Pittsburgh Steelers Take on the New York Jets: Who Has the Edge?

Coaches: Mike Tomlin and Rex Ryan: Talk about contrasting styles of leadership. Rex Ryan continues to state that he wants to take the focus and pressure off of his team and put it on himself. He also states that "It's personal," first between him and Peyton Manning and then between him and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Meanwhile, Mike Tomlin remains behind the scenes and wants the focus on his team, stating that it's all about "team" and never gets caught up in a war of words, always saying the right thing. 

While I agree that both teams players respond to their respective coaches, I have to think that the less distractions, the less talk and the more focus the better.  Edge: Steelers.

Defensive Coordinators: Dick LeBeau and Mike Pettine: This is almost unfair. LeBeau has spent more years (51) in the NFL than Pettine has been alive (44). LeBeau's history and track record speak for itself. Not to say that Pettine might not some day be recognized in the same category as LeBeau, but we live in the now and the game is this week. 

The Steelers defensive players not only respect and love LeBeau, but they take playing for him personally and hate letting him down like a kid hates to disappoint his father. Pettine has the respect of his players, especially after the Patriots game plan, but the experience of LeBeau and the connection with his players can't be matched. Or beaten. Edge Steelers.

Offensive Coordinators: Bruce Arians and Brian Schottenheimer: Schottenheimer has the football gene and has grown up around the game. He has done well with the growth and progression of Mark Sanchez. But is he confident enough to be daring with the play calling? The Jets have given him the tools (LaDainian Tomlinson, Santonio Holmes, Braylan Edwards) to be successful and for the most part he has. 

Arians has been with the Steelers since 2004 and been the coordinator since 2007. Arians has been suspect and somewhat predictable at times while Schottenheimer has been careful and usually errors on the side of caution. Edge: Even.

Quarterbacks: Ben Roethlisberger and Mark Sanchez: Mark Sanchez is playing well this postseason and is gathering experience weekly. He has a 4-1 career playoff record.  He has played in meaningful games before at USC. But can he maintain this current level of play or will he revert back to his mid-season form when he threw more interceptions than touchdowns? 

Big Ben has been here before and won it all twice. He continues to extend plays beyond what most quarterback in this league are capable of doing. He will not be as easy to sack as Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. He has had one of his best years yet after returning from his suspension, and he is playing at an extremely high level and mistake-free over his last three games. Edge: Steelers.

Running Backs: Rashard Mendenhall/Mewlelde Moore/Isaac Redman and Ladainian Tomlinson/Shonn Greene: Mendenhall finished seventh in the league in rushing and tied for second in touchdowns.  He did rush for 99 yards against the Jets in Week 15. Moore is a good reliever as well as a pass catching option. Arians has not figured out how to properly use Redman though he has shown signs of being the bruising back that everyone thought he would be. 

Tomlinson and Greene have split the workload for the Jets and have both done well. Both can be counted to start and relieve and both are threats. But against the No. 1 rushing defense in the league that should not be counted on. Who they are running against has to be taken into accountability. With that said...Edge: Steelers.

Wide Receivers: Hines Ward/Mike Wallace/Antonio Brown/Emmanuel Sanders and Santonio Holmes/Braylon Edwards/Jerricho Cotchery/Brad Smith: Ward continues to be a threat in the passing game and is always ready to get involved in blocking someone (just ask Ed Reed). Wallace is the most dynamic and fastest receiver in the league and is a threat to score from anywhere on the field at any time.

Brown has emerged nicely as the likely replacement for Ward in the next year or so.  Sanders hasn't progressed as fast as Brown but is an upcoming receiver and should not be overlooked.

Holmes, like Ward, is a Super Bowl MVP and showed that talent in the victory over the Patriots. Edwards has been steady in the clutch this postseason, but only time will tell if he has fully gotten past his dropping passes. Cotchery has been a forgotten player. Smith is valuable with Wallace-like speed, but has yet to be used to his fullest capabilities.  Edge: Steelers.

Tight Ends: Heath Miller and Dustin Keller: Keller has been consistent all season long but he became more of a check-down option with the arrival of Santonio Holmes after his four-game suspension. He could be a good option in front of the defensive backs for the Steelers. 

Miller is getting back to the top of his game after his midseason concussion issues. He missed the game between these teams when they met in Week 15 and may have changed the outcome with his catching ability. He is more of an option than Keller and has good hands and rarely fumbles. Edge:  Steelers.

Offensive Line: The Steelers lost two starters for the season early on and have never fully recovered from that. Pouncey has been a godsend and their most dependable lineman. They also had two more injuries in their victory over the Ravens. 

The Jets have been steady and consistent with Mangold and Fergurson anchoring their line. They have protected Sanchez well and have grown together as a unit as the season has progressed. Edge: Jets.

Defensive Line: The Steelers' front three have been steady all year and that includes games missed by Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith (who has been out since October and may return this week). The Jets front-three has been consistent but at a lot lesser level. It will be hard for the Jets to run on the Steelers, period. If Smith returns it will be impossible. Edge: Steelers.

Linebackers: Lamar Woodley/Lawrence Timmons/James Farrior/James Harrison and Bryan Thomas/Bart Scott/David Harris/Calvin Pace: The Jet backers pressured Tom Brady all afternoon and took him out of his game. Bart Scott is all fired up about the Jets not being respected as a good defense—which he should be. Especially if prognosticators were comparing them to the Patriots defense. All four backers played well in their victory, but nothing jumps out as other than ordinary. 

The Steelers backers accounted for 24 tackles, four sacks (three by Harrison), four tackles for a loss and three other hits on the quarterback. The Steelers backers are focused, healthy and are relentless in all phases of the game. They can stop the run, rush the quarterback, blitz from anywhere and drop back into coverage. Edge: Steelers.

Cornerbacks: Ike Taylor/Bryant McFadden/William Gay and Darrelle Revis/Antonio Cromartie: Revis and Cromartie make up what could be called the best cornerback tandem in the NFL. Revis can cover and shut down the best receivers in the league. Cromartie can hold his own but has been suspect when counted on to tackle.  Taylor has had moments (games) where he has been burned over and over. And thank god he does not get paid by the interception. 

McFadden (if healthy) or Gay are also suspect. Gay was exposed by the Patriots in their victory over the Steelers in Week 10. He has shown some improvement, but is still shaky.  He was beaten on the Ravens last play but was saved when T.J. Houshmandzadeh dropped the pass. Edge: Jets.

Safeties: Troy Polamulu/Ryan Clark and Eric Smith/Brodney Pool: Smith and Pool are decent safeties and can deliver hits when the opportunity knocks. But compared to Polamulu and Clark they are a level below.

Polamulu had a subpar game (by his standards) against the Ravens but was it because of his play or because the Ravens, and Joe Flacco played away from him? Clark had two tackles for a loss, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and an interception.  Edge: Steelers.

Special Teams: Kicking and punting doesn't seem to be a problem for either the Jets or the Steelers (since they let Jeff Reed go). The Steelers are still suspect on coverage and escaped a Ravens punt return thanks to a holding penalty. Brad Smith returned the opening kickoff of their Week 15 game for a touchdown, which proved to be the difference in the game. Edge: Jets.