Duel Opinions: What are the keys to beating the Colts?
Each week the Steel City Underground staff will put their brilliant minds to task in order to come up with their keys to the game, or, those players, coaching decisions, or situations which could determine the outcome of the game.
Christina (Tina) Rivers
The Steelers have to set the tempo of the game, win the time of possession and keep the Colts from making big plays. That means finding a rhythm on offense and using smart play calling; on defense, applying pressure to Brissett and the line, stacking the box against the run and eliminating T.Y. Hilton from a breakout receiving day. The Steelers are primed for takeaways but they’ll have to take care of the ball on their end (no turnovers) and minimize penalties to close the door on Indy.
Joe Kuzma
I caught a lot of heat for this earlier in the week, but without a doubt, my key to the game is Ben Roethlisberger being on the same page with the rest of his receivers. We’ve seen Ben miss short, miss long, overthrow, underthrow, throw behind, and just about every other miscue which doesn’t lead me to believe he’s hitting the age wall, rather, he just hasn’t built the necessary chemistry with some of his teammates that we would’ve liked to have seen since Week 1. Part of that is due to having a rookie (JuJu) a new guy (McDonald) and another player who sat out of football for close to sixteen months with limited practice time (Bryant).
What else leads me to believe it’s timing and not something else? Antonio Brown‘s big stats and Ben being able to OVERTHROW the fast Bryant. If the wheels were falling off, Ben wouldn’t be hitting AB and his passes would fall short instead of long. That indicates he has the arm strength to hit those deep passes and it also shows he hasn’t missed a beat with Brown. But it also means the Steelers need Big Ben, as the leader of the offense, to take the driver’s seat on the road to a potential seventh Lombardi trophy.
Tommy Jaggi
The key to this game for the Steelers is execution on the offensive side of the ball. Pittsburgh is clearly the more talented team in this matchup, and they will open as heavy favorites on the road. The Steelers have owned the Colts over the last few years, and this matchup should be no different. If Roethlisberger and company can convert in pay-dirt, The Steelers will be well on their way to their 7th victory of the season and will continue to sit atop the AFC North. With Andrew Luck, Malik Hooker, and Vontae Davis out in this contest, and T.Y. Hilton nursing a hamstring injury, this game should turn into a blowout in favor of the Steelers. This should be a confidence-boosting game for Ben Roethlisberger.
Mike Pelaia
My key is Mike Tomlin not allowing his team to play down to the competition once again. I have no doubts the black and gold are superior in every category but history shows us they tend to be too lax in these games. We don’t have to look past the Bears or Jags games earlier this season to realize that. They must remain focused, composed and enter the game understanding they have to execute the game plan well.
