ON TO PITTSBURGH! LV@Pitt GDT! (early I know)

[NYRaider]

8 hours ago, Bitty 2.0 said:

And that's why I said Carr has to get the WRs in the game early.

Easier said then done though. The Ravens had solid CB's and so do the Steelers, both also have good pass rushes. I don't think Gruden trusts the OL enough to have Carr standing in the pocket looking to take deep shots. 

[NYRaider]

7 hours ago, MrOaktown_56 said:

Winnable but I can see us being very sloppy and having a bad game. I expect a sloppy L here. If we execute early and don’t make mental mistakes it could be winnable. 

Pittsburgh's offense looked extremely sluggish last week against a good but not great defense. Their OL is in just as bad of shape, if not worse, then ours and they're extremely dependent on the short passing game to generate offense. 

[MrOaktown_56]

4 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

Pittsburgh's offense looked extremely sluggish last week against a good but not great defense. Their OL is in just as bad of shape, if not worse, then ours and they're extremely dependent on the short passing game to generate offense. 

We did excel at tackling in the pass game last week. Abram looked great to the edges. He’s really finding his way with Bradley.

[Mr Raider]

Recent history under Gruden tells me this is legitimately a 50-50 type of game. In 2019 we beat the Broncos week 1 and then came out and lost 28-10 or something like that to the Chiefs. Last year we opened up week 1 with a road win in Carolina that went down to the wire, and followed it up week 2 with a home win against the Saints that at the time most would have said was a huge win. Only to go on to fumble the next couple games afterwards. 

Obviously every season is different and every game is different, it's really going to come down to which Raider team under Gruden shows up. Will we be riding too high, full of ourselves after one game because we beat a playoff team in a tight game week 1 in a national TV game and lay an egg week 2 when we could really gain some momentum with 2 huge wins over playoff teams last year, including one game being on the road in a tough place to play? Or will the big win against the Ravens in prime time give us momentum and confidence to go out and get another big win against a good team like we did at home week 2 last year against the Saints?

I honestly could go either way on which I feel is most likely. Being on the road for an early kickoff makes me lean more towards a let down game ever so slightly. 

I think it's going to be crucial to get the run game going. The Bills had some success running the football last week, and playing on the road against a top tier defense with a rookie RT, a center making his second career start, and both guards that were expected to be the starters coming into the season being down. It just isn't a situation that is going to lead to great results if we have to throw the ball 40+ times. Even if Jacobs isn't 100% these are the type of games we need him to fight through it and be a bell cow that can consistently get us 4 or 5 tough yards on 20+ carries, even if he doesn't break off any huge runs it's going to be crucial to stay ahead of the chains and keep third downs to 3rd and 4 or less so the Steelers can't just pin their ears back and pressure Carr. If Jacobs isn't healthy enough to handle that type of work load, well that is what we are paying Drake as one of the most compensated #2 backs in the league for. 

Defensively there are still a ton of questions, but the Steelers looked flat and less than explosive. Their OL didn't look great, and Ben looked like a shell of himself. If we can get pressure like we did against the Ravens, force a turnover or 2, and not turn the ball over ourselves it would go a LONG way towards a win. 

I'm going to go on the optimistic side and say we come out ready to play, we grind out a tough win on the back of Jacobs, Drake, and Waller, get in Ben's face and force a turnover or 2 and squeeze out a win by the skin of our teeth. 

Raiders 23

Steelers 21

[Rolni]

18 hours ago, Steeler Hitman said:

This is two football teams who are trying to prove that last week was no fluke. I even said in my thread that the better team doesn't always win (Bills and Ravens losing). Both of those teams are still favored by many to win their division, make play-offs or go beyond that. Statement game for both teams, but one of 16 more. We could very see each other in the post season. I would wish you luck, but you know that I really don't mean it. 😁

Hey!

Thanks a lot for sharing your point of view! I'm looking forward to a great, injury free game!!

[Bitty 2.0]

3 hours ago, NYRaider said:

Easier said then done though. The Ravens had solid CB's and so do the Steelers, both also have good pass rushes. I don't think Gruden trusts the OL enough to have Carr standing in the pocket looking to take deep shots. 

Why not ?? He did last week with the same O-Line.

[oakdb36]

28 minutes ago, Bitty 2.0 said:

Why not ?? He did last week with the same O-Line.

Communication issues in a road game.

[drfrey13]

5 hours ago, MrOaktown_56 said:

We did excel at tackling in the pass game last week. Abram looked great to the edges. He’s really finding his way with Bradley.

One of the main takeaways from last week was players being in positions to make stops short of were they were last year.  For the last few years our defenders would seem to always be in a trailing position trying to catch the opposing players.  Last week they were in positions to attack and intercept the defenders.  Of course this is just my opinion because I do not have percentages to back it up.

[Steeler Hitman]

2 hours ago, Bitty 2.0 said:

Why not ?? He did last week with the same O-Line.

I would argue that by saying that I think that the Steelers have a more consistent pass rush without having to blitz than even the Ravens. Both are very, very good defenses. I understand the confidence of the Raiders offense putting up over 30 points on a very good defense like the Ravens.  However, why would the Raiders want to play to one of the Steelers defensive strengths?

I think the Steelers want the Raiders to allow Derek Carr to try to throw 50 + times just like Buffalo allowed Josh Allen to do. This is especially true if the front line is getting pressure on the QB without blitzing like they did against Buffalo. If you don't have a consistent success running attack, (which I am somewhat afraid that  the Raiders may be able to do against the Steelers), it can be a long day for the Raiders offense and your QB being under siege.  I think it  can be a long day for the Steelers if the Raiders can run with success, especially in early downs.   If the Steelers pass rush can simply pin their ears back and just come after the QB, that is a long day for any QB.

2 hours ago, oakdb36 said:

Communication issues in a road game.

I think that we are hoping that fans are back like the old days of pre Covid. If that happens, that is a great point of the crowd trying to be disruptive. Our (Steelers) slow starting offense needs all the help it can get. 

[oakdb36]

2 minutes ago, Steeler Hitman said:

If you don't have a consistent success running attack, (which I am somewhat afraid that  the Raiders may be able to do against the Steelers),

I wouldn't be too afraid. Jacobs is injured and could miss the game. The interior oline is all new with Good now out for the season and Incognito still injured. Alualu and Heyward should win this matchup.

[Steeler Hitman]

19 hours ago, BackinBlack said:

Thanks for posting! I always appreciate reading through other teams thoughts / break downs on pre games. 
Especially when they can admit holes in their own team, and not just post, woo we are going to win 50-0.

Despite being a Steelers Homer, I try to be honest. I actually picked the Bills to win against the Steelers because they have beaten the Steelers the past two games and Ben's struggled passing his previous two games as well. I rooted for and thought that they could win, but I couldn't say yeah, they should win this one in Buffalo against a team many think have the league MVP and may represent the AFC in the SB. Not with all the questions the Steelers have had coming into this year. I think that the Raiders have a good team and a very under-rated QB. Derek Carr never seems to be mentioned in the upper echelon of QB's. He was an injury away from potentially being an MVP one year. Win or lose in Pittsburgh, I think the Raiders will be hanging around in December and can surprise some teams in the play-offs. It's early, but I picked the Raiders as a WC team. 

[Steeler Hitman]

7 minutes ago, oakdb36 said:

I wouldn't be too afraid. Jacobs is injured and could miss the game. The interior oline is all new with Good now out for the season and Incognito still injured. Alualu and Heyward should win this matchup.

I knew Good was out, but I hadn't heard about Jacobs status being up in the air. That could be big if he can't go.  The Steelers may be better if the Raiders come out with two TE's and a FB, because they can play traditional base. Even without Tuitt, they seem to have a fairly deep DL. However, if the Raiders come out in a spread formation and can consistently run while the Steelers (in Nickel) are playing thinking pass. I am a little nervous.  

[oakdb36]

4 minutes ago, Steeler Hitman said:

I knew Good was out, but I hadn't heard about Jacobs status being up in the air. That could be big if he can't go.  The Steelers may be better if the Raiders come out with two TE's and a FB, because they can play traditional base. Even without Tuitt, they seem to have a fairly deep DL. However, if the Raiders come out in a spread formation and can consistently run while the Steelers (in Nickel) are playing thinking pass. I am a little nervous.  

Jacobs hasn't practiced yet this week. That doesn't necessarily mean he won't play since he has basically spent his whole pro career on the injury report but played on sundays. Probably ends up a last minute decision.

[Steeler Hitman]

6 minutes ago, oakdb36 said:

Jacobs hasn't practiced yet this week. That doesn't necessarily mean he won't play since he has basically spent his whole pro career on the injury report but played on sundays. Probably ends up a last minute decision.

Gotcha. Thanks for the info. 

[Jeremy408]

5 hours ago, Mr Raider said:

Recent history under Gruden tells me this is legitimately a 50-50 type of game. In 2019 we beat the Broncos week 1 and then came out and lost 28-10 or something like that to the Chiefs. Last year we opened up week 1 with a road win in Carolina that went down to the wire, and followed it up week 2 with a home win against the Saints that at the time most would have said was a huge win. Only to go on to fumble the next couple games afterwards. 

Obviously every season is different and every game is different, it's really going to come down to which Raider team under Gruden shows up. Will we be riding too high, full of ourselves after one game because we beat a playoff team in a tight game week 1 in a national TV game and lay an egg week 2 when we could really gain some momentum with 2 huge wins over playoff teams last year, including one game being on the road in a tough place to play? Or will the big win against the Ravens in prime time give us momentum and confidence to go out and get another big win against a good team like we did at home week 2 last year against the Saints?

I honestly could go either way on which I feel is most likely. Being on the road for an early kickoff makes me lean more towards a let down game ever so slightly. 

I think it's going to be crucial to get the run game going. The Bills had some success running the football last week, and playing on the road against a top tier defense with a rookie RT, a center making his second career start, and both guards that were expected to be the starters coming into the season being down. It just isn't a situation that is going to lead to great results if we have to throw the ball 40+ times. Even if Jacobs isn't 100% these are the type of games we need him to fight through it and be a bell cow that can consistently get us 4 or 5 tough yards on 20+ carries, even if he doesn't break off any huge runs it's going to be crucial to stay ahead of the chains and keep third downs to 3rd and 4 or less so the Steelers can't just pin their ears back and pressure Carr. If Jacobs isn't healthy enough to handle that type of work load, well that is what we are paying Drake as one of the most compensated #2 backs in the league for. 

Defensively there are still a ton of questions, but the Steelers looked flat and less than explosive. Their OL didn't look great, and Ben looked like a shell of himself. If we can get pressure like we did against the Ravens, force a turnover or 2, and not turn the ball over ourselves it would go a LONG way towards a win. 

I'm going to go on the optimistic side and say we come out ready to play, we grind out a tough win on the back of Jacobs, Drake, and Waller, get in Ben's face and force a turnover or 2 and squeeze out a win by the skin of our teeth. 

Raiders 23

Steelers 21

In this game I’m looking to see if the defense dominates the Steelers offense Which they may be able to do. In particular I want to see Jonathan Abram against Eric Ebron. If Ngakoue doesn’t play I want to see if anyone else steps up on the defensive to help Crosby out. I also want to see what Crosby does when Yannick is inactive. Hopefully I can see Moehrig make some better open field tackles
 

offensively I want to see how the line holds up and I don’t want to see Jacob’s play if he’s going to look like he did on Monday. i’d rather him rest so that we can have him later on in the season when we really need a pound the rock. I also want to see Carr spread the ball around a little bit more(not really concerned about the dumb Stuff that people care about on ESPN like throwing it down the field and all that). I want to see him make the correct reads and hit the open guy throughout the game rather than just the end(although Monday was a great comeback effort)