Steelers vs Raiders Pre-Game Thoughts

Its Game Time!!

-Mason Noland (@M_Noland386)

Facing an Old Nemesis:
A familiar foe will be lining up at Quarterback for the Raiders in Carson Palmer. As Jeff has alluded to, he's very familiar with the Steelers from his former days with the Cincinnati Bengals. This however goes both ways. The Steelers are also very familiar with Palmer, and he doesn't have the great combination of Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzahdeh to throw to. Injuries have kept his career on a steady decline. Palmer looked like he was on his way to becoming one of the leagues elite quarterbacks, but has been teetering above average since his elbow injury in 2007. It could be possible that his decision making has become rushed since then and possibly going back to his ACL tear in the 2005 Playoffs against the Steelers, as he is subconsciously trying not to get hurt. I believe he overvalued himself with the Bengals. He was planning on sitting out until he was traded. This never made since to me. He was an above average player on a very average team, when most winning teams had a good quarterback starting for them. Its not like he could put a talented team over the top, when he couldn't do it with the talent he had with the Bengals. If the Bengals didn't take the Raiders trade offer of a 1st round pick this year and a 2nd round pick next year for a person they weren't counting on, they were just as misguided  as Palmer. Now Raiders fans are waiting for the Carson Palmer of 2004-2007 to show up, just like Bengals fans have been doing for the last 4 or 5 years.

WVU Fullbacks:
I'll make no bones about it, I am an unabashed fan of Oakland Raiders fullback Owen Schmitt. He will always be one of my favorite West Virginia Mountaineers. The way he blocks and runs, I always wished he could have been a Steeler, but alas, its never worked out. I think I'll do what everyone else in Steelers Nation has done, I'll blame Bruce Arians, because he never had a true fullback in his offense. I don't necessarily think a true fullback is a good use of a roster spot in today's NFL anyway. This is why I like David Johnson, he was a hybrid fullback/tight end. This brings us to Pittsburgh's current fullback, Will Johnson. I can remember Johnson from his WVU days as a tight end/wide receiver who was rarely thrown to because WVU tight ends are mainly blockers. I think this has helped him become a good lead blocker. Mike Tomlin invited him to camp after the WVU pro day this spring after he saw him working out with the other draft hopefuls. He was in a fierce camp battle with David Johnson, and then, as I said in my position flexibility article, won the position by default with D. Johnson's injury. Schmitt has to share the position with Marcel Reese in Oakland. Schmitt is more of a lead blocker where Reese is a better athlete, who is a threat to make plays out of the backfield. It could be my black and gold glasses, but I think we have the better situation with Will Johnson as our fullback. Johnson is as athletic as Reese, a good lead blocker and has speed and power when the ball is in his hands. We also don't have to waste two roster spots for a part time position.

Quick Hits:
-It was great to see Ryan Clark back on the field last week. He was playing like a man possessed after being held out of the Denver game. I think last week shows Clark may be one of the very truly underrated players at any position. He, more than anyone, makes our secondary go. When healthy, Troy Polamalu makes some unbelievable plays, but without Clark, Troy may not be able to do so.
-Darren McFadden has almost twice as many receiving yards as rushing yards after two weeks this season. McFadden has shown to be a good receiver out of the backfield, but if the Raiders are going to win any games, he needs to be more runner than receiver, I just can't see it this week.
-Carson Palmer is 4-8 in his career as a starter against the Steelers, no wonder he once famously told Sports Illustrated he hated us.
-The Steelers drafted a speedy wide reciever in 2009 out of Ole Miss in the third round. The Raiders reached and took Darius Heyward-Bey with the seventh pick. I wonder if they would take Mike Wallace there with 20-20 hindsight. The Steelers also took Antonio Brown two rounds after the Raiders drafted Jacoby Ford, would that be another do over?
-One early development I like so far is how Heath Miller is being used in the Red Zone. He's a big body, I'm not sure why he wasn't used that much for the last few years.
-LaMarr Woodley, Larry Foote and Lawrence Timmons are playing well enough to cover for James Harrison's absence. That group will only get better when he returns. This isn't a knock on Jason Worilds and Chris Carter. They are both good and have filled in admirably, they just aren't on Harrison's level yet.
-Here's to hoping Troy, Harrison, Stevenson Sylvester and Rashard Mendenhall can all return after the bye. Sylvester will add a spark to the special teams, as well as good depth and rotation at linebacker. Troy is Troy, we need him healthy. Mendenhall may be worked in slowly, but we need him to add something, anything to our running game. His burst will be appreciated.

No more talk...its time to play the game. GO STEELERS!