On The Black Side

A Steelers blog honoring the black left side of the Steelers' helmet - By Neal Coolong

Saturday, September 13

Email Exchange: AOL Fanhouse writer JJ Cooper

On the Black Side is so excited about Sunday night's game, we bugged AOL Fanhouse Steelers writer JJ Coope r until he granted us an email exchange.

Highlighted in this OTBS and JJ discussed the Steelers' pass rush and did some breaking down of Pittsburgh's offensive line.

OTBS: Willie Parker named AFC Offensive Player of the Week! It was great to see that spin move he added, but after watching the game again, it looked to me more of an offensive line game than a Willie Parker game. He had a lot of space in which to be able to spin, especially behind Marvel Smith and Chris Kemoeatu on the left side. You're an offensive line aficianado, what did you think of their performance up front?

JJ: I'm on vacation, so I haven't had a chance to do my usual full o-line breakdown yet, but from watching it live, I was impressed. The Steelers took advantage of Mario Williams tendency to take an outside loop on his speed rush and ran Willie that way, letting Marvel Smith simply use Williams' momentum against him. Chris Kemoeatu had a screwup it looked like on one play for a sack, and there was the on other sack that could be credited partly to Williams' being a pass rushing stud, but overall, it was a very solid effort. Justin Hartwig looked very solid (although he'll get a much tougher test this week against Shaun Rogers), and the right side of the line looked a tick above adequate, which is outstanding.

I talked about the o-line, but I want to know what you thought about the defense. Can we get close to that kind of pressure every week?

OTBS:

I'm still waiting to see the highly-touted Alex Gibbs save Houston's offense. I mean, they put him with offensive line coach Kyle Shanahan, they can't produce a product that has more holes than a Chris Henry alibi, right?

Right?

The massive disruption caused by the Steelers was both by design and by ability. The part I loved was how well Lawrence Timmons and Troy Polamalu played in space. Timmons can cover a ridiculous amount of ground, and having two Troys on the field is downright frightening.

I think they'll pressure the passer consistently, but they'll get the benefits of that pressure even when the passer releases the ball - something they didn't have last year. Short checkdown options should be terrified, because 43 and 94 are going to knock then out if/when they catch the ball.

What I'm really excited for on Sunday, though, is to see Timmons in coverage. We all saw two years ago how much Browns TE Kellen Winslow enjoyed James Farrior D-ing him up (cheap shot in the back on Farrior at the end of the game). Timmons is twice as quick and fast as Farrior, and if Timmons is locked on him, and is the pass defender the Steelers say he is, it'll make for some good highlights.

Browns SS Sean Jones is out for a while, are the Steelers looking to attack their safeties early and often? While Cleveland has good offensive playmakers, their secondary is unholy thin. I think the Steelers have the defensive ability to let their offense take a few risks down the field, probably even able to land a few haymakers square on Cleveland's jaw.

Think of it like their game plan against Baltimore on Monday Night last year. Baltimore's starting corners were out, and knowing the Ravens' offense wasn't going to make them pay much if they turned the ball over, they stretched the field, and provided perhaps the most one-sided win over the Ravens they've ever had.

Whaddya think? Attack them vertically? Or will Willie just run all over them?

JJ: We didn't see much from Santonio Holmes last week, partly because the Texans seemed to focus on taking him out of the gameplan (which opened up things for Hines Ward and Heath Miller). I like the idea of starting out by gashing the Browns with the passing game, then turning it over to Parker/Mendenhall at the point where the Browns are overly worried about the passing game.

Of course, that depends somewhat on Ben's injury not being worse than they make it out to be.

I will disagree with you on one point thought. Timmons was taken advantage of one on one in coverage some during the preseason. I'd rather see the Steelers put Polamalu and Ike Taylor on Winslow (at different times). Winslow and Braylon Edwards are the two guys the Steelers have to worry about, and I don't think Winslow can be consistently covered by a LB.

So the Steelers covered kicks successfully for one week, do you think they can do it again?

OTBS: Maybe I'm jumping the gun on Timmons...if you didn't stop me, I'd start suggesting he put a hand on the ground and rush the passer like J-Peezy used to do.

I wrote about the kick coverage in my match-ups column for Steel City Insider. I don't recall many times where I felt truly confident in their ability to get down field and stop the guy with the ball, but Week 1 was one of them. Andre Davis is one of the best around, so obviously that was huge.

Josh Cribbs, though...even with him coming off of a high ankle sprain, we're still hurting from the 200 yards and TD he put on us last year. He nearly single-handedly won that game for Cleveland. They had 164 yards of offense that game, and two of Derek Anderson's TD passes came on drives of a combined 20 yards - field position is critical.

This game is going to largely hinge on Pittsburgh's ability to mark Cribbs, assuming he's going to play (as of Friday afternoon, he was). Do I think they can do it? I certainly do.

But I've been a Steelers fan for way too long to feel completely solid in our kick coverage.

Labels: Email Exchange

9:20 AM by Neal Coolong

0 comments

Tuesday, September 2

Email Exchange: Cotter of OFTOT

(Editor's note: This is an email exchange On The Black Side had with One For The Other Thumb editor Chris Cotter. Both side agree there are better ways to spend one's time than watching the Tyra Show, and that James Harrison is a scary individual. We get into more Steelers-related topics, including dubbing a new PermaName for Lawrence Timmons, and even throw a reference to a few really campy movies.)

On The Black Side:

What's up, Cotter? I'm in the clothes I wore (Sunday) night simply because I don't have to change if I don't want to. I'm going to eat potato chips (Lay's) for lunch and probably flip on a Season 3 Simpsons DVD. I love holidays.

What are you up to? That sounds lovely.

Now...are we expecting too much from Pittsburgh's linebacking unit this year? Neither Woodley nor Timmons are game-proven over an entire season and while I love the guy, I'm not ready to proclaim Silverback the next Greg Lloyd. But do you think this group has the potential to be one of the best units this team has seen in the past several seasons?

When have the Steelers had Timmons' speed on the inside? When in the past seven seasons has one of their OLBs had Woodley's size and quickness? Is anyone on earth not afraid of Silverback?

Oh yeah, and we've got that James Farrior guy still there. Ya know, the dude who misses games about as often as Alaskan Governors get VP nominations.

One For The Other Thumb:

Morning Senor,

Sounds like you’re thoroughly enjoying your Labor Dabor as everyone should – dirty and fatty. Me? My pants are off right now...wait, what?

Moving on...

I think it’s pretty obvious that our linebacking corps is going to be the strongest part of our Defense this year. Which is good, because hopefully that’ll mean Lebeau will readily exercise his creative genius in coming up with inventive ways to allow Woodley, Timmons (hereinafter referred to as, “The InTimmonator” or “The Law”), Farrior and that ravenous ape on the weak side to wreak havoc on Carson Palmer and company.

Number one, Silverback is a monster. Another season like last year and he’ll be right up there with Greg Lloyd in my mind. Have you seen him in preseason? He’s a FORCE, man. And to answer your question – I firmly believe there is no one on earth that isn’t afraid of him. Not even Chuck Norris. Or Brian Billick...

As for the young’ns -- overall, like you said, it’s great to have two young guys full of talent who appear to be ready to dominate. Not only does the InTimmonator have speed, but the best part is...he’s still only 22! And Woodley, well, let’s put it this way – the dude wasn’t even an every down player last year and he still had four sacks. That was one more than starting inside ‘backer, Larry Foote and the same as strong side ‘backer, Clark “Raising Arizona” Haggans. I’m honestly pissing my pants in anticipation of watching him make opposing QBs hurt this season.

Matt Schaub – you are on notice. We’re six days from gameday. Prepare thyself accordingly. I suggest not showing up.

Is that an adequate response?

Cheers!

On The Black Side:

Henceforth, from Sept. 1, 2008, Lawrence Timmons shall forever be known as "The Law," a la Judge Dredd.

Ya know, I watched the first hour of that movie thinking it was a joke. Apparently, it was supposed to be serious. At least Last Action Hero was obviously a joke. And we got a very underrated AC/DC song out of it.

(My fiance is watching the Tyra Show. This email will also serve as grounds for divorce at some point. You're my witness.)

I think a combination of play-making linebackers and the return of Ryan Clark at free safety will create a mix of talent and savvy that will allow LeBeau to create defensive looks only seen on other planets, and possibly straight from hell itself. The Monster Backer look with Keisel standing up didn't provide the pass rush they wanted, largely because no one else rushing had Harrison's explosion. Re-enter Polamalu, along with a solid deep defender (Clark) and Woodley, you've got a a pass rush that could possibly equal the amount of sacks Pittsburgh's offensive line is assumed to give up this year.

Speaking of that...Marvel Smith was blocking Jared Allen and Willie Colon was on Ray Edwards in Minnesota...and Ben survived! Is it just maybe slightly possible that the line won't be as big a factor this year as the trendy analysis suggests?

One For The Other Thumb:

Judge Dredd...wasn’t that a comic book or something? Don’t think I ever saw that one. I was probably too busy watching such cinematic treasures as Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and Wayne's World 2.

Anyways, I honestly think trying to run Keisel around is a losing venture. Under Dick LeBeau, the line’s main job is to tie up O lineman so that our master ‘backers can descend easily on the pocket and it’s respective inhabitants (be it RB, QB, FB, or otherwise). This worked fine with Kimo, Big Snack and Aaron Smith (aka Superman). But you’ll notice that when Keisel took over for Kimo, Joey Porter’s stats went far south. Of course, so did Joey’s play (and eventually his body...south to Miami in case I’m not being clear enough). But I think it’s possible that Keisel’s pass rushing style may have contributed to that.

As far as the O Line goes, I’m still reserving my judgment. While they haven’t been putrid this preseason, they certainly haven’t shown enough to instill any confidence that they’ll be significantly less porous than they were last year. Example A – Willie Colon’s whiff on Ray Edwards in that same game you mentioned. I’m not so worried about the left side. But the right side could be a source of trouble for us. Kendall Simmons wasn’t that great last year and I’m still not sure why Willie Colon is starting at RT. Say what you want about Max Starks, but in my opinion, he’s the better option at that position.

Then again, hey, what do I know? I just write a blog...

Oh, and I have good news for you – I believe Minnesota has actually just added “Watches the Tyra Banks Show” as an official grounds for legal dissolution of a marriage. This of course used to be lumped into “irreconcilable differences,” but clearly Minnesota has a big enough problem on their hands so as to facilitate this handy excuse for you and others who desire a partner that can recognize quality television programming.

PS – my blurb on your triumphant return, for tomorrow’s OFTOT post =

“Some of you may remember Neal from his stint last season at Die Hard Steel. Well, unbeknownst to him, his site was yanked from the interwebs by the admin without but an email letting him know to secure any outstanding content. Nevertheless, our hero trudged on in the face of adversity and set up his new blog home at, On The Black Side. The name is a play on the fact that the Steelers helmet has only one logo. So I'd like to officially welcome Neal back to the Steelers blogdome, and I strongly encourage all ye who crave Steelers analysis for the next 17 weeks (and hopefully more) to check OTBS out. Now if we could just get Neal up on skates, we'd have something.”

Labels: Email Exchange

5:16 AM by Neal Coolong

0 comments