The Oakland Raiders visited the Pittsburgh Steelers in hopes of repeating their upset victory of last season. They not only lost but couldn't come close to their performance of 2009 at Heinz Field.
The Steelers defense kept the Raiders from doing what they do best, running the ball. Through penalties the Steelers kept giving the Raiders chances to take over the game, but the Raiders offense could only manufacture 3 points.
The Raiders defense initially showed up to play, keeping the Steelers off the board early. But you can't expect your defense to carry you on the road in a hostile environment against a championship caliber team. Ask D-fensive tackle Richard Seymour. Seymour, a main cog in the Raiders defense, was ejected from the game just before halftime. The cause; smushing a hand through the facemask of Steelers QB Ben Rothlisberger's after the play. After throwing a touchdown, Big Ben made some kind of remark that didn't sit well with Seymour. It Was Ugly.
My analysis is that the Raiders were outcoached early and often. While the Steelers pulled out a few trick plays and such to slow down and soften the Oakland defense, the Raiders added nothing to their offensive scheme; no screens, no reverses, no nothing. Oh, maybe I missed one wildcat formation that was forgettable.
QB Bruce Gradkowski should have replaced Jason Campbell earlier as Campbell was rattled and reverted back to his statue-like pocket presence. The team simply had nobody to rally around. Coaches weren't coaching, leaders weren't leading and the opposition was given enough time to reload, take aim and fire at will. It Was Ugly.
Leadership: The ability to keep your head about you when everyone else is losing theirs.
"IF" by Rudyard KiplingFinal Score
Raiders 3
Steelers 35
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