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Related: About this forumMore on the Steelers/Broncos Game
From the AP and San Francisco Chronicle
" Denver coach John) Fox ... made adjustments all game long. He changed things when the Steelers stacked the line of scrimmage early, took away the middle of the field when Ben Roethlisberger had success there in two early field-goal drives, and continually changed up his pass rushes and coverage looks."
SNIP
"And that first (overtime) play, the long strike to Thomas over the middle, was set up by Fox, who acknowledged he was 'showing a tendency to run on 1st-and-10 all game.'"
The play-action in OT was a great call -- drew the safties in leaving Thomas in man coverage. Fox and OC McCoy set it up beautifully.
"Like most teams early, Pittsburgh had no answer for the plays on which Tebow lines up in the shotgun formation and looks as if he is going to hand the ball to a running back going right. Tebow can give him the ball, pull it back and run himself to the left, or step back and throw to a receiver in single coverage downfield."
"As Raiders linebacker Aaron Curry said after the Broncos ran for 299 yards in a Nov. 6 win in Oakland, 'That's a lot to react to.'"
Earlier in the week John Elway suggested Tebow not be so timid about passing the ball. On Sunday, Tebow's passer rating of 125.6 was the highest in Broncos postseason history.
LINK: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/08/SPDJ1MMHHC.DTL
LINK: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/01/08/sports/s171907S26.DTL
Pittsburgh wins that game in regulation with a healthier contingent of players. We acknowledge the fine coaching and play-calling by Fox & Company and the play of Tim Tebow who made the passes he needed to make.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)Actually, they're right, Fox outcoached them...and all during the week they were playing mind games with the Steelers...all those leaks about Teblow letting go, the leaks about Brady Quinn taking just as many snaps in practice...
fishwax
(29,146 posts)Don't get me wrong, I said before the game that the Steelers health issues would help the Broncos stay close for a while. I was wrong, of course, since the Broncos didn't only stay close but outplayed the Steelers for most of the game.
That said, though, all this talk about how the Steelers were banged up overlooks the extent to which the Broncos were also hampered by injuries. Their best offensive lineman, Chris Kuper was out after breaking his leg against Kansas City. Starting fullback Spencer Larsen was also out after an injury against KC. On defense, captain Brian Dawkins missed another game, forcing the Broncos to start two rookies at safety. They also lost the team's leading receiver in the second quarter.
So, yeah, a healthier contingent of Steelers might have helped them win in regulation. But, then, a healthier contingent of players might have helped the Broncos win in regulation, too.
RockaFowler
(7,429 posts)But if the Broncos QB was as banged up as Rapelesburger was, the score would not have been close
fishwax
(29,146 posts)if Roethlesberger had been healthy the score wouldn't have been close. (Especially if the Broncos defense was also healthy.)
But, yeah, if Tebow's mobility is limited the way R's was, he's got pretty much no value.