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Maybe Roethlisberger should sit for a while after his performance against the awful Oakland Raiders…..who defeated the Steelers 20-13!  Maybe Ben is now color-blind after all the head shots he’s taken since he thought he was Evel Kienevel!  Roethlisberger completed 25 of 37 passes for 301 yards with 1 TD and 4 INTERCEPTIONS!  Two of his pick-offs were returned for TDs by the Raiders defense!  Willie Parker carried the ball 22 times for 83 yards (3.8 ypc) and caught 2 passes for 28 yards and a TD.  Hines Ward caught 8 passes for 81 yards and has looked great the last couple of weeks.  Cedric Wilson pitched in 5 receptions for 53 yards.  Nate Washington caught a 49 yard Hail Mary at the end of the game, but was tackled at the 3 yard line!

The defense played a fantastic game that was wasted by Roethlisberger’s pathetic play!  LB Clark Haggans had 5 tackles and 2 sacks.  Joey Porter returned and had 2 sacks and an interception.  The Raiders carried the ball 29 times for 81 yards (2.8 ypc).  The Steelers only allowed the Raiders to complete 5 of 14 passes for 17 net yards passing.

How can one player lose a game by himself.  Watch this game film and you’ll find out.

The Steelers offense is finally showing signs of life and is now averaging 24.0 points per game.  The rushing game hasn’t been up to par for the Steelers, as they are averaging 114.0 yards rushing per game, but only 3.9 yards per carry.  The passing game is really starting to click, as the Steelers are averaging 228.5 net yards passing and are completing 61.0% of their passes.

The defense hasn’t played up to their usual standards allowing 20.8 points per game.  The Steelers still stop the run pretty well as teams are averaging only 94.2 yards rushing and 3.5 yards per carry against them.  The Steelers pass defense has been awful this season, allowing 212.3 net yards passing and 59.1% completions.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are free-falling in the standings as they have lost four of their last five games and have looked bad doing it.  The Oakland Raiders are feeling full of confidence after winning their first game last week 22-9 against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Steelers offense has finally awoke after sleep-walking for the first 4 weeks of the season.  The Steelers have rolled up 83 points the last two weeks.  Look for the Steelers to run the ball alot this week against a Raider defense that is allowing 132.5 yards rushing per game.  Willie Parker needs to have a good game, as he hasn’t looked like the same running back he was last season.  Ben Roethlisberger has returned to practice and probably will give it a go this week.  Roethlisberger has looked real good the last two weeks after sucking before that.  Charlie Batch has been outstanding at QB, and the Steelers probably wouldn’t miss Roethlisberger too much if Batch had to play.  WR Hines Ward finally decided to do something this season and had a good game against the Falcons.  The Raiders pass defense has been pretty good this season only allowing 140.5 yards passing per game.

The Raiders would prefer to run the football with LaMont Jordan (314 rushing yards) and/or Justin Fargas (230 rushing yards).  Jordan has been bothered by a back problem, so Fargas will probably at least split time with him.  If the Raiders can protect Andrew Walter, the Raiders can have some success throwing against the Steelers vastly over-rated defensive backs.  Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is the only above-average player in the Steeler secondary.  Randy Moss (24 rec, 351 yards) and Ronald Curry could have success down the field in Walter has time.  The Raiders also could take a page out of the Falcons playbook at throw frequently to huge TE Courtney Anderson (11 rec, 162 yards).

The Steelers should win this game easy, but, they have to play a complete football game.  The Raiders will be sky-high at home, and coming off of a victory.

Roethlisberger suffered a mild concussion in the game against the Falcons on Sunday.  He could play against the Raiders, but why rush him back against the Raiders if he’s not 100%?  Charlie Batch has been playing well this season, and the Steelers could pobably win with him and give Roethlisberger another week to heal.  More will be determined on his status in the next day or two.

The Steelers have now fallen to 2-4, but you can’t blame yesterday’s loss on the offense!  The defense was downright terrible!  The Falcons ran the ball 39 times for 173 yards against the ‘vaunted’ Steeler defense!  The Falcons also completed 18 of 30 passes for 226 net yards passing……which is unbelievable!  Michael Vick threw 4 TD passes against the Steelers!  Pitiful!

The Steelers QBs both played great.  Ben Roethlisberger (left in third quarter with a head injury) completed 16 of 22 passes for 238 yards and 3 TD passes.  Charlie Batch relieved him and completed 8 of 13 passes for 195 yards and 2 TDs.  RB willie Parker had a rough game, carrying the ball 20 times for 47 yards (2.4 ypc) and losing a fumble.  WR Hines Ward finally showed up this season with 8 catches for 171 yards and 3 TDs!  Rookie Santonio Holmes had his best game as a pro, catching 5 passes for 91 yards.  Nate Washington continues to play well, catching 3 passes for 76 yards and a TD.  Cedric Wilson pitched in 3 catches for 54 yards.  TE Heath Miller caught 2 passes for 4 yards and a TD.

The Falcons just out-played the Steelers.  The Steelers had better get it together soon, or this season will be a huge failure!

The Steelers are looking to build off of their 45-7 victory last week against the Chiefs.  The Falcons are looking to rebound after the New York Giants came into their house and pushed them around!

When the Steelers have the ball look for them to try to run the ball at the Falcons, who were not effective in dealing with Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs a week ago.  Willie Parker will get most of the carries (434 yards rushing), but also look for Najeh Davenport to get some carries.  Look for the Falcons to blitz alot and force Ben Roethlisberger into bad decisions (2 TDs, 7 INT) against a defense that picks off alot of passes (8 INT).  Teams don’t usually pass too well against the Falcons who only allow opponents a 59.6 QB rating.  The Steelers need one of their receivers to step up and make some plays as Hines Ward is the team leader in catches (18) and yards (207).  Those numbers are pathetic for a team leader in the NFL after 5 games.

The Falcons are having a year for the ages running the football and will try to push the Steelers physical defense around and run the ball on them.  The Falcons are averaging 232.0 yards rushing per game and 6.4 yards per carry.  Those numbers are absurd.  Look for Warrick Dunn (511 yards rushing) to get most of the carries, but rookie Jerious Norwood (226 yards, 7.5 ypc) good give him a break at some point.  The Steelers must be aware of Michael Vick at all times.  Vick has 401 yards rushing and he’s averaging 8.7 yards per carry!  The Steelers defense has been stout against the run allowing only 78.4 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry.  When the Falcons have the football this game will resemble a boxing match, as the Falcons will try to wear down the Steelers defense.  The Falcons passing game is pretty much non-existant.  The Falcons only average 114.0 yards passing per game and only complete 50% of their passes.

This should be a great football game.  If the Steelers can stop the Falcons running game or get an early lead on them, they will win the game.  If the Steelers turn the ball over and the Falcons run the ball well, they will win the game.  So you’ll just have to tune in and see what happens.

OLB Joey Porter is doubtful for Sunday’s game with the Falcons due to an injured hamstring.  The Steelers shouldn’t miss him as much against the Falcons as they would against a passing team.

The safeties are very aggressive and they generate big plays for the defense.  SS Troy Polamalu has 33 tackles and 2 interceptions so far this season.  Even though he doesn’t have any sacks yet this year, Polamalu is a fine blitzer that comes from all angles and hurries the QBs into frequent bad throws resulting in big plays for the defense.  FS Ryan Clark is the reason that Polamalu can free lance.  Clark is a very good pass defender that usually is the only one playing back.  Clark has 30 tackles and an interception this season.

What a beating the Steelers laid on the Chiefs at Heinz Field today!  QB Ben Roethlisberger looked like the QB he was the last two seasons today.  Roethlisberger completed 16 of 19 passes for 238 yards and 2 TDs.  Willie Parker had a great game carrying the ball 21 times for 109 yards and 2 TDs.  Najeh Davenport carried the ball 12 times for 78 yards (6.5 ypc) and a TD.  Verron Haynes pitched in 5 carries for 21 yards (4.2 ypc).  WR Nate Washington caught 3 passes for 68 yards and a TD.  Hines Ward finally looked like his old self and caught 5 passes for 59 yards and a TD.  Rookie Santonio Holmes caught 2 passes for 58 yards and Cedric Wilson caught 3 passes for 42 yards.

The defense totally dominated the Chiefs offense.  S Troy Polamalu had 10 tackles, defensed 2 passes and had an interception.  Rookie linebacker Rian Wallace scored a TD on a 30 yard interception return.  The Steelers held the Chiefs to 38 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.0 ypc).  The Steelers allowed the Chiefs to complete 19 of 39 passes for 175 net yards passing.

Could the Steelers be back?  They sure looked like it today!