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Awesome! thanks!!! On the opposites already!!! lol
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Larry Ness' 10* NFL Total of the Month-October (PERFECT 3-0 TY!)
My 10* NFL (Oct) Total of the Month is on Pit/Arz Over at 4:05 ET.
These teams meet for the first time since the Steelers ‘escaped’ with a 27-23 win in Super Bowl XLIII (Big Ben connected on a TDP to Holmes with 35 seconds left). That game looked like a ‘dead under’ until a flurry of points in the fourth quarter (23 points in the final 7 1/2 minutes) but I’m betting that will NOT be the case in this regular season meeting. The Cards now have Kevin Kolb at QB (not Kurt Warner) and after a fast start to his tenure with Arizona, Kolb has ‘laid an egg.’ He threw for 309 yards (two TDs / 0 INTs) in a 28-21 win over the Panthers in Week 1 (130.0 QB rating) and played well again in Week 2, when the Cards let the Redskins “off the hook” in a 22-21 loss (251 yards / two TDs and one INT / 92.5 rating). However, Kolb has had QB ratings of 69.6, 67.9 and 46.9 the last three games (Cards have now lost four straight since a Week 1 win), averaging a modest 240.3 YPG through the air with just one TD pass and five INTs. There is some good news though, as the Cards are coming off a bye week and should not only be rested but the team has also had time for Kolb to get more work in “the system.” The Steelers have MAJOR injuries on both sides of the ball but even though the defense is hampered without defensive lineman Hampton and Aaron Smith (both expected to miss again) plus LB Harrison (out 4-to-6 weeks), Pittsburgh leads the NFL in allowing just 270.0 YPG. It now looks like safety Troy Polamalu will play (concussion) but while the Steelers are allowing the fewest passing yards of any team in the league (157.7 per game), let me also note that the team has allowed six TD passes while getting just one interception (in 194 attempts!). The Pittsburgh rush D is allowing 112.8 YPG, way more than it is used to giving up. I love Tomlin as a coach and the Steelers can hardly overlook Arizona (especially considering all the Pittsburgh connections on the Cards’ coaching staff, beginning with head coach Ken Whisenhunt) but the fact remains that the Steelers' next two games are at home, vs New England and the hated-Ravens (who beat them 35-7 in Week 1, forcing SEVEN turnovers). I really believe the Cards will move the ball against a Pittsburgh defense, which despite some decent stats, is NOT of the same quality of recent editions. However, for the Cards to compete vs (and maybe beat) the Steelers, they’ll have to score. That’s because I fully expect Pittsburgh to easily reach the high 20s in points (maybe more). Big Ben’s had awful games in Pittsburgh’s two losses (one TDP / four INTs / two lost fumbles vs Balt and Hou with QB ratings of 52.9 & 61.3) but he’s got eight TD passes with just two INTs (272.5 YPG) in his other four games (all Pittsburgh wins). He’ll face an Arizona defense which is not very good. The team's two-best secondary players last year were CB Rodgers-Cromartie (gone to Philly in the Kolb trade) and safety Kerry Rhodes, who is out with a foot injury. I expect the Cards to rise to the occasion here and be very competitive (as they were in Week 4 at home to the Giants) but like in that game, a 31-27 NYG win, expect plenty of points. We’re Goin’ Over!Comment
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