Dulac's Picks: Steelers 24 - Seahawks 3

[hawaiiansteel]

Dulac's Picks: Week 2

Friday, September 16, 2011
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Last week: 9-7 (.563)

Season record: 9-7 (.563)


Seattle Seahawks (0-1) at Steelers (0-1), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: Only the second time these teams have met since Super Bowl XL in Detroit. The Steelers won the only meeting since their Super Bowl victory -- 21-0 at home in 2007. This could be much the same finish, especially if the Steelers were humbled and embarrassed by what happened in Baltimore.

Prediction: Steelers, 24-3

Oakland Raiders (1-0) at Buffalo Bills (1-0), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: There was no bigger surprise in Week 1 than the Bills going into Kansas City and putting up 41 points on the Chiefs. Even the Raiders winning in Denver doesn't compare to that.

Prediction: Bills, 31-23

Green Bay Packers (1-0) at Carolina Panthers (0-1), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: OK, so Cam Newton set a rookie record with 400-plus passing yards in his first NFL start. He can throw for 600 yards, the Panthers still aren't going to beat the Packers, who look as good as ever.

Prediction: Packers, 41-17

Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) at Detroit Lions (1-0), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: What the Lions did in Tampa Bay should not be a surprise. They have a good chance to be the surprise team of 2010. The Chiefs were more than surprised by the Bills; they were pulverized.

Prediction: Lions, 24-23

Cleveland Browns (0-1) at Indianapolis Colts (0-1), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: The Colts without Peyton Manning is like Pebble Beach without the ocean. No team is more reliant on one player than Indy without their three-time MVP quarterback.

Prediction: Colts, 20-13

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) at Minnesota Vikings (0-1), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: Donovan McNabb didn't exactly get off to a brilliant start in his Vikings debut last week. Of course, the Bucs didn't do much better in their opener against another NFC North team -- Detroit.

Prediction: Vikings, 23-20

Chicago Bears (1-0) at New Orleans Saints (0-1), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Bears pulled one of the opening-week surprises when they thumped Atlanta, one of this year's Super Bowl favorites. Can they do it again against the team that finished second to the Falcons? Prediction: Saints, 28-23

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) at New York Jets (1-0), 1 p.m., Sunday

The Jaguars won't have to worry about sneaking past this opponent, not like they did with Tennessee. The Jets might be the most resilient team in the NFL.

Prediction: Jets, 30-13

Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at Tennessee Titans (0-1), 1 p.m., Sunday

After the way they hammered the Steelers, the Ravens will either be supremely confident in their ability or extremely satisfied with themselves. I'm guessing the former, not the latter.

Prediction: Ravens, 27-13

Arizona Cardinals (1-0) at Washington Redskins (1-0), 1 p.m., Sunday

If Rex Grossman can have a big day against the Giants, he can have an even bigger day against the Cardinals. After all, the Desert Birds allowed 400-plus yards to rookie Cam Newton.

Prediction: Redskins, 23-20

Dallas Cowboys (0-1) at San Francisco 49ers (1-0), 4:05 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: It's difficult who threw the worst interception last week -- Ben Roethlisberger to Ed Reed or Tony Romo to Darrele Revis? Romo gets the nod because that pick decided the game for the Cowboys.

Prediction: 49ers, 28-24

Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Denver Broncos (0-1) 4:15 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: Andy Dalton became the first rookie quarterback to start the season opener for the Bengals since Greg Cook in 1969. Maybe things are looking up in Cincy.

Prediction: Bengals, 24-21

Houston Texans (1-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-1), 4:15 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: After giving up 500-plus passing yards to Tom Brady, the Dolphins have to get the tire marks off their secondary. But Chad Henne looked like Steve Young against the Patriots.

Prediction: Texans, 27-24

San Diego Chargers (1-0) at New England Patriots (1-0), 4:15 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: Scoreboard electricians have installed those radar detectors that measure road speed to keep up with the points that should be registered at Gillette Stadium. This is two irresistible forces meeting two movable objects.

Prediction: Patriots, 44-34

Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-1), 8:20 p.m., Sunday

The Skinny: Forget that the game marks the second return of Michael Vick to the city where he played for six seasons. It's a matchup of 2010 playoff teams and 2011 Super Bowl favorites.

Prediction: Falcons, 30-27

St. Louis Rams (0-1) at New York Giants (0-1), 8:30 p.m., Monday

The Skinny: The Rams could wind up being one of the surprise teams of 2011, but they sure do get a tough opening stretch to prove it. The Giants are still mad about not playing the 9/11 opener in New York.

Prediction: Giants, 23-16

[url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11259/1175237-213-0.stm?cmpid=steelers.xml#ixzz1YBWvwG69"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11259/11 ... z1YBWvwG69[/url]

[RuthlessBurgher]

The Giants are still mad about not playing the 9/11 opener in New York.

Now that you mention it, since the Jets and Giants play each other this year, wouldn't it have made sense to have both New York teams play each other on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 rather than on Christmas Eve?

In a related matter...

I understand why the Jets played at home on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 because of the Twin Towers, and why the Redskins played at home (hosting the aforementioned Giants) on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 because of the Pentagon, but why didn't our Steelers play at home on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 because of Shanksville? Obama and Bush were both in Shanksville at the Flight 93 Memorial site last weekend...why wasn't there a Steeler game in Pittsburgh like there was in New York and Washington?

[Sonny]

To the poster above me. I don't know if anyone wants to give you the real answer..

About the topic. I love what he says about the Ravens. Hopefully, they are "extremely satisfied with themselves".

[SteelAbility]

Pretty d@mn good prediction on this weeks PIT-SEA game.

[hawaiiansteel]

Pretty d@mn good prediction on this weeks PIT-SEA game.

what was Dulac thinking when he predicted the Seahawks would get a FG?


Steelers pound Seahawks, 24-0

Sunday, September 18, 2011
By Ed Bouchette , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was slow to get up after being hit in the knees by a Seahawks defender.


The Steelers rebounded nicely from their opening-day jitters in Baltimore by crushing the Seattle Seahawks 24-0 today at Heinz Field.

The Steelers scored three times in the first half and once in the third quarter.

Ben Roethlisberger threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace in the third quarter as the Steelers ran out to a 24-0 lead after leading 17-0 at halftime.

Several big plays led to that lone score of the third quarter. Antonio Brown caught passes of 14 and 18 yards, Hines Ward caught a toe-tapping 15-yard pass on third down along the sideline and Wallace turned a short pass into a 17-yard gain.

The Steelers missed another score when Troy Polamalu jumped in front of a Tarvaris Jackson pass with nothing but air between him at the Seattle 18 and the end zone but Polamalu dropped it.

The Steelers escaped a short scare in the second quarter when Roethlisberger dropped to the ground after he was hit in the knee by defensive end Raheem Brock.

Roethlisberger walked gingerly off the field but returned after missing just two plays.

Isaac Redman scored on a 20-yard run and Shaun Suisham kicked a 20-yard field goal for the only points of the second quarter.

In the first half, the Steelers failed to score after a first down at the one, and settled for a field goal after a first down at the two. Daniel Sepulveda did not punt in the first half as Steelers' four drives ended in either scores or at the Seattle one.

Rashard Mendenhall scored in the first quarter on a 1-yard run.

Their first drive ended at Seattle's one after they arrived there on a 39-yard pass interference penalty in the end zone. A run by Mendenhall got nothing, Roethlisberger was sacked on second down for a seven-yard loss, he picked up seven on a scramble and, on fourth down, Mendenhall was stopped short again.

[url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11261/1175731-100.stm#ixzz1YKosf1Aj"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11261/11 ... z1YKosf1Aj[/url]

[SteelAbility]

Pretty d@mn good prediction on this weeks PIT-SEA game.

what was Dulac thinking when he predicted the Seahawks would get a FG?


Steelers pound Seahawks, 24-0

Sunday, September 18, 2011
By Ed Bouchette , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was slow to get up after being hit in the knees by a Seahawks defender.


The Steelers rebounded nicely from their opening-day jitters in Baltimore by crushing the Seattle Seahawks 24-0 today at Heinz Field.

The Steelers scored three times in the first half and once in the third quarter.

Ben Roethlisberger threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace in the third quarter as the Steelers ran out to a 24-0 lead after leading 17-0 at halftime.

Several big plays led to that lone score of the third quarter. Antonio Brown caught passes of 14 and 18 yards, Hines Ward caught a toe-tapping 15-yard pass on third down along the sideline and Wallace turned a short pass into a 17-yard gain.

The Steelers missed another score when Troy Polamalu jumped in front of a Tarvaris Jackson pass with nothing but air between him at the Seattle 18 and the end zone but Polamalu dropped it.

The Steelers escaped a short scare in the second quarter when Roethlisberger dropped to the ground after he was hit in the knee by defensive end Raheem Brock.

Roethlisberger walked gingerly off the field but returned after missing just two plays.

Isaac Redman scored on a 20-yard run and Shaun Suisham kicked a 20-yard field goal for the only points of the second quarter.

In the first half, the Steelers failed to score after a first down at the one, and settled for a field goal after a first down at the two. Daniel Sepulveda did not punt in the first half as Steelers' four drives ended in either scores or at the Seattle one.

Rashard Mendenhall scored in the first quarter on a 1-yard run.

Their first drive ended at Seattle's one after they arrived there on a 39-yard pass interference penalty in the end zone. A run by Mendenhall got nothing, Roethlisberger was sacked on second down for a seven-yard loss, he picked up seven on a scramble and, on fourth down, Mendenhall was stopped short again.

[url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11261/1175731-100.stm#ixzz1YKosf1Aj"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11261/11 ... z1YKosf1Aj[/url]

That's right. How DARE he disrespect the Steeler's D like that?