Steelers’ balanced attack will lead to plenty of riots

Batten down the hatches, lock your doors and remove all objects from your front porch you do… Batten down the hatches, lock your doors and remove all objects from your front porch you do not wish to be thrown in the street and lit aflame. Think the block party was big when the Steelers won the AFC Championship?

Wait until they win the Super Bowl.

Yeah, that’s right. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is coming back to Pittsburgh for the first time in 27 years, and XL will no longer solely designate the size of your boyfriend’s baggy sweatshirt, but mark the time Steel City’s finest finally got “one for the thumb.”

Right now, simply put, the Steelers cannot be stopped. Jerome “The Bus” Bettis will leave his hometown of Detroit with something he’s never had before, a Super Bowl ring, and Ben Roethlisberger will become the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win the big one.

And here’s why.

The Steelers have incredible momentum. Despite being the sixth seed and last wildcard team to make the AFC playoffs, they traveled to three (Cincinnati), one (Indianapolis) and two (Denver) seeds in consecutive weeks and emerged victorious.

Do not forget, however, the week-14 steamrolling the Steelers gave to the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC, the Chicago Bears.

Pittsburgh has the combination of toughness and finesse to provide them with the confidence to know that they can play with any team in the NFL.

Take the AFC Championship for example. The Steelers have been considered to use and have exhibited a run-first offense for quite some time. They own the NFL’s highest run/pass ratio in the country, at about 6-to-4, but Seattle’s stingy front line allowed only 86 rush yards per game this season. Against Denver, however, Pittsburgh’s leading rusher, Bettis, accumulated 39 yards on the ground.

Fast Willie Parker, the team’s 1,000-yard rusher? 35.

My point? Ben Roethlisberger attempted 29 passes, tied for the third-highest this season, completed 21 of them, two for touchdowns, and earned a 124.9 passer rating.

Did I mention he ran for a touchdown as well?

Fact of the matter is Ben Roethlisberger is no longer the tired “splattered all over the post-season wall” quarterback that threw three interceptions in his last game last season. He is a young but experienced physical specimen of a field general that now has the confidence to match the ability to take over a game with his arm.

And when Big Ben connects with Cedric Wilson down the sideline, Hines Ward on a crossing route and Heath Miller running a 20-yard seam, that will make Seattle change its coverage scheme, and possibly move to a nickel-or-dime package on second down as well as third.

Exposing a Seattle secondary that gave up 222.4 receiving yards per game in the regular season, 25th in the NFL, will allow the Steelers to have short-yardage rushing opportunities on second and third downs.

All of this offense peaks inside the red zone, where the Steelers rarely leave without at least three points. Bettis is nearly unstoppable in short-yardage situations and finds the end zone while flat out running over the best defenders in the league. Don’t forget Jeff “Ice” Reed, as I like to call him, who’s converted 24 of 29 field goals on the year.

I know what you’re thinking: All this is great, but what about that Alexander guy? You know, for the Seahawks? Isn’t he supposed to be good?

Well, yes. Running back Sean Alexander was the NFL’s leading rusher and the offensive MVP, running through and around defenses all year to set the record for most rushing touchdowns in a season.

However, the Steelers boast one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL, allowing less than 100 yards per game. The 3-4 set the Steelers run is very unique. Nose Tackle Casey Hampton will erupt the Seahawks’ offensive line as he has done with so many already this season, making way for linebackers Joey Porter, James Farrior, Larry Foote and Clark Haggans to wreak havoc in the Seahawks’ backfield, forcing coach Mike Holmgren to throw the ball into coverage by the Steelers’ secondary. Troy Polamalu will be omnipresent in both schemes as well.

And as the whole nation saw against Indianapolis, the Steelers’ blitz packages will get to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck as they did to Peyton Manning and Jake Plummer.

It’s time, my friends. Strap on a helmet, stock up on food and water and prepare for a celebration the size we’ve not seen since the Penguins won the Stanley Cup 14 years ago.

Steelers 27, Seahawks 13

Pat Mitsch is a staff writer for The Pitt News. E-mail him at prm17@pitt.edu.