Steelers Morning Huddle 10/27/2013
By Kim Myers
Huddle up!
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
It’s Game Day Steeler Nation! The Steelers managed to win their last two games and if they can win today than we will have ourselves a full-fledged streak. Here’s what’s being said about your Pittsburgh Steelers around the block.
Tomlin on the Raiders
Coach Tomlin answered a few questions regarding the Steelers matchup today against the Raiders. Tomlin covered a variety of topics from how the Steelers were able to manage themselves effectively last week on first downs to set themselves up for a lot more 3rd and shorts to the usual Pryor and McFadden questions. Tomlin also noted how the contributions of players like Guy Whimper, Shaun Suisham, and Cam Heyward have helped this team come back from their 0-4 start. Tomlin broke down the keys to victory today for the Steelers.
"“We have to do a great job of dealing with the atmosphere from a crowd noise standpoint, which can affect you offensively. We have to do a great job communicating under those circumstances. Obviously, we have to perform and take care of the football. Defensively, we have to do a good job of not only containing, but also constricting this quarterback. Often when you play somebody as dangerous as Pryor, you can spend a lot of time worrying about containing him and not be aggressive enough to apply pressure. We need to do both.” – Mike Tomlin"
Steelers vs. Raiders By the Numbers
ESPN’s Scott Brown broke down today’s matchup in terms of numbers. Here are some of the most notable numbers he came up with.
- 4 Games in which Lawrence Timmons has had at least 10 tackles
- 9 Wins for the Steelers in their 10 games in October
- 9 Turnovers forced by the Raiders defense in their last three games
- 47 Receptions Antonio Brown has so far this season
- 106.3 Ben’s career passer rating vs. the Raiders
- 285 Rushing yards Terrelle Pryor has so far this season
Wildcat Steelers
Ed Bouchette of the PPG thinks that the Steelers will most likely employ the use of the “Wildcat” offense again this week, as it was moderately successful in last week’s victory over the Ravens. Obviously, one player on the team not hoping to see a lot of the wildcat would be Ben Roethlisberger, especially when those plays call for him to line up out wide. Some of the benefits to running the wildcat are that it keeps the defense on its toes and allows direct snaps to the running back, preventing any issues that could arise from a bad handoff. Bouchette points out that last week the Steelers ran the wildcat on four plays for a combined 18 yards. Roethlisberger had one play in which he gained 19 yards himself on the ground. So yeah, there are plus and minuses to using the wildcat. Whatever gets that W is fine with me.
Here we go Steelers! Here we go!
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