Hats off to our secondary

[LatrobePA]

Sunday, October 30, 2011
Post-Patriots thoughts

Tom Brady was supposed to own Dick LeBeau, but that was LeBeau's defense on the field Sunday - minus several stars - that shut down the vaunted New England offense.

Or was it Bruce Arians' offense that did that?

The Steelers offense did a great job of keeping the chains moving via the short passing game and the defense was outstanding when it was on the field, particularly in forcing three and outs in the first series of each half.

Part of the reason for that was Ike Taylor's blanket coverage all day on safety net Wes Welker, but the Steelers also got a strong game from youngster Cortez Allen, who had Rob Gronkowski one on one several times, forcing Brady to hold the ball.

If Taylor doesn't make the Pro Bowl off of what he's done the past two weeks - shutting down Larry Fitzgerald and Welker - they should just stop playing the game.

But the addition of the likes of Allen, Stevenson Sylvester, Cameron Heyward and even Chris Carter bodes well for the Steelers the rest of this season.

© LeBeau showed that you can teach an old dog new tricks by stepping out of character and having his corners play a lot of press man coverage.

According to Tom Brady, it was more than the Steelers had shown all season. And the Patriots couldn't beat it.

The same plan should be used against Baltimore next week. The Ravens receivers can't beat and egg and Joe Flacco looks to have completely lost his confidence.

Or, as Bill Hillgrove put it, "Flacco is playing like Tyler Palko's backup."

© Don't look now, but the old, slow and done Steelers now have the best record in the AFC.

Wonder if anyone will bring that up to old, slow and done Warren Sapp this week?

© The Steelers could get James Harrison back this week against the Ravens, but it looks like they could be without LaMarr Woodley, who sacked Brady twice in the first half, then went down in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.

The beat goes on for the Steelers, who have had their worst season for injuries in quite some time.

© Loved the play by Troy Polamalu to bat Brett Keisel's sack-strip backward toward the end zone. Polamalu was going to have to fight a couple of offensive linemen for the ball.

Instead, Ziggy Hood nearly recovered it in the end zone before it went for a safety.

© On a final note, this is why you play the games instead of just figuring out who is going to beat who on paper.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

It's nice to see the secondary really going out and making big plays, especially against one of the best offenses in the league that's full of weapons all over the place. Everyone was worried about this group heading into 2011 but so far they have answered the call. Young guys are stepping up, we are seeing the future unfold in front of us.

[steelersbabex25]

I don't know... He had to arms around him which one cannot do. It was not the most obvious holding call you'll ever see but I have to say that I think it was an OK call.

He had his arms around him yes, but after the ball was tipped. After the ball it tipped the fact that Mundy jumped over him to get to the ball is a moot point.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

Oustanding play by the Secondary and really the entire defense. When you can hold Tom Brady to a season low 197 yds. passing, that's saying something. Up until last weekend he was averaging over 300 yds per game. Taylor continually batted down passes that came his way. The rest of the secondary did a real solid job of making the tackle when the receiver did catch a pass, thus minimizing most of the big plays.

Carnell Lake and his group have come together in the face of adversity and stepped up their game. Amidst all of the injuries to the Steelers defensive line and linebackers so far in 2011, the secondary has been the most healthy and it's beginning to pay off in a big way.

Ike Taylor is lights out, just put him on the teams best WR and let him go all day long. He can take away his part of the field and free up the Safeties to help elsewhere. His play has been beyond invaluable and worth every dime he was paid in the offseason (relatively speaking).

Gay and Lewis both had great training camps and preseason and have continued that in the regular season. McFadden battled hamstring injuries and even when he did play he just wasn't the same player as in years past. Lewis is clearly taking his opportunities seriously and the light bulb is finally coming on for him. All this experience is making him better and better.

Will Gay spent the last 2 years just getting beat like a rag doll but man what a difference a year makes. He may not make every play but he's clearly done a great job this year and is no longer just a CB that can blitz.

Polamalu and Clark; Troy is playing like the Troy we're used to seeing. He's on fire, flying to the ball, diving over lineman, and sooner or later the dude is going to catch one of those INT's he keeps finding in his hands . It's imperative that he stay healthy and on the field for the defense to be successful. Ryan Clark has had his moments this year with some bad penalties but he does have an interception and overall is having a good year.