Ill be the first to disagree with all of you i guess lol.
Teams off bye week last week were 1-4 with the only team winning was Baltimore. I think momentum plays a huge part in the bye week theory and Arizona just got thumped by Minnesota 34-10 so there couldnt have been good feelings that off week.
On the other side the Steelers ride a two game winning streak into the game even though it was a lethargic win last week after jumping out 17-0 and going thru the motions in the second half. All the people saying they are getting slower must not realize they have still rank as the 6th best defense in the NFL right now and have been banged up. They're coming off impressive outings against Tenn and Jax and seem to be improving every week.
This Steeler team is a veteran group and know they are going to Arizona to play a football game and not a vacation. They wont even get into Arizona until friday so if you consider one day a vacation then so be it. Last but not least they have New England and Baltimore at Heinz the following two weeks so they know this is a must win game. I just dont see a letdown here.
Yes Im a steeler fan but I also dont gamble with my heart. I just feel this is a game they come out on all cylinders against a bad Zona team that still hasnt seemed to figure out their QB problems.
Good Luck with whatever way you go in this game.
Thanks for the discussion! Getting a Steelers perspective always helps too.
I know many pro athletes in all sports, I covered it for 14 years and I can tell you they will all tell you they get caught looking ahead in different spots during the season. Veteran teams will tell you they pace themselves over the course of the regular season, saving themselves for big games or rivalry games. They tell you this sort of thing off the record many times during the regular season grind.
I truly believe the line is low due to the spot the Steelers are in. The line did open at 4 at many places and 76% on the consensus sites are on Pitt. If they books really thought they needed to set the line higher to get Pitt money without getting hosed they would have. This line is set low for a reason in my opinion.
As for teams off their bye weeks, it varies week to week. I follow this trend religiously but you just cant get a handle on it, in both the NFL and CFB. It changes constantly so I wont use that angle. I do feel that a team like AZ needed the bye week due to their QB not having the time he needed to get familiar with the Cards offense. Extra time like this should help Kolb tremendously in my eyes.
Over the years, the Cards play so tough at home, that is another angle to watch for this team. When they were horrible.....down and out 10 years ago they always brought it hard at home, no matter who the opponent. Just my 2 cents.
I appreciate the Steelers viewpoint, thanks for posting. I do agree with you that the Cards aren't anything to sniff at and are off a bad loss in Minnny but that is why they play the games and we all know how when you least expect a team to win the in the NFL, they do the exact opposite.
Maybe the Steelers win by 1 and then we are all happy. GL
