Bungles week

Opening line: Steelers, -3.5

Sounds about right. Steelers lay 3 just for being at home, so it sounds like the oddsmakers think it is going to be close.

Secondary will need to tighten up come Sunday.

However, I feel confident our front 7 will give the bungals offense enough of a fit to secure the victory with the amount of points Ben and company will put up on the board.

I hope Tomlin can instill some common sense into the guys and let the Bengals be the only ones with costly penalties!

Ed Bouchette ‏@EdBouchette

Tomlin: "AFC North FB at Heinz Field vs. Bengals . . . Matchup needs no endorsement from me"

https://twitter.com/EdBouchette?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Coach Tomlin on A.J. Green

We know who he is.
We knew who he was before last week.
If you didn’t, now you do.
But, we did

https://twitter.com/RyanScarpino/status/775749427717890048

Michael Fabiano ✔@Michael_Fabiano

Interesting stat on Ben Roethlisberger: He's had 7 pass TDs, 8 INTs combined in his last 7 home games vs. the Bengals.

7:52 AM - 13 Sep 2016

https://twitter.com/Michael_Fabiano?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

I hate them. If I can make a choice of 3 games I really want to win this season, it's the two bungels games and the Patriots* one.

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

Michael Fabiano  ✔@Michael_Fabiano

Interesting stat on Ben Roethlisberger: He's had 7 pass TDs, 8 INTs combined in his last 7 home games vs. the Bengals.

7:52 AM - 13 Sep 2016

https://twitter.com/Michael_Fabiano?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

That is interesting. I'll take a guess that Reggie Nelson got at least 3 of them. I think Ben and the offense will get their receptions and yardage, but just concerned if the Steelers Defense can keep the Bungles to 24 points or less. Might be a shootout.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

I think Ben and the offense will get their receptions and yardage, but just concerned if the Steelers Defense can keep the Bungles to 24 points or less.  Might be a shootout.

Over/under opened at 48 & 1/2.

Forecast says 95% chance of showers and thunderstorms on game day, which presumably will have an impact. I guess I will find out if NFL Ticket Exchange was accurate when it said my seats are under cover.

Atlanta Dan wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

I think Ben and the offense will get their receptions and yardage, but just concerned if the Steelers Defense can keep the Bungles to 24 points or less.  Might be a shootout.

Over/under opened at 48 & 1/2.

Forecast says 95% chance of showers and thunderstorms on game day, which presumably will have an impact.  I guess I will find out if NFL Ticket Exchange was accurate when it said my seats are under cover.

Either way, wave that towel my man!!

And step on the feet of a few of those shoeless fans from Cincitucky.

Steelers aren’t adding fuel to the Bengals fire

The Steelers have clearly gotten the message.

The day after coach Mike Tomlin said he expected his guys to keep their emotions in check during this week’s game with the Bengals, his players refused to provide anything inflammatory, disrespectful, or borderline interesting.

Via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was asked if the Steelers were looking for any form of payback after the Bengals (specifically suspended linebacker Vontaze Burfict) either injured or slowed down their offensive stars last year.

Burfict was the guy who pulled Le’Veon Bell down on the play that resulted in a season-ending knee injury, and whose helmet-to-helmet hit to Antonio Brown made a mess of a playoff game.

“That’s not who we are,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s a physical football game and a physical division. That’s what we expect, a physical football game — clean.”

Roethlisberger wouldn’t even elaborate on the evolution of the rivalry with the Bengals, and only defensive end Cam Heyward was willing to say that it might not rise to the standard of other AFC North games.

Heyward said Steelers-Bengals was “the second-biggest rivalry in the AFC North.”

“It’s not a slight on the Bengals. The Ravens have won Super Bowls, we’ve won Super Bowls,” Heyward said.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/09/14/steelers-arent-adding-fuel-to-the-bengals-fire/

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Steelers aren’t adding fuel to the Bengals fire

The Steelers have clearly gotten the message.

The day after coach Mike Tomlin said he expected his guys to keep their emotions in check during this week’s game with the Bengals, his players refused to provide anything inflammatory, disrespectful, or borderline interesting.

Via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was asked if the Steelers were looking for any form of payback after the Bengals (specifically suspended linebacker Vontaze Burfict) either injured or slowed down their offensive stars last year.

Burfict was the guy who pulled Le’Veon Bell down on the play that resulted in a season-ending knee injury, and whose helmet-to-helmet hit to Antonio Brown made a mess of a playoff game.

“That’s not who we are,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s a physical football game and a physical division. That’s what we expect, a physical football game — clean.”

Roethlisberger wouldn’t even elaborate on the evolution of the rivalry with the Bengals, and only defensive end Cam Heyward was willing to say that it might not rise to the standard of other AFC North games.

Heyward said Steelers-Bengals was “the second-biggest rivalry in the AFC North.”

“It’s not a slight on the Bengals. The Ravens have won Super Bowls, we’ve won Super Bowls,” Heyward said.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/09/14/steelers-arent-adding-fuel-to-the-bengals-fire/

Ha, love Heyward's response. But they asked the wrong guy originally. Never ask the QB if there's going to be retribution or dirty play. Fowler should have asked Mike Mitchell or Vince Williams, that's where the trash talking will come from. Asking Ben that question is just one step above asking Boswell.

The performance of our secondary will be the difference between a close game and a convincing steeler victory. We know Dalton will test our DB's.

We may need to get after him a bit more than we did with Cousins. I don't like the idea of giving that guy time.

Maybe they should've asked Harrison in order to get a true feel for whether or not there is going to be retribution and/or if Tomlin's message was truly received.

I would love to see some Bengals players get their D...ks in the dirt by "CLEAN" hits. you know. Hines type hits. Oh yeah,those aren't legal anymore.

3 KEY MATCHUPS TO WATCH DURING BENGALS-STEELERS

Senior Analyst Sam Monson breaks down the key matchups in what will likely be a heated AFC North battle in Week 2.

by SAM MONSON

In what it likely to be one of the more heated Week 2 meetings, the Cincinnati Bengals travel to Heinz Field on Sunday to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams are 1-0, though the Steelers looked markedly more impressive in their victory on Monday night against Washington than the Bengals did against the Jets.

This game is actually stuffed full of interesting matchups to keep an eye on; here are three such key battles to watch.

DT Geno Atkins vs. RG David DeCastro

In 2012, Geno Atkins was the best defensive tackle in the game, but a knee injury derailed his career and it took until last season for us to see that same player back again at 100 percent. Since then, Rams DT Aaron Donald has come onto the scene, so even back to his best, Atkins might not be the best defensive tackle in football, but he’s certainly near the top, and is a very tough talent to block all game long.

Atkins will move between sides on the D-line, and in Week 1, split his time almost equally between the left and right side. Knowing this, Atkins will likely face LG Ramon Foster on plenty of snaps, too, but the marquee matchup will come when he squares off against Steelers RG David DeCastro.

DeCastro, a Stanford product, was a first-round pick back in 2012, and may not have ever fully developed into one of the league’s best, but his 2015 season was the peak of his career to date, ending with a PFF grade of 83.6—16th among guards, and sixth among right guards, specifically. He looks to have carried that form into the 2016 season, with a strong grade in his Monday night outing against Washington.

DeCastro was such a highly-touted prospect because there is very little to dislike about his game; he has no real major flaws, and grades well in all facets of play (pass protection, screen blocking, run blocking, and even penalty discipline). He has all the physical tools to be great, but just doesn’t seem to be able to apply them every snap in the way players like Ravens G Marshal Yanda can. Last season, Yanda allowed one sack, one hit, and 15 hurries for a total of 17 pressures over 16 games. DeCastro was just a little worse across the board, surrendering two sacks, three hits, and 23 hurries for 27 total pressures.

The story is the same in the run game, where DeCastro wasn’t beaten any more often than Yanda, and even has the same kind of frequency of dominant blocks, but the former just didn’t win as consistently as the Raven, who right now is the benchmark for guard play in the NFL.

That profile of not losing often, but not necessarily winning on blocks, is probably a good one to have when facing Atkins, because the DT’s blend of leverage and quickness will test a guard’s breaking point quickly. Last season, Atkins recorded 82 total pressures, more than any other defensive interior player not named J.J. Watt. (In truth, Watt has become more of an edge player anyway, not a true interior player, but that’s a discussion for another time.)

Atkins made nine tackles for loss in the run game last season and seven more that gained 0 yards on the play. His game is about penetrating the line and disrupting plays in the backfield, and DeCastro will need to be at his best to limit that damage.

WR A.J. Green vs. Steelers cornerbacks

This game features an elite WR on either side, and an interesting matchup for both because neither defense uses corners to track top receivers, but instead usually elects to simply play sides of the field and stick with it. A.J. Green dominated Jets CB Darrelle Revis in Week 1, but Revis was tasked with following him all over the field, something the Steelers won’t do in Week 2.

Pittsburgh made a major upgrade in the secondary this offseason simply by moving Antwon Blake out of the starting lineup. Ross Cockrell, the man in his spot now, allowed four catches on six targets against Washington, but they went for only 34 yards, and the longest catch he surrendered was for 12 yards. Rookie Sean Davis looks to be the weakest link of the trio, giving up a catch on 83.3 percent of his targets versus the Redskins, surrendering a passer rating of 105.6 on throws into his coverage. If the Bengals see that, too, Green might get more time in the slot this week, having lined up inside on 20 of his 56 snaps against the Jets.

WR Antonio Brown vs. Bengals CBs

There is no more difficult player to cover in the game right now than Antonio Brown, and I’m not sure there’s anybody on the Bengals’ defense up to the task...

to read rest of article:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-3-key-matchups-to-watch-during-bengals-steelers/

Anyone tailgating Sunday?

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Anyone tailgating Sunday?

I'll be at the game, but I have no clue what time I'll get there. I have to wait for my son and his girlfriend to get here, and they operate within their own time zone, which is usually behind mine.

Really will be one heck of a huge game to come! AFC North challengers!

Good SI.com article on Steelers-Bengals rivalry since it began in the 70s

This story in the article from former Bengal receiver and jacka** T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who infamously used the Terrible Towel to shine his shoes in a 2005 win at Heinz

“The Steelers would always try to bully you, but we had a team then that could stand up to them. They had a lot of guys who talked s***. They talked s*** and they meant it in an I’m ready to f*** you up type of way. But when I talked s***, I meant it too. ...

He even remembers attempting to trash talk Troy Polamalu one game, after the safety hit him over the middle—“Is that all you got Troy? You hit like a b****”—and Polamalu getting up and saying simply, “God bless you T.J.”

“I felt so bad,” Houshmandzadeh says. “I never talked trash to him again.”

T.J. is still an idiot - his spin on last season's playoff game

“The Steelers didn’t win that game, the refs gave them that game,” Houshmandzadeh says. “If it were the other way around, [everyone would] have been saying that this can’t happen. But since it was the Bengals it was like, ‘Oh it’s just the Bengals, it’s not a big deal.’”

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/09/16/pittsburgh-steelers-cincinnati-bengals-rivalry

Well, we did win that game. Look at the final score?

But yes, they gave us the game by pacman and burfict being complete idiots. And douchemandzadeh is right, it's the bengals, it's not a big deal. Win a championship and maybe you will be a big deal, but until they have players who have the mental fortitude to keep their emotions in check they will always shit the bed

Quote :

He even remembers attempting to trash talk Troy Polamalu one game, after the safety hit him over the middle—“Is that all you got Troy? You hit like a b****”—and Polamalu getting up and saying simply, “God bless you T.J.”

“I felt so bad,” Houshmandzadeh says. “I never talked trash to him again.”

That sounds like Troy.

Fire Arians wrote:

Well, we did win that game. Look at the final score?

But yes, they gave us the game by pacman and burfict being complete idiots. And douchemandzadeh is right, it's the bengals, it's not a big deal. Win a championship playoff game and maybe you will be a big deal, but until they have players who have the mental fortitude to keep their emotions in check they will always shit the bed

Fixed that for you.

I hope both the Bungholes and Ratbirds get swept this year and they can STFU!