Pittsburgh answered the knee-jerk hysteria after their opening week loss to the Ravens by dominating a game against a team that seem to be legitimately threatening the top overall pick in next year’s draft.
For the Seahawks that might be just as well, because QB is obviously an issue, but their problems won't be fixed with just Andrew Luck. These Seahawks look exactly like the listless Minnesota Vikings that Darrell Bevell coordinated into an inept mess over the past few seasons, leading us to suspect that just perhaps the ‘Kick ass offense’…isn't.
Pittsburgh righted the ship, but in truth they had a path to victory pretty clearly laid out in front of them by the Seahawks, and they would have struggled to fall far short of where they did with even a superficial awareness of what was going on during the game.
What stood out?
Seattle – Three things of note
1) Tall cornerbacks are a good idea, right?
Pete Carroll is said to love tall CBs, well he just got a pretty lengthy presentation of why the rest of the league isn’t quite so wild on the idea. Tall and strong is all well and good when dealing with one type of receiver, but it makes it very tough to run and move with smaller, quick receivers, the type the Steelers have. Brandon Browner was thrown at ten times and he allowed a reception every single time, for 194 yards and a touchdown and a PFF grade of -5.9, which is as bad as I can remember any CB scoring. This was as poor a performance as you’re going to see from a corner, who regularly lined up as if to press receivers, but then didn’t bother actually getting a jam on them before trying to bail deep. Whether that’s a schematic problem or something Browner was doing on his own, it’s got to be fixed, and fast.
2) Robert Gallery now struggling at his third position in the NFL.
He was a disaster at both tackle spots, but then looked like he had found a home at LG in Oakland. He was impressive enough that the Seahawks went out and made him a priority, re-uniting him with former coach Tom Cable, now the Seahawks O-line coach. Well Gallery was a disaster in this game, giving up a hit and a sack, and being badly beaten at the point of attack multiple times in the run game. He also gave up a penalty. He’s now out for 4-6 weeks with a groin injury, which marks yet another injury in what is becoming a trend at this stage. Given this performance maybe the Seahawks would be just as well to start thinking about Plan B at guard anyway.
3) The emergence of Alan Branch
I really liked Branch coming out of Michigan. He struggled in Arizona, and wasn’t helped by injuries, but the biggest problem seemed to be a poor fit. His size seems to make people immediately peg him as a nose tackle, rather than just a big 3-technique type defensive tackle. Seattle are using him the right way and he’s beginning to show them the type of talent that had people talking about him as a high first round pick at one point. His +2.3 grade for this game featured some very strong play against the run, where he was able to beat his man and make plays.
Pittsburgh – Three things of note
1) Reports of Polamalu’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Troy Polamalu didn’t have a good game in Week 1, but he was back to his best in this game with a +3.4 PFF grade. The difference seemed to be visible in terms of the way he was used, being far more active and seemingly free to react to what he saw underneath and with the run game. He could easily have added an interception to his tally too when he jumped in front of a Tarvaris Jackson pass that was late coming out to his intended target.
2) The Beard is back
Brett Keisel seems to have gotten a head start on beard growing this season, it’s already in fine shape and we’re only in September. His +3.7 PFF grade is probably a direct result of that, maybe. Whatever caused it, he was consistently too much for Gallery to handle at LG, notching a hit on the QB, but also dominating at the point of attack on run plays and causing more than a couple of runs to be completely re-routed in the backfield. If it is indeed the beard causing that play then look out for him come December!
3) Mike Wallace can do more than run past people
Though that is certainly what he remains best at, Wallace seems to be running far more routes this season that break off shorter – hitch routes, out routes and comebacks. It’s like he’s taking advantage of the fear he’s built up over the past few seasons by running right past cornerbacks and now the Steelers are exploiting the cushion he’s being given. He was working on Browner for much of the day, so it’s worth bearing that in mind when you consider his +3.4 grade, but he did make an extremely tough catch on a deep pass that required a fingertips catch to pick it up off the turf, and he deservedly topped 100 yards and a touchdown on the day.
Game Notes
● Browner wasn’t alone in poor coverage for Seattle. The only defender to force more than one incompletion into his coverage was Marcus Trufant, who allowed 3 receptions on 7 targets.
● Tarvaris Jackson had one attempt over 20 yards in the game, and just five over ten yards downfield.
● Ben Roethlisberger had a QB rating over 100 when blitzed, and over 110 when under pressure. That’s what we’ve come to expect.
PFF Game Ball:
James Harrison, OLB, Pittsburgh Steelers
There were a few options for this game ball, including the Steelers QB, but Harrison was a nuisance for the Seahawks all day.
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