Steelers at Bears Line

Written by Jordan Haimowitz

The Steelers won an overtime defensive battle against the Tennessee Titans in what was the NFL opener back two Thursday’s ago. Big Ben looked solid in his 2009 debut throwing for 363 yards and one although he did have two interceptions. The running game for Pittsburgh is what will be in question going into this weekends game. usually, it is the passing game that has trouble getting into a flow as the Steelers are known to be a hardcore running team. Willie Parker was horrible rushing 13 times for 19 yards against Tennessee while rookie Rashard Mendenhall did absolutely nothing to state his case as an up and coming star. Both Santanio Holmes and Hines Ward had monster days, Holmes with 131 yards receiving and a touchdown while Ward had 101 yards catching and contributed some devastating blocks like he always does. The victory however was bitter sweet as they lost their best defensive player and one of the leagues top overall athletes in Safety Troy Polamalu indefinitely due to a Knee injury. With that said Pittsburgh’s defense, ran by one of the best defensive coordinators in the game, veteran Dick LeBeau, have plenty of talent to make up for that loss and are freakishly aggressive at all times. Expect Head Coach Mike Tomlin to bring a tremendous amount of pressure on Bears QB Jay Cutler who was a mess in his opener. The x-factor for Pittsburgh this afternoon will be the Linebackers.. James Harrison (2008 Defensive Player Of the Year), LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons and perhaps the most underrated LB in the NFL, James Farrior will be causing all kinds of havoc today. The Steelers match up well here and will have every opportunity to get a victory.

If Jay Cutler was expecting to roll into Soldier Field and be praised by his fans, he better change that mindset as last weekends performance on Sunday Night Football vs. his new rival Green Bay was as bad as he could have scripted. He threw for 277 yards (not one pass had an impact on the game for the Bears), one touchdown and 4 costly interceptions in which he never once appeared to be in rhythm with any of his receivers nor second year sensational running back Matt Forte who only rushed for 55 yards on 25 carries with at least 10 of them being hand off exchanges that seemed off. Devin Hester caught four passes for 90 yards while rookie Johnny Knox caught two passes for 82 yards. The numbers once again seem more flashy then they were as none of those catches seemed to be game or momentum changers. On the defensive side of the ball, breaking news certainly stole the headlines as like their opponent Pittsburgh, they also lost their defensive captain, Linebacker Brian Urlacher. Chicago though does not have the depth like the Steelers do though to make up for such a big gaping loss. Head Coach Lovie Smith, one of the most overrated coaches in the NFL must game plan a strategy to out tough a team known for its fearless hitting and bully tactics. While yes, the talent differential here defensively is massive, it will be Coach Tomlin that will outperform Lovie Smith today most likely. A crucial game this is, an 0-2 start will be tough for these fans to take considering all the hype they were given in the preseason. The Bears x-factor, none other then QB Jay Cutler. No need to sugar coat this one folks, he MUST play better.

Haimo’s Hot Notes:

Pittsburgh are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games in Week 2.

Steelers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall.

Chicago are 4-9-2 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

This is a game where I am going to need to contradict myself. Everybody knows how I feel about picking against teams in what I feel are crucial games. In this game though, Pitt has just way to much talent and chemistry for the Bears to overcome.

Jordan’s Picks: Steelers -3

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