Houston game is NOT a Guaranteed loss fans....

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Houston game is NOT a Guaranteed loss fans....

Tomlin Report - Heading to Houston

By Kenneth Torgent | Tue, 09/27/2011



After barely escaping with a win in Indianapolis, Pittsburgh will continue its tour of the AFC South with a trip to Houston to play the 2-1 Texans and their high-flying offense.

LAST WEEK

Texans: Houston led for much of the game and pushed its lead to eleven with a score early in the fourth quarter, only to see the New Orleans Saints battle back and defeat the Texans 40-33. The Texans surrendered three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to New Orleans, who pulled ahead for good with a Mark Ingram rushing touchdown in the game’s final three minutes.

Steelers: Pittsburgh survived a squeaker with Shaun Suisham hitting a game-winning 38-yard field goal in the game’s final seconds for a 23-20 Steelers victory. The black-and-gold fired on all cylinders early, but gave the Colts 13 easy points on three consecutive turnovers. Troy Polamalu’s fumble return (set up by a James Harrison sack) put Pittsburgh back on top in the fourth quarter, but the defense let Colts QB Curtis Painter march down the field for a tying score. However, Big Ben and the offense shined in a two-minute drill to set up what would by the game-winning field goal.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

A Look Around the AFC North

Baltimore (2-1) evoked memories of week one with a dominant 37-7 win over the St. Louis Rams, which helped to cover up the letdown at the hands of the Titans one week earlier. Rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith opened some eyes, turning his first three professional catches into his first three professional touchdowns. He would finish with five grabs for 152 yards and the three scores.

One thing to look at going forward: Joe Flacco dropped back to pass more than twice as much as Baltimore ran the ball, despite the success that Ray Rice has had this season. Rice, of course, did as much as he could with his nine carries (81 yards, not too shabby) to go with his five grabs as a receiver (for another 85 yards). Despite the success, the Ravens might want to balance out their offense a bit with the New York Jets coming to town in week four.

Cincinnati (1-2) found itself on the wrong end of what may turn out to be the least exciting game of the 2011 season, losing 13-8 to the San Francisco 49ers. QB Andy Dalton had his worst game as a professional, racking up only 157 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He’ll need to be much better against a red-hot Buffalo team that is one of just three undefeated teams left in the NFL.

Unfortunately, hosting the undefeated Bills might be the least of the team’s worries. The Bengals’ penchant for building around character-deficient players is catching up with them yet again. RB Cedric Benson, who served a week of jail time before the season for a misdemeanor assault charge in the offseason, may be facing a three-game suspension from the league. The Bengals may also lose WR Jerome Simpson to a suspension, after it was found that he was in possession of eight(!) pounds of marijuana (that includes the two-pounds that was mailed to his home; the same package that tipped the fuzz off in the first place).

Cleveland (2-1) pulled out a last-minute 17-16 win over the Miami Dolphins to keep pace with the Steelers and Bengals in the AFC North. QB Colt McCoy had an ugly game early on, but made up for it with the game-winning throw to Mohamed Massaquoi with 43 seconds remaining.

The Browns will prepare to host the Tennessee Titans in week four, likely with the help of RB Peyton Hillis, who missed the Miami game with an illness. Even if Hillis returns, he may yield some carries to fellow-rusher Montario Hardesty, who ran strong in his absence.

MIKE LIKED…

That the team made big plays when it had to, even though the overall performance wasn’t up to snuff.

STEELERS INJURY UPDATE

OLB Chris Carter (hamstring), RT Marcus Gilbert (shoulder), WR Jerricho Cotchery (hamstring), CB Bryant McFadden (hamstring), and WR Mike Wallace (ribs) are all PROBABLE for Sunday’s contest.

Offensive linemen Jonathan Scott (ankle sprain) and Doug Legursky (shoulder) are both QUESTIONABLE along with DE Brett Keisel (PCL sprain) and WR Arnaz Battle (knee)

TEXANS INJURY UPDATE

Coach Gary Kubiak said Monday that RB Arian Foster (hamstring) is "chomping at the bit today to get back on the field full-time," HoustonTexans.com's Nick Scurfield reports.

According to coach Gary Kubiak, RB Derrick Ward is "pretty close to getting back on the field," HoustonTexans.com's Nick Scurfield reports.

CB Kareem Jackson suffered a knee injury during Week 3's loss to New Orleans, but should be fine for this coming week, according to Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, the Texans' official site reports.

LB Mario Williams is day-to-day with a knee injury, but Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said the linebacker is "going to be OK," Fox Sports Houston reports.

MAIN STORYLINE FOR SUNDAY

Can Pittsburgh get its running game on track and take pressure off of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger?

TEXANS TO WATCH

RB Arian Foster – The undrafted Foster was a revelation for the Texans last season, emerging from nowhere to claim the starting running back job in week one, eventually becoming the league’s best rusher by season’s end. The all-purpose runner has just 10 carries this season and was inactive in weeks one and three because of a lingering hamstring injury. Foster’s status is starting to look up coming into week four and he will likely take the lion’s share of the carries against the Steelers. The question is: will he be as dominant as the Foster of last season, or will that hamstring still limit him?

WR Andre Johnson – No disrespect to Reggie Wayne, but Johnson will be Ike Taylor’s biggest challenge in the young season. Taylor is having his best season as a professional and has shut down the opponent’s best receiver in all three of his games this year. Johnson, however, has proven that he is a near impossible assignment for opposing cover-men. Johnson is averaging seven catches and 100+ yards per game this season. If Ike can hold him below that mark, he can consider it a job well done.

DE/LB Mario Williams – With Pittsburgh’s offensive line ailing and possibly starting a third-string tackle in Trai Essex on Sunday, Williams could emerge as a major problem. The former first-overall pick is in his first season as a 3-4 outside linebacker after beginning his career as a defensive end. Williams, at 6’6” and 280 lbs, needs to be kept far away from Ben Roethlisberger if Pittsburgh wants to win its third game of the season.

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[Ghost]

Re: Houston game is NOT a Guaranteed loss fans....

The bigger concern is that this team, on both offense and defense, scares NO ONE. Teams are not concerned in the least about coming in and being dominated. The offense has the one of the worst o-lines in the league (and that was before injuries) and has no running game to speak of. And after watching a guy with a a single digit QB rating who proabaly took 10% of the practice snaps all week carve up the D for 80 yards at a critical time, most QB's are not even a tiny bit worried about playing the Steelers.

No game is a guranteed loss but how is your confidence when thinking about the Steelers getting into a good old fahioned shoot-out? The Texans O is much, much better than the hawks or colts.

I thought teams feared Wallace but the Colts just let him run down field with ease... lol.

Teams don't fear the run and they don't fear our OL. Teams need to fear Troy and Harrison though because they looked like they are back in the groove.

Not only are the Titans not worried about (or fearing) Troy and Harrison, they can't wait to play this team.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Houston game is NOT a Guaranteed loss fans....

Steelers come up short against host Texans

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, October 3, 2011



Steelers vs. Texans 10/2/11
Houston defeats the Steelers, 17-10, Sunday October 2, 2011 at Reliant Stadium.


HOUSTON — A loss before the leaves have started changing colors doesn't usually provoke the kind of introspection that took place Sunday.

But James Harrison, while the sting from a 17-10 loss to the Houston Texans was still fresh, didn't just say the Steelers "played like garbage."

The All-Pro outside linebacker suggested that cracks may be forming in the Steelers' foundation.

"We've got to get something done because what we're doing is not working right now," Harrison said, his head slightly bowed, after the Steelers dropped to 2-2 and bolstered the Texans' argument for legitimacy. "We've got to get things shored up point-blank period. Whether it's changing this and changing that, I don't know, but we've got to do something because it's not working itself out right now."

That harsh analysis came after maybe the most disheartening and disconcerting defeat of the Mike Tomlin era since a 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns in December 2009.

What happened at Reliant Stadium may not have been as lopsided or macabre as what happened last month in Baltimore. But since a season-opening loss to the Ravens, not stopping the run has gone from anomaly to trend after Arian Foster gashed the Steelers for 155 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

And defense may not be the Steelers' bigger concern when it comes to the line. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got pummeled. Only penalties — two wiped out Texans touchdowns and another nullified a fumble recovery — kept the Steelers in the game until the end.

"Foster and company did a nice job running, but we're capable of and better than what we showed," Tomlin said. "I don't think a sense of urgency or a lack of urgency is the issue. It's fundamental football, better blocking and better tackling."

"We need to work on everything," inside linebacker James Farrior said.

Wide receiver Hines Ward took it a step further.

"We're all included, coaches, players," Ward said. "If you're not discouraged, then you don't need to be on this team. We can't keep playing like this."

That might seem like a curious statement considering that the Steelers had more first downs than the Texans (20-17), were outgained by only 22 yards and had a chance to tie the score after Antonio Brown's 33-yard punt return set them up at Houston's 48 with three-and-a-half minutes left in the game.

But some of the players' postgame remarks were similar to ones made two years ago in Cleveland, after a numbing defeat extended a late-season losing streak to five games and pretty much torpedoed the Steelers' playoff chances.

Then there was Roethlisberger.

The eighth-year veteran chose to be optimistic, citing that three of the Steelers' next four games are at Heinz Field, starting Sunday with the Tennessee Titans.

"I guess if there's a time to not be quite right, it's early in the season," Roethlisberger said. "We've been down this road enough times that we know it's about when you get hot. If we can pull together offense, defense, special teams and get hot at the right time, that's all that matters."

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