Steelers vs. Browns Review

Wow. See, I had this weird feeling that the Browns were actually going to show up yesterday. Guess I was wrong on that, which is fine.

I'm actually surprised that they fired GM Phil Savage before the game yesterday, but waited until today to fire Crennel. I mean, everyone knew he was gone, but I figured the Browns will pull a Mike-Tice-Don't-Even-Wait-Until-He-Gets-Back-to-His-Office-Directly-After-the-Game kind of firing. I seriously thought that Randy Learner was going to come down to the field in the fourth quarter, stay close to Crennel, and grab him and fire him before Crennel had a chance to shake Tomlin's hand.

A few thoughts on the game:

1. The Browns had 26 yards passing yesterday. On 18 attempts. That's 1.44 yards per pass attempt. They don't even have a word for how bad that is. But, I'm thinking that, if the Oxford English Dictionary sanctions one, it will involve several profanities tied together, followed by the sound of a cat being kicked across the room. I have a feeling that it will be some time before the word actually appears in the dictionary, though, since their staff will need to agree on how to spell the sound a cat makes when you kick it across the room.
2. If you take net yards, that's 1.11 yards per attempt. Also recall that Josh Cribbs had eight yards passing on two attempts. So their kick returner and fourth string receiver actually helped their yards per attempt.
3. Everyone is up in arms about the fact that Roethlisberger was still in the game at the end of the first half and he shouldn't have been because it was a meaningless game and what the hell was Tomlin thinking and... what if he got hurt on the third play of the game? Or the second series? Tomlin was trying to send a message to his players that their effort in the Titans game was unacceptable and that every game matters. He needed to keep starters in until they proved they were putting forth maximum effort and they sure weren't at the time Ben got hurt. They had only scored seven points on offense and were shut out in the first quarter. If they wanted to rest -- Ben in particular -- they should have played better. If they jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, Leftwich would've come in, the reserve offensive linemen would've come in, Gary Russell would have come in... but, the offense decided to suck. Ben's as much to blame as Tomlin for the injury.
4. I think he plays in the playoff game, but I'm concerned about how "with it" he'll be at that point. The injury reminded me a lot of the injury that Tommy Maddox had in 2002. Remember when he came back too early from that injury? Lemme refresh you. Maddox had three turnovers that directly lead to 21 points for the Texans. They had 47 total yards and won. David Carr threw for 33 yards (3-for-10 passing) and won. And Maddox called a timeout with one second left in the third quarter and the clock running. We can't have Ben in there if he's like that. Not in the playoffs.
5. I'm hesitant to announce that Fast Willie is back, because it was against the Browns, but he did look a lot more explosive, he got to the outside in a hurry, and was able to blow by people at the second level.
6. Didja notice a common theme on Sunday? When Willie was successful, my buddy Laszlo noticed that it was when the Steelers lined up in the I-Formation. When they lined up in a single back formation, the results were not as good. If we're not going to bring back Dan Kreider, we can at least stick with the I-Formation. I've never been a fan of the single back look and, if the Steelers are committed to Fast Willie and running the ball, that's the best way to do it. He's stated previously that he prefers to have a lead blocker in front of him to running out of a single back formation. So... why not use the system that works best for him?
7. We needed to win this game and we needed to win big. I'm glad that we finished 12-4, not 11-5. That one extra win was important for some reason.
8. I know I've mentioned this before but, the longer he's coach, the more I like Tomlin. And, I'm not saying anything bad about Cowher, but I find myself forgetting about Cowher more and more every day, especially since they seem to have placed Steely McBeam at the bottom of a well with Ted Levine yelling at him about putting the lotion in the basket. They don't show him on TV and I haven't seen him at games. I'm not worried about him, but it's just interesting that he went away so quickly and quietly.
   
9. I'm not sure if I'd rather be a Bengals fan, a Lions fan, or a Browns fan right about now. At least with the Lions and Bengals, you knew coming into the season that they would suck. Remember 1998? Remember how much that hurt? Imagine that, times ten, plus Ken Dorsey and that's what Cleveland's fans are going through right now. Remember 2006? I'd imagine it has to suck a little like that, except that the Browns just narrowly missed the playoffs in 2007, they didn't win the Super Bowl or anything.
10. I mentioned that recently, right? That the Steelers won Super Bowl XL? Well, I mentioned it now just in case.
    

Perspective

So, the loss yesterday sucked and, like I mentioned, was very disappointing.

But, taking a look at some scores from around the league, it got me to thinking. Sure, our latest effort against the Titans was, hands down, our worst game of the season (although you could make a real argument for the Eagles game), but, considering the strength of schedule we faced at the outset of the season and the fact that no one really knew what to expect from Tomlin in his second year, this has been a very heartbreak-free season.

Looking at the scores from the other games reminded me of this fact. And this list does not even include games where I could say, "Just be happy you don't root for the Browns, or the Lions, or the Bengals, or the Rams." These are all playoff teams, or at least teams that looked awfully good at some point during the season.

1. The Vikings choked one away at home when they had a shot to clinch the division.
2. Tampa, who could have locked up a playoff spot, let up 21 points in the fourth quarter.
3. Steelers West has lost four of their last five and lost by 40 to the Patriots yesterday. 40. Their last three losses have been by 28, 21, and 40 points. They clinched their division in Week 12 with a loss to the Giants (that one was only by 8), so they're going to the playoffs, but I wouldn't be supremely confident, or sober, if I were a Steelers West fan right about now.
4. The Broncos allowed 14 fourth quarter points and failed, yet again, to clinch their division. They've lost two in a row, with the latest loss to Buffalo. Buffalo started the season 4-1 and has since gone 3-7.
5. The Jets, who embarrassed the then 10-0 Titans in Week 12 and had several chances to lock up the #2 seed, lost on the road to Seattle. Seattle is 4-11.
6. The Chargers play the Broncos in Week 17 for the AFC West title. If the Chargers win, they'll take the division. At 8-8. Even if the Broncos win, they'll be 9-7 and division winners.
7. If you were a fan of the 10-5 hated Ravens (and if you are, why are you reading this blog?), the 11-4 Colts, the 10-5 Patriots, the 9-6 Jets, or the 10-5 Dolphins, wouldn't you be just a little upset that an 8-8 team or a 9-7 is going to get a home playoff game while your team gets forced out (or at least doesn't get a home game)?
8. How about the 8-6-1 Eagles, the 8-7 Redskins, 9-6 Cowboys, 9-6 Buccaneers, or 10-5 Falcons? Wouldn't you be peeved that Steelers West has been guaranteed a home playoff game for four weeks and will still get one even if they lose their fifth in six games in Week 17? And, at best, they'll be 9-7? And they've been outscored on the season by 12 points? Just a little peeved?
9. How about Jaguars fans? I bet you thought you'd be 11-4 at this point, not 5-10.
10. And, really, San Diego's too talented to be 7-8. They've had some bad breaks this year, for sure, but they shouldn't be 7-8.

So, that's the good news for today.

Steelers vs. Titans Review

My brother called me last night and asked if I was more angry or disappointed following the shit-kicking that the Titans handed us yesterday.

I'd have to say I'm more disappointed than anything.

We got away from everything that we had been doing during the winning streak and went right back to the suckitude that caused us to lose to the Giants and the Colts.

Turned the ball over too much, didn't play sharp in the second half (we kind of looked flat all day), and it just kind of seemed like a game that was doomed from the start.

A few points and thoughts:

1. Anything Phil Sims said shouldn't be taken too seriously (he called Santonio "San Antonio" and Bo Scaife "Bob Scaifes"), but he did mention at one point during the broadcast that none of the Steelers he talked to seemed to be all that concerned with getting the #1 seed. The people I talked to were very casual about the game, too. Given the fact that we were the #1 seed 115 times when Cowher was here and only went to one Super Bowl, then went and won as the #6 seed, then the third seeded Colts won the next year and the 5th seeded Giants won last year, I get the feeling that the players and fans could care less about seeding, so long as their team makes it into the playoffs.
2. Having said that, I think the players took the game too lightly and that Tomlin will exact his revenge. You'll see a lot of starters playing a lot longer than anyone thought they would next week against Cleveland, even though it's a meaningless game. I think Tomlin saw how quickly things can get away from you and he's going to send a message to all his players this week in practice and during the course of next week's game.
3. Willie Parker ran 18 times for 29 yards. That cannot happen again.
   
4. We made two trips into the red zone and came out with zero points. That cannot happen again.
5. Ben Roethlisberger fumbled four times, losing two. That cannot happen again.
6. He also threw two interceptions.
7. That's four turnovers and five fumbles. Come playoff time, that's going to be too much to overcome, just like it was yesterday.
8. The opposing team finally got called for holding against the Steelers defense. For those of you keeping track at home, that was the first holding penalty called on the opposing team since November 20th.
9. I'm actually not that put out that the Titans were the first team to gain 300 yards in a game on our defense. It had to happen eventually. I'm more put out by the fact that we only sacked Collins once and that we didn't get consistent pressure on him. And that we didn't really try to get consistent pressure on him.
10. There were a lot of comments after the game to the effect of, "We played like crap," "They played great," and, "It's a good thing this didn't happen during a playoff game. We'd have to wait until next season to fix where we screwed up." So, I think the players realized that they didn't have a good performance, either, and they'll be more focused next week and throughout the playoffs.

Here's one other thing I've been thinking about since the Dallas game. I think that, at some point, Tomlin and company realized that they could win games by running a pretty vanilla game plan. The games would be close and we might need to get creative in the second half to win them (i.e. getting away from the vanilla game plan), but we wouldn't need to give too much away in terms of tendencies, formations, and pre-snap reads for opponents that we might meet again in the playoffs/Super Bowl.

It seemed to me that there wasn't anything special or exotic -- especially in terms of the defense -- unleashed the last three weeks. In the game against New England, we did a lot of things -- especially on defense -- that we hadn't done yet this season. And we kicked the hell out of them.

The three games since the Patriots game, the defense has made some big plays, but it's pretty much been as a result of sending three guys and either James Harrison and playing an awful lot of Cover 2 behind that. We haven't done a lot of fire dogging, zone blitzing, or had very many jailbreak blitzes (Timmons and Polamalu haven't been very involved in the pass rush).

It's my opinion that we could be playing possum, trying not to give away too much in these last few games and really just trying to get into the playoffs in a good spot. Once we clinched the division and the #2 seed, that pretty much took the wind out of our creative sails.

I think we're going to see a much more creative game plan on both offense and defense for that first playoff game, regardless of who we play.

It's entirely possible that I'm grasping at straws here, but I really haven't seen any signature LeBeau creativity and not a lot of the formations and patterns that Arians unleashed earlier in the season, or even last season.

We kind of backed into the playoffs last year, though, so we need a strong finish against the Browns to close out this season. I'm not saying a 41-0 thrashing is in order, but we should use that game to get tuned up for our run to the Super Bowl.

Pro Bowl Thoughts

Well, there's the obvious reaction. "B-b-but, we have the NUMBER ONE DEFENSE! Only three guys?!?!?! We're 11-3! We faced a schedule so tough that Job would say, 'Ah, ya know what. It's too hard.' How can we only have three guys?"

Seriously, though, with Faneca and his automatic vote-in playing for the Jets, with Marvel Smith missing so many games, we couldn't send any offensive linemen. Our receivers don't catch enough passes and, unless they're handing out trips to Hawaii for each broken jaw doled out, Hines Ward isn't making it ever again. Too many quality tight ends in the AFC for Heath to make it.

On defense, 3-4 ends just don't go to the Pro Bowl unless Bill Cowher is coaching it. Ryan Clark has meant a lot to this defense and they wouldn't be nearly as effective without him, but Pro Bowls are granted based on interceptions.

Harrison and Farrior are already in and you can't vote in Foote or Timmons, much as I might love them.

Deshea Townsend and Bryant McFadden have alternated at cornerback, so neither of them are eligible. Ball Bitch Ike Taylor? Cornerbacks get voted in on interceptions and interceptions returned for touchdowns. Ike just doesn't have the hands. He's the personification of the cliche that says you take the best athletes that can't catch and put them on defense.

I'm of the opinion that, if Terrell Suggs is a Pro Bowl player, then LaMarr Woodley should really be a Pro Bowl player. But, in all reality, there are a number of outside linebackers that deserve to go over Woodley and Suggs, and Woodley's almost a defensive end. Since the Pro Bowl defense is going to be a 4-3 defense, there really shouldn't be three 3-4 outside linebackers in there anyway.

The only real slight is picking Brett Favre over Ben Roethlisberger. Favre has thrown 17 interceptions, the Jets have won in spite of him as opposed to because of him, and he's there more because of his mystique and the fact that he plays in a big market than the fact that he really deserves it.

And, if not Roethlisberger, why not Philip Rivers? I mean, if it's an all-star game, why not get all the statistical juggernauts you can? The Chargers are 6-8, but Rivers has averaged 8.2 yards per attempt and is tied for the league lead with 28 touchdown passes. If you're going for guys that bring a lot of intangibles, you need to vote Roethlisberger in. No one has been more clutch thus far this season.

People make fun of video games, but I think that Madden Football had it right. When you vote in players, you base it this way:

The quarterbacks with the top three ratings are in.

The top three running backs in terms of yardage are in.

The top four receivers in terms of yardage are in.

The linemen and linebackers with the most sacks are in.

The cornerbacks with the most interceptions are in.

The safeties with the most tackles are in.

If you do it that way, there's debate like there's debate on the BCS, that stats and a computer determine the fates of players. But, really, you'd have a hell of a team if you gauged it that way.

There will be debate regardless, the current system is the standard system and the Madden system is the metric system. At least the Madden system is standardized.

16 Reasons the Titans Make Me Poop My Pants

When they were undefeated and seemed to have the #1 seed in the AFC locked up, everyone thought the Tennessee Titans were the best team in the AFC, maybe in the league.

Then they got blown out by the Jets. Then they honked that game last week in Houston. Now, they might get knocked down to being the #2 seed and the Steelers, who weren't assured of a playoff spot, nonetheless a division title two weeks ago, might be able to leapfrog them and become the #1 seed.

So... do the Titans suddenly suck and were suddenly the cat's pajamas? I have a feeling it's somewhere in the middle where we both have some sucky pajamas, but, then again, I hate cats.

I guess we'll have to break it down...

1. The Titans have allowed eight sacks this year. Eight. All year. Kerry Collins and his old man beard have only been sacked seven times. Vince Young and his chemical imbalance count for one of those. Eight times. All year. That's not to say that it's impossible to pressure Collins, it's just that he doesn't take a lot of sacks. And our defense feeds off of sacks. As my buddy Dan pointed out, though, they haven't faced James Harrison and company.
2. They also don't turn the ball over very much. They've lost eight fumbles out of 16 (that's actually a hell of a lot and something they should be concerned about) and Collins has only thrown seven interceptions. That's 15 turnovers in 14 games. Not exactly throwing the ball away, now are they? The 12 turnovers the Steelers have forced in the last three games are a MAJOR reason they've won those three games. We forced some quarterbacks into making some bad decisions the last few weeks, so maybe Troy Polamalu and company can pull some magic.
3. The Titans are +10 in turnover differential, which means that they've forced 25 turnovers. We've forced 27 turnovers, but we've also committed 20. We've lost eight fumbles, too. Out of 22 total fumbles. That's... that's something we should be concerned about.
4. Here's the thing about our turnovers, though. Ben Roethlisberger threw eight interceptions over three games against the Giants, Colts, and Redskins. I'm not saying you take those games out and say the turnovers don't count, but I am saying that he's only thrown one interception in the five games since that three games stretch. And he has seven games where he's thrown zero interceptions this season. And 12 games where he threw either zero interceptions, or only one interception. There's still the matter of the 22 total fumbles but, if the ball keeps bouncing our way and we don't lose any of those fumbles, I'm perfectly content to stick my head in the sand.
5. Tennessee is 7th in the league in sacks, with 38. There have been whispers that our pass protection kinda sucks.
6. They have the 5th-rated rushing attack in the NFL. But, know who's 2nd? The Giants? Know who's 6th? The hated Ravens. Know who's 7th? The Patriots. Wait, what? Really? The Patriots? What's up with Tom Brady that they're running so much? My point is that we faced three of the top seven rushing teams in the league this year and no one has run wild on us.
7. Rookie Chris Johnson is a very fast dude, he's decisive, and he's got excellent vision. If you give him a hole, he's going to do a lot of damage.
8. LenDale White is a very fat dude that is deceptively fast. If you let him get a head of steam, he'll destroy you. He also is a very effective short yardage back and has already scored 14 rushing touchdowns. Must be nice to have a big, fat, effective short yardage guy for when you get to, say, fourth and goal at the one.
9. The thing about Johnson and White is that they need space to operate in in order to be effective. Tennessee is the best team in the league at cutting off backside pursuit. This means that Johnson and White have plenty of time to use their vision, look for a hole to open up, and decide when to hit that hole without having to worry about someone attacking from their blind side and tackling them behind the line of scrimmage. But, aside from the occasional flurry of hair as Polamalu jumps in after a runner has already been stopped, or James Harrison/LaMarr Woodley coming in to strip the ball away from a player that is already in the grasp, the Steelers don't make a lot of plays from the back side. That means that Tennessee's primary advantage against the rest of the league doesn't mean much against the Steelers. Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, and Brett Keisel/Travis Kirschke are not concerned about back side pursuit. They're looking to fill running lanes by practicing sound gap discipline -- the thing they do better than everyone else in the NFL. This means that the Titans will be down a blocker when they try to run -- because he'll be trying to contain back side pursuit that isn't there -- and the defensive line should be able to force White to run into the pile or force Johnson to stretch the play out to the sidelines. In both cases, they won't gain more than a couple of yards. There won't be a lot of negative plays in the running game, if any, but there won't be any big plays, either, and we'll also have the man advantage when Tennessee gets inside the five.
10. Let's go back to #5. That was pretty much there for shock and awe, but it's also a valid point. But, it's also a misleading stat. See, the Titans do something else better than any other team in the league: They pressure the quarterback with only their four down linemen. Of their 38 sacks, 34 have been registered by defensive linemen. Of those 34 sacks, end Kyle Vanden Bosch and tackle Albert Haynesworth are responsible for 12 of them. Why are Vanden Bosch and Haynesworth important? Because they won't be playing on Sunday, that's why. Granted, the Titans are so deep along the defensive line that it's almost like they have an eight man rotation, not back-ups and starters, but losing your two best pass rushers hurts. Imagine if the Steelers lost Woodley and Harrison. On second thought, let's not imagine that. Forget I mentioned it.
11. Here's the other piece of good news: When the Steelers have struggled to pass protect, it has been against teams that like to blitz: the Giants, the Eagles, the Cowboys, basically the entire NFC East. Teams that rush four linemen on most plays haven't been successful against us: Bengals, Colts, Jaguars, Texans. Even 3-4 teams that don't use a lot of exotic looks (or, more to the point, don't have a whole lot of talent at outside linebacker) have struggled to get to Roethlisberger: Patriots, Chargers, Browns. And, as I've mentioned before, if you take the NFC East out of the equation, we've let up 20 sacks in ten games. I'll take that. I know that Jeff Fisher checks this blog every day, so I hope he forgets this week. If the Titans start blitzing like crazy, we're boned. If they go with their base defense and their base pressure packages, I think we'll be good to go.
12. Cornerback Cortland Finnegan should not have made the Pro Bowl. He's not that great of a man coverage guy and, at least once a game, he does something that could be categorized as "ponderously dumbasstical." He'll blow a coverage, he'll overcommit to a running lane, he'll get flagged for some idiotic personal foul. One of those things (if not all) will happen in Sunday's game. We need to be prepared to strike when it happens. Santonio Holmes, I'm looking at you. Or, Nate Washington. Whichever.
    
13. Hines Ward has been quite clutch the last few weeks. I thought that he had lost a few miles an hour off his fast ball, but he seems to be stepping up at just the right point. This is going to be a tight game, so we need to be able to count on him to make those plays. He better not let us down.
14. Roethlisberger has made it a habit the past few games of forgetting how to play quarterback for the first 3 1/2 quarters of the game, then turning it on late. Can't have that happen on Sunday. It could get ugly.
    
15. I think we're going to continue to see a committee situation in the back field. Mewelde Moore just brings too much to the table to only give him a couple of carries per game and Fast Willie just isn't as explosive as he used to be. Tennessee's defense closes to the ball very, very, very quickly and their defenders are too smart to make a mistake and have Willie rip off a big run. Plus which, I think the days of Willie being able to do that at any moment are gone. I'm not writing his eulogy, but I will say that I'm now more glad than ever that we drafted Mendenhall. Hopefully his shoulder is okay.
16. If it is windy, we're screwed. Bitch Merger's punts will travel 20 yards in the air and Arians will still make Roethlisberger throw 60 yards down the field. The wind will affect the Titans, too, but we seem to go on about our business and ignore the elements. That's another mistake we can't make on Sunday.

So, to review:

Our gap discipline cancels out their back side contain. (That sounds dirty, but also sounds like Amish porn.)

Our pass rush cancels out their pass protection. We won't get sacks, but we'll get pressure.

Their injuries and lack of blitzing cancels out our crappy pass protection.

The three things they do best, we have boiled down to a push.

Therefore...

Who would you rather have: Kerry Collins or Ben Roethlisberger? Roethlisberger. Steelers 1, Titans 0.

Who would you rather have: Justin Gage, Justin McCareins, Brandon Jones, and Bo Scaife (they're real guys, I promise, I didn't make them up), or Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Nate Washington, and Heath Miller? Steelers 2, Titans 0.

Who do you trust more on third and one: LenDale White or Gary Russell? Ouch. I'm giving the Titans two for that one. Steelers 2, Titans 2.

Who is more likely to rip off a big run that shatter the collective wills of the opposing defense: Chris Johnson or Willie Parker? Sorry, gotta go Johnson. Titans 3, Steelers 2.

Rob Bironas or Jeff Reed with the game on the line? Reed. Barely. This is not a knock on Reed, but rather a compliment to Bironas. Titans 3, Steelers 3.

Who's angrier? Titans 4, Steelers 3.

Who has more to lose? Titans 5, Steelers 3.

Who is playing at home? Titans 6, Steelers 3.

Tomlin or Fisher? As much as I hate Jeff Fisher and his mullet, he's a great coach and a hell of a motivator. But, still gotta go Tomlin. Again, not a slight against Fisher. Titans 6, Steelers 4.

Game's on the line and the defense needs to make a stop. Titans or Steelers? Titans 6, Steelers 5.

Game's on the line and the offense needs to make a play. Titans 6, Steelers 6.

Who's luckier? Um... uh... The Steelers have caught their fair share of breaks during the season, but the Titans were on the fortuitous side of a number of plays and officiating decisions. Did they both use it all up already? Did Tennessee go through an unlucky patch the past three games and now they're getting back to good? Have the Steelers blown their luck wad?

I really have no idea.

What I do know is that these two teams are too closely matched for anything but luck to decide the outcome. If both sides execute the way they should, play the way they should, and the coaches and coordinators approach this game the way they've approached every game, it's up to lady luck to pick which side she favors.

I think the horse shoe passes to the Titans.

Prediction:

Titans 14, Steelers 10

Steeler vs. hated Ravens Review

Well, first of all, I meant that I wanted to take the over for the last game, not the under, so I'm both retarded and bad at proof reading.

Second of all, I thought the Steelers were going to come out firing, using their no huddle offense and as many receivers as they could muster (probably four, since a tailback would need to be kept in to block). They didn't.

As a matter of fact, I thought that this game was going to be one of those rare situations where one team would try to out-think or out-coach the other team and the results would be the opposite of what was expected. I thought that both offenses would go all pass wacky, which would shock the hell out of both defenses, and we'd have a high-scoring first half, followed by some excellent second half adjustments. Didn't happen, obviously.

But, if the hated Ravens had come out throwing like crazy, it eventually would have favored the Steelers. Big time. If we had a solution for Tony Romo and Matt Cassel in the spread offense, the high-flying antics of Philip Rivers and company, and were a couple of tipped balls away from shutting down Peyton Manning, then Joe Flacco and his unibrow don't scare me.

More to the point, no passing game in the NFL scares me. I'm working on something for the end of the season -- since, ya know, we have a bye and all -- about how truly amazing this defense is and how remarkable their season has been. Needless to say, I think they've been pretty friggin' awesome.

A Few Thoughts:

1. I read this, from a Steelers fan that e-mailed the ESPN.com blogger that writes about the AFC North: "When are teams going to learn that leaving games in the hands of the officials is not the way to win said games? If the Ravens stop the Steelers from driving 91.99 yards at the end of the game, then there's no chance of the officials deciding it was actually 92 yards instead." That's pretty much all the STFU that hated Ravens fans need to drink. How about your vaunted defense stops our offense for the first 91.99 of those yards before you bitch about the last .01? If the hated Ravens had stopped us at any point in that drive, there wouldn't be a controversial goal line play to discuss.
2. While we're at it, the refs just didn't call penalties in Sunday's game. I think that boils down to the fact that they could've called one on every play, so they just decided to back off. How many flags were there in the third and fourth quarters? One? Maybe? I think it might've been zero. Okay, I just looked it up. There were five. But, two of those were false starts.
3. I am still deeply concerned with Bitch Merger and his two bum hamstrings. Maybe it's just me, but I have this nagging feeling that a team that likes to run the ball and play defense shouldn't absolutely suck on special teams.

While we're at it, the other team that was succeeding with the, "play defense, run the ball, and do just enough to win the fourth quarter" strategy, the Tennessee Titans are next on the schedule.

They just lost to the Houston Texans of all teams. They were in a position to win heading into the game's final two minutes, but Kerry Collins overthrew his man. I don't care that Jeff Fisher needed balls like church bells to go for it on 4 and 3 when he could've just kicked a 49-yard field goal.

The point is that Ben Roethlisberger and company would have converted that fourth down and scored either a touchdown or the winning field goal with under a minute left to play. And, if they had kicked a field goal and made it -- who else is more clutch than Jeff Reed at this point? -- the defense would've held.

That's the big difference between the two teams. I was sure that the Steelers were going to score a touchdown and win, then hold the hated Ravens on their last drive. I was 100% sure of it. I wasn't even 70% sure that the Titans were going to pull out a victory on Sunday, even though they had a first down inside the opponent's 40.

They could come out fired up and beat us on Sunday, but I'm no longer scared of that Titans team in the least. I guess we'll find out what they're made of with the #1 seed on the line.

This Steelers team reminds me of the 2003 Patriots. They win close games, they play great defense, they play solid fundamental football. They hang around against good teams and find a way to win. They blow out bad teams, eventually pulling away in the fourth quarter.

They win ugly, but, damnit, they win. And, with a different guy stepping up as the hero each week, we're not putting too much of our mojo in one basket.

16 Reasons I Hate the Hated Ravens

I have decided that the hated Ravens don't make me poop my pants as much as they make everyone else poop their pants, especially the Steelers. Of course, the Steelers would only poop their pants because of the mutual respect that the hated Ravens and the Steelers share, so there's that.

I read this today and it started to get my blood up. This is what the rivalry with the Browns should be. But, right now, our rivalry with the Browns is about as much as a rivalry as the one between Texas and Baylor.

We need to make the most out of our rivalry with the hated Ravens while we can.

1. First rule, no mutual respect and no pooping of pants. Hatred only.
   
2. How the hell did Joe Flacco throw for 193 yards on us in the first game? How did it happen? Todd Heap was hurt, no one remembered that Mark Clayton was on the team, and Derrick Mason is 148 years old. How did he do it? I'm gonna go with the power of the unibrow. So, I hate Flacco because of that unibrow and because people are comparing him to Ben Roethlisberger.
3. The Steelers have 1,350 yards rushing (23rd) and the hated Ravens have 1,872 (5th). Know what the difference is? Know why they're so far ahead? Attempts. They run the ball almost 10 more times per game than we do, so they have a bunch more yards. I hate that everyone will look at the 5th vs. 23rd ranking and say that they're way better at running the ball than we are.
4. Flacco has thrown for 2,410 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Ben has 2,616 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The stats are basically identical, but who would you rather have? I mentioned I hate the comparisons, right?
5. Hines Ward is better than Derrick Mason, Santonio Holmes is better than Mark Clayton, Nate Washington and Limas Sweed could probably beat out Clayton for the second receiver job in Baltimore. Heath Miller is healthier than Heap. But... they still out gained us through the air in Week 4.
6. I hate that we're 10-3 and haven't clinched the division yet.
7. Not only have we not clinched the division, but we could miss the playoffs. At 10-3. It's not gonna happen, but the fact that it could makes me mad and fills me with hate. And the hated Ravens are the reason for that. If we played out west, we'd have already clinched our division like the 8-5 Cardinals and Broncos.
8. I hate how people talk about how hot the hated Ravens are right now. "They've won 6 of 7 and they've been beating up on teams." We've won 8 of 10 and haven't, at any point in the season, lost three games in a row. Baltimore lost their next two after we beat them in overtime.
9. Fans of the hated Ravens have been claiming that we "stole a win" or "got lucky" or, my favorite, that the hated Ravens "should have won" the last game. Yeah. They totally would've won if they hadn't lost. If we hadn't done all the things that allowed us to beat them, they would've emerged victorious. I hate that. Unless your name is Doctor Emmit Brown, revisionist history is a waste of time.
10. Because he is on my fantasy team, I hate Willis McGahee. He also went to Miami (FL).
11. Because, at best he sat there and did nothing while two people were murdered or at worst he killed two people, then wasn't dumb enough to rob someone in Vegas so he could go to jail, I hate Ray Lewis. I hate him a lot. Guess where Ray Ray went to school?
    
12. They say the hated Ravens have a pressure defense and that we can't protect the quarterback, but we only allowed three sacks that first game. First time Ben gets pressured, the announcers are going to talk about how we can't pass block and they're the greatest defense of all time. I hate that. Gonna be like the Redskins game all over again. And, this isn't revisionist history, this is just a stat: Our quarterbacks have been sacked 38 times this season; 21 times by NFC East teams (4 games), 17 times by everyone else (9 games). If we didn't have to play the NFC East, there wouldn't be the perception that we can't pass block.
13. I hate Le'Ron McClain because he reminds me of Jerome Bettis and we weren't the ones that drafted him.
14. I hate that there will be at least 30,000 Steelers fans in the stands on Sunday and we're 3 point underdogs because of "homefield advantage."
15. Haloti Ngata isn't anywhere near as good as Casey Hampton, but there will be comparisons on Sunday. Guess what? I kinda hate that.
16. The hated Ravens have been the luckiest, most opportunistic, most injury-free team in the universe over the past decade. They won 13 games in 2006 with no offense, a slow defense, and the ghost of Steve McNair at quarterback. And all anyone talks about is how we lucked out and got favorable calls in the 2005 playoffs. Man, I hate that.

Everyone else thinks that this game is going to end in a 0-0 tie, but I must be one of the few people on the planet that A) doesn't think it'll be close and B) doesn't think it'll be all that low scoring.

The over/under for this game is 34 and I'm taking the under.

Remember Myron Cope Night in 2005? Both teams came into the game needing a win, it was only Ben's second year, so they wanted to insulate him and not ask him to do too much, Jamal Lewis had just gotten out of prison, and Jerome Bettis was still playing. Oh. Anthony Wright was Baltimore's quarterback. If you're asking, "Who the hell is Anthony Wright?" my point has already been proved.

At any rate, everyone expected that game to end in a 0-0 tie. Or, at least, they expected that the two teams would run the ball a gazillion times and try to beat each other into submission. Instead, a total of 75 passes were attempted -- including one by No-Block Gardocki -- and the game ended 20-19, Steelers, covering the Over.

I think this game will take a similar path, with both teams throwing way more than they probably should. Roethlisberger is better than Anthony Wright and Flacco isn't as far along in his development as Roethlisberger was on that Halloween night.

We made Tony Romo and Matt Cassel look like totally incompetent assholes the past two weeks and we'll do it again to the man with the iron unibrow on Sunday.

Except this time, we'll actually make something out of those turnovers and score more than 20 points. Their offense? Not so much.

Prediction:

Steelers 27, Hated Ravens 10

Steelers vs. Cowboys Review

Well, it was a hell of a win for the Steelers and a hell of a choke job by the Cowboys. I guess that's what we've come to expect from these two teams in December, though.

The Good:

1. Yet another win and yet another come-from-behind victory for the Steelers. Once again, it was one of those situations where someone had to step up and make a play and one of those situations where Ben Roethlisberger had to put a crappy few quarters behind him and win the game.
2. He was able to do that -- by the way, he now holds the record for most games won by a quarterback in his first five seasons, which is a list that includes Dan Marino and Tom Brady -- because the defense kept us in the game yet again.
3. What a performance by the defense. Five turnovers, they scored a touchdown, and they kept the offense on the Cowboys side of the field for most of the game. They won the game and the fact that they were the far superior defense was the reason we pulled it out. Someone real smart must've predicted that.
4. Nate Washington really came through in crunch time, with three catches on that last drive. Heath Miller came through in the red zone with the touchdown that tied the game.
5. Terrell Owens only had three catches for 32 yards and Roy E. Williams had two catches for 16 yards. So, I guess some dumb ass was worried for nothing. And Romo averaged only 5.4 yards per attempt.

The Bad:

1. Roethlisberger averaged only 5.1 yards per attempt. The big difference between him and Romo was that Romo lost a fumbled and threw three interceptions, whereas Ben didn't turn the ball over. And that's why he won. Still a bad game by Roethlisberger, though. For about 3 1/2 quarters.
2. Where was Hines Ward? One catch for two yards, that's where Hines was. I understand that he's having a bigger year than Santonio Holmes and that defenses should focus on taking him away, but I didn't think they needed to focus on him that much. And, even when defenses have focused on him in the past, he's still gotten something decent. At least more than one friggin' catch for two lousy yards.
3. According to the stat line, the offensive line played a bad game. I think that it was a combination of them sucking and Dallas coming into the game prepared and playing well, but you don't let up five sacks if you've played a good game.
4. Speaking of bad, how about 26 carries for 70 yards and a 2.7 yards per carry average? How about the fact that the Cowboys and rookie Tashard Choice ran for 95 yards on 26 carries (3.7 yards per carry) against our vaunted run defense. We usually don't win when we get outrushed. Or outgained.
5. Yep, we got outgained 289-238.

The Ugly:

1. We forced five turnovers and held them under 300 yards. We started one drive on their 25 and another on their 22. And we still needed a defensive touchdown to score 20 points.
2. Bitch Merger averaged 32.8 yards per punt. Sure, it was windy, but their guy -- and I'll have you know that their starting punter, Matt McBriar was placed on IR earlier this season, so they have us many excuses as we do -- averaged 40 yards per punt.
3. We also punted six times with five three-and-outs.
4. A team that has Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Hines Ward, and a quarterback who's almost six and a half feet tall, throws a pass short of the goal line on third and goal from the one. And, for those of you that care, throwing a flare pass like that where the receiver actually isn't in the end zone is a mistake. Either they called the wrong play or Carey Davis cut his route short. In that situation, when you're that close, you never, ever, ever, ever leave it up to chance that you'll make it in the end zone. You should already be in the end zone, so that when you catch it, it's instantly a touchdown and you don't have to do any work to make it a touchdown. I watched the replay a couple of times and realized that Davis may have cut the route short because the linebacker on the play successfully read it and probably would've intercepted the pass had Davis been in the end zone. However, one would hope that Ben would've tucked the ball and taken the sack. At that point, it would've been fourth and goal from the five and we would've done the smart thing and kicked the field goal.

All that having been said, I have a few more thoughts:

1. Even though he went for it on fourth and one when he shouldn't have and even though everyone in the stadium knew that they were going to run Gary Russell to the left to try to get that yard, I still like Tomlin a lot. I think it was the wrong call and, since they threw the ball on third down, no one would fall for play action... but, still. I still like him. I have a feeling that he's always going to challenge the players to go out and win the game instead of trying not to lose it. That instills the players with confidence -- sure, it can be a crushing blow when they fail -- but it makes them think that coach trusts them and that coach has the confidence in them to get into that same situation while the game is still on the line to try again if that attempt fails. Like I said, I would've kicked it, but I like Tomlin's moxie and I'm looking forward to the next ten years of second-guessing him.
2. We're no longer a power running team. We don't have the mentality and we aren't physical enough. We're also not talented enough, nor bold enough, to be a passing team. So... we're kinda screwed on offense.
3. I'm going to (hopefully) defend this statement at a later date -- when I have more time and more data -- but I seriously believe this is the best Steelers defense I have seen in person. I'm not challenging the Steel Curtain teams of the '70s, I'm talking about the 90s teams and even a couple of the teams from this decade. This is the best Steelers defense I have seen with my own two eyes, being fully aware of what a good defense looks like.
4. This defense may actually be good enough to take us all the way. The Ravens did it in 2000 with Trent Dilfer. The Bucs did it in 2002 with Brad Johnson. In those years, there wasn't a dominant team that everyone was gunning for. Just a whole lot of really good teams. The Steelers are in the mix with all the really good teams in the league in 2008 and have beaten a few of them.
5. I would also take Ben Roethlisberger over Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer.
   

16 Reasons the Cowboys Make Me Poop My Pants

First and foremost, I hate the Cowboys. My buddy Dave always said that his second-favorite team was whoever played Dallas that week. A couple years, that team went 11-5, which was friggin' sweet.

Ah, the Dave Campo Era. I still say that the collapse of the Cowboys was Chan Gailey's fault, not Campo's and that Bill Parcells benefited from some of the sound draft picks that Campo made and players that he developed. But, still, the fact that Dallas went 5-11 three straight years makes me smile.

However, they were 13-3 last season and, after struggling through Tony Romo's broken thumb, they appear to be back in 2007 form. And they need to make a statement. And we're the next team on the schedule.

And I'm already wasting some of my 16 points. Let's get to it.

1. People talk about Marion Barber. People talk about how awesome he is. They talk about how he might be limited by a dislocated toe. (Don't make fun of anyone with a toe injury. Jonathan Ogden is 12 feet tall and was felled by a toe injury. He will eat you and your loved ones.) I think he'll play and he's definitely a concern, but I think Jim Brown's clone would still struggle against this defense. We've faced too many great running backs and shut them down too many times for me to think otherwise. As soon as someone goes off on us, I'll change my tune.
2. The one dude that does scare me is Felix Jones, Barber's back-up. He's crazy-fast, he's a big play guy, and he's been hurt most of the year after he got off to a good start. He was a first round draft choice. He's got some incentives in his contract, to be sure, that he figured he was going to hit, but then he missed a bunch of time. He probably already spent that money in Week 5 before he got hurt. He probably has some Escalades and some gold-plated hot tubs and some other stuff that rich people buy that he's gotta pay for. Those incentives and his desire to meet them is what scares me. Potential + Desire + Desperation = Badness for the Steelers Defense.
3. Where Barber worries me is when he comes out of the back field as a receiver. He has 47 catches and didn't have a quarterback for a month. He had a 70 yard reception for a touchdown against Steelers West this season. Remember how LaDanian Tomlinson hurt us? Remember how Clinton Portis hurt us? Think about that and add dreadlocks.
4. Terrell Owens, really, I don't think he'll be a big factor. He's someone that has to be game planned for. He's someone you need to keep an eye on. He's their big play guy in the passing game. He's talented, he's big, he's fast, and he does sit-ups in his driveway. He should scare me, but he doesn't. And, anyone that's read my stuff since 2004 (Bruddah, I'm looking at you) knows that Troy Polamalu shut Owens down when he was an Eagle. No matter where Owens lined up, Troy followed him. He had seven catches, but only 51 yards. And no touchdowns. That was four years ago on Heinz Field turf that hadn't yet been murdered by November. Now that Troy's back in top form, Owens is four years older, and he'll be trying to cut on sandy, crappy, cold grass, I just don't see him having a big game.
5. Here's the thing, though. That 2004 game was against the Eagles, not the Cowboys. Andy Reid doesn't know that the I Formation exists. He had 20 receivers on the field, so Troy could rove around and shadow Owens. Dallas will work primarily out of the I, or some other two back, one tight end, two wide receiver set. Does Ike Taylor cover Roy E. Willams (the other receiver)? Does he move to safety? Do you move gay to safety? Does Ryan Clark move into the box? Do they play straight defense and put Ike on Owens? Dick LeBeau is smarter than me, so I'm sure he's got something figured out. But, if we don't have the Troy-Owens match-up, then maybe Owens has a big game, unless we handcuff Troy and make him help over the top. Don't see that happening, either, though.
6. So, about Roy E. He's a talented dude. He was stuck in Detroit for the past few years (same draft class as Roethlisberger) and the Cowboys traded picks for him like he was Herschel Walker or something, so they must see something. He was a #1 receiver in his previous life with the Lions and he didn't just happen into that. Regardless of what Fantasy Football owners think of him (I got nailed, same as everyone), he's big, he's fast, he's in his home state of Texas, he's finally with a winning team, and he probably knows the offense by now. Someone that has all that going for him... you really want William Gay covering him?
7. The Cowboys also happen to have Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin. Austin has three touchdowns on 12 catches. Every fourth time he catches the ball, he scores. Crayton, working as the third guy most of the season, has 31 catches. That would put him third on the Steelers, ahead of Nate Washington and Heath Miller. They're both big, they're both fast. Sure, they might have Dwight Stone's hands, but they're still much better than our third and fourth guys. And, 43 catches and six touchdowns between those two guys (Crayton has three touchdowns, too)... I mentioned they didn't have a quarterback for a month, right? At least Deshea Townsend and Bryant McFadden should be back.
   
8. Nevermind that the Cowboys have all those guys, all that talent at running back and wide receiver. They also have Jason Witten, who, now that he's healthy, is pretty much the best tight end in the NFL. He can stretch the seam, he can go deep, he can run after the catch, they throw screens to him. Chances are, they'll line him up on the strong side opposite LaMarr Woodley, who is still learning the linebacker position from a coverage standpoint. Roy E. and Owens can tear us up on the perimeter and Witten can make us pay underneath. Which is awesome.
9. Here's what we need to do: Play Cover 1. Clark plays centerfield and shades to Roy E's side. Troy follows Owens to whatever side of the field he's on and plays in the box on that side. If he bites too hard on playaction, we're screwed, but he'll give deep help to Ike or McFadden otherwise, which will keep the big play guys in the passing game in check. Gay/Townsend/Fernando Bryant should be able to handle Crayton and Austin. With the linebackers in zone formation, that should equal a big pile of rolling death for anyone that catches anything underneath, with Lawrence Timmons, James Farrior, and Larry Foote acting as roving assassins against any poor schmuck that catches the ball. That still leaves the seam open for Witten, but the hope is that we'll be able to cover that the way we always cover the deficiencies in our pass coverage: By getting to the quarterback. And, per usual, how well we get to quarterback will go a long way towards determining how well we do on defense. That's James Harrison and Woodley territory. Go get 'em, guys.
10. On offense, we just need to be able to run the ball. I looked it up and I realized that we're 22nd in the league. Twenty. Second. I don't care if Mewelde Moore needs to pull a Billy Cole out there, we need to get some yards on the ground.
11. Their front three has two guys that I wanted the Steelers to draft at some point in ends Chris Canty and Marcus Spears. They also have Jay Ratliff, who's good, I guess, even though he's about 50 pounds lighter than Casey Hampton. He has six sacks, so it makes me think that he's going to blow by Justin Hartwig at least once. But, really, their front three isn't blowing my skirt up.
12. It's their linebackers, which are the foundation of any good 3-4 defense, that kinda make me a little skittish. DeMarcus Ware has 15 sacks, but he's a streaky kind of guy like Joey Porter. If he has a good match-up, he'll get a ton of sacks. If not, he'll disappear. I would like to take this opportunity to point out that Marvel Smith did not participate in practice and it looks like Max Starks will start once again. So... good match-up for Ware!
13. The Cowboys have 40 sacks this season. They blitz a lot. They're a high risk/high reward kind of a defense. Since they have enough guys in the secondary that they can afford to let Pacman Jones come and go as he pleases, they feel as though they can keep blitzing like there's no tomorrow and it won't come back to bite them. And, honestly, aside from that crazy-ass Eagles game in Week 2 and the bizzare Rams game in Week 7, it hasn't come back to bite them. This is actually a pretty damn good defense, they're just overshadowed by their offense.
14. Ben Roethlisberger does pretty well against the blitz and can often pull some miracle play out of his ass to get a huge first down or a touchdown, but I have a bad feeling like the Cowboys are going to bring a lot of guys early. If they get in too quick and Ben goes down too many times, it's going to end up like the Eagles game for us, which was not good. If we can beat the blitz early and hit some big plays, then we can get these guys on their heels. We can't have bad reads, we can't have mix-ups between Hines and Santonio and Ben, and we can't let them pile up a bunch of sacks and/or turnovers early in the game. They're going to be fired up, they've got a lot of momentum going their way given the success they've had since Romo's return. All they need is something to fan those flames. The fans will be fired up, too. So will the Steelers, but the last thing we need is for them to go up 14-0 early, take the crowd out of the game, and have the defense start to gamble and play stupid because they don't have faith in the offense. We've kept it together very well thus far. But this game has the potential to make everything unravel.
15. We need Fast Willie back. Ware's fast and a good run defender, but he plays on the weak side. If we can run to the strong side at Bradie James (c'mon, with a name like that, how tough can he be?) and Willie can bounce a couple to the outside, we've got a shot at making some big plays in the running game. Historically, Willie has gotten his yards in chunks. The reason we're 22nd in the league is because those chunks are coming this season. We need to get those chunks back. Their safeties are too aggressive and sometimes take bad angles and their cornerbacks don't tackle very well or support the run with all that much enthusiasm. This is a good situation for Willie to go off. And he really, really needs to so we can get some traction going into the postseason.
16. Wade Phillips gave a bunch of his veteran (read: old) guys the day off yesterday. No injuries, no real reason, he just gave them the day off. I just have this feeling that, early in the game, they're not going to be ready to get hit. So, from the first snap, we need to hit all the guys that got the day off, even if they're standing peacefully on the sidelines. The one BIG thing we have going for us is that we're a far more physical team than the Cowboys. The day off works in our favor and we need to take advantage of it.

It's a close call, so I was going to take the home team. But, we're 4-2 at home and 5-1 on the road, so that doesn't really work.

I was going to let my hatred of the Cowboys cloud my judgement and pick against them because I hate them. Couldn't do that in good conscience.

I was going to pick against Wade Phillips on the road versus Mike Tomlin because Phillips looks like someone's dumbass uncle and Tomlin's a smart guy. Didn't feel right.

Here's what felt right:

I have Romo and Witten on one of my fantasy teams. That team has a bye because I finished as the second seed in that league. I was very thankful about that in the wake of Thanksgiving, because I didn't want my fantasy season to hinge on Romo's and Witten's ability to score points against our defense.

Any time this season when we've faced an offense that was on a roll and looked unstoppable, we've stopped them. We even did a decent job against the Colts, but a couple of freak plays and three interceptions by Ben undid that.

I think we put this game on the defense. We're 9-3 and our offense is 24th overall, 19th in passing, and 22nd in rushing. Yep. That bad. And we're 9-3.

I give us one more week with the defense carrying us.

Prediction:

Steelers 23, Cowboys 14

Three Things...

...that jumped out at me today:

1. The Patriots are screwed. Matt Cassel is referring to himself in the third person: "It's not about Matt Cassel," Cassel said. "This is about 11 guys on offense trying to get better. This isn't about one guy's performance or Matt Cassel and his stock rising or dropping. I could care less about that. I care about winning ballgames."
2. I like Willie Colon: "I think we got the sense that we started to wear on them a little bit going into halftime (with the score tied 10-10)," Colon said. "As a line, we kind of saw their faces. We knew if we kept pounding the rock, we kept sticking to it and knuckling up with them, they were going to break. And they did."
3. Guess what our record was after 13 weeks in 2007? Yep. 9-3. Don't mean to urinate in anyone's Cornflakes, I'm just sayin'.