(Kevin Greene is so sick. Jason GIldon looks like he could still play.)
After taking a day off from blogging for my birthday, I have returned.
Things keep getting worse as they get better. We have lost Rashard Mendenhall and Kendall Simmons for the season. We have one healthy running back that has seen game action this year on our squad. Our O-Line just potentially lost their best player and they sucked as it was.
That's the bad news.
The good news. We're 3-1. We lead the division. We overcame adversity. Our QB stood up at the half and called out his teammates like a true leader. We were down 10, came back, and won a physical game.
Lamarr Wooooooooodley is a man. So is James Harrison. Name me a better OLB duo in the NFL right now. I don't think you will.
The Steelers played worse than I have ever seen them play offensively in the first half. We had pretty much no running game and not much of a passing game but still won.
Let me say this:
Great teams win games even when they play their worst. And that was what we did.
And Jeff Reed is awesome. One of the best kickers in the NFL. ___
That title seems to be appropriate. I can't think of an American based hockey team with a more solid fan-base than the Penguins. You have to look at Minnesota obviously as being up there as well and maybe a couple other knuckleheads too. But what the Penguins have done to American hockey and hockey in the Pittsburgh area in the last couple years in simply remarkable. They have taken a sport that was dead in the water and turned it into the biggest story this town had seen in a couple years (Steelers XL run).
You fell in love with them. You watched the games for the first time in your life maybe. You learned how to pronounce names like Sykora, Ruutu, Laraque and Dupuis.
You used nicknames that are used between players, such as Sarge, Geno, Kid, Sykie, Gronk and Bugsy.
Let me make this clear, I love the Steelers. They are my pride and joy and if there were a Steelers game on and a Pens game on at the same time, I would watch the Steelers. (Well actually I would use PIP, but thats another story.)
But, the Penguins did something to me last year that I can't even begin to explain. My sports hurt was more severe than it has ever been after we lost Game 6 in the SCF.
But, when Sykora burried that goal in the 3rd OT in game 5, I realized why I love hockey and the Penguins... Addiction.
I began to be addicted to the Penguins. I spent HUNDREDS (nearly a thousand) of dollars to go to games 1 & 5 against the Rangers and games 2 & 4 against the Flyers. I drove nearly 6 hours to see the Penguins play. I bought a Laraque shirt. I bought a flag for my car.
Best of all, I spent around 14 hours making this:
And around 2 months growing one of these:
(This picture received one of the greatest facebook comments ever.)
The Pensblog began to thrive into (in my opinion, which is fact) the best blog on the web.
They were pulling down over 400 comments on posts. Huge. I go ape if I get one comment (see: my ESPY's review).
And here is another season, already. I still taste that bitter defeat and remember far too vividly how deep my head was burried in my friends couch when the clock hit zero's for the last time. But yet I want to put myself in a situation to experience that again.
Tennessee over Minnesota Denver over Kansas City New Orleans over San Francisco New York Jets over Arizona Green Bay over Tampa Bay Carolina over Atlanta Jacksonville over Houston Cleveland over Cincinnati San DIego over Oakland Buffalo over St. Louis Washington over Dallas* Philadelphia over Chicago Pittsburgh over Baltimore ___
1. Dallas Cowboys (3-0): The Cowboys looked very good on Sunday night, handling the previously unbeaten Packers at Lambeau. 2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1): Oof, now the defense looks good. 3. New York Giants (3-0): Now if only the 'Skins could play, they would complete the top 4. 4. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1): They need to take a note from the Penguins and overcome adversity. 5. San Diego Chargers (1-2): Boy, this team should be 3-0, for multiple reasons. 6. Denver Broncos (3-0): The offense has been untouchable... maybe the NFL's best. 7. Tennessee Titans (3-0): They continue to rack up wins, even without their "star" QB. 8. Buffalo Bills (3-0): Impressive so far, but barely squeaking by Oakland brings them down a bit. 9. Baltimore Ravens (2-0): #1 defense in the league means they have to be on the list. 10. Green Bay Packers (2-1): Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but losing Al Harris will really hurt them.
Last week was an exciting one. The Steelers won a big divisional battle and so did the Cowboys, keeping both teams in the same spots as last week.
So here goes:
1. Dallas Cowboys (2-0): The Cowboys had a tough time on Monday night, but Romo's offense held on to get the W. 2. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0): The Steelers were a much better football team than the Browns Sunday night, but were hindered by the weather. 3. Green Bay Packers (2-0): Two words: Aaron Rodgers. 4. New York Giants (2-0): Defense, Defense, Eli, Defense. 5. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1): The Eagles gave the 'Boys a great fight, but stupid mistakes made them lose the game. 6. Denver Broncos (2-0): They shouldn't have won, but they still did, and looked very good throughout the game. Need to improve on defense though. 7. New England Patriots (2-0): The Cassel-Era began with a W, moving the Pats to their second win. 8. Indianapolis Colts (1-1): The Colts still don't look very good, but were able to turn it on to beat the Vikings on the road. 9. Buffalo Bills (2-0): The Bills continued to fly under the radar by beating a very talented Jaguars team. 10. Tennessee Titans (2-0): The not-so-Young Titans took care of business against the lowly Bengals.
The Steelers and Browns fought through the remnants of Hurricane Ike to play a thrilling Sunday Night game at which yours truly was in attendance.
The real story of the game was the insane weather and the defense on display by either team.
The game was slow to start until Ben Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward in the endzone to put the Steelers up. The Steelers would add a field goal and control the ball, thanks to a solid performance by Willie Parker, Ward, Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes.
The strangest part of the game came when Browns coach Romeo Crennel opted to kick a field goal with less than 4 minutes left in the game to cut the Steelers lead to 4. The Steelers would pick up the necessary first downs to run the clock down. The Browns would have one last shot at scoring and winning the game but came up short to give the Steelers the win. ___
Here's some of my personal pictures from the game:
___
Next week the Steelers take on the newly improved Philadelphia Eagles. This should be an intense matchup, as both teams hail from this great state of ours and represent cities who have serious hatred for each other.
- Green Bay over Detroit - Kansas City over Oakland - New York Giants over St. Louis Rams - Indianapolis over Minnesota - Cincinnati over Tennessee - New Orleans over Washington - Carolina over Chicago - Buffalo over Jacksonville - Seattle over San Francisco - Atlanta over Tampa Bay - New York Patriots over New England Patriots - Arizona over Miami - San Diego over Denver - Pittsburgh over Cleveland - Dallas over Philadelphia
I didn't want to do a preseason power rank article because it's so hard to figure out who will be good this year and who will tank. Glad I made that call. This is what my PR would have looked like just 1 week ago.
1. New England Patriots 2. Indianapolis Colts 3. San Diego Chargers 4. Dallas Cowboys 5. New York Giants 6. Jacksonville Jaguars 7. Pittsburgh Steelers 8. Seattle Seahawks 9. Cleveland Browns 10. Tennessee Titans
Ha! Wow. Glad I didn't post that.
So here are my new 'Top 10'. ___
1. Dallas Cowboys (1-0): The 'Boys looked incredible in a hostel environment in Cleveland, boosting them up to my new #1.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0): It's hard to deny that the Steelers are not a very good football team. And with questionable play from other AFC teams, they now look like the new team to chase.
3. New York Giants (1-0): The defense is so good, even without all its stars.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0): Sure, they beat down the lowly Rams, but they did it in an impressive way. Week 3: Steelers @ Eagles. Whoa. Big time.
5. San Diego Chargers (0-1): Shocker. They stay in the top 5 because I think that Carolina is a better team than people think.
6. New Orleans Saints (1-0): The Saints are so fast offensively, but need to answer the call with the loss of WR Marques Colston.
7. New England Patriots (1-0): They won the game but lost the battle. Matt Cassel now actually has to do something. Should be interesting. Still a good team though.
8. Green Bay Packers (1-0): AR is the real deal in my opinion. I have said that all along. The Pack are a talented team with a lot of emotion.
9. Indianapolis Colts (1-0): Outside of Cincinnati, this was the worst showing last week. Especially since they got nailed by the Bears. They are better than that though, and will improve.
10. Tennessee Titans (1-0): Losing Vince Young may be a good thing. He seems to be a little unstable mentally at QB, which has been a problem of his all along.
The Steelers entered their first game of the regular season with a lot of questions. - Could Ben Roethlisberger continue to shine at QB? - Could Willie Parker bounce back from a broken leg? - Could the aging defense keep up with the rest of the league? - Would the highly questionable offensive line be able to protect Big Ben?
The Steelers answered all these questions in blowout fashion.
(At some point I want to get some sort of highlight reel going on here... we'll see.)
But here is the scoring summary:
(Courtesy of ESPN.com) ___
(Willie Parker shined, totaling 138 yards on 25 carries and scoring 3 times.)
(Ben Roethlisberger managed the offense, completing 13 of 14 passes for 137 yards and 2 scores, both to Hines Ward. Ben also showed good mobility, busting off a big 17 yard run on the Steelers first scoring drive.)
(James Harrison showed why he made the ProBowl last season, racking up 9 tackles (7 solo), 3 sacks, and a forced fumble.)
(The O-Line held up well. Ben got sacked a couple times but they were great in the run-block.)
The defense as a whole played well through the first 3 quarters, but let up a bit in the 4th, allowing 14 points in the final 9 minutes of the game. Thankfully the game was already sealed at that point. ___
___
I have to talk about the injury to Tom Brady. Let me start by saying that I do not like Tom Brady. I am a Steeler fan and therefore I wish the utmost failure to Brady and the Patriots.
But.
I'm not sure it's right for people to be cheering that Brady got injured. Think about if that were to happen to Big Ben, or the best player on whatever team you root for.
When Sidney Crosby went down, the people who cheered were Flyers fans... do we want to be like that? No.
While I am happy that Tom Brady won't be around this year, I never really want to wish injury, or cheer for injuries to any player.
Now, if the Pats don't have a good season, their fans will have an excuse to use for every loss, no matter how well Matt Cassel plays. ___
Next week I will make the annual trip to Cleveland. This one is huge. Primetime, night game, in Cleveland. The Browns lost this past week so you know they want some payback. Photo's will be posted (if things go well) and maybe some video's as well. Stay tuned. ___
FInally a look at the AFC. (Aka my internet has been installed!)
-West-
This division will be more competitive than most people think. I really like the Chargers chances at winning it all, but it will no doubt be a tough trip. THe Broncos and Jay Cutler have a chance at competing this year in the division. I think it's division title or bust for this division. No Wild Cards. The Raiders now have potential at Running Back, with the drafting of Darren McFadden. FInally the Chiefs will be much improved after coming off with the best draft class this season, unfortunately it won't be enough.
1. San Diego Chargers 2. Denver Broncos 3. Oakland Raiders 4. Kansas City Chiefs
-South-
Maybe the most competitive division in the AFC, the AFC South sported 3 playoff teams last year. This year I don't know if they will get that lucky. A lot of people are picking the Jaguars, but I'm not sold on them quite yet. I think the Colts are the class of the division and with a great QB and a young, fresh back running the ball, I think the Colts have the division. The Jaguars will be close behind and might win the division. I just don't think they have the big time players to win the division, but not having that has kinda been the source of their success recently. Also competing for the division will be the Tennessee TItans. Rookie Running Back Chris Johnson looks like a good fit with Lendale White. Now the team is in the hands of Vince Young, who has some proving to do. Rounding out the division are the Houston Texans, who have some talent on both sides of the ball, but probably won't have what it takes in this tough division.
It's no wonder who the winner will be in the division. The Pats were amazing last year, to put it simply. I don't think they will be as good this year, but at the same time I think they will do fine and easily win the division. Coming in second will be the Buffalo Bills. I think the Bills are a very good, young team with a lot of potential. Competing for second will be Brett Favre and the New York Jets, who have made big strides to be able to compete this season. Rounding out the division will be the Miami Dolphins. The 'Fins won't be as bad as they were last season, but still won't be very good.
1. New England Patriots 2. Buffalo Bills 3. New York Jets 4. Miami Dolphins
-North-
Ah, my favorite division. A division known for toughness and rivalry. I still think the Steelers are the best team, even though the Browns are on the rise. I think that with a great defense, running and passing game, the Steelers are on pace the win the division. The Browns will get second. They have a lot of talent with Derek Anderson, Braylon Edwards and Kelen Winslow. They have great lines and could compete for the division title. The Ravens are a pretty young team offensively, and a pretty old team defensively. Because of this they will come in third. All that talent, and I see the Bengals coming in last. There are too many distractions on this team, no real running game and a weak defense will all lead to another disappointing year in Cincy.
But anyways, Thursday night the Steelers came in with a couple things in mind: stay healthy and look to trim down the roster. For the most part both of those goals came through.
I'm back again with the likes and dislikes. (I'm thinking about stopping this feature for the regular season.)
Here goes... ___
===Likes===
THE BIG NASTY D - I am more and more impressed with this defense every time I see them take the field. Their abilities to stop drives and hold teams to field goals could come in handy during the regular season.
WILLIE PARKER
- Willie didn't see a lot of action, but he had 4 carries for 34 yards, including a great 26 yard rush. There is no doubt that with Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker, the Steelers will have the best 1-2 punch in the NFL, right up there with Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor of the Jaguars.
OFFENSIVE LINE
- Other than the fumbled snap on the opening drive, I thought the line held up well. They allowed 0 sacks and gave the QB's time to throw. Thats all you can ask for.
JEFF REED
- He missed one. But he hit 4, including the game winner (again). He is just solid and has been all preseason.
===DIslikes===
QUARTERBACK
- I wasn't to impressed with anyone at QB. Ben didn't even throw a pass. Maybe that was for the best. He needs to stay healthy.
SECONDARY
- It wasn't too bad. They forced 2 INT's, but let up 264 yards passing. That needs to improve.
FINISHING - The trend of the preseason continued, as the offense was unable to finish their drives, resulting in 5 FG attempts. Thats a possible 35 points instead of the 12 that we got. ___
___
All in all it wasn't too bad of a game. Arnold Harrison fell victim to injury but thats the nature of the beast that is football.
The team looks ready for the Texans on Sunday, lets hope they pull it out. It's important that they start the season well because the first few games will be their easiest.
I am a Junior Broadcast Journalism major at Point Park University, in Pittsburgh, PA. I love all sports... especially those played by Pittsburgh teams.
(Kevin Greene is so sick. Jason GIldon looks like he could still play.)
