Week 1 is in
the books and it’s time to look ahead as the Steelers lick their wounds from
opening day and look to get well against the Seahawks. An eight game winning
run was broken and Pittsburgh will be out for redemption.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle
Seahawks (0-1) are set to invade Heinz Field in Pittsburgh but after their
inability to contain kick/punt returner Ted Ginn Jr., perhaps invade is the
wrong word, more like a polite knock on
the door. The Seahawks had closed to within 2 points of
the 49’ers before Ginn singlehandedly dismantled any chance Seattle had of
winning their road opener with a 102 yard kick returned for a touchdown and
less than 2 minutes later returned a 56 yard punt into the endzone. Needless to say, Seattle’s special teams were
hardly special on Sunday. The Seahawks
now have the dubious distinction of being the first team in history to allow
two kicks returned for touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of a game as they fell
33-17 to the Niners.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The
Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1) saw their 8 game winning streak in season openers
halted in humiliating fashion as the Baltimore Ravens battered their divisional
rivals. They forced a team record 7 turnovers and ran right up the gut of the
vaunted Steelers defense, accounting for 88 yards up the middle when last
year’s edition never allowed more than 47 yards (up the middle) all
season. Big Ben was menaced from start
to finish and tossed 3 INT’s while the rest of the offense, with the notable
exception of wide receiver Mike Wallace (8 catches, 107 yards, 0 TD’s), could
not gain any traction against the punishing Ravens defense. It was a stark reality check for last year’s
Super Bowl participants who ultimately bowed 35-7 to Baltimore.
Game time
Both teams
will be looking for redemption on Sunday but Pittsburgh has the luxury of
playing in front of the home crowd while Seattle must trek across country to
play their second roadie in a row. The
Black and Gold will be looking to prove that there’s a world of difference
between a bad day and a bad team.
Seattle, on the other hand, will have the world’s oldest cheerleader
head coach Pete Carroll trying to convince them that last year’s NFC West
champs are better than they were last year when they entered the playoffs with
a losing record (7-9). But how will this
one play out now that both teams suffered season opening losses?
Tavaris
Jackson is the guy in Seattle pulling the trigger but is he really the
answer? Seattle has 6 year veteran and
Clemson product Charlie Whitehurst as the backup but what this team needs more
than anything is a stout offensive line to protect whoever is calling signals
under center. If the 49’ers were able to
sack Jackson 5 times last week, what will the Steelers defense be able to
do? Though Jackson did about as much as
could be expected of anyone in the pocket behind that thin Seattle line by
throwing 2 TD’s and tossing for almost 200 yards with one interception, it
appears he will be in for another very rough day in Pittsburgh. No team is ever as bad as they look on their
worst day or as good as they look on their best. Pittsburgh is a much better team than they
demonstrated on Sunday and last year’s Super Bowl runner-up will be looking to
create havoc and walk away in a laugher that should leave Pete Carroll’s club
the looking at 0-2 when the final whistle blows.
In NFL picks, play Pittsburgh -14 in a rout