Thoughts on the Steeler game

[Kray007]

My first thought is that there’s no need to turn on the gas and stick your head in the oven. The four horsemen have not come for this season, all is not lost, the sky has not crashed down upon us.

The knee jerk reaction, especially among those of us whose agenda is to trash the team, the players, coaches, owners, Blue, and the guy who sells hotdogs in concource A, is towards wailing and teeth gnashing. The Colts could have won by two Touchdowns, and they would have called for Steichen’s head because of a decision to settle for a FG at the end of the 1st half.

The Colts played their first game in 1950, 77 seasons ago; and, in all that time, they’ve won exactly one game in Pittsburgh. Unitas couldn’t win there, Bert Jones couldn’t, Jeff George couldn’t, and neither could Jim Harbaugh or Andrew Luck. The greatest Quarterback of all time managed to scrape out one W.

I don’t know what it is. Maybe, it’s voodoo. Maybe, once upon a time, someone from Pittsburgh tried to bring a goat to a game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, was turned away, and brought a curse down upon our heads. Maybe, before the next game, Carlie should abandon the headset and burn sage in the visitors locker room. Maybe she should get a Shaman to sacrifice a chicken at midfield.

I don’t like to think that the schedule makers conspired against us, but they did give Pittsburgh 10 days to prepare for the game. By way of comparison, I take note of the fact that the Jaguars get a bye week following their European sojourn, and that their bye comes just before a game vs the Colts.

As far as the game, itself, is concerned, I’ll take a moment to point out to the burn it down crowd that, save for two chunk plays, the Colts were the best team on the field. More first downs, more yards gained, longer time of possession.

DK Metcalf, who spent a week taunting Sauce Gardner, managed 12 yards on 3 catches.

Apart from the 80 yarder, Warren had 5 catches on which he managed 7 yards. On the ground, he had the 50 yarder, but aside from that, he marshaled just 3.4 yards per carry.

Rodgers managed to avoid an onslaught of sacks, but that was due to the fact that he was getting rid of the ball so quickly. In the passing game, his average depth of target was a scant 4 yards.

On D, Sauce Gardner allowed 1 reception on 2 targets for a total of 9 yards. Ward allowed 1 reception.

I wasn’t happy about the way the red zone Offense fizzled, but they were without their top red zone target in Alec Pierce; Dulin and Slayton were out as well, and Keenan Allen was banged up.

The Steelers did a great job of scheming to stop Taylor, but they were helped by Pierce’s absence.

The OL held up pretty well, Warren had a good day, CK Allen finally showed up on the stat sheet.

This week, it’s on to the Titans. If they win, they’re back in the thick of the playoff hunt.