Several Obstacles In Their Way But The Steelers STILL WIN - STEELERS - 24 / Giants - 20

No One Showed the Determination that is
"Steelers Football" Like Isaac Redman

I found it appropriate to title the post that based on the fact that it certainly did seem like in the first half that all of my tweeps that scream "Steelers Conspiracy" might not be too far off.  Whether it was Keenan Lewis' phantom Pass Interference call, or the "Illegal Hit to the Head" hit by Ryan Clark on Victor Cruz that left Cruz with a rib injury...wait a second...how could he hurt his ribs if he got his in his head??  Don't worry, there is more.  How about the horrible replay that upheld a Giants rushing TD, or the Ben Roethlisberger fumble where he actually threw the ball forward and it was still ruled a fumble that was returned for a TD.  You don't know to know me personally...if you read the site regularly, or follow me on Twitter (@BnGBlitz) you know that I was ready to kill someone.  I've always said that if the Steelers lose, I'm okay with that, as long as they are beaten fair and square.  When the Steelers lost to the Broncos, Titans, and Raiders there weren't horrendous calls that interfered with the outcome of the game.  The refs essentially spotted the Giants a TD, and even THAT couldn't stop the black n' gold.

After a lackluster first half, the Steelers came out in the second half and picked up where they left off last week.  The Offensive line continues to obliterate the opponent and open up HUGE running lanes for the running backs.  I realize that Big Ben was sacked 4 times, and that Rookie tackle Mike Adams looked rather shoddy from time to time (alot of rookies would against the Giants front four), but the offensive line gave Ben plenty of time on more than one occasion and sometimes the coverage is good enough for the play to break down.  The Giants did a great job of "coning" Ben in the pocket.  He is a QB that likes to get outside the tackles and make plays with his arm while extending the play.  When the play breaks down, and Ben can't get outside the tackles is when he gets the happy feet, the deer in the headlights look, and typically either throws a pick (happened yesterday evening), or takes a sack.  Both happened last night, but I give alot of credit to the Giants defense...they aren't a bunch of slouches, but a good defense.  Besides pass protection, the offensive line is turning into a dominant unit, and that is something that should be talked about in more depth...expect more this week on the site (holy crap I just put in another teaser...something is wrong with me).

If you are reading this post, you watched the game, and that means I don't have to pull an Ed Bouchette and catalog the entire game for you, but I will talk about one more thing before you go on your way.  The best part of the game the Steelers showed me last night was how the PLAYED TO WIN when it counted.  When the Giants were burning timeouts towards the end of the game, alot of teams would be happy with running the ball 3xs to take time off of the clock.  If they got a first down...great!  If they didn't, we will punt it away and let our defense do its job.  Steelers fans know how that has panned out for the team this year (please see the three 4th qtr collapses that lead to the team's only 3 losses).  Instead of running the ball again, Big Ben connected with Emmanuel Sanders for a 16 yd gain on 3rd and 9.  Going for the throat is something I LOVE.  The offensive line then allowed Isaac Redman to ramble 20+ yds to ice the game.  Don't play not to lose (which the Steelers have done way too much of that this season for my liking), but go out there and trust your players to make plays, and the Steelers did just that.

As it turns out, not a Hurricane derailing travel plans, the crooked (the conspiracy continues) refs, or how the Steelers have played on the road could stop Pittsburgh from getting a 'W'.  It was a weird, awkward, and strange game from time to time, but a very good victory for the black n' gold.  I highlighted how important a win would be for the team on Saturday, and that surely holds up today.  The Steelers sit one game behind the Ratbirds and have 2 of 4 with Baltimore in the next 4 weeks.  Needless to say, it should be an interesting 4 weeks of football, but the Steelers can't overlook the Chiefs.  Kansas City makes the trip to Heinz Field on Monday Night Football, for hopefully a good old fashioned butt whooping!