Blog Posts For Tag: Steelers

The preseason schedule has just started, meaning that its time to get revved up to watch NFL starters play at half speed for a quarter before the scrubs take over until half time, giving way to the future stars of the AFL, USFL, and the rest of the new defacto minor league system of football leagues sloppily missing tackles and looking out of place on the field.

I broke down the season predictions for the NFC last week and need to finish with the AFC before changing my predictions at three intervals, just before the season begins, halfway through the season, and with four weeks left until the playoffs start. I will, of course, quote injuries as the source of my ill-fated analysis. So, let’s take a look at my impressions of the AFC.

Not too long ago the Dallas Cowboys were beginning another promising era that could have brought yet another Super Bowl win to their storied history. The Arizona Cardinals were looking like they were going to be collecting veterans looking for a rest stop before officially retiring (their M.O. for the past decade). Now, after the Cardinals managed to get into the Super Bowl and play half way decently, everything is turned around in the Southwest.

Many people will remember Super Bowl XLIII for many different things. Pittsburgh Steelers fans will remember the 27-23 win as their NFL-leading sixth Super Bowl title. Arizona Cardinals fans will remember the loss as the crushing end of its Cinderella season. Football fans will remember the game for its fourth quarter heroics. Girlfriends being force to watch the game for the lack of quality commercials. Office workers will remember the game for the one play that could have given them a win in the work squares pool.

The Super Bowl is here this Sunday. My girlfriend is tired of listening to me talk about my man crush on Ben Roethlisberger (If I had said Big Ben she would not only be worried, but also wondering what I am doing in a relationship with her) and my utmost respect for Kurt Warner (if he does not get into the hall it will be a travesty). I decided to finally shut up about what I think will the truly most exciting game of the entire NFL season and make some predictions because I hold this belief that I am one day destined to be featured on Page 2 on ESPN.

The most debilitating factor coming into the Super Bowl might be the Arizona Cardinals own organization rather than the suppressing Steelers defense. At the end of the game Cards offensive coordinator Todd Haley was seen in a shouting match with Anquan Boldin after leaving him on the bench for nine of the final 14 plays against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

At the beginning of the year it looked like a Giants-Patriots rematch in the Super Bowl. Now, after the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs neither team is going to make it to even the conference championship. Who would have thought the NFC Championship game would have the Arizona Cardinals hosting the Philadelphia Eagles? The Cardinals as the home team?!? While many guessed that the Pittsburgh Steelers might have made it to the AFC Championship, not many thought they would be playing the Baltimore Ravens.

The NFL tickets for the Divisional Playoffs have been set for a week and Las Vegas has set line for the games. The experts have weighed in and it looks like a clear sweep by the higher seeds. This does not make for much exciting football, but thankfully for all the odds that are set and all the games that are analyzed (and overanalyzed) there are still upsets every year. Anybody remember the Giants last season?

Peyton Manning continued his NFL MVP performance with a 25/42, 310 yard, 1 Touchdown game, but the Indianapolis Colts lost for the second postseason in row to the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers won 23-17 in overtime thanks to the legs of backup running back Darren Sproles and punter Mike Scifres.

The buzz for the next few weeks is going to be about the NFL Postseason. The pre-postseason, also known as the regular season, is over and the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos can relate. They have maverick quarterbacks (Tony Romo and Jay Cutler), susceptible defenses (Dallas gave up 365 points and Denver gave up 448), both have had problems with healthy running backs, and both played themselves out of the playoffs.

I think the theme for this past weekend in the NFL was momentum. Teams with playoffs on their minds had a lot to gain and to lose this weekend. Some teams cemented their place at the top and others went along playing their way out of the playoffs. In these final weeks I have continued to be surprised by which teams have ended up as the Super Bowl favorites.

This week the NFL front office must be happy. Week 15’s slate of games ended with winners that are going to keep fans watching as two divisions are still far from settled and the wild card competition grew even more desperate.

Week 15 has already officially started. It started with the Bears outlasting the Saints in overtime in the battle of whose defense could be less effective down the stretch. Really, the most valuable players in that game had to be the turf for making any break away plays on the outside of the field impossible and the coin toss that kicked off the overtime. Whoever won that flip was going to take the ball down the field. It just so happened that the winner was the Bears. That and a huge pass interference make up call put the Bears in field goal range and ended the game.

The NFL season now has three more weeks with the conclusion of Week 14 and the number of meaningful games with playoff implications is dwindling, though each of those contests intensity is rising exponentially. This is the reality for every American sport and it is both a exciting and a sad time, and looking at some of these scores many cities will have fans suffering through the winter with a case of Post-Season Stress Syndrome.

Four weeks remain until the end of the NFL season and while half of the divisions already have clear champions (the NFC East, NFC West, AFC South, and AFC West) the remaining divisions are beginning the dog fight for first place.

Tennessee Titans (11-1) 47 – Detroit Lions (0-12) 10

I have one question, why does the NFL keep giving Detroit a spotlight game every year. The Lions have not had a winning record since 2000. Stop being an enabler. I understand that nobody saw the Titans as the best team in the AFC by Week 13, but still to put this marquee time slot in Detroit only proves to me that the NFL is an enabler. The game…well, the Titans ran, predictably, for nearly 300 yards and obviously trampled a city already hurting from the breakdown of the Big Three bailout.

The NFL season is coming into the final few weeks and all the preseason predictions have been left behind. The importance of each game is now related to teams’ immediate record and not the far off games on the schedule.

Denver Broncos 34- Cleveland Browns 30

This game proved once again that not only is the Broncos offense a potent machine, but the team’s defense is bent on making every other offense in the league look like it has been born out of genius. I think that every Broncos game should be watched because every weekend it will be a shoot out. It has the kind of allure of the Sacramento Kings a few years ago. You knew they were going to put together an exciting game, but you also knew they were destined to be stopped well short of the championship. On another note, Cutler’s performance helped my little brother get a much needed win in our fantasy league.

Atlanta Falcons 34- New Orleans Saints 20

Drew Brees reached his weekly quota for yards with 422 and picks with three in a game that helped keep the Falcons in the playoff hunt in the NFC South. I would have thought that Michael Turner would have had 150 yards and three touchdowns in this game, but he managed a very respectable 96 yards as Matt Ryan proved that a pocket quarterback can work in Atlanta as he threw for 10.8 yards an attempt and two touchdowns.

Tennessee Titans 21- Chicago Bears 14

The Bears allowed less than one yard a rushing attempt and stopped most of the long passes (until the end of the game), but forgot that Kerry Collins can pick up 284 yards nickel and diming you with tight end Bo Scaife. The Bears looked like they were on their way to another quarterback controversy as Rex Grossman started to lead the team back from 14 down in the fourth quarter, but he quickly ended the hopes of defeating the last undefeated team with an awful pass as the two minute warning was approaching. At the very least, Bears fans can be thankful that Orton will be welcomed back without any doubt whether it is the right decision.

Jacksonville Jaguars 38- Detroit Lions 14

A strong running game by Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew (who had three touchdowns) dominated this game. David Garrard performed like a true professional with a 119.1 quarterback rating to top off the Jaguars efforts to avoid losing to a winless team for the second week in a row. The Lions hoped that the newly signed Dante Culpepper would have an immediate impact, but he could do little to stop the bleeding as he went from coaching a Pop Warner football team to playing for one.

Miami Dolphins 21 – Seattle Seahawks 19

When a team like the Dolphins beats all odds and comes into week 10 with a 4-4 record after every expert picks them to win less than four games overall, something has to give. The Dolphins have won with an unconventional offense meant to hide their obvious flaws, but an offense based on trick plays means that any team can beat you, including the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks made the game a close on, but their futility was just enough to lose the game to the “Wildcat” and big plays.

Minnesota Vikings 28- Green Bay Packers 27

The game came down to a 52-yard field goal attempt by Packers kicker Mason Crosby. His miss ended the game for the Packers. Adrian Peterson ran for 192 yards and was able to make up for the three interceptions by Gus Frerotte with his lone touchdown on a 29-yard scamper with 2:22 left in the game. Both teams were able to shut down the passing game so it came down to Peterson versus Ryan Grant, and Peterson trumps Grant.

New England Patriots 20- Buffalo Bills 10

In the first half of the season the Bills looked like the team bound to benefit the most from Tom Brady’s injury. Now that the second half has begun, the Patriots have managed to find themselves in a first place tie after beating Buffalo. Matt Cassel has been the unexpected season hero and BenJarvus Green-Ellis was the unexpected hero of this game with 105 yards and a touchdown as the Patriots put together a fine offensive performance and a dominating defensive effort to tie the Jets for the division lead.

New York Jets 47- St. Louis Rams 3

It turns out when you turn the ball over five times in the game and cannot stop the run it is going to be a long game. Jets running back was sensational with 149 yards and three touchdowns. Brett Favre only had 19 passing attempts and only threw for 167 yards as excellent field position and a terrific ground game that totaled 206 yards made the game a blowout quickly. The Rams looked awful. The line made this a long day for Trent Green and Marc Bulger, who both had time behind the center. The Rams only have to endure seven more games until this unfortunate season is over and the hurting can stop.

Baltimore Ravens 41-Houston Texans 13

Joe Flacco was never really expect to do more than “manage” games this season, but the rookie has continued to prove that his big arm can lea a potent offense. This Sunday he only threw for 185 yards, but had two touchdowns, including a 43-yard bomb to Yamon Figurs. Willis McGahee had a strong game as well, running for 112 yards and two touchdowns. The balanced offense and a defense that picked off the Raven’s Sage Rosenfels four times made this game a laugher quickly.

Carolina Panthers 17-Oakland Raiders 6

The Raiders are bad. Jake Delhomme threw nearly as many picks (4) as completions (7) on 27 attempts and only managed 72 yards, but the Raiders could still not make this game look even close. Running back Deangelo Williams had 140 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers ad that was plenty to embarrass a pitiful Raiders team. Justin Fargas had a pretty good game with 89 yards, but the rest of the offense looked awful. Andrew Walter was the latest quarterback to commit career suicide be taking snaps for Al Davis and will surely not be the last this season.

No video, just audio, but a funny truth from Gabriel Iglesias my favorite pluis-sized comedian

Indianapolis Colts 24- Pittsburgh Steelers 20

Ben Roethlisberger took the field again with his injured shoulder and threw three interceptions. At the age of 26 he is looking like an aging fighter taking too many hits and throwing desperation punches. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning is looking like the graceful veteran reminding everyone of his greatness. He threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns. It took 40 attempts to complete 21 passes, but the master technician is keeping the Colts within striking distance of the postseason. The Steelers may be in the lead in their division, but they need to do some work to keep that lead and be more than first round fodder in the playoffs.

San Diego Chargers 20- Kansas City Chiefs 19

The Chargers used to be the team nobody paid attention to because the played in Southern California. Now they are the team nobody cares about because they can barely beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Philip Rivers was good (316 yards, 2 touchdowns) and bad (2 picks) in this “effort”. LaDainian Tomlinson continued his tough season as the Chiefs focused on him to hold him to 78 yards on 22 carries. Tyler Thigpen put together another nice effort for the Chiefs with 266 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Still, the Chiefs could not win in a season that was never anything more than a rebuilding year.

New York Giants 36- Philadelphia Eagles 31

The Giants have proven that despite their easy first half schedule they are the truly the best team in the NFC East. The Eagles had won three straight and were hoping to begin the journey from last place to first with a win in New York, but could not get Brian Westbrook going (thanks to the Giants game plan). Westbrook, the focus of the Eagles offense, was held to 26 rushing yard and 33 passing yards. Donovan McNabb threw three touchdowns, but when the game came down to the final minutes, he could not rally his receivers for a win. Eli Manning was good with 2 touchdown passes and Brandon Jacobs was great with 126 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants won this game far more easily than the scoreboard reflects and answered any doubts as to the legitimacy of their record.

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Can you imagine the horror on the faces of the NFL executives when they realized that their marquee Sunday Night match up during the middle of the season will be Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. It looked great before Tom Brady went down and the Colts offense self destructed.

Instead the match up of the week is the Monday night game (the former weekly game of the week) between the Steelers and the Redskins. This will be the game to decide if the Redskins are for real in many peoples eyes (including mine). The Steelers look retro-tough. Roethlisberger looks like an old time quarterback (as in rugged and not sleek) and the team can weather injuries beyond compare in the league. Still I like the Steelers with Troy Polamalu knocking Jason Campbell, celebrating, and then sulking when he realizes a fine will be mailed to house the next week for making an NFL quarterback cry.

There are probably about $4,000,000 in hits in this highlight reel.

There is not a real battle for last place this week, but the ugliest game to watch this time around is going to be the Cleveland Browns-Baltimore Ravens game. Both teams have offenses that inspire much less than confidence. The fun and gun game should be the Arizona Cardinals – St. Louis Rams game. A pass happy Cardinals team will win, but a Rams offense that has a few weapons will find that the Cards D will give them the appearance of respectability.

Basically I expect to see a lot of this…

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This next week in the NFL the big game, without question, is the New York Giants versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. The match up will pit Eli Manning versus Ben Roethlisberger, The Giants D versus the Steelers D, and plenty of other storylines that will be played to death on the Sunday pre-game shows. It is early, but these are the two early favorites as the league and the sports nation finds it hard to swallow the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills.

A couple of the other games look interesting. The Arizona Cardinals are playing the Carolina Panthers in what I think could be the most under-rated game of the week. The Cardinals continue to be ignored by most of the nation and this game will not help (Carolina is far from the media capital of the world), but true football fans get to see two of the more pleasant surprises in action, trying to prove that the other is a farce. The game for last place is always interesting because it has the potential to turn into a circus quickly. This week that game is between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. The teams are awful. The 49ers play no defense and the Seahawks barely play football. I am thinking an interception happy game as both quarterbacks try and air it out in this meaningless affair.

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And Now the Future Head Coach of the 49ers showing off his qualifications.

Buffalo Bills 23 – San Diego Chargers 14

The Bills are now the team to beat in the AFC East. They beat a Chargers squad that is facing serious questions after dropping to 3-4. Tomlinson is battling injuries and the Chargers defense really misses Merriman.

Chicago Bear 48 – Minnesota Vikings 41

Nobody had this game turning out like this. Gus Frerotte would have been a candidate for player of the week if did not throw four picks to go with his 298 yards. Peterson ran rampant, but the Bears managed to score in juts about everyway imaginable to escape with a win.

Pittsburgh Steelers 38 – Cincinnati Bengals 10

In a game that surprised no one, not even the most diehard Bengals fan, the Steelers dominated on the ground, through the air, and with penetration on defense. Roethlisberger appears to be at least close to last season’s form, albeit this game was against the Bengals.

Tennessee Titans 34 – Kansas City Chiefs 10

The Titans prefect record was never really in trouble in this game. They ran all over the Chiefs “defense” and the Chiefs “offense” included a carousal of three quarterbacks in a single game.

St. Louis Rams 34- Dallas Cowboys 14

This test against the Rams proved that the Cowboys really are in trouble. They not only lost to the Rams, they were decimated by the St. Louis. This is a cry for help. The Dallas “D” needs to collect itself after failing in a game in which they only needed to stop Stephen Jackson to really put up a respectable and victorious show.

Baltimore Ravens 27 – Miami Dolphins 13

The Ravens defense focused on the run and made the Dolphins actually put Chad Pennington behind the center in an attempt to beat them. Joe Flacco looked good picking up over 10 yards a pass and Willis McGahee had a strong game with 105 yards on 5.5 yards a carry.


New York Giants 29 – San Francisco 49ers 17
The New York Giants rebounded after an embarrassing loss in Week 6 with a solid effort against the 49ers. The loss sent Mike Nolan on his way, and opened the door for Mike Singletary to take on the coaching duties. The Giants looked good, but far from great in the effort.

Carolina Panthers 30 – New Orleans 7

In a game where many wondered what would happen when Brees took on the Panthers’ secondary, the Saints struggled and lost Reggie Bush for 2 to 4 weeks. The Panthers controlled the game with 143 yards rushing on 37 carries and timely passes.

Houston Texans 28 – Detroit Lions 21

The Texans won in the battle of last place. A balanced running attack by Steve Slaton and Ahman Green and another standout performance by Andre Johnson 9who continues to make Matt Schaub a great fantasy pick) controlled the time of possession for 40 minutes, leaving the Lions little chance.

Oakland Raiders 16 – New York Jets 13

Thomas Jones had a great game with 159 yards in a losing effort by the Jets. The Raiders won in overtime with the longest kick ever in the extra quarter (57 yards) by Sebastian Janikowski. Brett Favre looked pretty bad, throwing two picks and fumbling the ball three times (though her recovered two of those).

Green Bay Packers 34 – Indianapolis Colts 14

An offense determined to control the ball and two picks by Peyton Manning helped the Packers to its fourth victory and first place tie with the Chicago Bears in the NFC North. The Colts failed to reproduce the explosiveness they showed again against the Ravens. This season is turning out to be a dud for fans in Indianapolis.

Washington Redskins 14 – Cleveland Browns 11

Clinton Portis was spectacular with 175 yards on 27 carries in a game and Santana Moss had two incredible runs after catches in a game that was more exciting than one would expect from the score. The Redskins defense was dominant, allowing only 236 yards of offense by the Browns.

Tampa Bay 20 – Seattle Seahawks 10

Seneca Wallace needed to have a big game for the Seahawks to win this one, and 73 yards passing total is not a big game. The Bucs won the game, predictably, with defense, holding the Seahawks to 176 total yards. Jeff Garcia had a nice return with 310 passing yards and a touchdown while the running game struggled to even seem passable.

New England 41- Denver Broncos 7

The game started out badly for the Broncos and ended even worse. The team that is known for its offense could not muster a point until the fourth quarter. That was after the Patriots had scored 34 and Jay Cutler through two picks and injured his thumb on the helmet of the Patriots Richard Seymour. The Patriots passing game produced three touchdowns only 185 yards and the entire Patriots depth chart at running back had a fine day.

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This weekend’s slate of games has a long list of match ups that experts have deemed foregone conclusions. Everybody expects the Steelers to pummel the Bengals, everybody expects the Giants to destroy the 49ers, and everybody thinks the Bucs are going to decimate the Hasselbeck-less Seahawks.

The short list of games that split hairs include the Ravens-Dolphins, Panthers-Saints, and Colts-Packers. The Ravens have the advantage on defense and the Dolphins have the advantage on offense, but that’s if the Ronnie Brown direct snap thing keeps working. The Panthers have the advantage at two of the skill positions (running backs and wide receiver), but the Saints have Drew Brees at quarterback and he seems to make any receiver work for him. The Colts are coming off what they hope to return to their previous form and the Packers hope to return to the beginning of the same.

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