fordfixer
09-19-2012, 12:56 AM
Steelers notebook: Time to face a familiar QB
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2625110-85/steelers-tomlin-yards-nfl-raiders-game-dyke-palmer-quarterback-van#axzz26t74KNFD
By Alan Robinson
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2012,
The Steelers meet up with a familiar opponent Sunday in Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer, whose 670 yards passing are the third most in the NFL.
The Raiders have run for only 68 yards, thus putting more pressure on Palmer to sustain the offense with his throwing.
This will be the 13th career game against the Steelers for Palmer, whose career was disrupted by the knee injury sustained on a hit by Kimo von Oelhoffen in a 2005 season playoff game in Cincinnati.
“He is very familiar with us and how we attack people,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of the former Bengals star. “He probably has as much experience facing our defense and our pre-snap looks and blitz packages as any quarterback in football.”
e_SBltThe Steelers have more defensive wrinkles in addition to the Big Nickel 4-5-2 alignment that features four large linemen and no outside linebackers. Tomlin said it wasn’t designed to discourage Jets quarterback Tim Tebow from running. “We tend to lean on it from time to time because it provides versatility for us. It allows us to match, from a personnel standpoint, in the secondary with skill but also maintain our big body presence in the run game,” Tomlin said. “Another answer that we have is a personnel group where we use three corners and one safety with a base defense. It’s really a different way of addressing the same issue.”
• Cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, used mostly on special teams, will oppose the Raiders team that cut him two weeks ago. Van Dyke has been timed at 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash, or faster than the NFL Scouting Combine time of Mike Wallace (4.33). “We thought that he was a long, fast kid with man coverage ability,” Tomlin said. “He’s in that [2011] draft class with Cortez [Allen] and Curtis Brown, and we’re thankful to have three young corners that are working to improve on a daily basis.” Van Dyke was a surprise third-round pick last year, but the Raiders have since cut all of their cornerbacks from last season.
• Players and coaches around the league are becoming increasingly critical with the NFL replacement officials, citing a myriad of errors that range from a misapplication of rules to the incorrect spotting of the ball. But while there were some curious calls in the Jets-Steelers game, including an apparently phantom pass interference penalty on cornerback Ike Taylor, Tomlin once again refused to criticize them. A week ago, he joked he wasn’t talking because he didn’t want to be fined. “[It’s] not in my wheelhouse,” Tomlin said. “I’m going to evaluate the people that I’m paid to evaluate, our team.”
• Steve Sabol, the innovative chief of NFL Films who passed away Tuesday, was a “genius” and “a dear friend” of the Rooney family, Steelers president Art Rooney II said. Sabol once said he considered the Steelers teams of the mid-1970s to be the best in NFL history.
• The Steelers are last in the AFC in yards per play on first down at 3.37, or less than half of the 7.28 yards the Ravens are averaging. Only the Bears (2.73) and Seahawks (3.35) are worse in the league.
• Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL in third-down passing, going 19 of 25 for 76 percent (251 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions). For comparison’s sake, Peyton Manning is 6 of 12 for 59 yards; Tom Brady is 5 of 14 for 63 yards.
• LaMarr Woodley needs one more sack for 50 in his career.
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2625110-85/steelers-tomlin-yards-nfl-raiders-game-dyke-palmer-quarterback-van#ixzz26t8pVQYO
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http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2625110-85/steelers-tomlin-yards-nfl-raiders-game-dyke-palmer-quarterback-van#axzz26t74KNFD
By Alan Robinson
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2012,
The Steelers meet up with a familiar opponent Sunday in Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer, whose 670 yards passing are the third most in the NFL.
The Raiders have run for only 68 yards, thus putting more pressure on Palmer to sustain the offense with his throwing.
This will be the 13th career game against the Steelers for Palmer, whose career was disrupted by the knee injury sustained on a hit by Kimo von Oelhoffen in a 2005 season playoff game in Cincinnati.
“He is very familiar with us and how we attack people,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of the former Bengals star. “He probably has as much experience facing our defense and our pre-snap looks and blitz packages as any quarterback in football.”
e_SBltThe Steelers have more defensive wrinkles in addition to the Big Nickel 4-5-2 alignment that features four large linemen and no outside linebackers. Tomlin said it wasn’t designed to discourage Jets quarterback Tim Tebow from running. “We tend to lean on it from time to time because it provides versatility for us. It allows us to match, from a personnel standpoint, in the secondary with skill but also maintain our big body presence in the run game,” Tomlin said. “Another answer that we have is a personnel group where we use three corners and one safety with a base defense. It’s really a different way of addressing the same issue.”
• Cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, used mostly on special teams, will oppose the Raiders team that cut him two weeks ago. Van Dyke has been timed at 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash, or faster than the NFL Scouting Combine time of Mike Wallace (4.33). “We thought that he was a long, fast kid with man coverage ability,” Tomlin said. “He’s in that [2011] draft class with Cortez [Allen] and Curtis Brown, and we’re thankful to have three young corners that are working to improve on a daily basis.” Van Dyke was a surprise third-round pick last year, but the Raiders have since cut all of their cornerbacks from last season.
• Players and coaches around the league are becoming increasingly critical with the NFL replacement officials, citing a myriad of errors that range from a misapplication of rules to the incorrect spotting of the ball. But while there were some curious calls in the Jets-Steelers game, including an apparently phantom pass interference penalty on cornerback Ike Taylor, Tomlin once again refused to criticize them. A week ago, he joked he wasn’t talking because he didn’t want to be fined. “[It’s] not in my wheelhouse,” Tomlin said. “I’m going to evaluate the people that I’m paid to evaluate, our team.”
• Steve Sabol, the innovative chief of NFL Films who passed away Tuesday, was a “genius” and “a dear friend” of the Rooney family, Steelers president Art Rooney II said. Sabol once said he considered the Steelers teams of the mid-1970s to be the best in NFL history.
• The Steelers are last in the AFC in yards per play on first down at 3.37, or less than half of the 7.28 yards the Ravens are averaging. Only the Bears (2.73) and Seahawks (3.35) are worse in the league.
• Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL in third-down passing, going 19 of 25 for 76 percent (251 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions). For comparison’s sake, Peyton Manning is 6 of 12 for 59 yards; Tom Brady is 5 of 14 for 63 yards.
• LaMarr Woodley needs one more sack for 50 in his career.
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2625110-85/steelers-tomlin-yards-nfl-raiders-game-dyke-palmer-quarterback-van#ixzz26t8pVQYO
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