This is a big game (bigger for Pittsburgh than NE). Since I'm at the house, I figure I can watch and type at the same time. So here is a running diary for the game.
1st Quarter:
15:00: Patriots defer, so they kick off. Good to see Jerod Mayo, Kevin Faulk and Sebastian Vollmer are back. No Hines Ward for Pittsburgh.
9:47: Apparently Heath Miller is the greatest tight end in the history of the NFL. Four receptions on the first possession. Can we cover that guy, please?
9:08: Touchdown Steelers. Our pass defense is pretty bad (see previous post). A lot of it is coverage, or lack of, but pressuring the QB is always part of the problem when a pass defense is this bad.
9:08: Way to kick the ball out of bounds Pittsburgh. Always reminds me of Carolina in the Super Bowl.
AT&T "Taco Party" Commercial. I had to switch from AT&T to Sprint because AT&T is so bad in Vegas.
8:58: First play is a pass to Gronknandez. We have tight ends too.
7:52: Go for it! Just kidding! Bring on Zoltan the Punter.
Kinda wish the Geico caveman would go away.
6:45: Can we please stop these guys on 3rd down?
6:05: Nice tackle by McCourty. He's had a tough sophomore season.
5:22: Miller again. Somebody please cover that guy.
4:35: Copy / Paste
3:46: Mike Wallace is always a home run threat.
2:25: Rapeburger has too much time to throw. Pittsburgh offensive line is pass blocking well.
Flip station is Lions 7, Broncos 3. Which reminds me, Halloween Episodes on FOX tonight.
1:18: Miller 6 rec. 76 yards. He's "Welkering us to death".
0:18: Looked like a block in the back on Pittsburgh. Almost took out Wilfork and his own QB. No flag. Timeout Pittsburgh.
Like the Allstate Mayhem commercials.
0:03: Nice coverage that time. Allowed Big Vince to get in for the sack.
Time of possession: Pitt - 13:26, NE - 1:24
2nd Quarter:
14:57: Field Goal. Pittsburgh 10, NE 0.
14:51: Danny "F***ing" Woodhead.
14:45: Welker for 7.
14:12 I've got to admit, I thought the Kevin Faulk Era was over in New England. Welcome back.
12:20: Phil Simms is right, Faulk is out there because he knows what he's doing. He's a Belichick favorite and can do so many things on the field.
11:44: Logan Mankins is nasty. No flags; lets's go...
11:10: Pass interference??? Thank you!
11:10 False start, Mankins. 1st and 15.
11:06: Want to see a tight end post / seam route.
10:47: Woodley sacks Brady. 4th and 30. Punt again.
8:53: Picked by Guyton. And a couple of weeks ago, I wanted him cut. 1st and Goal Patriots. Romo'ed.
8:20: Branch Touchdown! Just saw Ocho on the sideline. 10-7 Steelers.
Flip station is showing Reggie Bush Pizza Hut Commercial. I would have never paid to have Reggie Bush on my team. I'd take the pizza. And Darren Sproles is a better Reggie Bush in New Orleans.
Detriot 10, Denver 3. Detroit moving to score again. Wow, nice tipped catch at the 1. That's what a flip channel is for.
6:55: Announcers note that Pittsburgh receivers are 3rd, 3rd, and 6th round picks. Take that Matt Millen.
5:37: Should be offsetting holding and pass interference. Yup (hands to the face and interference).
4:53: I used to hate Hines Ward as much as any player in the league. But then I realized it was because I loved the way he played - tough, not dirty, good blocker, deceptively excellent receiver. You love him if he's on your team, hate him if he's not.
2:41: So this is what it feels like to play against the Patriots. The Steelers are beating them at their own game. 17-7 Steelers.
I picked Cleveland +9 at San Francisco. Not sure what I was thinking. Wish I had a redo on that.
2:28: First Gronkowski sighting, since his picture with the porn star.
2:00 Let's see if we can get some points; then the ball back to begin the second half.
Tebow's not looking very good. 3/11 for 32 yards, 15 yards rushing. Detroit looks like they're going to score again.
2:00 Another false start on Mankins. C'mon.
1:53: Welker for 10.
1:46 Welker for 3. First down. Pittsburgh has 10 men on the line. Pass to Gronkowski to the 30.
1:27: Brady sacked by Woodley again. -7. Vollmer got turnstiled.
0:39: 3rd and 17. I'll take a field goal attempt...Direct snap to Faulk. 9 yards. Seen that one before.
0:29: Gostowski good from 46 yards out. Nice kick into the open end of the stadium.
0:08: 30 pass attempts for Rapeburger in the first half 22-30 (one more to go). Who does he think he is, Brady? Make that two more. You can execute a play in 6 seconds, so they could have tried to get into field goal range. All and all, lousy execution on the final eight seconds.
Halftime: Steelers 17, Patriots 10.
I did dishes and got some food at halftime, so I don't have anything significant to add. I published the first half, then opened it up to edit in order to write the second half.
Here we go.
Third Quarter
AP Poll is out, BCS later. AP is LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Boise State. Arkansas is #8.
14:02: Gronkowski is short of the first down. Three and out.
Flip station: 31-3 Detroit. Time for a new flip station.
9:32 Can we please stop these guys on 3rd and 15?
8:47: Nope.
7:34: Not sure what Kyle Arrington was doing on that coverage. Absolutely spun around. Wouldn't want to be him reviewing the tape on that horrible coverage.
Tried to spend commercial looking at what the Globe is writing about the game, but the computer froze. No dice on that.
6:14 Bend, but don't break defense holds Pittsburgh to a field goal. 20-10 Steelers.
Got this instead; Red Sox will interview "Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin tomorrow and Milwaukee Brewer hitting coach Dale Sveum later this week". Please not Sveum.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/10/mackanin_sveum.html
5:58: Let's see the replay on this one. Good call on the helmet to helmet hit.
5:38: Brady to Branch. Brady would have been flattened if he didn't roll left. As it is, Woodley pulled up injured on the play.
3:04: 3rd and 11. Patriots still moving down the field. Woodley has a hamstring injury, questionable.
2:20: Gostkowski hits the right upright from 42. No good.
1:25: Patriots are terrible on 3rd and long. Could have used the three and out there. Now Pittsburgh's defense can rest a little more and the offense is moving the ball.
0:00: 20-10 Steelers. End 3rd.
4th Quarter
14:22: Facemask on Chung, tack on 15 yards after a two yard catch.
12:55: 3rd and 5. Need a stop. Time is going to become an issue soon. False start, 3rd and 10 from the 12 yard line.
Timeout Pittsburgh.
Some thoughts so far. Pathetic pass coverage, especially on 3rd down. Not much pressure on the QB. Bad offensive line play. About as bad as I've seen it this season. That's what stands out.
11:26: Patriots bend, but don't break. 23 yard field goal is good. 23-10 Steelers.
Flip station is 30 Rock on Comedy Central. Funny show.
11:18: Brady deep to Price. Broken up at the last second. No flag. Defensive back was playing the ball.
10:36: Brady to Gronkowski, drags defense five yards, first down.
9:56: Brady deep for Ocho. Incomplete. Announcer said Ocho has nine catches this season. Seems like a lot, but I guess he had a few early.
9:05: That play was a nightmare. Brady scrambles, shovels to Faulk. Penalty: chop block on Faulk. Steeler injured on the play. We'll see what's up after the commercial.
Commercial for Harold and Kumar Christmas movie. Not sure what to think about that. May go see Rum Diary.
8:54 4th and 14. Punt.
7:35: Steelers are moving the ball and killing clock.
6:10: Another field goal attempt. No good from 44 yards. That would have been the nail in the coffin. Patriots get the ball back.
5:33: Brady to Branch, first down.
5:11: Gronkowski. How about Hernandez on a post route?
4:52: Brady to Faulk to the 15.
4:25: Welker to the 7.
4:21: Incomplete to Hernandez. DB had hands all over Hernandez. Neutral zone infraction. 1st and goal on the 4.
4:15: Brady to Branch incomplete. Branch wants a penalty, I don't see it. False start Vollmer. Bad offensive line play again. He has been out five weeks, but the line has been bad today.
4:08: Gronkowski to the 1. No challenge? Wasting time.
3:25. Faulk stopped short on the catch. 4th and goal. Wasting time.
2:40: Pass intercepted, flag for defensive holding. 1st down. Too much wasted time.
Replay appears to show Gronkowski catch was a touchdown.
2:35: Brady to Hernandez, touchdown. Wasted more than a minute and half. Extra point good. Steelers 23-17.
Patriots have three timeouts. Why did they not challenge the Gronkowski catch on the goal line?
Onside kick does not travel 10 yards. Steelers ball on the Patriots 37.
2:16: Patriots using their timeouts. 3rd and 1.
2:10: Up the middle, spot is going to be close. Looks to me he got the 1st down. 1st down by half the ball. New England uses last timeout.
2:00: Pittsburgh running clock. Run the old duck and cover play. 3rd and 22.
0:28: Steelers will punt for the first time today. Welker is deep.
0:19: Ball on Patriots 22. Fumble, out of bounds, safety. 25-17 Steelers. No impact on the over/under.
Being reviewed. Upheld.
0:06: Onside dropkick out if bounds.
0:00: Game over. 25-17 Final.
In closing: What a shitty game all around. The Steelers played great and outplayed the Patriots at their own game.
Ben Jarvis - no impact on the game
Brady - not a good game
Offensive Line - all played poorly and too many false starts
Arrington - beaten multiple times
Defense - could not get off the field on 3rd down
Defensive Line - QB had too much time to throw, not much pressure when it counted
Coaching - Can't figure out why Gronkowski catch on the goal line wasn't challenged as a touchdown. Patriots lost 90 seconds trying to score when that appeared to be in.
So long. Not sure if I'll do this again.
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