“There’s Nothing Wrong With Punting The Ball”
September 24th, 2010
The Bucs will need to be much more stout against the run on Sunday
Thankfully, the quote in the headline belongs to super Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, a blocking icon who catches the ball. What a concept!
The Steelers are fully aware of the peril that exists at their quarterback position, while sleazy Ben Roethlisberger tries to not be be too handsy with women and serves a four-game suspension.
Ed Bouchette, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, detailed the woes of the Pittsburgh offense today and talked to Ward about it.
At least they hug the bottom. The Steelers are next to last in passing yards per game (116), next to last in total yards (240.5) and in a last-place tie in touchdowns scored with two, but they are the only offense in the league that has just one touchdown. They also are third from the bottom in sacks allowed at seven.
One area on offense in which they have improved is the one Art Rooney, their president, prodded them to do better — on the ground. The Steelers, who ranked 19th in the NFL in rushing last season, are 10th after two games.
With the way their defense has smothered their first two foes, the offense has gotten away without Ben Roethlisberger and with little production.
“For us, there’s nothing wrong with punting the ball,” Ward said. “We know we haven’t scored a touchdown. We have a lot of prideful guys. I don’t like to be at the bottom of the list. At the same time, you have to be smart about things.
“We’re 2-0 right now without our starting quarterback. We have two more games. We just have to find a way to try to pull it together in these next two games.”
So it’s pretty obvious the Steelers are going to line up and try to run the ball right down the throats of the Bucs. And the Bucs know it’s coming.
If the Bucs can stop the run, and Josh Freeman can maintain the incredible poise he’s shown thus far, the Bucs should have a great chance to go 3-0.
September 24th, 2010 at 10:13 am
If we take the same approach we took going into the Carolina game I think we could pull off the W here. Stuff the run, score early and make Batch have to beat us if Pitt will win.
September 24th, 2010 at 10:28 am
Not to mention if Spurlock can get some of those yards on punts (and not turnover the ball..) Good stuff.
September 24th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Man, I hope Spurlock runs one back, so Ward will have to say “well, I guess I was wrong”. Not that I dislike the guy, he is freaking awsome, I just think that would be sweet…
September 24th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Man I am pumped up about this game. I haven’t been this excited about a game in years.
This in my opinion could be the most important game of the season. Not only would it be a huge statement but You don’t want to go into the bye week losing all the momentum that you have had the first two weeks.
If they win this one I would not want to be the Bengals playing us coming out of the week off.
September 24th, 2010 at 11:22 am
d-money, I’m as excited as you but this game is hardly the most important of the year. The opening game against the Browns was the biggest game of the year, in my opinion.
First off the win against the Browns helped the Bucs avoid a weekly recurrence of “When are you going to get your first W?,” by the fans and the media. It took until week 9, I believe, for Rah and the Bucs to get their first W last year. This way the coaches and players can go out and perform without worrying about the employment status of the coaching staff.
This year, the important games are the games against opponents that are at the bottom two thirds of the league. We need to beat the teams that we SHOULD beat like: CLE CAR SEA ARI STL DET (I’m afraid that Detroit will give us a run for our money). Those teams would be 6 more wins, bringing the Bucs to 8-8. And if we sneak up on a PIT CIN BAL SF NO, then we’re just playing with house money against those team.
The game this Sunday will be decided when our offense is on the field with their defense. If Freeman can protect the ball and move us into FG range, Barth may be able to steal this one from PIT. I think our defense will play well against a one-dimensional running team (basically what CAR is). Special teams will play a huge role because both teams will be punting often.
I expect that LeBeau and Polamalu will be too much for Freeman. However, having Freeman out there makes me feel like we have a shot against any team. Go Bucs.
September 24th, 2010 at 11:24 am
This is where the Bucs weak running game comes back to haunt them
September 24th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Great game to start Grimm. The Steelers don’t want to pass the ball. They want to run the ball! Grimm is a former linebacker, and probably a better tackler than Tjax. This could turn out to be a good thing!
September 24th, 2010 at 11:44 am
The running game isn’t weak. Both teams we’ve played have shown total disregard for the passing game, and loaded 8 or 9 men in the box to shut Caddy down. They have challenged Freeman to beat them. And he DID!
September 24th, 2010 at 11:55 am
AND-HE-DID!
September 24th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
@ FIRE GREG OLSON!,
I agree with you on most parts but I just feel like if we lose the first game or at least don’t make a good showing against a team that is considered to be a “good team” then the confidence of this young team could take a huge hit.
September 24th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
FGO- agree with ya. First thing to build a winning team is leaning to beat the teams ya should! But D-money knows that beating the steelers gives us credibility around the league. And we are catching them at the right moment! I think the Bucs expect to win Sunday, and that’s pretty amazing
September 24th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
I think it will be a long game with Steeler linemen writhing in pain on the ground with leg cramps. Just a hunch.
I would like to see Stevens inactive, because he doesn’t know how to block. I hope they try to pass more than run with a lot of max protect packages, even using Heyward and Pressley to have big bodies to put on the Steeler blitzers.
September 24th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
I’m glad he likes punting the ball.
They should be doing a lot of that on Sunday.