Last week, I lambasted Pittsburgh's opponent for being the worst team in professional football. In short, it looks as though I might have spoken a week too soon. Because, Buffalo's level of ineptitude was equally as horrific as Cleveland's. And, there is also the "small" fact that the Browns scored 51 points on the Bengals. In other words, the Browns might only be the second worst team in the NFL.
That said, the Bills sort of have an excuse for their poor play: they have suffered a barrage of injuries. In fact, the score easily could have (and should have) been far more lopsided than the 26-3 rout that it already was. First of all, Ben Roethlisberger was not nearly as "effective" in the red-zone this past week. The Bills forced the Steelers to settle for four field goals (instead of the four touchdowns that Roethlisberger & Co. scored against the Browns). And, again, Buffalo's secondary was using second and third string players.
Before anyone takes my words the wrong way: I am not saying that Big Ben played poorly. In fact, by the end of the first quarter, Ben had spread the ball around to seven different receivers...which is very Montana-esque. It is just that the week prior, Roethlisberger was infallible...whereas, this week, he was merely human. For example, Ben throws a strike to Hines Ward, Ward catches it, but Ward's hands were not under the ball. Thus, it was not a touchdown (whereas, the prior week, Ward would have made that catch).
Speaking of touchdown catches, check out this stat-line for the new tight-end, Matt Spaeth: two receptions total as a professional...both for touchdowns. For years I had been pleading for two high quality tight-ends, because, simply, the Steelers run two-tight end sets on two-thirds of their offensive alignments. Low and behold, the Steelers drafted Heath Miller (who looked good, on Sunday, as well). And then, Spaeth was drafted in April. Simply, these tight ends are fulfilling my wildest dreams...and then some.
Back to my point, Buffalo was horrible on Sunday. In fact, they would not have scored their field goal, were it not for a long run-back by Terrance McGee. J.P. Losman was harassed, battered, and abused all day long. And, when he did get a pass off, it generally ended up in a Pittsburgh player's hands. I will admit that the Bills did have one lengthy drive late in the game. But, at the same time, players such as Nick Eason and Tyrone Carter were on the field.
What I am really trying to say, is that we still do not know much about the Steelers, because they played yet another team that might not win three games this year. What we do indeed know, is that the Steelers are not taking any opponent lightly. Against the Bills, the Steelers came out in a froth...which can be hard to do (for some teams) when the opponent is so inferior. Once again, good teams beat the teams that they are supposed to beat... and the Steelers did just that.
