San Diego Union-Tribune
December 7, 2012
THREE SAN DIEGO KEYS
1. Steel yourself. Stepping into Heinz Field in frigid December can have one of two effects on visiting teams – inspiration or intimidation – but what better way to find out if ythe all-but-eliminated Chargers will play with desperate abandon or resignation? The latter will get you embarrassed in Pittsburgh, where the Chargers already are 0-14 in regular-season games and haven’t won since linebacker Dennis Gibson’s memorable defensive play ended the AFC Championship Game of 1995, sending the Bolts to their only Super Bowl.
2 Hold me, squeeze me. That is, the Chargers need to get a solid grip on Roethlisberger when they’re on defense and the football when on offense. Just one or two hands aren’t going to bring down the towering Roethlisberger, who’s still highly elusive and now working behind a better offensive line than years past, so the Chargers will have to get to him with multiple defenders. Something the Chargers have done better than a vast majority of other teams, incidentally, is force and recover fumbles.
3. Rivers reversal. It’s too darn obvious, but even behind an o-line that could get Philip Rivers brutalized Sunday, the quarterback has to be singularly great in both halves of the game and turn that game-ending interception into a game-winning touchdown. In Pittsburgh. Oy.
CHARGERS TO WATCH
1. Norv Turner. If he’s looking to go out with a bang, a good start for the lame-duck head coach would be to manage a major upset in Pittsburgh. To do so, he may have to go all Fantasia on the Steelers, using every gadget and gimmick and bit of genius in his playbook, which is where you'll find his very best work.
2. Ryan Mathews. If the Chargers have any chance at all, somebody has to keep the Steelers from being in position to intercept the shotgun snaps from center to Rivers, and we’re not referring to Mathews’ pass-blocking skills. Mathews would have to have the game of his otherwise disappointing professional life, though, because the Steelers are among the NFL's best run defenses.
3. Floyd/Alexander/Gates. Pittsburgh actually has the No. 1-rated defense in passing yardage allowed, but therein may also be a possible weakness to be exploited. The Steeler secondary is playing for the first time in 135 games without cornerback Ike Taylor. Though still coming back from a leg injury, seven-time Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu will play Sunday, but he and corner Keenan Lewis will be back there with youngsters Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown.
FOE FACTS
The coach: Mike Tomlin.
Record with Steelers: 62-30.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
Thirty-four years old when he became only the third head coach hired by the Steelers since 1969, Tomlin also was the youngest (35) ever to guide an NFL team to the Super Bowl, which Pittsburgh won that season of 2007. Tomlin’s Steelers are in position to reach the postseason for the fifth time in his six seasons in charge.
Tomlin’s winning percentage of 67.3 is the highest among active NFL head coaches.
The hallmark of Tomlin’s teams – and the side of the ball he’s coached from the time he entered the NFL as an assistant with Tampa Bay, where he won his first Super Bowl ring with a triumph over the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium – is defense. As a player, though, he was a wide receiver at William and Mary.
THE PLAYMAKERS
Ben Roethlisberger, QB
Take the original “Big Ben” out of the picture of Parliament from the River Thames side andyou’d have a pretty good idea of what the Steelers looked like without their “Big Ben,” the quarterback who’s missed the last three games with injuries and watched the Steelers almost throw away their season. In seven regular-season games against San Diego, Roethlisberger has completed 71.8 percent (94 of 131) of his passes, but only three went for touchdowns and two were intercepted.
Jonathan Dwyer, RB
Once projected as a first-round pick, Dwyer slipped all the way to the sixth round in 2010, the same year the Chargers traded up to take Ryan Mathews. Dwyer's had a couple 100-yard games this season, and with the Steelers wanting to protect Roethlisberger's ribs, expect him to get more carries and be targeted for passes in Todd Haley’s dink-and-dunk offense.
Lawrence Timmons, LB
It’s hard to settle on two or three difference-makers in the league-leading Pittsburgh defense, let alone one, but Timmons has been particularly problematic for opposing quarterbacks. He’s intercepted three passes this season, returning one for a 53-yard touchdown.
1. Steel yourself. Stepping into Heinz Field in frigid December can have one of two effects on visiting teams – inspiration or intimidation – but what better way to find out if ythe all-but-eliminated Chargers will play with desperate abandon or resignation? The latter will get you embarrassed in Pittsburgh, where the Chargers already are 0-14 in regular-season games and haven’t won since linebacker Dennis Gibson’s memorable defensive play ended the AFC Championship Game of 1995, sending the Bolts to their only Super Bowl.
2 Hold me, squeeze me. That is, the Chargers need to get a solid grip on Roethlisberger when they’re on defense and the football when on offense. Just one or two hands aren’t going to bring down the towering Roethlisberger, who’s still highly elusive and now working behind a better offensive line than years past, so the Chargers will have to get to him with multiple defenders. Something the Chargers have done better than a vast majority of other teams, incidentally, is force and recover fumbles.
3. Rivers reversal. It’s too darn obvious, but even behind an o-line that could get Philip Rivers brutalized Sunday, the quarterback has to be singularly great in both halves of the game and turn that game-ending interception into a game-winning touchdown. In Pittsburgh. Oy.
CHARGERS TO WATCH
1. Norv Turner. If he’s looking to go out with a bang, a good start for the lame-duck head coach would be to manage a major upset in Pittsburgh. To do so, he may have to go all Fantasia on the Steelers, using every gadget and gimmick and bit of genius in his playbook, which is where you'll find his very best work.
2. Ryan Mathews. If the Chargers have any chance at all, somebody has to keep the Steelers from being in position to intercept the shotgun snaps from center to Rivers, and we’re not referring to Mathews’ pass-blocking skills. Mathews would have to have the game of his otherwise disappointing professional life, though, because the Steelers are among the NFL's best run defenses.
3. Floyd/Alexander/Gates. Pittsburgh actually has the No. 1-rated defense in passing yardage allowed, but therein may also be a possible weakness to be exploited. The Steeler secondary is playing for the first time in 135 games without cornerback Ike Taylor. Though still coming back from a leg injury, seven-time Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu will play Sunday, but he and corner Keenan Lewis will be back there with youngsters Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown.
FOE FACTS
The coach: Mike Tomlin.
Record with Steelers: 62-30.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
Thirty-four years old when he became only the third head coach hired by the Steelers since 1969, Tomlin also was the youngest (35) ever to guide an NFL team to the Super Bowl, which Pittsburgh won that season of 2007. Tomlin’s Steelers are in position to reach the postseason for the fifth time in his six seasons in charge.
Tomlin’s winning percentage of 67.3 is the highest among active NFL head coaches.
The hallmark of Tomlin’s teams – and the side of the ball he’s coached from the time he entered the NFL as an assistant with Tampa Bay, where he won his first Super Bowl ring with a triumph over the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium – is defense. As a player, though, he was a wide receiver at William and Mary.
THE PLAYMAKERS
Ben Roethlisberger, QB
Take the original “Big Ben” out of the picture of Parliament from the River Thames side andyou’d have a pretty good idea of what the Steelers looked like without their “Big Ben,” the quarterback who’s missed the last three games with injuries and watched the Steelers almost throw away their season. In seven regular-season games against San Diego, Roethlisberger has completed 71.8 percent (94 of 131) of his passes, but only three went for touchdowns and two were intercepted.
Jonathan Dwyer, RB
Once projected as a first-round pick, Dwyer slipped all the way to the sixth round in 2010, the same year the Chargers traded up to take Ryan Mathews. Dwyer's had a couple 100-yard games this season, and with the Steelers wanting to protect Roethlisberger's ribs, expect him to get more carries and be targeted for passes in Todd Haley’s dink-and-dunk offense.
Lawrence Timmons, LB
It’s hard to settle on two or three difference-makers in the league-leading Pittsburgh defense, let alone one, but Timmons has been particularly problematic for opposing quarterbacks. He’s intercepted three passes this season, returning one for a 53-yard touchdown.
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