So... keep up with that.
4. They can't withstand any more injuries to the offensive and defensive lines. Injuries in those areas will catch up with them and be their undoing when they play better teams.
5. While I don't think that the Steelers are being targeted by the officials, I think that the officials are definitely calling tighter games on James Harrison. That could kill the team once they play better teams and once the games get closer (i.e. in the post season).
6. I will not complain about the officiating and blame the officials if that happens, because I live in Pittsburgh and root for the Steelers, not in Seattle and root for the Seahawks. (They're still bitter so I can still be bitter about them being bitter.)
7. Next week is not a trap game. The Bills are squirrely and the Steelers know they have to win all the games on their schedule to keep up with the hated Ravens. If Buffalo wins next week, it's not because the Steelers got caught in a trap. It is because the Bills are sneaky and possibly a decent team.

It's going to be an interesting season. I'm not going to get as excited about the rest of the season as I was depressed about the rest of the season after the Patriots game. It's a long season and I think that... well, it's a process. It's a war of attrition. So, I will continue to evaluate the season as it progresses.