Jacksonville Jaguars v. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Final Countdown Game Preview!

It's Friday, less than 24 hours before game day.  The Final Countdown. I can't put into words the excitement I'm feeling as we get closer and closer to the game.  It's a good thing that the team has far more composure than I do, otherwise we'd be in trouble.  

So with that emotion aside, let's dive into some pre-game scouting, figure out what we've got going on, and hopefully get an idea of how the game will play out.  

Injuries:
I always like to start with who's playing and who's not, mainly because it's something concrete in an otherwise unpredictable process.  For the Jaguars, it's pretty simple.  Backup Running Back LaBrandon Toefield did not practice all week with an ankle injury, and considering that he's not likely to even be activated for the game Saturday, it's pretty irrelevant.  Of course, as I've previously addressed, Mike Peterson will be out as well.

For the Steelers, it gets a little more interesting.  Imagine my surprise this morning to stumble across this :

Can you imagine playing the Steelers without Troy?  He's the only player on defense that I absolutely worry can stop our running game.  This will bear an extra close (read obsessive refreshing) watching of the Injury report later this afternoon.  There's one word that I think describes the Steelers and that's a near literal use of the word Decimated.  They've been reduced by a factor of nearly ten through injuries over the last few weeks.  There has to be a sense of panic in Heinz field or at least the question of "why us?".  

Of course, I'd never relish the idea of beating a team simply because of their injury situation, but it certainly helps make it seem all the more possible.

Key Match-ups:

Center Brad Meester v. Nose Tackle Casey Hampton: The Jaguars don't often face a 3-4 defense,  and while they did beat both the Steelers and the Chargers in the regular season, it does require some adjustments by the offensive line to make the blocks for our running game.  It all starts in the Center where Brad Meester will go head to head against a Nose Tackle in Casey Hampton.  The battle here will decide how effective the Steelers Linebackers will be, because if Meester dominates Hampton by himself, it frees the guards up enough to stop the linebackers, particularly in the wacky blitz packages that they love to use.  If Meester requires help, look for some dangerous penetration by the linebackers.  Like any physical game, it all starts in the trenches.

Running Back Fred Taylor v. Outside Linebacker James Harrison: Fred Taylor punked the Steelers last time with one hell of a fantastic game.  He was simply unstoppable even then they put 8 and 9 guys into the box.  Stopping the Jaguars running game this week will be decided by the Linebackers, particularly OLB James Harrison.  Will Harrison shed the blocks and sniff out the cut-back lanes to stuff Taylor, or will the Jags offensive line make just enough of a seam for Fred to blast by Harrison and deep into the secondary?  This battle will only get better for the Jaguars  as the game progresses because the Jaguars offensive line can wear out the Steelers defense, particularly on the Left Side, and expose them with fresh legs at running back.  This is where the split situation for the Jaguars running game really pays off.

Defensive Tackle John Henderson v. Left Guard Alan Faneca: When in doubt, as I always say, run behind your best guy.  The Steelers have problems on their running attack, but they've still got a fantastic guard in Alan Faneca.  No matter who carries the ball, I'd imagine they'd try and get him behind a Faneca block.  Of course, that means running right at John Henderson, who will be challenged yet again to prove he's still a dominant defensive tackle.  If John can get penetration against Faneca, you can almost count on the elimination of the Steelers running game.  Collapsing the Pocket up the middle is always a good way to disrupt the passing game as well, but with Ben's mobility and the use of Screen Passes could be exploited as well.  

Strategy and Game Plan:

When the Jaguars have the ball: It really doesn't get any simpler than this for the Jaguars.  Run the Ball and convert 3rd down.   Nothing fancy is required.  We don't need trick plays or big passes, just the usual dose of running the ball with efficient passing.  Very Simple.  We know the Jaguars can run against 8 and 9 Steelers in the Box and that David Garrard can get away from the Blitz.  It's just a matter of dominating the Time of Possession, making critical conversions (in this game, every 3rd down is a matter of life and death), and not making mistakes.  In other words, we have to do exactly what we've done all season long.  Perfect.

I found a fantastic site called Throwing into Traffic that did a very interesting "analysis" of the Jaguars.  Here's their description of the Jaguars Offense:

I couldn't put it any better.  Fantastic.

When The Steelers have the Ball: Don't let the Steelers offensive tradition fool you, these are not your grandfather's Steelers.  Where you'd expect to see them run the ball and pound away, you'll see lots and lots of passing, 30-40 times I'd bet.  The Game is in the hands of Big Ben, and he'll be throwing a lot.  Of course, that means he's vulnerable to getting pounded (For the First Time the David Carr award goes to someone not named David Carr, as Ben is the most Sacked QB in the League).  Ben is mobile enough to escape most pressure and has the vision to find the open receiver.  Tight End Heath Miller will be a big target, as Ben tries to exploit the matchup with Safety Sammy Knight.

Fun Fact:

The Steelers have only 38 First Downs in the last three games with the Jaguars,  an average of less than 13 per game.  

Peter King Kiss of Death: Uh Oh:

What do the Steelers Think?:

First, credit where credit is due, Behind the Steel Curtain is a wonderful resource for the Steelers Fans out there.  They know their stuff and they bleed black and gold, so if you're into that sort of thing, check them out.  I'm gonna give you an idea of where their heads are right now as we build up to the game:

What do I think:

I think the Jaguars are going to march into Heinz Field and put together an efficient and assertive win over the Steelers.  I think that Pittsburgh is basically a wounded beast that will have significant trouble doing the basic fundamentals of running the ball and stopping the run.  The Jaguars are in effect 100% healthy on the offensive side of the ball with plenty of depth and fresh legs.  The Steelers are bleeding on defense and with the possibility that Troy misses the game only makes it worse.

Most important for the Jaguars is that they win by playing absolutely sound "Jaguars Football", to set a tone for the next round of the playoffs.  This is the game where we must see the "three big plays" that I always talk about.  The idea that a perfect game requires the offense, defense, and special teams to each go out of their way to make one critical play.  An interception during a dangerous Steelers Drive, a coffin corner punt or blocked punt on special teams, a long TD pass or Run early in the game.  Something that gives each phase of the game something to hang their hat on.  We've come close to playing the "complete game", where we have long time eating drives, but I'm still holding out for that perfectly played and executed game where we dominate and make all the critical plays.  I'd like the game on Saturday to be boring and uneventful, as we grind, grind, grind our way to a game with New England.

And that's what I think.

Adventures in Live-Blogging:

As Usual, I'll be live blogging the game.  I insist that you stop by and join in on the fun.

I'll be back in a few hours with the Injury Update, hopefully we get lots of good news.

-Chris