1) There's a ton of misinformation out there about Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger. What's the truth in your mind? Are they playing possum or at risk for missing the game?
To be honest, there isn't really any misinformation being released, just a lunatic talking about Antonio Brown's concussion and some minor details in Ben Roethlisberger's shoulder injury. Adam Jones has been personally leading the "Antonio Brown was faking" campaign, which for some reason actually had traction in the media. Brown sat out of practice Wednesday, proving he is still going through the process within the NFL's concussion protocol. His status is as uncertain as they come, since every head injury is different for every player.
A lot is being made of Roethlisberger saying on his weekly radio show he has "torn ligaments" in his shoulder, when a sprained joint, like his AC sprain in his shoulder, means the same thing. A sprain could be tiny tears in the ligaments and tendons surrounding the shoulder, so the two injuries are actually one in the same.
As for will they play Sunday? I think Roethlisberger is a lock to play, but if Brown doesn't practice Thursday, I would put money on him sitting out of the game, which would be a huge loss for the Steelers.
2) The last time we played, the Steelers abused the back-up safeties for Denver. Now that you have a QB who may not be able to throw far and Denver has their starting safeties back, what do you expect to see from your offense as far as how they try to put points on the board?
The Steelers game plan will mirror what they tried to do against Cincinnati in the Wild Card round. Stay balanced. Roethlisberger threw the ball over 50 times in the Steelers and Broncos previous matchup, and with him nursing a shoulder injury that won't be the plan going into the game. The Steelers will likely lean on Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman as a 1-2 punch in the running game, as well as in the screen game to try and keep the Broncos aggressive defense off balance. The trick is the Steelers will eventually have to throw downfield, but if they can catch the Broncos bringing the safeties into the box, they could connect on a big play to Markus Wheaton, Martavis Bryant or Darrius Heyward-Bey...all who have exceptional speed.
3) Earlier this year you got to Osweiler and utterly confused him with a bunch of zone concepts in the 2nd half. That won't work against Manning as well...what's the key for your defense against Peyton?
The best defense against Manning is to take away an option on every down. You saw the Steelers do this to perfection against the Bengals, and that was stopping the run game. If the Steelers want to beat Manning they have to stop the run and force him to throw the ball in unfavorable down and distances. Manning has almost had a 2:1 interception to touchdown ratio this season, and the Steelers finished the regular season 3rd in takeaways. You won't confuse Manning, but you can certainly get to him with a shaky offensive line, as well as prey on his mistakes.
4) It is late in the 4th quarter and you are down by 4. Roethlisberger is playing but hasn't been able to throw worth a darn downfield. Do you try to dink and dunk, or do you go with Landry Jones to seal the deal?
If Roethlisberger is healthy enough to play, the Steelers won't make a change in the lineup. Mike Tomlin trusts his players, and if Roethlisberger can't throw downfield he will think twice about playing Roethlisberger in the first place. The funny thing is, although the Steelers were only down 1 in the AFC Wild Card game, an injured Roethlisberger was still able to dink and dunk his way down the field into field goal range before the Bengals imploded and turned a 50-yard field goal into a 35-yard field goal. Tomlin trusts his players, and if Ben is on the field, he trusts him to make plays.
5) Give us 3 keys to the game for Pittsburgh to be able to climb to the 2015 AFC Championship round of the playoffs.
- Stay balanced on offense. If the Steelers want to win they have to make things easier on their injured quarterback, and a running game is the best medicine.
- Protect Big Ben. This is ridiculously important as you don't want Roethlisberger taking another shot to his shoulder which could knock him out of the game, or even the playoffs.
- Get Manning off his spot. The Steelers were a Top 5 team in sacks in the regular season, and if Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward can get pressure from in interior and push Manning of his launching point, the team will have opportunities to take the ball away. Winning the turnover battle will likely win you the game in the postseason.