Texans-Steelers Odds
September 4, 2008
The Steelers will be looking to get off to a quick start to the 2008 NFL season as they host the Houston Texans, a team looking to improve upon a surprising 8-8 season in 2007. The Steelers are in position to make another post season run, but don’t sleep on this much-improved Houston squad. Pro Internet sportsbook, ThePig.com, has Sunday’s line favoring the Steelers -6 at home.
Pittsburgh had a rough finish to their ’07 campaign. After starting the year 9-3 they lost 3 of their last four in the regular season and were ousted by Jacksonville in the AFC wild-card game. Pittsburgh can put that all behind them with a quick win out of the gates. They’ll have Big Ben Roethlisberger back to lead the offense. Roethlisberger is coming off of his best statistical season, but, as was proved later in the season, having Ben pass more is not necessarily the best option for this team. Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes are likely to be Roethlisberger’s favorite targets down the field in 2008. The Steelers return Willie Parker to the backfield and also added Rashard Mendenhall through the NFL Draft to give Parker a breather, and, hopefully for Mendenhall, to eventually earn a starting spot.
The Steelers had an excellent defense last year. They ended up allowing only 266.4 yards of total offense per game, a big reason they were so successful early in the season. That number increased, along with the points they allowed per game toward the end of the season, which also marked the beginning of the Steelers’ struggles. It remains clear that for this team to be successful their defense has to lead the way.
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The Texans have to be pleased with their performance last year. For them to improve in 2008 QB Matt Schaub will need to stay healthy all season, and Houston will need to establish a presence in their running game. Schaub’s favorite target, Andre Johnson should be healthy this season, and that’s great news for Texan’s fans as he is an explosive key player for this offense. The running back position is up for grabs right now with Chris Brown out for the season, Ahman Green is banged up yet again, so Chris Taylor and rookie Steve Slaton will have a change to prove their mettle.
The Houston defense will be lead by the defensive line and Mario Williams, who after a disappointing 2006 rookie season improved dramatically in 2007, particularly on his pass-rush, and scored 14 sacks. The rest of the defense will need to improve for this team to make a jump to the playoffs in 2008.
There are still not a lot of people sold on the Texans. They were so bad for so long, who can blame them? But, you can’t overlook the fact that they earned 8 wins in the NFL last year, just two less than the Steelers. The Steelers have all of their key players in place and have even made some interesting additions that could prove useful in the right situations. On paper it looks like another playoff season for Pittsburgh, but that’s why they play the games. Before they can start thinking about the post season they’ll have to get past a hungry young Houston Texans team. If you’re not convinced that the Steelers can pull out their home opener, bet on the Texans +6.
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