I think there’s a little bit of a tendency to overreact to things that are happening this early in the season, and by the time you read this, we’ll have a better idea of just how much polish the media wants to apply to the knobs of the Jacksonville Jaguars. And while I’m impressed with the Jags (and was last week, too), this game is the perfect recipe for an overreaction. Monday night, lots of attention because of Roethlisberger’s return, a dominant defensive performance… it’s all there.
But it was also Ben Roethlisberger’s first game in about 8 months, he clearly was nowhere near his best, and the Steelers offense was completely out of sync. I’m not making excuses for them, they were clearly not the best team on the field. But I think it would be a mistake to overrate the impact of last night’s outcome for either the Steelers or the Jaguars.
At the end of the day, all the Jags did was kick three field goals against a good defense, and shutout a team that–at least for last night–was very poor offensively. And by the same token, the Steelers played a road game against an outstanding defense with a quarterback who was nowhere near healthy or in top form, even if the reports of his temperature of 104 degrees were almost certainly complete bullshit.
“A nice win” is how I’d describe it. A big win, a win that gets them respect around the league (though I don’t know why that’s something the Jags themselves would be concerned about), and a win they can build on. Anything more than that, though, I think would be a bit premature.
Matt R
Cue the “Jags don’t get enough mainstream media” whinings from all 32 Jaguar fans in this country.
September 19, 2006 at 3:41 am
Toku
I agree. Its a nice win in that they won a tight game against an elite team in the conference, but its nowhere near as nice as its being played out to be. According to the media, this was the statement win for the Jags that tells the rest of the league that the Jags can’t be dismissed anymore.
With the game still in reach for the Steelers at 6-0, the Jags took over inside the PIT 30 after the first Mathis interception with an opportunity to slam the door, only to promptly gain 5 yards on a 3-and-field-goal drive (while asking Josh Scobee to connect from 40+, which is a coin flip for him).
I would be WAY more impressed with the win if they had finished the job instead of limping across the finish line.
Nice win, not much more. They get the Colts next week…that’s the statement game, not this one.
-T
September 19, 2006 at 6:31 am
Matt Moore
I don’t understand this whole nobody-respects-the-Jags media trip. They won twelve games last year, they made the conference finals a few years back, and Byron Leftwich has gotten plenty of press as a good, young quarterback. Who was overlooking them?
I was wondering if they really said 104. I thought I must have heard wrong, and it was 101 or 102 or something. 104 and you just had surgery 2 weeks ago would put you back in the hospital, right?
September 19, 2006 at 7:45 am
pa
i must not be reading/listening to the same media as you guys, most of the reaction today to the game has been surrounding Roethlisberger, ‘he was rusty’, ‘shoud he have played yesterday?’ etc., the Jags are again being overlooked.
You guys shouldn’t forget that the Jags have had Pittsburgh’s number in the past.
September 19, 2006 at 10:15 am
jerloma
That was an ass-kicking. Plain and simple. It was as dominating a 9-0 game as you’ll see. Still…this isn’t a team that exactly strikes fear into the hearts of the wicked. That might be the best game they play all year and the Steelers still had a chance to win late.
September 19, 2006 at 10:18 am
telly
The Jags are one of those teams that has always played the Steelers tough. If I were a fan of either team (and I am, I’m a fan of the Steelers), I wouldn’t be too concerned with the final score in this one.
That being said, the Steelers do have plenty of concerns regardless of who won or lost, chief amoung them their lack of a running back that can get 2 yards on 3rd and 1. Willie Parker is a nice back, but he certainly isn’t the guy you want in there when you need tough yards between the tackles. Duce Staley is out of shape, slow, is back to not dressing for games, and frankly needs to retire. Verron Haynes is no more than a 3rd down back, check down receiver type guy, which is what he’ll always be. That leaves Najeh Davenport, who, let’s be honest about… was cut by the Green Bay Packers. The most that dude has ever done was take a shit in someone’s closet.
September 19, 2006 at 11:06 am
telly
One more thing. Is there a bigger prick out there in sports broadcasting than Joe Theismann? OK, maybe Joe Buck, but that is certainly debatable.
September 19, 2006 at 11:08 am
jerloma
Telly, when did Parker get stoned on 3rd and 1 last night? For that matter when did he get a carry where he wasn’t trying to dodge guys in the backfield? If you think the lack of running game last night had anything to do with the running back personnel, you weren’t paying attention.
September 19, 2006 at 11:33 am
Toku
Jerloma: I agree with you that it was a dominating 9-0 win in the sense that the Steelers played as poorly as possible on offense and the Jaguars didn’t (or couldn’t) throw the knockout punch and their defense bailed them out a few times.
I think that’s what makes the Jags perhaps a bit overrated and not an elite team. The Steelers score that TD after the Mathis INT. The Pats and Colts score that TD. And I’m pretty sure Hines Ward, Marvin Harrison and Troy Brown don’t take that flag, either.
Until the Jags score that TD, they’re just another good team that nobody is really afraid of.
-T
September 19, 2006 at 12:15 pm
father figure
Am I crazy for believing that the Steelers would have scored more than 9 points with Charlie Batch at QB last night?
September 19, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Moonshine Mike
with batch at the helm, a few field goals may of been a workable option. You never know.
But the jaguars get no respect because they live in a bigger shithole than every other team. A rust belt city in a southern climate. How gross.
September 19, 2006 at 1:54 pm
TMan
The retirement of Bettis and the departure of Randel-El will be more costly to the Steelers than anyone is mentioning. Get used to Big Ben throwing 35 times a game, because their can’t run against a respectable defense.
September 19, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Spaceno34
To the Steeler fans, hate to break it to you but Big Ben isn’t an elite quarterback. He’s maybe above average and that’s it. He had receivers that could bail him out time to time.
But more than that, he’s has a running game that takes the heat off of him. When teams have to stack 7 or 8 in the box to stop the run, of course someone is going to get open. Ben, in general doesn’t make bad decisions. He manages the field well but it is all setup on the run and defense.
They are more like the 2000 Ravens than people want to admit.
The Jags stopped the run and won the game. As simple as that.
September 19, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Toku
TMan: to be fair, the Jags run defense is more than respectable. They have one of the 3 or 4 best front-7s in the league. Isn’t a power, between-the-tackles type run game’s worst nightmare seeing Marcus Stroud and John Henderson line up on the other side of the ball, with Mike Peterson right behind them? Is there honestly a worse situation to try to pound the ball through? If there is, it isn’t coming to mind right away.
-T
September 19, 2006 at 3:33 pm
jerloma
Spaceno…you couldn’t be more wrong. You’re just regurgitating every recycled stereotype that everyone that knows nothing about the Steelers pegs on them. Last night, the better team won. Sometimes it happens. If you’d been paying attention, you would know that the Steelers of recent years have been a balanced offense that takes wht the defense gives them. So, go ahead and leave him out of the elite class of Manning and Palmer. We’ll take 27-5 with a ring.
TMan…Jerome Bettis is the most overrated back in the history of the NFL. He would have had about -6 yards rushing last night. They took away the run and Ben was off his mark all night and couldn’t beat them. Shit happens. Let’s not overanalyze this too much.
September 19, 2006 at 4:17 pm
Toku
Jerloma: we can still overanalyze the Jags being shitty, right?
-T
September 19, 2006 at 4:22 pm
Spaceno34
Please, when you tell me I’m wrong back it up with stats.
Ben’s stats
Stats for 2005
Games 12
Comps 168
Attemps 268
Yards 238.5
Yards/per 198.8
TD 17
Intercept 9
Stats for 2004
Games 14
Comps 196
Att 295
Yards 2621
Y/G 187.2
TD 17
Int 11
Palmer and Manning have more yards per games, more attempts, more completions (And in Palmer’s case more Ints in 2004).
I follow the Steelers (I’m from PA and have a huge amount of friends who die Black and Yellow). The Steelers are a run first team period. They only throw when they need to.
The Steeler’s where 24 last year in passing, 5th in rushing. In 2004, 28th in passing, 2 in rushing.
Defense 1st in 2004 (points and yards), 2005 – 3rd in points, 4th in yards.
So please, tell me how I’m making this up. Balanced attack huh?
If you gave me a choice between P.Manning, Palmer, McNabb, Big Ben, Tom Brady, Even Trent Green. Ben would be last for me.
September 19, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Mr. Bojangles
Looked to me like the Jags’ were doing what the Steelers usually do – playing a nasty, aggressive game. The hits being put on the Steelers offense were absolutely brutal, and Taylor was stiff-arming and juking past guys like he was playing Rookie mode in Madden. Was a solid performance, unlike my fucking Eagles, who rested on their laurels and choked up an easy win in the 4th. Between Penn State and Philly, I don’t know who pisses me off more sometimes.
September 19, 2006 at 5:00 pm
jerloma
Let’s see. How about #1 in the NFL in yards per attempt? YPA is a stat that relates much more closely to winning than yards or attempts or completions in itself. Sometimes teams throw the ball because they are losing. Sometimes teams throw the ball because they have the most dangerous weapons at receiver. Ben throws the ball to win games. If you look at a game where Ben has 210 yards passing and 2 TDs, you say…”decent game but he’s more of a caretaker”. If you care to look deeper and notice that he only threw 4 passes in the second half, your pedestrian stats become deadly. They open up the run with the pass. When they go up by double digits they kill the clock with the run. That’s the formula and it works. Look, I’m not meaning to get all indignant about this like Patriot fan gets when people call Manning the best QB in the NFL. I could care less how you rank your QBs. It’s just that if you feel that he is not in a group of elite quarterbacks, you’re not paying attention…and that’s okay. They’re not your team…you don’t have to. However regurgitating the same stale stuff that the national media gives us on the Steelers is IMO irresponsible.
September 19, 2006 at 5:56 pm
Matt Moore
Haha… you had me, Spaceno34, until you took the still unconcious Trent Green over Roethlisberger. But right then you proved yourself a fucktard.
September 19, 2006 at 7:30 pm
DanielLarussosGonnaFight
If you really followed the Steelers Spaceno, you’d know that it’s Black and Gold, not yellow. You’d also know that the reason that Ben’s passing stats don’t match up is because the Steelers could salt away a win by running almost exclusively in the second half with the lead, something that the Colts (Manning), Cincy (Palmer) and Pats (Brady) couldn’t do.
Also, I think that both Manning and Palmer would trade all of their shiny stats for a ring.
September 20, 2006 at 4:43 pm