Jolly Roger Sports: Week 3 Steelers Pregame

Well what a difference a week can make. The Steelers go from old and worthless to contenders again with their 24-0 shutout at the expense of the poor Seahawks. This week they'll be 10 point favorites against the once proud Indianapolis Colts on the road. It's a much needed win if they can get it before they head to Houston for a tough battle next week.

Observations from the past week:

A shutout after that beating by the Ravens is just what the doctor ordered. This team will be fine going forward.

Ben Roethlisberger still has some work to do. He played a pretty darn good game, but against a better opponent it may not have been enough. I have all the faith in the world that he'll be more than ready as the Steelers get the toughest stretch of their schedule.

The no huddle offense works. The Steelers need to utilize it more. Not that they can't win if they don't, but they can win by a lot more if they do.

Who plays offensive line for the Steelers? Does it matter? No matter who is in the game in front of Big Ben it seems they do enough to get the job done. They just need to keep doing whatever it is they're doing.

Our secondary is pretty good. Again, I realize it was a weak opponent, but even William Gay looked like a reasonable starting corner. That's two solid games by this group in a row. If they keep that up it could mean bad things for opponents in the last 14 games.

The running game needs help. When I watch the game, it really seems like Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman have done much better than their numbers indicate. That said, I think they're taking a little more heat than they need to, but they will need to start doing a better job of finding holes in the second half.

What I'll be looking for this week:

A running game - I'd just like to see Rashard Mendenhall hit 100 yards and Isaac Redman add 30-40 extra. Maybe even get Mewelde Moore a few carries. This is a bad defense and the Steelers should be able to run. If they can't they better learn to become a pass first team.

Turnovers - They should have had a couple against the Seahawks and I think they'll be able to force some from Collins. It would be a nice element to add to the defense again. That's how Superbowl XLIII was won so let's see a repeat of that.

A close game -The Steelers can't take this team lightly. This isn't the Seahawks. It's a desperate 0-2 team with a chance to get within a game of their division lead, with a veteran quarterback at the helm. They'd probably be favorites if Peyton Manning was playing. So I'm not even sure the Steelers will cover the 10 points. They'll still win though in any case.

Prediction: