Steelers have unfinished business with Pats
By Pat Kirwan
Special to NFL.com
Pat Kirwan, an experienced coach and NFL front office executive, joined NFL.com this season. From 1989 to 1997, Kirwan held several positions with the New York Jets, including defensive assistant coach, assistant pro personnel director and director of player administration. He has managed the salary cap, negotiated player contracts and trades, and evaluated pro and college player personnel. Prior to joining the Jets, Pat was a scout for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals as well as the offensive coordinator at Hofstra University for six years. He most recently wrote for CNNSi.
(Sept. 6, 2002) -- Two of last year's best AFC teams kick off the Monday Night Football schedule.
The New England Patriots surprised everyone by getting to the Super Bowl last year, while the Pittsburgh Steelers surprised just about everyone by not getting there. Of course, the Patriots derailed the Steelers' plan by knocking them off in the AFC Championship Game even though Pittsburgh outplayed them in many ways. But the Steelers didn't get it done on special teams, which brought about a coaching change.
Both teams have their sights set on San Diego at the end of the season and the loser of this game may have to deal with tie-breaker issues down the road. Is it a big game? You bet it is!
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Steelers have unfinished business
The Patriots want to open Gillette Stadium with a bang, which can only happen if Tom Brady and the New England offense pick up where they left off, charging down the field against the St. Louis Rams to win the world championship with seconds left to play. Brady has all the ingredients to become a great quarterback, but has never had to deal with an entire offseason of defensive coordinators preparing for him. Last year, the offseason focus of every opponent was Drew Bledsoe.
New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis will give Brady some simple yet effective options in the passing game to move the ball. With two quality tight ends in rookie Daniel Graham and free agent Christian Fauria, Weis can build the 'bunch' package he used so successfully when he was at the New York Jets. Last winter, one of the New England coaches told me the Pats had figured out the Steelers blitz package in the 3-4 defense. If that's true and the pass protection holds up, the Patriots will find a way to score some points against one of the league's best defenses.
Running back Antowain Smith didn't endure himself to the Patriots brass for his lack of conditioning this offseason, but even if he had trained like he should have, it wouldn't show against this group of Steelers. The true test in this matchup will be when the Patriots fall behind and the Steelers come looking for Brady when they know he has to pass. On pure pass situations, look right at linebacker Jason Gildon, who led the Steelers with 12 sacks last year.
Everyone returns on the Steel Curtain defense except Earl Holmes, who was replaced by the Jets leading tackler from 2001, James Farrior. Pittsburgh's first defense looked sharp in the last two preseason games in limited action and according to one player, "We've been waiting for this game since the moment the championship game ended. We will be ready."
Will Adam Vinatieri again be a difference-maker for the Patriots?
The big advantage for the Patriots comes when the Steelers offense takes the field for the first time. It will be the first real action since New England's Super Bowl victory; it will be loud and could be a distraction for Kordell Stewart. Stewart seems to have matured over the past year or so, and should be able to overcome the noise when he's at the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh was the No. 1 rushing team in the NFL last year and the Patriots defense was 19th against the run. That sounds like a mismatch, but don't ever underestimate Bill Belichick when he has extra time to prepare for an opponent.
Pittsburgh will have to throw the ball with a degree of success to come out with a win. The Steelers wide receivers came into their own last year and that should continue in 2002. Hines Ward is coming off an emergency appendectomy but from all indications, he should play. If he is limited, then the Antwaan Randle El show begins. He could resemble the Patriots' Troy Brown very shortly. If he does, the Steelers will be very dangerous on offense.
The matchup that will prompt me to get in my car and drive to Foxboro is Pittsburgh wide receiver Plaxico Burress against New England cornerback Ty Law. Burress needs to become the consistent big play receiver he is capable of being and a great performance against a premiere corner on opening night is just what he needs. I have a suspicion Plaxico will take the next step in his development Monday night.
I know Belichick well enough to tell you he will throw some defensive schemes at the Steelers early and often in hopes of confusing them and creating some uncertainty. As one rival head coach said to me this summer, "We're going to try and do some of that Belichick stuff just to get the reaction on the other sideline that our offense went through last year."
The Patriots won the battle on special teams last year, and coach Brad Seely again will have them ready to create a competitive edge. Nothing helps 'teams' more than a rock solid kicker and the Pats have one in Adam Vinatieri, who was 6 for 7 in the playoffs last year. If the special teams can score or set up an easy touchdown for either team, that could very well be the margin of victory.
So what do I think will happen? The Patriots will have to play better to beat the Steelers this time, which they are capable of doing. But I like the Steelers coming in with a chip on their shoulder about last year and what they like to call 'unfinished business.'
We talked about Belichick's defensive genius but I haven't forgotten that Bill Cowher knows a few things about defense himself and has been thinking about Mr. Brady for a very long time. Hard to pick against the Super Bowl champs on Monday night at home in the first game since they won it all but I will this time.