NFL Week 12 Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Keys To the Game
Steve Johnson and the Buffalo Bills will host the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday at 1:00 in Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills are coming off a huge comeback win against the Cincinnati Bengals and currently sport a two game winning streak. The Steelers dismantled the Oakland Raiders and come in to the game tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North division.
This is a contest that has one of those best vs worst scenarios, in that the Steelers offer up the best rush defense in the NFL and the Bills have the worst rush defense. Don't dismiss the Bills however based on that ranking, as you will be surprised to see how these two teams stack up against common opponents.
On with the presentation.
Steve Johnson Is Taking The League By Storm
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Steve Johnson had some fun with the Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco duo last weekend, as he played the role of Joker by wearing Jack Nickolson's Joker makeup and borrowing the "Why So Serious" slogan from the movie to poke a little fun at the Batman and Robin duo.
It won't be fun and games this coming Sunday. The Steelers have a strong defense and safety Troy Palamulu will be sure to be keeping an eye on the whereabouts of Steve Johnson throughout the game.
Johnson has really come on this season, in his third campaign, out of obscurity. Johnson barely played during his first two years, and waited for his turn. That came when the Bills decided not to bring back Terrell Owens, and the release of James Hardy ensured Johnson would be the starter opposite of Lee Evans.
All Johnson has done in ten games (and let's not forget that the first two games were handled by Trent Edwards), is catch 52 passes for 728 yards and 9 touchdowns. Last week was the first three touchdown game of Johnson's career, and based on the way he is pulling away from defenders after he makes the catch, it will probably not be his last three touchdown game.
You Know Catch 22, But How About Catch 33?
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Catch 33. That is a sub-plot to this game. Funny thing is that after 10 games, both of the leading Steelers receivers, Mike Wallace and Hines Ward have exactly 33 catches. Okay, maybe that in and of itself is not that weird.
But how about if you now add to the mix that the Bills Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish also have exactly 33 catches on the year? Now what would you say to that? Catch 33 of course.
Of the quartet, only Parrish will be frozen at the 33 catch mark this year, due to being on season-ending I.R. list. What separates the other three receivers is what they do with the ball after they catch it.
Mike Wallace is averaging a whopping 23 yards per catch this year. His 33 catches aren't very high, but his yardage total is. His 759 yards this year is good for # 7 in the NFL. He is averaging 75 yards per game. Last week against the Raiders, he had 3 catches for 116 yards, which is 39 yards a catch.
Lee Evans is averaging 15 yards with his 33 catches, and his 497 yards are good for # 41 in the NFL. Evans has 4 touchdowns on the year, and has been overtaken by Steve Johnson as the Bills leading receiver.
Hines Ward has been dealing with concussion issues lately. He has gained 400 yards with his 33 catches, so he is averaging 40 yards a game, and like Evans has 4 touchdowns this year.
Steelers Offense
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The Steelers survived the Ben Roethlisberger suspension with a strong 5-1 start to the season. After that, they have gone loss, win, loss, and then win. Looks like they are due for another loss right?
They have seen a number of their offensive linemen get banged up, and even brought former Bills reserve lineman Jonathan Scott to the team this year, when they were running low on bodies.When there was speculation that the Bills might want to pick up Flozell Adams when the Cowboys waived him, (Bills coach Chan Gailey had coached Adams as a rookie in Dallas), it was the Steelers that swooped in and picked up the veteran to fortify their line.
Besides Scott, Bills fans might not know that the Steelers also added ex-Bills draft pick Chris Ellis to the team during the season.
The Steelers offense has a strong supporting cast around Roethlisberger. They have Mike Wallace, Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El at receiver, Heath Miller at tight end and Rashad Mendenhall at running back. The offense is ranked 22nd overall in the NFL, averaging 325 yards per game. They average 23.5 points a game, which ranks them 13th in the league.
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Is There A Doctor In The House?
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Eric Wood had another freakish looking leg injury, the latest one coming against the Bengals. Luckily, with nothing broken, he will eventually return to the Bills, but not probably for the Steelers game.
Besides Wood, other question marks range from Spencer Johnson, Cordaro Howard, C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson.
Out of the above group, Fred Jackson had a run last Sunday that resulted in him grabbing his ankle in pain, but being the warrior that Jackson is, he came back in to the game and played well. The Bills will need him this Sunday.
If Spencer Johnson can't go, figure that the Bills will keep Alex Carrington active. Aaron Mayin has not been dressing for about a month now, and there has been no word about when he will be used in a game scenario again.
No news is bad news with respect to pass rush specialist Shawne Merriman. Chan Gailey has not received any positive news at all on Merriman and there is now speculation that he may not even make the field this season. That would truly be a shame, as the Bills really need help with the pass rush, and he needs a second chance to prove that he has something left. Stay tuned on the Merriman situation.
The Ralph Should Be Rocking and Rolling On Sunday
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While there were about 10,000 empty seats in Cincinnati last weekend, that is not the case this Sunday, as the game is expected to be a sell out. The stadium will be alive with the recent play of the Bills team to fuel on the faithful.
Then, you have the Steelers and their Terrible Towel fans making the drive up from Pittsburgh, fueled by Iron City beer and Rolling Rock. The only reason I know that so well, is because I went to college in the metro Pittsburgh area, a college called Slippery Rock University. Listening to the squawking of Myron Cope and my fraternity brothers for four years was torture enough. Iron City was the final straw.
Will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh is fully aware of how well the Bills are playing, or if they are peeking ahead at a showdown with the Baltimore Ravens the following week.
Are All The Good LB's In The State Of Pennsylvania?
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If Penn State is known as Linebacker U., than what would be the appropriate moniker for the Steelers franchise regarding their linebacker unit?
From the glory days that featured the likes of Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, and Andy Russell, the current edition of Steelers' linebackers is as good as any.
Let's examine the Steelers linebackers a little closer:
Lawrence Timmons leads the team with 89 tackles. He is ranked at # 6 in the NFL in tackles.
James Farrior has 70 tackles and James Harrison is right behind him with 69. Harrison is ranked # 3 in the NFL in sacks with 9 so far, and also has come up with 2 interceptions. He was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and is having a big campaign again. He has been in the headlines due to his big hits that have been drawing fines and made him wonder if he should leave the game. The Bills will have to know where he is lining up on every play.
For good measure, the Steelers also have another sacking linebacker in LaMaar Woodley, who has 6.5 sacks. That would be good for the team lead on the Bills, who don't have anyone in the top 40 in that category.
How Do These Teams Stack Up?
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Looking at some of the finer points of these points, it is the Bills offense that appears to be able to move the ball better. The Bills have generated 178 first downs to the Steelers 161. The Bills have converted 57 third down opportunities (10th in NFL) while the Steelers have converted 48 third downs (21st). Bills have converted 41 % of the time (9th in NFL), while the Steelers are making good on 37 % (20th).
The Bills offense has been penalized 52 times, which is the fourth fewest of all NFL teams. The Steelers have been penalized 62 times, which is 19th least penalized.
The big statistic that caught my eye was turnovers. The Steelers lead the AFC in turnovers margin with a plus 10, while the Bills are ranked at 14 with a minus 6. Steelers have 13 interceptions compared to the Bills 4. The Steelers recovered 11 fumbles, compared to the Bills 7. On offense, the Steelers have thrown 8 interceptions to the Bills 11, and the Steelers have fumbled 6 times, compared to the Bills 6.
The Steelers defense is ranked # 5 in the NFL, and is # 1 against the run and is # 22 against the pass.
The Bills defense is ranked # 25, and is 9th against the past, and dead last (# 32) against the run.
Big Ben Roethlisberger Has Been Keeping His Nose Clean Lately
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Despite being slapped around by Richard Seymour last Sunday, you really haven''t heard much about Big Ben Roethlisberger once he started playing in regular season games. He served his suspension and then it has been all business for him and the team ever since.
For the year, Roethlisberger has completed 62 % of his passes, and is averaging 263 yards a game. His ratio of 12 TD's to 4 interceptions is fine, and his passer rating of 101.9 is good for # 3 in the NFL. Last Sunday against the Raiders, Roethlisberger threw for 279 yards, had three touchdown passes, and rushed three times for 55 yards and another touchdown? Who does he think he is, Ryan Fitzpatrick? (ha).
Speaking of Fitzpatrick, the Bills starting quarterback came out with a big second half last week with four touchdown passes against the Bengals. For the year, Fitzpatrick has been averaging 245 yards per game, completing 59 % of his passes, and has a 18 touchdowns to 9 interceptions ratio. His passer rating now stands at 88.1, which is good for # 19 in the NFL.
Fitzpatrick has attempted nearly 100 more throws, 285 to 187, and Roethlisberger is the one with a higher yards per attempt average, 8.4 to 6.8.
How Well Can The Bills Run The Ball This Sunday?
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Before we talk about the Bills running game, you need to understand the following statement. Last week against the Oakland Raiders, the Steelers defense came up with six sacks, and had another five hits on the Raiders quarterbacks. That makes a grand total of 11 times they got to the quarterback.
If the Bills can't find a way to run the ball, and the Steelers linebacking corps are allowed to blitz at will, this may be the first time we see an extended look at Brian Brohm because Fitzpatrick will be laid up on the bench.
What is of concern are the health of two players that would help along that line, Eric Wood and C.J. Spiller. Eric Wood had an awkward looking leg injury last Sunday that luckily hasn't resulted in anything broken. Probably more of a sprain, but it is probably bad enough that he will miss this Sunday. In addition, C.J. Spiller is still not positive if his hamstring has healed enough to return. The speed he brings would be a nice change of pace to Fred Jackson's power running.
Having a healthy Spiller may force the Steelers linebackers to account more for him, and take some of the pressure off of Fred Jackson and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Assuming that Wood is not able to go, expect to see Kraig Urbik taking his place, as he filled in last week when Wood went down. Mansfield Wrotto continues to be serviceable at right tackle but he will have his work cut out for him this Sunday against a better defense.
Interesting Comparisons Between Common Opponents
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After reading all of the earlier slides, you would think that the Steelers are going to obliterate the Bills, but when you see how the Steelers and Bills have been fairing against common opposition, you realize that the Bills have every reason to come in and be confident.
Common opponents and the results:
Baltimore Ravens - both teams lost to the Ravens by three points
Cincinnati Bengals - both teams beat them. Pit by 6, the Bills by 18
New England Patriots - both teams lost to them, Pit by 13, the Bills by 8
Miami Dolphins - Steelers beat them by 1 point. Bills lost by 5.
So there you have it. This contest that could be viewed as lopsided on paper, has a far different end result when you take into account all of the intangibles, such as work ethic, heart and pride, of which the Bills team have plenty. Don't get wrapped up in any of the hype, this game will come down to who can take care of the ball and who wants it more. Enjoy !
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