(*) game coming up

[Steel Life]

Well one thing is for certain, the P*ts are going to throw the ball a lot against us, with the occasional draw thrown in. I imagine it's going to be mostly max-protect out of the shotgun with quick-hitting passes...look for Welker to be the target mostly.

The responsibility of this game will be on how the front 5 plays (D-Line plus the OLBs) - if they do well in flustering Cassell, it'll be a good day for us. But I'm not just saying it's on Harrison & Woodley, the D-Line must push the pocket to keep Cassell from running & picking up cheap yards. I'm hoping that Woodley & Harrison have BIG days, but I think it's going to have to be Woodley against their RT as we all know that Harrison is going to be chipped & held all day. The other key will be how they handle Welker & Faulk. If either of those end up being covered by LBs most of the time, it'll be a long day - unless that LB is Timmons. I would put Troy on Welker all day long & give Timmons the start to match up on Faulk & I think we win both of those match-ups.

Offensively, I believe that passes to Moore must be a big part of the plan as the P*ts don't have anyone who can cover him & it'll keep Ben upright. But I also believe that the long ball is also a key as their safeties aren't that good. I will say that we must, we must, we must run the ball effectively as we can expect to see the P*ts throw the kitchen sink at the O-Line.

[RuthlessBurgher]

We'll have to place in the the nickel more often than we play in our standard 3-4. I would imagine Keisel won't be able to go, but BMac may be ready to come back. In a 4-2-5 nickel, you could put Woodley-Smith-Hampton-Harrison up front, with Timmons and Farrior behind them. Then Ike-BMac-Gay as the corners and Troy-Clark at safety. Ike gets Moss with help from a safety over the top. BMac gets Welker underneath and Gay gets Gaffney. Timmons gets the TE Watson. God help Cassel if Light gets suspended and Harrison can just pin his ears back as a nickel pass rusher without very many coverage responsibilities.

[SteelTorch]

I'll make it nice and simple. If we can get good pressure consistently, we'll be fine. If not, we're in for a tough time.

[Jooser]

Hopefully, we bring more pressure on the QB than we did against the Colts. I look for alot of the same scheme, short, quick passes and draws and screens to neutralize the pass rush. This game has a sick feeling for me.

[Jooser]

Patriots Schedule 2008
9/7 W 17-10 Kansas City
9/14 W 19-10 Jets
9/21 L 38-13 Miami (6-5)
9/28 Bye
10/5 W 30-21 San Fran
10/12 L 30-10 San Diego
10/20 W 41-7 Denver (6-5)
11/2 L 18-15 Indy
11/9 W 20-10 Buffalo (6-5)
11/13 L 34-31 Jets
11/23 W 48-28 Miami (6-5)
11/30 vs 4:15 PM Pittsburgh
12/7 @ 8:15 PM Seattle
12/14 @ 4:15 PM Oakland
12/21 vs 1:00 PM Arizona
12/28 @ 1:00 PM Buffalo (6-5)

I hear all the talking heads jumping on the Cassell bandwagon, but look who this guy's played this season. This schedule is a crime for a team who played in the Super Bowl last year. Teams with winning records have been underlined, but note that the Jets and Dolphins have played equally weak schedules. 5 wins against teams with winning records are only 6-5 and barely treading water.

[papillon]

Tackling and limiting YAC is going to be huge. Cassell is going to get a lot of 5-7 yards passes completed; it's up to the Steelers defense to tackle and limit the YAC. Taylor and McFadden (hopefully) have improved in their battling for the ball, so, I don't think Moss is as successful against our CBs out physicalling them for passes that have no business being thrown.

Pappy

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Hopefully, we bring more pressure on the QB than we did against the Colts. I look for alot of the same scheme, short, quick passes and draws and screens to neutralize the pass rush. This game has a sick feeling for me.

A little tougher now that Kiesel is out. When do we hear for sure about BMac?

I'm also a little worried about Moss. It seems the best way to defend him might be to jam him at the LOS to throw off Cassel's timing, but that isn't something that Yoda Lebeau seems to like to do. I don't think we can man-to-man cover Moss, and a zone D would have to be airtight EVERY play to keep him under control - besides, they're going to be busy enough with Welker. With our blitz schemes, that could be tough ...