GDT: New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers

[Lambert44]

1 hour ago, August4th said:

their defense and pass protection is weak..I think the steelers could win that game

if we make it to the postseason..I can see us beating any team while also losing to anyone..AFC playoffs look to be wide open this yr

If we play a clean game I would agree. No turnovers (especailly in the red zone) and limited penalties.

But we have only done that once or twice this year. Every game, penalties and turnovers at the worst times.....

At most one play-off win and done.

[3rivers]

7 hours ago, Lambert44 said:

If we play a clean game I would agree. No turnovers (especailly in the red zone) and limited penalties.

But we have only done that once or twice this year. Every game, penalties and turnovers at the worst times.....

At most one play-off win and done.

there was a time the TO battle determined the winner in the playoffs.  If we turn it over too much, then it's over unless our D is elite, which it hasn't been. I don't know what to expect with this team week to week, so just wait and see. It's more about suspense, than looking forward to.

How can ANYONE say this team is one win in the playoffs. Nobody knows which team shows up, so the motto will be wait and see. No idea which team, scheme will show up.  This is the least predictable team I can remember, and maybe that is a good thing .  It's not what we prefer as a fan, but if the opponent has to prepare for much more , it makes it more difficult for them too 

[Hunter2_1]

Eyyyyyyy. Well done.

I thought once again it looked different from the usual Pats vs Pitts games (as last year did). Ben was taking the easy options. It seems like the way to beat us is chunk by chunk, taking the easy options we leave open. Ben wasn't enticed long that often, and seemed to pick up first downs by tiny margins at certain points. I knew we were in trouble when I saw 4 yard completions on 3rd down.

If you told me that NE would keep Brown and JJSS to 40 yards a piece, and PIT would only score 17 points, I'd have assumed a comfortable victory. Bit of a weird game. You get to watch us lose to Baltimore in the playoffs now. 

 

[CKSteeler]

44 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

 

If you told me that NE would keep Brown and JJSS to 40 yards a piece, and PIT would only score 17 points, I'd have assumed a comfortable victory. Bit of a weird game. You get to watch us lose to Baltimore in the playoffs now. 

Unless Baltimore beats San Diego, they're not making it. Steerlers go 1-1 over the next two weeks they're in. Second team from AFCS makes it over Baltimore.

[JLambert58]

On 12/17/2018 at 6:31 AM, Dcash4 said:

Just wondering who you think is head and shoulders better than them then. I’m not saying pencil either of these teams into the super bowl, but they are just as likely as any of the other AFC contenders. 

The Chiefs have a worse defense than us, we had a 16 point lead on the Chargers and self destructed, we beat the patriots, Houston had a fake winning streak where they played no one, and the ravens can’t throw for over 180 yards. 

The Chargers are the most well rounded of the bunch, but they are going to have to go onto the road and are very beatable (and have a really poor history with kickers). I feel like this would be a fans dream playoff to watch if you didn’t have a rooting interest. 

Head and shoulders better than the Steelers or the Patriots?

I think the cream of AFC crop is fairly even.  As we've seen throughout the season, any team can beat any other team on a given day.  It really comes down to who gets hot heading into the playoffs.  The Chargers have had some charmed wins of late, so they will be riding that momentum, but they are not a seasoned playoff team and when the chips are down, I think they'll get beaten in a big game.

The Chiefs, led by Playoff Andy Reid doesn't scare me as much as they probably should.  Reid is a modern day Marty Schottenheimer.  His teams dominate the regular season and generally peak too early.  They'll get bounced unless Mahomes has Joe Montana-like ice water in his veins come playoff time.

Ravens are a scary matchup but I don't trust Lamar Jackson in a big spot.  (not to mention he's always one play away from getting carted off the field)

Patriots are always dangerous, but they are as shaky as I've seen them in a long time.  Don't think they have the sand in their pants to get it done this year.

Leaves us the Steelers.  If they can play even close to their potential and not make stupid turnovers, I'd give them as good a shot as anyone.

[August4th]

Ravens have played like the 5 worse defenses in the NFL since Jackson was named the starter(Raiders, Bengals, Falcons, Chiefs and Bucs) going to be interesting to see what happens when he plays a good one in LA. I think the saints might be beatable. They lowkey have very little talent at the skill player positions outside the backs and Thomas(I think we might have the more talented offense on sunday with conner back), but the game is in the superdome, so we'll still need to score a fair amount of points to win..but I can see the defense holding NO down to 24-30 pts if they play like they did against NE.

[3rivers]

14 minutes ago, August4th said:

Ravens have played like the 5 worse defenses in the NFL since Jackson was named the starter(Raiders, Bengals, Falcons, Chiefs and Bucs) going to be interesting to see what happens when he plays a good one in LA. I think the saints might be beatable. They lowkey have very little talent at the skill player positions outside the backs and Thomas(I think we might have the more talented offense on sunday with conner back), but the game is in the superdome, so we'll still need to score a fair amount of points to win..but I can see the defense holding NO down to 24-30 pts if they play like they did against NE.

I thought the saints played a mediocre game last night and have not played good for the last 3 weeks. We could be getting them at the right time, only if we can stop Kamara though.

[August4th]

19 minutes ago, 3rivers said:

I thought the saints played a mediocre game last night and have not played good for the last 3 weeks. We could be getting them at the right time, only if we can stop Kamara though.

offense can't afford to play sloppy..would be nice to have a game with no turnovers and missed Field goals

can't leave points off the board like they've been doing for like a month...

[Dcash4]

24 minutes ago, 3rivers said:

I thought the saints played a mediocre game last night and have not played good for the last 3 weeks. We could be getting them at the right time, only if we can stop Kamara though.

All three of those games on the road. Home Saints are a completely different animal. 

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but they would put a lock on the 1 seed if they win. They are going to have a reason to play. 

[VigilantZombie]

1 hour ago, Dcash4 said:

All three of those games on the road. Home Saints are a completely different animal. 

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but they would put a lock on the 1 seed if they win. They are going to have a reason to play. 

The thing is even if they lose they can still lock up the number one seed in week 17. Kamora is truly the biggest threat on that offense. There have been multiple times where the Saints have looked mediocre this season but at home in a jam-packed stadium the Saints are going to be one hell of a tough team to beat. Having said that have you told me last week that we would hold the New England Patriots to 10 points I admittedly would have called each and everyone of you an idiot if you thought for one second we were capable of doing that. I would have ended up looking like the idiot. I'm sticking by my prediction for the Saints game 31 224 Pittsburgh but I could see it being an even higher scoring game than that. If our offense of line holds up the way they did against the Patriots I actually think this could be a very big game for our offense and I believe that is where we are going to have to win this game because I believe that it is very possible that Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith have very big games. If Vance McDonald can play well in our offense of line can hold up our offense could have a very very good day. That New Orleans Saints defense isn't without parent but they are not among the best defenses in the league. If you look back at their schedule this season there have been multiple game where they have given up a very large amount of points even in games that they have ended up winning but it has been their offense of course that has won them the game. I'm not discounting their defense nor am I discounting how poor our defense has been at times this season but last week over all our entire team played well. Sure our offense could have done better and scored more points but when you hold a New England Patriots team all be at one that might not be as good this year as it has been in the past to ten point that to me is good enough. You use the confidence that you got in that week to build towards next week.

I also believe that the New England Patriots game this past Sunday was the biggest game of our entire season in terms of what it meant if we lost and yes while he missed one field goal Chris Boswell came up big at the moment we needed him the most and I understand that he is not done that in multiple games previously this season but I do feel that that 48 yard field goal could be the momentum changer that turns his season around

[Dcash4]

15 minutes ago, wwhickok said:

The thing is even if they lose they can still lock up the number one seed in week 17

This is true, but that also means they actually have to play week 17. Win this week and they take the week off. 

Its the same with us...technically we can put a bow on it next week (assuming Baltimore loses), but we should really just do everything we can to make week 17 potentially worthless. 

[3rivers]

On 2018-12-18 at 10:18 AM, Dcash4 said:

All three of those games on the road. Home Saints are a completely different animal. 

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but they would put a lock on the 1 seed if they win. They are going to have a reason to play. 

I can't keep track , I think week to week we have to win as do other teams. The scheduling in the NFL is really good now, with many divisional games and other games that are expected to be difficult. It's something the NFL did right 

[navysaintsfan]

3 hours ago, Dcash4 said:

All three of those games on the road. Home Saints are a completely different animal. 

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but they would put a lock on the 1 seed if they win. They are going to have a reason to play. 

That is correct. Saints need just one win going forward to lock up the #1 seed. And I'm sure the Saints would rather get it done this Sunday then the next. Because our OLine is a pile of injuries right now. Currently injured is our #1 LT, #2 LT, #1 C, the #1 LG Peat moved to LT and last night I think the #2 LG got hurt. We were little down to our last offensive lineman. Part of why the last handful of games the Saints offense has been faltering has been due to the OLine. You get to Brees and things get very shaky. Hurts the running game, and our WRs corp is less than desired past Thomas right now (Ginn still on IR). Brees can make them work, as he has througout the season, but we need a healthy OLine. The current lifeblood of this Saints unit that has kept us going is Kamara, Thomas, and the NFL's best defense since Week 4. Don't go into this game still thinking the secondary is trash, they will give up some but Lattimore and Apple are doing terrific right now. The LB play is outstanding, and the front 4 are getting home consistently. Have not allowed a runner to have 100 yards this season yet. When paired with a healthy offense, the NFL saw what this team could do...blowouts by huge margins. But. They aren't healthy. They are very vulnerable right now. Steelers have a great chance to win this game if they can take advantage of this OLine, which may not be that difficult.

Two things stand in your way this Sunday. 1. A team that can clinch the #1 seed and then essentially take 2 weeks to let players get healthy for a playoff run, and 2. a nasty and voracious home crowd that will make the Superdome deafening. They are hungry for another trophy too.

Good luck Sunday, folks. Hoping for no injuries and a fun game. I'll be poking my head in here every now and then for good convo

[TXsteeler]

22 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

You get to watch us lose to Baltimore in the playoffs now. 

Your dark reverse jinxing magic will not work here!

[TXsteeler]

6 hours ago, JLambert58 said:

Head and shoulders better than the Steelers or the Patriots?

I think the cream of AFC crop is fairly even.  As we've seen throughout the season, any team can beat any other team on a given day.  It really comes down to who gets hot heading into the playoffs.  The Chargers have had some charmed wins of late, so they will be riding that momentum, but they are not a seasoned playoff team and when the chips are down, I think they'll get beaten in a big game.

The Chiefs, led by Playoff Andy Reid doesn't scare me as much as they probably should.  Reid is a modern day Marty Schottenheimer.  His teams dominate the regular season and generally peak too early.  They'll get bounced unless Mahomes has Joe Montana-like ice water in his veins come playoff time.

Ravens are a scary matchup but I don't trust Lamar Jackson in a big spot.  (not to mention he's always one play away from getting carted off the field)

Patriots are always dangerous, but they are as shaky as I've seen them in a long time.  Don't think they have the sand in their pants to get it done this year.

Leaves us the Steelers.  If they can play even close to their potential and not make stupid turnovers, I'd give them as good a shot as anyone.

You giving no shot to the Texans lol?