Steelers/Patriots Matchups | jhartle's Blog

STEELERS OFFENSE VS. PATRIOTS QB TOM BRADY: It's not exactly avant-garde thinking to figure out the best way to deal with Tom Brady's multiple skills is to keep him on the sideline. That's an impossibility for the entire game, but there are times when it's more important. One of those times is at the end of the game. Some will look at the close games the Patriots had against the Eagles and the Ravens and claim those serve as a blueprint for how to end an undefeated season. But actually, those two teams offered a blueprint on how to lose to New England. Brady's fourth-quarter comebacks in both of those games never happen if the Eagles and Ravens converted third downs in the fourth quarter to maintain possession of the football. Philadelphia failed because of turnovers; the Ravens failed because of three-and-outs. If a team does enough things right to have a lead in the fourth quarter against the Patriots, it then becomes incumbent upon that team's offense to convert third downs to hold onto the ball - and keep the king of comebacks on the sideline.

STEELERS SECONDARY VS. PATRIOTS WR RANDY MOSS: There are a lot of problems presented by the Patriots offense, and the primary one for every opponent is the big-play ability of Moss. Big plays kill a defense just as surely as turnovers kill an offense, and this seems to shape up as a matchup of strength vs. strength. The Steelers have allowed only seven completions of 25-plus yards, and the only one longer than 40 was the 56-yard flea flicker from Kellen Clemens to Laveranues Coles on the second play of the game against the Jets. Conversely, Moss alone has eight catches longer than 25 yards, and six of those eight are longer than 40. If Moss is making plays deep down the field against the Steelers defense, anything else the unit might be doing correctly will be for naught.

STEELERS ROLB JAMES HARRISON VS. PATRIOTS LT MATT LIGHT: One of the impressive things about the Patriots offensive line is it plays better as a unit than the talents of the individuals might indicate it would. Light is rarely mentioned when the league's top left tackles are listed, but since he is charged with the most important job on that team - protecting Brady's blind side - he must be pretty good. And the fact Brady has been sacked only 16 times in 430 attempts proves the point. Harrison, who was named the NFL's Player of the Month for November, leads the Steelers with 8.5 sacks, and that puts him in a tie for fourth in the AFC. Light is going to have to adjust quickly to Harrison's speed and explosion, or he's going to lose the battle of leverage every time. The Steelers have to get pressure on Brady, or they'll have no chance to win. It's not Harrison's job alone, but he's going to have to play well.

STEELERS QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER VS. PATRIOTS OLB MIKE VRABEL: One of the most glaring errors of the Bill Cowher era here was the coaching staff's inability to figure out a place to play Mike Vrabel. That Cowher and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett were incapable of finding a spot on the field for Vrabel led to the loss of a guy via free agency who just might be the best player on a Patriots defense that also includes DE Richard Seymour, NT Vince Wilfork, OLB Adalius Thomas and CB Assante Samuel. Vrabel leads the Patriots with 9.5 sacks, and he also has 56 tackles, four forced fumbles, plus a couple of touchdown catches as an extra tight end in goal-line situations. Roethlisberger is going to have to deal with a lot of things in this game at New England, and figuring out where Vrabel is and what he might be doing on any particular play could be one of the more difficult ones.

STEELERS PK JEFF REED VS. PATRIOTS KOR ELLIS HOBBS: Imagine the surge of energy that would flow through the Steelers sideline after a touchdown against the Patriots. Now, imagine the impact that a touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff would have, not only to the Steelers sideline but also throughout the stands at Gillette Stadium. Hobbs is averaging 27 yards per kickoff return, and he has brought one back this season 108 yards for a touchdown. The Steelers have had some success with Reed altering the depth of his kickoffs, and if that's what's again necessary to corral a dangerous return man, then so be it.