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  • November 07, 2007 12:50 AM ET

The Steelers are the only team left that can stop the Pats

Dantheman187 (0-0-1) vs The Big Cat (35-62-3)
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Honestly, just looking at the Patriots remaining games, you can't say that any other team has a snowball's chance in hell of stopping them. The Steelers have a great defense, ranked number 1 in the NFL, allowing just 237 yards per game of total offense, and just under 13 points per game. Combine that with the fact that they finally have enough offense to keep pace with other teams, and you've got a team with all the attributes needed to take down the powerhouse Patriots. Now I'm not saying that it's likely that the Steelers will take them down, I'm just saying that out of everyone they have left to play, they have the best shot.

I realize that some people want to bring the Giants into this, but the fact remains that they're an NFC team, so they really don't count.


I'm taking this for one reason. On any given Sunday a team "could" beat the Pats. I personally don't think any team will come closer than the Colts just did but that's besides the point. We're getting a bunch of Steeler talk now because of their big win last night against a horrible offensive team, the Ravens. Don'y get me wrong, I like and do think the Steelers are a grea team but they will not beat the Pats during the regular season. The Pats are now on a serious mission. The Colts are behind them. They are going to coast from here. They'll play teams as hard as they have to and they'll win. They may not beat the Steelers by such a large margin but they'll win. I also go back to not discounting any other team. The NFL gets funny over the next several weeks. I believe we will be amazed as to what transpires over the next few weeks (10 - 14).


You have to remember that Indy's defense held the Patriots, who were averaging over 40 points a game, to just 24, and held them to 10 until the 4th quarter. The Colts did the right thing by getting pressure on Brady, and that's really the only way to stop the high powered Patriots offense. If you look at how the Steelers play defense, you'll see that they pride themselves on getting pressure on the QB and forcing him into bad decisions. If they can keep Brady on the run and make him force the issue, they will have a great chance to end the Pats streak, because you know you can't run the ball against the Steelers(One 100yd+ rusher in the last 50+ games).


I understand your point. The fact of the matter is that Brady does not make bad decisions. Not one team has been able to put and keep him "on the run." The Pats have shown us all season that they don't need to run the ball so the Steelers being good at stopping the run is not of any importance. If (a big if) the Steelers do start getting to Brady, Maroney has a fresh, healthy well rested pair of legs to do his job. If the Steelers focus on the rush, Brady will throw for TD's all day. The Pats will stop Parker just as other teams have. He may get some yards but he's not scoring, which has really been the Paarker story this year. Even if the Steelers are able to score, Brady and the Pats will score more points and just keep going. Ultimately, the Steelers do not stand in their way. As far as you dismissing NFC teams (i.e. The Giants), that makes no sense to me. Again, any team has a chance but it is highly unlikely. The Colts were the only team that could have stopped them. Can you see the Steelers playing better than the Colts? I can't!


I can see the Steelers playing better than the Colts. The Colts are a finesse team, with little physicality in the way they play. They rely on a speedy defense and good tackling to do well on defense. The Steelers on the other hand have a big, strong, and fast defense. The Steelers linebackers and secondary have played lights out all season, with the exception of the Denver Broncos game. They also don't need to focus on stopping the run, with the 3-4 defense they play, and their nickel package, they can have 7 in the box and still be effective against the run.

Also, the Colts had Brady on the run nearly the entire game, and they made him throw some pretty bad passes. He had two picks in that game, which is over half his total all season, and I'll say that the Colts corners and safeties are not nearly as good as the Steelers. The only x-factor I can see is Wes Welker, because it's hard to keep an eye on him when you're covering Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth on the outside.

Last year the Steelers may have not had the offense to contend, but this year, with Ben playing like a Pro-Bowl QB, and the recievers making plays, I don't see keeping up the pats being a problem.


I'll just leave it at this. Look at every game the Pats have played. They just don't have a weakness and "if" a team funds one, the Pats just adjust at the half and come out swinging and they don't stop until they put their opponent in the ground. You mentioned one player (Welker). Welker is 1/11 of the problem when the Pats have the ball. That's it. Let FanNation decide. We can always TD again after the game.

Comments (36) Add A Comment

November 7, 2007  01:41 AM ET
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Steelers, and the other seven teams they play. I bet anything the Pats defeat(s) come against sub-par teams in trap games. Any given Sunday...

November 7, 2007  01:43 AM ET
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I'd agree. They aren't going to get "beat"- if they lose, they lose to a trap game to a sub-par team.

November 7, 2007  02:43 AM ET
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No Brady = No More Pats

November 7, 2007  02:55 AM ET
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Browns Goin Downs

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November 7, 2007  05:46 AM ET
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Pitt wins and another team sneaks up and bites the Pats.....Bills maybe???

Pats 14-2
Colts 15-1

November 7, 2007  05:47 AM ET
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Agree Favre Fan 12.....

November 7, 2007  06:55 AM ET
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Yessss.......any team in the NFL can beat the Patriots.

If not, then how can someone ecplain the great halftime comebacks from 30+ points down to win the game?

These players do not need to be touched to have injuries - either.

Each win and the fall is much farther down.

November 7, 2007  08:30 AM ET
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pats will go 15-1, only loss to giants week 16 who will have something to play for

November 7, 2007  09:00 AM ET
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I believe that Big Blue does count and it does not mattter if they are an NFC team or not.
They still have an impact on team's records. Go G-Men...

November 7, 2007  09:04 AM ET
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No Brady = No More Pats?
?
No Ben = no more Steelers

November 7, 2007  09:08 AM ET
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Defenses can't really seem to get to Brady. At least not enough to make a difference. Obviously, they can still get to Big Ben. Where are they going???

November 7, 2007  09:15 AM ET
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He didn't make the "can" argument, he said of the remaining schedule, the Steelers have the best shot.

November 7, 2007  09:17 AM ET
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And they don't play the Giants in Week 16. They play them in Week 17. That being said, if the Patriots are undefeated in Week 17, they will also have something to play for. They won't lay down like other teams. They'll go for the record of "only 16-0 regular season undefeated team".

November 7, 2007  09:21 AM ET
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I think the Ravens, Giants, and Steelers all have a chance to beat the Pats. Since anything can happen on any Sunday, don't be surprised if someone else gets to them first

November 7, 2007  09:22 AM ET
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I like the Giants chances the best because they have the best pass rush of all the teams remaining. Granted, that's a simplified way of looking at it, but that's how I see it.

November 7, 2007  09:31 AM ET
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colts in the afc title, peyton rarely loses to the same team 2 times in 1 season, peyton plays great in weather, theyll have marvin back

November 7, 2007  09:32 AM ET
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why hasnt Big Cat started a spam campaign on this TD yet?

November 7, 2007  09:36 AM ET
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Brady, for all his great skills, is not a qb who performs well under defensive pressure. When he takes a sack, he gets very skittish for the next several plays. His saving grace this year has been when he feels pressure he heaves it in the direction of Randy Moss who usually catches it with one hand, an elbow or his big toe...I mean seriously...some of the catches he has come down with defy description.

Let's look at the Pats honestly. They have no real run game to speak of when they face even a halfway decent run defense. The Colts found a way through the first 40 minutes of the game to put pressure on Brady and force some bad throws.

If the Pats are going to be beaten, it will be by a team that can shut down the run and bring pressure. Moss is the x-factor. He is not a young man, and has been injury prone throughout most of the last 5 or 6 years. If he takes a hard whack (like 85 this weekend past) he gets the serious alligator arms. My prediction is Moss's chronically bad hamstrings act up at some point this season and put him on the shelf a couple of weeks. Without Moss, the Pats lose. He, not Brady, is the MVP.

 
November 7, 2007  09:45 AM ET
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T-fo? Really?

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