Seriously? That was a flat out joke. This was a game that feeds conspiracy theorists who believe sports are rigged for gambling and ratings.

Oh it is not a surprise that Denver can beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you recall I was concerned about the game being in Denver and the pile of injuries to the Steelers. I also pointed out the problem I saw if the Steelers held on the ball and moved the ball but limped their way to field goals and not touchdowns. The first 6 points were LAME and shameful!

In fact this game had the feeling of last years New Orleans trip to Seattle where a putrid Seattle team beat a beleaguered Saints team.

But here is the absurd part of yesterday’s game. I am just a hack blogger and life time sports enthusiast. Okay I do know more than the average person based on my years of actually playing also. But I am not supposed to know more than an NFL coaching staff.

The entire game plan for the Pittsburgh defense was useless. Thankfully Tebow and the Denver offense suck or else they would have scored 40 points with ease.

Dick LeBeau who normally is a genius totally gakked this one. Okay I understand that half the defense was hurt and you were getting no pressure from your front line or linebackers for that matter. Ironically against Tebow that would not matter because he is as accurate as an Iraqi scud missile.

Here are the classic mistakes made yesterday.

1 – YOU DON’T PLAY ZONE AGAINST A STIFF. The guy is praying you do this. Because even and idiot at this level can hit open receivers who find a soft spot in the zone. Especially when he has an hour and a half to stand their and load up to throw.

Now you will read that the Steelers were playing man to man but eyes don’t lie. Or that was the worst man to man coverage I have ever seen. The cushions and the space allowed was very troublesome. Then again nowadays unless your name is Derrell Revis that seems to be what man to man means. I CALL IT A ZONE if you are not stride for stride because that is what it is. ROLL THE TAPE and tell me the wide open receivers running in space are covered.

2 – YOU DON’T LET A COLLEGE QB STYLE DICTATE WHAT YOU DO. Credit the Broncos for designing and offense that favors the strengths of Tebow and hides his incompetence as much as the other team allows. Which is what the Steelers did. They allowed Denver the freedom of what Tebow can do!

It is very simple what he does. They basically run a Wildcat all the time. Which means on paper your concern is 1- Tebow

2 – an option type run or conventional run and 3 – a pass.

Normally you would just have run or pass. Of course when you play against say a Michael Vick you have a similar problem except you don’t have the college type look that the Broncos use. Meaning the option type play is always in the mix.

The shame of it all is the confusion that this is something new. Who hasn’t played against this crap in their college years? True no one does this in the big boy league but aren’t the LeBeau’s of the world supposed to be prepared for anything? Embarrassing.

Solving Tebow at least at this point is as easy as eating ice cream. Go after him, contain the option, and cover the receivers man to man. Oh and tackle!

It is this easy. He won’t throw to guys with men near them, at least not accurately. You saw that in Sunday’s disgrace. The passes he completed, all 10 of them were lay ups for crying out loud.

And what happened to the #1 secondary in the league? It goes to show that the game starts up front.

On offense I am totally confused as to what the plan was. I usually am. Arians has some very clever designs but never seems to have a feel for what to do or when to do it.

40 passes vs 23 rushes? Really?

You were running the ball at a 6 yard per carry clip why not smash it down there throat? Yes I know you got behind 20 to 6 at half. But this is the Broncos not the Patriots. How prolific do you think their offense is? Besides any offense if it is on the sidelines cannot hurt you.

Why is this the norm? If a team is scoring on you so easily why would you want their offense on the field so quickly? Hey if you’re losing 30 to 3 at some point you need to pick up the pace a little. But 14 points in the 1st half is not the time to abandon the run. You’re averaging 6 yards a carry and throwing the ball at 7 yards an attempt so what is the difference as far as yards gained? 1 more yard in this scenario is meaningless. You’re moving the chains by mixing it up.

And I am so sick of the shot gun with no hint of running when you are in the red zone. That is so stupid and gives your opponent’s defense the upper hand.

The offensive line was very good at times and putrid at times. I mean when 3 guys are rushing at the end and getting penetration that is about as bad as it gets.

The bottom line however is regardless of all things considered this game was in your hands with just over a minute in regulation and you did nothing with the ball. A simple field goal was all you needed and you went backwards against a very pedestrian defense.

Don’t even get me started about OT!

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So here is the over under question of the week.

Will the Steelers have more sacks than Tebow completions?

The number I pick is 6 Tebow completions.

I have the Steeers penciled in for 4.5 sacks but I could see them getting more.

This game is simple the only chance the Broncos have is summed up in 2 factors:

1 – The game is in Denver. Which does make a difference whether we like it or not.

2 – Key Injuries

Logic would dictate that Pittsburgh should steamroll this lame Bronco team. For starters the Broncos are not a very good team and have a a quarterback who is not an NFL quarterback. Denver is fortunate that the Steelers, while the #1 defense, have regressed somewhat in rushing defense. Which is the only thing Denver can do with the ball.

Oh Tebow has made some big time throws here and there but they were a result of plays designed to find very wide open receivers. If the Steelers play man to man, he has no shot of finding that kind of open man. He will have to throw into tight spots and that won’t happen.

So the Denver offense is already 1 dimensional and the Steelers do know how to stop the run they just have not been as great at it as they usually are. They have allowed just under 100 yards a game compared to the usual 70 or so they have averaged in the past years.

Denver led the league in rushing with a 164 yard per game average so there in lies the challenge.

The obstacle for Pittsburgh is going to be the one legged Ben Roethlisberger and no Rashard Mendenhall.

Simply put if the Steelers can build a quick 13 point lead the game is over.

Game plan is this. Play everyone up on the line like you did against New England. Come at Tebow with reckless abandon and hit him hard and often. While doing so fill the running lanes and take out McGahee. Do not allow them 1st downs!

On offense keep the ball for long stretches and score touchdowns! 2 would probably do it but a nice 24 points would be sweet. Run the ball strong and attack Denver #18 passing defense with quick strikes and speed. I want to see Wallace deep at least 4 times. And throw in a couple Antonio Brown bombs also! But over all work short and long, in and out.

I see Steelers 23 Denver 9 but this could be a 31 to 6 win if the Steelers impose their will on this fraud of a team with a fraud QB.

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STEELERS GET THE SON OF IRONHEAD ON THURSDAY AND ANOTHER GATOR ON FRIDAY!

NFL LOCK -OUT / NO LOCK OUT – EMBARRASSING LABOR STRUGGLE TAKES A BACK SEAT TO DRAFT!

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Well the old cliche cannot be over stated and that is “The game of football is won in the trenches!”

The Pittsburgh Steelers are living by that rule this year so far in the draft. Yes in the 1st round they take the son of pretty solid former pro Craig Ironhead Heyward.

Yes at Pick #31 the Steelers chose pitbull DE from Ohio U Cameron Heyward. Ironically the Heywood family hail from Pittsburgh! So it is a homecoming of sorts for the active defensive lineman. He is said to be made for the 3-4 defense and can play either side.

His biggest asset is his father as far as I can tell. Oh he had a solid career at Ohio St but he did not stand out among the defensive ends in this class. However he clearly was going to be a pro. Ranked by some as the 24 prospect overall. What he will become will likely be helped by his lifetime grooming. Solid athleticism and clearly understands what is in store. Realistically he is projected to be a rotation guy who will have a steady and reliable career.

Gilbert was taken in the 2nd Rd at #31 which was the 77th pick overall. Gilbert was among the very highly touted O-line that featured 2 years ago the Pouncey twins and he. His linemates Markus, who was the Steelers 1st round pick and had a great year as a rookie center and Mike Pouncey who was a 1st round pick this year. It may be that Markus Pouncey may have even been asked about Gilbert. However many had Gilbert as a 3rd Round talent. Although he was taken only 2 picks shy of the 3rd Round.

Honestly neither pick gets me jacked but the Steelers have a solid history of doing there homework! So we’ll have to see how these guys work out. Both have a good chance of playing but the size of the impact remains to be seen.

The Steelers in my view are one of the few teams that have had success targeting need position instead of just taking the best player available. So again I will give them a pass and see what happens.

Either way I will agree with their philosophy that both sides of the line are in sore need of help and depth! Does Heyward say something about the aging lineman or about the slow development of Ziggy Hood?

Steelers are presently set for the #31 pick in Rd 3. More on that later ……………………..

OH AND HINES WARD IS HOLDING HIS OWN IN THE DANCE CONTEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The worst part is you had the ball with 1:59 left and a touchdown wins it! No excuses you failed.

I want to thank the Steelers, the players, the coaches, and the organization for an exciting and Championship caliber season. They accomplished many positive things. In the end however the season fell short of the goal, the objective at hand. It will be filed under fun but failed. Yes failed. There is no other way to describe it when you do not win the Super Bowl. We are the Pittsburgh Steelers. Making the playoffs or getting to the Super Bowl is not the end game. Being World Champions is the one and only goal and that is the way it should be.

You can all hold your head high and re-group for next season but let’s not kid ourselves this was in the grasp. But 3 turnovers, shoddy play calling in my opinion, and some stupid penalties killed you. I also can’t help  but think Polamalu is hurt far more than we are being told. He was a non factor for the positive and blew coverage on a crucial Green Bay TD!

My worst fears came true:

1. Turnovers- led to at least 50% of the Packers points. The Roethlisberger pick 6 was a great play by a Green Bay defender(Howard Green) who got to Ben’s arm and stopped him from getting the ball down field to an open Mike Wallace who toasted the coverage and had a clear lane to the end zone had the ball gotten to him!
2. Sputtering offense: As usual the Steelers accumulate some total yards but it does not turn into points. And when the chips are down and the pressure is on Arians goes back to his predictable self. 40 pass attempts verses 23 runs. 4 of which were Ben scrambles and don’t count as planned rushes. Now Uncle Brucey will say “but Andy you fat balding idiot we were losing by 18 points what did you think I would do?” In which I would respond “Bruce my dear friend, I understand that to a large degree but you had plenty of time and when the momentum was tilting back you had a chance to run the ball down Green Bay’s throat at times. Mendenhall was running pretty well at a 4.5 yard per carry clip! You should have mixed it up a little better. And your quick out passes to Mike Wallace is a great idea only you have him set up way to far outside. You need him in tighter so the ball is in hands quicker! I will give him credit for a good red zone percentage and a very good 2 point play. But in the end this is a far too talented offense for this ongoing under achieving. Yards doesn’t win games, points do.
3. Defense was sub par: You don’t say that often. Now granted they only surrendered 24 of the 31 points and bad turnovers kill you but the secondary sucked and Polamalu was invisible. They got killed in the seams all night long. The Green Bay protection was ready for Dick Lebeau every step of the way! The blitz was mostly ineffective. You sacked Rodgers a few times but you rarely rattled him at all. And that was crucial to winning! Oh there was some great plays here and there but the Pittsburgh defense did not have their usual dominant game. And I have to call Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin on the secondary play. The personnel in the defensive backfield is Polamalu and a bunch of hacks. They are slow and poor at coverage. If it wasn’t for some dropped balls the Packers may have ran away with this game. And Tomlin is supposed to be a secondary guru. What happened? And I am so sick of the  undisciplined crap. There was one play where a Packer receiver, I believe it was Crabtree who made a nice catch along the sidelines going down and a Steelers DB, I think it might have been Madison came over late and and didn’t even touch the Green Bay receiver on the ground as he was crossing his arms to say incomplete. But regardless of whether you think he caught the ball or not YOU NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER EVER EVER disregard making sure he is down! This kind of poor fundamentals has happened to many times recently. Remember the fumble in the Baltimore game that not one Steeler jumped on because THEY decided it was not a fumble?

In the end what can you say? This was a game pitting too fairly evenly matched teams and turnovers were going to be  factor as it always is with two evenly matched teams. Ben was not sharp at all and fought through some issues.

To the credit of the Steelers they did give it a great effort despite shooting themselves in the foot all night. In the end destiny was in there hands and they blew it! It is as simple as that.

Oh well time to get ready for the 2011 draft! And until further notice the Steelers are still the class of the NFL!

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STEELERS         26            Packers      13   – I  said it first! LOL

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Here is why the Steelers will win:

• Packers are ranked 18th against the rush in all of the NFL for 2010: Steelers ran on Baltimore (#5)  and ran on the Jets (#3) both far better against the run!
• Steelers #1 defense in the land: Simple equation – Rock Rodgers, stop run = Steelers win!
• 7 is a lucky number right?
• 3rd Super Bowl in 6 years is not a small advantage: Experience is huge at this point don’t kid yourself. Of course that is not a guaranteed deal breaker. Sometimes teams overcome the lack of experience.
• Offense should do enough to hold the ball: Turnovers are a big NO NO! Even with Legursky you can scheme for aggressive run and pass mix. Green Bay often plays a heavy linebacker and secondary formation.
• Not usually mistake prone.
• The Terrible Towel is so much better than the Cheesehead!
• Underrated receiving corps!

How the Steelers could lose:

• O-Line implosion: Packers my show a more impressive defensive front than they have all year with Legursky in. Or just let Raji explode on the newbie.
• Clay Matthews, A J Hawk and company are a very good defense if you play to their strengths. You need to do what you did against the Jets and Ravens. Shove the ball down their throat!!!!!!!!!!!!
• If you don’t level or press Rodgers he can pick any secondary apart!
• Special teams screw ups!
• Lack of scoring will kill you in this game!
• More injuries!
• Turnovers can happen!
• Outside of Polamalu, secondary is ordinary to adequate.
• Arians tries to out think himself too often!
• Fluke plays ala David Tyree head catch in Giants Super Bowl XLII

All in all I give the Steelers the edge in most areas:

• QB – Both very good to great – Ben gets edge for doing it. Rodgers is capable of outplaying anybody though. 4th Quarter is Ben hands down though!
• Offense – Green Bay overall gets the nod because in the end points matter and their offense scores and the Steeler’s don’t score enough for the talent they have
• Defense – Packers D is very very good but let’s be serious here, the Steelers defense is clearly better
• RB – Mendenhall any day over any back the Packers trot out there
• O – Line – Packers healthier and better
• D- Line – Pretty even
• Linebackers – both pretty good but the Steelers are the best in the NFL, no contest
• Kicking – Probably Packers Crosby due to his body of work. Suisham is new to Steelers
• Special Teams – Packers
• Coaching – Staff – Steelers. Head Coach – I would take Tomlin over McCarthy
• Ownership – pretty even but I love the Rooney way!
• History – both rich but Steelers a little more!

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No surprise that Super Bow XLV will match the STEELERS vs the Packers. And if you woke up on Monday January 24th and saw the Steelers beat the JETS 24 to 19 that too probably would not seem like a surprise either. However ………………..

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Don’t get me wrong I am jacked for RING #7 and I do expect that too happen. More on that later in the week though.

At half with a 24 to 3 lead there was no doubt that Rex Ryan and the Jets were going to make some counter moves to stop the Pittsburgh offense who were plowing the loud mouth Jets like Gen. Sherman through Atlanta in his March to the Sea! And that is exactly what I said needed to be done to an emotionally charged bunch who operated on pride, bravado, and a false sense of security. But if you thought that you had beaten them into submission after 30 minutes than you are nuts. The confidence meter had been stuck on mega high and permanently lodged up their butt after slaying the New England dragon and getting back to the AFC Championship for a second consecutive year! This was a 60 minute task. The Steelers defense did there part for the most part.

Okay it didn’t help that the Steelers lost Pouncey in the games opening monster drive. But you can’t dominate the clock for 34:41 and get only 287 total yards and 24 points! That is not really that impressive. Yes the Jets defense is great and this was the AFC Championship game. But once you caught them with the right hook you need to come out in the 2nd half with a totally different game plan knowing Ryan would be ready to stop the rushing onslaught.

And once again Arians could not stop being Arians at times. Although let me give him his props for showing he does understand the value of running the ball. But again my complaint has not been just to run more or less. It has been to be unpredictable. And no one would have guessed that it would be a Mendenhall-a-thon in the first half. But again that was not going to get you through 4 quarters.

And then there was the 3 and goal with the Steelers sporting a 7 to 0 lead. Yes they ran, ran, and ran some more to get to 3 and goal. At that point they should have been in a run formation and goaded the Jets into run coverage and then had a perfect play action option or a pitch to the outside perhaps. But no Arians calls a shotgun formation! Are you serious? Changing up is fine but telling the other team “oh we are going to pass now” is ludicrous in that situation! In fact Arians would have gotten my vote for O-coordinator of the year if he had ran out of that shotgun formation. Now that would have been genius and totally unexpected. Instead you got a lame Ben pass batted down and a field goal when a touch would have been enormous!

Now it is a huge factor that Ben was injured out of the gate and the Pouncey injury was a problem. No disrespect MR Legursky. And turnovers are never good.

And yes I know they had a 24 to 3 lead at half but you have to keep your foot on the throat of the enemy. Although Rex Ryan might have gotten some sick pleasure out of seeing your foot on his throat, you needed to do it nonetheless. Those are 4 points you don’t give away from stupidity.

Also early on you had Mike Wallace prove a point I made last week. He is faster than the great Derrelle Revis so exploit it. Ben had Wallace free and clear and under threw it plain and simple. Revis got toasted and was a man desperately praying the ball would be playable and luckily for him it was. But you should have had him chasing the back of jerseys three or 4 more times in the second half!

But the STEELERS are in the SUPER BOWL BABY so I am going to stop whining and enjoy it!

The 27 carries for 121 yards was huge as was the 166 rushing yards that you shoved down their throat.  And your defense played very well as expected! You held the Jets to 70 yards on the ground forcing Mark Creamchez throw. Although he did do much better in the 2nd half to his credit. He tried things and did things I did not think he could do. I still think he is over rated but his arm is not as bad as Chad Pennington’s is going down field.

The goal line stance was enormous! The ensuing safety was not but they survived it.

Credit the offense too for keeping the ball long enough at the end of the 4th quarter to squelch any Jets hopes.

Good, bad, or ugly this was a SMALL STEP FOR STEELKIND AND A GIANT LEAP FOR IMMORTALITY! The eighth trip to the Super Bowl for an extremely proud and successful franchise that epitomizes hard work, preparation, detailed oriented, and full of class! Even despite some set backs and Ben incidents the Steelers maintain greatness and a high standard. Some think Super Bowl or bust is unrealistic and too much pressure but not if you do it right. That is the goal of every franchise and you should not feel you succeeded until you won the Super Bowl and getting there is required to do that.

If you do not make it or you lose? Failure? No, not failure if you did the best you could have done. But it is not a success either it is a disappointment and if you feel any different than you don’t get the point of having a season and a league in the first place.

THE STEELERS GET THAT BETTER THEN ANY OTHER FRANCHISE AND THAT IS WHY I LOVE THEM! It’s do or die baby and this is the last front, the final frontier.

This is going to be good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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The rumble in West Pittsburgh is on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only it isn’t the Sharks and the Jets it is the baddest gang on the NFL block the Steelers against the punk mouth Jets.

Credit the Jets for making it to their second straight AFC Championship game. Mostly based on their hardcore defense and steady offense. They are a very good team. However their persona is brash and trash and a bit exaggerated. The swagger does seem to help them rise above their inadequacies however. Which you can’t hold against them. The reality is though you should be ashamed if you are intimidated or influenced by their talk because their bark is far worse than there bite.

At the same time they can beat you if you let them stay in the game. That is the key to beating the Jets. Making Rex Ryan do things he does not want to do. You need to do these things:

1. Physically beat down his defense and his schemes: To his credit he has not allowed stubbornness to hinder his flexibility. Usually known for his “live by the sword” blitzing style he has developed an alternate style that has teams scratching their heads. More on this later ……..
2. Stop their vaunted rushing success: LaDanian Tomlinson and Shonn Green are not exactly scary names but they are a very good tandem that will put up some numbers on you. In fact the Steelers allowed a scary low 62.8 yards per game. But in Week 15 the Jets put up a solid 104 on them. Yes Polamalu was out but this cannot happen this week!
3. Make Fraudchez beat you: This guy is a poor mans Eli Manning. Yes he could lead a team to a Super Bowl as long as he does not have to carry the load. Hey Trent Dilfer, Jeff Hostettler, and David Woodley got teams to a Super Bowl. Dilfer and Hostettler won a Super Bowl. Sandwichchez can make a couple big plays if you limit the need for him to do so. Make him throw 30 or more times and I can promise he will throw some picks! Give the Jets 2nd and 3rd and 8 yards consistently and he will have to throw more than they want him too.
4. Don’t give up a special teams HR!: I don’t know what it is but the Steelers have a propensity to blow a return coverage or 3 every game!
5. No NEGATIVE TURNOVERS: No gifts to the JETS defense! And for Rooney’s sake if a ball bounces away from Ben for any reason will someone in Black n’ Gold please jump on it!
6. Make JETS cough it up!: I already expect Sparky Creamchez to throw a minimum of 2 picks if he has to toss it around. But you could use some fumbles from sacks and running backs trying to run at you also!
7. Steelers must be the more physical team!

Problems I foresee:

1. The Steelers O-Line outright scares me: They do when they’re healthy so why wouldn’t they when they are on paramedic alert? I hope Flozell Adams has 2 great games left in him!
2. In line with #1, the Steelers must run successfully: To beat a physical and quality defense you must do a little smash mouth and enforce your will on your opponent who relies on swagger and emotion more than skill. Although they are oozing with confidence and therefore they may never give up at this point. So be prepared to own the clock and hit them upside their head for 60 minutes regardless of score! Especially if you get a big lead! Stuff it down their throat. Run straight, right, and left.
3. Recognizing the Jets/Ryan scheme on every play: The Steelers need to know when he is going to bring the house or when he will try the stay at home style he has developed. This is where play action could be huge. See #6 below!
4. Make Revis earn his reputation. Test his endurance and conditioning. Send the speedsters on a track meet with this guy. He is that good but make him chase the lightning of Mike Wallace (4.3- 40), Emmanuel Sanders(4.4- 40) and Antonio Brown (4.5 – 40). Derrelle Revis  (4.45 – 40) Also with Deon Sanders it helped when you ran at him.
5. Antonio Cromartie can also be tested. He is not as fast as Revis or as skilled. He is good though. (4.5 – 40)
6. Play action can be huge against the Jets! Don’t telegraph to a guy like Rex Ryan or he will out coach you any day!: That is my fear with Bruce Arians. He will show whether he is running or passing far too many times in my opinion. Although I did think he did a better job of that in the Baltimore game despite getting a little pass happy at times.
7. Tight ends are your friend: I don’t think the Steelers use Heath Miller enough although he needs to block a lot with there issues up front.
8. FOR THE LOVE OF STEEL RASHARD “don’t be FUMBLINHALL!”
9. “BRUCE?”: GET THE BALL IN THE END ZONE BUDDY! I want Suisham to kick extra points!

My heart tells me 22 points would seal the deal barring turnover problems. A quick 14 would be awesome. A 14 to 3 halftime lead would be great! The Jets defense is the key to their success regardless of what the media and annoying fan base wants you to think.

So while I would prefer a 35 to 13 win I doubt that will happen. And why? Other than the Jets defense is that good ………

Conversely and sadly frustrating the offense is suspect with the more talented and seasoned Steelers. On paper the Steelers offense has explosive potential but when it comes to execution it just doesn’t happen. I believe that probably comes from a deficient O-line and what I think is predictable play calling. But no matter what the reason, they just don’t score up to their potential.

SO HOLD ONTO YOUR HAT FOR YET ANOTHER NAIL BITER!

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To pretty much every one’s surprise the Steelers won’t be packing any bags this week and heading to Boston. Instead they have sent the brash bunch from NY an invitation to their own funeral!

Hey I do tip my hat to Rex Ryan and his loud mouth punk of a group for their willingness to adapt to a new approach to take down the 2 headed dragon of Brady and Belichick. Some coaches of that much ego and hot air would not change regardless. See Andy Reid as exhibit A.

But first the victory over the Ravens is to be savored. Although I am still livid over not one Steelers player jumping on a loose ball! That is football 101, Pop Warner stuff. No matter what you think happened if a ball comes out of a persons possession for any reason, you jump on it and let the refs tell you what happened.  That was inexcusable. But ’nuff said.

I applaud my nemesis Bruce Arians also for refocusing after going down 21 to 7. As the first half was ending and the Steelers were so far down I told those watching the game with me “we will never see a hand off again in this game now”. And at first it seemed as if I was correct. But in the second half he came out with a respectable plan.

The numbers per say were not impressive but against the Ravens they rarely are. But it was the first time in my memory that the Steelers were not as predictable with their play calls. They even tried to do what I thought they should and that was get the ball to Mike Wallace. And it almost paid off with one of the end arounds. Now not to be picky but in a couple other instances they had the right idea but took far too long to execute it. The quick out passes need to be much closer and faster. And one of the early fake and then end arounds I thought Wallace was far too late getting to Ben. When Ben fakes to the RB, the WR needs to be right there to take the ball. He was not.

Anyhow the Steelers offense even with garbage at O-line made enough plays. The bright spot was two fold. 1 – Arians did not abandon the run despite the difficulty running effectively. and 2 – the young duo of Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are emerging as legit wide outs. Including them with Ward, Wallace, Miller, and even Randle-El is pretty formidable and very deep! And speaking of deep the throw Ben made to Brown was unbelievable!

I also applaud Arians, although I suspect it may have been Ben, on the double fake 4th down to get the Ravens off side and then having the balls and tenacity to take the snap and go for a QB keeper! Wow that was ballsy! Steel City size balls of steel!

Ironically in the 2nd quarter with 26 seconds left and a 4th and 7 on the Ravens 25 I would have went for it instead of a 43 yard field goal. A 43 yarder in Heinz is no gimme and the worst case scenario Baltimore gets the ball on their own 25 with 17 to 20 seconds left. On the other hand you move a little closer and maybe get one shot at the end zone and a closer field goal attempt. But I guess the thought is 21 to 10 is better than 21 to 7. I can’t argue against that too much.

I do think the after game media garbage about such a high score is pretty stupid. The points were largely due to turnovers. I mean the Pittsburgh D only surrendered 17 which is about what I predicted they would. A special teams break down didn’t help either. I guess you could factor in the drop by Anquan Boldin but it all equals out to a solid day for the D. For instance the Steelers field goal in the 4th quarter should have been a Mike Wallace TD run on the reverse. He took an inside route when he could have easily ran around a pending block from Heath Miller and instead ran into the coverage. The Steelers scored 31 yes but 14 of those were related to the costly turnovers not shoddy defense. I mean neither team exactly ran up and down the field. Although the Steelers did have a couple nice drives and Antonio Brown literally did run down the field and past the Ravens secondary!

Side NOTE: Overall the Pittsburgh D was pretty stellar. I mean they held the Ravens to 28 total yards in the 2nd half! But what was going on with Troy Polamalu? He was playing pretty far off the line of scrimmage and did not have his usual impact. Was this a game plan to throw off Flacco and the Ravens offensive plan or a sign of his health?

James Harrison and Terrell Suggs were both beasts!

SO what about the next game against the JETS? We’ll break that down later this week! But I expect a Steelers vs. Packers Super Bowl!

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Yeah so here we go Steelers/Ravens Part III! No surprises here folks.

Oh the Steelers should win with the game in “the ketchup” but this is always a toss up when these two clash.

Yes throw the stats out the back door. Because it usually is a physical match with a cluster of would of, could of, should of all over the place. Both teams will swing at the wind and both teams will flex their muscle but chances are this is a 19 to 17 type of game.

Ideally it would be nice if the Steelers could get out to a quick 13 to 3 or 14 to 3 lead and hypnotize Arians into working the clock. Which on occasion they have done. True running on Baltimore is no picnic as Mendenhall’s 3.? per carry against them will tell you. And normally at this juncture your game plan is not going to change a whole bunch. However……………….

That said I do believe the Steelers could add a wrinkle that I have wanted to see for awhile now. “Operation Welker-Wallace” Yes I would love to see the Steelers move Wallace around much more, especially in there many shotgun formations. Heck even in their 5 wide out sets put this guy in motion all the time. That alone will give the Ravens something to be concerned with.

At the same time hand the ball off to him a couple times when he is passing in front of Ben or even a hybrid shuffle pass. At the very least get him a quick Wes Welker type 2 yard slant pass and turn him loose. You already have the quick out pass to Hines Ward you have been running for years. Shorten that puppy up and get it to Wallace closer and faster!

None of these would take much extreme preparation. Except maybe the shuffle pass concept since they do not do that very much. Now mind you I am not suggesting Inspector Gadget stuff. Simply variations off of the shotgun and getting your speed guy in motion. No rocket science here. But it would broaden the possibilities a little bit to keep the Ravens guessing somewhat. Which is something they haven’t had to do against you in a decade!

The good thing is I don’t see Baltimore lighting up the scoreboard so even if the Steelers show up flat and bring their we can’t score game they should still be in the game in the 4th quarter and that is not always a bad thing.

Now against New England? That won’t play in Foxboro! But more on that next week!

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Well this has been the most disappointing 12 and 4 season I have ever seen! And I am not sure why? Is there a such thing as a bad 12 and 4 team? Realistically NO! So why am I still worried about this team?

On on hand you got through a 4 game suspension of your starting Pro Bowl caliber QB. You were 3 and 1 without him. Your 2 back ups also got hurt and an old fart back up of the back up stepped up and did well against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at their house. Oh did I mention you were 7 and 1 ON THE ROAD! At times you even looked like the best team in football! You are the 2nd seed in a tough AFC and you get a first round bye which helps your All Universe Superman Man of Troy heal up some! Mike Wallace has blossomed, Mendenhall has gotten better holding onto the ball and on and on.

So what is not too like? Well for one thing I consider you a Super Bowl team and at this point I would not have you as the favorite in the AFC or maybe in the NFC. Although I have no doubt this Steelers team can beat anybody out there. There inconsistency is what scares me. Once again it is a team that relies on defense too win! And in years past I would be okay with that. But the fragile nature of the defense as far as bodies and health worries me a little. And the secondary has been an issue. The margin for error for the defense is also a lot smaller than in recent Super Bowl runs. Because I have no confidence whatsoever in this offense. Not that they were ever the Greatest Show on Turf to begin with. But you used to be able to think when the chips were down they could get a score. Now? Not so sure about that.

No really, not even a little. Oh they have the talent! But frankly Bruce Arians is an in over your head type of idiot as far as I am concerned. Oh he may not be stupid and he has come up with some clever play designs. But he has no clue about ebb and flow and disguising formations. Oh I am not saying the shotgun or the spread formations are bad, because clearly they are productive at times. But it is too obvious what you are going to do. They need to add some nuances to those formations. They need some end arounds or other wrinkles so that defenses cannot just assume you are throwing the ball. You can run from the shotgun for example. Where is the semblence of balance? And I don’t mean 50/50 run and passing.Frankly when you see the season totals it looks numerically balanced.

479  pass attempts and 471 rushing attempts – but again it is not all about the percentages. My problem is too many of these plays were obvious runs or passes for the defenses to set up for.

And also ironically I know Sunday(1/02/11) after the game he wanted to call me out and say “bleep you A-NAT you gravy sucking pig you. How’d you like my offense on Sunday? 41 points/ 30 pass attempts/ 30 rushing attempts! You know nothing fat balding piece of crap!”

And I would take it like a man and say “Get a clue Uncle Brucey!”

Dude those numbers are fine but you are so predictable and you still can’t run a lick with any kind of consistency. Yes you are ranked 11th in the NFL averaging 120 yards per game on the ground. Mendenhall had a very solid 1273 yards. But 324 carries at 3.9 yards per pop is just above average for me. And couple that with your #2 guy had a whopping 247 yards rushing. Really?  But I will give you props for keeping the appearance that you would run in the Cleveland game. And that makes a difference. But once again you dolt the defense set the tone. And my over all problem with your rushing attack is you have monster games that make the stats look pretty good but at times you give up on it way too easy. You’re as bad as Andy Reid in Philly.

Here is the rushing break down: Honestly I admit on paper this does not look as bad as I remember. So maybe I am the idiot Mr Arians?  I still recall the debacle of Week 9 against New England where we ran 16 times and threw 49 times. And when Belichick knows whether you are running or passing his defense will be ready! Even without illegal taping of practices!

Wk 1 31 for 143        Wk 2 33 for 106      Wk 3 32 for 201

Wk 4 27 for 84         Wk 5 35 for 121     Wk 6 27 for 58

Wk 7 21 for 108        Wk 8 32 for 121      Wk 9 16 for 76

Wk 10 33 for 162     Wk 11 45 for 206    Wk 12 24 for 54

Wk 13 27 for 123     Wk 14 25 for 146    Wk 15 33 for 115

Wk 16 30 for 100

The reality is that I keep posting these numbers to try and make a point but on paper it doesn’t look so bad. And well again 12 and 4 is pretty darn good! And let’s face it this team can win the Super Bowl this year. I guess my bone of contention is the look and the telegraphing your  intentions. I mean I just have too many nightmares of this team lined up in the Red Zone with 5 wide and an empty backfield. “Gee I wonder what the Steelers are going to do here?” It is already hard enough to throw this close let alone tell the world what your plan is. Now like I said earlier if they ran enough from these hybrid formations it would not be so bad.

Look the element of the unknown is far under rated in this league. I know with the steady castration or defenses by making rules so overwhelming in the favor of the offense warrants a pass happy league. And that is fine. But really even then if you tell the other team whether you are running or passing it swings the advantage back toward the defense. Of course down and distance and time play a factor. So why make it more complicated than need be?

Look the Patriots clearly are a pass happy team but they rarely give you an indication of what they will do in any group of 10 plays. They disguise there intentions pretty well. And they run enough at times when you do not suspect they will run and they run enough over all to keep a defense honest. “Brucey, my man that is all I am asking brother!”

You know what I just figured out my problem with this offense. “Hey Brucey, don’t be afraid to punch it in now and again. It counts as 6 points!”

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