Game 3 : Steelers @ Colts : 09.25.11

[Kipper]

[Steelreign]

The Steelers should take control of this one from the get go. Mendenhall and Redman should be able to run all day long.

[Palmetto Steel]

[Palmetto Steel]

[Palmetto Steel]

Steelers-Colts Preview
STATS LLC

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Long a darling of the NFL's nationally televised slate, the Indianapolis Colts have done nothing to suggest they're ready for prime-time in 2011.

With or without Peyton Manning, they'll still have plenty of opportunities.

The offensively challenged Colts play the first of five scheduled prime-time games Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who come to Lucas Oil Stadium off their first shutout since 2008.

Indianapolis (0-2) has been a staple on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights the past decade largely due to the presence of Manning, and that's the case again since the severity of the four-time MVP's neck injury wasn't known until long after the schedule was released.

The Colts are set to make five prime-time appearances for the fifth consecutive season, a number that will likely remain considering the only option to be flexed -- Week 13 at New England -- figures to stay put.

Manning has twice visited Indianapolis' practices this week, but unless he winds up taking snaps from center Jeff Saturday later this fall, the television networks may be in for some serious mismatches. For the first time since 2006, the Colts have failed to hit 200 yards passing in back-to-back games, and Kerry Collins followed his two-fumble performance in a season-opening loss at Houston with two more turnovers in Sunday's 27-19 home loss to Cleveland.

Indianapolis is 0-2 for the first time since dropping its first four games in 1998 -- Manning's rookie season.

"We don't have much time left," receiver Reggie Wayne said. "We've got to figure it out fast. ... We have to figure out a way to win the close ones. I feel like that's what it's going to be from here on out."

While the Colts wound up losing by 27 points in Week 1, the Steelers (1-1) came off even worse in a 35-7 loss to archrival Baltimore that had some wondering if Pittsburgh's defense was too old to be dominant once again.

The Steelers hardly looked washed up in their home opener. They outgained Seattle 421-164 and held the ball for nearly 39 minutes in a 24-0 win, their first shutout since December 2008.

"They have been calling this defense old since I was in college and they are still calling them old now," linebacker LaMarr Woodley told the team's official website. "In this sport, when is a defense at the right age? When has that ever been the case? It's always they are too old, or too young. There is never a 'just right' in this league."

Even with a turnover-free, defensively dominant performance, coach Mike Tomlin was hardly ready to pronounce Pittsburgh over its Week 1 drubbing.

"It's not going to take one performance to take that stench off of us," Tomlin said.

A second straight game against a struggling offense could help. The Colts have converted just 5 of 23 third-down opportunities, 31st in the NFL and a far cry from what they've typically done to stay on the field. From 2005-10, Indianapolis' 49.6 percent success rate on third down was 4.3 percent better than any other team.

"That's where you make your money," coach Jim Caldwell said. "We have to be better in that area."

The Steelers, meanwhile, converted 8 of 15 third downs against Seattle, but couldn't punch in their lone attempt on fourth down. Pittsburgh failed to score on its opening drive of the game despite having four cracks after reaching the Seahawks' 1-yard line.

"I felt like we could have scored a lot more points than we did, but we won the game and that's what's most important right now," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said.

Roethlisberger came dangerously close to joining Manning on the sidelines Sunday. Seattle's Raheem Brock, who got around rookie right tackle Marcus Gilbert, fell on the quarterback's right leg late in the second quarter, but Roethlisberger returned after missing two plays.

Gilbert could have his hands full again this week against Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, who each have one of the Colts' two sacks.

Roethlisberger must hope he fares better Sunday than he has previously in the regular season against the Colts. Roethlisberger has a 58.9 passer rating and five interceptions in a pair of losses versus Indianapolis, though he did throw two touchdown passes in the Steelers' divisional playoff victory at the RCA Dome in 2006.

Collins, meanwhile, is 3-1 as a starter against the Steelers with five touchdowns and just one interception.

[Palmetto Steel]

2011 Trends (Regular Season)

The Steelers are 1-1 ATS.
The Steelers are 0-1 ATS away.
The Steelers are 1-0 ATS as the favorite.
The Steelers have not been an away favorite.
The Colts are 0-2 ATS.
The Colts are 0-1 ATS at home.
The Colts are 0-2 ATS as the underdog.
The Colts are 0-1 ATS as a home underdog.

[Palmetto Steel]

Matchup

	PIT	Ind
W-L	1-1	0-2
Avg Points	15.5	13.0
Avg Points Allowed	17.5	30.5
Home Record	1-0	0-1
Road Record	0-1	0-1
Division Record	0-1	0-1
Conference Record	0-1	0-2

[Palmetto Steel]

GAME PLAN

When the Colts have the ball: No team in the NFL relies more on one player than the Colts do with Peyton Manning. Kerry Collins, talked out of retirement to replace Manning (neck), had success against the Steelers when he was with Tennessee. He is 3-1 in four career starts against them. But Collins is still adapting to a new system that is predicated on precision timing. He has produced only two touchdowns in two games and completed just 35 of 69 passes (50.7 percent) for 388 yards ----15 percent lower than Manning's career 64.9 percent. He also has fumbled three times. Making matters worse, the offensive line has new starters at four positions and could be without veteran RG Ryan Diem (ankle). Schematically, though, the Colts have the type of offense that can give the Steelers problems because they can spread the field with three wide receivers -- Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie -- and flex tight end Dallas Clark.

When the Steelers have the ball: The biggest concern is protecting the edge against DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, who have combined for 170 sacks in their career. The Colts have never been a team that could stop the run, mainly because their defense is built to rush the passer -- a philosophy adopted because opponents usually are trying to keep up or catch their Manning-led offense. The Colts have allowed 136.3 ypg on the ground, including 94 by Cleveland's Peyton Hillis last week. RB Rashard Mendenhall has started fast each of the past two games, but the running game has sputtered in the second half. Backup Isaac Redman is averaging 4.7 yards and continues to make big plays in limited time. The Colts will have to use FS Antoine Bethea to help on WR Mike Wallace, who had eight catches and over 100 yards receiving in each of his first two games. QB Ben Roethlisberger is fifth in the AFC in passing yards (586) and fourth in yards per attempt (8.14).

KEEP AN EYE ON ...

The Colts special teams ... It's not just the Manning-less offense that's been bad. The Colts have been horrid in kick coverage, allowing a 79-yard punt return TD to Jacoby Jones and a 46-yard kick return to Danieal Manning against the Houston Texans and a 43-yard punt return and 52-yard kick return to Cleveland's Josh Cribbs.

INTANGIBLES

This is the first meeting in Indianapolis since the Steelers beat the Colts, 21-18, in the AFC divisional playoff round after the 2005 season -- the season they went on to win Super Bowl XL vs. Seattle in Detroit. ... The Colts have won two of the past three meetings, including postseason, but the Steelers are 10-2 in the past 12 meetings. The Steelers have never lost to the Colts in the postseason (5-0). ... The Steelers have won seven of their past nine games on the road, although they are 0-1 this season after losing their season opener at Baltimore.

KEYS TO VICTORY

To win, the Colts must ...

1 Be hard on Rashard. If they can't stop Mendenhall, that will slow Freeney and Mathis and create more time for Roethlisberger to pick on their corners.

2 Have Addai be adept. Because of the way their offense is built around Manning, RB Joseph Addai is not accustomed to being a feature part of the offense.

3 Gird on third. The defense is having a difficult time getting off the field on third down, allowing a conversion rate of 48.1 percent (13 of 27).

To win, the Steelers must ...

1 Disrupt the rhythm. So much of the Colts' passing game is predicated on timing routes with receivers, something Collins is still trying to develop.

2 Table Garcon. He is the Colts prime deep threat who usually lines on the right side of their offense -- against either Bryant McFadden or William Gay.

3 Like Mike. Teams have been picking on Colts CB Jacob Lacey, just as the Steelers picked on Seattle's Brandon Browner with Wallace.

[Palmetto Steel]

Key matchups

IKE TAYLOR vs. REGGIE WAYNE

Starting tonight, the Steelers play two straight games against teams that feature all-star wide receivers. Next week in Houston, it will be Andre Johnson. This evening in Indianapolis, it's Reggie Wayne, who ranked second in the NFL last year with 111 catches and 1,355 receiving yards. The man responsible for defending those two elite wideouts will be Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor.

Now in his ninth season with the Steelers -- seven of them as a starter --- Taylor's never been to the Pro Bowl. But he's done an admirable job over the years guarding Pro Bowl-caliber receivers.

Even though Taylor is listed as the Steelers' right side corner, he'll typically shadow an opponent's No. 1 receiver wherever he lines up. That will be the case again tonight, although Wayne almost always lines up on the left side of the Colts' offensive formation.

In the Colts' first two games, Kerry Collins has targeted Wayne a team-high 19 times. Wayne leads the Colts with 11 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown. In the Steelers' first two games, opposing QBs have thrown in Taylor's director just seven times. All he's allowed so far has been a 9-yard catch by Seattle's Mike Williams.

ANTONIO BROWN vs. COLTS' COVERAGE TEAMS

It didn't take long for the Colts to experience a special teams breakdown. On their opening kickoff of the 2011 season, they allowed Houston's Danieal Manning to return it 46 yards. In the second quarter, Jacoby Jones returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown in the Texans' 34-7 win. Last week when the Colts lost to the Browns, Joshua Cribbs set up two TDs with a 52-yard kickoff return and a 43-yard punt return.

No wonder Antonio Brown, a wide receiver who returns kickoffs and punts, likes his chances today. He's well aware that the Colts rank 31st in covering kickoffs (an average of 42 yards per return). He's also well aware that the Colts also rank 31st in covering punts (28.6 yards per return).

Brown has already had returns of 41 yards on a kickoff and punt this season. The first time he touched the ball as a rookie last year was on the opening kickoff in Nashville. He returned it 89 yards for a TD that ignited the Steelers to a 19-11 win over the Titans.

When he played college football at Central Michigan, Brown was twice named Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. He'd love to do something special tonight against the Colts.

[Palmetto Steel]

Key matchups

IKE TAYLOR vs. REGGIE WAYNE

Starting tonight, the Steelers play two straight games against teams that feature all-star wide receivers. Next week in Houston, it will be Andre Johnson. This evening in Indianapolis, it's Reggie Wayne, who ranked second in the NFL last year with 111 catches and 1,355 receiving yards. The man responsible for defending those two elite wideouts will be Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor.

Now in his ninth season with the Steelers -- seven of them as a starter --- Taylor's never been to the Pro Bowl. But he's done an admirable job over the years guarding Pro Bowl-caliber receivers.

Even though Taylor is listed as the Steelers' right side corner, he'll typically shadow an opponent's No. 1 receiver wherever he lines up. That will be the case again tonight, although Wayne almost always lines up on the left side of the Colts' offensive formation.

In the Colts' first two games, Kerry Collins has targeted Wayne a team-high 19 times. Wayne leads the Colts with 11 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown. In the Steelers' first two games, opposing QBs have thrown in Taylor's director just seven times. All he's allowed so far has been a 9-yard catch by Seattle's Mike Williams.

ANTONIO BROWN vs. COLTS' COVERAGE TEAMS

It didn't take long for the Colts to experience a special teams breakdown. On their opening kickoff of the 2011 season, they allowed Houston's Danieal Manning to return it 46 yards. In the second quarter, Jacoby Jones returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown in the Texans' 34-7 win. Last week when the Colts lost to the Browns, Joshua Cribbs set up two TDs with a 52-yard kickoff return and a 43-yard punt return.

No wonder Antonio Brown, a wide receiver who returns kickoffs and punts, likes his chances today. He's well aware that the Colts rank 31st in covering kickoffs (an average of 42 yards per return). He's also well aware that the Colts also rank 31st in covering punts (28.6 yards per return).

Brown has already had returns of 41 yards on a kickoff and punt this season. The first time he touched the ball as a rookie last year was on the opening kickoff in Nashville. He returned it 89 yards for a TD that ignited the Steelers to a 19-11 win over the Titans.

When he played college football at Central Michigan, Brown was twice named Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. He'd love to do something special tonight against the Colts.

[Palmetto Steel]

... Anybody cookin' anything good for the game today?

I'm doing some teryaki pork spare ribs, corn on the cobb, and broccoli & cheese... First "home made" meal in my new house...

[BlackNGoldRules]

... Anybody cookin' anything good for the game today?

I'm doing some teryaki pork spare ribs, corn on the cobb, and broccoli & cheese... First "home made" meal in my new house...

I'm on my way down right now! Save some for me!

[Palmetto Steel]

I'm on my way down right now! Save some for me!

... Me casa, su casa... If you're not here by kickoff, you'll have to let yourself in the door....

[War Machine]

Just got some pizza here.

In the mean time, I'm ready for this game, dammit. It should be interesting to see what transpires. No Manning on the field but possibly in a box throwing info out to his team. If that happens, how will Kerry Collins respond to an extra voice in his head?

This game doesn't have an odd feeling, but I won't count chickens until they're hatched.

[Beezy]

Headed to the bar again for this. Probably won't hear much from me. Ill be rooting none the less.