The Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars are two teams with different goals as we head towards mid season. For the Steelers it’s still all about aiming for the Lombardi Trophy and trying to keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens and the surprising Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North.
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The Steelers' road to the postseason has some familiar stories, like a banged up Big Ben being pummelled behind a poor offensive line. And some newer ones, trying to replace their premier pass rusher in James Harrison while he recovers from surgery.
For the Jaguars, who have dropped four on the bounce, the season has become more about the development of rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Fans will always be a little more patient when a rookie signal caller is on the field but what they'll want to see is progress. That would give them some hope at the end of what already looks to be a long year.
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1) Steelers Wide Receivers v Jaguars Cornerbacks
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For years in Pittsburgh when you thought of a wide receiver, it was always the tough Hines Ward popping up with a big grin on his face after a tough catch or a block in the run game. Ward (+1.7) is still there and still solid enough, but times are changing in Pittsburgh. They now have a playmaker who can stretch the field and make big plays. Of course I’m talking about Mike Wallace. Wallace (+8.5) is currently PFF’s third-rated receiver and is third in the NFL in receiving yards. He also ranks third in our signature stat Yards Per Route Run, which takes into account the number of times a player went into a pattern. Am I missing anything? Oh, he’s also forced six missed tackles this year. To sum up, Mike Wallace is pretty good.
So who gets the job of trying to slow Wallace down this week? Well, he does most of his work on the outside with only 24 of his 273 snaps coming from the slot. And that means he’ll likely see William Middleton when he’s lined up on the left. Middleton had a nice week as a run defender last week. But on the year he is giving up receptions on 80% of all passes thrown his way. He may only be giving up 8.6 yards a catch, and only 24 yards after the catch total this year, but look for Big Ben to try and take advantage of that high completion percentage when the matchup is presented.
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2) Steelers Pass Rush v Jaguars Offensive Tackles
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When I sat down to watch the Steelers game against Tennessee last week, what intrigued me most was how Pittsburgh would replace James Harrison who had been by far their best pass rusher so far this year. They did so by moving Lawrence Timmons to the outside, with Larry Foote taking Timmons' spot inside. Timmons struggled, generating only one QB Hit on 40 rushes. On the other side, Lamarr Woodley was a bit better but neither offer Harrison's productivity. The good news for Steelers fans is that this week Woodley will be going up against Guy Whimper. Whimper (-5.3 in pass blocking) has given up 15 total pressures on 165 drop backs so far this year. If Woodley can get by Whimper consistently, Gabbert is likely to be in for a long day.
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3) The Return of Troy Polamalu
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Despite winning the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award last year I wondered if perhaps we had seen the best of Troy Polamalu. He struggled at the end of the year last year, including the playoffs. And the image of Ray Rice breaking a tackle attempted by Polamalu in the divisional round of the playoffs is one that stayed with me throughout the offseason. So after Week 1, where he again struggled against the Baltimore Ravens, I was feeling fairly smug. How wrong I was.
Since then, Polamalu has allowed 10 receptions on 17 targets for 78 yards with six passes defensed and is our top-ranked safety here at PFF. He has a positive grade in all three major categories: pass rush (+2.5), run defense (+1.2) and pass coverage (+6.5). What I’m looking for on Sunday, however, is to see if the Steelers bring Polamalu up close to the line of scrimmage often. In the past they've given young QBs like Joe Flacco nightmares by bringing him up and confusing them, his sack-fumble of Flacco they key play in the second Ravens-Steelers game last year.
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