Distraction free: Steelers, Patriots focused on kicking off the NFL season
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is looking to lead the Steelers to a win over the Patriots in Foxborough tonight.
Outside linebacker James Harrison will have his hands full against Tom Brady and the Patriots offense tonight.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, left, and quarterback Tom Brady, right, stretch Tuesday as they warm up before practice.
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is looking to build on his strong performance in 2014.
FOXBOROUGH , Mass. – All of the distractions that have taken place for both the Steelers and Patriots in the offseason and training camp won’t matter once the ball is kicked off tonight at Gillette Stadium.
The 2015 season and all the hopes, dreams and expectations it brings will be upon both teams.
If any of the young players on either roster has any doubts about that, they’ll quickly find out what it’s all about.
The Steelers know exactly what kind of environment they’re heading into when they play the defending world champion Patriots in the NFL Kickoff Game. They’ve hosted this game twice before in 2006 and 2009.
“Oh, it will be hostile,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “It will be a great test and challenge for our guys. We have some young guys, using the phrase, “Welcome to the NFL.” It’s going to be a heck of a welcome.”
The game will be as notable for who doesn’t play as it is for who does, or who almost didn’t.
New England quarterback Tom Brady had been suspended for the first four games of the season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his role in the deflation of football’s in last year’s AFC Championship until a judge ruled in his favor last week to have the suspension lifted.
“I really don’t want to get into all those feelings,” said Brady. “I’ve been dealing with that for seven months, so I’m really at the point where I’m focused on the opener and the Steelers and all the challenges they present. I’m excited about where our team is at, and I’m excited about the opportunity to play. Anything that we really dealt with in the offseason is kind of compartmentalized and as much energy and attention as I can on this great team that we’re playing.”
Brady will play, but New England running back LeGarrette Blount will not. He’s suspended by the league following his arrest along with then-Pittsburgh teammate Le’Veon Bell last August for marijuana possession while still a member of the Steelers.
Bell, the reigning AFC rushing leader, will sit out the first two games of the season for his role in that traffic stop in which he also was charged with DUI. The Steelers also will be without wide receiver Martavis Bryant, who was suspended for four games last week for violation of the NFL drug policy.
“It’s a tall task for us but one that we are excited about,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “When you set out on these journeys that are football seasons, you are excited about facing stiff challenges, and we have one right from the start.”
The last time the Steelers played in New England, Brady and company pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring 28 points in a 55-31 victory in 2013.
In that game, tight end Rob Gronkowski had his way with the Steelers defense, catching nine passes for 143 yards and a touchdown as Brady threw for 432 yards and four scores.
The Steelers will try to mix things up enough defensively in an attempt to limit the damage caused by that connection, something that might be easier said than done.
“He is big. He is strong. He has a wingspan, a huge wingspan,” said new Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler of the 6-6 Gronkowski. “So he really muscles everybody a lot of times. If he gets the matchups that they want, then he is going to be quite a bit bigger than the person guarding him. He will body-up, and Tom Brady knows where to throw it.”
The same could be said of the Steelers and wide receiver Antonio Brown. While the 5-10 Brown doesn’t possess Gronkowski’s size, he is equally difficult to cover as his NFL-best 129 receptions last season would attest.
The Patriots know that the Steelers want to get the ball to Brown in a variety of ways, particularly with Bell and Bryant out.
“It seems like a lot of the pass plays are, I don’t want to say designed for him, but he’s a key part of all of them,” said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. “They move him around. They put him in different spots. They use different pattern combinations to give him an opportunity to either get open or to somehow keep you from being able to double cover him.”
Even if Brown does his thing – he’s got five or more receptions for at least 50-plus yards in an NFL-record 32 consecutive games – the Steelers still will need somebody else or several somebody elses to have a big game.
“I think the biggest thing is to control your emotion, because there is going to be a lot of emotion flowing,” said Roethlisberger. “The nerves will be flying around, even for guys like myself that have done it for a long time, will be nervous. It’s how fast can you get rid of the jitters and nerves and just play football.”
Odds and end zones
The Steelers are 4-3 all time in New England and lead the series against the Patriots, 14-9. … Steelers tight end Heath Miller needs six receptions to pass John Stallworth (537) for second place on the team’s all-time list. … Roethlisberger’s start today will be his 159th, moving him past Terry Bradshaw for the most by a quarterback in team history.