Troy Polamalu is viewed by many as an elite safety in the NFL and in some ways he is an extremely good play maker but the same instinct that makes him a great play maker also makes him susceptible to fakes, misdirections, and locking on to the quarterback. This was extremely apparent to me one 3 huge plays in the game against the Patriots
Brady to Amendola part one --- on this play Amendola runs a seam route right up the right hash mark slowly fading to his left. The Steelers are back in what looks like a cover three with Polamalu covering the middle third of the field deep between the hash marks and two other DB's covering from the right hash mark to the sideline and the other covering from the left hash mark to the sideline effectively splitting the deep part of the field into thirds. Amendola gets a clean release and sprints straight up the field. Once he passes the linebackers (who are in short zones) he is still in the middle of the field therefore it is polomalu's job to pick him up, however Tom Brady starts the play looking deep down the right side, hee looks their for about 2-3 seconds and Polamalu overzealous to a play drifts ten yards to his right. This lack of discipline sees Amendola wide open for a catch and run into the endzone.
Brady to Amendola part 2--- on Amendola's second big play of the day the Steeler's play call on defense is hard to distinguish because of Polamalu's blown assignment. Prior to the snap The patriots have two wide outs on the right side close to the o-linemen,Polamalu is deep over the middle but faded a little to the right so he is lined up with Amendola. After the snap both Patriots receivers run vertically up the field and about 10-12 yards up the field Amendola breaks diagonally in towards the middle of the field while the other reciever darts out diagonally on a post towards the sideline. Polamalu who lined up over the middle of the field decides to go with the receiver who broke towards the sideline rather then stay inside which would make no sense in any coverage. nonetheless Amendola is wide open for a 30 plus yard gain.
Lastly --- In a rather key scenario of the game after the Steelers caught up and had seemingly all the momentum the Patriots attempt to drive down the field and regain momentum. the Steeler defense looked very tough and the patriots faced a key third and long. Dobson starting on the left side runs a 7 yard in route and is marginally well covered but brady decides he is going to throw anyway. Polamalu jumps the route actually reacting very quickly and getting up the field from behind dobson. the only problem is Polamalu gets there a second early and tackles dobson before the ball gets there. A costly pass interference that led to a Patriots score.
Troy Polamalu may be a very good playmaker in this league and he usually plays better then he did vs the patriots, but this week he was putrid in coverage and led to the early deficit for the steelers.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Patriot's outlook vs Steelers
Looking ahead to tomorrows week 9 game against the Steelers I fully expect the patriots to pick up win 7 and here is why
On Offense --- The Patriots most likely will have a tough time running the ball as the Steelers have an over sized d-line that loves to stop the run. Unless Ridley is looking really lively the patriots will have to look to pass the ball. When passing the offensive line is going to have to contain the blitzing linebackers off the edge and attacking the A gap. This could be an especially tough task without Vollmer but the patriots line usually finds a way. Brady looking down the field is going to have to pick up on the mismatch. The Steelers have some good coverage players (Taylor, Polamalu) but don't have the depth to cover three wide outs and gronk. the mismatch will be the target.
Defending the Steelers --- The Patriots actually match up extremely well vs the Steelers offense. First off containing Big Ben actually should be quite easy as the patriots rushes almost always stay in their lanes and set the edge. The Steelers have also had o- line issues this year and look for Chris Jones to occasionally shoot up the middle. When the Steelers run look for the patriots to give up some yardage in chunks as they have for the past few weeks but generally keep Le'Veon Bell under wraps. When the Steelers pass look for the patriots to play a good mixture of man and zone to keep giving Big Ben different looks, and look for Mccourty to be solid over the top. If their is no talib again ( which i would not mind as i want him healthy) i look for Dennard to lock up Antonio Brown at the line and take him out of the game. The Steelers don't have many explosive offensive players so if Dennard can do his job it will make everyone else on the pats d have an easier day
Key Matchups
Mccourty vs Sanders --- The Steelers haven't been doing to well on offense this year but wide out Emmanuel Sanders can still challenge the safety deep. Mccourty needs to keep his form and range to make sure there are no big plays.
Ike Taylor vs Dobson\Thompkins --- Taylor over his years in the NFL has been an excellent corner but he has lost a step in his years, and against young athletes he has to be strong at the line of scrimmage to avoid a big play.
Woodley vs Pats O-line --- Woodley is a dynamic rusher and against a decimated pats line if he can get pressure he can be a real problem for the patriots passing game. The Steelers will need the pressure
On Offense --- The Patriots most likely will have a tough time running the ball as the Steelers have an over sized d-line that loves to stop the run. Unless Ridley is looking really lively the patriots will have to look to pass the ball. When passing the offensive line is going to have to contain the blitzing linebackers off the edge and attacking the A gap. This could be an especially tough task without Vollmer but the patriots line usually finds a way. Brady looking down the field is going to have to pick up on the mismatch. The Steelers have some good coverage players (Taylor, Polamalu) but don't have the depth to cover three wide outs and gronk. the mismatch will be the target.
Defending the Steelers --- The Patriots actually match up extremely well vs the Steelers offense. First off containing Big Ben actually should be quite easy as the patriots rushes almost always stay in their lanes and set the edge. The Steelers have also had o- line issues this year and look for Chris Jones to occasionally shoot up the middle. When the Steelers run look for the patriots to give up some yardage in chunks as they have for the past few weeks but generally keep Le'Veon Bell under wraps. When the Steelers pass look for the patriots to play a good mixture of man and zone to keep giving Big Ben different looks, and look for Mccourty to be solid over the top. If their is no talib again ( which i would not mind as i want him healthy) i look for Dennard to lock up Antonio Brown at the line and take him out of the game. The Steelers don't have many explosive offensive players so if Dennard can do his job it will make everyone else on the pats d have an easier day
Key Matchups
Mccourty vs Sanders --- The Steelers haven't been doing to well on offense this year but wide out Emmanuel Sanders can still challenge the safety deep. Mccourty needs to keep his form and range to make sure there are no big plays.
Ike Taylor vs Dobson\Thompkins --- Taylor over his years in the NFL has been an excellent corner but he has lost a step in his years, and against young athletes he has to be strong at the line of scrimmage to avoid a big play.
Woodley vs Pats O-line --- Woodley is a dynamic rusher and against a decimated pats line if he can get pressure he can be a real problem for the patriots passing game. The Steelers will need the pressure
Top Quarterbacks in the NFL Right Now (Besides Tom Brady)
As you may know i am a huge home teamer and therefore i already think Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever and he can't be on this list. nevertheless here are my top Quarterbacks right now
this is my opinion,do you agree with these picks?
- Peyton Manning ---- Just look at the numbers this year. He was gifted a great wide receiving core and he's making it happen. nuff said
- Drew Brees --- A terrific Qb if you are looking to constantly air it out on offense. He puts up big numbers and distributes the ball well, and he wins!!! ( atleast when Sean Payton is involved)
- Andrew Luck ---- maybe a surprise pick here for many but Luck does the one most important thing in the NFL.... he wins. Made it to the playoffs last year with a mediocre colts team surrounding him and beat Denver this year, Can be erratic but gets results.
- Aaron Rodgers --- perhaps a surprise here as well as Rodgers ranks fourth on my list (fifth if you count tom) He is placed this low is because of his inconsistency during the regular season and the gifts he has been given.Rodgers isn't the most consistent winner despite having an outstanding group of wide receivers, and when gifted with an outstanding group of wide receivers i don't think he pushed them to the next level.
- Russell Wilson --- The man could easily miss 3 easy passes in a row to go three and out but he could just as easily complete 10 straight. He's streaky but he's good at the end of games and keeps the Sea hawks from being one demensional.
this is my opinion,do you agree with these picks?
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