Steelers vs. Bengals: Five questions with the enemy
By Kim Myers
The Steelers are putting the finishing touches on their game plan against the Bengals to open their home schedule and we’re going behind enemy lines to analyze this matchup.
Throughout the season Still Curtain will team up with the opposing team from the FanSided network to get a little intel and perhaps do a little predicting and/or trash talking for the upcoming game.
Today we’ve got Matthew Wilson from Stripe Hype, the Cincinnati Bengals-themed site from the FanSided Network.He’s giving us the details about everything from the nastiness level of the rivalry to comparing Antonio Brown and A.J. Green. We’ll also get a prediction on the game with the score.
There is a ton of hype around this game in spite of main characters like Vontaze Burfict and Le’Veon Bell being absent. Are Bengals fans looking at this game as a chance for payback from the playoff loss or will that come later when all parties are accounted for?
I think this is partly the fans looking forward to prove that a rivalry is really there between the Bengals and Steelers. It seems like a lot of Steelers player are trying to down play the emotion of this game with saying that it isn’t the Ravens.
Bengals fans are ready to see a winning team in the playoffs but it takes winning against good teams, on top of the easy wins. A win in Pittsburgh would certainly give them an edge heading into the next 14 games after.
There’s obviously no love lost between the Steelers fan base and Vontaze Burfict, given how everything went down last season. Who is the Steelers player that Bengals fans hate the most in comparison?
I think the easiest person to point to is Antonio Brown. He took it to far by saying that Vontaze Burfict is trying to kill him. Especially in a contact sport, where in a split second are crucial, making a claim like that is outrageous.
However, Bengals fans still understand that they have to have a healthy respect for what he can do on the field.
If you were drafting your team over again who would you take at receiver; Antonio Brown or A.J. Green? What about quarterback; Ben Roethlisberger or Andy Dalton?
A.J. Green, he has the ability to go up and get a football and make high catches. He has speed and the ability to make plays all over the field.
As for the Dalton vs. Roethlisberger, Dalton has made a lot of his receivers into quality players where early in Big Ben’s career, he had the veteran receivers making him better. I trust Dalton’s leadership ability more than Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger has size and that is why he is in the position he is.
What do the Bengals have to do to stop Antonio Brown in this game?
They need to slow Brown down at the line. If they can keep him from breaking out and getting to open space, he will have a difficult time getting the ball.
What is your prediction for the game with score?
I think I am going to stick with the Bengals here. Last season proved they can play with the Steelers when healthy. If they can control the Steelers defensive line, the Bengals can make this an interesting game.
Bengals 35, Steelers 27
There you have it Steeler Nation. What would you have asked differently?
Check out Stripe Hype for my answers to Matthew’s questions.
Be sure to keep locked into Still Curtain for all of your Steelers game day wants and needs.
Here we go Steelers! Here we go!