Well here we are at 2-0 with the Eagles up next. After watching the Eagles and Cowboys scoring fest on Monday night, I can tell you that the Steelers do not want or need to be involved in a game like that. It is not their style. To beat the Eagles we will need to put pressure on Donovan McNabb in the form of disguised blitz packages and assign a linebacker or safety to spy Brian Westbrook all day long. This of course is easier said then done. The corners will have to remain on an island all game long and I suspect Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason will be rotated in at right defensive end in place of the injured Brett Keisel. The Keisel injury is huge right now and his absence will be noticed. Westbrook will get his yards but the Steelers can not let them be in big chunks. They need to make him earn everything he gets.
The Eagles defense can be exploited, especially through the power running game. I suspect we will get our first true regular season glimpse of Rashard Mendenhall this week as well. This could be the first week when you see the true pony backfield everyone was talking about after the draft. The Steelers must run the ball in order to set up the pass and the game tempo must be slow. If this gets into a shoot out, it does not favor the Black and Gold.
