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Thursday Night Preview: Steelers at Rams

It’s been a short and disappointing week for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams going into Thursday’s game at the Dome.

Pittsburgh lost 29-22 last week to the Jaguars in the snow at Heinz Field. That’s right. A team built for rough weather lost to a Florida team, at home, in the snow. The Jaguars are good, and would be a division winner if they played in the AFC North or West. But boy, that must have been embarrassing for Roethlisberger and the boys.

Where Pitt’s loss was uncharacteristic — although not necessarily surprising — everybody knew the Rams’ 33-14 shellacking at the Packers’ hands was coming, and the Rams did not disappoint. Like always, they folded in the second half as the Packers put up unsightly numbers in the last 45 minutes or so.

This is not to say, however, that the Steelers really share any similarities with the Rams. The Rams are playing for draft picks. The Steelers are fighting to cement their position as the last division winner. Two straight losses have left them tied with the Cleveland Browns for first in the North, hanging on to the lead only by virtue of head-to-head records.

On paper, this looks like an easy win for the Steelers, one that should help finally catapult them into the playoffs. However, if the Steel men aren’t careful, the Rams could easily squeak out of this one with a win.

How could a 3-11 team possibly defeat a 9-5 team? There are 39 ways this could happen, and they are all named Steven Jackson. The Steelers have been decimated by rushers in the recent past, with Thomas Jones of the Jets putting up 117 yards on 30 carries, and the tandem of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor (who some feel deserved a Pro Bowl berth) racking up more than 200 last week. S-Jax, who ran roughshod over the Packers last week for 143 yards, should have a lot of fun on Thursday. His effort wasn’t enough against Favre and the Pack, but he could just pull it off against Pittsburgh.

In addition, newly healed QB Marc Bulger (who really shouldn’t be starting any more games this year) hails from Pittsburgh and will surely be fired up to play against his hometown team. In fact, an article in the Dispatch last week suggested that this game was the main reason Bulger was so eager to return to the lineup following his concussion. He would like to improve his 1-0 record against his childhood team, and, as long as he doesn’t hurt his head again, he just might be able to pull it off. Torry Holt is coming off a Pro Bowl selection. All in all, the Rams should be fired up for this game despite the awful direction this season has taken.

Defensively, the Rams will face quite a challenge from Pro Bowlers Willie Parker and Ben Roethlisberger. However, the Steelers’ passing game has been mediocre at best this season, ranked 26th in the league. The Rams’ focus on Thursday should be similar to the Steelers’ focus: stop the running game. If the linebackers can effectively contain Parker, the Rams will have a very good chance of coming out of this with a win.

The single biggest roadblock in this game, one that will cost the Rams their fourth victory, will be the same nemesis that has plagued the team all season long: the second half. It doesn’t take a Nostradamus to predict the course this game will take. The Rams will play hard and make things tough for the Steelers through the first 30 minutes, then dissolve as soon as they come out of the locker room for the second half. It has happened every single week, and there is no reason to believe it will suddenly change this time around.

This week’s score prediction is courtesy of my good friend Musgrave, who told me the other day, “Life is good. If you aren’t the Rams.” Truer words have never been spoken.

Pittsburgh 28, St. Louis 23

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Check out our opposition at The Steel Tradition as Mike Boyko scouts the Rams and Steven Jackson. He agrees that this will be a tough game for the Steelers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 6:40 pm and is filed under stlouisramx.com, Willie Parker, ben roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers, 2007 NFL Season, Edward Jones Dome, Running Back, Most Valuable Network, Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams, Professional Sports, National Football League, Marc Bulger, NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.