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NFL: Steelers-Bengals Match-ups

/noticias.info/ By Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

The following are some of the interesting match-ups to watch when the Steelers play the Bengals in Cincinnati in an AFC Wild Card Game:

STEELERS CBs RICARDO COLCLOUGH AND BRYANT McFADDEN VS. BENGALS WR T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH: Because there is a natural focus on stopping Chad Johnson, the Bengals did some damage to the Steelers in the last meeting by using Houshmandzadeh a lot. His longest catch of the season was a 43-yard touchdown, and that came at Heinz Field on a play in which he went up over Colclough and pulled the ball down in the end zone; he finished that game with two touchdowns. The Bengals offense can dictate matchups to some degree by their personnel. When they use three receivers, the Steelers might respond with a nickel or a dime, and in the last game Deshea Townsend lined up to cover the receiver in the slot. That left Colclough or McFadden in single coverage on the outside, and Houshmandzadeh is dangerous in those situations.

STEELERS KICKOFF COVERAGE VS. BENGALS KR TAB PERRY: Following the Steelers’ 38-31 loss to the Bengals at Heinz Field on Dec. 4, Coach Bill Cowher rightly criticized the play of the kickoff coverage team, which gave up a 94-yard return by Perry in the second half that led to an easy touchdown. Scoring, especially a touchdown, can create a huge momentum boost, and when that happens the Steelers cannot squander it immediately by allowing a long return on the ensuing kickoff. Especially on the road. Since that Bengals game, however, the Steelers special teams have improved weekly, and those units saved the day in the game against the Lions, one that the Steelers had to win to make the playoffs. Brett Keisel can set the tone for the coverage units with his physical play, but there are other important components as well.

STEELERS RT MAX STARKS VS. BENGALS DE JUSTIN SMITH: The Bengals do not have a consistently potent pass rush, but Smith has the skills to come up with a timely sack. He led the team in sacks through the regular season, and he helped ice the Bengals win over the Steelers in December with a fourth-quarter sack of Ben Roethlisberger.

STEELERS ILB LARRY FOOTE VS. BENGALS RB RUDI JOHNSON: It’s going to take more than just Foote to stop Johnson, but it’s also true that Foote will have to play better than he did in the last meeting between these teams. The Steelers defense is designed to create opportunities for the linebackers to make plays, and those guys have to do that instead of just making tackles down the field. Foote played very well in back-to-back games against Chicago and Minnesota in the two weeks immediately following the loss to the Bengals. If he can duplicate that level of play in Cincinnati, the Steelers will be in a much better position to win the game.

STEELERS FB DAN KREIDER VS. BENGALS MLB ODELL THURMAN: The weakness of the Bengals defense is that it isn’t particularly stout against a power running attack. The strength of the Bengals defense is the way its defensive backs consistently make plays on the ball when it’s in the air. The Bengals finished the season with an NFL-leading 44 takeaways, including 31 interceptions, which is an obvious indication that the Steelers should want to try to limit the number of times the ball is in the air. The best way to do that is by running the ball, and Kreider has been very important to that success. In the previous two games – in Cleveland and against Detroit – Kreider was just destroying defenders at the point of attack. Willie Parker would be wise to continue doing what he’s been doing lately, and that is following Dan Kreider through the hole.

STEELERS LB JAMES FARRIOR VS. BENGALS RB CHRIS PERRY: This matchup is used as an example of what the Steelers defense will be facing on third downs. Against the Lions, and that’s Joey Harrington at quarterback, the Steelers allowed an unacceptable 10-of-17 conversions on third downs. There is a lot of work by a defense that goes into getting an offense into a third down situation, and a consistent inability to get off the field can have a damaging psychological effect, to say nothing of what it does to field position, etc. The Bengals have a lot of weapons – Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry – and the Steelers cannot afford to slack off on any one of them, because Carson Palmer will find the weakness in the defense. notas_de_prensa_archivo