NFL Breakdown - Steelers vs Giants - The Nitty Gritty

Ben vs the Giants Front 4
is a HUGE Matchup in this Game

With the Black n' Gold Blitz ramping up for the BIG game on Sunday, its time we get down to the Nitty Gritty.  What does that mean?  Its time that I take a look at anything that isn't X's and O's and at the end of all this madness, give you my prediction for the game.  Here goes nothing...

- Flight Plans Changed - I'm sure you've heard by now that Hurricane Sandy has claimed another victim, and that was the Steelers' hotel plans.  There is no hotel in the area of the Giants' stadium in New Jersey where the Steelers can stay, so they are forced to travel on Sunday...the day of the game.  The wheels are scheduled to leave the ground around 10:30am and fly to Newark, NJ.  I was curious how this would impact the team, so I googled how long a flight from Pittsburgh to Newark would take.  Its roughly 45 minutes.  I don't think the act of traveling will impact the team, but the fact that they are out of their routine might have an impact.  These athletes are trained to do certain things at certain times, and if something changes it can mess them up mentally.  If Mike Tomlin's team is mentally tough, this won't matter.  It would be more of a story, in my opinion, if the Steelers were traveling further where they would be out of their current time zone.  Although I feel the NFL isn't doing ANYTHING to help this situation, the Steelers can't use it as a crutch.  Get on the plane, get off the plane, whoop some A$$, and fly back to the 'burgh....enough said.

- Road Warriors? Not Yet - Lets not forget that before the Cincinnati Sunday Night Football game, the Steelers hadn't won a road game to date.  Some fans seem almost confident in the Steelers traveling to New York (or New Jersey), but I'm not one of them just yet.  To me, the opponent has almost as much to do with the destination.  I don't think that the Steelers overlooked the Raiders and Titans, but I don't think the players were 100% focused either.  After listening to Will Allen on ESPN Radio earlier this week, he talked about the lack of focus and attention to detail during those losses.  To me, that is a clear cut example of a team that wasn't 100% involved in the game.  They have been focused the last 2 weeks, and they have had 2 straight wins.  I doubt there will be a lack of discipline on Sunday as they face the defending Superbowl champs.

- Another Prime Time Game - Is it just me, or do the Steelers play more prime time games than 1:00 games?!  I just checked and I'm right.  The Steelers will have played 10 games at either 4:25 (most likely a nationally picked up game - like the game this Sunday) or later (MNF, SNF, or Thurs Night Football) and 6 games scheduled at 1:00pm.  Remember though, some of the 1:00 games could be moved due to flex scheduling.  Last weekend it almost seemed weird to me sitting down at 1:00 and watching the Steelers instead of flipping through channels to catch as many games as I could before the Black n' Gold engulfed my TV.  The Steelers should be used to the spotlight, and it shouldn't make anything "too big" for them.

- Statement Game for Steelers - I plan on writing a complete article on this topic tomorrow, but this game is big in alot of ways.  Sure, I said the same thing about the last two games, but this game vs a 6-2 opponent that seems to be the top of the crop in the NFL tops the list to date.  This game could completely turn around the Steelers season in one day.  Look for more of this on the site (http://blackngoldblitz.blogspot.com) tomorrow.  Side Note - I can't believe I just published a "teaser" for an upcoming article.  Good Lord, I'm becoming too professional...

- Which Team Will Show Up? - This 2012-2013 Pittsburgh Steelers team has been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at times.  I wonder before each game which team is going to show up.  The team that handled the Bengals and Redskins, or the team that choked to the Titans and Raiders?  I talked about focus, and Mike Tomlin will have this team focused more than ever this weekend.  You hear it from the players in the locker room, they've already declared a one game season for every week of their schedule.  That is the outlook this team needs to take.  Don't worry about anyone else, don't worry about the opponent next week, simply take care of your job TODAY and everything else will take care of itself.  Just so you know...I think the Bengals/Redskins Steelers team is going to show up and will be looking to be party crashers.

- PREDICTION - The Steelers typically play well vs NFC opponents, but this game looks like two teams that are almost mirrors of themselves this year.  Decent running games, quality QB play and passing games, and defenses that have been susceptible to teams scoring points.  I think it comes down to a few plays here and there, and I have a feeling the Steelers defense is going to win the turnover battle, and that will be the final factor in the game.  There is no "captain comeback" for Eli this Sunday, as Big Ben does his comeback thing and drives the team down the field for a Shaun Suisham FG to win the game.  Final Score:

STEELERS - 23
Giants - 21

You disagree?  Leave YOUR prediction in the Comments section below...see who is closest after the game!