This is the battle of the two all weather teams. Pound the rock and play great defense. But, this match-up is a whole lot more than that. The Jets are on a roll with two consecutive wins over dangerous aerial attacks, and the Steelers find a way to squeeze one out over the Ravens in the second half. What we learned so far is that the Jets have been mixing up a lot of coverages and playing a lot of zone. Instead of Rex Ryan’s philosophy of 'blitz the entire bench', he has played the percentages and played pass first on defense against teams who love to pass. He’s relied on a three to four man rush on most occasions and let the cover guys do their jobs. The Steelers got lucky because they couldn’t pass protect all first half. What changed the second half were a couple huge plays by Big Ben and a couple miscues by the Ravens, and the ability to stop Terrell Suggs from killing Roethlisberger. This is my opinion on what both teams should do:
Jets Game plan: On defense continue to mix up between man and zone. I think zone blitzing would be a good option. I just don’t trust Pittsburgh’s O-line in passing situations. They’ve always had issues with it. On offense, simple, move the chains. Continue to mix it up, but they cannot be too conservative like they have been in the past. Get into 3rd and short situations and let Sanchez work the play action.
Steelers Game plan: On defense they aren’t going to change so what’s the point of talking about it. Dick Labeau is going to dial up blitzed left and right like he always does. On offense they must protect Ben enough for those deep throws he loves so much. Ben must be patient, read the coverage and take what is given to him. He’s going to have to make a couple big plays for them to win on Sunday.
In the end I believe the Jets win this one. They’ll frustrate Ben like he’s used to with Rex’s defensive schemes. Sanchez will make simple plays in the middle of the field on key drives to keep them on top.
Key Players: Jets – Jerricho Cotchery (Sanchez needs to attack Linebackers and slot DB’s)
Steelers – Ben Roethlisberger (needs to make good reads w/out turnovers)
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