Do You Know Your Enemy: Week 4 Pittsburgh Steelers

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Texans Tribune (TT):Coming off of a loss in last year’s Super Bowl the Steelers were blown out by Baltimore, then blew out Seattle and squeaked by the Colts. Are Steelers fans worried at all about the start to the season?

Blitzburgh Blog (BB): The reaction to the Steelers start has been mixed. Nobody in Pittsburgh is really sure what to think of this time so far. On paper, the Steelers are an elite team but they have looked mostly terrible for 2/3 of the season so far. Personally, I'm very concerned. I was nervous about the whole “Super Bowl loser jinx” to begin with and I've seen nothing so far to make me feel any better.

TT: Ben Roethlisberger has taken some lumps this season behind a young offensive line. What do the Steelers need to do to keep Ben upright and healthy for the remainder of the season?

BB: The only way for the Steelers to really fix the line at this point is to build a time machine and go back to late summer. The Steelers had penciled in Max Starks at LT and Willie Colon at RT. Starks was released after he showed up to camp nearly 400 pounds and Colon suffered a season ending injury against Baltimore during the first game. Now three of our “new” offensive lineman are hurt. Big Ben is going to miss some games this year. It is only a matter of time.

TT: Troy Polamalu is the reigning defensive player of the year in the NFL. He plays all over the field and makes plays wherever he is. What makes Polamalu so good in the Steelers defensive scheme?

BB: Polamalu would thrive in a number of different defensive schemes, but the reason he is so magnificent for the Steelers is trust. Dick LeBeau trusts Polamalu's instincts and allows him to pretty much freelance out there. On most plays, he's a wild card and is allowed to do whatever he wants. I've watched football for a long time and haven't seen anybody with instincts like Polamalu.

TT: The Saints just exploited the new look Texans defense for 40 points mostly through the air behind Drew Brees. With the receivers the Steelers have, could we see the Steelers with a pass heavy game plan as well?

BB: The Steelers are in a strange position right now with their offensive strategy. The team has 5 solid wide receivers and a great TE in Heath Miller as well. But with the offensive line issues, the Steelers haven't been able to consistently protect Roethlisberger long enough to throw the ball as often as they'd probably like. The running game has been mostly ineffective too. Basically, the team's plan is to snap the ball to Roethlisberger, have him run for his life and wait for one of the receivers to get open. I wish I was kidding.

TT: The Steelers have been one of the top teams in the AFC the past few years. The Texans are striving to become that. Looking from the outside in, do you think this Texans team has what it takes to make the step into the upper echelon of the AFC?

BB: I must have a soft spot for the Texans because I've talked them up before every season each of the last 3 or 4 years. They have an offense that is one of the most explosive in the game and have always seemed like they were just a couple of players on defense away from making some noise. I'm obviously a big fan of the 3-4 defense and I think that was a great step for the Texans to take. With Manning's injury, I really think this is going to be Houston's year. I'm certainly pulling for you guys.

TT: Who is the one guy on the Texans that you wish played for the Steelers?

BB: I think Andre Johnson is the best receiver in football and it's not even close, but he's too obvious of a pick. I'll go with reserve WR Bryant Johnson because I have a ton of good memories from his days at Penn State.

TT: Alright, prediction for Week 4?

BB: I think Houston is going to pull this one off. I don't have a lot of faith in the Steelers on either side of the ball right now. The Texans offense has the weapons to spread out the Steelers defense and a running attack good enough to prevent guys like James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley from pinning their ears back and blitzing every down. I'd expect the Texans to knock Big Ben around enough to keep the Steelers out of sync. Pittsburgh has too many issues right now to beat a time of Houston's caliber. Houston 24 Pittsburgh 20