Houston Week

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  • fordfixer
    Legend
    • May 2008
    • 10921

    #16
    Re: Houston Week

    Steelers seek consistency vs. Texans
    October 2, 2011
    By Kristie Rieken ,
    [url="http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/554121/Steelers-seek-consistency-vs--Texans.html?nav=753"]http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/conte ... ml?nav=753[/url]

    HOUSTON - The Pittsburgh Steelers were awful in their opener at Baltimore, blew out the Seahawks and then slipped past the Colts last week.

    As quarterback Ben Roethlisberger put it: "We've been all over the board."

    That has some wondering which version of the Steelers will show up for today's game against the Houston Texans.

    Roethlisberger, though, doesn't believe his team's inconsistent start is reason for alarm.

    "It's not panic," he said. "We're not panicked. I think you guys and the media and people and fans try and panic for us and that's fine. We're a veteran enough group that we don't do that and we just talk about what we need to do and get it done."

    New Orleans rallied to beat Houston 40-33 last week. Now the Texans are focused on making sure they don't repeat last year's letdown when they opened 2-0, but won just four games the rest of the season.

    "The one thing about this game, bad things are going to happen. It's just how you respond to it," Houston's Andre Johnson said. "Of course, you want to go out and try to win every game. That's everybody's goal, but that's hard to do ... win or lose, we're going to come back and approach the next game with the same intensity and prepare the same and try to get better as a football team."

    The biggest issue for the Steelers this week is a banged up offensive line that allowed Roethlisberger to be sacked three times last week, leading to two fumbles. Left tackle Jonathan Scott is still struggling with a left ankle injury and is out for today's game.

    Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn't "overly concerned" with the number of hits Roethlisberger has taken so far. Still, he'd like to see what his team could do with a healthy offensive line.

    The quarterback seemed a bit more worried about the injuries.

    "You're always concerned when you lose guys up front," Roethlisberger said. "You like to get some cohesiveness up there. It seems like our team, we always lose linemen. It doesn't seem like anyone else loses linemen like we do. I'm not sure why. I've got confidence in those guys that they'll be able to bounce back and whoever fills will do a great job."

    Backup Trai Essex will face the unenviable task of holding off Mario Williams, who has excelled in his new position at outside linebacker in Wade Phillips' 3-4 defense.

    Roethlisberger let out a nervous chuckle before answering when asked what he's seen of the Williams since he moved from defensive end.

    "[He's] a little different than the outside linebackers I see every day," Roethlisberger said. "[He's] just a freak; one of the, if not the best. It'll be a great challenge for our tackles ... this guy's just an absolute beast."

    Houston spent the early part of the week trying to figure out how to take better advantage of its red zone opportunities. The Texans made seven trips inside the 20-yard line against the Saints and scored touchdowns on three of them.

    The offense met Monday to watch every play in the red zone from the first three games.

    "We tried to make sure we got that handled coming into the season and it was obvious that we couldn't get it done on Sunday, so just a bigger point of emphasis this week," Houston left tackle Duane Brown said. "We know that Pittsburgh has a great defense, so if we get down in the red zone, we got to finish those drives out. Three points is not going to get it done. We got to get seven points when we get down there."

    The Texans could get a boost with the expected return of Arian Foster, the NFL's leading rusher last season, who has sat out most of the season with a hamstring problem.

    Some believe this week is yet another test in what could be a season of them for this team still looking for its first playoff berth in its 10th season. Will the team get back on track, or fall into the traps that have stopped it every other year?

    For Johnson, who joined the team in its second season, facing adversity has been the norm.

    "I've seen it all. I've been through it all," he said. "I don't think anything can get any worse than what it's been in the past years around here. I'm always thinking positive. I think that things can only get better for us."

    The Steelers certainly aren't the team they want to be yet, but Tomlin's hope is that they can keep finding ways to win until they are.

    "I think that we're all teams in development this time of year. I think we're bold enough to acknowledge it," he said. "We need to continue to work to get better, but meanwhile, we better do enough to get out of the stadiums with wins. We are not a finished product by any stretch, but I like the way our guys work on a daily basis in preparation."

    Molon labe

    People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. George Orwell

    ?We're not going to apologize for winning.?
    Mike Tomlin

    American metal pimped by asiansteel
    Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you 1. Jesus Christ, 2.The American G.I., One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

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